@The_Pixel_King I think your PSN might be set to hidden, as I can't find the username you provided (I can find one ending "737", if you've made a typo?).
My PSN is the same as my username here and I think I'm searcheable, so feel free to add me in anticipation of some HD2 action when you pick it up. I quite like occasionally dropping into new players' games and helping them learn the ropes so I'd be more than happy to help you out too!
If you account for inflation, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time would have cost ~£112 in today's money. So we as gamers are objectively being very well served by the £60-70 range for AAA games today, which are far more advanced and complex than TLoZ:OoT was. Prices of AAA games have have failed to keep pace with inflation due to advances in technology which have smoothed production pipeline, e.g. middleware, engines, semi-automated localisation, etc.
That's great for us as consumers. The games we get today are just night-and-day more complicated and beautiful than they used to be, and keep getting better.
That being said, many aspects of being 'nickel-and-dimed' by AAA games today are very grating. I choose not to engage in any of those games, doing my part to send the message to the market that I like my games to be complete at launch and microtransaction free.
As ever, we pay for the games industry we get. Stop pre-ordering, read/watch reviews from people you trust, pay the price that seems right for you based on that information, stop falling for hype and marketing, and don't support/pay for things that you don't like.
@The_Pixel_King I highly recommend Helldivers 2 regardless of your fears around MP. I have had two or three instances of being kicked from a public game since it launched, and if you put yourself out there on comms you will find like-minded people to add to your HD2 friends list (in-game and separate to your PSN friends list, so they'll only see if you're in the game). I've met some cool people and squads to join up with on evenings when my IRL buddies are too busy to play HD2. The community is great, probably because it's co-op only.
@The_Wailing_Doom What's this "right to vote" of which you speak? Sounds like dissident thought to me. Every true citizen knows that, under managed democracy, you answer a few questions on your preferences on the Galactic Wide Web and then a Super Computer totally votes for you based on an algorithmic process. That way citizens can be assured that their true vote is captured.
I can’t play on less than 60fps anymore, I can literally see the individual frames at points now. I’ll even take1080p so long as it’s 60 frames per second.
@VaultGuy415 I disagree about super credits being hard to acquire. My regular squad and most randoms I find myself playing with typically go out of our way to clear the map. If you find all the "?" points-of-interest in a Lvl 2 mission or above, you're typically bringing back 20-50 SC per deployment. Occasionally we find one of the rarer 50 or 100 SC drops. I've thrown a couple of £ Arrowhead's way for some SC when I wanted an armour set from the rotation and couldn't be bothered to wait for it to come around again, but otherwise I'm finding it very easy to ignore the micro-transactions in this game while still feeling very well served.
I think it's an outstanding question whether the meta-narrative has been affected by failing to take Tibit a couple of Major Orders ago. That Major Order noted that Tibit was believed by Super Earth to be a major bot manufacturing planet, and after we failed to take it, players noticed an increase in the rejuvenation rates of planets awaiting liberation. We also had a lot of Defences to see off in the next Major Order to hold three planets. It's possible that had we taken Tibit we'd have had an easier time taking the Creek afterwards, and have completed Phase 3 of exterminating the bots by now. But that's the fun of this game having a GM; you're not just grinding out repetitive missions for the sake of random gear drops and incremental power upgrades, you're doing it in the context of a wider narrative, and win or lose it all contributes to the story and opens up new planets to fight on. A stroke of genius, really.
@UltimateOtaku91 Dunno, my regular crew weren't available last night and there's no way I'm going into 7+ against bots with Randoms! I played up to difficulty 6 last night with randoms and didn't see the new bots on my missions either.
Bravo to AH. This is the way to do a live service - a steady drip feed of activities to prioritise, new toys, new baddies, new unlocks, etc, etc. It has certainly kept me playing more than monthly or seasonal content drops would have.
I'll wait to see what Digital Foundry think of it once it's been released, but my thinking goes like this: 1. I'm a console gamer. Sorry, but sat in front of my TV is how I play games. I spend most of my working day at a desk as it is, and portable systems just don't do it for me. So I need a console. 2. That being said, I like my games to run and look as good as possible. I like gaming at 60FPS and choose performance modes wherever I can. 3. But I do lament that I have to forgo some of the 'shiny' graphical features in graphics modes when I do that.
