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What game are you playing now?

Bloodborne. It's decently enjoyable and has that allure to it that the previous Dark Souls games did. But I have to say that there are times when it goes from 'challenging' to 'outright unfair' at points.

It won't feel that much more complete, I'm afraid. It's fun, and the gameplay is executed well, but... the stern hand of a Konami deadline is in full effect.

Er, yeah, let's not say Kojima isn't heavily to blame for the final product being unfinished. With how much time and money Kojima had been pouring on the game, coupled with delivering financial bombs like those two Castlevania games, it was either push the game out ASAP or go bust. I don't like Konami, by any stretch, but I'm not gonna say they're wholly to blame for a missing third act.
 
MellowYellow said:
Bloodborne. It's decently enjoyable and has that allure to it that the previous Dark Souls games did. But I have to say that there are times when it goes from 'challenging' to 'outright unfair' at points.

It won't feel that much more complete, I'm afraid. It's fun, and the gameplay is executed well, but... the stern hand of a Konami deadline is in full effect.

Er, yeah, let's not say Kojima isn't heavily to blame for the final product being unfinished. With how much time and money Kojima had been pouring on the game, coupled with delivering financial bombs like those two Castlevania games, it was either push the game out ASAP or go bust. I don't like Konami, by any stretch, but I'm not gonna say they're wholly to blame for a missing third act.
Ha ha wat. 'Go bust'? Konami is a GIANT company. Aside from the pachislot business, I'm pretty sure they still have a TV channel, too. Besides that, Lords of Shadow 1 (And, to a lesser extent, Mirror of Fate) were successful.
 
Considering that shipping 3 million units wasn't enough to break even after how much had been spent in development, the losses would be catastrophic. Lords of Shadow 2 couldn't even ship one million units across all platforms. It couldn't even ship half a million. LoS 1 fared slightly better, but for Castlevania...

I know it's easy to frame the TPP controversy as 'the poor innocent auteur vs the big bad establishment' but could we please refrain from that and perhaps consider that Kojima deserves a chunk of the blame?
 
Except he doesn't. Openworld games take forever to develop, and he was developing an openworld game and the engine it runs on. The fact that he got as far as he did in just three years indicates a breakneck development pace, and the Chapter 3 content already created shows that he was told to wrap it up while in the home stretch of making the game.

Castlevania has never been a hot seller - LoS 1 was the most successful game in the entire series. I say this as a rabid fanboy of CV, mind.

This is all besides the fact that Konami were raw dicks to everyone in their videogame wing - Even Del Toro spoke publicly about what absolute cunts they were. Hell, ToraShiro, the Konami face-man on NeoGAF, had nothing to say in their defense.

Let me say that again: The man hired to defend them was unable to. And yet, you're managing it. They should hire you!
 
Trygon said:
Except he doesn't. Openworld games take forever to develop, and he was developing an openworld game and the engine it runs on. The fact that he got as far as he did in just three years indicates a breakneck development pace, and the Chapter 3 content already created shows that he was told to wrap it up while in the home stretch of making the game.

Castlevania has never been a hot seller - LoS 1 was the most successful game in the entire series. I say this as a rabid fanboy of CV, mind.

This is all besides the fact that Konami were raw dicks to everyone in their videogame wing - Even Del Toro spoke publicly about what absolute cunts they were. Hell, ToraShiro, the Konami face-man on NeoGAF, had nothing to say in their defense.

Let me say that again: The man hired to defend them was unable to. And yet, you're managing it. They should hire you!

Oh sure I'd say they've been assholes in many regards. The most recent being... fuck, what was it, the VMA's? Where they wouldn't let Kojima accept that reward, whenever that was. That was a dick move beyond description. Likewise canning PT was horseshit. And the current pachinko fetish, too, is horseshit.

TPP was a money sink. I'd say that's why Ground Zeroes was twenty bucks (that or it was just greed, I dunno), but the blame for an unfinished game is twofold. But then again I've never had the zealot-levels of worship for Kojima that most MGS fans have had.

