Withywarlock

Literally any competent studio. I think Spiders of all people should get priority given the moderate success of GreedFall, and their proven ability with world-building in any setting they run with. Star Wars would be great in their hands, and I reckon Focus Home Interactive now has the pull to obtain such a license.

My gun metal grey Phanteks P400 has really grown on me over the few years I've had it, and I find it almost a shame I'll be replacing its boring front panel with a mesh cover for breathability and getting more out of the green RGB lighting I've got within. So honestly, I think I prefer the more simple cases for their affordability and having an appeal in a world of overdesigned PCs. The only downside is that the window's on the left-hand side so I've just got a grey slab to look at as the PC sits on my left. If I ever do decide to get another case, I'd want it so I could see everything on the other side.

Electronic Arts is the lesser of the two evils here. Between sexual abuse and tax scandals happening right under their noses, Take Two Interactive should be starved while they're taking as much money as they do from Grand Theft Auto (specifically Online) and Red Dead Online. If Codemasters die, which is likely given EA probably only want their racing licenses such as DiRT and GRID, it'll be (almost) entirely of their own accord given they've not produced anything above decent-ish for the past few years. It's amazing they've gone on for this long, to be quite honest. Still, if there's one thing I don't like Electronic Arts for its their cattle baron strategy in buying whatever racing properties they can. Barring Sony's Gran Turismo and Microsoft's Forza Motorsport, there's not much competition left now Codemasters are out of the picture. Who knows, we might get a good Overlord game out of this.

If Machinegames are doing the gruntwork, then I would imagine the new game would be in the far superior id Tech 7 engine rather than Creation. However given how many iterations said engine has seen over the years, I wouldn't be surprised if there was going to be an id Tech 8 for this game, and maybe others in the future. As for the general news of this game, I'm interested but not excited. Mind you, I did enjoy the We All Fall Down DLC of We Happy Few because of the whip antics....

I didn't find enough value in Game Pass to justify continuing my subscription after the Xbox App beta, though I might be tempted to get it again if Ubisoft's offering is up to scratch, and with EA being there it's incredibly tempting. I'm not hugely excited for this news, but it has reignited an interest in Microsoft's plans for Xbox.

The greatest obstacle to overcome is defining 'broken'. We can point to Cyberpunk 2077, but the game is playable from start to finish. It's not a pleasant experience, but it's doable nonetheless. Who ultimately gets to decide the importance and magnitude of a piece of content not functioning as the highest authority of the development process intends? For all intents and purposes Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is broken. I do not want it removed from Steam even though the studio which made it no longer exists to patch it, because there is a very hard working individual who has been patching the game for over ~14 years now. It's a very good game, and I'd hate for others to miss out on a fantastical piece of RPG history because a suit somewhere decided it wasn't fit for them personally. I'm of the belief that Cyberpunk 2077 was pulled for cynical publicity purposes rather than any concrete values. When Aliens: Colonial Marines, Battlefield 4, Assassin's Creed Unity, Fallout 76 and Anthem weren't removed, I have to wonder what else could've caused CP2077 to be pulled other than hype blowing up in people's faces.

I've yet to play a game where it wasn't more beneficial to take all and ask questions later. Everything in a game is worth something to someone, even if it's just lowly vendor trash. With inventory sorting being ever the more sophisticated now, it's easier to sort junk and low-value items and dump them if I can't reach a vendor. If it's useable in crafting, I'll stick it in the generous crafting storage the game will have if the developers know what's good for their knees.

I have two kinds of journal: A genealogy book, which was gifted to me by my partner for Christmas 2020. She'd evidently thought about it because I do so love notebooks, but it's also based on Doctor Who, being in the shape of a TARDIS. It's quite poetic that in Doctor Who River Song kept a journal of a similar description to jot down her adventures with the time-traveller, past and present. I use that book specifically for my genealogy findings as my partner got me into the hobby. A 'creepy notebook', a name I got from a Mr. Plinkett review in reference to the money he'd 'saved' on his Kodak printer challenge. I used it to jot down notes at an organisation I had to attend last year, the organisation where I'd met my partner. That tatty old thing was one of the many things I'd included in my Christmas gift for her as it was frequently brought up during our time there. But when that one was filled up, I've since kept notes and journaled conversations with her to reflect on while we're apart during this crisis. To the outside observer it's full of mundane tripe, but to me it's a treasure.

What do you think of Need for Speed: Heat? I've never played the games myself but I'm wondering if it's any better than the Mixed reviews I saw on Steam at launch, as I could do with a new open world driving game. ^^

I was just about to ask that same question. This is all very fascinating and I'm sure the boffins will come up with something in the future, I just think it'll take a few broken phones to figure out how and when.