So, taken all together, if a PS5 Pro can give me back some of those graphical perks while maintaining the 60FPS I like, I'll probably end up getting one. Once you factor in the resale value of the PS5 base model, an upgrade wouldn't be too hard on the wallet for me.
Like I say though, that's an "if", and I'll wait for reviews.
RIP offset thumb sticks. That's one thing I miss from my 360 days. That, Gears of War 1-3, and Halo 1-3, but sounds like I'll be able to get on those trilogies again on my PS at some point.
I've come to terms with the fact that Bethesda don't make RPG's anymore. They've slowly and iteratively taken the RP out and they just make "Bethesda Games" now. Which is fine, they just aren't for me. Plenty of other games out there scratching that itch.
@Kidfunkadelic83 Too late. I've seen a clip (on Reddit I think) of a charger and shrieker (I think that's what they're being called) models becoming stuck to one another, and when the shrieker flapped its wings the charger took off. It was terrifying. I think it was a glitch, and not a deliberate tactic by the bugs to drop chargers on our heads.
WTF Sony? I'd love to have all this information like DualSense Battery, console storage capacity, etc, available at a glance when I log in. Why isn't this global, it seems so helpful!
@ShadowofSparta Who's to say that the NPC couldn't have some lines that were written with intent? All you'd need to do is tag some part of the dialogue as essential to get across to the player, and then tell the LLM to improvise a sentence or two that get you from responding to whatever the player said (perhaps, say, when the player brings up a topic, such as a quest item or location) to the fully-scripted sentence in a smooth way. I think this has the potential to be great, personally. You'll still need decently sized writing teams to do this well, as someone will need to be responsible for defining what the NPC knows and thinks about the world, other characters, the central plot of the game, etc, and make sure that this is consistent with your lore. Devs may even need to spend more time on writing than they do now. Currently, if I go speak to a minor NPC like a shopkeeper, I might only have two or three options of lore or quest related dialogue before they only thing left to talk to them about is trading. With something like an LLM built into the dialogue and no set dialogue trees, devs will have to flesh out every NPC's back-story much more to account for the player asking them about potentially anything.
I mean, if done right, this could be a huge shot in the arm for RPGs, and most especially for VR games I'd have thought. Entering dialogue with an NPC in the next Baldur's Gate and then being able to speak directly to the character as if I actually were Tav, about pretty much anything, and have the NPC respond to what I actually chose to say, would be very, very cool.
It's really quite fascinating to consider why Helldivers 2 is doing so well in comparison to other live-service games. While I'm massively enjoying it and have no intentions of stopping playing any time soon, if I take a step back it can look rather repetitive. Having your grind contribute, even in a tiny way, to the overall meta-narrative, definitely helps.
There's a very interesting GDC talk to be made in comparing different live-service games and trying to discern why some succeed and others hit the skids.
Wow, it really doesn't screenshot well, does it? It's so dark (I geddit) that you really can't see what's going on. I hope for the game's sake that it looks better in motion.
Edit: Remembered PushSquare does video reviews too. Thankfully, it looks a lot better in motion.
@Golem25 It's not too late to jump into the game at all. You'll probably even find a veteran helldiver willing to show you the ropes - there's a few of us who like to respond to SOS beacons on difficulty 1 missions and help new players get to grips with the game. Before you know it, you'll be squashing bugs and blasting bots with the best of them.
@Helldiver367 In fairness to Liam, it isn't THE Helldivers 2 clothing range, as there is also one from PlayStation's own merch store: https://gear.playstation.com/Browse/HD
@Stevemalkpus Really? This is the country that invented the soap opera... and that's all WWE is; high drama plus muscles, costumes, a bit of flesh on show, and the occasional bit of simulated violence. What's not to like? I don't watch it personally, but I can understand the appeal well enough.
People who love the Breaker just haven't heard about/unlocked the Slugger yet (which is fair enough as it's all the way on page 8 of the free Warbond). I unlocked it last night and boy-oh-boy is it good provided you keep calm and land your shots.
@naruball @themightyant Doesn't the comparison to Roblox make my point though? That had the advantages (compared to Dreams) of being on PC and allowing users to monetise their creations.
