The Koalition's Tony Polanco writes:
"Ever since Destiny was released, I’ve been thinking about reviews and review scores. Actually, I think about them a lot. Seeing how the game has gotten lackluster reviews from most of the major gaming sites and how people have reacted to those reviews has made me think about them more than usual.
Tonight’s main topic is about reviews. What do we think of them? Are they a valid, objective analysis of a video game or are they just someone’s opinion? We also talk about review scores and how much influence gaming sites and Metacritic can have on a game’s sales based on the scores they receive.
On the gaming news front, we talk about some of the announcements that have been made during this year’s Tokyo Game Show. Bloodborne, Deep Down, Final Fantasy XV, Silent Hills and of course, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. A lot of cool stuff has been shown and we talk about the things we liked the most."
Here are the games that will be leaving the Extra and Premium tiers of the PS Plus subscription service in the month of May, 2024.
Absolver Downfall
Abzu
Adrift
Ashen
Elex
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VIII Remastered
Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy X | X-2
Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age
Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition
How To Survive 2
I Am Dead
Jotun
Last Stop
Minit
Moster Jam Steel Titans 2
My Friend Pedro
Observation
Sundered Eldritch Edition
The Artful Escape
The Messenger
This Is The Police
This Is The Police 2
World of Final Fantasy
I don't recall Sony forcing you to subscribe like nobody forced you to go to Blockbuster to rent games instead of buying them.
Pay-per-view was almost cheaper than the cost of gas and rental fee from Blockbuster. Blockbuster doesn’t exist today. Are you being sarcastic?
The Souls-like genre remains popular, along with FromSoftware's classics there are many contenders. But which are the best Souls-like games?
Hmm... In my opinion, the 7 best are the 6 made by FromSoftware (DeS, DS1, DS2, DS3, BB and ER), then Lies of P. But each to their own.
Still DS1? You don't feel it's been surpassed yet?
Demon's Souls has the remake of course, but DS1 has surely been outdated?
I think that the DS1 remake is better looking than DS2. The interior lighting matched with the low resolution textures in DS2 is very garish, IMO.
Besides graphics, what do you mean by DS1 being "outdated"? I'm someone who played through Elden Ring and just recently played through the DS series, and as far as gameplay went, there were all very similar.
I haven’t played many but Bloodborne and NIOH1 are on top of my list.. had a blast with these 2
For world design and interconnectedness (that's a word, right?) DS1 is yet to be beaten.
I would agree, but there are some things in DS2 that are great and incredibly memorable. It tries to do things differently, and there are some amazingly cinematic moments.
Of course, there's also poor level design (particularly the interconnectivity of the world), questionable combat choices and some of the worst boss runs since the early days of video games...
Saad from eXputer: "Almost a decade later, it's time to take the nostalgia goggles off and accept that Bloodborne has long been surpassed by its successors."
Yes, yes it does. It’s still a great game. Elden Ring isn’t better just different and a bit easier . I like that you have to be aggressive but smart in Bloodborne
I literally replayed it recently and it's better than I remember. I think it's like going back to a beloved book and noticing things I hadn't before.
Yo! I was getting ready to reply with the exact same four words you started with lol. Yes, I think Bloodborne has withstood the test of time and remains a great game. That’s why all the fans are hoping for a sequel someday. Hoping that we can catch that magic again with a new storyline.
Yes. Just replayed it a few days ago. My first Platinum. And yes. I rage quitted so many times and called it BS too when I started. It's tight. The combat is amazing and the lore is rich.
Elden Ring was easier? I don’t know about that at all. I remember leveling up in Bloodborne and breezing through it. In Elden Ring no matter how powerful I got I was still catching a beat down from every boss.
That's due to scaling enemies. I remember not doing Haligtree untill near the end and having enemies withstand almost a full blast from Azur's Glintstone Staff Comet Azure. My level was quite high.
Melee characters are not fun in that game, especially for the Elden Beast.
This is a good post of a podcast which is called the Throwdown which is similar to throw up.
My ideas towards reviews constantly shift.
I would like a world where people actually read a review and form opinions on what's said, while also forming their own after trying the game. But the fact is, reviews are part of the business in the gaming industry and for that reason they won't go away. But I feel everything that was said on this show.
I don't really like scores either. Especially in article format. Thankfully to get to the score in video, you have to watch the bloody thing.
Glad the Throwdown continued to live on after STFU and Play died out. Keep up the good work gentlemen. Say what's up to Anthony for me.