There’s been a lot going on in my personal life so I missed last weekend and I’m a little late for this past weekend. Please…… have grace there’s much to talk about.
Wonder Woman Has a Chance
Wonder Woman has been confirmed to be a single-player action-adventure title. This one is big for me considering I wrote out against GAAS a couple of weeks ago. Although I think most superhero games are hindered from conception due to them being hard to quantify in terms of strength, I have some hope for this one due to Wonder Woman’s lore. I feel like her origin story leaves room for her powers and abilities to grow with experience which translates well into videogame tropes, skill trees, etc. There was another news release giving us an update on the state of the game saying the graphic fidelity is top tier but runs at 30fps with the devs working hard to deliver 60fps. It was also said the combat feels good and it would have mobs, minibosses, and bosses as well as loot drops with stat effects similar to God of War. I want this game to be good and do good so that WB can revert their earlier statement focusing on games as a service titles. I think this game could be somewhat similar to the Horizon series on PlayStation which is a good or bad thing depending on who you ask. We’ll just have to wait and see what’s presented when Monolith decides to share more information.
My Personal BG3 Hype Train Begins
Larian Studios announced that they would be sharing the release date for Baldurs Gate 3 on Xbox at The Game Awards and then dropped the deluxe edition (which I grabbed instantly). BG3 Deluxe retails at $79.99 and has two discs for PS5 and three for Xbox Series X. It will ship in early 2024 with a good amount of stock too. Larian discourages the idea of buying this package at a resell value to avoid crazy prices and just wait for restocks that won’t be sparse.
TGA. Controversial as Always
The Game Awards (TGA) dropped the nominees for some awards and to say they were polarizing is an understatement. Dave the Diver is proven to be a non-indie game but got nominated in the category and could likely win. There’s a remake in the running for the game of the year when the year has been stacked with great new releases. There was no talk about Xbox titles Hi-Fi Rush and Starfield for GOTY which sparked another conversation that I’ll get into later. Personally to my surprise, there was no mention of one of the best-selling games of the year, Hogwarts Legacy. Lastly, one of the biggest missteps, Destiny 2 got nominated for one of gaming’s best communities as the game is ACTIVELY dying (I say this as a recovering D2 addict). I could care less about the games nominated and the ones that win as I have no horse in the race. I understand the devs like things such as this as it is recognition for their work but from a consumer standpoint It just shows that TGA is only popular for the announcements which is okay. This coincides with how I feel about ratings from media outlets, they could be considered an indicator of quality but shouldn’t be taken as the bible for viewers. I urge everyone to not take this too seriously and if you really want to watch a meaningful list go to your favorite influencers’ YouTube and comment for them to make a GOTY list that way it’ll be someone’s opinion that you actually care about. Personally, there should be more quantifiable measures to assess the nominees by but of course they want views so they’ll do what they think will drive the most engagement. All in all, I just wanted to denounce people’s trust and confidence in the awards given out that night as there is a disconnect between the committee behind TGA and the reality we saw this year.
Behind the Scenes in Korea
Stellar Blade looked really good when it was shown and I think a title like this would be a good addition to the PlayStation-exclusive library. Sony has been known to court developers and work with them extensively before talking about acquiring them and depending on how Stellar Blade’s reception is, Shift Up could be purchased. This is also the first Korean second-party developer partnership with a publishing deal. Hopefully, this is signifying Playtsation’s response to ABK which makes me excited because it will raise the quality of the games they choose to fund resulting in better games being made and overall establish a more competitive atmosphere in the medium we love. I can’t wait to see Stellar Blade again this time hopefully with a release date.
The Last of Us Part 2, 2?
Well, there’s yet another Last of Us remaster although I don’t think it’s needed, they handled this one way better than the first one being a $70 rerelease. On January 19th, 2024 TLOU 2 will get a $70 PS5 version release with the option to be upgraded from the PS4 version for $10. This remaster will include graphical upgrades, new content, a new mode, and DualSense support. I wanted to give my input on this because I’ve seen a lot of interesting points. The remaster is not needed as the game still looks and (I’m sure) plays great. I want Naughty Dog to be fully focused on their next game so this is a bit frustrating as the game has only been out for 3 years. On the flip side, why not? Having recently played TLOU 1 (the remake), I can’t wait to play the best version of TLOU 2 because I haven’t played it yet and I’ll be able to upgrade for $10 with new stuff that the original didn’t have. I can see both sides. I also want to point out the people who are bashing this product but praise Breath of the Wild on the Wii U and the Switch or the people who buy every 2D Mario game like the mechanics and gameplay isn’t the same as the last. You cannot denounce one and praise the other if the same thing is going on in each camp. I will be there on January 19th with my $10 ready to buy the upgrade and you’ll hear more from me then.
