F O U R T H E Y E

whoosh

Tyson be honest have you played Anthem for any decent length of time? Because trying a demo doesn't constitute being able to speak on whether or not the game was released in an incomplete state. I HAVE played Anthem for a significant amount of time at this point. The game that was released for $60 is entirely fine and in line with what I would expect for a live service game. I have already gotten my money's worth.

There is a sense of entitlement with gamers that is hard to process. There is an assumption that for $60 bucks you are entitled to a game with hundreds of hours of content at launch and that just isn't correct. Very few games have that much content at launch. The additional time spent comes from replayability and grinding. Anthem shipped with a full campaign. Anthem has shipped with a large free roam area. Anthem has shipped with enough endgame at launch. Yes there is a certain player that will plow thru all that content in a week and be bitching for more but most people who are playing Anthem right now have likely not even finished the campaign or are working on their other Javelin's. I would wager a very small part of the community has even touched Grandmaster 1 yet so the Masterwork and Legendary chase hasn't even started for most.

In terms of being functionally complete the game was functional complete at it's official launch. The loading screen issues were resolved. The disconnects and general server health issues were resolved (as much as one can resolve connection issues in a shared world game). The game plays perfectly fine on the XBox One X, PS4 Pro and PC. I imagine it plays like shit on the OG Xbox and PS4 and I couldn't care less. Developers cannot continue to be handcuffed by old technology and if gamers are not willing to make the mid-generation jump to the X or the Pro that is on them.

Keep in mind I am not a big fan of EA as a publisher and I am not even really a big fan of Bioware games. I have no rooting interest in this other than wanting to see a more positive tone from the gaming community and better lines of communication between developers and the community. I don't expect Publishers to change. They are going to look for ways to make money. I get it. I may not always like it but quite frankly no one is forcing you to purchase anything. This is not a Battlefront 2 situation where progression is tied to loot boxes. You can earn everything in game and I don't care much for cosmetics anyway.

Bottom line Anthem is not being reviewed fairly by any metric. The core gameplay loop is enjoyable. The story is meh but it's a fucking looter shooter we are lucky there is any story at all. What this game does well it does exceptionally well. Movement, shooting mechanics, and abilities. What it needs to work on is the loot system and expanding the endgame. The endgame expansion is coming and the loot system is being adjusted quickly and regularly based on community feedback. In fact I cannot think of a developer in recent history that has been more responsive as quickly to issues and making changes as Bioware has.

The gaming community has become a negative toxic entitled base of fucking crybabies. Oh I can't get 1000 hours in a game in a month the publisher ripped me off! Na fuck off with that noise. Gaming right now is better than it ever has been. The technology is a marvel. What I do worry about is Publishers and Developers might start taking LESS risks on new games when the community is so fucking toxic that they seem to be intent on killing games before they even get released. This Gamer Justice Warrior mentality, which cracks me up when so often the same youtubers crying about Gamer Justice are the ones bemoaning Social Justice Warriors, but I imagine the hypocrisy is lost on most of them.

Anthem is not a fantastic game. Let's be clear on that. But it isn't a bad game either. It get's a number of things right but it does need work in a number of areas. It is an ambitious game that like Destiny is going to take some time to figure it's identity and it's audience. But the picture that many have painted is simply inaccurate. This is not a Fallout 76 situation. This is not a Battlefront 2 situation. This is a fundamentally good game that needs work. Welcome to live service games. You have to take the good with the bad. Nothing is ever going to launch perfectly. You can only test and plan for so many eventualities. You can only do so many private stress tests and closed betas. All you can do once the game goes live is respond quickly and communicate and that is exactly what Bioware is doing.

In summary, TLDR

Fair enough, I'm coming from a position of single player so I guess it's 100% different expectations for an online shooter.

Speaking of EA about to fire up Mass Effect Andromeda after plowing through Crackdown 3 (which in the end was a 7/10)

I gotta check out Crackdown 3. It has been shit on pretty hard but that means little to me. People wanted a Crackdown game and it seems that is exactly what this is. Gamers are a confusing lot. They scream at the top of their lungs that they want a thing and then they get it and they actually end up wanting something else. Developers are in a difficult spot right now with Youtube and social media being what it is.

Average isn't good enough these days for many. Personally I don't give a much of a shit, but this article sums up my feels reasonably well:

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/0 ... mes-on-pc/

He's way wrong about Sleeping Dogs, that's a 9/10

Also off about The Suffering.

it’s fine, albeit in that somewhat distasteful way that characterises the glut of 00s games that seemed to revolve around incarceration and retrograde interpretations of mental health.

