No joke; LEGO DC Super Heroes is the best Superman game ever made. It's the only one that gets his power-set just right, and that's really sad in a way
No offense to Lego, it's just that since it's TECHNICALLY a Lego BATMAN game despite featuring the whole Justice League, its not like the design was tailored to any of the more interesting characters to play as like Supes. Still, getting his powers to feel right and making him really fun to play as in the open world Gotham City remains the best proof-of-concept for a solo Man of Steel game yet. It makes the wait for WB Montreal's Superman way harder... especially when that game remains mostly in a permanent state of a rumor/job listings/industry insider-talk while WB Games has passed the project through multiple studios and restarts by now :/
Meanwhile, here's this Lego game that's like, "See? See how to do open-world Superman? It's not that hard..." lol
I'm hyped for this because of Remedy's involvement. Control was so freakin' good, it really reminds you just how good they are crafting campaigns and making incredibly satisfying shooting. Some of the best guns in gaming belong to Remedy titles all the way since Max Payne, after all, just in terms of feedback and feel.
I don't care about the multiplayer at all, but then again, I'm an old gamer man who hasn't played anything competitive for years I'm sure Smilegate will do a fine job there... I just don't understand this release model. Its a paid add-on for the f2p game? Why? Just make it a standalone thing. I don't wanna have to download the multiplayer to play the single player; when will developers and publishers learn that storage space and download times are not something people wanna be wasteful with? I was SO THRILLED when Halo Infinite split up those two components, and I sincerely hope we see more and more games follow suit as we get further into this new generation...
I hope by the time it launches, Crossfire X's campaign ends up going standalone, that's all.
Fascinating stuff. Pretty much every story from the wild west days of game development in the '90s is loaded with something interesting, back when they had to make their own tools for literally everything and the concept of engines and dev kits wasn't solidified. Just some mad lads doing their best. The most exciting and most innovative time for gaming, man...
@VisitingComet1 He's bland as heck. He's just Chris Pratt in every role - so much so that people don't even remember the names of his characters in movies like Jurassic World, LEGO Movie or Tomorrow World. He doesn't even cut or dye his hair for different roles to even ATTEMPT to make them a little more unique. He's the guy studios cast less when they have a strong idea of what a character should be like, and more... well, casting a generically likeable guy so as not to offend most people. Him and Ryan Reynolds (with the exception of Deadpool) are the lamest kind of leading men in modern movies... which is why Reynolds ends up voicing a lot of cartoon characters in movies too, like Pikachu and Turbo. Ugh.
He needs a lot more personality, and he should take roles that push him to show off more acting talent. Instead he just lazily takes whatever lets him "Chris Pratt" his way through the role; just be generically likeable and tell some bland, inoffensive jokes and cash a paycheck. Bland is bad, and Chris Pratt is the king of bland.
Hmmm.... Larry Hryb's the only one that's even close to knowing you should try to do a good "sitting grumpy face" for a portrait like this. You can't smile in these things, Misters Greenberg and Spencer!
In the mood for more "creepy kooky" horror than straight up survival horror, so I'm playing through the (bloody fantastic, so far) Lost in Random. Its not *really a horror game, but since it is sporting a dark color palette, a dead-on Tim Burton/Henry Selick/Laika-esque aesthetic and an incredible sound design, it really gives off a proper "spooky bedtime story" feeling. I'm loving it.
Besides that, I'm playing Psychonauts 2 some more too, and Rare's Grabbed by the Ghoulies via Rare Replay. I'm torn on that one big-time; sometimes its very fun, and sometimes its just very frustrating. Really wish they focused on some platforming mechanics and traversal elements sometimes, because the haunted house vibe is strong in that one and you just want to walk away from the sometimes-unfair fights to explore these locales. Even those linear QTE "creeping down hallways" sequences are kind of welcome breaks in the action - they feel like a theme park ride.
I'm always curious about deals like this. Like, Koei-Tecmo's been doing it forever; "if anyone wants to rent out Omega Force or Team Ninja, just show us the money" has been their policy for what seems like forever. Nintendo in particular abuses it a lot when they call on them to make titles like Hyrule Warriors or Metroid Other M. And it just never made sense to me. If that's an option, why even be owned by a publisher anyway instead of just being an independent studio? It's so odd.
But it seems to work out super well for the developers. Don't have to worry about your own games selling well if your publisher can just shop you out to some other publishers for their games. It's really odd! You don't see it in other industries, y'know... Warner Bros doesn't decide to make a Looney Tunes movie by waltzing over to Disney or Universal and asking to borrow Pixar or Dreamworks for a bit, right? lol.
At any rate, after the Tomb Raider series and what I've seen of Guardians of the Galaxy versus the reality of Avengers, I'm personally a bigger fan of Eidos Montreal than Crystal Dynamics these days, but they're certainly a very talented studio anyway and this should be really good for Perfect Dark (even if Crystal Dynamics doesn't really have FPS chops. The only one they've ever made was the "eh, it's okay" Snowblind). Of course we know nothing about Perfect Dark really, so only time can tell if it'll really pay off. I'm sure there's plenty of staffers at Crystal D who are thrilled to be working on PD now so they can put Avengers behind them though
I already played the crap out of Dragon Ball FighterZ on PS4 when it came out, but there were only, like, 5 Gokus in there when I stopped playing. I'll Game Pass it now mostly to see how many there are now - probably like 15, lol. I really wish ArcSys would get more of their games out consistently on the XBox though; would it KILL them to make sure Guilty Gear or Dungeon Fighter Duel could get an Xbox port? Jeez...
Still, since I've played DBF before, what I'm genuinely more excited to play is Everspace 2. Always find a good, arcadey space combat game to be worth a play. I can't wait to give that a shot!
Aw man; I haven't had a 360 in forever. I really wish The Outfit was BC on the XB1 and XS consoles. That game looks like butt (even at the time, it was very unimpressive. Clearly something that began on the original Xbox, got shifted to the 360 to make launch, and only had a bit of plastic-y normal maps lumped onto the assets) but was really fun, especially with its more "GI Joe"/action movie tone when it came to WW2. And this was way before Starhawk did the whole "Build and Battle" stuff on PS3 (that game rules too though). That mechanic of killing enemies to wrack up currency to then purchase and airdrop structures and units is such a good one, it really blows that so few games do it. I'd LOVE to replay that game. That's a title people should rediscover if they still have their 360s around...
@Az1ner: I know you're meaning Ninja Gaiden and auto-correct or something is responsible for this, but "Ninja Garden" is a title that puts a smile on my face, lol.
Expecting some backwards compatibility news to celebrate the ol' 20th Anniversary. Maybe some other stuff - like merch - related to the Xbox 20 stuff. That's about it. You don't announce new AAA games out of the blue at the end of October; you save those announcements for something bigger like an event.
I love fighting games. Hate the way KI plays though; stupid auto-doubles are just the worst idea for a genre that prides itself on the connection between what the player is inputting, and what moves come out of the characters. Fundamentally, if you hit say 5 buttons and 8 moves come out because of the auto-doubles, you're just making a button masher. Its annoying. It doesn't feel right.
That being said, KI always LOOKS and SOUNDS awesome. I don't want to hate it, but I just can't stand how it plays. If they get rid of auto-doubles, I'm onboard in an instant, but axing something that fundamental to it would certainly rile up the fanbase so I don't see it happening. For all who enjoy it though, I'm happy they're finally moving forward with a KI4 - its not for me, but this should be a healthy series for Microsoft and they should support it correctly with regular sequels.
I'm genuinely curious to find out who's handling the new game if this rumor pans out. I'd love to see Arika (Fighting EX Layer) get called up here; FEXL never hit the Xbox but it was awesome and looks pretty damn great - very comparable to Double Helix/Iron Galaxy's work on KI3 imho. However, since Microsoft has garbage relations with Japanese studios, I could see N-way (Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid) or Sirlin Games (Fantasy Strike) maybe getting the job since they're American. Or, OR, how cool would it be if Itagaki Games' first title was Killer Instinct 4? The dude gave the world Dead or Alive, and he's an unabashed Xbox fan - if anyone could handle Killer Instinct, I kinda want to see HIM do it.
I doubt I'll play it, but I really want Killer Instinct 4 to happen because there's certainly people who will enjoy it, and it seems potentially very exciting depending on who Microsoft has working on it and how development shakes out.
I could see myself nabbing a Splinter Cell. Aragami 2 has made me want to dive into more stealth games, and my PS2 is broken so I can't just fire up Spy Fiction and try to finish that.
"Enter the Ring of Pain, a roguelike card crawler..." How dare a game called Ring of Pain isn't a wrestling title of some sort. After Saturday Night Slam Masters and Ring of Destruction: Slam Masters 2, "Ring of Pain" sounds like something Capcom should definitely have put out already
That is a real nice design, dang. Its clean, but also clear in its Anniversary celebration theme... I mean, making the circle of the "0" the circle around the dpad is so damn slick.
