crispy4000

I didn’t know about that! Any of them do 8-player?

Halo specifically was the first console game to do LAN, if I'm not mistaken. I brought up splitscreen in that context. So a relative lack of ambition to Halo. I still don't think we see eye to eye on that. To me, it's like saying that later GTAs were more ambitious than III. It’s not totally wrong to say, since on a technical standpoint it's very true, but it also misses the the point of what GTAIII is due and what it did for its time. Goldeneye is still that game to me, for console shooters. Games like Red Faction and Rainbow Six also have core elements more ambitious than the others we’ve talked about, even if the whole package doesn't come together as well.

You could say the the same thing about Halo 1 vs Infinite’s open world. You wouldn’t call the former less ambitious due to the tech. At least I wouldn’t. It’s a different design, and the box they had to work with shouldn’t diminish the boundaries that were pushed. I see Halo as a game that streamlined FPS controls on consoles and popularized splitscreen LAN. It’s took enemy AI and the scale of environments to a place not feasible on prior gen consoles. Regenerating health shields were its invention too, afaik. Vehicles had existed in FPSs before, but none did the transition to 3rd person as gracefully. All that should still take away nothing from other console FPSs doing ambitious things before it. Like fully destructible environments, squad mechanics, body part specific damage, online multiplayer, difficulty modifiers altering level layouts, multiplayer bots, novel multiplayer modes for the time, etc. There was no lack of ambition in console shooters before Halo. It’s a false narrative.

That's a pretty loaded statement right there, depending on how you define ambition. A slight to N64-era Rare if anything. Just with multiplayer: 4-player splitscreen with 4 added bots was possible in Perfect Dark. Not a FPS, but by Conker's Bad Fur Day they had expanded that to Capture the Flag, without the use of the expansion pack. Oh and asymmetric modes too. Bonkers. There may have been other FPSs on the system doing something similar I'm forgetting.

If that’s true, it’s not what is being reported.

8% of their (now former) workforce may see it differently.

That ship has already sailed. Sony confirms more PC ports are coming, because it's making a ton of money | PC Gamer WWW.PCGAMER.COM Sony reaffirmed that it will continue to release first-party games on PC, and it's not hard to see why. It’s viable. They’re having their cake and eating it too with the staggered release schedule of single player stuff.

Or how about a single player Marathon game again. What a thought.

Dropping PC? Highly unlikely considering Sony’s newfound willingness to quickly port multiplayer games. Xbox would only be a maybe. If only because Bungie’s current business model is too reliant on being on everything. If they went back to developing less GaASy stuff, I could see Sony pushing them to go in the direction Microsoft took Bethesda.

Aren’t they located in California? I feel like most video game journalists working there would be shit out of luck to make a fair living.

Getting closer to the end of NSMB Wii. World 8 now.

Yes, not GOTY worthy, but a fun game I really enjoy the vibes of. I'm at a point now where the main quest resorts to some obvious padding. But I should be more than halfway in at this point, not the first few hours or whatever it's been discussed as here. The side quests aren't as bad as have been said either. The rewards are often worth it, they're fully voiced, and some minor lore details get fieshed out in most of them.

Paper Mario TTYD, DQVIII, Pikmin 2, PoP Warrior Within, Sly 2, Onimusha 3, etc also came out that year.

I think it's really hard to do an apples to apples comparison of 1998 to now. Partly because 3D still felt new-ish then and those experiences could be so fresh. Partly because there's a ton of incredibly well reviewed AA and indie projects this year that few have gotten around to, because the AAA space has been so stacked. It also means the list this year could be patently absurd if all was considered.

What's more interesting to me is he avoided the part about them porting more games. He only singles out Games Pass. He also mentions that keeping their invested console owners feeling respected is something important to them. An odd angle from someone still charging less for PC Games Pass. But regardless, if there are plans to port more games, this could be an attempt to get out in front of it. On a related note, it's such a Microsoft thing to say that the hardware experience and services are what keeps gamers there. It should be the games, first and foremost (and this gen should be a referendum on that). But that might not jive with their broader strategy. We already see it with them putting most of their games on Steam again. How much more of a stretch is PS5 and Switch (2) really?

