riceNpea

Are there alternate ending to provide replay value, if there's no NG+ and skills are not all unlockable in a playthrough? Or at least can you reset skills and try something different?

I don't agree. There's plenty of creativity out there, but there's a huge decline in risk by publishers of AAA games. Hence all the remasters and reimagening of much-loved games from previous generations. Which, ironically, were probably high-risk, high production titles at the time.

Publishers can cry crocodile tears about how expensive it is to make games now, but it's not even something gamers care about or look for in a game.

In recent times, some publishers seem to be detached from the reality of who the core audience is and are determined to appeal to the type of gamer who isn't going to buy the game in the kind of numbers they need, and then act surprised when it fails.

Then you've got some publishers like Ubisoft and Activision, who've stuck to a template that was originally popular but has barely evolved over time, tagged on gimmicks and bloat in leui of offering anything new and innovative, and now they're so familiar that you're not perfectly happy to skip them and play something else less generic.

To say there's less creativity is clearly nonsense. If publishers want to make money from AAA gaming again they need to give gamers what they want, and not try to funnel them towards games they would like them to play because it can be easily monetised, or lock gamers into ecosystems.

Then you've got the stagnation in game design itself. The fixation on graphics has been determental in the longterm everytime a new generation of console comes. We haven't had an evolution in world building and agency in decades because the architecture is focussed on pushing pixels.

GTA is incredibly popular because it offers physics models and a world that is more than the sum of its parts. The AI may not be world class but it can feel like you're interacting with something other than an brainless NPC following a script, whilst at the same time the tools you have at your disposal are capable of emergent gameplay that creates unique moments of unexpected actions. Like how Battlefield used to be. Moments that transcends the game itself and reward experimentation delivering results that feel organic. Even now with these new consoles where the CPU has finally been buffed up a bit, it's still not enough, and devs are still not trying to make games smarter not prettier.

@Melee_Ace not if you're speaking English it's not. It's correct in a form of English that has its origins in sticking two fingers up at King George II and the English establishment, and wanting to create an American version of English specifically to underline their independence from England. It's not a natural drift of the language based of time and distance like how Spanish has subtley changed in South America compared to Spain. It was engineered to spell words incorrectly.

@Rich33 thing is this is a Bond game. Even the films have tended to follow the character design of Bond (except Daniel Criag who has minor departures) English, 6 foot tall, slim, dark hair, high cheeks, lean face, smarty dressed.

So like I said, if the character editor restricts design to those characteristics, much as the films by-and-large, it's still a Bond game.

It's quite simple, if you want an editor where you can create a 5' 4" Bond, purple hair, wears jeans and a t-shirt, huge muscled American ...well you're not playing a Bond game anymore.

Bond is a decades old, world famous, recognisable, well established character. If a developer chooses to pay top dollar for the copyright licence and then gives the gamer the option to create an avatar that has zero baring to Bond then what's the point? What's the point of playing a Bond game where the protagonist is Bond only in name?

I find it odd to want to customise an iconic character and make it totally unrecognisable. The licence and the appeal is Bond the man first and foremost. The spy craft, the gadgets, the action is the setting for the character, so if remove Bond you're just playing a secret agent simulation, you're just playing a Hitman sequel. What a waste of the Bond licence.

Now, having said that, I would welcome the avatar physically looking like Bond but you could superimpose your own face on the avatar. It's something that FIFA used to do but for some reason it's not caught on in games. That would be a cool wish-fullfillent choice where I could be Bond and pretend it's me doing all the cool Bond stuff.

@Rich33 are we playing a Bond game or a game about the actors who played Bond? Bond has defining characteristics as per Fleming in his books so if the editor sticks to those boundaries I can agree with you. My issue would be with if you're able to make Bond outside of those parameters, at which point you may as well not be playing a Bond game. And Bond is already young. A younger Bond makes no sense to me.

@Rich33 I think its a terrible idea. Bond is Bond otherwise what's the point? May as well just make a spy game and save money on buying the Bond licence.

@ROTTIEMAN16 ahhh....yes I can see that would be the case! ☺️

@Loamy those dodgy developers! that's systemic discrimination in a nut shell ☺️😆 percieve things as worse and the evidence points at improvements. All you've got to do now is stick with your original thought and don't believe them! 😆👍

@Frmknst I highly doubt they'll ever include love interests for Bond because somebody, somewhere will label it misogyny unless Bond also gets to romance men, aliens and mythical figures. And then websites will boycott it 🤷‍♂️😊

Perception is reality. Players feel like the game performance has improved despite no evidence that the patch addressed it. Goes to show depending on the frame of mind you're in you can convince yourself of anything.

