Have you played Hellblade?
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EA shuts down Visceral, moves Star Wars game to EA Vancouver/others
- Thread starter DKHF
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Have you played Hellblade?
Melchiah
Member
I could certainly do without the open world chapter in TLL. I think it's pretty much given, that any further entries will have at least the same extent of them, if not more. There's already far too little purely linear adventures around, I don't need the open world start to spread like a disease among them as well.
Evil Monkey DTT
Banned
I guess I'm officially done with AAA gaming, and that's a shame. There are too many great lower budget titles that I would rather support then game design attached to games I should feel sorry for not making enough money after ruining every aspect I cared about in the first place.
Edit: I should clarify I'm done with ea AAA. If a game comes out and I'm not worried about the design or model bring it on. But the moment I have even a sliver of "eh, that's bullshit" im out.
Edit: I should clarify I'm done with ea AAA. If a game comes out and I'm not worried about the design or model bring it on. But the moment I have even a sliver of "eh, that's bullshit" im out.
Magic Mushroom
Member
There is no death of SP games.
The Witcher 3, Bloodborne, Inside, Doom, Ori and the Blind Forest, The Witness, Uncharted 4, The Last Guardian, Dark Souls 3, Resi 7, Prey, Breath of the Wild, Horizon Zero Dawn, Nioh, Yakuza 0 and Kiwami, Uncharted TLL, Mario + Rabbids, Persona 5, Hollow Knight, Cuphead, Nex Machina, What Remains of Edith Finch, Gravity Rush 2, Hellblade, Dishonored Death of the Outsider, South Park The Fractured But Whole, The Surge, The Evil Within 2, Assassin's Creed Origins, Shadow of War, Divinity Original Sin 2, Wolfenstein II The New Colossus, Xenoblade 2, Super Mario Oddyssey.
There is stuff on the way like God of War, Yakuza 6, Cyberpunk, Red Dead Redemption 2, Ori 2, The Last of Us II, Detroit, Metroid Prime 4, multiple From games, Spider-Man, Days Gone, Death Stranding. (Yes, I know some of these have MP but they all have a big story-driven SP component).
That's a lot of gameplay. Enough to last you years and years.
Yeah, I've come to the conclusion recently that I'm probably going to need to invest in a gaming PC to get the most out of this situation. I'll add Tyranny to the queue for once I do, although I suspect I won't have the funds for it until late into next year. No rush. Pillars looks good though and I can actually play it on PS4 now so I'll do that. Thanks.
I'll look into Banner Saga as well.Nope, but I watched a quick IGN vid on it since it got mentioned so many times in this thread. Looks great.
Hero of Time
Member
Damn what a shame, I was looking forward to this game and this is a pretty sad situation for Visceral.
I've been wanting a good Star Wars single player story for a while now, I'm skeptical the Battlefront 2 campaign is going to be great (I hope it is) and now this is dead because it's being turned into a "service game" what a disappointment.
Of course there is a chance the rebooted game they end up releasing turns out amazing, but it's hard to care about something we know nothing about that won't be released until 2020.
Really counting on Respawn to deliver with their Star Wars game.
I've been wanting a good Star Wars single player story for a while now, I'm skeptical the Battlefront 2 campaign is going to be great (I hope it is) and now this is dead because it's being turned into a "service game" what a disappointment.
Of course there is a chance the rebooted game they end up releasing turns out amazing, but it's hard to care about something we know nothing about that won't be released until 2020.
Really counting on Respawn to deliver with their Star Wars game.
Has Kojima ever confirmed this to be the case with Death Stranding? I've had an arguably irrational fear it's going to be some sort of shared game world system since the start.
I agree but the bets are a lot higher nowadays.
Yeah, I've come to the conclusion recently that I'm probably going to need to invest in a gaming PC to get the most out of this situation. I'll add Tyranny to the queue for once I do, although I suspect I won't have the funds for it until late into next year. No rush. Pillars looks good though and I can actually play it on PS4 now so I'll do that. Thanks.
Pillars is amazing on PS4. It's tied for GOTY with Horizon for me.
Magic Mushroom
Member
There might be MP elements, but Kojima is way too story-driven to make something that doesn't cater to SP fans I think.
