Withywarlock

The reason why lootboxes are dangerously close to - if not worse than - gambling is because of the flashy lights and sound effects that encourage habitual behaviour exhibited in (perhaps to a greater effect than) slot machines, moreso than their financial cost (which in this game's case is nothing). Pokémon GO eggs are lootboxes because they have those exact same problems. There's a slow build up, chimes, a flash of light and the contents are revealed, just like any loot box ever made for the chemical rush. Compare this to the trading card game (TCG) where contents didn't change in the packet [no tampering from the manufacturers' end, and there's a papertrail to prove it], and simply rustled in tightly packed sellophane. This is like arguing Mann Co. crates (GO's eggs) aren't lootboxes because you purchase the keys (GO's incubators) to unlock the crates you get free, which before 'lootbox' entered the lexicon was an argument. I'm aghast that the editor didn't look at this and think "nope" unless it's to cash in on the upcoming game's hype. But then, they also approved this.

I think it's safe to say Dying Light 2's going the way of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2. There's too much internal strife for that game to come out with any sort of technical or artistic competence. It appears that and Dead Island 2 are both tripping over themselves to admit they're doing pretty badly at the moment, which like VtM:B2 before it, is par for the course of this year's releases. I'd say it's entertaining, but you need some highs with the lows. A tall woman with massive claws is about as exciting as 2021's going to get for me, and I'm not into Resident Evil.

Deal expired, locking thread Humble Bundle is currently selling a Stellaris bundle, including the base game and multiple DLC depending on which tier you choose. There's no rush to get this bundle as it ends in 19 days as of writing this, the only real problem being key shortages, which stores such as Humble are known for. It is however a value of $137 US, and this is the lowest you can expect to see prices for a Paradox game come down. Tier 1 (£0.70): Stellaris Base Game Tier 2 (£6.63): Utopia, Plantoids, and Leviathans DLC Tier 3 (£10.60): Synthetic Dawn, Apocalypse, Megacorp, and Ancient Relics DLC As someone whose had a reluctant eye on the DLC for this excellent real time 4X game, I recommend it while there's stock!

Currently playing Nioh, a Souls-like that's fundamentally different in a number of ways from the attack strategy to how loot affects progression, and such. It's decent, but I'm not sure I want to stick with it while I've got two Souls games on the backburner. It demands an amount of patience I do not currently possess.

I think Zenimax is quite safe in Microsoft's employ. A lot of studios in the Xbox division have made pretty questionable projects because of the lack of direction come their acquisition, and some studios have flat out died as a result of this. But Zenimax and Bethesda have done fine for years, and while I disagree with a lot of their decisions, they read market demands better than a great many publishers and developers. This is one of the few instances where I think Xbox keeping a hands-off approach might do them well, even if I'm worried about some of their future releases such as The Elder Scrolls VI.

Unlikely. Even with the new consoles and graphics cards releasing, I can't see big game production happening unless developer safety is thrown to the wind as they're called back into offices. Personally I think this is a good thing, as what people need right now is an emotional enema to cleanse away all the toxins of hype culture, customers and industry people both.

I've never been one for Beat-'em-Ups but this may well change my mind. Impressive reveal, and the gameplay looks super fun. Definitely going to keep my eye on this one.

Perhaps. Usually when people say [x] is the future, like they did with Google Stadia, it's typically wrong because there's something else creeping up behind it and ultimately surpasses it. Consumer tech in recent years is an increasingly self-fulfilling prophecy not unlike Aesop's fable of the tortoise and the hare. Downloading music became streaming; online magazines vie against YouTube; television is competing with Netflix; and Virtual Reality is having to do more to appeal to those waiting on the increasing developments of Augmented Reality. There's also ideological problems when it comes to streaming. It seems all of the companies investing in this believe the following: streaming video games is a good idea -> we know streaming video games is a good idea because we don't have bad ideas -> Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will accomodate us because streaming video games is a good idea. Neither Nvidia, Microsoft nor Google - Google! - have any bargaining power over any of these ISPs from TalkTalk to BT. Angus Young said it better than I ever could. So while streaming might be the future, it won't be until companies who have no reason to budge do so, until the research and development is researched and developed, the costs stop being costly, and someone brings something besides the fact you can play games you've already bought for less that run better elsewhere.

Minor mistake there, Kane. XD It could be AO (Adults Only), which ratings authorities tend not to dole out because retailers can't push those games. This to me feels like a conflict of interests, that ratings boards can't give our accurate scores because they align more with the subject they're rating rather than the people they're supposed to 'protect'. Honestly, I'm rather glad for this news. I appreciate the argument for governments not stepping in to regulate the games industry, but the authorities who were supposed to do so didn't. They've had years to curb their avarice after so many warnings from people who have no business being this correct (i.e me) and chose not to, which is all within the rules of the system many Western countries and governments adopt.

