I apologize for being late on replying, guys.
All in all, yes something does kind of feel missing. I think it's the narrative that's pulling this game back. I think it would have done better to not try and have a story at all, or if more development time was put into character development and story progression. Everything OTHER than the combat feels flat and half-done. I do not, however, think it's a bad game.
Yeah, I notice some frame rate drops and camera issues now and then.
Of course it's not a Lord of The Rings game. It doesn't take place in the Lord of The Rings timespan.
I'm in the middle about all of this. Why should developers, essentially artists, owe us anything? Art can't be forced to push an agenda or satisfy a group. Then again, if the developer's vision of where they want the game to go means a female protagonist, by all means bring that vision to life.
It's because they poured all resources into looks and spent zero thought on gameplay.
I'm one of the few CoD players that will admit that the series is copy and paste. I think the difference is that CoD knows what works and what sells, so that's what it does. Assassin's knows what works and sells, which is authentic, living and breathing historical worlds, and that's what it does.
60FPS doesn't make a game relevant. If we took a mediocre or possibly bad game that was built in 30FPS and made it 60 instead, would that game suddenly become good?
I'm with you. They always manage to create such authentic worlds and it floors me how they've done so well with the many different time periods and cultures they've reimagined.
It's not horrible to have to give one up this year. With all of the other games coming out, I have to give up Rogue so I can afford to even play Unity. But as Ghost_Nappa said earlier, owners of either generation are getting the best experience because that's the area they'll be optimized for. People complain all the time about current-gen games not looking great because they're also developed for last-gen. Well, this is your solution.
The gameplay is finally looking pretty solid. I don't see anything wrong with using the AC or Arkham combat system, but it's nice to see Monolith add to it with features like using an enemy's fear against them. Pretty sweet stuff.
I'm really looking forward to this game. If the final product is anything like the demo some people got their hands on earlier this year, it can only get better.
I only disagreed with a couple of your points.
The easy combat system and easy opponents make the player feel like Batman - like a badass. If it weren't as easy to pull off all the flashy combat moves, I don't think players would want to put in the extra effort to fight like Batman.
Also having a deep detective system could be a turn-off. There were too many detective sequences in Asylum, and not enough in City. I didn't play Origins so I can'...
^This
I am so excited for this game, it's crazy. Even if it ends up not being a terrific game, I'll enjoy it as long as they respect the lore of the universe and add their own stuff that makes sense.
World At War was my favorite CoD campaign. It was gritty and intense, like I believe a war shooter should be.
You're right. Vehicles may not be the best choice. The thing about CoD is that it knows what it is, and doesn't try to be anything else. CoD devs stick to what the players like to buy, they just try to make it a little cooler each time.
Call of Duty has become a twitch arcade shooter. You can't re-create that very easily. Some people enjoy a more fast-paced game.
I think adding the verticality and, hopefully, a little bit of vehicular warfare can help with breaking the (fun) monotony.
And as long as the F-Zero soundtrack is a metal theme like X was. The newer F-Zeros were too electric.
Out of what I've personally played, I'd have to say Titanfall. Child of Light was really great, but Titanfall is just.... like, fun. It may not be a fantastic game yet, but it's a lot of fun to play.
Then again, I haven't played many 2014 games. If I had actually played Infamous: SS, that would be my pick.
I'm anxiously awaiting this release, and I've beaten both games at least three times each. Not many video games earn that much love from me.