YankeeDonB
Member
Fwiw, I dropped the Last Wish half way through despite loving Witcher 3 (probably my top rpg under FF VI now). The writing, at least in translation, pales in comparison to the line writing in W3 (which I found much better than in 1 and 2).
Witcher 3 delivers all 3 of your criteria in spades. It makes Bioware's recent stuff look like mediocre fan fiction in comparison (and I say that as someone who genuinely enjoyed ME 1 and 2 and Dragon Age Origins).
Suikoden 3 is a little long in the tooth now, but I'd say also meets those criteria, and I believe can be downloaded on PS3 if you haven't played it. Suikoden V might meet them even more so, but don't think they released that digitally.
I've got hopes for Alliance Alive upcoming on 3DS (by Suikoden 1-3 writer), but we'll see.
I'm also invested in narrative heavy character driven games with reasonably large casts, and haven't found much this gen to satisfy me :-(
Sony and Nintendo will still continue to pump out some single player AAA games
It's incredible that even a huge established IP like Star Wars can't even justify a budget for a singleplayer action-adventure game. You really get to know the budget priorities of EA / big publishers when even Star Wars can't warrant such a thing.
Singleplayer games are and will be fine, they've always survived and existed for all eternity.
Singleplayer games are and will be fine, they've always survived and existed for all eternity.
Pillars is on PS4. Supposedly a decent port, too.
Audioboxer
Member
This is like 1990s edgelord material, but if anyone at Visceral/ex-EA is feeling a bit aggrieved this morning, like "I've just been fired by my asshole boss and I didn't do anything wrong" aggrieved
I do hope you're right.
This is good to hear. I agree with you about the writing in the books, at least their translation; I'm liking them, but not loving them. But honestly my big issue is that I'm not wild about their portrayal of women thus far, heh. Aaaand I know I'm gonna have to deal with some of that in the games (hello, sex cards...) but I have also been told by people whose opinions on these matters often align with my own that there are some great women at least in TW3. (Also, I'm early into the books, besides. Just wrapped Sword of Destiny this past Sunday.)
Oh boy, I'm risking thread derail here. Apologies, all.
This is the first I've heard of Alliance Alive. I've played Suikoden 1 and 2 and utterly adore 2. I'll need to make time to check out 3 and 5, thanks. <3
Yeah not that sad, apart from all those people who are now out of a job
Markitron
Is currently staging a hunger strike outside Gearbox HQ while trying to hate them to death
It is. Ninja Theory could have charged full price and it would have been worth it. My current GOTY.
Melchiah
Member
There is, when it comes to linear SP games, since all the bolded are open world. Not to mention, that games like Nexmachina and Cuphead aren't story-driven SP games.
EDIT: And games like What Remains of Edith Finch and Hellblade don't dispel the notion, that AAA story-driven linear SP games are on their way out. Indies are actually the ray of light in that regard.
MarkMclovin
Member
Was really hoping we'd get a remaster of the Deadspace games.
Markitron
Is currently staging a hunger strike outside Gearbox HQ while trying to hate them to death
People are not talking enough about Dead Space Extraction. That game was far better than it had any right to be.
The one kind of cash-grab we actually want EA to do, and they still disappoint us. They truly are evil.
The one kind of cash-grab we actually want EA to do, and they still disappoint us. They truly are evil.
Fun story, the original design for the villain of Mirrors Edge Catalyst was incredibly similar to him. They changed it afterwards.
Theslammer
Member
Detroit is open-world?
YankeeDonB
Member
I do hope you're right.
This is good to hear. I agree with you about the writing in the books, at least their translation; I'm liking them, but not loving them. But honestly my big issue is that I'm not wild about their portrayal of women thus far, heh. Aaaand I know I'm gonna have to deal with some of that in the games (hello, sex cards...) but I have also been told by people whose opinions on these matters often align with my own that there are some great women at least in TW3. (Also, I'm early into the books, besides. Just wrapped Sword of Destiny this past Sunday.)
Oh boy, I'm risking thread derail here. Apologies, all.