Playing the latest Hitman trilogy made me realise that what I really want AC to be is Hitman in a historic setting. I'd love the freedom to investigate targets and locations, and figuring out how to get in and out without anyone ever knowing I was there.
If any game devs are reading, do it, and steal AC's lunch.
Frankly, I'm surprised it wasn't Media Molecule that was shuttered, but then I had forgotten that London Studio existed at all... Dreams was a very odd thing for MM to spend so much time on; one look should have told you that, while apparently powerful and innovative, its appeal was only ever going to be very niche. This was obvious to me and everyone I spoke to about Dreams from the very first reveal. That being said, I think PlayStation and MM missed some obvious opportunities to give Dreams a decent shot once it launched. For instance, why wasn't it released on PC, where people are much more likely to dabble with creation engines? Second, would it really have been so hard to allow games/experiences made in Dreams to launch on PSN as standalone products, with a revenue share between PlayStation, MM, and the individual creator? Good luck to MM going forward though. I really enjoyed Tearaway and would love to see them make a triumphant return soon.
Looks like Sony is slowly realising that games like Fortnight and Roblox cannot be unseated. They're more like platforms in their own right now anyway, offering different experiences depending on what you want to do, even if it is just hang out with friends. If I was a customer who had spent £00s or £000s in one of these games, why on earth would I switch to a different game and mothball that 'investment'?
Seems sensible to me. Sony wants to make something the size of Fortnight - while Helldivers is no doubt impressing the execs with how much it is exceeding expectations, it is not the sort of thing they wanted with their push into live services. If you can tell at an earlier stage that something isn't going to do Fortnight levels of success (and that's what you're chasing) then no sense in sending good money after bad. We know from the Insomniac hack that Sony was looking to shutter a studio - hopefully London was it and we won't soon be reading about Bend going that way.
According to the video it's only sales in the USA which will go to charity. It might be worth pointing that out in the article for those not on a USA PSN account who would change their purchase decision with all the information available to them, one way or another.
@Northern_munkey I have noticed the PS Studios and Arrowhead logos only load on your first time booting the app after a patch. Every other time I've gone straight to the intro message from Super Earth.
I'm still getting lucky and getting into the game after 5-10 minutes of waiting whenever I try to play. But my buddy on PC didn't manage to get in despite waiting 40 minutes.
@ATaco I dunno... looking around, Games Workshop seems to be pretty free and easy with its IP when it comes to video games. There's some diamonds, but a lot more rough. The impression I get is that Games Workshop licences are pretty easy to get if you ask and are happy to pay whatever their fees are.
I must be getting lucky. I had the "servers full" message last night twice (had an app-crash shortly after getting into a mission the first time) but on both occasions I had under a 10 minute wait. It's annoying when you've got limited gaming time in the evenings, sure, but the game is worth the short wait IMO.
Deliberately staying logged in to 'save your spot on the server' is ***** though. There should be an AFK kick after 10-15 minutes or so, at least until the server situation is resolved.
@Johnnycide It's very good. Bummer that you've been having problems. I had that screen twice on the weekends but I managed to get into the game after waiting on it for under 5 minutes each time.
Well deserved. I am very much enjoying myself, and it seems lots of others are too. I hit the "servers at capacity" screen on both Saturday and Sunday nights, but in both cases I made it in within 5 minutes.
@themightyant True, and a very good point. I did some back-of-the-fag packet maths:
There were 46.4m PS+ Subscribers in Dec '22, and 47.4m in Mar '23. H:FW joined the Extra Games Catalogue in Feb '23. Let's be generous in our assumptions and say that the additional million, only joined PS+ Extra rather than the cheaper Essential, and they all joined to play H:FW. Let's also assume that they all bought a year's worth of extra from scratch, rather than taking advantage of one of the upgrade-your-subscription deals. PS+ revenue would have increased by just under (because of the pennies) $135m. Putting H:ZD on Extra lost them a projected $85, so they netted just under $50m.
Like I say, that's being very generous in our assumptions though, and just small tweaks to the assumptions (like if some of the new 1m subscribers were only on Essential) make millions of $ of difference to the outcome. PlayStation will have better stats and know better whether putting H:FW on Extra was a good idea overall.