I'm slightly annoyed by the patch choosing to rename the modes and then go on to spell 'prioritise' incorrectly 🤷‍♂️😊

@EchoRange doubt it. Bond's image is copyrighted. I'd be surprised if you'll be allowed to make a 5'2" Bond with purple hair and oversized glasses.

'Young Bond' is utterly pointless. What benefit is that beyond it's Bond with less experience and not even Secret Service (his age is in his late 20s, early 30s when he became 00 according to clues left by Fleming in his novels)? Is that even old?! A 'young Bond' is just Bond. These devs seem to think the actors are Bond. A bit worrying that they don't understand that. How about Bond at the very start of his Secret Service career? A Bond origin story, if you will.

@ROTTIEMAN16 I think the difference between the 2 games is one of scope. Astrobot can direct more resources to making the game 'pop', graphically speaking, and it fits the nature of the title to be bright and colourful. Space Marines, on the other hand, is necessity gritty with a muted colour pallette as per the source material. The devs chose to emphasis the scale of a galactic struggle against hordes of enemies against a backdrop of a ruined planet. It's the level of lore-rich detail in the backdrops alongside the sense of being in a huge conflict that is impressive about SM.

The interiors, I can appreciate, are more muted in scope so are less impactful, but I think if you're comparing it to GoW, which is fairer than to Astrobot, overall SM is still more accomplished in what its trying to do.

But like you said, we don't all have to agree.

@McTwist we all can, and yet the article explains what it contains. By your logic PS should just post the link and that's it.

@ROTTIEMAN16 it's definelty repetetive, but to say it's not a looker is harsh. The game is pushing a lot of enemies on screen and still delivers epic vistas. I can appreciate that can be lost on someone who isn't familiar with the lore. From what I've read, there's a lot of details that fans can marvel at.

@LowDefAl I'd say by default it is 'popular' if retailers are requesting that much stock. What isn't helpful is adding digital sales to the tally. Thats probably because they don't have access to sold-to-customer figures, as you'd expect. But I appreciate the point you're making.

@LowDefAl not meaningless to the publisher. Games shipped are games sold as far as they're concerned. Sold through to customers is a different metric, so it's blurring the lines when the article includes digital sales with shipped.

@liamcroft

You've missed out a preposition in the subheader 👍

... edit: that makes sense now 😊

@LowDefAl I think that's sensible. It doesn't have a lot of content at the moment. I've spent 200 hours on it to level up all the marines, and that meant repeating 6 missions probably about 250 times, at least (I don't play the MP section of it. I much prefer the co-op)

And the servers are a little flakey. Get disconnected and you're thrown out the game and wasted all the time you spent. And it happens often enough to be a problem.

@LowDefAl I play it because it's a good game. I'm not into Warhammer, though I do love sci-fi.

I bought the game because its plays like a pre-internet game, in that it's not bloated with unnecessary systems and yank. It's straightforward, visceral gameplay, with almost tangible heft and weight, and an excellent sense of place. It's so well realised that I can appreciate, without knowing anything about it, that it is true to the lore and presenting it in spectacular fashion.

It's actually made me want to properly understand the history of the game's setting because it's a fascinating idea that humanity has evolved to become a ultra-religous, militaristic galactic empire spread across millions of planets, and the entire society is focussed on perpetual war.

This is a UK publication. Is this available on the UK and how much? Would be nice if you actually said 👍

God spare me from those people whos self-imposed vocation is to be professionally offended on behalf of others because there's no limit to their scrutiny.

@Vaako007 It's just a game. Let's not start that nonsense with games now.

New content? Finally. All my Marines are at 25 and there's nothing to do. And that's a compliment to the game. Love it.

If this content is free, what is the season pass for? I bought it, such is my enjoyemnt of the game, but im not sure.

It's an enthusiast's console for those who want one. Why do we need to keep demonising it as a waste of money? Nobody has to buy it. Most products have a base model and improved models. Why are there gamers who actually want to disparage a platform holder for offering a premium version of their console. Such odd behaviour. Complaining seems to be something people who are clearly not the target audience do, and I can only guess it's because they wish they were.

