As we head into August, it’s time to look back at this week on GameRevolution.
This week we reviewed Fate/EXTELLA: The Umbral Star, Miitopia, Pyre, and Albion Online. Pyre in particular managed to earn our third perfect score in 24 months, an incredible accomplishment for Supergiant Games.
During the weekend we spent time covering the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive PGL tournament, including a post-event analysis of how emotional the outcome was. We also went to San Diego Comic-Con and previewed a handful of games, including the upcoming 3DS Metroid and Middle-earth: Shadow of War. Lastly, we got hands-on time with Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus at a press event.
Next week we’ll be getting started with our review of LawBreakers, debuting Jamal’s updated Grand Theft Auto V graphics mod—which will blow your mind—, and post about our interview with SteelSeries regarding a profound new product it has in the pipeline.
Below were the most popular community comments of the week.
1. sliverstorm
Article: Pyre Review – Rite with the Best of Them
Comment: They’re such a good studio. Very excited to play this. I really enjoyed the journeys of Bastion and Transistor, but wasn’t super impressed with either conclusion, so wouldn’t mind an ending that is a bit more emotionally satisfying this time around.
2. COMaestro
Forum Thread: Do You Use Headphones or Speakers?
Comment: I have little time for gaming these days, and my PC is outdated and currently in storage, so really all I use is my PS4 or Vita. Vita I typically have muted so that I can play it without disturbing anyone, and the stuff I’ve played on it lately really doesn’t require the audio. The PS4 is hooked up to the TV, so if I’m monopolizing the picture, I may as well monopolize the sound as well! Speakers!
3. The Griz
Article: No, Not Every New Game Necessitates a Nintendo Switch Release
Comment: I agree. What the Switch overs is something truly unique aside from Xbox/PS4/PC. Switch is the only device to really make a case that you must buy it and not settle for another system. I expect there will be many PC/Switch or PS4/Switch owners out there. There is portability/exclusives that are hard selling points.
I think they cross platform 3rd party stuff is not what the Switch aims at. Ubisoft is already making an exclusive for the Switch. Capcom said the success of their SF port has garnered them interest to develop for the platform. If you look at the most successful 3rd party titles on nintendo platforms, it was not people just putting a cross platform game on the system. Fifa, CoD, etc have sold terribly on Nintendo hardware. Games from 3rd parties like the Rare to the n64 or various devs on the 3DS have made a success by making exclusive games for the Nintendo hardware. If Mario Rabbids has a crazy attach rate like other releases so far 3rd parties will be interested in getting their own flavor on the system.
Our itch to make direct comparisons and argue whats the best system to play Overwatch on doesn’t really hold up. Its not really the aim of NIntendo to compete with others on the front.
Thanks for the read
4. Chunibrow
Article: For Honor Will Move to Dedicated Servers
Comment: Good for the people still playing but still this is coming so hilariously late it’s like they’re trolling everyone who left months ago with the fix that should have been there in the first place.
5. Master_Craig
Forum Thread: What Are You Playing? – The Official Thread
Comment: Still playing Styx: Shards of Darkness for PS4.
It’s getting better and more interesting. I’m finding the game is becoming more fun as I level up Styx’s abilities and make further use of his powers. The story is getting more interesting too, but I find that there are some things I don’t understand, most likely because I didn’t play the previous and original Styx game.
I encountered a “boss” recently. Without spoiling anything, I failed two times, the second time was quite unfair as after I beat the boss, I accidentally set off a trap and died, resulting in me having to do the entire encounter again. In saying that, the third time… the boss seemed bugged. It didn’t attack me at all. I just thought “screw it” and took it as a blessing.