The rest of us will find out by observing what they do with their other tentpole exclusives over time.
Fantastic game. I went for a 9. I rarely play anything online, and haven't played a game with battlepasses, MTX, loot boxes, etc, since Overwatch 1. But I broke my rules for Helldivers 2 and I'm glad I did. I love the fact that it's PvE and how the gameplay systems encourage co-operation - even playing with random people we're constantly apologising for killing one another, thanking one another for respawning you when you die, calling out what's going on, etc. The MTX are really unobtrusive and it's completely optional to spend actual money - I have acquired enough of the premium currency either in the game or through the free battlepass to buy a few things from the rotating paid store, and am saving up to unlock the premium battle pass. I don't even care that some of the items in the premium battle pass appear to be more powerful; if other people want to spend money to unlock it quicker that's only going to benefit me if we team up together. And all that is before I get on to how crazy and chaotic the game can be in full swing. And the comedy baked into the game's satire is brilliant - I always laugh when a character starts laughing maniacally when they've racked up a decent kill streak while expending an entire mag of their machine gun, or when one of the character's scripted expressions was cut off mid sentence by a resupply pod dropping on their heads.
Comments 592
Re: Helldivers 2 Is Selling at a Faster Rate Than Spider-Man 2 in the UK
@The_Pixel_King I think your PSN might be set to hidden, as I can't find the username you provided (I can find one ending "737", if you've made a typo?).
My PSN is the same as my username here and I think I'm searcheable, so feel free to add me in anticipation of some HD2 action when you pick it up. I quite like occasionally dropping into new players' games and helping them learn the ropes so I'd be more than happy to help you out too!
Re: $70 Games Are Just a Phase, Believes Saber Interactive CEO
If you account for inflation, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time would have cost ~£112 in today's money. So we as gamers are objectively being very well served by the £60-70 range for AAA games today, which are far more advanced and complex than TLoZ:OoT was. Prices of AAA games have have failed to keep pace with inflation due to advances in technology which have smoothed production pipeline, e.g. middleware, engines, semi-automated localisation, etc.
That's great for us as consumers. The games we get today are just night-and-day more complicated and beautiful than they used to be, and keep getting better.
That being said, many aspects of being 'nickel-and-dimed' by AAA games today are very grating. I choose not to engage in any of those games, doing my part to send the message to the market that I like my games to be complete at launch and microtransaction free.
As ever, we pay for the games industry we get. Stop pre-ordering, read/watch reviews from people you trust, pay the price that seems right for you based on that information, stop falling for hype and marketing, and don't support/pay for things that you don't like.
Re: Helldivers 2 Is Selling at a Faster Rate Than Spider-Man 2 in the UK
@The_Pixel_King I highly recommend Helldivers 2 regardless of your fears around MP. I have had two or three instances of being kicked from a public game since it launched, and if you put yourself out there on comms you will find like-minded people to add to your HD2 friends list (in-game and separate to your PSN friends list, so they'll only see if you're in the game). I've met some cool people and squads to join up with on evenings when my IRL buddies are too busy to play HD2. The community is great, probably because it's co-op only.
Re: The End? Helldivers 2 Players Rid Galaxy of Automaton Menace
@The_Wailing_Doom What's this "right to vote" of which you speak? Sounds like dissident thought to me. Every true citizen knows that, under managed democracy, you answer a few questions on your preferences on the Galactic Wide Web and then a Super Computer totally votes for you based on an algorithmic process. That way citizens can be assured that their true vote is captured.
Re: Poll: How Much Do You Care About 60fps on PS5?
I can’t play on less than 60fps anymore, I can literally see the individual frames at points now. I’ll even take1080p so long as it’s 60 frames per second.
Re: Helldivers 2 Democratic Detonation Warbond Offers New, Explosive Peacekeeping Options
@VaultGuy415 I disagree about super credits being hard to acquire. My regular squad and most randoms I find myself playing with typically go out of our way to clear the map. If you find all the "?" points-of-interest in a Lvl 2 mission or above, you're typically bringing back 20-50 SC per deployment. Occasionally we find one of the rarer 50 or 100 SC drops.
I've thrown a couple of £ Arrowhead's way for some SC when I wanted an armour set from the rotation and couldn't be bothered to wait for it to come around again, but otherwise I'm finding it very easy to ignore the micro-transactions in this game while still feeling very well served.