The Infamous Xbox Tax
As Xbox is my preferred platform I would like to tackle this topic. Recently there’s been this conversation around the “Xbox Tax”. This refers to the stigma surrounding Xbox and the way the media is too hard on the company and their releases with Xbox fans calling it unfair and extremely biased. To an extent, I think the “tax” is real as there are some outlets that blatantly hate Xbox without rhyme or reason, or that have been seen giving praise for things that they criticize Xbox for. On the contrary, Xbox does make some bad decisions and they have the most mediocre titles among the platform holders. Do I think this will change? Yes. Are we there yet? No. We, as Xbox fans, cannot bring a half-baked or ¾ baked cake to the table with the Wedding and Gourmets of the industry and expect to be regarded in the same light. Hi-Fi Rush was really really good but it was a passion project that was kind of niche. Red Fall was atrocious and is fighting an uphill battle to prove its existence as we speak. Starfield is contentious and rightfully so as it highlighted sore spots with its vision and technological DNA. Until we see an irrefutable, spectacular, engaging, good game the Xbox Tax will seemingly exist. That being said, Xbox is on the up and up with the studio they’ve recently bought, partnerships they’ve recently made, and management that has been shifted. These past years with Phil at the head have been foundational and will hopefully yield the results have been wanting. Xbox is fighting an uphill battle and I want them to succeed but in the meantime, we cannot defend bad decisions and bad releases. The Xbox Tax is real and is warranted to a degree and unwarranted to a degree as I think it should be regarded on a case-by-case basis.
WIBP
(Going forward WIBP is What I’ve Been Playing)
- I didn’t write last weekend or this past weekend as I am in the process of moving and it’s been the holidays but I didn’t stop gaming. Over the past 2 weeks, I’ve seen many genres and styles of games that have reminded me to continue to play old games, new games, weird games, and niche games.
- I beat Star Ocean Till the End of Time which was a game from my childhood and I loved it. In classic JRPG fashion, you take on a god and the meaning of existence in the end but I thought it to be one of the more interesting takes (no spoilers).
- I beat Miles Morales and I didn’t like it. I don’t like Miles I think he’s annoying and his character model looks weird because of his physique (Ik he’s like 15 but oh well). The story was cool I guess just generic and predictable so there’s that. I won’t go back to finish all the side content and I think this lowered my interest in Spiderman 2 as I know he’s a main character.
- I beat The Last of Us Part 1 and I must say I am thoroughly impressed and upset that I waited this long to experience this masterclass story. I could literally talk about this game for an entire day explaining my feelings on the story and the methods used to tell it as well as the encounters and the creativity behind them. But I won’t. I’m itching for another playthrough but I’ll finish Left Behind and wait for TLOU 2 Remastered in January.
- I beat the Witcher 2 which coincided with me finishing the 3rd season of the show. The 3rd season was bad to say the least, but I really enjoyed The Witcher 2 and its euro-jank. The characters and sidequests were interesting as well as the story with almost every detail being important and the ability to make some experience-changing choices. Playing this one really opened my eyes to the jump made from 2 to 3. Absolutely unbelievable and the urge to play through 3 again has never been higher.
- I’m back to playing Starfield and that has been a lot of fun. Once again, I didn’t like the game at first but then I really got into the role-playing, and It’s encapsulating. I’ll continue my time with it and form my own opinion as always.
- I always tout Bloodborne as the best in the genre but I’ve never finished it so that’s what I’m doing now which has been a blast as the stylistic approach and the difficulty has me engaged and borderline addicted.
- I started Unravel and I must say it’s refreshing to take a break from saving the world and surviving within an inch of my life. The music is nice the puzzles are cool and the background is gorgeous with many colors and models that are cool to look at.
- I’m kind of stunned by how much I like Horizon Zero Dawn. I’ve been known to clown it for its seemingly forced push in Sony’s catalog and it being a BOTW clone whilst being forgotten by BOTW’s launch and then by Elden Ring’s launch. I must say Guerilla Games has something here. This is one of the few open-world games that has been able to grab me lately as I like exploring the world and the bow combat can be tense and skillful. My opinions could change with time but right now It’s one of my favorite games that I’ve played recently.
36th Gen 