@DarkOCelot: It really is. And it's a new change of strategy for Sony. If they're going to get into a financial dick-swinging match with MS gobbling up third-party titles, things could get messy.
Kinda both exciting and worrying.
Both Enhanced Witcher games for under £3? Just... YES!
That's a damn fine top three.
That was the great thing about the PSOne, and the PS2 to an even greater degree...
you could put twenty people in a room, have them come up with a top three, and they'd all be different, and all be awesome :D
Agonised over Symphony of the Night vs MGS.
That last line there is the kicker: companies do this because they know how much people love these franchises and brands. It's exploitation, pure and simple.
I think Sleeping Dogs is a better comparison. SD was an outstanding open world game that knew its limitations, didn't outstay its welcome, and just did everything really very well indeed. There's much to be said for a game with a smaller map, but well-designed quests and side-quests, excellent combat and driving/traversal mechanics, and meaningful DLC (like the zombie pack).
Bigger isn't all always better, Ubisoft.
Ubisoft probably made a deal with Specsavers. For every pair of specs you buy as a result of the small writing, Ubi get a percentage.
My problem is more with in-game currency. It's a small distinction, but this is what really messes up game balance and design. Reward players for doing cool things in-game, not through an arbitrary currency system that can be leveraged aggressively for monetisation.
Microtransactions for cosmetic unlocks and maybe even XP boosts are sort of okay in my book (it's a case-by-case thing). But I'm yet to see a game improved in any way by having premium in-game currency...
"Dual currency" and "microtransactions" are phrases that I HATE seeing next to full price games. They are, in essence, admissions of defeat...
"We couldn't be arsed to create a meaningful way for you to earn this in-game, so here's a pay option because we're admitting that the game we made is unbalanced."
Microtransactions existed in fully priced games simply because they can. And that's a real shame.
Updated, cheers fella!
That extra controller is welcome too. Especially for some Boxing Day Halo snacktion.
To be precise, you got a (very good) game because you bought a Season Pass that got cancelled.
Ubisoft can just give out digital codes. It doesn't really cost them anything, rather than, say, handing money back and refunding those Season Passes.
^ This
Halo: MCC was the main reason I wanted an Xbox One this winter, but I'm gonna ride it out until the New Year now. Not gonna buy into a franchise game that *might* work. Sure I could play the campaigns, but Halo is one of the few FPS MP titles that I love and if that aspect ain't stable, no dice. Will pick it up cheap in the Jan sales.
But they're not really. The free DLC might be nice if Unity were a better game, but the free game is only being given to people who blindly bought Season Passes already because Ubisoft chose to can the SP.
I don't want to give them props for this. It was an entirely avoidable situation. I want them to promise to do better and back it up.
Man, if they'd replaced Unity with Far Cry 4 or Titanfall or COD, I'd be there. But that is a damn fine price. Four games console package for sub-£300... could always resell the unwanted titles elsewhere.
It's a slippery slope. We've had day one patches, now we'removing into release-broken-fix-later territory, and it has to stop. Free gifts weeks after a botched release aren't good enough, especially not when it comes to a game that's primarily a singleplayer experience.
Thing is, if past years are anything to go buy, all of these games will likely be even cheaper in the proper winter sale. Am just about holding off for now... but it probably won't last.
It never does with Steam sales :D
This is a really interesting point. I think we consumers all were, and for a long time too, but you're right -- devs and pubs have struggled to make the most of new-gen.
Agreed. MS had to step things up, and did so with Tomb Raider. Now Sony have had to respond to try and maintain dominance (especially given the financial dire straits of all of their other departments). SF is a big win for them.