So far, what I do like about the game:
- Styx’s powers are fun (e.g. creating and controlling clones)
- Most levels are quite open, offering multiple paths and optional objectives
- Some environments can look quite nice and creative, Styx’s character model looks cool
- Decent stealth, focusing on light, shadow and sound
- Interesting story and lore/universe, once you get into it
- Has co-op mode, which sounds awesome but I’ve yet to try
Now, what I don’t like about the game:
- Slow start
- Game seems unpolished in terms of some graphics (other character models look awful) and game play mechanics
- Climbing can be a huge pain in the arse, not as accurate as other games like Assassin’s Creed or even Uncharted
- Enemy A.I can be very strange at times – can be downright abused, or quite difficult
- Questionable mechanics, e.g. a stealth game that won’t let you close doors once they’ve been opened
- No way to dispatch enemies by non-lethal means, e.g. can’t knock them out
- Occasional bugs, e.g. the boss fight mentioned above
- The game’s writing – the writers tried way too hard to make Styx funny, often breaking the forth wall by talking to the player, making references to the game itself (“I gotta talk to the writers about this one”), and making a lot of pop culture references. Very hit and miss
I haven’t finished the game yet but if I were to give it a “score in progress”, I’d probably say 7 out of 10, or maybe 6.5 out of 10.
6. TurinAlexander
Article: Fortnite Review-in-Progress: Fun Co-op Gameplay with an Unfortunate Pay to Win Structure
Comment: Well, I was interested before I heard about the microtransactions and such. I get that running servers isn’t free, I also understand that generating post launch content isn’t free. I’m OK with paying for things. I’m not OK with paying for things that should already be in the game. Cosmetic content? Sure. Side grades? Sure. Locking superior content behind a punitive RNG and charging for a way to get around it? Not so much. I’ll be passing on this game unless they change the payment model.
7. ShadeTail
Article: Legacy WoW Server Faces Blizzard Lawsuit on Day of Launch
Comment: Hmmm. Now suddenly I’m wondering if Blizzard has something big coming. It makes me think of when Nintendo sent the C&D letter about AM2R, and everyone started shouting how Nintendo just hates their fans and all that. And it turned out all along Nintendo were secretly working on their own Metroid 2 remake.
So maybe this is just a standard legal action, or maybe Blizzard has something big planned for WOW and doesn’t want whatever it is to have to compete with unauthorized clones of their own game.
8. James Kozanitis
Article: Top 5 Best Plays of CS: GO PGL Major Krakow 2017
Comment: Man, I thought nothing would beat #2. I’m sad I missed the finals because I didn’t see #1 live. That was nuts!
9. drathbone
Article: Final Fantasy XV’s Multiplayer Will Be Playable Next Week in Beta Form
Comment: I’ve since canceled my XBL subscription, because I simply don’t play on the xbox anymore, so I’m assuming it won’t be playable without live. I also thought that it would be the main story with another friend, but it seems it’s going to be mission based/side stuff.
*sigh*, I’d pay again just to have a pc release.
10. StudioTan
Forum Thread: Publisher’s Grip on Developers
Comment: I just read that IO Interactive has severed itself from Square Enix and is now an independent development studio, securing the rights to the Hitman games. To celebrate, the DRM has been removed, the prologue made free, and the first season put on sale; quite the admirable gesture from the devs.
Certainly the new Hitman game sold well enough, surely because of the name, but its handling by the publisher really hurt the image the franchise. In the fallout of the Absolution bomb, this game was released episodically on a monthly basis, and Shirley I’m not the only one who passed in lieu of a complete edition. Well, I completely forgot about Hitman until today, and while it may have been well-received, I can’t help but imagine its reception had it been sold as a complete package. I, for one, would have already bought it.
What other games throughout the years have been poorly handled by their publishers, so much that it overshadowed an otherwise good game and perhaps ruined a promising development studio? In the publisher’s absence, Would “No Man’s Sky” have been a $15-20 title? Would “Evolve” be fun? Would Konami not be burning in some proverbial Hell for canning “Silent Hill?”
Is it all about ze money, Lebowski? Do we need these bad guys so we can point our fingers? To be the man, you gotta beat the man?
