Gene Park is a reporter for The Washington Post, covering video games and gaming culture. He joined The Post in 2015 as audience editor, and is a former reporter in the West Coast and Pacific region. He is an alum of California State University, Fullerton.
He Tweets about games a lot so you'll often see him referenced a lot in threads.
I'd say trust your instinct rather than what another person says. Hell I wouldnt even trust my best friends when it comes to game reviews because I know even if we have common things it does not universally mean we will always like the exact same things. It's impossible. I dont think anyone should align with anyone. They can certainly note what some reviewers said, but even then, it's not set in stone. Friendly reminder that IGN shat on Prey/Alien Isolation and the same guy might've liked things I liked. If I aligned with that guy, I would've missed on one of the best games ever made.
Is anything being said about NPC reactivity to the player character? ACG didn't really go into detail about this. Other reviews? Is it similar to RDR2 (doubt that) or not at all?
One of the YouTube reviewers whose taste are often in sync with mine, he gives it 4.5/5 and says it's in his GOTY consideration. I think I'm going to love it.
I'd say trust your instinct rather than what another person says. Hell I wouldnt even trust my best friends when it comes to game reviews because I know even if we have common things it does not universally mean we will always like the exact same things. It's impossible. I dont think anyone should align with anyone. They can certainly note what some reviewers said, but even then, it's not set in stone. Friendly reminder that IGN shat on Prey/Alien Isolation and the same guy might've liked things I liked.
Ah in that case I believe we think the same, but you are just a little more pesimistic lol.
In any case yeah people give reviewers too much credit. Like I said in the OT moments ago a reviewer's just another person, with another opinion, but in no way more valid than your's or mine, at all.
Gene Park is a reporter for The Washington Post, covering video games and gaming culture. He joined The Post in 2015 as audience editor, and is a former reporter in the West Coast and Pacific region. He is an alum of California State University, Fullerton.
He Tweets about games a lot so you'll often see him referenced a lot in threads.
I'm not defending him, but he isn't exactly obscure. And with reports of it taking hours upon hours to get used to controls/combat, seeing people put off isn't really a surprise either.
tbh it even looks and plays like ac valhalla somehow. especially the way character moves and such, and even the camera angles in combat feel similar
but you see i played ac valhalla anyways to completion and gave it a 70 or something. this game is probably a true 80 so probably more fun because trains and jetpacks you know
Here are games that some of GAF praised in the past vs their metacritic score (the first game listed is literally the 2010s version of Crimson Desert, MMO turned single player open world Action Adventure RPG).
The hit RPG returns! From the minds of the bestselling author R.A. Salvatore, spawn creator Todd mcfarlane, and Elder Scrolls IV: oblivion lead designer Ken rolston, comes kingdoms of amalur: re-reckoning. Remastered with stunning visuals and refined gameplay re-reckoning delivers intense...
bff Flood! is a simple yet addictive strategy game in which you have to flood the whole game board with one image or color in less than the allowed steps. Swap out the upper left corner game tile at each step to flood fill adjacent game tiles with the same image. Fill the entire board with one...
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is an open world, action-adventure, role-playing game featuring blockbuster production values, a nonlinear story and revolutionary, first-person melee combat.
Gothic II takes you on an even greater journey of adventure and discovery. The plot continues from the cliff-hanger of the original: After the imprisoned colony members are victorious, collapsing the magical barrier, the former Prison Colony is struck by a terrible earthquake, claiming the lives...
Alpha Protocol is an espionage role-playing game set in the modern world. Loyalty carries a price and no one knows this more than agent Michael Thorton. A talented young agent cast out by his government, Thorton is the only one with the information needed to stop an impending international...
A legend is born in this open-world adventure. Assume the role of the Arisen, a legendary hero in a land haunted by a feared, omnipotent dragon. As you fight to protect your homeland, you will pick up companions, make enemies, and find yourself embroiled in an even deeper mystery.
www.metacritic.com
I'm apparently supposed to believe that a 78 (only on day 1) is the end of the world.
tbh it even looks and plays like ac valhalla somehow. especially the way character moves and such, and even the camera angles in combat feel similar
but you see i played ac valhalla anyways to completion and gave it a 70 or something. this game is probably a true 80 so probably more fun because trains and jetpacks you know
I'm not defending him, but he isn't exactly obscure. And with reports of it taking hours upon hours to get used to controls/combat, seeing people put off isn't really a surprise either.
If I were to bet where it underwhelms it would be in it's narrative, I don't expect anything close to Witcher 3 levels of story. I also anticipate some jank but honestly based on all the previews it does seem like it will live up to the hype, can't wait to experience it firsthand and come to my own conclusions.