"The 20 year anniversary of the original Xbox will take place next month on 15th November"
G*ddamn I feel old. Y'know what would be awesome then? If Microsoft's backwards compatibility team dropped a few games on that date that the service is sorely missing. Maybe some of their games from the original Xbox that people have been asking them to get around to? The ones without problematic things like licensed soundtracks, at least? Games like MechAssault 1 or 2, Brute Force, Otogi 1 or 2, Mad Dash Racing, Blinx 2, Magatama or Sudeki? That would be real nice way to celebrate the anniversary, Microsoft *wink, wink
I'm very intrigued by Lemnis Gate (hoping that, like Splitgate, it executes its gimmick well and finds an audience. Hopefully it's deserving of a surprise success story too) and Doctor Who. What kind of adventure game could they be doing, and how have they reworked and expanded the VR game. I'm a big fan of Milestone's Sega Rally-esque Gravel, so I'm keeping an eye on Hot Wheels Unleashed and it looks really promising (though I wish it had a stunt system of some kind, like old arcade racers on the PS2/Xbox). Dandy Ace had a fun demo during one of those Xbox Summer Indie event things - I still have it on my XBone - so I'm interested in the final game for sure. Melty Blood should be neat, though I personally wish French Bread made a new Under Night instead, and Xuan Yuan Sword 7 looks kind of awesome (definitely seems to be settling into that same kind of zone as Sekiro and that upcoming Black Myth Wukong game), but the last XYS game (Gate of Firmament) was pretty janky. Its clear Softstar needed more experience with consoles, so I'll wait for reviews. I'm also waiting on reviews for exZeus, but since it looks like a Dreamcast game or something like Planet Harriers, I'm kind of interested in that too. Heck, even Space Revenge - a game I hadn't heard of until seeing it here and clicking that link - seems like it could be a good topdown run 'n' gun shoot 'em up for a cheap price; gives me Alien Syndrome PS2 Sega Ages remake vibes.
I would like to put off some of these for later while I struggle to get through games I nabbed already as fast as I can; still going through Psychonauts 2 and Tales of Arise on my XB1, just picked up Kena: Bridge of Spirits on my PS4, and downloaded a bunch of stuff on Game Pass like Aragami 2 and Dodgeball Academia. Hopefully October will be less busy than September was...
MvC2 is a great fighting game and all, but damn... there's SO many fighters from this era that deserve a chance at attracting a bigger audience. We really shouldn't just focus on bringing back the same game again and again; I really wish studios like Digital Eclipse would look beyond Capcom's library... or at least at games they haven't touched yet. Bring back Red Earth/Warzard or something from their catalog, but really, look beyond Capcom's stuff. Give games like Power Instinct: Matrimelee, Rage of the Dragons, Rabbit, Metamoqester or Asura Buster a remaster - they don't even have license nightmares to deal with! Just talk to the companies that own their own IP
Wow! Never thought Outcast would actually get its sequel! I mean, I guess there's no confirmation that this is going to resurrect the ideas behind the original, cancelled PS2 version of Outcast 2,* but still, it's kind of awesome to see Outcast get a proper sequel finally! That original game was so mind-blowing back in the day, from the use of voxel environments to the fully voiced characters to the basic stealth systems and the dynamic enemies and fauna that interacted with each other in different ways and weren't just props waiting for the player character to do something near them... it really felt like someone played an open world game from 15 years in the future and tried like hell to make it work with tech from '98. It was just so ambitious for the time... non-standard controls and dated design are always hard to go back to though. The more recent remaster was really disappointing because the ONE thing it needed to do to make it more palettable to modern audiences was completely redo the controls and it didn't; it just left every action awkward to do.
This series really deserved an actual shot at some mainstream success, so its really neat that THQ Nordic is giving it one here. Hopefully Outcast 2 just plays like a normal, competent third person shooter/platformer now - like a Tomb Raider or Uncharted (with good shooting), because that's what it needs. Outcast remains the best Stargate (and come to think of it, James Cameron's Avatar) game to date. Not enough sci-fi games take swings as big as Outcast did...
I would love to see Timesplitters already (seems too soon for me, but I could also see them just ripping out the TS2 HD version from Homefront and releasing that as a standalone for $20 or something), as well as something with Alone in the Dark since they acquired that IP. That series could use a new, good entry. Between footage of Darkworks' cancelled AITD remake, and indie games like Song of Horror that FEEL like an Alone in the Dark game, I think there's totally something they could do with that IP... regardless of the damage Atari inflicted on the series.
I wouldn't mind seeing them return to one of their old racing IP. Maybe JUICED. I mean, back then, it was clearly a NFS Underground copycat, but now? It's not like there are other games doing that, so I think a lot of people would appreciate a good Underground-style racer. Contract one of those underrated European AA racing studios like Milestone, Kylotonn, Bugbear or Slightly Mad and they'd probably end up making something cool. A Splashdown revival could also be really cool, or even an HD remaster of Rides Gone Wild. That game rules; I have played it recently, that is not just nostalgia talking. They should do something with that IP.
For some reason, I also keep feeling like THQN will swoop in to publish that AEW game. I know its self-funded by the company, so AEW can do whatever they want.... but THQ Nordic LOVES bringing back old successful franchises, and while they can't get the WWE license right now, nothing's stopping them from calling a game, "No Mercy." It feels like they'd totally put out an "AEW: No Mercy" and consider that the return of a legendary franchise on a technicality But this is just me thinking out loud.
That sounds fine, but I'd like to see some new stuff... I'm greedy like that. Even if just a promotional video where we see employees at their various studios chugging away on a variety of stuff, and some internet sleuths will have to zoom in on some people's monitors and suss out some unannounced games The lack of a proper modern Superman game still stings, especially after all those rumors and leaked images from previous attempts by everyone from Factor 5 to Rocksteady :/
There really are way too many cancelled DC games. Heck, I'd be happy to see stuff like EA's Superman Returns or Snowblind's Justice League Heroes show up via Xbox Backwards Compatibility. Or something really neat: if one of WB Games' teams finished up the nearly completed Justice League Arcade by Double Helix (back before they got bought by Amazon) and released that for, like, $15 already. Judging by videos online, it just looks like dumb fun... and sadly would be the most substantial Wonder Woman game ever made.
I would love to hear something from NetherRealm too, since recent rumors have pointed to them putting Injustice 3 on the backburner to focus on MK12. Which... just doesn't make sense to me. Like, I get AT&T cutting WarnerMedia. loose and saddling them with Discovery Networks while they exit the TV/Movie space (a space they never should've entered, but that's neither here nor there) is going to initiate the dreaded "corporate restructuring," but how does that affect game development? Warner Bros, as a company, is THE ONE calling the shots still, and they know their video game arm is valuable. Shouldn't it just be business as usual like they have been doing? What the hell about now having Discovery under their umbrella and NOT having to answer to a telecommunications conglomerate would make them suddenly want to cut loose their game division? I just don't get it, so yeah, any statement/updates by NetherRealm would be welcome. It's just a confusing set of rumors that popped up recently, even more confusing than the LAST set of NetherRealm rumors that pointed to them for some reason making a Marvel fighting game despite being part of the same company that owns DC. NetherRealm rumors are always dumb; when it comes to that studio, I just wanna hear the official word from Ed Boon.
Quake, Psychonauts, Scarlet Nexus (or BioMutant; either action-RPG is still on my backlog so I just gotta make progress in either) and Splitgate from this list. But also Fort Triumph, which I'm shocked to see no outlet really covering right now. I know it was pretty well-received when it hit Steam awhile ago; figured SOME strategy fans would be paying attention to the console releases besides me, but oh well. For what it's worth, if anyone else IS looking for a fun strategy title, it's a good 'un!
I can understand people not liking the looks of the new Saints. Saints Row 3 and 4 - my favorites - already had some ridiculous members with guys like that emo dude and gangs of kids with neon-trim on their club jackets and whatnot, but (and I realize this is entirely subjective) I can totally see "the line" being crossed when you start having Steve Urkel-looking hipster dudes and guys who are cooks because they watch Food Network in your gang or whatever they're pitching as "relatable" here.
That being said, it's simply not enough to go on yet to get a really good idea as to the tone of this one plays out over a whole game length yet. Though it says a lot that the rival gangs like the Idols seem to be more "Saints Row" than the new Saints...
Overall though, it looks quite a bit blander thanks to the more realistic characters/aesthetic a bit. Mostly though, the new setting looks bad. Going from the big, East Coast-style city to a sun-bleached, empty, Southwest Desert City is freakin' lame. It's the same way I feel about Cyberpunk; that original trailer (with that ♪Bullets song by Archive) made promises of a Blade Runner/Ghost in the Shell nature that the actual game did not fulfill. Instead it was about running around future SoCal getting involved in the affairs of gangs of cyber latinos. The discussion around that game was rightfully dominated by bug reports and the sorry state it was in, but even BEYOND that, it's a disappointment exclusively because of the setting.
This too looks like a location that's poor for the source material. Its just not a Saints Row kinda location, which is a shame when there's SO MANY cool cities and locations out there to take advantage of - this definitely seems like a direction that's much worse than previous settings. Just can the "travel agent speak" about sunsets and buttes, Volition. I will never understand the appeal of people wanting to go to places like this in real-life or setting movies/games there in fiction; it's too hot to the point where states like California burst into flames annually, it's too boring, yet it's too densely populated, and there's zero interesting culture. Ugh, there's nothing good about this kind of location. Why would we want to go there in video games? Unless it's a post-apocalyptic wasteland you're after (so you're good, Fallout New Vegas). Saints Row is about taking over a city, but like... who wants this city? It looks like a dump in the middle of a desert!
Agents of MAYHEM was a really, REALLY flawed game, but at least the setting of a futuristic Seoul was a really cool, fresh idea. Open world games need more of that. Sleeping Dogs taking us to Hong Kong, Watch Dogs 3 taking us to London, Yakuza 6 taking us to Onomichi - we need more of that kind of variety. Where are the open world games set in Sydney? Amsterdam? Rio de Janeiro? Moscow? Can we just cut it out with the boring California-inspired deserts for a good, long time?
