ShreddieMercury

53 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

I wasn't referring to you, I mean the op.

I own Outtrigger, and no, it's not good on controller haha.  The original arcade cabinet had a trackball to control aiming.  It's really only fully playable on Dreamcast with a keyboard and mouse.  You can play it with a controller but you're severely constrained.

I don't think a lot of people appreciate how earth shattering the first two Halo games were.  The first one is still, to this day, ahead of its time in in regard to its overall design.  It also popularized the two stick control scheme on consoles that is (arguably detrimentally) still the standard. 

Halo 2 then provided the blueprint for online multiplayer on console, and popularized the type of cosmetic customization that eventually led to the disastrous micro-transaction bloat that we see now.  Without Halo 2, there is certainly no COD4, which then threw open the floodgates and led us in many general ways to where games still are now.

Full article here:

Bungie Devs Say Atmosphere Is ‘Soul-Crushing’ Amid Layoffs, Cuts, and Fear of Total Sony Takeover - IGN

WWW.IGN.COM

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One month after a major round of layoffs impacted roughly 100 Bungie employees of 1,200, those remaining at the Destiny developer say the cuts, as well as other cost-cutting measures, came alongside an apparent scramble by studio leadership to avoid a total Sony takeover.

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One month after a major round of layoffs impacted roughly 100 Bungie employees of 1,200, those remaining at the Destiny developer say the cuts, as well as other cost-cutting measures, came alongside an apparent scramble by studio leadership to avoid a total Sony takeover.

 

As it currently stands, Bungie is (on paper) a fully independent subsidiary of Sony. But its board of directors has been divided since the takeover in July of 2022. Among its current members are PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst, Sony senior VP Eric Lempel, Bungie co-founder Jason Jones, Bungie CTO Luis Villegas, and Bungie CEO Pete Parsons. The board as a whole is split between Sony and Bungie representatives, with Parsons serving as a tiebreaker vote. But speaking to IGN under condition of anonymity, multiple current and former Bungie employees described a department meeting that took place shortly after the layoffs, in which leaders hinted that this shared power may not last forever.

 

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Declaration of Dependence

 

While the exact details of Sony’s deal to acquire Bungie remain unknown to the public or employees, sources say they were told by leaders that the current split board structure is contingent on Bungie meeting certain financial goals. If Bungie falls short of certain financial goals by too great an amount, Sony is allowed to dissolve the existing board and take full control of the company. And with Destiny 2 expansion The Final Shape delayed into the next fiscal year and Bungie still investing heavily on Marathon, many employees understand that Bungie is struggling to meet the necessary targets to keep its last vestige of freedom. Such a takeover wouldn’t necessarily be shocking given its 2022 acquisition, but it would nevertheless be a stunning development for a company that has historically prided itself on its independence.

 

It was with this threat looming that Bungie leadership - not Sony, according to Parsons - made the choice to lay off roughly 100 employees last month. But the cost-cutting at Bungie isn’t limited to just personnel. Multiple current employees confirmed to IGN that the company has implemented numerous other cost-cutting measures recently, including a studio-wide hiring freeze, reduced travel budgets, elimination of holiday bonuses, keeping its annual Bungie Day virtual, delaying its weeklong company “Pentathalon” event to next December, and reducing numerous morale events such as cooking and knitting classes from monthly to quarterly. Bungie is also pausing or fully ending benefits like annual employee compensation adjustments to meet market rates, its new hire lunch program, employee donation matching, its peer recognition program, and gift cards for employees birthdays. And yearly studio performance bonuses this year will only be the contractually obligated 80% minimum, after being above 100% for good performance several previous years running.

 

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Along with the recent layoffs, this has resulted in a massive decay in morale within the company, according to IGN’s sources, one of whom told us that the mood within the studio has been “soul-crushing” over the last month. And it doesn’t sound like management is making any significant efforts toward improving the atmosphere, either. According to those still with the company, employee frustration and sadness in the days and weeks following the layoffs was met with a surprising amount of indifference or even outright flippancy or hostility from management. Several people we spoke to told us that leaders had reiterated, across multiple meetings, that they couldn’t guarantee there wouldn’t be more layoffs, with two specifically recalling chief people officer Holly Barbacovi outright stating that layoffs were a “lever” the company would pull again.