Simple solution, buy physical at reduced prices if you must play a game at launch. Keep buying digital and you're a turkey voting for Christmas and you've no-one but yourself to blame. Console gamers are not getting the same treatment as PC players who chose convenience over physical ownership because games sales are not a walled garden on PC.

It's not a scam if companies raise prices for early access and people CHOOSE to go along with that.

What is a scam is game design incorporating psychologically manipulative mechanics to induce extra spending, like FIFA for example.
Or annual releases with rudimentary changes compared to the year before that could've been sold as a cheaper update.
Or digital prices being kept artificially high on console marketplaces, especially compared to PC prices for the same game.
Or charging to play online and not separating it from the subscription service.
Or trying to kill the secondhand market. Or buying DLC that quickly because unplayable and inaccessible, like with Destiny 2.
Or forcing online connection for games that don't require it.

As an apology, Argos have offered the choice of an Xbox Series S or a Casio FX-911 scientific calculator and a copy of Balder's Gate 3.

@Ryne-Gaia that's what I thought. PS is muddying the waters with what they say.
Thanks.

@pyrrhic_victory I'm ok with that. Halo is a far better game.

@Flaming_Kaiser 👍people are fine. Our system of Government needs a reset. It's corrupt to the core and captured by commercial interests.

Which is it? The article says the game is 'confirmed in all but name', and then says the page is a placeholder, given that the game is 'already confirmed to be on the way'. So is Res 9 confirmed? 🤞

@Bez87 the cons in your comment, which I tale your word for, do not reflect the cons of the review, therefore what I said stands.

Liked what i read about the boxing mechanics which it will live and die on. Very harsh criticisms of the game, however. I've no problem with 'dry' if it works. I prefer that to an over-the-top FIFA-style presentation. And to list a sequel being better as a con is nonsense, at best presumptuous. If those two points (plus commentary, which gets turned off when I play sports games because of the inevitable repetition) are what dropped the score to 7, and I were a dev of the game, I'd be furious.

Just use AI. Who cares about voice actors anyway, get a real job.

@get2sammyb thanks Sammy. But what does it play like? Is the transfer syste and player growth still ridiculously bad? Player playing in the wrong positions during the season, things that you'd probably only notice playing a season, stuff like that..

@Flaming_Kaiser what a female is is being corrupted too so I'd have to agree with you there

@Flaming_Kaiser people have always been efficient at killing. Difference is we can now do it at a far larger scale. And yet we haven't wiped ourselves out, where as in the past humans commented genocide against other tribes and nations frequently. We are more civilised, which is to our credit. There's no natural reason for us to be civilised, we've done that because we recognise that working together is more beneficial. Let's not overlook the miracle that is our society that spans the entire globe.

Nothing about Career Mode, how it plays, has it finally been improved so it can compete with Master League, is it more than just an afterthought because of UT, this review is incomplete.

And is the game finally better than 2021 Pro Evo to play?

@Member_the_game I get it, but essentially it's the same thing. The price would reflect the DD addition, so effectively selling a Pro at a single price point is a much smarter thing for Sony to do. Also, PS5 bring modular is FAR better than 2 options of PS5 Pro.

@Member_the_game and the one with a drive would cost the same as a Pro and a DD, and the cost of that would, at a physiological level, be percieved as too expensive. Far more so than the Pro. I see why they've done this way. It makes business sense. The flexibility still exists.

@Americansamurai1 nothing costs a lot to produce compared to RRP. A £1500 iPhone costs about a tenth of that to make, according to leaks from Apple. And that'll go for the vast majority of mass produced products. If Sony are killing it it's because they've created a demand, so fair play.

@Tevor humans are capable of incredible love, compassion and understanding. In our own lives people like that far outnumber those who are not. And if that's not the case maybe that person is one of those who is evil. So don't be so hard on humans. Clearly we are more benevolent than we are bad.

@Member_the_game

Fantastic. It's still the best footy game around. What a crying shame they're not making it every year like they did for decades. Nothing comes as close to getting it right.

'Season 3 drew in less than 300 concurrent players..'

@Khayl Come on, you write for a living. Fewer than...

That headline is a shocker. As bad as, 'You won't believe what they look like now!'

DF is just stating the obvious assumptions anyone would make.

If it makes PSN free, go nuts with the ads on the XMB, but if I'm paying to subscribe I don't want ads.