Mike Tyson's Lunch-Out!! Mike Biteson's Punch-Out!! Bite Tyson's Punch-Out!! I'll stop now.

I'm quite enjoying the Vampires one, but my partner is the expert on The Sims, so she'd probably know how it compares to the third game's Halloween expansions. From what I gather though, 3's pretty much the better game for the expansions. If there's currently no sales on, I'd suggest waiting a wee bit longer as EA typically discount their stuff on places like Humble, Fanatical and more recently Steam, if they don't have anything on Origin itself (which is quite uncommon). I wish you luck in finding what I hope will be a fruitful purchase! ^^

I think there could be another Punch-Out!! because as far as I'm aware its not Mike Tyson's property, and Super Punch-Out!!'s omission of Tyson means he isn't a requirement. According to the Wikipedia page, Tyson's likeness was only rumoured to have been purchased for three-years. So what Tyson wants is as relevent as what I want. By the way Nintendo, I'd love a sequel to Warioplace ft. Withywarlock if you get chance. Same deal as before, please. Like you I don't think it'll happen. While I find a lot of Nintendo's business decisions baffling I don't think that they'd be fine tarnishing their brand working with a registered sex offender. Some may be able to forgive his past transgressions, some may be ignorant of them as I was until now, but I'm doubtful his name is worth the potential damage it could cause Nintendo's brand. They're nothing if not conservative, especially when dealing with the West with localisation.

I'm not into horror games as such and I heard mixed things about it, but if you're recommending it I may give it a go. I think the reception I might've seen may have been people expecting another Amnesia: The Dark Descent, and not being wowed after Alien: Isolation and The Evil Within. Here's hoping time has done it justice. ^^

Tempted as I am to give a negative answer I'm going to challenge myself to say something positive. So the thing that hasn't so much shocked me as surprised me is how many people have been able to enjoy as many genres they have, and form groups for discussion and become friends over their findings. When I was growing up gaming mostly formed cliques, but now it's so much easier to talk to people and recommend games outside of our comfort zones to others looking for something worth playing.

What makes change difficult is it's a culmination of all of those things: Publishers choosing to accept investment by being publically traded. Depending on the number of shares, Investors can inject themselves into the creative direction as much as publishers. Developers not being in a position, or not using their current position to properly communicate to the publisher why a game needs more time or certain resources (which the publisher can provide within reason). Consumers who will pre-order based on what developers/publishers want them to see, and not having the willpower to wait until real-world results are live (I say this even as a critic who wants eyes on their publication). That's only scratching the surface as I don't have enough experience with the first three to begin to comment what other problems lie within. But even then, Publishers make the money they give to developers and external marketing from copies sold. Most Investors only see cheap stocks to be sold later and this would apply to any publically traded company, not just video games. Developers are, as said earlier, often overspecialised to the point where effective communication is difficult even without the stress of crunch and other workplace abuses. Consumers aren't always given enough information from what should be trustworthy sources such as reviewers because review copies can be different to what everyone else will receive, or preview events being misleading. It's not wrong for them to expect a game to function at launch, even if I advise not buying day one. So while I'd blamed consumers earlier, I also must blame the publishers for their shortsightedness (or not, as the case may be), studios getting bloated even if it wasn't the fault of the current heads, and investors for doing what investors do and damn the consequences. Like a lot of issues in this world this is another matter that is neither black nor white, but several shades of cack. I envy anyone who can blame just one of the above for not overthinking it. That way madness lies.

No need to apologise. We all knew what we were getting into by clicking the title. I think you're both right, in that one man's treasured mechanic is another's flaw. Whenever I see something I don't like in a game I ponder why it exists in the first place. The surface-level answer is that it's quite simply not for me, and it's an answer I come back to later on. But then I try to put myself into the shoes of the developer, and finally those of the person the game is for, and what joy they'd get out of it. I haven't played The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, so I'm unfamiliar with the artistic merit of such knockback. If it can be countered by blocking (I'm familiar enough with Zelda to know that Link is sometimes equipped with a shield of sorts), 'kiting' foes or using ranged weaponry, that would be the answer and I'd accept that I might not like it, but I can appreciate there is a way to deal with it. However, if the block doesn't function well, kiting enemies isn't a viable strategy or ranged weapons are too weak/scarce to use such strategies, then I'd have to continue to reflect on the developers' circumstances that led to their decision - budget, time, and so forth. All of this is coming from a mind that's been reviewing video games for 10 years, and as such has built up habits that fundamentally change how I view a game even if I just play to enjoy it for its own sake. Therefore I can hardly blame your friend if they haven't spent that sort of time looking at a game the way I have. For some people evidently such as yourself, accepting losses and different mechanical tastes comes naturally. Even with that irritatingly robotic lens I'm prone to getting frustrated and having fits of rage. It's a good job I play games solitaire otherwise I'd look no better than your average Metacritic user score-giver. Blessed be the editors, for they shall be called the children of God. Ahem. That doesn't mean you should be subject to abuse or indeed a rough time. It's true what you say: video games should be fun, and we have tons of resources out there that can tell us if a game will be fun for each of us. A Link to the Past has been around for a very long time, and with that comes a lot of resources that could tell your friend if it were fun. The knockback, whether it is a flaw or not, should be evident before purchase (assuming your friend bought the game and isn't emulating it). In any case, they should avoid playing games that frustrate them. Your friend must accept that such a feature is a big part of the game and if there's no willingness to adapt, there's going to be no enjoyment at the end. It's something I've known for donkeys' years, but I truly learnt with God of War (2018). The sooner they learn, the sooner they can begin to enjoy other games. ^^