 

“We know we need Final Shape to do well,” one source told IGN. “And the feeling at the studio is that if it doesn’t we’re definitely looking at more layoffs.”

 

Others said they were rebuffed repeatedly and discouraged from even discussing the layoffs whenever they tried to ask questions. Employees in one department recalled a post-layoffs Q&A session where a department head was asked if leadership taking salary cuts to prevent layoffs had been considered, only to respond that Bungie was “not that type of company.”

 

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What’s more, sources we spoke to pointed out that many of the Bungie employees who were laid off were beloved community leaders within the studio, including many who had spearheaded employee inclusion and support efforts. Several people we spoke to expressed anger at the layoff of Bungie general counsel Don McGowan, who played a key role in Bungie winning an historic suit against a player who harassed a Bungie developer. Others laid off included a noticeable number of members of Bungie’s DE&I clubs, including co-heads of Pride@Bungie, Women@Bungie, and Accessibility@Bungie. When combined with other recent resource cuts, these dismissals have led to fears these clubs might be shut down. While researching this article, IGN noted that the public news articles announcing Women@Bungie and Accessibility@Bungie on its official blog were no longer accessible on the Bungie website, though it’s unclear exactly when or why this happened, or if it’s just an unintentional, recurring bug with the blog.

 

"I’m angry. I’m upset. This isn’t what I came here to do,” one person said. “It feels like many higher ups aren’t listening to the data and are like, ‘We just need to win our fans back, they still like us.’ No. They don’t...We got rid of some of our most knowledgeable beloved folks who have been here for 20+ years. Everyday I walk in afraid that I or my friends are next. No one is safe."

 

I was there day one for Halo, which still remains one of my all-time favorite games.  It's wild to see what has happened both to that franchise and its creators in the intervening twenty years as the industry moves further and further into the dystopian nightmare of service games.

This was a bizarre movie that I thought had some impressive scenes, but overall was pretty derivative and lifeless.

The best part for me was the first sequence where he is waiting to execute his assassination.  I sort of wished for that to be stretched into the entire film, and then I remembered that The American with George Clooney essentially has that premise.  I enjoyed that one quite a bit.

For my specific tastes, 2023 wasn't an all-timer.  Though it's unquestionably one of the better recent years in terms of gaming releases, 2017 was much stronger for me personally, and before that probably 2007.

For me it's a toss up between RE4 and Alan Wake 2.  Alan Wake 2 is so novel and ambitious that it deserves recognition, even though it's very flawed and I don't think it will really stand the test of time.  The gameplay that it has is solid, but there's very little of it, and it's a little too precious with its own storytelling.  Still, it's a huge swing in the landscape of big budget games, and it's certainly rewarding for fans of the first game and Remedy overall. 

RE4 took a perfect game and made interesting and smart additions.  It's superb, but it is still RE4.  It's not quite the leap that RE2 remake was, but I enjoyed my time playing it more than almost everything else.

Tears of the Kingdom and Mario Wonder are both phenomenal games, but I haven't been able to really get into either.  I ended up dropping off of Zelda after a few hours, and while I love the look of Mario Wonder, the 2D games just don't grab me the way that the 3D ones do.

I would give an honorable mention to Robocop, just by virtue of how rarely we get games like that.  That's the kind of game we were getting 3-4 times per year in the mid 2000's, and so it felt like a breath of fresh air in the modern era.

Gaming is my favorite hobby, but I definitely can't keep up with these super long major releases anymore.  Anything over about 20 hours starts to wear pretty thin for me, and I find myself with less and less time as I get older.

Bumping this because there are a ton of these games still being announced/released. 