"We have no plans to bring Xbox Game Pass to PlayStation or Nintendo." Xbox CEO Phil Spencer on console hardware, the future of Activision-Blizzard, and much more | Windows Central WWW.WINDOWSCENTRAL.COM In our exclusive interview with Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, we got a glimpse of the future of Xbox, and Microsoft's evolving strategy going forward.

I wish they based it on beating up a fictional China instead of the Japanese, to get a certain ruler ticked off.

Tian Ding is actually pretty solid from what I played. Like a Genesis game crossed with Guacamelee. It made me bite for the deal before knowing what this month was.

I don't know his tastes, but I'd imagine that Nobody Saves the World would be a killer Deck game. It's the one I'm most excited to try. Drinkbox's games always get my attention.

5 of the 8 games leaked: ELEX II on Steam STORE.STEAMPOWERED.COM In this sequel to the vintage Open World RPG ELEX, Jax must once again unite the free people of the Science-Fantasy world of Magalan against a new threat - the Skyands, who want to change the face of the planet forever. Expeditions: Rome on Steam STORE.STEAMPOWERED.COM Determine the destiny of Rome as you conquer foreign lands and navigate political intrigue in this turn-based RPG. Directly fight with your party of Praetorians, guide your legion to victory, and choose your own path in a story where every decision matters. How will you shape the future of Rome? The Gunk on Steam STORE.STEAMPOWERED.COM The Gunk is an action-adventure game in which you play as Rani, part of our duo of gritty space haulers. As they’re struggling to bring in funds, they chance upon an untouched planet brimming with life. They came in search of valuable resources, and it looks like they’ve hit the jackpot… Nobody Saves the World on Steam STORE.STEAMPOWERED.COM Transform from a featureless nobody into a SLUG, a GHOST and a DRAGON in this new take on Action RPGs from the creators of Guacamelee! Discover 15+ distinct Forms, mix-and-match their abilities, clear evolving dungeons and... SAVE THE WORLD!? Midnight Fight Express on Steam STORE.STEAMPOWERED.COM A former member of the criminal underworld is lured back into “the life” by a mysterious drone claiming they have until sunrise to prevent a citywide criminal takeover together. Most are now off Games Pass, for those keeping track. This is an especially good line-up considering it's a big sale month on Steam, and Epic presumably doing their giveaway as well. Pro-tip: Check your email if you have a Humble Bundle account. There's a 2 month for $6 each email offer with November's games. @best3444 These would all be Steam keys.

Only played 3 games released this year: Tears of the Kingdom, XB3 Future Redeemed, and FFXVI (ongoing). Liked them in that order, though I will go to bat for FFXVI being a legitimately good game and fun time. I could see another game surmounting Tears for me. It's very much the game BoTW should have been, so in that regard its excellent. Still, too much of the clothing rewards were identical, and they definitely could have made vehicles more OP without ruining the fun at all. I'll play Jedi Survivor at some point, but probably not until next year. Oh, and Pikmin 4 too.

Tried a little of Legend of Tianding. It’s like Comic Zone x Guacamelee, pretty nifty. But it does remind me that I should probably get to Guacamelee 2 first. Other than that, I’m back to FFXVI after the holidays. At a part that feels like filler (mythril engine).

Prime Gaming December Content Update: Deathloop, Aground, A Tiny Sticker Tale and More | by Chris Leggett | Nov, 2023 | Prime Gaming PRIMEGAMING.BLOG Welcome back for your latest installment of the monthly Prime Gaming content update. Prime Gaming is a benefit of Amazon Prime membership… Looks like a pretty junky month outside of Asteroids Recharged and Deathloop (which has been given away before).

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/jitsu-squad-af3f2f https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/mighty-fight-federation I've actually been eyeing Mighty Fight Federation for a while, as an indie Power Stone clone. It probably isn't great, but it might be fun to try out. Next week is GigaBash and Predecessor (ie: Paragon cont'd).