I can't edit my own post but I'll piggyback off of this as it's reminded me of "Trigger's Broom", AKA the Ship of Theseus:

I'd always imagined myself playing a lot of games growing up, I just didn't realise that I'd be doing it for reviews. When I was a child I'd wanted to talk about games but never knew that could be a job, even though my dad bought me Official Playstation Magazine so I could have the demos and he could enjoy some light reading. So I'm rather glad to be doing that, from high school to my adulthood, even if I sometimes fail to remember how lucky I am to be in such a position.

Ah nice--, Oh bollocks. I guess now's not the time to fanboi about it. So besides Fallout: New Vegas I'd say The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. While I have virtually no time at all clocked on PC, I have spent considerable amounts of time with it since its Xbox 360 release as I was enraptured by its art style, setting, plot, stories and of course some of the finest examples of how to do DLC from the Thieves' Den all the way to the Shivering Isles. It is and always will be one of the greatest RPG experiences I've ever had.

Whenever I'm not playing Baldur's Gate or any other licensed CRPG, I miss ThAC0 and the d20 System. I will never love an RPG's combat rules if the math isn't visible, nor is it clear, which I'd say makes up more than 99% of RPGs to have ever existed.

I don't think so, no. I get the appeal of having to manage multiple relationships; there's clearly enough of a demand for it to appear in three Fable games for instance, as in games such as that you can romance any NPC and stay with them so long as your many partners don't know about one-another. The problem is those NPCs have all the depth and flavour of a Jacobs cracker. Unless the game files were to balloon and myriad bugs and glitches appear, these NPCs can't be any more than that. I suppose in a game with tighter knit romances and more developed NPCs you could have polygamy, but this again introduces even greater errors that can occur simply by virtue of having more code. I also find that many games have terrible romantic writing to begin with, so trying to convincingly write polygamy into the game as well will prove difficult. With all that said, I'm not against polygamy whether it be well done or as silly as Peter Molyneux's Pat Mustard Simulator. If you want to put your massive tool in multiple people's boxes, more power to you. ^^

I judge developers by their actions rather than their deeds, so nothing they say matters until they act upon it, even if it's a bad thing. From John Riccitiello considering charging for bullets in Battlefield to Anthem's optimistic 10 year plan, I won't truly know where a company stands until they put out their ideas rather than just entertain them in conference calls and blog posts. Very rarely do I think a development studio loses its identity. Sonic Team for example have virtually no identity left because they don't know what they want to do except ask if we remember Sonic Mania. What is a Sonic game, besides featuring Sonic the Hedgehog? Momentum? 'Tude? BioWare's identity isn't lost however. It's just changed from great storytelling and adaptations of tabletop mechanics such as AD&D 2E and the d20 System to being incompetent jokers at best and abusers at worst. I lean toward the latter. Life's too short and video games are too fun to be worth the horrendous work practices that company likes to call "BioWare Magic". This varies case-by-case. I don't know what it is about Microsoft that has caused studios they've acquired or published put out such average games (Rare Inc. with Grabbed by the Ghoulies; Sumo Digital with Crackdown 3; Ninja Theory with Bleeding Edge; Obsidian with Grounded), and I can only hope these are growing pains for companies that excel in other fields. So their identities have changed, but can change back to what they once were as makers of very good video games.

Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven and its sequel are games where the journey must be savoured because the destination isn't pretty. Much like what Vladimir Putin once said about there being "no such thing as a former KGB man", life as a mobster means you're always looking over your shoulder. Quite literally, in the case of Mafia II's ending.

Yooka-Laylee and The Impossible Lair. I was honestly expecting Playtonic to screw up their own take on Donkey Kong Country but it seems they've done well to bank on the mechanics and nostalgia of that game, as well as take ideas from Rayman Legends' rhythm and Super Mario World's challenges. I also think it's some of Grant Kirkhope and David Wise's finest music (I'd hazard a guess it's also due to the other talented musicians who collaborated on the work).