Re: Cowardly Helldivers Turn on Malevelon Creek Veterans, Targeting Noble Cape Wearers
I think it's an outstanding question whether the meta-narrative has been affected by failing to take Tibit a couple of Major Orders ago. That Major Order noted that Tibit was believed by Super Earth to be a major bot manufacturing planet, and after we failed to take it, players noticed an increase in the rejuvenation rates of planets awaiting liberation. We also had a lot of Defences to see off in the next Major Order to hold three planets. It's possible that had we taken Tibit we'd have had an easier time taking the Creek afterwards, and have completed Phase 3 of exterminating the bots by now.
But that's the fun of this game having a GM; you're not just grinding out repetitive missions for the sake of random gear drops and incremental power upgrades, you're doing it in the context of a wider narrative, and win or lose it all contributes to the story and opens up new planets to fight on. A stroke of genius, really.
Re: Big Helldivers 2 PS5, PC Update Adds New Weather Hazards, Increases the Level Cap
@UltimateOtaku91 Dunno, my regular crew weren't available last night and there's no way I'm going into 7+ against bots with Randoms! I played up to difficulty 6 last night with randoms and didn't see the new bots on my missions either.
Re: Helldivers 2 Players Reeling as Automatons Counter with Heavy Walkers, Armoured Gunships
Bravo to AH. This is the way to do a live service - a steady drip feed of activities to prioritise, new toys, new baddies, new unlocks, etc, etc. It has certainly kept me playing more than monthly or seasonal content drops would have.
Re: Big Helldivers 2 PS5, PC Update Adds New Weather Hazards, Increases the Level Cap
Oh, that's not all they've added... Bot missions just got a lot more interesting.
Re: 6v6 Hero Shooter Marvel Rivals Officially Announced, But There's No Mention of PS5
Weirdly positive ratio and YouTube comments on the video hosted over there...
Re: 6v6 Hero Shooter Marvel Rivals Officially Announced, But There's No Mention of PS5
Let's hope the omission of PS5 was because it's not coming. Looks dreadful. No thanks.
Re: PS Plus Essential Games for April 2024 Announced
Nice, I was thinking of picking up Immortals of Aveum at some point. The other two, not bothered by, but will add to my library all the same.
Re: Preview: Stellar Blade Is the PS5 Exclusive Enthusiasts Have Been Praying For
Ok, I was curious before, but now colour me extremely curious. Will happily check out the demo on the weekend.
Re: Talking Point: How Do You Feel About the PS5 Pro?
I'll wait to see what Digital Foundry think of it once it's been released, but my thinking goes like this:
1. I'm a console gamer. Sorry, but sat in front of my TV is how I play games. I spend most of my working day at a desk as it is, and portable systems just don't do it for me. So I need a console.
2. That being said, I like my games to run and look as good as possible. I like gaming at 60FPS and choose performance modes wherever I can.
3. But I do lament that I have to forgo some of the 'shiny' graphical features in graphics modes when I do that.
So, taken all together, if a PS5 Pro can give me back some of those graphical perks while maintaining the 60FPS I like, I'll probably end up getting one. Once you factor in the resale value of the PS5 base model, an upgrade wouldn't be too hard on the wallet for me.
Like I say though, that's an "if", and I'll wait for reviews.
Re: Xbox Planning to Release the 'Majority' of Its Exclusives on PS5
RIP offset thumb sticks. That's one thing I miss from my 360 days. That, Gears of War 1-3, and Halo 1-3, but sounds like I'll be able to get on those trilogies again on my PS at some point.
Re: The Elder Scrolls Celebrates 30th Anniversary, Gives a Small Update on TES 6
I've come to terms with the fact that Bethesda don't make RPG's anymore. They've slowly and iteratively taken the RP out and they just make "Bethesda Games" now. Which is fine, they just aren't for me. Plenty of other games out there scratching that itch.
Re: Frontline Helldivers 2 Players Report First-Ever Sightings of Flying Bugs
@Kidfunkadelic83 Too late. I've seen a clip (on Reddit I think) of a charger and shrieker (I think that's what they're being called) models becoming stuck to one another, and when the shrieker flapped its wings the charger took off. It was terrifying. I think it was a glitch, and not a deliberate tactic by the bugs to drop chargers on our heads.