It is what it is, couldn't care less about review scores though it is interesting to observe expectations vs what "mainstream journos" are saying, I'm hyped to dig in
Here are games that some of GAF praised in the past vs their metacritic score (the first game listed is literally the 2010s version of Crimson Desert, MMO turned single player open world Action Adventure RPG).
The hit RPG returns! From the minds of the bestselling author R.A. Salvatore, spawn creator Todd mcfarlane, and Elder Scrolls IV: oblivion lead designer Ken rolston, comes kingdoms of amalur: re-reckoning. Remastered with stunning visuals and refined gameplay re-reckoning delivers intense...
bff Flood! is a simple yet addictive strategy game in which you have to flood the whole game board with one image or color in less than the allowed steps. Swap out the upper left corner game tile at each step to flood fill adjacent game tiles with the same image. Fill the entire board with one...
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is an open world, action-adventure, role-playing game featuring blockbuster production values, a nonlinear story and revolutionary, first-person melee combat.
Gothic II takes you on an even greater journey of adventure and discovery. The plot continues from the cliff-hanger of the original: After the imprisoned colony members are victorious, collapsing the magical barrier, the former Prison Colony is struck by a terrible earthquake, claiming the lives...
Alpha Protocol is an espionage role-playing game set in the modern world. Loyalty carries a price and no one knows this more than agent Michael Thorton. A talented young agent cast out by his government, Thorton is the only one with the information needed to stop an impending international...
A legend is born in this open-world adventure. Assume the role of the Arisen, a legendary hero in a land haunted by a feared, omnipotent dragon. As you fight to protect your homeland, you will pick up companions, make enemies, and find yourself embroiled in an even deeper mystery.
www.metacritic.com
I'm apparently supposed to believe that a 78 (only on day 1) is the end of the world.
With great power comes great responsibility. Play as a drifter bestowed with supernatural-like abilities who must confront the fate and responsibilities inherent with this new found power. Hand-to-hand combat is at its best when gamers unleash the power of the God Hand to deliver righteous...
Like I mentioned above, I don't think the AC comparison is surprising based off of ACG's review who mentioned combat in the open world really doesn't test the player. My guess is he (Gene) hasn't experienced a lot of boss fights which is where the depth and mastery of those systems is required.
With great power comes great responsibility. Play as a drifter bestowed with supernatural-like abilities who must confront the fate and responsibilities inherent with this new found power. Hand-to-hand combat is at its best when gamers unleash the power of the God Hand to deliver righteous...
Could be the case, but I saw some gameplay were the player was being trashed by the normal enemies. I just hope it feels good and not too much like cutting through butter, good combat feedback is very important to me.
Lol, his disproval is a big plus in my book. Agenda driven, self important, fucking rat of a person.
-------‐--‐-------------------
Eagerly waiting for some GAF feedback on the side-stuff. Seeing as exploration and combat is all but confirmed to be good I'm mostly interested in knowing if crafting/farming/grinding is satisfying. Since they're mmo devs I'd imagine they know how to make overlapping systems that feeds into each other in a way that's meaningful. But if I'm to spend several 100's of hours in this game it's quite imprtant to me.
Like I mentioned above, I don't think the AC comparison is surprising based off of ACG's review who mentioned combat in the open world really doesn't test the player. My guess is he (Gene) hasn't experienced a lot of boss fights which is where the depth and mastery of those systems is required.
That's why I think the only true way is to get in and see, if I wasn't as interested I'd probably wait for a sale but when you're waitin for a game like this I think it's worth the full price gamble so we will see. I like ac combat so hopefully it lands.
If the Base PS5 performance was on the table, I would still consider it at this score. While I wait for the performance, good or bad, it will be merged with some really mixed reviews. I'm sure it won't work out for them in the end.
tbh it even looks and plays like ac valhalla somehow. especially the way character moves and such, and even the camera angles in combat feel similar
but you see i played ac valhalla anyways to completion and gave it a 70 or something. this game is probably a true 80 so probably more fun because trains and jetpacks you know
I can see the similarities to ACV, but I didn't find exploration in that good at all and I dropped that game after a few hours. Felt like it wasn't going anywhere and was honestly just such a fucking slog to get through.
Could be the case, but I saw some gameplay were the player was being trashed by the normal enemies. I just hope it feels good and not too much like cutting through butter, good combat feedback is very important to me.
If it's anything like I expect it'll probably be slicing through paper Pearl Abyss combat. But maybe I'll be surprised and it's Shadow of Mordor/War tier. ACG's review suggests for the most part that the trash mobs usually allow you to brute force through things without requiring using your full toolkit.
