Playing a great action RPG that just came out called CrossCode. In the style of 16/32 bit games of the past. It’s out on all systems and PC but is on Xbox GamePass if you have that. Definitely worth checking out!
I really like what Ubisoft does for the most part. I think their ability to consistently put out good, but not great, games as often as they do is something that they should take a lot of pride in. The fact that, for one example, Assassin's Creed is going to have 3 games as big in scale as Origins/Odyssey/Valhalla within the span of 3 years, with all of them being at least above average quality (I'm assuming with Valhalla, but the track record is there). With how long it takes to make games, especially huge open worlds like Ubisoft tends to do, that's really impressive. There's not really ever a 10/10 coming from them, but that's fine. Their games are really good gap fillers while the consistent 9 or 10/10 studios have 5 years in between releases. I'll always have time for games like Assassin's Creed and Far Cry.
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While I do miss seeing games like Rainbow Six Rogue Spear or Splinter Cell Chaos Theory I will say that Ubisoft has been exemplary in supporting their multiplayer titles this gen.
Last edited by cDnStealth; 07-10-2020 at 09:02 AM.
So are Naughty Dog and Rockstar games. I don't see a problem with it as long as it's a very good formula.
It's not a good formula though. It's classic design by committee. It's a mis match of formulas that were good years ago but then they cram them together where they don't fit.
Look at what they did to Ghost Recon. They took a solid tactical shooter and made it another open world tactical looter shooter with tiered loot gear and RPG elements and skill trees and exploration and loot boxes and customization. I'm actually amazed they didn't try to cram in a half cocked Battle Royale mode while they were at it. And doesn't do a single one of those things well.
Cant wait to be dissapointed by the new Splinter Cell. Or should we just cut to the chase and call it Splinter Assassin Far Division Cry Creed Cell.
Assassin's Creed they at least added RPG elements and stopped there. Hopefully they don't mess up Valhalla by adding too many half cocked ideas like they have with almost every other franchise
I really like what Ubisoft does for the most part. I think their ability to consistently put out good, but not great, games as often as they do is something that they should take a lot of pride in. The fact that, for one example, Assassin's Creed is going to have 3 games as big in scale as Origins/Odyssey/Valhalla within the span of 3 years, with all of them being at least above average quality (I'm assuming with Valhalla, but the track record is there). With how long it takes to make games, especially huge open worlds like Ubisoft tends to do, that's really impressive. There's not really ever a 10/10 coming from them, but that's fine. Their games are really good gap fillers while the consistent 9 or 10/10 studios have 5 years in between releases. I'll always have time for games like Assassin's Creed and Far Cry.
I was thinking the same thing the other day. I've never played a ''perfect'' Ubisoft 10/10 game like a say, Witcher 3 (IMO). But they consistently produce good 8-9/10 games that are good length and good quality. Nobody is ever going to say there is a perfect AC game. But it's more then likely going to be very good, and as a gamer that's good enough for me. I know when I play one of those games, it's more then likely going to be fun if I give it a chance and see it through.
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Originally Posted by btimbit
It's not a good formula though. It's classic design by committee. It's a mis match of formulas that were good years ago but then they cram them together where they don't fit.
Look at what they did to Ghost Recon. They took a solid tactical shooter and made it another open world tactical looter shooter with tiered loot gear and RPG elements and skill trees and exploration and loot boxes and customization. I'm actually amazed they didn't try to cram in a half cocked Battle Royale mode while they were at it. And doesn't do a single one of those things well.
Cant wait to be dissapointed by the new Splinter Cell. Or should we just cut to the chase and call it Splinter Assassin Far Division Cry Creed Cell.
Assassin's Creed they at least added RPG elements and stopped there. Hopefully they don't mess up Valhalla by adding too many half cocked ideas like they have with almost every other franchise
Well that ultimately comes down to what kind of games you enjoy. I personally enjoy the style that Far Cry and AC use. I like going up the tower to clear parts of the map to see what else you can do and get an overlay of the land. Gives me a purpose in the game and I get to explore almost all the game that way. I think Far Cry 5 was a step back overall, but Far Cry New Dawn was much better and made up for it.
And I'm fine with how they do the skill trees in their games. The games usually start out hard but find their groove once you upgrade your character enough. It just sounds like you don't like that style of game when it comes to exploration, skill trees and RPG elements all tied in together? It doesn't' work for every game company, but Ubisoft does it well so I'm trying to figure out what you hate so much about having something like a skill tree upgrade feature. And for an achievement hunter like myself, their lists often relate to how much exploration you do which is nice.