Re: Updated PS5 Explore Page Adds New Features, Backgrounds
WTF Sony? I'd love to have all this information like DualSense Battery, console storage capacity, etc, available at a glance when I log in. Why isn't this global, it seems so helpful!
Re: Feb 2024 USA Sales: Helldivers 2 Kills It as 2024's Best-Selling Game So Far
Suicide Squad lost out to Skull and Bones despite the earlier release???!!!
Ouch... that really has to hurt.
Re: TopSpin 2K25's Full Roster of Pro Players Is Missing Many Major Names on PS5, PS4
They may not be in a Tennis game, but it's only a matter of time before they're all in Fortnight and CoD.
Re: Latest Helldivers 2 Patch Introduced a Pesky Crashing Issue, Developer Is On the Case
I played an operation campaign last night and had squadmates dropping out from time to time.
Re: Ubisoft's NEO NPC Prototype Offers a Glimpse at a Generative AI Future for Games
@ShadowofSparta Who's to say that the NPC couldn't have some lines that were written with intent? All you'd need to do is tag some part of the dialogue as essential to get across to the player, and then tell the LLM to improvise a sentence or two that get you from responding to whatever the player said (perhaps, say, when the player brings up a topic, such as a quest item or location) to the fully-scripted sentence in a smooth way.
I think this has the potential to be great, personally. You'll still need decently sized writing teams to do this well, as someone will need to be responsible for defining what the NPC knows and thinks about the world, other characters, the central plot of the game, etc, and make sure that this is consistent with your lore. Devs may even need to spend more time on writing than they do now. Currently, if I go speak to a minor NPC like a shopkeeper, I might only have two or three options of lore or quest related dialogue before they only thing left to talk to them about is trading. With something like an LLM built into the dialogue and no set dialogue trees, devs will have to flesh out every NPC's back-story much more to account for the player asking them about potentially anything.
Re: Ubisoft's NEO NPC Prototype Offers a Glimpse at a Generative AI Future for Games
I mean, if done right, this could be a huge shot in the arm for RPGs, and most especially for VR games I'd have thought.
Entering dialogue with an NPC in the next Baldur's Gate and then being able to speak directly to the character as if I actually were Tav, about pretty much anything, and have the NPC respond to what I actually chose to say, would be very, very cool.
Re: UK Sales Charts: Helldivers 2 Refuses to Budge Among Heavy Hitting Competition
It's really quite fascinating to consider why Helldivers 2 is doing so well in comparison to other live-service games. While I'm massively enjoying it and have no intentions of stopping playing any time soon, if I take a step back it can look rather repetitive. Having your grind contribute, even in a tiny way, to the overall meta-narrative, definitely helps.
There's a very interesting GDC talk to be made in comparing different live-service games and trying to discern why some succeed and others hit the skids.
Re: Alone in the Dark (PS5) - An Admirable Effort with One Too Many Flaws
Wow, it really doesn't screenshot well, does it? It's so dark (I geddit) that you really can't see what's going on. I hope for the game's sake that it looks better in motion.
Edit: Remembered PushSquare does video reviews too. Thankfully, it looks a lot better in motion.
Re: Helldivers 2 Paranoia Peaks, Players Convinced The Illuminate Already Walk Among Us
@Golem25 It's not too late to jump into the game at all. You'll probably even find a veteran helldiver willing to show you the ropes - there's a few of us who like to respond to SOS beacons on difficulty 1 missions and help new players get to grips with the game. Before you know it, you'll be squashing bugs and blasting bots with the best of them.
Re: Proudly Represent Democracy with a Helldivers 2 Clothing Range
@Helldiver367 In fairness to Liam, it isn't THE Helldivers 2 clothing range, as there is also one from PlayStation's own merch store: https://gear.playstation.com/Browse/HD
Re: Proudly Represent Democracy with a Helldivers 2 Clothing Range
I want a Liber-Tea mug and an 18-24 month old baby vest that says "My Daddy is a Helldiver!".