I've been trying to play Turbo Overkill, but I'm not really feeling it.  It seems really well made, but it's also just the Doom Eternal loop of locking you into combat arenas until you clear them.  I'm not seeing much variety or craft in the level designs so far, which is what really sets these games apart in my opinion.  Maybe it gets better though, as I'm still early on.

DUSK is still in my mind the pinnacle of this genre.  It's wild that we've had so many of these but none have really stood up to that game.

Has anybody played Immortal Redneck?  That passed me by because it's a rogue-like, but I've read some great things about it and wondered if it's worth playing.

Rest in piss.

Happy Autumnal Harvest to all!

I finished this a few days ago and have had some time to let it all sink in.  Overall, I thought this was an astonishing and unique experience.  I'm so thankful that this was finally made, and that Remedy was able to fully follow their whims on a project that they were undoubtedly extremely passionate about.  You can feel their passion in every frame.

I do think experience is how I would sum this up best.  I'm not convinced that it's a great game.  Alan Wake II is more of an experimental multimedia presentation that includes some gameplay.  I think that what's there is very solid, but it's clear that the story and presentation took priority.  That's a completely understandable approach, but it also surprises me that the reception was not more divisive for this reason. 

This gets into a bigger issue that I have with modern AAA games that are relentlessly chasing photo-realism and cinematic storytelling.  The desire to tell grounded stories in a cinematic way is often at odds with developing fun and engaging gameplay.  The heavier that developers lean into the former, the more that the latter suffers, and vice versa.  Very few games (if any) are able to balance these two elements, and I tend to enjoy games that either have very little story or eschew it altogether in favor of pure gameplay.  This type of graphical realism also prioritizes animation, and I feel games have gotten more and more sluggish to play as a result.

As much as I really enjoyed the strange directions that Alan Wake II took its story, I think Remedy has twisted themselves into unnecessary knots with their "connected universe".  The more that multiverses or layers of reality become exposed, the less stakes or weight any story has.  There is no impact because nothing is real, or it can be altered on a whim to connect with whatever gives lore seekers that extra hit of connection-chasing.

All in all, this is still perhaps my favorite experience of the year, and it's got some incredible high points.  But I still prefer the relative simplicity of the first game.

@Keyser_Soze Oh believe me, I'll wax about this too.  It's high on my list.  Something else that's high on my list and nobody else's?  Air Twister, out next week.

12 hours ago, stepee said:

@ShreddieMercury what platform do you want the game on btw?

You are too kind!  I actually picked it up on Xbox yesterday, budget be damned!  You are very generous to offer, so glad that you're enjoying it.  I'm going to jump into this right after Alan Wake, which I'm nearing the end of.  Can't wait.

Please report back, can't wait to get my hands on this one.

Wow, what an incredible bonus.

Is that near the top of the dumbest and worst modern trends with games now?   Seems to happen with tons of recent releases.  And most games are practically broken on day one anyway; I can't imagine what they're like days or weeks before the official release date.

I'm really taking my time and savoring this game.  I really like the episodic structure because it lets you break up the experience very cleanly between sections.  It seems to be a pretty lengthy game, which in most cases I don't really like.  But the story and atmosphere is so gripping that I don't mind at all. 

I guess it does come out Friday, you're right.  I thought it was out but maybe only if you per-ordered a special edition or something.

Anybody playing this?? I can't afford it for Xbox right now but am excited to get it around the holidays.  Looks amazingly AA in the best ways. 

On 10/25/2023 at 11:49 PM, Dodger said:

Am I the only one who feels like Robocop should be a big deal but then realizes it hasn’t been relevant in 30 years and the name just hits the warm and fuzzies from when you were a kid?

Like most Verhoeven movies, the satire somehow only gets better and more relevant with time.  I think we can count ourselves lucky that the failed reboot killed any effort to aggressively franchise Robocop and soften its politics.  The original movie retains its power.