The gameplay here looks fine though, I admit. It's nice to see that instead of stupid, pre-rendered trailers that show nothing. It's just the stuff wrapped around it that's harder to swallow with these tiny glimpses - it's gonna remain a question mark until it releases and people can get some serious impressions as to how it plays out. Regardless of if people are onboard or not by then, let's just hope it all ships in a much better state than the undercooked and disappointing Agents of MAYHEM.
I would be shocked to see Game Pass come to this. It would kinda... be a hit against its legitimacy, I dunno. Right? Like, this whole AtariVCS platform is a scam. It's fine if Stadia and Luna show up on it; they're going to get shut down quickly too. That's a match made in heaven. But Game Pass? C'mon - Game Pass is LEGIT. Stay away from stuff like this, Microsoft. Might as well make an app for the Ouya
I think the voice-acting is interesting. Mixing clips from the movies and authentic work from the film actors with, like, the cartoon and video game soundalikes is certainly a choice. I'm a big fan of some of them - TC Carson (old Kratos, Kyle on Living Single) as Mace Windu in various games, and James Arnold Taylor (Tidus) as Obi-Wan Kenobi in stuff like The Clone Wars are highlights of the "alternate" voice cast. I've never been a huge fan of Tom Kane as Yoda, though he's admittedly fine - it's definitely him here though.
I'm mostly interested in Luke though. Now, Bob Bergen (the voice of Porky Pig) has been KILLING it as young Luke Skywalker since Rogue Squadron on the N64, but I'm not even sure he's Luke here. And if he is, he's definitely not old, Last Jedi-era Luke. Who is this cast!? It's fine, it's objectively pretty good, it's just distracting all the same
At any rate, I'm glad they've overhauled the entire damn LEGO engine finally. The old, tedious "diorama-style" action was really unpolished with dumb "puzzles," mushy, ill-defined collision and floaty platforming (which always struck me as strange since Traveler's Tales had plenty of solid 3D Platformers under their belt beforehand, like Haven: Call of the King and Crash Twinsanity). Seeing that it's been entirely scrapped in favor of a fully third person, over-the-shoulder engine with actual melee combat and shooting mechanics, arcadey flight combat, ridable creatures, etc. it just all looks like a huge, HUGE upgrade to the experience that is well overdue. Its easy to understand the delays now. Just hoping it all comes together into a nicely polished package in the end. Fingers crossed!
It's good that their new engine is supposedly in good shape, as shipping buggy af games is just... freakin' cut that out, publishers. But damn; the core problems with 2K's vision for wrestling games run deeper than that - they're problematic on a design level. They're not even interested in doing right by stuff like old Smackdown, WWF or Def Jam games - they're convinced they have a hit with their weird take on "simulating" all of it like they do other sports. It's hard to put into words but it's pretty lame even when it's working. Ain't nobody gonna call out a WWE 2K game as one of the best wrestling titles of all time. Wrestling fans wanna pick their characters and beat the crap out of other people; make that action the focus and make it feel as good as possible
Really hoping 2022 sees a lot of progress from Yuke's with AEW. Yuke's knows how to put out a wrestling game; have been doing it for decades. Even if WWE 2K is the prettier series, won't matter if AEW nails the gameplay, y'know? I'm only worried for Yuke's since Tony Khan's promotion keeps growing and growing, lol. Those poor devs must be like, "F**k; we gotta add CM Punk in now too!?" all the time! Has to be a really hard thing for a studio that's working on getting a first wrestling game out when that roster just won't sit still
Okay, I wasn't paying attention to this because I thought it would be a stuffier, straight-laced take on boxing, so thanks for calling out R2R in the header.
While it's not as fast and chaotic as those games (or Facebreaker for that matter), I can definitely see the vibe. The stylized character models aren't totally caricatures but definitely are larger-than-life, the color palette is bright and vibrant, and the animations have a lot of flash and personality... you're right, there's definitely some arcade DNA here
My main concern is that it's tough to get a feel for the tempo of the action by the footage here. It's certainly got the look of an arcadey good time, but it's slowed down quite a bit from titles like Ready 2 Rumble or Facebreaker for that matter (and hey maybe the playability tradeoff is worth it. Those games were really chaotic), but I just don't want it to be too sluggish anyway. Some bits of the trailer show slow animations that lack impact, y'know?
It's hanging out in this weird area where it's slower than an arcadey game, but a bit faster than sims... I hope the speed of everything it settled on is going to feel just right, that's all. Either way, at least now I'm actually keeping an eye on it whereas I was completely oblivious to it before!
@Ocat Thank you; I was coming here to see if anyone felt that it feels... well pretty bad. From the aim acceleration which does that stupid GI Joe: Operation Blackout trick of somehow starting off too slow before getting WAY too fast, to the momentum on your dude when moving to the strict jumping trajectory when you take off, the whole thing feels.... not quite like Quake. Which seems crazy. But it isn't even easy to bunny hop or strafe jump in this, and hitting enemies is not good.
All the content here rules, but it needs to play smoother.
I really hope they patch this baby up sooner rather than later to make sure it plays as fast & fluidly as, well, every other version of the game ever released on PC or consoles. I sincerely recall even the N64 version having smoother aim (so long as you use Turok-style controls and put free-aim on the analog stick).
I beat GEARS 5 Hivebusters earlier this week, and since it's rainy, hot, humid and stormy a lot where I am atm, I just wanna play something with a summer vacation vibe. So I'm playing a bunch of One Piece World Seeker and Phantasy Star Online New Genesis to get SOME KIND of vacation feel going on. Also Scarlet Nexus, but I'm in a haunted hospital in that game right now, so... not exactly sporting Summertime vibes, lol. Cool game though!
Also, I just gotta say I'm really surprised to see the co-developer for Scarlet Nexus is TOSE instead of Shift (Code Vein and the first two God Eaters) or Marvelous (God Eater 3) - TOSE's not a major developer. Their thing is NOT taking credit for developing games. Back in the '80s and '90s, they were responsible for some real crap too, boy. Then slowly knocking out solid licensed games in the early 2000s; mostly for handhelds. I legit thought they just quietly went out of business or fully went into outsourcing. I would never have expected them to be behind one of these modern, super gorgeous anime-shaded games Bandai Namco's pumping out along with Code Vein and Blue Protocol - they really stepped up their game! Glad to see they're still around!
I remember some good tech demos back in the day - the best ones almost always felt like short films in addition to just showing off the maximum amount of visual power things could pump out (in very, VERY idealized situations). Used to love watching stuff from Nvidia, or the Ruby ATI demos, and I even remember some of the original Xbox stuff like Raven/It takes two to tango, but I gotta admit I never really cared for Epic's demos. I even didn't care much for their UE5 one; we've seen gorgeous canyons and rocky environments before, in everything from modern Tomb Raider games to Horizon to upcoming games like Forspoken, so it wasn't that interesting to actually LOOK at.
I did really like that "Infiltrator" demo for UE4 though. THAT one was pretty cool.
Hopefully, Coalition has a good tech demo up their sleeve. I mean, why else would they even bother teasing out screenshots? Just wait until GDC starts if it's just going to be a normal, boring tech demo. If you're hyping it up at all, it better be entertaining too.
Is EA working on anything else besides JEDI Fallen Order 2 atm? We know WB Games has LEGO Star Wars, Aspyr is remaking Knights of the Old Republic, and Ubi Soft has a project or two coming, but EA hasn't announced anything else from them, right? Certainly they could be working on more: another flight combat game to follow-up Squadrons, maybe? Maybe having Criterion work on a new Star Wars (pod, or swoop, or speeder bike) racing game? But right now, they have nothing else announced, yeah?
I'll probably nab COJ Gunslinger. Heard nothing but good things and I'm in the mood for a "background FPS" to play in-between other games, as long as it's got satisfying guns, and I've heard it's pretty damn fantastic so I can take a chance on it.
"Xbox Game Pass has been somewhat starved of great party games throughout its lifespan thus far."
I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it until it happens: a new f2p Fuzion Frenzy, run in seasons like a Fall Guys-type thing, is a game that Microsoft should make happen. Also a new Doritos Crash Course and 1 vs. 100 while we're at it. Microsoft is great at trying innovative/weird & fun party games, but TERRIBLE at building on them and turning them into successful series.
DICE LA used to be Danger Close, and before that, EA LA. They already were their own studio, then they screwed up with Medal of Honor and were sent to the "Battlefield Support Dungeon" for a few years.
I guess this is good, but realistically how can you expect anything of note to come from this except one ATTEMPTED new IP that doesn't hit big enough for EA higher-ups to keep the studio independent? They'll be supporting Battlefield 'til the end of their days - studios operating under the EA umbrella simply don't get much room to truly be independent anymore. Not like during the sixth gen of consoles. Everything has to be a HUGE FINANCIAL HIT for them to be happy; no modest successes are good enough. If you're not focused on (insert huge IP that makes stockholders happy), you're just treading water until you ARE focused on (aforementioned huge IP that makes stockholders happy).
It's really weird to see a studio bounce back-and-forth between support and independent though, and change the name. But then again, EA LA was bland and Danger Close probably had baggage associated with it.
I've heard nothing but good things about that Terminator game from Teyon. It certainly benefitted from having low expectations, but seriously, when you watch people like Civvie 11 or gmanlives dive into it... it's clear Teyon deserves some props. I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with Robocop, actually.
Test Drive Unlimited looks real nice, and SteelRising too, so I'm happy. I'm also surprised to see Nacon team up with Ace Team for a clear successor to Zenoclash. I liked those games; I'm looking forward to Clash (huh... why'd they drop the 'Zeno' from the title? Guess Atlus/Sega has that trademark?)