This is the first I've heard of Alliance Alive. I've played Suikoden 1 and 2 and utterly adore 2. I'll need to make time to check out 3 and 5, thanks. <3
All things considered, the women (at least in W3) are portrayed with more nuance and care than most characters in most games. Keira, Yen, Ciri, and Cerys are some of my favorite characters this gen, all complex, believable, and well developed. You can really roleplay Geralt as a gentleman in spite of himself (well, in some respects). Disregarding the books and W1 and 2, W3's handling of sex and gender relations in a grim world is pretty good.
This is really my biggest disappointment with all this push toward GaaS - characters become predefined commodities, as opposed to learning who they are through the natural flow of a well crafted narrative. Real character emerges through situation, not through opening cosmetic loot boxes.... I don't really care about Star Wars or Amy Hennig's prior work, but I still want there to be a place for these sorts of character driven narratives in all areas of AAA development, not just RPGs.
Glad you're thinking about Suikoden 3 and 5! I love 2, but they slightly edge it for me due to better characterization for more of the casts.
Magic Mushroom
Member
Detroit and Yakuza aren't open world. Neither is South Park if I'm correct. Or Divinity.
But I was just saying there isn't a lack of SP games, AAA or otherwise.
Still, even if you take out the open world games there are still many left and there are lots of other games I could have mentioned with a linear SP, like Ratchet and Clank, Titanfall 2, Quantum Break, Until Dawn, Bayonetta 2, The Order etc.
Fun story, the original design for the villain of Mirrors Edge Catalyst was incredibly similar to him. They changed it afterwards.
He looks like the type of villain in a video game or movie where his father is an evil head of corporation trying to shape the world, and he is trying really hard to follow his father footstep, he went overboard and buy out all of his investors. Those that denied his offer, he will just assassinate them and take over their company, immediately shut it down to prove a point.
You play as a private investigator, going through his secret past, discovering his tragic story and choose whether to expose him and shut him down for good.
Palabragrís
Member
Not sure if this has been already posted, but this is a good summary of what EA has made this time. Also, it inclused a very good FHashtag in the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auJkO3AS828
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auJkO3AS828
Others had mentioned that people had already left some time ago. Code Cow among them for instance mentioned he left 4 months ago.
Melchiah
Member
Quick googling said otherwise about Detroit and South Park, and I assumed Yakuza is open world, but I stand corrected if they aren't.
Regarding the list of games, I just looked at it again, and it's telling how few of the AAA linear story-driven SP games have been released recently. Especially when you exclude shooters. The trend is even more worrisome, when you look at how few 3rd person titles are among them. That may seem like an arbitrary distinction, but I greatly prefer 3rd person action-adventures over the 1st person ones.
What sucks is that initially EA was imo doing all the right things. Taking their time instead of rushing out shitty movie tie-ins and putting some really talented people behind those projects.
I imagine they'll really fast track Visceral's former game now to make up for lost profit.
Theslammer
Member
Considering EA already has Anthem, maybe this has less to do with the game being linear and more to do with things "beyond" their control as one of Visceral's guys said? The game could have simply not been shaping up well.
I loved GOW3, but Stag's new PS4 game apparently wasn't doing well and was canned. EA's already going into it with Anthem and could feel two of those types of games would cannibalize each other, and this could have nothing to do with GAF theories which are often incorrect.
As an aside, it goes to show the difference in opinions because when linear third-person action games became more prevalent in the early 2000s, I remember looking at retro boards and people thinking the end of gaming was upon us because we were more concerned with cutscenes and stories than gameplay, who needs PS2 when SNES is much better. I know some people who love getting less story-driven games because they don't view them as games. I like all of them, but no matter what happens, there's always some pushback to anything that's going on.
DominusLeges
Member
Yeah, I've come to the conclusion recently that I'm probably going to need to invest in a gaming PC to get the most out of this situation. I'll add Tyranny to the queue for once I do, although I suspect I won't have the funds for it until late into next year. No rush. Pillars looks good though and I can actually play it on PS4 now so I'll do that. Thanks.
Nope, but I watched a quick IGN vid on it since it got mentioned so many times in this thread. Looks great.
Divinity Original Sin is playable on PS4 and it's sequel is incredible. It sounds like exactly the sort of game you're looking for.