So 1v1s probably much easier but maybe some challenge if overwhelmed. But you can use the environment to your advantage. Such as using a river as a slow while you pelt them with arrows.
However bosses will be challenging and we will have to learn the bosses and their movesets.
What I can say I like is how it seems very LotR coded. 3 characters kinda mirroring the Aragorn/Legolas/Gimli trio. Given this is MMO company I expect more characters down the line. Hopefully a Mage character. Especially with the prospect of Mechs and Dragons already being a thing.
The characters are using aspects of some of the BDO classes. The Orc is very similar to the Berserker Class.
I feel like everyone forgot that there will be a day one patch that addresses some things. I know Pearl Abyss is paying attention and working hard to make sure their investment pays off in the long run. Hats off to this team that pulled off their first single player experiance with mostly favorable score's.
I'll see how it is soon enough. I can always go back to a heavily modded Dogma 2. And then we'll see how modders make this even more fun. The weak basic enemies is bad news. Mods will help add some challenge.
Here are games that some of GAF praised in the past vs their metacritic score (the first game listed is literally the 2010s version of Crimson Desert, MMO turned single player open world Action Adventure RPG).
The hit RPG returns! From the minds of the bestselling author R.A. Salvatore, spawn creator Todd mcfarlane, and Elder Scrolls IV: oblivion lead designer Ken rolston, comes kingdoms of amalur: re-reckoning. Remastered with stunning visuals and refined gameplay re-reckoning delivers intense...
bff Flood! is a simple yet addictive strategy game in which you have to flood the whole game board with one image or color in less than the allowed steps. Swap out the upper left corner game tile at each step to flood fill adjacent game tiles with the same image. Fill the entire board with one...
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is an open world, action-adventure, role-playing game featuring blockbuster production values, a nonlinear story and revolutionary, first-person melee combat.
Gothic II takes you on an even greater journey of adventure and discovery. The plot continues from the cliff-hanger of the original: After the imprisoned colony members are victorious, collapsing the magical barrier, the former Prison Colony is struck by a terrible earthquake, claiming the lives...
Alpha Protocol is an espionage role-playing game set in the modern world. Loyalty carries a price and no one knows this more than agent Michael Thorton. A talented young agent cast out by his government, Thorton is the only one with the information needed to stop an impending international...
A legend is born in this open-world adventure. Assume the role of the Arisen, a legendary hero in a land haunted by a feared, omnipotent dragon. As you fight to protect your homeland, you will pick up companions, make enemies, and find yourself embroiled in an even deeper mystery.
www.metacritic.com
I'm apparently supposed to believe that a 78 (only on day 1) is the end of the world.
If it's anything like I expect it'll probably be slicing through paper Pearl Abyss combat. But maybe I'll be surprised and it's Shadow of Mordor/War tier. ACG's review suggests for the most part that the trash mobs usually allow you to brute force through things without requiring using your full toolkit.
So 1v1s probably much easier but maybe some challenge if overwhelmed. But you can use the environment to your advantage. Such as using a river as a slow while you pelt them with arrows.
Being open world and such a long game it might be best if the normal mobs aren't super hard lol.
That said keep in mind, a lot of reviewers haven't explored the whole map and apparently the enemies get harder the farther you go, so we might still get caught in the wrong neighborhood at times.
Dude I already have the game, no need convince me further.
In the ACG video I've seen the chick following the main character. Hopefully there's a companion system kinda like the pawns in DD, which always gave me a lot of "fellowship of the ring" vibes always having some companions by your side, chatting and fighting alongside you.
Given this is MMO company I expect more characters down the line. Hopefully a Mage character. Especially with the prospect of Mechs and Dragons already being a thing.
people think a 75-80 make it a bad game? Yikes. Maybe if you had GTA/Elden Ring expectations, sure. But for normal minded people that's still a good score. I said it before, either you'll like the game a lot or hate it. I don't think there's going to be an in between for this game.
Hell, I might even end up hating it and I'm somewhat excited for it.
What if number ones likes are the opposite of number 2's instead of different things? Who do you "trust"? It's rethorical. No one. Buy the game if you want, refund if you dont like it, if you can and thats
I have:
- never said anything about the devs,
- said that I feel vindicated for having a lower score than *people* expected because *people* wrongfully hyped the game up to the heavens
You have:
- brought devs into this for 0 reason
- admitted to my second point yourself
Who's doing the gaslighting here? It sounds like you made up in your mind that I'm some villain who's "backtracking". Go ahead and dissect my post in an objective manner.
Hmm, precisely what I was worried about. Overstuffed action game with low quality story, sidequests and writing. That's a shame. I will still get it on sale, for the graphics and spectacle, at least to see it.