This was nice little showing for the B-Tier group, honestly. Good job. It's interesting watching BigBen grow into a solid little publisher under their Nacon name.
I just wanna see TDU Solar Crown and Steel Rising have a good showing. Nacom's got some good stuff, but I don't really expect 3 Brand New reveals to be mind-blowing. Still, prove me wrong, Nacom!
Family Friendly is more than old Rare IP. They need to learn to back ALL of their stuff - there's no reason Powerstar Golf couldn't have become the Everybody's Golf of the Xbox, y'know? There's no reason that they couldn't have a great cart racing game either - JoyRide doesn't count because it has no personality. But there's no reason MS couldn't hire, say, Sumo Digital and task them to make an cart racer starring Xbox characters (kinda like Rare's abandoned idea for, 'The Fast and Furriest' but with characters and stages from more than just Rare's games). They could've greenlit that fantastic-looking Halo Mega Bloks game (Project HAGGAR) too. They just need to realize that a) you need good partner studios to make these things, and b) you have to market them as heavily as your "hardcore" offerings. Give them a chance to succeed. Don't be like Sony where they'll produce games like ModNation Racers, DREAMS, Puppeteer... and then completely fail to market them (and then blame the studios for failing and shut them down, idiots. I have no idea how Media Molecule is still around when DREAMS is flailing, but I wouldn't count on them surviving this generation based on how Jim Ryan is looking at things).
Rebooting older IP is important, but Microsoft can bring tons of new & exciting stuff to the fore as well. They can't just lean on Minecraft and Banjo forever. I'm happy they're still looking at stuff, because I wanna see what new things they cook up. Especially Double Fine; Costume Quest showed that they can create one of the best kid-friendly games of all time. Who knows what that team can cook up from scratch now?
Find more teams like that, with creative ideas, and support 'em right, and you'll be filling these gaps in no time, Microsoft. You already fell into family success big-time on accident with the Kinect despite some dismal support on that thing; if you actually TRY this time, you could kill it.
I am a million percent uninterested in this. This is like people begging for a new Splinter Cell; you just gotta ask, "Why?" You know the current Ubi Regime has NO CLUE how to do these older brands right (just look at Rainbow Six now. A game about tactical planning and single player execution has become a multiplayer-only Counter Strike competitor and... something with aliens).
The first Beyond Good & Evil is an incredible Zelda-style adventure with a cool, unique, beautiful sci-fi world and even if BGE2 happens, it ain't gonna be any of that. It looks weird, in a completely different way. Heck, they don't even seem to know what they're focused on; the most recent trailers just seem to be feeling out some kind of multiplayer gang focus, open world, jetpack-based traversal, etc. Bullet points for the back of the box more than a cohesive design, let alone continuing on any of the first games' story
I was pumped for a BGE sequel when the original, ORIGINAL target trailer leaked back like a decade ago. The one short cliop showing Jade parkouring through a living city, being chased by helicopters, crashing into things and forcing her way seamlessly through exteriors and interiors where everyone was reacting to her? That's probably like six rebooted developments ago at this point, but at least it was clear that THAT was a proper evolution of what the first game brought to the table. Ever since this current version emerged, this thing might as well be a new IP. I don't wanna play a game where you create an animal-human hybrid and partner up with randos online to jetpack up to towers and highjack flying vehicles, or whatever current Ubi Soft is planning for this atm. Who knows? That design may turn out to be a huge hit, but that's not what BGE was or should be.
Boon's also brought up the possibility of a Shaolin Monks remake (about time!), so personally I hope it's that... though I would imagine another studio would handle that. NetherRealm (Midway Chicago) didn't work on the original one anyway - it was Paradox, when they were Midway San Diego but before THQ San Diego. So I imagine NetherRealm are in fact probably just working on Injustice 3, and if Shaolin Monks is happening, another studio is doing it in association with NR.
But man I really hope SOMEONE is remaking Shaolin Monks right about now...
@AlienigenX THIS IS A GOOD QUESTION! I immediately was dumbfounded by this, not just because there are screenshots in widescreen, but because even their N64 games had widescreen options in some cases (I was literally playing Jet Force Gemini on Rare Replay while Conker was downloading and that game has it). It seems really weird that Conker L&R wouldn't, and that the options menu of just two things is so pathetic. There has to be a way to widescreen this puppy.
A teaser trailer would be boss. I'll show up to buy it on Day 1 whenever it comes out; Fallen Order was bloody fantastic.
Also, this is one of those brands that EA could easily break the internet with. It was so well-received, all they need is to tie in a teeny bit of fan service and BAM! Tons of good will and hype in an instant. For example: what if they drop a teaser that ends with Cal and Merrin meeting up with Kyle Katarn, or seeing the Outrider fly by? Boom; fan service achieved, internet broken. I could see EA wanting to tease this out for a long time and just ride the positive vibes.... I'm sure it would be nice for them to not have to worry about constant hate from gamers all the time
Dragon Quest Builders 2 on Game Pass, Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis, Bug Fables and some Dungeon of (sigh... I always have to look this up...) Naheulbeuk: Amulet of Chaos. It's got good art; nice-looking characters and environments. I know it was well-received on PC, so I nabbed it this week for the Xbone and it does seem pretty cool.
Cool. Thanks for passing this along. I was unaware of this, and yet I think I might be subscribed to Sonic's Youtube channel... or Sega's? Who can tell with Youtube sometimes though, huh? They're always unsubbing you randomly from things for arbitrary reasons and choosing not to show videos in your sub feed even if you hit that bell icon If it wasn't for this post, I probably would've missed this whole thing! Thanks, PureXBox
"He later said that the integration of Pirates of the Caribbean 'made too much sense' not to happen, but that doesn't mean a growing trend of integrating Disney IPs into games will now be overly commonplace."
Well, I for one will be VERY disappointed if that supposed Playtonic & Rare Banjo-Kazooie 4 emerges next year with NO Country Bears crossover content alongside it
I was pumped to see Prodeus there for a second, because I was unaware that console porting had even begun (guess I should check the Kickstarter updates...). Then I saw "PC." Oh well; I need to read better
Bug Fables is excellent, but I own that already so... nothing here for me, I think.
"Sonic Adventure laid the foundation for 20 years of Sonic titles after its release"
I mean, objectively, that is untrue. It laid the foundation for... 8 years? From Sonic Adventure's Japanese launch in 1998 to the infamous Sonic 2006. After that though, they were all building on Sonic Unleashed/World Adventure's speed stage gameplay, really. Colors, Generations, Forces... they're all just refinements & variations of the (non-Werehog beat 'em up) game design established in Unleashed. Except for Lost World, which is an interesting design that they should've taken a second stab at. And I suppose other one off oddities like Sonic Boom, Secret Rings or LEGO Dimension's Sonic stuff of course.
At any rate, I'm just arguing semantics. Overall, I'm happy they're seeing the need to re-think the core design again. Time to shake things up and hopefully set Sonic up for a fresh slate of quality games. The racing game-style stages mixed with the 2.5D stuff from the last generation of Sonic were great but kinda wore out their welcome after Generations; Sonic needs a more open design now to really put his speed and traversal abilities to good use.
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Re: Ubisoft Defends Skull And Bones Pricing, Insists It's A 'Complete' Package
Ubi Soft needs to start feeling comfortable with gamers not giving them money for games they won't own
Re: Two More Of November 2021's Xbox Games With Gold Are Now Available
No joke; LEGO DC Super Heroes is the best Superman game ever made. It's the only one that gets his power-set just right, and that's really sad in a way
No offense to Lego, it's just that since it's TECHNICALLY a Lego BATMAN game despite featuring the whole Justice League, its not like the design was tailored to any of the more interesting characters to play as like Supes. Still, getting his powers to feel right and making him really fun to play as in the open world Gotham City remains the best proof-of-concept for a solo Man of Steel game yet. It makes the wait for WB Montreal's Superman way harder... especially when that game remains mostly in a permanent state of a rumor/job listings/industry insider-talk while WB Games has passed the project through multiple studios and restarts by now :/
Meanwhile, here's this Lego game that's like, "See? See how to do open-world Superman? It's not that hard..." lol
Re: Xbox Exclusive CrossfireX Is 'Getting Closer' To Launch, Confirms Remedy
I'm hyped for this because of Remedy's involvement. Control was so freakin' good, it really reminds you just how good they are crafting campaigns and making incredibly satisfying shooting. Some of the best guns in gaming belong to Remedy titles all the way since Max Payne, after all, just in terms of feedback and feel.
I don't care about the multiplayer at all, but then again, I'm an old gamer man who hasn't played anything competitive for years I'm sure Smilegate will do a fine job there... I just don't understand this release model. Its a paid add-on for the f2p game? Why? Just make it a standalone thing. I don't wanna have to download the multiplayer to play the single player; when will developers and publishers learn that storage space and download times are not something people wanna be wasteful with? I was SO THRILLED when Halo Infinite split up those two components, and I sincerely hope we see more and more games follow suit as we get further into this new generation...
I hope by the time it launches, Crossfire X's campaign ends up going standalone, that's all.
Re: Halo Dev Reveals The Painstaking Process Of Creating Video Game Screenshots
Fascinating stuff. Pretty much every story from the wild west days of game development in the '90s is loaded with something interesting, back when they had to make their own tools for literally everything and the concept of engines and dev kits wasn't solidified. Just some mad lads doing their best. The most exciting and most innovative time for gaming, man...
