So I've been playing the beta on the PS4 for the last couple of days and I have to say I'm pretty impressed. Before the beta, and even after the alpha, I didn't understand the hype for this game. I don't think the trailers really do the game any justice either. But wow, it's good! Anyone else playing it? Thought? Anyone feel the same way I did prior to playing the beta?
Pretty crazy how I can do so well in other FPS games, but the halo style (and new COD Style) just doesn't jive with me.
I was solo on the Alpha, but convinced my friends to get in on the Beta and having a solid Fireteam really improves the enjoyment in the game.
I have not done much with the multiplayer portion of the game, but it sounds like they realize there are some things that need to be rebalanced to even out the play (Hunters are way too effective and the tank is way too strong). They changed a lot of the guns from the Alpha, so I'd expect some improvements/balancing with the final product.
I hate this crap. Was really looking forward to this game, but if it only really functions correctly when you play with a group/is basically impossible to go it alone (like Borderlands 2) then just make it a goddamn MMO already...
I don't wanna join a clan or talk on a stupid headset or interact with my team on Twitter or whatever other social crap they gotta shove into it. I just wanna play the damn thing in peace. And if playing the game to any level of enjoyment requires five people yelling in my ear then fuck it.
I haven't really read that many "blah" reviews on it, to be honest. There's not a lot of content to really go on - you're capped at level 8 and confined to a base level and a single map (that is huge in scale). You get a general feel of where they're going with it and basically trusting Bungie to deliver, but I don't think that's too much of an ask - given their track record.
I kind of had an eye on it when it was announced, as Bungie leaving MS was pretty huge. I always liked the Halo games, but losing them was a big blow to the series and 343 blew it with their entry (Halo 4). I jumped on the free Alpha and have been impressed since, but know I'm going mostly on promise vs. anything actually real/delivered thus far.
I do think it will get way too overhyped at launch - its not a revolutionary MMO that will change console gaming forever. I do think it will be Bungie taking the best part of various games and putting them together with a ton of polish, with a good-to-great arena shooter for multiplayer gaming (if you like that style).
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I was solo on the Alpha, but convinced my friends to get in on the Beta and having a solid Fireteam really improves the enjoyment in the game.
I hate this crap. Was really looking forward to this game, but if it only really functions correctly when you play with a group/is basically impossible to go it alone (like Borderlands 2) then just make it a goddamn MMO already...
I don't wanna join a clan or talk on a stupid headset or interact with my team on Twitter or whatever other social crap they gotta shove into it. I just wanna play the damn thing in peace. And if playing the game to any level of enjoyment requires five people yelling in my ear then fuck it.
You can go it alone and some maps will automatically pair you with people when you absolutely have to be on a squad (there's a map with two bosses who are basically bullet sponges and take massive amounts of damage to defeat).
Its more fun to talk strategy than have 3 random strangers going off on their own, but its not unplayable going at it solo and would still be fun.
Halo
Gears
CoD
Battlefield
These all have niches.
I played for months straight and barely made it to level 35. It was like the grind to end all grinds. That's when my brother-in-law said that it's really designed for a team to take on - there's apparently a huge increase in XP when you get four people attacking everything on the screen together. I'd have to play for years and years to reach the level cap and all the crazy high-level loot (pearl guns, the Bee shield, all that shit that I never got close to getting).
I'm not against getting your money's worth but there's just too goddamn MUCH in that game - it's overwhelming.
You can go it alone and some maps will automatically pair you with people when you absolutely have to be on a squad (there's a map with two bosses who are basically bullet sponges and take massive amounts of damage to defeat).
Its more fun to talk strategy than have 3 random strangers going off on their own, but its not unplayable going at it solo and would still be fun.
That's not so bad...I've just always preferred to lone-wolf it, going all the way back to Halo 2.
Oh yeah, and the skill trees? So many great abilities to unlock, but it would take days just to jump up a level, get a single skill point and MAYBE get to unlock another ability.
