A recent release that may have flown under your radar is Soul Sacrifice, an action RPG for the PS Vita. One of the main combat mechanics is the decision between sacrificing or saving downed enemies and allies. Saving an ally brings them back at the cost your health, while sacrificing them grants you an extra special attack. Sacrificing enemies restores charges for casting magic, while saving them restores a portion of your own health. Players even have the option of sacrificing parts of their own body. While this idea makes combat interesting, it would be nice to see the choices you make at the end of each level have an effect on the story and the outcome of the game. Essentially, does your choice really influence the direction the game takes? Many games have toyed with the idea of influencing the world around you, as well as the citizens who reside in it. But which games did it well, and which failed to influence the player to continue playing?
From HalfBeard's HUD.
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BLG writes, "Some of the most popular games have had a rough start, with some of them being downright unplayable.
Despite that, developers have managed to turn it around for them and make their game worth playing. Here are some games that had a rough start but were pretty great."
Sea of Thieves... I'm not disagreeing that the game has improved in terms of content. But I feel that the most significant change between now and its release is actually the public perception. Nowadays, most people are aware that the game is a multiplayer PvP-focused experience first and foremost, and not "Black Flag made by Rare". Consequently, people dismissing the whole experience because the single-player aspect is lacking or the story is plain are much less common.
Several years ago, i submitted an idea to Rare that would change up the mechanics of battling opponents in the game. whereby if you died in battle, you turned into a skeleton warrior and had to fight your way back to the land of the living. It was an interesting twist on respawning and would allow the player to experience both sides of a battle.
I keep hoping to see something like that get added to the game.
It's sad that this quick retort is more often than not true... The industry's acceptance of release and patch has gone too far.
Days gone! By the end of the game I couldn't drop it down! I went around so many hours killing zombies! It was addictive by the end.
I don't know, I got it abit late, and struggled for a few days, and then all of a sudden it just got good!!
Announced in 2020, Playground Games' open-world action RPG has seen sporadic updates and departures but still no release date.
I expect it to release by the time the next Xbox releases. Can that be 2026? Sure
You could say the same for any number of games that were stupidly announced during pre-production. Elder Scrolls 6 & Perfect Dark are current examples, Blade is another recent one and in the past Mass Effect Andromeda and Cyberpunk 2077 come to mind.
I don't think this game is in any trouble. For a start, Playground Games are one of the few under MS Studios that actually have a track record of delivering on time and with quality. We got a trailer last year and I'd fully expect there to be something more substantial at the next showcase in the summer.
No dramas here - just another victim of Microsoft's incompetence. They simply had to announce several games way too early because they had nothing else to talk about.
how are they a victim when they are clearly being given enough time? They haven't set any release date, haven't had to show any trailers, how is that being a victim? You even say yourself that you think it's not in trouble.
TESVI was mostly announced to stop people from asking. Like how they gave us a roadmap of first Starfield, then TES then Fallout. So people keep asking whether they'll do another one or not.
But Fable and Perfect Dark was defineately too early.
The same thing that happens to any project when you announce it far too early. Perfect Dark, Fable, The Elder Scrolls 6, Star Wars KOTOR Remake...you actually have to, I don't know, make the game?
I'm fairly confident this game will see the light of day, as Playground have released 5 Forza games of quality and on schedule. Think it was just revealed too early.
The only issue I see is that, as you mentioned, they have only done Forza games. An RPG is completely different requiring completely different facets.
Whole new different open world....not just tracks. Character designs and animations, dialogue, combat systems, quest systems, equipment and inventory managment....the list is very long and none of it falls under their previous experience.
Even with assistance from other studios I believe they are still far off from delivering a complete version of this game.
Completely disagree with the inclusion of New Vegas, I'd say it's one of the best. Forget about karma, it's not part of the game (and nor should it be - who the hell knows you've been stealing?) it's about how you treat people and how their factions react to that. Also they never forget the bad you've done to them with the wild child status etc. they still react negatively, despite improving ur rep to good.
It's also wrong to say rep has no effect on companions as some will refuse to work with you if you are on good terms with the legion or kill NCR soldiers
I think games where you don't know you're being evaluated are the best influence systems
Games like spec ops the line or metro 2033 and last light where how you influence the game is not 100 percent apparent until the consequences come and hit you in the face
Also I really enjoy games that have ambiguous choices and consequences with no clear moral highground, like The Witcher 2. I felt like everyone in the witcher, for example, was a lying, cheating, murderous scumbag, and no choice was 'good' or 'bad'
As far as what I have played the 3 best he picked all suck. Guess what you end up at relatively the same ending no matter what. Those r fun games... well except walking dead(overated to no end, and yes i played and beat it)
I say Heavy Rain had the best "influence" system we've seen so far.
"While the second KOTOR lacks when it comes to storytelling. . ."
Couldn't disagree with you more.