I haven't played much of tactical shooters they make in terms of Tom Clancy, Ghost Recon or Splinter Cell and I'm not a big multiplayer gamer so I can't really comment on those. I know it grinds people's gears when they see the option to buy loot boxes, but I've never paid money for a loot box upgrade so I don't feel pressured to buy one to experience the full game. If you don't like it, don't buy it? I've never been limited by one of their games because I didn't buy a lootbox, unlike EA games.
I've always viewed Ubisoft as a quality company that makes quality games. Their style might not be for everybody, but their games often have good ratings by multiple game sites as well, as their formula works for the most part.
Last edited by Huntingwhale; 07-10-2020 at 09:31 AM.
I think the Far Cry series is one of the best, and while it might be little more than a re-skinned game most times (same formula, combat, story structures, etc) it’s one I enjoy just as much but for different reasons than a Rockstar game, and a lot more than the Naughty Dog formula at this point.
Away from the Ubisoft conversation, is anyone looking forward to/preordered Ghost of Tsushima? I think it looks great and thought the Infamous series was a lot of fun, so I’m excited for it.
I don’t think I’ve ever played or even cares about games more than I have since COVID hit, but I’ve really been enjoying playing more.
Ghost of Tsushima is my most anticipated of the year, it looks fantastic and I’ve loved everything Sucker Punch has developed. Very excited. And the new Paper Mario the same day!
As for Ubisoft, I’m still cheesed they never followed up on the cliffhanger from Prince of Persia 2008. That was a fantastic game and I really wanted to see where it went.
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but wasn't that announced like three years ago? Have there been any updates since? I assumed it was vaporware at this point.
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Originally Posted by Huntingwhale
? It doesn't' work for every game company, but Ubisoft does it well so I'm trying to figure out what you hate so much about having something like a skill tree upgrade feature.
I don't he's taking exception to skill trees, more so to the genre mishmash that is inherent to the "more is more" formula of the vast majority of modern open world AAA games. Just because there's more to do, doesn't mean it's more fun to do it. Compare Assassin's Creed to its predecessor, the PS2 Prince of Persia games. Those games might not have been wide open affairs, but there was something more fun about them simply because they felt more rewarding.
I'm a firm believer that for video games, especially as an adult who isn't limited to playing birthday and Christmas gifts, more content (loot, bigger maps, etc) tends to hit diminishing returns and you end up with quantity over quality. And that's sort of what I associate with Ubisoft's major franchises. Contrast that with, for example Eidos who don't feel the need to make every game contain every popular design element, and you get more of an artistic feel from the Tomb Raider games.
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I must have missed that part or it got edited in after I read that post, but yeah, what Granteed said. It's not that any one of those features is bad (like skill trees) it just seems they get mashed in where they don't belong/fit.
What's the old saying, content about a mile wide but only an inch deep? That's most Ubi games summed up for me.
In some games those features work. In others they don't fit. Like if Rockstar tried to add it to GTA, like say, you needed 5000xp points before you unlock the ability to steal a car. That's dumb, it just doesn't suit the game at all, and would come across as a deliberate way to slow progression of the game down under the guise of extra content when really all its doing is masking the lack of real gameplay. It just wouldn't fit. That's how it feels to me in a lot of Ubisoft games these days.
I've not kept up with Ubisoft news but enjoy their games immensely. What exactly is up with their scandal?
The creative developer for AC Valhalla, Ashraf Ismail, allegedly was having an affair that went public when the woman he was dating found out he was married and went off on Twitter about it. Including screen shots of convos between them where he's lying his ### off, etc. To avoid dragging controversy and a PR mess into Valhalla right as they are gearing up for their marketing campaign leading into release (he would've been the face of Valhalla doing all the interviews), he stepped down, and to "focus on his family". I'm wondering if this will affect the Valhalla release, in terms of a possible delay.
It's huge too, as even though as mentioned in earlier posts, AC games are handled by multiple studios and seem to rotate each AC game as to which studio is the head one, Ashraf is kind of seen as THE creative director for AC, and their best guy. He was in charge of both Black Flag and Origins; some of the better AC's. That's a huge hole going forward for that franchise creatively if he ends up leaving permanently.
EDIT: I hear it was actually multiple executives who also had their own scandal. I hadn't heard about that, just Ashraf's. Crazy stuff going on over at Ubi..
Away from the Ubisoft conversation, is anyone looking forward to/preordered Ghost of Tsushima?
I'm super geeked for Ghost, even been brushing up on my Japan during the Mongol invasions history leading up to it. It just tells me what a weird year 2020 is, as usually the summer is when I kind of take a break from gaming. But between quarantine and the cool, rainy summer we've had, I'm sooo bored. The 17th can't get here soon enough!