Good picks so far.  Two of my absolute favorite movies fit into this genre: The Lost Boys and Fright Night (1985).  For newer stuff I really enjoyed The Wolf of Snow Hollow (and all of Jim Cummings's movies).  Also just watched Deadstream on Shudder and it was surprisingly really fun.

Totally Killer I watched earlier this month and I was also surprised by how much I enjoyed that one.

I definitely don't disagree about the mind place.  In Saga's story it's pretty undercooked, though it does get more interesting the farther into the game you get and the more each case expands.  It does really interfere with the pacing though, as you need to check into the case board right when you get new clues, so you're bouncing back and forth quite a bit.

@best3444 Try to make it to at least the third chapter.  If you get lost, which is understandable, check the case board, as there are sometimes clues that you have to attach or deduce before the next context prompt will appear.  When you switch to Alan for the first time, there are a couple of weird puzzles that ultimately make sense but the game doesn't do a great job explaining a particular mechanic that he has. 

The game starts very, very slowly, but at that point the action and combat picks up and I think the encounters have been really fun and reminiscent of the first game.  There are lots of fair criticisms to level at the game, but what I've seen about the combat not being enjoyable I just can't agree with.  It's a lot like the first game, but the feedback is better and it's much more tense and strategic.

I have blinders on in general with this one just because I'm finding it so surreal and amazing to finally be playing.  I pored over Alan Wake, and was all but convinced that a sequel would never happen.  That it did, and that it's taking these kinds of risks, is miraculous to me.

The farther you get into this game, the more fucking incredible it gets.

35 minutes ago, Mr.Vic20 said:

My take: The Alan Wake narrative portions are spot on for the intent of the piece. Alan Wake's narrative "voice" is that of a famous but mid tier pulp detective writer and they do a great job of meeting that tone. Its the inner monologues that are "beat you repeatedly over the head with the obvious points" bad. After 2 hours of this game's case/world building, I started to feel that Remedy truly believes we are CBS viewers, and that's not something to accept, let alone strive for! I considered a justification on Remedy's behalf, namely that I'm now a 47 year old gamer, but gams are still made for kids of all ages. But that argument doesn't hold water as I would have been insulted Agent Saga's "mind place" dialog even as a teen and given this game's brutality you can hardly argue this one's for the pre-teen crowd. Also and seriously, command center boards are for task forces, not for a singular individual. They allow 2nd and 3rd parties to be quickly brought up to speed, at a high level,  on racketeering cases and the like. I blame dumb shows like Homeland for this BS. Please stop. Please trust your audience just a bit more. If you're going to emulate Twin Peaks, then trust in us that you can weave an obtuse and bizarre piece of drama!  We can catch the crumbs you drop and assemble their collective meaning to form a story from context clues. Stop solving narrative gaps with painful exposition damn it! 

I haven't been nearly as bothered by any of what you're describing, but I think you're giving gamers far too much credit.  The average gamer isn't nearly on the same level as a CBS viewer, despite how depressing that sounds.  And I don't think it's about intelligence as much as it is just patience and general critical thought.

I think the mind place stuff exists purely as a cushion for people that are new to Remedy's games or did not play Alan Wake.  As frustrating as that is for more seasoned Remedy-heads, I think it makes sense when you consider that it could be a helpful visualization of specific story and plot threads that are admittedly difficult to keep in focus as the story's layers are so fluid and complex.  I have found myself going back to it and reading the snippets here and there, and for me it really works as a mechanic, but I completely understand somebody thinking it's obvious and bad.  I will say that Alan's plot board has been much more interesting, but I won't spoil why.

2 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

 

Based on what you've posted, would you be inclined to agree with these thoughts expressed by the Eurogamer reviewer?

 

Alan Wake 2 review - incredible style, overbearing writing

WWW.EUROGAMER.NET

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Eurogamer's review of Alan Wake 2, a gorgeous but relentlessly meta game about writing that badly needs an editor.

 

Not who you asked, but I read that review and was struck by the lack of self-awareness given the subject matter.  I like several of the points the author makes, but it's mostly just over-written drivel.  "...There's a conscious parallel between deconstruction and dismemberment as a means to enlightenment. "  Uhhh, not sure about that. 