I suppose one could say Wizardry led to Ultima Underworld, which led to The Elder Scrolls. There's also System Shock -> Bioshock and Prey, being immersive sims, arguably an off-shoot of RPGs without being explicitely called such.

Nowadays, nothing. No matter the studio, publisher or circumstances could drive me to do it because I can't hold the belief pre-ordering damages the industry whilst partaking in it, even if I'm just one person, like all the other people who pre-order. Don't get me wrong, I would have loved that Fallout: New Vegas collector's edition from Argos with the poker set, even if I didn't much like the game at the time. It's incredibly hard to get today, never mind at a decent price. Alas, for every New Vegas there's about 72 Evolves with their own unwanted statue editions. It's a good job every game somehow manages to net a Game of the Year (GOTY) award because whatever rubbish it came with pre-release gets flogged for pennies on digital storefronts a year later.

I can confirm The Godfather (and its sequel) are very good games, if somewhat weird to play today. I strongly recommend them to anyone who likes Mafia III, because it's that but better in just about every way, minus hanging a racist from a ferris wheel. Swings and roundabouts I suppose. I don't remember the praise for King Kong despite reading a few weeks back it was well received. I only liked it because it was an easy 1,000 Gamerscore on the Xbox 360. Otherwise, I can't think of many movie tie-in games that were good post-Playstation One. Disney has consistently had good ones, and while not entirely based on their movies, the generation following that had some decent games that took elements of the film to be their own game. Nightmare before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge is one example.

Billionaire owner of UK games retailer GAME Mike Ashley has hit out against Chancellor Rishi Sunak's support for British businesses in the latest budget announcement, calling it "near worthless". What Ashley fails to realise, and I genuinely believe this is incompetence despite being richer than God and that should require some smarts, is that he bought GAME when it was beginning its downward spiral and has done nothing to help it since. Customers are expected to pay the same prices online as they are in their stores with no click & collect function, in addition to £4.99 postage and packaging (Royal Mail Tracked 48, so there's that) for anything from pre-paid cards to collector's editions of games. Much like its equivilant across the pond GameStop, GAME encourages the sale of used games over new (so they don't have to pay developers/publishers/distributors their cut), stocks more merch than gaming software and hardware, pushes loyalty schemes and preorders which discourages said loyalty to the store, and more uniquely closed down its acquired rival Gamestation which was better in just about every way. Morale was low before the pandemic but having to work during it with upper management insisting games are an essential service and not having sufficient enough facilities to sanitise staff, stores and shoppers didn't help matters. And despite their monolithic status as pretending to be THE high street retailer for vidya, they're being completely ignored when it comes to price comparisons when shopping online, as they don't compete at all. And yet sadly GAME is a huge part of the high street for young people and those looking for gifts for people who have everything. Should GAME eventually collapse and its defeated, ground-down employees lose their jobs, high street culture will lose colossal influence, even if its effect on the games industry today is a parasitic one. My sympathies go out to those who are continuing to work at games retail, and all retail in general. You deserve so much better, and probably won't get it when this is finally over. You can read more about Mike Ashley's incompetence here.

I'm curious how much they're going to charge for this. Tomb Raider is always on steep sales and even with all the DLC included it probably comes to about ~£30 on Steam, marginally less on other legitimate storefronts. This isn't particularly good news for fans or people who want to get into the games, it's just a sad reminder that Square Enix holds the Lara Croft license and is putting out OK games with it.

Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar pay no corporate tax in the countries they're based in, so I'm ready for them to be free for the taxpayer, never mind being overpriced. Did they forget there's been a global pandemic where trying to get the systems to play these $70 games on is nigh impossible? Not to mention, £55+ (~$70) digital standard editions of games have been here for a good few years now, so the argument of game prices never going up and digital transferring the savings to customers is proven bunkum. But sure, they're technically right. People will pay for it, just like they did when people boycotted Modern Warfare 2 for the £10 price hike "because people will pay for it", as Bobby Kotick had rightly pointed out before that game released. Sales are becoming increasingly more common, especially with retail gaming on its way out in no small part due to the pandemic. I've no sympathy for the impatient grabbing these titles at full price or worse preordering.

Given it's being published by Disney's 20th Century Games publishing arm, I would fully expect this to be massively overpriced. Expect a £55 digital edition minimum, if their older, less noteworthy games' prices are anything to go by. I've got a feeling that between this and Back 4 Blood, there's going to be calls for such horde-mode games to stay dead a wee bit longer.