Are we going too far off topic with this?
 
Don't think so. This thread has regular asides for discussion.

Note that I'm not contesting the money-sink status of the game. It's an open world. Everyone knows they're all money sinks. My contention is that Kojima did nothing wrong - He was asked to make MGSV, he put forward his ideas for the game (GZ being a separate chapter is up for debate - Personally, I think that was Kojima's idea too, as GZ and TPP have... Uh. Protagonist Differences.), the game was approved, he made the engine, got mostly through the game...

And Konami shut down game development company-wide. You seem to think that TPP costing too much alone caused Konami to cut loose an entire wing of their company, and that doesn't make any sense, logical, business, or otherwise. Konami decided they wanted to take the company in a new direction, and they burned everyone involved in the old direction, carelessly. Kojima deserves no blame for doing what he's always done - Konami could have canned the original proposal (Bet some of the HudsonSoft IP would have enjoyed a chance to shine in MGS' place), they could have not announced a release date, they could have bit the bullet and delayed the game... Basically, they could have shown any indication that they had some respect for one of their best creators, who had given decades to them.

It's also worth noting that it's not just MGS fans that worship Kojima. Sony put him on a tour of their WWS, guided by their 'independant' wunderkind.
 
Trygon said:
And Konami shut down game development company-wide. You seem to think that TPP costing too much alone caused Konami to cut loose an entire wing of their company, and that doesn't make any sense, logical, business, or otherwise. Konami decided they wanted to take the company in a new direction, and they burned everyone involved in the old direction, carelessly. Kojima deserves no blame for doing what he's always done - Konami could have canned the original proposal (Bet some of the HudsonSoft IP would have enjoyed a chance to shine in MGS' place), they could have not announced a release date, they could have bit the bullet and delayed the game... Basically, they could have shown any indication that they had some respect for one of their best creators, who had given decades to them.

It's also worth noting that it's not just MGS fans that worship Kojima. Sony put him on a tour of their WWS, guided by their 'independant' wunderkind.

Well the vibe I got was that they felt they could cancel TP with no loss to their Pachinko ambitions. By the sound of things, there hadn't been too much developed for it which makes it all the more unfortunate. But TPP absolutely had to come out, given what had alredy been invested. I have to wonder how much longer it would have taken to make the storyline complete.

My problem is, and while I find TPP superb in terms of graphics and mechanics, I would have thought the plot would have been done first. But that's... really rather light by MGS standards, only really cropping up by act 2 and leaving a good deal of wasted potential. I'm sure Kiefer Sutherland and James Horan weren't too thrilled about doing little beyond audio logs. Though, in fairness, some of those logs are rather interesting to listen to.

Sony getting Kojima aboard isn't too shocking. He's a brand name, and his brand does have a stronger resonance with Playstation than other platforms,
 
TPP is most likely going to be studied in the future on how NOT to manage a project. Kojima has said numerous times how much he wanted to break out of the MGS series, but Konami just told him to make a 5. Kojima was already working on a spinoff (Metal Gear Rising) and was probably in the pre production phase of Silent Hills after Ground Zeroes was finished. I feel Phantom Pain would have been a much different game if Konami would back off and acknowledge the scope Kojima had for the game. You can tell if you watch the cut mission in the limited edition DVD. I get the feeling Kojima is going to call up Del Toro and say "You still wanna make that horror game?"

Trying to get back on topic. I'm currently playing Transformers Devastation. It's cheesy as all hell, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
 
MellowYellow said:
Trygon said:
And Konami shut down game development company-wide. You seem to think that TPP costing too much alone caused Konami to cut loose an entire wing of their company, and that doesn't make any sense, logical, business, or otherwise. Konami decided they wanted to take the company in a new direction, and they burned everyone involved in the old direction, carelessly. Kojima deserves no blame for doing what he's always done - Konami could have canned the original proposal (Bet some of the HudsonSoft IP would have enjoyed a chance to shine in MGS' place), they could have not announced a release date, they could have bit the bullet and delayed the game... Basically, they could have shown any indication that they had some respect for one of their best creators, who had given decades to them.