Melchiah
Member
It may be, that Hennig's SW game was similar to Stig's in that regard. I don't recall hearing about its development being as troubled as that was though.
Heh, different strokes for different folks. The late 90's linear 3rd person games were actually what brought me back to gaming after a long hiatus, and they were what I enjoyed playing the most during the previous three generations. That's why it's so disappointing to see them become rare these days.
EDIT: That's actually something I and the retro board folk have in common. They were troubled by the increasing popularity of cutscenes and stories, as I'm worried about the increasing popularity of open world and online. Both hate to see something they've cherished becoming a rarity.
I showed that second paragraph of yours, the one about predefined commodities, to a friend. He and I both vehemently agree, heh. One thing I'll say for this whole debacle is that it's pushing me to update my article portfolio; I'm going to hammer something out this week and send in some reference material to several games journalism sites. I'm a freelance writer as a side job, so, hey, what the hey.
Sweet, thanks.
TheVoidDragon
Member
I don't agree with this at all. What they say about the game does not in any way suggest it was actually a bad game. Nowhere did the quality of what was already done come into their explanation. Their reasoning for rebooting the development is said by them to be because focus testing and "trends" show they can make more money if they change it; it reads less like "This game won't be profitable" and more like "This game won't be as profitable as it couldbe". It seems like it's a choice being made because of greed.
EA's recent games show that you're wrong about quality being a concern for them; Mass Effect Andromeda, Battlefront 2 loot boxes, Battlefront 1 lacking content etc. There's nothing to suggest they make these decisions because they care about making " great games customers want", it'll be because they want all the profit they can even to the point of seemingly putting that before having any actual respect for the customer. Many of their games are shoved out with problems, micro transactions, anti-consumer practices etc. They're admit there that the problem with this game wasn't the quality, In their own words they're changing this because "testing" and "trends" show they can make more money if they change the game to a GaaS style "come back to and enjoy for a long time" experience. Nothing to do with quality of what was already done, based off what they say. A Star Wars AAA action game would without a doubt have been a huge success....but that wouldn't have been good enough for them.
As for Duke Nukem, saying "it had 10 years and it was still bad!" misses that it went through engine, developer, story/plot, game mechanics etc changes during development and eventually released in a time that the industry was entirely different than when it started development.
TRUE ORDER
Member
WTF...
No more Dead Space then :
No more Dead Space then :
Theslammer
Member
According to Kotaku, there really was a lot of troubled development about the SW game. I'm actually looking forward to the expose down the line as it'll likely be very interesting. A bummer to read, I'm sure, but still very interesting.
And I hear ya. As I said, it's not really a dig at you, but more putting context in the shifts in what developers create. I will say to those who love more linear single-player games that the fact that Hellblade is an indie title is good news for people who want that type of game, especially considering the wealth of indie developers out there. Hellblade and The Witness show how far indies have come in scope, though that's not a dig at stuff like Mercenary Kings or The Swapper.
I hope you're reading them in the original Polish
Melchiah
Member
Ah, I didn't know that. It's a bummer, because I would've loved to have a SW game written by Hennig. Hopefully she'll get another chance at doing something similar.
I just played Hellblade a couple of weeks ago, and it's a great game, eventhough the combat doesn't quite reach the quality of its other parts. Indies embracing consoles has been one of the best things this gen. Games like Hellblade, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter and What Remains of Edith Finch have been absolutely wonderful, and have shown that they can compete with AAA titles both visually and storywise. I think indies may be the saving grace for those of us, who crave for linear story-driven gaming experiences.
Markitron
Is currently staging a hunger strike outside Gearbox HQ while trying to hate them to death
Dead Space has been no more for four and a half years now. It's death warrant was signed as soon as EA got the Star Wars licence.
Teach me Polish and I will! Make a thread over on SFOM and start tutoring me, yo.
/s ... probably
prag16
Banned
How much do we know about their game? Aside from allegedly 3rd person action adventure that "could" focus on melee combat? Hmm, maybe that had something to do with this; even if the Visceral one was more of a shooter it's possible they thought two 3rd person single player adventure games was too many?
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