About a week ago, something funny happened to me, I got accused of 'shoddy journalism'. Considering how I've never viewed these posts as nothing more than an outlet about the evil that seeks to ruin this industry, calling me a 'Journalist' (not matter how shoddy) is kind of a compliment, really.
But the public has spoken, either because I'm doing something very right or very, very wrong...so what exactly do Journalists do? Why, they go to conventions! And what better way to cement my reporter credentials by traveling to Bahrain to attend the IGN convention and report back to all you lovely folks?
I keed, as Triumph the Dog would say, but it is true that I am in Bahrain, resting after the festivities of the first day had come to pass. I got to play several demos and even got a chance to get a first hands-on look at the PS4.
So where do we start?
--- Knack ---
Knack was the first game I played, mostly because there was a pain-in-the-ass line and I just wanted to get it over with. About 40 minutes and dozens of players unable to make it past the first stage, I had a pretty good idea what the game was going for. Knack was a colorful, whimsical game that reminded me so much of Kameo back when the Xbox 360 seemed like a doorway to endless possibilities before it degenerated into cesspit of brown, corridor shooters.
Gameplay-wise, Knack's movement are more akin to Crash Bandicoot's than Mario. I think that's what got most people killed, they were so accustomed to Mario's far-reaching jump that they couldn't comprehend why Knack only travelled two feet instead of landing on the enemy's head.
The only cons about this game were a drop in the frame rate when Knack became so huge and suddenly exploded into millions of tiny pieces. The second con was a noticeable load time. I have no idea if it was the way the demo worked or not but a few people complained how the PS4 was supposed to have no load times.
All'n'all, I'm definitely getting this for my nephews but not before having a go at it myself.
--- Dual Shock 4 ---
Nothing can express the joy I had for finally getting a feel of this thing. I was told not to get my hopes up. I didn't and I was blown away. The DS4 is superior in every way to the DS3. It's comfortable, the L2/R2 buttons do not slip and analogue sticks new size do not take away from their responsivness.
--- Driveclub ---
Arguably the winner of the convention, seeing how it drew the most crowd. I never got around to have a go with Driveclub but what I saw was impressive. Though the game was running in 'Alpha Code', the frame rate had been more consistent than Knack.
--- Lords of Shadow 2 ---
I have mixed feelings when it comes to the Castlevania reboot. While I definitely do not appreciate making the gameplay into a copy/paste version of God of War, the series itself (LoD, MoF, LoD2) does not offend every fibre of my being like, say, DmC.
Still, with this game, the transformation into God of War is now complete. The stage I got play had Gabriel squaring off a colossal enemy wherein he had to climb up all the way to the top of the beast's head ot slay him. Whilst this is not unlike that one stage in the first LoD, the whole 'feel' of the climb felt more arcadey, more cinematic. It got tedious after a while, so I quit.
In the interest of fairness, though, the lightning in that game was pretty.
--- Dance Central 2014 ---
The Xbox One was suspiciouisly (or rather, auspiciously) absent from the whole proceeding so all we had to contend with was Dance Central 2014. I've always found the Kinect to be a superfluous peripheral, ever since it failed to live up to whole 'Project Milo' shenanigan and from what I've seen, I wasn't in danger of changing my mind any time soon. People were laughing their heads off, partyl because of they were knocking each other out whilst waving their arms and partyl because this one girl stood still, doing nothing and yet she was racking up 'Perfect's. Huh....
--- Killer Instinct ---
I got a chance to ask a certain someone (won't divulge who, but with a little research you can probabbly suss him out) about Killer Instinct and if he had played it. He confirmed that he had and though the game was fun between friends, he very much doubts it'll be taken seriously by the fighting community or make an impact on EVO.
"Mid-to-low level tier skill." he said. "Definitely needs more polish."
--- Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z ---
What Ninja Gaiden 3 should have been, sans the filthy humor. Playing Yaiba is like playing a comic book in videogame form.
--- Keiji Inafune ---
The man, th legend, the myth himself: Keiji Inafune came to Bahrain to promote Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z and to talk about Mega Man. About two questions in, the moderator switched to asking about Mighty No. 9 and the crowd erupted in cheer. By this point, one could also see tears in Mr. Inafune's eyes. He was a charming, humble man and spoke words of gratitude when fans turned down their questions and iinstead chose to express their gratitude for changing their lives with his games.
That's not to say no one asked a question, now and then:-
Q: Will Mega Man Legends 1 and 2 ever appear on PSN?
Inafune: *laugh* That's up to Capcom.
Q: Are you ever going to make Mega Man Legends 3?
Inafune: Right now, it seems impossible. You really need to ask Capcom.
Q: Did Zero kill the previous cast?
Inafune: I created Zero to be a really kind and gentle soul. So, no, he did not kill Rock, Roll and the rest of our friends.