Re: Random: Xbox Jokingly Casts Chris Pratt As Iconic Halo Character
@VisitingComet1 He's bland as heck. He's just Chris Pratt in every role - so much so that people don't even remember the names of his characters in movies like Jurassic World, LEGO Movie or Tomorrow World. He doesn't even cut or dye his hair for different roles to even ATTEMPT to make them a little more unique. He's the guy studios cast less when they have a strong idea of what a character should be like, and more... well, casting a generically likeable guy so as not to offend most people. Him and Ryan Reynolds (with the exception of Deadpool) are the lamest kind of leading men in modern movies... which is why Reynolds ends up voicing a lot of cartoon characters in movies too, like Pikachu and Turbo. Ugh.
He needs a lot more personality, and he should take roles that push him to show off more acting talent. Instead he just lazily takes whatever lets him "Chris Pratt" his way through the role; just be generically likeable and tell some bland, inoffensive jokes and cash a paycheck. Bland is bad, and Chris Pratt is the king of bland.
Re: Random: Xbox Employees Show Off Their Age Of Empires Custom Portraits
Hmmm.... Larry Hryb's the only one that's even close to knowing you should try to do a good "sitting grumpy face" for a portrait like this. You can't smile in these things, Misters Greenberg and Spencer!
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (October 30-31)
In the mood for more "creepy kooky" horror than straight up survival horror, so I'm playing through the (bloody fantastic, so far) Lost in Random. Its not *really a horror game, but since it is sporting a dark color palette, a dead-on Tim Burton/Henry Selick/Laika-esque aesthetic and an incredible sound design, it really gives off a proper "spooky bedtime story" feeling. I'm loving it.
Besides that, I'm playing Psychonauts 2 some more too, and Rare's Grabbed by the Ghoulies via Rare Replay. I'm torn on that one big-time; sometimes its very fun, and sometimes its just very frustrating. Really wish they focused on some platforming mechanics and traversal elements sometimes, because the haunted house vibe is strong in that one and you just want to walk away from the sometimes-unfair fights to explore these locales. Even those linear QTE "creeping down hallways" sequences are kind of welcome breaks in the action - they feel like a theme park ride.
Happy Halloween, everybody.
Re: Crystal Dynamics Partnering On Perfect Dark Was Too Good To Pass Up, According To Xbox
I'm always curious about deals like this. Like, Koei-Tecmo's been doing it forever; "if anyone wants to rent out Omega Force or Team Ninja, just show us the money" has been their policy for what seems like forever. Nintendo in particular abuses it a lot when they call on them to make titles like Hyrule Warriors or Metroid Other M. And it just never made sense to me. If that's an option, why even be owned by a publisher anyway instead of just being an independent studio? It's so odd.
But it seems to work out super well for the developers. Don't have to worry about your own games selling well if your publisher can just shop you out to some other publishers for their games. It's really odd! You don't see it in other industries, y'know... Warner Bros doesn't decide to make a Looney Tunes movie by waltzing over to Disney or Universal and asking to borrow Pixar or Dreamworks for a bit, right? lol.
At any rate, after the Tomb Raider series and what I've seen of Guardians of the Galaxy versus the reality of Avengers, I'm personally a bigger fan of Eidos Montreal than Crystal Dynamics these days, but they're certainly a very talented studio anyway and this should be really good for Perfect Dark (even if Crystal Dynamics doesn't really have FPS chops. The only one they've ever made was the "eh, it's okay" Snowblind). Of course we know nothing about Perfect Dark really, so only time can tell if it'll really pay off. I'm sure there's plenty of staffers at Crystal D who are thrilled to be working on PD now so they can put Avengers behind them though
Re: Three More Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (October 21)
I already played the crap out of Dragon Ball FighterZ on PS4 when it came out, but there were only, like, 5 Gokus in there when I stopped playing. I'll Game Pass it now mostly to see how many there are now - probably like 15, lol. I really wish ArcSys would get more of their games out consistently on the XBox though; would it KILL them to make sure Guilty Gear or Dungeon Fighter Duel could get an Xbox port? Jeez...
Still, since I've played DBF before, what I'm genuinely more excited to play is Everspace 2. Always find a good, arcadey space combat game to be worth a play. I can't wait to give that a shot!
Re: Deals: All Classic Xbox Games In This Week's Sales (October 19-26)
Aw man; I haven't had a 360 in forever. I really wish The Outfit was BC on the XB1 and XS consoles. That game looks like butt (even at the time, it was very unimpressive. Clearly something that began on the original Xbox, got shifted to the 360 to make launch, and only had a bit of plastic-y normal maps lumped onto the assets) but was really fun, especially with its more "GI Joe"/action movie tone when it came to WW2. And this was way before Starhawk did the whole "Build and Battle" stuff on PS3 (that game rules too though). That mechanic of killing enemies to wrack up currency to then purchase and airdrop structures and units is such a good one, it really blows that so few games do it. I'd LOVE to replay that game. That's a title people should rediscover if they still have their 360s around...
Re: Rumour: Xbox Has Some 'Big Announcements' To Share This Week
@Az1ner: I know you're meaning Ninja Gaiden and auto-correct or something is responsible for this, but "Ninja Garden" is a title that puts a smile on my face, lol.
Re: Rumour: Xbox Has Some 'Big Announcements' To Share This Week
Expecting some backwards compatibility news to celebrate the ol' 20th Anniversary. Maybe some other stuff - like merch - related to the Xbox 20 stuff. That's about it. You don't announce new AAA games out of the blue at the end of October; you save those announcements for something bigger like an event.
Re: Rumour: A New Killer Instinct Is In Active Development For Xbox
I love fighting games. Hate the way KI plays though; stupid auto-doubles are just the worst idea for a genre that prides itself on the connection between what the player is inputting, and what moves come out of the characters. Fundamentally, if you hit say 5 buttons and 8 moves come out because of the auto-doubles, you're just making a button masher. Its annoying. It doesn't feel right.
That being said, KI always LOOKS and SOUNDS awesome. I don't want to hate it, but I just can't stand how it plays. If they get rid of auto-doubles, I'm onboard in an instant, but axing something that fundamental to it would certainly rile up the fanbase so I don't see it happening. For all who enjoy it though, I'm happy they're finally moving forward with a KI4 - its not for me, but this should be a healthy series for Microsoft and they should support it correctly with regular sequels.
I'm genuinely curious to find out who's handling the new game if this rumor pans out. I'd love to see Arika (Fighting EX Layer) get called up here; FEXL never hit the Xbox but it was awesome and looks pretty damn great - very comparable to Double Helix/Iron Galaxy's work on KI3 imho. However, since Microsoft has garbage relations with Japanese studios, I could see N-way (Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid) or Sirlin Games (Fantasy Strike) maybe getting the job since they're American. Or, OR, how cool would it be if Itagaki Games' first title was Killer Instinct 4? The dude gave the world Dead or Alive, and he's an unabashed Xbox fan - if anyone could handle Killer Instinct, I kinda want to see HIM do it.
I doubt I'll play it, but I really want Killer Instinct 4 to happen because there's certainly people who will enjoy it, and it seems potentially very exciting depending on who Microsoft has working on it and how development shakes out.
Re: Deals: All Classic Xbox Games In This Week's Sales (October 12-19)
I could see myself nabbing a Splinter Cell. Aragami 2 has made me want to dive into more stealth games, and my PS2 is broken so I can't just fire up Spy Fiction and try to finish that.
Thanks for the list
Re: These 15+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (October 12-15)
"Enter the Ring of Pain, a roguelike card crawler..."
How dare a game called Ring of Pain isn't a wrestling title of some sort. After Saturday Night Slam Masters and Ring of Destruction: Slam Masters 2, "Ring of Pain" sounds like something Capcom should definitely have put out already
Re: EA Sports Is Officially Thinking About Renaming The FIFA Series
EA should change the name to International Superstar Soccer or Pro Evolution or Winning Eleven... I don't think anyone else is using those names...
Re: This Series X|S Controller Concept Celebrates Xbox's 20th Anniversary
That is a real nice design, dang. Its clean, but also clear in its Anniversary celebration theme... I mean, making the circle of the "0" the circle around the dpad is so damn slick.
"The 20 year anniversary of the original Xbox will take place next month on 15th November"
G*ddamn I feel old. Y'know what would be awesome then? If Microsoft's backwards compatibility team dropped a few games on that date that the service is sorely missing. Maybe some of their games from the original Xbox that people have been asking them to get around to? The ones without problematic things like licensed soundtracks, at least? Games like MechAssault 1 or 2, Brute Force, Otogi 1 or 2, Mad Dash Racing, Blinx 2, Magatama or Sudeki? That would be real nice way to celebrate the anniversary, Microsoft *wink, wink
Re: These 30+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (September 28 - October 1)
Man, this is a LOT. Jeez louise
I'm very intrigued by Lemnis Gate (hoping that, like Splitgate, it executes its gimmick well and finds an audience. Hopefully it's deserving of a surprise success story too) and Doctor Who. What kind of adventure game could they be doing, and how have they reworked and expanded the VR game. I'm a big fan of Milestone's Sega Rally-esque Gravel, so I'm keeping an eye on Hot Wheels Unleashed and it looks really promising (though I wish it had a stunt system of some kind, like old arcade racers on the PS2/Xbox). Dandy Ace had a fun demo during one of those Xbox Summer Indie event things - I still have it on my XBone - so I'm interested in the final game for sure. Melty Blood should be neat, though I personally wish French Bread made a new Under Night instead, and Xuan Yuan Sword 7 looks kind of awesome (definitely seems to be settling into that same kind of zone as Sekiro and that upcoming Black Myth Wukong game), but the last XYS game (Gate of Firmament) was pretty janky. Its clear Softstar needed more experience with consoles, so I'll wait for reviews. I'm also waiting on reviews for exZeus, but since it looks like a Dreamcast game or something like Planet Harriers, I'm kind of interested in that too. Heck, even Space Revenge - a game I hadn't heard of until seeing it here and clicking that link - seems like it could be a good topdown run 'n' gun shoot 'em up for a cheap price; gives me Alien Syndrome PS2 Sega Ages remake vibes.