Re: UK Sales Charts: WWE 2K24, Unicorn Overlord Crack the Top 10 as Rebirth Slips to Second
@Stevemalkpus Really? This is the country that invented the soap opera... and that's all WWE is; high drama plus muscles, costumes, a bit of flesh on show, and the occasional bit of simulated violence. What's not to like?
I don't watch it personally, but I can understand the appeal well enough.
Re: Please Stand By for Official Fallout Prime Video Trailer
This isn't representative of the Fallout experience at all. I watched the whole trailer and it didn't crash once!
Re: Incoming Helldivers 2 PS5 Patch Adds Planetary Hazards, Rebalances Weapons, More
People who love the Breaker just haven't heard about/unlocked the Slugger yet (which is fair enough as it's all the way on page 8 of the free Warbond). I unlocked it last night and boy-oh-boy is it good provided you keep calm and land your shots.
Re: Warner Bros' Reaction to Suicide Squad Flop Will Make You Question Your Sanity
As long as they’re ready and able to make that bet without endangering people’s jobs, fine.
Somehow I’m sure Perrette will be fine whatever happens though.
Re: Sony's London Studio, Media Molecule Were Reportedly 'Highest on the List' for Closure
@naruball @themightyant Doesn't the comparison to Roblox make my point though? That had the advantages (compared to Dreams) of being on PC and allowing users to monetise their creations.
Re: Rumour: Assassin's Creed Red Is Starting to Sound a Lot Like Valhalla
Playing the latest Hitman trilogy made me realise that what I really want AC to be is Hitman in a historic setting. I'd love the freedom to investigate targets and locations, and figuring out how to get in and out without anyone ever knowing I was there.
If any game devs are reading, do it, and steal AC's lunch.
Re: Sony's London Studio, Media Molecule Were Reportedly 'Highest on the List' for Closure
Frankly, I'm surprised it wasn't Media Molecule that was shuttered, but then I had forgotten that London Studio existed at all...
Dreams was a very odd thing for MM to spend so much time on; one look should have told you that, while apparently powerful and innovative, its appeal was only ever going to be very niche. This was obvious to me and everyone I spoke to about Dreams from the very first reveal.
That being said, I think PlayStation and MM missed some obvious opportunities to give Dreams a decent shot once it launched. For instance, why wasn't it released on PC, where people are much more likely to dabble with creation engines? Second, would it really have been so hard to allow games/experiences made in Dreams to launch on PSN as standalone products, with a revenue share between PlayStation, MM, and the individual creator?
Good luck to MM going forward though. I really enjoyed Tearaway and would love to see them make a triumphant return soon.
Re: Reaction: The Problem with PlayStation Right Now
Embrace Gen AI, particularly for the back-of-house and executive functions and low-level creative work. Huge efficiency savings to be made there.
Re: Rumour: Live-Service Twisted Metal One of the Games Cancelled by Sony
Looks like Sony is slowly realising that games like Fortnight and Roblox cannot be unseated. They're more like platforms in their own right now anyway, offering different experiences depending on what you want to do, even if it is just hang out with friends. If I was a customer who had spent £00s or £000s in one of these games, why on earth would I switch to a different game and mothball that 'investment'?
Re: Unannounced Games from PlayStation Studios Have Been Cancelled
Seems sensible to me.
Sony wants to make something the size of Fortnight - while Helldivers is no doubt impressing the execs with how much it is exceeding expectations, it is not the sort of thing they wanted with their push into live services. If you can tell at an earlier stage that something isn't going to do Fortnight levels of success (and that's what you're chasing) then no sense in sending good money after bad.
We know from the Insomniac hack that Sony was looking to shutter a studio - hopefully London was it and we won't soon be reading about Bend going that way.
Re: New Spider-Man 2 Suits for Huge 7th March Update Revealed, Will Cost $5 at First
According to the video it's only sales in the USA which will go to charity. It might be worth pointing that out in the article for those not on a USA PSN account who would change their purchase decision with all the information available to them, one way or another.
Re: Xbox Games Hi-Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves, Pentiment, Grounded All Confirmed for PS5, PS4
Pentiment and Hi Fi for me. I want to do my part to tell MS that their good single player games will be warmly received by PS players.
Re: PS5, PS4 Is Losing the SEO War Against Its Rivals
I'm surprised that searching for "Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League" returns any hits at all at this point.
