I also assume there were some technical hurdles with allowing the user to freely switch their party that they weren’t quite yet ready to address? I mean, I don’t know for sure but it seems like a fairly reasonable assumption since no Final Fantasy game up to that point had supported it.

Sure, but the previous public numbers came from the manufacturers as well, so either the earlier numbers were wrong (and if they were, why?) or they’re not looking at something as simple as hardware units sold.

I mean, I think that’s exactly what they’re claiming to be doing. They’re saying that they’re not trying to compete with Sony and Nintendo and instead are trying to set themselves up as a game subscription service company instead.

I can’t agree with you on the original Xbox controller but I am a weirdo who loves the N64 controller, so I guess I can accept your controller opinions if only to have another weirdo to sit with at the lunch table.

I really don’t like the overall story of Halo 4 but you’re right that the actual campaign levels were really strong. I do think Infinite has the best core gameplay since at least Halo 3 but clearly it’s not clicking with audiences.

I don’t think the campaign or the open world worked out very well in Halo Infinite, but the actual core gameplay? It might be the best the series has ever had.

360 was definitely the dominant console for a good chunk of that generation but surprisingly enough, by the end of the generation the PS3 had outsold it.

Even when the games don’t lean directly into horror they definitely have their fair share of downer content.

I just finished activating all the Lightroots last night and there is definitely part of me that is gonna miss exploring in the total darkness and then getting totally destroyed by a Frox coming out of nowhere.

Ha ha when his life bar fills up all the way to the edge of the screen I couldn’t help but laugh. It’s very goofy but to your point also very effective at showing the player “this dude is not to be messed with.”

I craft a lot of ad hoc stuff (like, oh I need to get over there? Eh, I’ll just stick a shitload of trees together to make a bridge) but I haven’t used the vehicles too much. Recently I have been defaulting to autobuilding the hover bike because it’s cheap to make and incredibly useful when I want to get somewhere but…

I’ve never really been a huge fan of character action games - I’ve played some, enjoyed some, and disliked some - so while I’m happy for folks who are apparently getting one of the best character action games in years, this is not what I’m looking for in Final Fantasy.

This is why I think the discussion from the developers about “oh maybe we can get rid of the numbers in the titles” is crazy. The numbers are the only thing making these games stand out as “the next big thing in the franchise” versus “just another random spin-off.”

Ugh, seeing a crafting system is basically one of the biggest turn-offs for me when I’m checking out a game. So often it feels like they’re there just as a way to check off a box in an attempt to inflate engagement numbers.

Honestly, I think this is the biggest problem for me when I look at this game. At least in FFXV (which I admittedly only played after a million updates) let you feel like you had some control over your party members. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for me. It sounds like this game really just makes them into window…

I mean, I’m not gonna pressure anybody to replay a 100+ RPG that didn’t work for them, but if I recall correctly you can actually set up FFXII to more or less work like a menu-based RPG. It’s been almost two decades since I spent any meaningful time with it so forgive me if I’m mistaken but I seem to remember there’s…

I mean, by that definition, then something like God of War 2018 is also an RPG.

Nah, fuck that. I don’t care if FFVIIR is turn-based or not, but the weird action/menu hybrid feels so clunky to me.

I do not like it. Granted, I’ve only played ~10 hours of FFVIIR, but I think it’s way too clunky trying to straddle the line between pure action and menu-based combat. I’d much rather they go one way or the other because what I’ve played does not work for me.

The game mixes various Ubisoft franchises like Ghost Recon, Watch Dogs, and FarCry, into a single shared universe online FPS. In an era when everything in entertainment seems to be merging into one giant blob of content, it’s not surprising that Ubisoft—a company that is no stranger to these kinds of crossovers—is…