I replayed it a couple of months ago and was surprised by how tasteful it was (At least in regards to the incarceration aspect. Slightly distasteful might be an ok descriptor for the mental health depiction). It never feels exploitative. There's a really easy path they could have taken that would have been in line with that kind of provactive edgelord bullshit that was common in that generation (and does make its way into the sequel), but instead focuses on abuses of power and instituitional violence. It's not super deep, but considering that video games have a tendency to be kind of gross with shit like this, it's remarkable that The Suffering wasn't.

Also he's right on about Tomb Raider. That game is fairly overrated.

Division 2 is out for some depending on region. For me tomorrow. The beta was solid and the amount of content this game has at launch is crazy. Looking forward to it.

I have been ENJOYING ANTHEM. Shocker I know. I took my time and played most of the campaign solo and now am messing with the endgame and enjoying myself. I have said before the negativity around this game is largely unfounded. It isn't a masterpiece by any stretch and it needs additional endgame content and some loot adjustments but the core gameplay loop is extremely fun.

Days Gone is out in April and Rage 2 in May. Not to mention Metro Exodus which is a solid game.

Speaking of Metro Exodus I really think the love this game has received from some reviewers that blasted Anthem shows how much many of them just wanted Anthem to fail. Metro Exodus is every bit as buggy as Anthem, if not more at times. The facial animations/dialogue with NPCs are a mess. The game crashes more than it should. The shooting mechanics are clunky. But it largely got 8 out of 10 scores. Now I think it is probably more around a 7 or 7.5 but I am not bitching about it. I enjoy Metro Exodus for all the things 4A got right. The beautiful partially open world and wonderful crafted linear level design. How smoothly the game transitions between both. How solid the movement feels and the interesting weapon crafting system. The wonderful creature design.

There is so much more that is positive about gaming than negative. So many people spend so much time focusing on the negative and following the herd. It is a shame and it will ultimately backfire when Publishers stop taking chances on new IP's and Devs just start churning out new Battle Royale bullshit for the masses.

holy fuck

Will definitely check this out and not bother doing a filler buy of Far Cry 21 or whatever it is.

Anyone know if Days Gone will be any good?

My psychic powers are telling me it'll be okay.

The Division 2 is absolutely superb. I am about 13 hours in now and have been taking my time not even worried about power leveling. There is so much to do in this game that I am having a blast just clearing one section at a time. The changes to TTK work and the gunplay and movement feel crisp and precise. The game from a graphics standpoint is absolutely fantastic and performance is excellent. Massive and Red Storm have done an OUTSTANDING job with this sequel. I would recommend this game to anyone. Even people who do not traditionally play looter shooters as the open world itself is so rich and full of content. Even if you never touched the endgame just doing the campaign and all the side missions and projects is worth $60 bucks.

UndKeineZwEier wrote: ↑Mon Mar 18, 2019 10:11 am My psychic powers are telling me it'll be okay.

Copy that. Dying Light 2 it is then.

M0G wrote: ↑Mon Mar 18, 2019 1:53 pm The Division 2 is absolutely superb. I am about 13 hours in now and have been taking my time not even worried about power leveling. There is so much to do in this game that I am having a blast just clearing one section at a time. The changes to TTK work and the gunplay and movement feel crisp and precise. The game from a graphics standpoint is absolutely fantastic and performance is excellent. Massive and Red Storm have done an OUTSTANDING job with this sequel. I would recommend this game to anyone. Even people who do not traditionally play looter shooters as the open world itself is so rich and full of content. Even if you never touched the endgame just doing the campaign and all the side missions and projects is worth $60 bucks.

Will check out Division 2 after your very positive review Mog, having read other feedbacks it seems Division 1 has been blown out the water

System Shock 3 just got announced.

My body is ready. Goodbye, real world.

VTM: Bloodlines 2

Now we're talking!

I downloaded the first one this afternoon, can't play with a controller.

Uninstalled.

Joy2Key

Xpadder

Actually on second thought that wouldn't work great. The game uses the number keys for weapon switching and conversations in a way that I don't think would translate well to a controller.

Welcome to the 1980s. BJ Blazkowicz is missing. His last-known whereabouts: Nazi-occupied Paris. The only ones who can find him are his twin daughters, Jess and Soph Blazkowicz—and no Nazi scum are gonna stand in their way.

Liberate Paris from the Nazi threat as you search for your father in the first open-ended co-op adventure in the series, either with a friend or an AI companion.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood releases on July 26, 2019 for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.