I would like to put off some of these for later while I struggle to get through games I nabbed already as fast as I can; still going through Psychonauts 2 and Tales of Arise on my XB1, just picked up Kena: Bridge of Spirits on my PS4, and downloaded a bunch of stuff on Game Pass like Aragami 2 and Dodgeball Academia. Hopefully October will be less busy than September was...
Re: Digital Eclipse Has 'Begun Discussions' To Try And Bring Back Marvel Vs. Capcom 2
MvC2 is a great fighting game and all, but damn... there's SO many fighters from this era that deserve a chance at attracting a bigger audience. We really shouldn't just focus on bringing back the same game again and again; I really wish studios like Digital Eclipse would look beyond Capcom's library... or at least at games they haven't touched yet. Bring back Red Earth/Warzard or something from their catalog, but really, look beyond Capcom's stuff. Give games like Power Instinct: Matrimelee, Rage of the Dragons, Rabbit, Metamoqester or Asura Buster a remaster - they don't even have license nightmares to deal with! Just talk to the companies that own their own IP
Re: Outcast 2 Is Bringing Its Open-World Adventure To Xbox Series X, Series S
Wow! Never thought Outcast would actually get its sequel! I mean, I guess there's no confirmation that this is going to resurrect the ideas behind the original, cancelled PS2 version of Outcast 2,* but still, it's kind of awesome to see Outcast get a proper sequel finally! That original game was so mind-blowing back in the day, from the use of voxel environments to the fully voiced characters to the basic stealth systems and the dynamic enemies and fauna that interacted with each other in different ways and weren't just props waiting for the player character to do something near them... it really felt like someone played an open world game from 15 years in the future and tried like hell to make it work with tech from '98. It was just so ambitious for the time... non-standard controls and dated design are always hard to go back to though. The more recent remaster was really disappointing because the ONE thing it needed to do to make it more palettable to modern audiences was completely redo the controls and it didn't; it just left every action awkward to do.
This series really deserved an actual shot at some mainstream success, so its really neat that THQ Nordic is giving it one here. Hopefully Outcast 2 just plays like a normal, competent third person shooter/platformer now - like a Tomb Raider or Uncharted (with good shooting), because that's what it needs. Outcast remains the best Stargate (and come to think of it, James Cameron's Avatar) game to date. Not enough sci-fi games take swings as big as Outcast did...
Outcast II: The Lost Paradise PS2 Prototype - cancelled
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz2SdngUsOU
Outcast II PS2 content montage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzXiQqEjCsQ
Re: THQ Nordic To Reveal 'Six New Games' This Month, Including 'The Return Of Legendary Franchises'
I would love to see Timesplitters already (seems too soon for me, but I could also see them just ripping out the TS2 HD version from Homefront and releasing that as a standalone for $20 or something), as well as something with Alone in the Dark since they acquired that IP. That series could use a new, good entry. Between footage of Darkworks' cancelled AITD remake, and indie games like Song of Horror that FEEL like an Alone in the Dark game, I think there's totally something they could do with that IP... regardless of the damage Atari inflicted on the series.
I wouldn't mind seeing them return to one of their old racing IP. Maybe JUICED. I mean, back then, it was clearly a NFS Underground copycat, but now? It's not like there are other games doing that, so I think a lot of people would appreciate a good Underground-style racer. Contract one of those underrated European AA racing studios like Milestone, Kylotonn, Bugbear or Slightly Mad and they'd probably end up making something cool. A Splashdown revival could also be really cool, or even an HD remaster of Rides Gone Wild. That game rules; I have played it recently, that is not just nostalgia talking. They should do something with that IP.
For some reason, I also keep feeling like THQN will swoop in to publish that AEW game. I know its self-funded by the company, so AEW can do whatever they want.... but THQ Nordic LOVES bringing back old successful franchises, and while they can't get the WWE license right now, nothing's stopping them from calling a game, "No Mercy." It feels like they'd totally put out an "AEW: No Mercy" and consider that the return of a legendary franchise on a technicality But this is just me thinking out loud.
Re: Gotham Knights & Suicide Squad Are Getting An Update This October
That sounds fine, but I'd like to see some new stuff... I'm greedy like that. Even if just a promotional video where we see employees at their various studios chugging away on a variety of stuff, and some internet sleuths will have to zoom in on some people's monitors and suss out some unannounced games The lack of a proper modern Superman game still stings, especially after all those rumors and leaked images from previous attempts by everyone from Factor 5 to Rocksteady :/
There really are way too many cancelled DC games. Heck, I'd be happy to see stuff like EA's Superman Returns or Snowblind's Justice League Heroes show up via Xbox Backwards Compatibility. Or something really neat: if one of WB Games' teams finished up the nearly completed Justice League Arcade by Double Helix (back before they got bought by Amazon) and released that for, like, $15 already. Judging by videos online, it just looks like dumb fun... and sadly would be the most substantial Wonder Woman game ever made.
I would love to hear something from NetherRealm too, since recent rumors have pointed to them putting Injustice 3 on the backburner to focus on MK12. Which... just doesn't make sense to me. Like, I get AT&T cutting WarnerMedia. loose and saddling them with Discovery Networks while they exit the TV/Movie space (a space they never should've entered, but that's neither here nor there) is going to initiate the dreaded "corporate restructuring," but how does that affect game development? Warner Bros, as a company, is THE ONE calling the shots still, and they know their video game arm is valuable. Shouldn't it just be business as usual like they have been doing? What the hell about now having Discovery under their umbrella and NOT having to answer to a telecommunications conglomerate would make them suddenly want to cut loose their game division? I just don't get it, so yeah, any statement/updates by NetherRealm would be welcome. It's just a confusing set of rumors that popped up recently, even more confusing than the LAST set of NetherRealm rumors that pointed to them for some reason making a Marvel fighting game despite being part of the same company that owns DC. NetherRealm rumors are always dumb; when it comes to that studio, I just wanna hear the official word from Ed Boon.
Re: Random: Xbox Advises Not To Name Your Child "Game Pass"
What a silly thing to do. I mean, c'mon... who would name their kid after Game P--
Oh hold that thought, I have to get my kid, "Red Ring of Death" ready for school. BRB
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (August 28-29)
Quake, Psychonauts, Scarlet Nexus (or BioMutant; either action-RPG is still on my backlog so I just gotta make progress in either) and Splitgate from this list. But also Fort Triumph, which I'm shocked to see no outlet really covering right now. I know it was pretty well-received when it hit Steam awhile ago; figured SOME strategy fans would be paying attention to the console releases besides me, but oh well. For what it's worth, if anyone else IS looking for a fun strategy title, it's a good 'un!
Re: Video: Saints Row Drops A More Extensive Trailer Following Fan Backlash
I can understand people not liking the looks of the new Saints. Saints Row 3 and 4 - my favorites - already had some ridiculous members with guys like that emo dude and gangs of kids with neon-trim on their club jackets and whatnot, but (and I realize this is entirely subjective) I can totally see "the line" being crossed when you start having Steve Urkel-looking hipster dudes and guys who are cooks because they watch Food Network in your gang or whatever they're pitching as "relatable" here.
That being said, it's simply not enough to go on yet to get a really good idea as to the tone of this one plays out over a whole game length yet. Though it says a lot that the rival gangs like the Idols seem to be more "Saints Row" than the new Saints...
Overall though, it looks quite a bit blander thanks to the more realistic characters/aesthetic a bit. Mostly though, the new setting looks bad. Going from the big, East Coast-style city to a sun-bleached, empty, Southwest Desert City is freakin' lame. It's the same way I feel about Cyberpunk; that original trailer (with that ♪Bullets song by Archive) made promises of a Blade Runner/Ghost in the Shell nature that the actual game did not fulfill. Instead it was about running around future SoCal getting involved in the affairs of gangs of cyber latinos. The discussion around that game was rightfully dominated by bug reports and the sorry state it was in, but even BEYOND that, it's a disappointment exclusively because of the setting.
This too looks like a location that's poor for the source material. Its just not a Saints Row kinda location, which is a shame when there's SO MANY cool cities and locations out there to take advantage of - this definitely seems like a direction that's much worse than previous settings. Just can the "travel agent speak" about sunsets and buttes, Volition. I will never understand the appeal of people wanting to go to places like this in real-life or setting movies/games there in fiction; it's too hot to the point where states like California burst into flames annually, it's too boring, yet it's too densely populated, and there's zero interesting culture. Ugh, there's nothing good about this kind of location. Why would we want to go there in video games? Unless it's a post-apocalyptic wasteland you're after (so you're good, Fallout New Vegas). Saints Row is about taking over a city, but like... who wants this city? It looks like a dump in the middle of a desert!
Agents of MAYHEM was a really, REALLY flawed game, but at least the setting of a futuristic Seoul was a really cool, fresh idea. Open world games need more of that. Sleeping Dogs taking us to Hong Kong, Watch Dogs 3 taking us to London, Yakuza 6 taking us to Onomichi - we need more of that kind of variety. Where are the open world games set in Sydney? Amsterdam? Rio de Janeiro? Moscow? Can we just cut it out with the boring California-inspired deserts for a good, long time?