I'm rather looking forward to this, if only because I think The Last of Us, amongst other Sony properties, are better suited to a medium other than video games. I don't have strong feelings toward the casting choices, and honestly, I wouldn't mind if it was a completely original tale in the TLoU setting rather than based on Joel and Ellie. I'm not sure what the original game, its DLC or sequel had that could be removed on the grounds of political correctness. The violence is inherent to the setting, and the second game featured more "politically correct" (I'd say inclusive; tomato-tomato) elements with its characters, so it's already safe to say there will be some if Left Behind and the sequel are included. If there's one production company who won't tone down a project with political correctness, it's HBO. See the horrors depicted in Band of Brothers and The Pacific; as far as I'm aware HBO's higher-ups don't get that involved with the creative process. We can point to Game of Thrones, but that's more the fault of the showrunners running out of source material than corporate meddling.

I'm not sure the extent of Clive Barker's involvement in the two games under his name, but if you aren't already aware of them I'd recommend checking out Undying and Jericho, both first person horror-shooters. There were apparently some Nightbreed games, but I don't think I've the willpower or even the skill to sit through those particular games. But yeah, I'd love to see Clive Barker get involved in games again. At the very least bring Rawhead Rex to Dead by Daylight! I think Stephen King's got a few properties one could turn into a game, and one in particular stands out (if you'll pardon the pun): The Stand. Granted, The Division already exists and I think that's the best way one could make such a game (maybe a bit like Mad Max if it were a single player game?) I could even see its prequel, Night Surf, being a walking simulator, which might work as one of Stephen King's 'Dollar Babies'. The Running Man had a video game made in 1989, but I think it would do well (not great, not terrible) today as I think there's demand for a bloodsport game-show style of game in the same vein as Smash TV, and I think the campiness of the film could contribute to that. And I wonder if there's any value in a game based on The Mist. Loved your choice of Tim Burton, by the way. Given the Nightmare before Christmas adaptations, and American McGee's Alice, I reckon he'd do well bringing his own blend of weirdness into the medium. ^^

I fail to understand what makes this game worth the amount of money spent on the Zombieland license. Barring Woody Harrelson's voice and woeful in-game rendering, there's nothing here that strikes me as "Zombieland", or even remotely decent for that matter. What is it with recent movie tie-ins? Are people really clammoring for OK-ish 90s style video game adaptations? This idea seems like it would be great in the already established cult classic, House of the Dead. It seems wasted on an IP that's already had one attempt at a video game, which is way overvalued.

This sounds like a rather good idea. The extended customisation options don't harm the setting or the canon that keeps being added to, either meta or via additional works such as Fantastic Beasts. I doubt I'll be buying this game so it doesn't matter to me, but I'm never one to balk at options being given to people in games they've got their eye on.

It's going to be a long awaited sequel to one of their best properties. Yes, that's right: Math Jam 2: Algebra Boogaloo.

....it got messier. Neither party is helping their case, even if the law has thus far sided with Nacon. For the record, video games industry, I don't like being right all the time.

Much as I like all three, I think Crash Team Racing is the greatest of the three. It knows what it wants to do, and does it well, but it owes thanks to the other two for that claim. Shameless plug of my video review as Commissar Johnbonne here.

Am I correct in thinking Sony has seen losses in just about all areas besides their mobile and video game divisions since the PS3/4? If so, I wouldn't be surprised if this was a move to further cut costs in areas that aren't doing it for them. Similarly, Valve removed video from Steam a few years back because nobody watched the bleeding things. No point taking up good server space when, err, Batallas Galacticas could be using it instead...?

I've been a Humble shopper for a good many years now, so when Choice was announced I subscribed to be 'grandfather-ed' into the Classic plan, which is no longer available. The idea being that I can pay the same price I used to (~$10/£8 a month) for the most amount of games, which is supposed to be 10 but for the past few months it's been all 12 games, contrary to the "THIS MONTH ONLY!!1!!1one" advertisements they've had. Objectively speaking it is always value for money. You always get more than what you pay for, but it's like any bundle service: it's only worth paying for if you're going to play the games you're paying for. As for what subscription tier you go for it depends on what games you want. You can wait for a sale, or if you're on the Epic Games Launcher, you can wait for them to go free on there, but such things aren't guaranteed. While I do think Humble's quality has gone downhill over the years, even before the popular scapegoat of the IGN acquisition, I'm not so spoiled by the bargains PC gaming has afforded me to think Choice is a bad deal. That said, if I were paying any more than a currently do (and I get the feeling Humble will scrap the Classic plan because it's too good), I'd be re-evaluating how easily I spend money on this subscription. TL;DR - It's as good as the games within, and how much you'd pay to get the ones within. It's a lot better for disclosure than it was when it was Humble Monthly.