Q: Are you happy or sad that Mega Man is in Super Smash 4?
Inafune: Definitely happy.
Q: If Mighty No. 9 is successful, are you open to branch out and make an RPG/Adventure iteration starring him?
Inafune: It's still too early to tell. Right now I want to concentrate on making the best game I can.
Q: Will you ever get back the rights for Zero? I mean, Capcom can keep X for all I care but Zero is your creation. You should sue Capcom to get him back. *my friend asked this question*
Inafune: *launches into excessive and embarased stiffled laugh*
Moderator: I'll answer this question for him...All together now--
Crowd: -You really need to ask Capcom-
Later on, Inafune retired to the lounge for a private meet'n'gree with those with VIP passes. Now I'm glad I scrounged up for this ticket instead of forking $10,000 over a pledge on Kickstarter. Up close, he was really charming and approachable. It's almost jarring how surreal it was to drink coffee and chat about games with the man.
Thus we come to the end of my hastily written entry. I'm low on sleep and susstenance, so what I probably believe to be well-documented blog post might actually turn out to be a bunch of incomprehensible garbage by morning.
Until next time.
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Disclaimer: MightynoX does not go out of his way to intentionally offend people with his opinion. It just comes to him naturally.
Lately, a number of notorious difficult ARPGs have added difficulty options. Is that a good thing or does it ruin the experience?
As long as it is just an option, it is totally okay, but it's also OKAAAAY! To simply ignore that option.
Long as fromsoft never does it. This was only expected since the soulslike genre is so popular now.
Stuff like this really shows that people completely missed the point of that argument. The argument was never that souls likes shouldn't have a difficulty option. The argument was that if someone makes a game, particularly souls likes, that did not want to include difficulty options, that you should just respect that instead of demanding and berating the developers to add them.
I see the lack of difficulty settings as one of the key traits that defines a Soulslike. It’s not just about being challenging. It’s about how the game is built around that challenge, expecting you to learn through failure and grow by mastering its systems. Once you introduce difficulty options, you’re changing that foundation. You’re giving players a way around the intended experience, actually you are killing the whole idea of a "intended experience".
That doesn’t make the game worse, necessarily, but at that point, it’s just not a Soulslike anymore. It's a action RPG.
The Soulslike genre is a lot more than just 'hard' games. There is so much more to it than that.
In most cases, for a genre to be successful, there must be multiple entries in that genre from different franchises, some easier and some more difficult. The Soulslike genre has grown impressively well so far with most of the games being on the difficult end of the scale.
The other aspect to consider is WHAT makes Soulslike games hard. In the best examples, it isn't just because the bosses and enemies are engineered to be difficult, but because the entire gameplay (from the hard-to-master combat, to the labyrinthine levels, to the additional punishment for dying) is geared towards creating a world that seems to be trying to prevent you from making progress. Beating a boss isn't the only thing that makes you feel as though you've progressed in a Soulslike - finding a shortcut, a particular item, or learning how to defeat a particular enemy type are all forms of progression.
An 'easier' game can still exist with all those elements.
IGN: Microsoft has announced a collaboration with AMD for the next Xbox console - which sounds a lot like a gaming PC.
I think what most are struggling with is the concept of a console that is NOT a closed platform.
An open one. You're used to being locked in.
Exactly. If I can run Steam, Epic, and GOG, as well, it will be interesting to see and consider getting one. My first branded Xbox since 360.
Saying, “working closely with the Windows team to make Windows the number one gaming platform.” is not the same as saying the console is going to play PC games.
If they are telling you they are making a console and all this other stuff, why not just say the console is going to support PC? Why play coy about it?
To me it seems like more of a reply to the fact that they have a Rog Ally that they are trying to sell but has terrible performance because of Windows 11 and they are simply trying to convince people to buy it.
In an embarrassment for Microsoft, SteamOS seems to destroy Windows 11 on gaming performance and battery life, as well as usability
https://www.windowscentral....
Every generation people say Xbox is going to play PC games then it doe
This is what I thought as well. They haven't made it entirely clear if this is going to be PC like console.
If it is, how are they going to pull it off? Will they still charge for online? What about censorship? Last time I checked Microsoft doesn't even like having curvy women in thier games, so what are they going to do about the adult content on steam?
This thing isn't going to be a true Xbox, and its also rumored to cost more than $1000.
As opposed to "open platform", it´s gonna be *more open* instead. That´s the main difference that some people still don´t realized.
The Xbox Next will continue and be your conventional home console. However it that will bring a revolutionary innovation to console market by bridge the gap and blur the line between console and PC gaming.
Literally the best of both worlds!
Square Enix has been expanding its multiplatform releases, including Final Fantasy XVI. A port for the Nintendo Switch 2 may be on the menu.
Sounded too much like marketing so I deleted it.