The gameplay here looks fine though, I admit. It's nice to see that instead of stupid, pre-rendered trailers that show nothing. It's just the stuff wrapped around it that's harder to swallow with these tiny glimpses - it's gonna remain a question mark until it releases and people can get some serious impressions as to how it plays out. Regardless of if people are onboard or not by then, let's just hope it all ships in a much better state than the undercooked and disappointing Agents of MAYHEM.
Re: The Atari VCS Might Be Getting Support For Xbox Game Pass
I would be shocked to see Game Pass come to this. It would kinda... be a hit against its legitimacy, I dunno. Right? Like, this whole AtariVCS platform is a scam. It's fine if Stadia and Luna show up on it; they're going to get shut down quickly too. That's a match made in heaven. But Game Pass? C'mon - Game Pass is LEGIT. Stay away from stuff like this, Microsoft. Might as well make an app for the Ouya
Re: LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Gets A New Gameplay Trailer, Coming Spring 2022
I think the voice-acting is interesting. Mixing clips from the movies and authentic work from the film actors with, like, the cartoon and video game soundalikes is certainly a choice. I'm a big fan of some of them - TC Carson (old Kratos, Kyle on Living Single) as Mace Windu in various games, and James Arnold Taylor (Tidus) as Obi-Wan Kenobi in stuff like The Clone Wars are highlights of the "alternate" voice cast. I've never been a huge fan of Tom Kane as Yoda, though he's admittedly fine - it's definitely him here though.
I'm mostly interested in Luke though. Now, Bob Bergen (the voice of Porky Pig) has been KILLING it as young Luke Skywalker since Rogue Squadron on the N64, but I'm not even sure he's Luke here. And if he is, he's definitely not old, Last Jedi-era Luke. Who is this cast!? It's fine, it's objectively pretty good, it's just distracting all the same
At any rate, I'm glad they've overhauled the entire damn LEGO engine finally. The old, tedious "diorama-style" action was really unpolished with dumb "puzzles," mushy, ill-defined collision and floaty platforming (which always struck me as strange since Traveler's Tales had plenty of solid 3D Platformers under their belt beforehand, like Haven: Call of the King and Crash Twinsanity). Seeing that it's been entirely scrapped in favor of a fully third person, over-the-shoulder engine with actual melee combat and shooting mechanics, arcadey flight combat, ridable creatures, etc. it just all looks like a huge, HUGE upgrade to the experience that is well overdue. Its easy to understand the delays now. Just hoping it all comes together into a nicely polished package in the end. Fingers crossed!
Re: WWE 2K22 Gets A New Trailer And Late Release Date Of March 2022
It's good that their new engine is supposedly in good shape, as shipping buggy af games is just... freakin' cut that out, publishers. But damn; the core problems with 2K's vision for wrestling games run deeper than that - they're problematic on a design level. They're not even interested in doing right by stuff like old Smackdown, WWF or Def Jam games - they're convinced they have a hit with their weird take on "simulating" all of it like they do other sports. It's hard to put into words but it's pretty lame even when it's working. Ain't nobody gonna call out a WWE 2K game as one of the best wrestling titles of all time. Wrestling fans wanna pick their characters and beat the crap out of other people; make that action the focus and make it feel as good as possible
Really hoping 2022 sees a lot of progress from Yuke's with AEW. Yuke's knows how to put out a wrestling game; have been doing it for decades. Even if WWE 2K is the prettier series, won't matter if AEW nails the gameplay, y'know? I'm only worried for Yuke's since Tony Khan's promotion keeps growing and growing, lol. Those poor devs must be like, "F**k; we gotta add CM Punk in now too!?" all the time! Has to be a really hard thing for a studio that's working on getting a first wrestling game out when that roster just won't sit still
Re: Big Rumble Boxing Is Giving Us 'Ready 2 Rumble' Vibes, Out This September
Okay, I wasn't paying attention to this because I thought it would be a stuffier, straight-laced take on boxing, so thanks for calling out R2R in the header.
While it's not as fast and chaotic as those games (or Facebreaker for that matter), I can definitely see the vibe. The stylized character models aren't totally caricatures but definitely are larger-than-life, the color palette is bright and vibrant, and the animations have a lot of flash and personality... you're right, there's definitely some arcade DNA here
My main concern is that it's tough to get a feel for the tempo of the action by the footage here. It's certainly got the look of an arcadey good time, but it's slowed down quite a bit from titles like Ready 2 Rumble or Facebreaker for that matter (and hey maybe the playability tradeoff is worth it. Those games were really chaotic), but I just don't want it to be too sluggish anyway. Some bits of the trailer show slow animations that lack impact, y'know?
It's hanging out in this weird area where it's slower than an arcadey game, but a bit faster than sims... I hope the speed of everything it settled on is going to feel just right, that's all. Either way, at least now I'm actually keeping an eye on it whereas I was completely oblivious to it before!
Re: The Quake Remaster Is Real, And It's Out Today On Xbox Game Pass
@Ocat Thank you; I was coming here to see if anyone felt that it feels... well pretty bad. From the aim acceleration which does that stupid GI Joe: Operation Blackout trick of somehow starting off too slow before getting WAY too fast, to the momentum on your dude when moving to the strict jumping trajectory when you take off, the whole thing feels.... not quite like Quake. Which seems crazy. But it isn't even easy to bunny hop or strafe jump in this, and hitting enemies is not good.
All the content here rules, but it needs to play smoother.
I really hope they patch this baby up sooner rather than later to make sure it plays as fast & fluidly as, well, every other version of the game ever released on PC or consoles. I sincerely recall even the N64 version having smoother aim (so long as you use Turok-style controls and put free-aim on the analog stick).
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 17th)
I beat GEARS 5 Hivebusters earlier this week, and since it's rainy, hot, humid and stormy a lot where I am atm, I just wanna play something with a summer vacation vibe. So I'm playing a bunch of One Piece World Seeker and Phantasy Star Online New Genesis to get SOME KIND of vacation feel going on. Also Scarlet Nexus, but I'm in a haunted hospital in that game right now, so... not exactly sporting Summertime vibes, lol. Cool game though!
Also, I just gotta say I'm really surprised to see the co-developer for Scarlet Nexus is TOSE instead of Shift (Code Vein and the first two God Eaters) or Marvelous (God Eater 3) - TOSE's not a major developer. Their thing is NOT taking credit for developing games. Back in the '80s and '90s, they were responsible for some real crap too, boy. Then slowly knocking out solid licensed games in the early 2000s; mostly for handhelds. I legit thought they just quietly went out of business or fully went into outsourcing. I would never have expected them to be behind one of these modern, super gorgeous anime-shaded games Bandai Namco's pumping out along with Code Vein and Blue Protocol - they really stepped up their game! Glad to see they're still around!
Good gaming, everyone!
Re: The Coalition Shares Another Impressive Screenshot Of Unreal Engine 5 On Xbox Series X
I remember some good tech demos back in the day - the best ones almost always felt like short films in addition to just showing off the maximum amount of visual power things could pump out (in very, VERY idealized situations). Used to love watching stuff from Nvidia, or the Ruby ATI demos, and I even remember some of the original Xbox stuff like Raven/It takes two to tango, but I gotta admit I never really cared for Epic's demos. I even didn't care much for their UE5 one; we've seen gorgeous canyons and rocky environments before, in everything from modern Tomb Raider games to Horizon to upcoming games like Forspoken, so it wasn't that interesting to actually LOOK at.
I did really like that "Infiltrator" demo for UE4 though. THAT one was pretty cool.
Hopefully, Coalition has a good tech demo up their sleeve. I mean, why else would they even bother teasing out screenshots? Just wait until GDC starts if it's just going to be a normal, boring tech demo. If you're hyping it up at all, it better be entertaining too.
Re: EA Confirms No Star Wars News At EA Play Live, Updates To Be Shared Next Year
Is EA working on anything else besides JEDI Fallen Order 2 atm? We know WB Games has LEGO Star Wars, Aspyr is remaking Knights of the Old Republic, and Ubi Soft has a project or two coming, but EA hasn't announced anything else from them, right? Certainly they could be working on more: another flight combat game to follow-up Squadrons, maybe? Maybe having Criterion work on a new Star Wars (pod, or swoop, or speeder bike) racing game? But right now, they have nothing else announced, yeah?
Re: Deals: All Classic Xbox Games In This Week's Sales (July 13-20)
I'll probably nab COJ Gunslinger. Heard nothing but good things and I'm in the mood for a "background FPS" to play in-between other games, as long as it's got satisfying guns, and I've heard it's pretty damn fantastic so I can take a chance on it.
Re: Soapbox: Now That It's On Xbox Game Pass, I've Finally Discovered The Joys Of Gang Beasts
"Xbox Game Pass has been somewhat starved of great party games throughout its lifespan thus far."
I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it until it happens: a new f2p Fuzion Frenzy, run in seasons like a Fall Guys-type thing, is a game that Microsoft should make happen. Also a new Doritos Crash Course and 1 vs. 100 while we're at it. Microsoft is great at trying innovative/weird & fun party games, but TERRIBLE at building on them and turning them into successful series.
Re: EA Announces Ripple Effect Studios, Working On Battlefield 2042 And A 'New Project'
DICE LA used to be Danger Close, and before that, EA LA. They already were their own studio, then they screwed up with Medal of Honor and were sent to the "Battlefield Support Dungeon" for a few years.