Re: Helldivers 2 PS5 Patch Targets Matchmaking, But Servers Are Still Absolutely Slammed
@Northern_munkey I have noticed the PS Studios and Arrowhead logos only load on your first time booting the app after a patch. Every other time I've gone straight to the intro message from Super Earth.
Re: Helldivers 2 PS5 Patch Targets Matchmaking, But Servers Are Still Absolutely Slammed
I'm still getting lucky and getting into the game after 5-10 minutes of waiting whenever I try to play. But my buddy on PC didn't manage to get in despite waiting 40 minutes.
Re: Cleanse Filthy Warhammer 40,000 Vehicles in Blessed PowerWash Simulator DLC
@ATaco I dunno... looking around, Games Workshop seems to be pretty free and easy with its IP when it comes to video games. There's some diamonds, but a lot more rough. The impression I get is that Games Workshop licences are pretty easy to get if you ask and are happy to pay whatever their fees are.
Re: Arrowhead Investigating AFK Auto Kick to Combat Helldivers 2 Players Going MIA
I must be getting lucky. I had the "servers full" message last night twice (had an app-crash shortly after getting into a mission the first time) but on both occasions I had under a 10 minute wait. It's annoying when you've got limited gaming time in the evenings, sure, but the game is worth the short wait IMO.
Deliberately staying logged in to 'save your spot on the server' is ***** though. There should be an AFK kick after 10-15 minutes or so, at least until the server situation is resolved.
Re: UK Sales Charts: Helldivers 2 Holds Firm While Skull and Bones Sails into the Top 10
@Johnnycide It's very good. Bummer that you've been having problems. I had that screen twice on the weekends but I managed to get into the game after waiting on it for under 5 minutes each time.
Re: Helldivers 2 Hype Continues, More Concurrents Than Every PlayStation PC Port Combined
Well deserved. I am very much enjoying myself, and it seems lots of others are too. I hit the "servers at capacity" screen on both Saturday and Sunday nights, but in both cases I made it in within 5 minutes.
Re: Sony May Have Made the Right Call Not Copying Xbox Game Pass with PS Plus
@themightyant True, and a very good point. I did some back-of-the-fag packet maths:
There were 46.4m PS+ Subscribers in Dec '22, and 47.4m in Mar '23. H:FW joined the Extra Games Catalogue in Feb '23. Let's be generous in our assumptions and say that the additional million, only joined PS+ Extra rather than the cheaper Essential, and they all joined to play H:FW. Let's also assume that they all bought a year's worth of extra from scratch, rather than taking advantage of one of the upgrade-your-subscription deals. PS+ revenue would have increased by just under (because of the pennies) $135m. Putting H:ZD on Extra lost them a projected $85, so they netted just under $50m.
Like I say, that's being very generous in our assumptions though, and just small tweaks to the assumptions (like if some of the new 1m subscribers were only on Essential) make millions of $ of difference to the outcome. PlayStation will have better stats and know better whether putting H:FW on Extra was a good idea overall.
The rest of us will find out by observing what they do with their other tentpole exclusives over time.
Re: Poll: What Review Score Would You Give Helldivers 2?
Fantastic game. I went for a 9. I rarely play anything online, and haven't played a game with battlepasses, MTX, loot boxes, etc, since Overwatch 1. But I broke my rules for Helldivers 2 and I'm glad I did. I love the fact that it's PvE and how the gameplay systems encourage co-operation - even playing with random people we're constantly apologising for killing one another, thanking one another for respawning you when you die, calling out what's going on, etc. The MTX are really unobtrusive and it's completely optional to spend actual money - I have acquired enough of the premium currency either in the game or through the free battlepass to buy a few things from the rotating paid store, and am saving up to unlock the premium battle pass. I don't even care that some of the items in the premium battle pass appear to be more powerful; if other people want to spend money to unlock it quicker that's only going to benefit me if we team up together. And all that is before I get on to how crazy and chaotic the game can be in full swing. And the comedy baked into the game's satire is brilliant - I always laugh when a character starts laughing maniacally when they've racked up a decent kill streak while expending an entire mag of their machine gun, or when one of the character's scripted expressions was cut off mid sentence by a resupply pod dropping on their heads.