I'm still relatively early in the game, but at this point I'm actually surprised at how non-divisive the general review scores are.  Despite Remedy's insistence that this game stands alone, I'm not seeing it.  This is a game specifically for people who have been stewing on what a sequel to Alan Wake would or could be for thirteen years.  This includes the developer, since Remedy is very self-consciously drawing a line between their process for bringing about this sequel and Alan's situation in the game.  This is also very specifically for people who thought the best parts of the first game were the sections where you walked leisurely and soaked in the atmosphere.  At about seven hours in, that means the game is very, very much for me, but I would imagine I don't make up a huge portion of the general gaming audience at this point. 

Alan Wake II is decidedly not for people who just watched a recap of the first game, or who are coming into Remedy games fresh.  The closest comparison to this in my mind would be Twin Peaks The Return; an absolutely incredible experience that is uncompromising in its vision, a middle finger directed at modern television audiences who expect to be catered to.  Remedy isn't trolling as hard as David Lynch, but this is a radical work that fully follows the whims of the artists without much thought given to the audience's wishes or expectations.  If you're wondering how often this sort of thing happens in big budget video games, the answer is never.

I don't have much to criticize in the way of dialog or how the game's written.  It's very Remedy/Sam Lake, and you enjoy it warts and all, or you find it sophomoric and off-putting.  My main gripe so far would be how nonchalantly Saga reacts to things that are completely insane, even very early in the game.  She basically just finds them to be natural bits of her investigation.  Perhaps there is a reason for this later, but it strikes me as just clunky characterization.

I also find the combat to very punchy and fun, though it's very, very sparse.  The mind place and plot board elements are not well introduced in my opinion, but they become much more interesting once you get a few chapters in.

For a specific audience, I think this game will hit them in a way that nothing has in a long time.  Without even finishing the game, I'm very curious where Remedy goes from here, as this feels like the apotheosis of their entire portfolio.  Though I know it's not, if this ended up as their last game, it would be understandable.

One is another open world Sony game.  The other is a visually and narratively boundary-pushing multimedia experience.  Your choice!

My first impression after playing about an hour last night is extremely positive.  The presentation is off the charts, and it's by far the best looking game I've seen on my Series X to date.  As a fan of Remedy's games, Alan Wake 2 is already really going places in the intro alone.  Only thing to note is a strange audio bug that has cut the sound a couple of times in the intro cutscene, but a restart seemed to fix it. 

Also, 30fps is completely fine for games like this, so I would go quality mode on console if you're playing it there.

Really appreciate the risks they took with the second game, and it was more refined, so I'd say II. 

But I have a complicated relationship with these games.  The first one essentially cemented the modern Sony template.  These games are mostly spectacle, and they really work on me when experienced fresh, but anytime I've tried to replay them I like them less and less.  It's roller coaster gaming.

I also think the narrative is really well executed in the landscape of video games, but to turn it into a TV show exposes just how rote this story is.  Zombie stuff got extremely burned out by the late 2000's, yet here we are, going through the same motions with total sincerity. 

4 hours ago, TwinIon said:

I definitely played some of the original game but did not finish it, nor do I remember it very well. The Remaster is $10 right now and I'm considering picking it up.

 

Any thoughts on how well the first game holds up?

Alan Wake is an amazing game.  I'm always surprised to see that people think it doesn't hold up or that the gameplay is tedious, which is an opinion that I run into regularly. 

It doesn't have the deepest third person action, but the feedback is great and it's just as polished as the Max Payne games from a gameplay standpoint.  That said, the real reason to play it is the extremely hooky and propulsive story, and the episodic structure is surprisingly still pretty novel in games.  Regardless of whatever shortcomings Alan Wake has, the atmosphere and tone are extremely strong.  There is a reason that the game is a cult classic, and that Remedy has been so patient and reverent with this follow up.