The game just teases you with all this great shit that takes FOREVER to get!
Halo
Gears
CoD
Battlefield
These all have niches.
To use generic PR-speak...
It feels like an evolution of Halo (but with more to it than just that). Where Halo 4 failed on many levels and felt like a bad retread of a tired series, Destiny kind of takes the elements that worked from that series (Bungie's making it, so it has their fingerprints all over it) and combined it into a Borderlands-esque game that went more "Star Wars" than "B Movie" with it.
If Halo wasn't your thing, I don't think this would ever really be for you. Bungie is still the name on the box, even though Halo is missing - you have core game mechanics/design carry over.
It just feels much "bigger" than Halo ever has. Instead of a perpetual tour of corridors and vacant spaces, its a pretty massive world with a lot going on. I would consider this the heir apparent to the Halo series and will fill in that niche, unless 343 shocks me and release a competent game with Halo 5 - but I don't expect that at all.
343 so completely screwed up Halo 4. Whether the days of the arena shooter are gone or not, trying to turn Halo into COD (with all the loadouts, killstreaks and Infinity settings/ordnance and shit) just turned everyone away from it.
Halo 4 could have still had that massive population (it had 200,000 the first day) if 343 had made the game truer to Halo. I really hope they learned their lesson for 5 - bring back custom gametypes, bring back equal BR/Magnum starts, separate Social/Competitive playlists. But it might be too late.
Halo Master Chief Collection is something to get excited about, being able to play Halo 2 online again is going to be great with all the original gameplay. Also Halo 1 gets real online MP for the first time on consoles.
Halo Master Chief Collection is something to get excited about, being able to play Halo 2 online again is going to be great with all the original gameplay. Also Halo 1 gets real online MP for the first time on consoles.
I actually really hate all of these remastered games that are coming out. I don't want to play Halo 2 again, I want Halo 5 to be good and make me think purchasing an Xbox One is actually worth the investment (and even then...hard sell).
Sony remastering a year old game is just as frustrating, but apparently they realize their smaller market with the PS3 can let them gain some ground with pushing The Last of Us back onto market for their ever-expanding install base on the PS4.
Either way, would prefer some new IPs vs. reheated leftovers to hold us over between today, Destiny in September then nothing until Winter.
Started The Wolf Among Us Season 1 last week and finished it Monday night. Easily my favorite Telltale game. Obviously working with good source material helps a lot, but the whole package was just really impressive. Wasn't difficult at all, but since it's just a point-and-click branching adventure game with some light quick-time events I wasn't expecting it to be hard. If you liked The Walking Dead game, you should play this.
Before playing that, I played Act I of Broken Age, which was basically what I expected it to be (another well-executed point-and-click adventure, but this one with more puzzles and less blood). Worth playing if you liked any of the LucasArts adventure games from the 90's.
Haven't played much else the past two weeks since I spent a lot of time hooked on the DOTA 2 International, which was great up until the underwhelming final. I say that as someone who can't play any MOBAs at all - RTS is almost definitely my worst genre, and even though DOTA doesn't play the same as an RTS, the keyboard+mouse use is too similar for me.
Also been playing Final Fantasy X HD sporadically, not because I'm not enjoying the nostalgia playthrough, just because I haven't had the time and enjoy playing about an hour at a time instead of the 6+ hour binges I had as a kid.
Definitely too easy, but not so easy that it ruined the experience. I watched the Double Fine Adventure documentary and Tim Schafer attributes this to the extensive play-testing they did during development, which resulted in most of the places where players normally get stuck (e.g. puzzles with overly counter-intuitive solutions) getting polished out. The end result is a point-and-click with perhaps better "flow" than any point-and-click I've ever played, but lacking in challenge.
I expect the second half of the game to be a bit harder, but I don't expect puzzles as puzzling as, say, a vintage Monkey Island game. I won't mind either way - I trust Tim's judgement. He has the magic touch.