It's also worth noting that it's not just MGS fans that worship Kojima. Sony put him on a tour of their WWS, guided by their 'independant' wunderkind.

Well the vibe I got was that they felt they could cancel TP with no loss to their Pachinko ambitions. By the sound of things, there hadn't been too much developed for it which makes it all the more unfortunate. But TPP absolutely had to come out, given what had alredy been invested. I have to wonder how much longer it would have taken to make the storyline complete.

My problem is, and while I find TPP superb in terms of graphics and mechanics, I would have thought the plot would have been done first. But that's... really rather light by MGS standards, only really cropping up by act 2 and leaving a good deal of wasted potential. I'm sure Kiefer Sutherland and James Horan weren't too thrilled about doing little beyond audio logs. Though, in fairness, some of those logs are rather interesting to listen to.

Sony getting Kojima aboard isn't too shocking. He's a brand name, and his brand does have a stronger resonance with Playstation than other platforms,

Regardless of what anyone thinks about the GTA games, they are quality, ambitious titles. The developers at Rockstar are some of the best video game developers in the world. They make big, expressive, and technically impressive games. They started to make their most recent game, without building a new engine from the ground up, in 2009. They finished the game in probably early 2013 or sometime in mid-late 2012. Remember, these men and women are the premier, open-world, game developers. It's very likely that they have more experience with these kinds of games than any other game development studio on the face of the planet. So, even if TPP had a similar development cycle, it's very very hard to believe that even KojiPro would have no trouble pushing out a quality open-world game in the same amount of time.

They've never made such a game, and they had to build an engine from the ground up. They then had to attempt to create such a large game while still packing in the same layer of depth to the gameplay that Kojima is typically known for. Just go watch some of the videos of people doing absurd or creative things in TPP, and you'll see just how varied and deep the gameplay can be. I've played the game for well over a hundred hours, and there are things in it that I haven't even touched or thought to do. Development was probably so hectic that they even went through the trouble of setting up a cheap development studio on another continent just to push the multi-player out of the door-- something they couldn't even find the time to complete for the PC version. That multi-player happens to suck giant donkey balls, and is lacking in so many features it isn't even funny. I loved MGO2, but couldn't even stand to play the new one. I can literally type you up like 10+ paragraphs on why it was terrible. If it was handled by the actual KojiPro, it would have been a much better experience. A tight deadline forced them to shove it into the hands of a makeshift studio, which was shuttered close after release.

The only thing Kojima is at all guilty of is having the balls to stick to his vision, and try to complete the game he wanted to make. It may not have been his money, but he's had a relationship with Konami for at least half of his life. If, in that time, they were unaware of how he likes to develop games, then it's entirely on them. You do not push a Kojima game out the door. He takes the time and effort to make it as good as he knows how to. This is true of other Japanese developers. Do you think Nomura pushes his projects out to meet a deadline? No. Like Kojima he treats it like an art, and goes through the effort of crafting it with care and consideration. I like Fallout 4, but there's no denying that it's a bug riddled game, on an old engine, that could have used more talent and time. I love the Arkham games, but WB pushed the latest one out, and it was a steaming pile of garbage on PC, and more or less missed the point of the entire series. Everyone knows that the Assassin's Creed series has been nothing but damaged due to the strict deadline of making a regular yearly release (of course staggered).

You simply do not make huge, giant games in like three years anymore. You need time, effort, and talent. Unfortunately unless you are Rockstar with a team of over a 1000 people working on your game, it just isn't going to happen. Konami's gross lack of leadership and foresight is the problem. It's run by a man who just probably shrugged his shoulders, and figured that a new game would mean more money, and it would be done in a timely manner. Hideki Hayakawa literally knows dick about video games, on even the most basic level.

So... is it any surprise that the game was in development hell? You wouldn't expect a man that knows nothing about ice cream to run an ice cream company successfully. When leaders do not have a passion for the thing they are leading, you'll see a dip in quality. They don't understand the product, they don't care about the product, and all they are concerned about is meeting a few goals they believe will allow them to finish the project with a minimum of losses.
 