I guess this is good, but realistically how can you expect anything of note to come from this except one ATTEMPTED new IP that doesn't hit big enough for EA higher-ups to keep the studio independent? They'll be supporting Battlefield 'til the end of their days - studios operating under the EA umbrella simply don't get much room to truly be independent anymore. Not like during the sixth gen of consoles. Everything has to be a HUGE FINANCIAL HIT for them to be happy; no modest successes are good enough. If you're not focused on (insert huge IP that makes stockholders happy), you're just treading water until you ARE focused on (aforementioned huge IP that makes stockholders happy).
It's really weird to see a studio bounce back-and-forth between support and independent though, and change the name. But then again, EA LA was bland and Danger Close probably had baggage associated with it.
Re: Roundup: Here's What Was Revealed At Nacon Connect 2021
@PhhhCough
Nah, you're thinking of Lies of P. They are similar in concept though, what with both featuring creepy, ornate automaton/puppet people:
https://www.purexbox.com/news/2021/05/lies_of_p_is_basically_pinocchio_meets_dark_souls_coming_to_xbox_series_x_were_serious
Re: Roundup: Here's What Was Revealed At Nacon Connect 2021
I've heard nothing but good things about that Terminator game from Teyon. It certainly benefitted from having low expectations, but seriously, when you watch people like Civvie 11 or gmanlives dive into it... it's clear Teyon deserves some props. I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with Robocop, actually.
Test Drive Unlimited looks real nice, and SteelRising too, so I'm happy. I'm also surprised to see Nacon team up with Ace Team for a clear successor to Zenoclash. I liked those games; I'm looking forward to Clash (huh... why'd they drop the 'Zeno' from the title? Guess Atlus/Sega has that trademark?)
This was nice little showing for the B-Tier group, honestly. Good job. It's interesting watching BigBen grow into a solid little publisher under their Nacon name.
Re: Nacon Connect To Feature 'Three Exclusive Reveals' This Tuesday
I just wanna see TDU Solar Crown and Steel Rising have a good showing. Nacom's got some good stuff, but I don't really expect 3 Brand New reveals to be mind-blowing. Still, prove me wrong, Nacom!
Re: Xbox Still Eager To Fill 'Family-Friendly' Gaps In Its Game Portfolio
Family Friendly is more than old Rare IP. They need to learn to back ALL of their stuff - there's no reason Powerstar Golf couldn't have become the Everybody's Golf of the Xbox, y'know? There's no reason that they couldn't have a great cart racing game either - JoyRide doesn't count because it has no personality. But there's no reason MS couldn't hire, say, Sumo Digital and task them to make an cart racer starring Xbox characters (kinda like Rare's abandoned idea for, 'The Fast and Furriest' but with characters and stages from more than just Rare's games). They could've greenlit that fantastic-looking Halo Mega Bloks game (Project HAGGAR) too. They just need to realize that a) you need good partner studios to make these things, and b) you have to market them as heavily as your "hardcore" offerings. Give them a chance to succeed. Don't be like Sony where they'll produce games like ModNation Racers, DREAMS, Puppeteer... and then completely fail to market them (and then blame the studios for failing and shut them down, idiots. I have no idea how Media Molecule is still around when DREAMS is flailing, but I wouldn't count on them surviving this generation based on how Jim Ryan is looking at things).
Rebooting older IP is important, but Microsoft can bring tons of new & exciting stuff to the fore as well. They can't just lean on Minecraft and Banjo forever. I'm happy they're still looking at stuff, because I wanna see what new things they cook up. Especially Double Fine; Costume Quest showed that they can create one of the best kid-friendly games of all time. Who knows what that team can cook up from scratch now?
Find more teams like that, with creative ideas, and support 'em right, and you'll be filling these gaps in no time, Microsoft. You already fell into family success big-time on accident with the Kinect despite some dismal support on that thing; if you actually TRY this time, you could kill it.
Re: Ubisoft Is Suddenly Teasing Beyond Good & Evil 2 Again On Twitter
I am a million percent uninterested in this. This is like people begging for a new Splinter Cell; you just gotta ask, "Why?" You know the current Ubi Regime has NO CLUE how to do these older brands right (just look at Rainbow Six now. A game about tactical planning and single player execution has become a multiplayer-only Counter Strike competitor and... something with aliens).
The first Beyond Good & Evil is an incredible Zelda-style adventure with a cool, unique, beautiful sci-fi world and even if BGE2 happens, it ain't gonna be any of that. It looks weird, in a completely different way. Heck, they don't even seem to know what they're focused on; the most recent trailers just seem to be feeling out some kind of multiplayer gang focus, open world, jetpack-based traversal, etc. Bullet points for the back of the box more than a cohesive design, let alone continuing on any of the first games' story
I was pumped for a BGE sequel when the original, ORIGINAL target trailer leaked back like a decade ago. The one short cliop showing Jade parkouring through a living city, being chased by helicopters, crashing into things and forcing her way seamlessly through exteriors and interiors where everyone was reacting to her? That's probably like six rebooted developments ago at this point, but at least it was clear that THAT was a proper evolution of what the first game brought to the table. Ever since this current version emerged, this thing might as well be a new IP. I don't wanna play a game where you create an animal-human hybrid and partner up with randos online to jetpack up to towers and highjack flying vehicles, or whatever current Ubi Soft is planning for this atm. Who knows? That design may turn out to be a huge hit, but that's not what BGE was or should be.
Re: Mortal Kombat 11's DLC Has 'Come To An End', Confirms NetherRealm
Boon's also brought up the possibility of a Shaolin Monks remake (about time!), so personally I hope it's that... though I would imagine another studio would handle that. NetherRealm (Midway Chicago) didn't work on the original one anyway - it was Paradox, when they were Midway San Diego but before THQ San Diego. So I imagine NetherRealm are in fact probably just working on Injustice 3, and if Shaolin Monks is happening, another studio is doing it in association with NR.
But man I really hope SOMEONE is remaking Shaolin Monks right about now...
Re: The First Two Of July 2021's Xbox Games With Gold Are Now Available
@AlienigenX THIS IS A GOOD QUESTION! I immediately was dumbfounded by this, not just because there are screenshots in widescreen, but because even their N64 games had widescreen options in some cases (I was literally playing Jet Force Gemini on Rare Replay while Conker was downloading and that game has it). It seems really weird that Conker L&R wouldn't, and that the options menu of just two things is so pathetic. There has to be a way to widescreen this puppy.
Re: Wait, Is EA Hinting At A Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Sequel Reveal?
A teaser trailer would be boss. I'll show up to buy it on Day 1 whenever it comes out; Fallen Order was bloody fantastic.
Also, this is one of those brands that EA could easily break the internet with. It was so well-received, all they need is to tie in a teeny bit of fan service and BAM! Tons of good will and hype in an instant. For example: what if they drop a teaser that ends with Cal and Merrin meeting up with Kyle Katarn, or seeing the Outrider fly by? Boom; fan service achieved, internet broken. I could see EA wanting to tease this out for a long time and just ride the positive vibes.... I'm sure it would be nice for them to not have to worry about constant hate from gamers all the time
Re: Xbox Is The 'Official Console Of Battlefield 2042', Whatever That Means
I'm shocked - SHOCKED - they didn't decide to go with Stadia
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 26th)
Dragon Quest Builders 2 on Game Pass, Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis, Bug Fables and some Dungeon of (sigh... I always have to look this up...) Naheulbeuk: Amulet of Chaos. It's got good art; nice-looking characters and environments. I know it was well-received on PC, so I nabbed it this week for the Xbone and it does seem pretty cool.
Re: Sonic's 30th Anniversary Symphony Is A Wonderful Treat, Met With Tons Of Fan Praise
Cool. Thanks for passing this along. I was unaware of this, and yet I think I might be subscribed to Sonic's Youtube channel... or Sega's? Who can tell with Youtube sometimes though, huh? They're always unsubbing you randomly from things for arbitrary reasons and choosing not to show videos in your sub feed even if you hit that bell icon If it wasn't for this post, I probably would've missed this whole thing! Thanks, PureXBox
Re: Sea Of Thieves: A Pirate's Life Exists Because Rare Pitched It To Disney
"He later said that the integration of Pirates of the Caribbean 'made too much sense' not to happen, but that doesn't mean a growing trend of integrating Disney IPs into games will now be overly commonplace."
Well, I for one will be VERY disappointed if that supposed Playtonic & Rare Banjo-Kazooie 4 emerges next year with NO Country Bears crossover content alongside it
Re: These Nine Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (June 23 - July 1)
I was pumped to see Prodeus there for a second, because I was unaware that console porting had even begun (guess I should check the Kickstarter updates...). Then I saw "PC." Oh well; I need to read better
Bug Fables is excellent, but I own that already so... nothing here for me, I think.
Re: Sonic The Hedgehog 2022 Is Aiming To 'Lay The Foundation' For Future Titles
"Sonic Adventure laid the foundation for 20 years of Sonic titles after its release"
I mean, objectively, that is untrue. It laid the foundation for... 8 years? From Sonic Adventure's Japanese launch in 1998 to the infamous Sonic 2006. After that though, they were all building on Sonic Unleashed/World Adventure's speed stage gameplay, really. Colors, Generations, Forces... they're all just refinements & variations of the (non-Werehog beat 'em up) game design established in Unleashed. Except for Lost World, which is an interesting design that they should've taken a second stab at. And I suppose other one off oddities like Sonic Boom, Secret Rings or LEGO Dimension's Sonic stuff of course.
At any rate, I'm just arguing semantics. Overall, I'm happy they're seeing the need to re-think the core design again. Time to shake things up and hopefully set Sonic up for a fresh slate of quality games. The racing game-style stages mixed with the 2.5D stuff from the last generation of Sonic were great but kinda wore out their welcome after Generations; Sonic needs a more open design now to really put his speed and traversal abilities to good use.