I think the problem stems from the show being overhyped and it being almost 2 years since the last showcase. People wanted to see more. There were some cool smaller games like Helldivers 2, things I like to see in a showcase, but after so long, people wanted to see much more of the roadmap for Playstation.
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That makes more sense, agreed. But just waving away stuff because ânot enough AAAâ feels distinctly ironic given Xboxâs recent history.
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I agree, smaller games should matter just as much on any platform, and Iâm hoping there will be some cool indie stuff as well during the Xbox showcase. Just that I can see why people would be frustrated after so long.
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Xbox has nothing to do with my own opinion although I can only speak for myself.
The entire gaming industry is in the gutter. I donât know whether itâs Covid which messed with everything or the rising production costs (or a combination of both) but my God, the level of total garbage tier games being foisted upon hungry consumers boggles the mind.
Redfall was absolutely not an isolated incident & weâre seeing all sorts of problems in what feels like the majority of titles these days. Just look at Spiderman 2âs incredibly disappointing graphics leap (or lack thereof) since the first game. I mean Red Dead 2 looks better than new gen titles.
Thereâs something seriously messed up going on behind the scenes in this industry.
Xbox: First time?
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I keep watching that trailer for Marathon and Iâm in love with the art and design, looks crazy stylish! Not sure about the game itself but Iâm gonna keep an eye on it.
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I donât really have a view on this, other than: expecting every game to match RDR2 is a stretch. Sure, more powerful hardware etc, but very, very few games get anything like RDR2âs resourcing. Hell, very little in the world of media and arts does!
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Maybe, but thereâs a generic feel to asset placement & lighting in modern games (especially open world) which gives the distinct feeling half of the production is done with the help of⌠an AI script.
Itâs just flat & lifeless, devoid of proper art direction of any note. I mean what more can be said? I think Infamous Second Son & Arkham Knight destroy most modern open world games in terms of art design & âcareâ put into crafting the world, its characters, its animations & the look & feel of it. So itâs not just about Red Dead either.
Saints Row 2022 is another modern disaster which nearly a year after its release now feels like a wider trend. Everything is so generic, empty, soulless & has no quality art direction of any sort. Iâm just talking visuals here as well because the actual gameplay in modern games has been stagnating for 15 years now. Itâs all a variation on the same rehashed genres.
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Iâm not as downbeat as you, but I do recognise some of what yer saying. Iâm watching the PS Showcase now, and - and this, I am sure, will apply to Xbox too, and various other shows (Nintendo excepted, some of the time) - so many games look very, very familiar. Ditto the wider emphasis on certain kinds of humour, specatcle et al popularised/thrashed to death via Marvel etc/over-emphasis on cinema=games (which I think speaks to a wider issue for me, which is the necessary limitations of pop culture.)
Gaming as a whole has a hell of a lot to do to develop, imo. Thatâs to the good, though. More room for difference and development to come.
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Huh, I think the video I watched deleted movie trailer part. Lol.
I mean sure I am quite downbeat. For example just take a look at the other era this morning: thereâs a thread with an OP featuring more text than The Lord of the Rings about getting an early copy of Final Fantasy 16.
Scroll to the bottom of the post (to get to the good part, right?) & the punchline is: âgame of the generation, game of the year, best game ever, pre-order now, buy buy buyâ.
I mean damn, this industry is so, so tiresome sometimes.
It looks good, but having played a bit of Miles Morales recently, I didnât see much of an evolution. The trailer was also too long and the on-rails segments didnât help at all.
I do like that bot Spider-Men are playable and interested to see how thatâs utilised.
I was on the ride home where internet gets cut off during showcase, so I wasnât able to watch it live. After reading reactions, I was bit surprised to be honest. After reading for hours, I decided to watch it. My thoughts: not really an awful show but definitely underwhelming and somewhat dull.
The opener was a mistake in my opinion. It should have open with Metal Gear Solid 3 Remake despite being CGI. The opening is important to get the fans hype and get the ball rolling. Instead, it opened with a new IP title under a studio that didnât mention the accolade of Assassinâs Creed in CGI form. It also left an impression that itâs another live service shooter with maybe some twists here and there, but the casual will go back to usual programming in a week. This hurt the flow for me.
The placement of games are odd in my opinion. When it comes to variety, indies did the job, but when it comes first party, it leaves no impression aside from another game inbound. Only one that left something aside from Spider-Man 2 was Helldivers 2. When I said the placement is odd, I mean it felt like PS either pick which game to show first by lottery or the order of who approached them first. For example, SF6 came around 30 minutes, thinking theyâre done with Capcom. Then DD2 happen much later on.
Another thing is how some game got sandwiched with others that doesnât register the flow properly. Some will show gameplay, some wonât, and some will show little. I know I shouldnât ask why not have AAA its own section because that would mean theyâre higher class to some, but it could have adjusted better. Like with Xbox, youâll know youâre beginning to see games that are from them and will comes later than anticipated, like The Outer World 2. Plus youâll remember when it happens. Alan Wake 2 happened in the middle of nowhere.
Lastly, the showcase on the games. I canât help but feel Sony asked them to show little gameplay and focus on cinematic or CGI. Many indie games look neat, but some I come off not knowing how it actually plays. It was there just to show how pretty it is. With first party titles, they offered CGI and gameplay that is action even if it was on-rail. My personal opinion, Iâm tired of the game being showcase with set pieces that youâre just prompted to press. Itâs going to be a good game, but Zelda can relax is all I can say.
Third party titles felt like they were told to be more of story trailer and not gameplay trailer. DD2 and AW2 look great but they felt held back on showing more. PSVR2 felt short and didnât do anything to justify the cost and value of owning one. They started strong in sale in compare to predecessor, but itâs lagging now. It can end up like Xbox One, promising start, then falter. It didnât do me justice.
Overall, if I wasnât playing Halo to catch on the battle pass, I would have been sleeping in the middle of the show. Itâs too showy on its visual and not enough gameplay. There were first party title announcements, but not only they didnât show anything gameplay wise, especially Concord like why that had to be there, but doesnât give good impression that it will be standouting more so than games we have already seen. Itâs not bad, but itâs boring, which you can argue itâs worse. Itâs disappointing to say the least.
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Itâs like Iâve been saying, the problem isnât that Xbox is getting too big. The problem is that PlayStation wants to stay too small. I have full confidence in Xboxâs future (post Activision/ Bethesda) pipeline and zero confidence in arrogant PlayStations future pipeline. I sold my ps5 after God Of War Ragnarok and traded it into GameStop for a PC. The way I see it PlayStation is on a trajectory to release 1 game a year. Iâll just wait for the delayed PC version.
Xbox is on pace to host an E3 of dreams every single year and I wouldnât be surprised if PlayStation never holds a E3 press conference âshowcaseâ again.
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The price is going to be final nail.
I guess since itâs Jade Raymond I was expecting something more in the mold of Assassinâs Creed, a story-based single player IP in the fantasy or history or even sci-fi realm. Something epic that would kick off a cool new universe. A multiplayer bank robber game is very disappointing to me from Haven.
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Maybe they thought this is what Contraband will be like.
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That showing was embarrassing. Phil must be happy
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it looks good. I watched again in 4K. How can anyone say it looks bad? is not genuine.
I think the right word would be underwhelming. It still looks good and all, but I guess some were expecting a similar leap as Ratchet or at least how last trailer from last showcase demonstrated. To put it simple, Starfield will be a visual pleaser in compare.
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