Just came out of Castle Crashers a while ago after grinding levels with the Red Knight on Insane Mode. Last I checked, he's level... 55, I wanna say?
 
Not yet. Maxed out Strength and Defense, since I also value staying alive and beating the shit out of anything that moves. Other than that, I've been grinding like a madman to boost his magic up.

I would still like to mention that it's an absolute BITCH AND A MOTHERFUCKING HALF getting there. Though using a Crit heavy weapon and having the giraffe orb seems to help matters a bit, especially when dealing with the Forest Entrance miniboss and those skeezix looking fuckers he spawns constantly.
 
Oh, the Troll? Once you have max magic, his lightning reaches halfway across the screen and can stunlock the troll + 3-7 of his buddies. Levelling gets REALLY easy then.
 
So that's what it is? And yeah, I've been noticing the reach on his lightning magic, but more often than not, I usually prefer to get up and close before wailing away. But I think once I have all his stats maxed out, it should be an outright breeze, depending on what weapon and orb I feel like taking out.
 
Always WOT :D on Xbox

Tier 8 (non premium)

ISU152 (Second gun)
Borsig (stock gun best gun)
Kv-4 (second gun, mostly stronk tenk)

Tier 7 (non premium)

Tiger (best gun long 88)
Is-2 (second gun, best gun not good cause it doesn't carry into tier 8 so no)
T71 (best gun)
T29 (first gun)

I have a bunch of premium tanks
 
2240219D9332A470AF4B1E8991EF73A04B1CDAB3


If this isn't the most disgusting setup I've made, I dunno what is.
 
Welp! Maxed out the Red Knight's magic!

Believe this or not, but I'm still getting my ass reamed by the Troll Mother boss. No big deal, though. Just gotta keep on tinkering around and see what loadout works and what doesn't.
 
Age of Wonders III. I beat a large campaign with a high elf warlord in about 166 turns. Very slow, I'd imagine, but I did just about everything worth doing in one campaign. Neat game, but I don't think I'll play another campaign. The only strategy game that ever seems to hold my attention for more than one go is Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
 
Mitsu said:
Age of Wonders III. I beat a large campaign with a high elf warlord in about 166 turns. Very slow, I'd imagine, but I did just about everything worth doing in one campaign. Neat game, but I don't think I'll play another campaign. The only strategy game that ever seems to hold my attention for more than one go is Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Gotta love me some Chinese history and folklore all wrapped up in one big package. But which one?
 
I've heard ROTK 13 was as bad as 12. Its actually something I'd expect because 13 is supposed to mimic Nobunaga Ambition: Sphere of Influence and I really hated that one. I wish they'd go back to simple system in the older games. I played the shit out of 7, 9, 10 and 11. Iron Triangle was the best Nobunaga Ambition game I played, and I kind of hoped for an RTK game that matches it.
 
I've heavily played VII, VIII, X, XI and XII. I tend to favor VII and VIII the most, but each one has it's strengths and weaknesses.
 
I'm debating whether or not I want to start a new character for Mount & Blade: Warband, continue playing my new Fallout 4 character, or starting Dragon Age Inquisition. Warband and Fallout 4 share the similar problem of being boring at the start and the end, but at least Fallout 4 is minimal when it comes to grinding. However, Warband is still my favorite game and the main reason why I want to build/buy a new PC.
 
Warband is a great game; I sunk a decent amount of time into that one. Slapping on the Floris mod made it miles better. I still never actually conquered everything, because I find the micromanagement of things to be a bit too much. I much prefer playing a mercenary, or as an exceptional soldier serving some lord. I really wish that the combat was a wee bit better, because it's super annoying to get rushed by like five guys that only run at you and swing their weapons. It makes it very perilous during a siege to push in too deep, but perhaps that's the point. It would just be nice if the AI wasn't stuck in the 90's, and acted with some semblance of self-preservation.
 
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