Raz Review: "After playing through to the second phase of the campaign,
it occurs to me that while Mercs 2 has more of everything in the
original (plus some interesting extras), there remain some issues that
lead me to believe EA rushed this title out of the gate without
allowing the designers to put the polish on. A poor decision that makes
some elements annoying, like being constantly reminded to return to the
PMC, and a buggy AI system that constantly greets you when in the same
vehicle. "Hi! ..It's the mercenary!" .."Oh, it's you!" .."Hi!" .."It's
you!" .."Hi!" Over and over. I eventually pulled over and shot him,
which made a rival faction very happy (and earned me a bounty of 5k).
Nevertheless,
I remain happy with the overall (if slightly unfinished) product. This
is a sandbox where you don't have to think too much - just blow things
up, hijack a tank, call in an airstrike, collect your cash, rinse and
repeat...but then, that's the whole appeal of this IP: mindless
destruction. Additions include the ability to grapple-hook copters
(making them easier to hijack), swimming and boats, shops at every
outpost (replaces the Black Market website), custom vehicles that you
build by finding 'spare parts' around Venezuela, your own PMC and a
possible roster of 3 recruits (mechanic, heli pilot and jet pilot).
Only the mechanic is really optional - without a helicopter and jet
on-call, you won't get far. Recommended for your collection only if
you've got money to spare, or there's a discount copy at the store."
Online: Yes
Rated: 7/10
With Microsoft closing studios, fewer new exclusive releases are expected for Xbox.
Not sure it ever was. It's upside was day 1 releases from 1st party. Few and far between plus it is just a rental service where you don't pick. It is fairly cheap for now that's a bonus. I think the beat deal in gaming is gamesale on reddit , and watching amazon
I got PSPlus and let me tell you it already feels like too much. As in, its nice to have all these games to play, but I'm still human and I only have a limited amount of time for gaming. The selection is definitely larger and better than Game Pass, but keep in mind, its 'Value' isn't something that normal people can really cash in on. Perhaps if you had it for GP ultimate, to get day on MS games, and only those games, and MS delivered on some bangers, it would be cool, but the same thing applies as with Plus. You are going to wind up paying for more than you actually use over a five year period. With GP set to go up in price, this exacerbates the situation. Plus you still got to PAY for games that aren't in the services that you want to play like GTA 6.
The only conclusion is that you pay more. You will not be able to get around that with any subs in the long run.
It most certainly is the best deal in gaming. It's definitely not GOOD for gaming. But, the value is undisputable right now. I fully expect that value to decrease within the next year or two though. It has never been sustainable. It's only a matter of time.
I really have a hard time with calling these subs value. This is because as I tried to explain above, I link value to not just money but also time. You can't play all the game in the service to completion. Most games you would never touch. You may 'try' games with the service, but you are only going to play the games you enjoy. Games you come back to and play for years. If you are paying $200 a year for a service for 10 years, thats $2000. With that much money, you can just buy and keep all the games you are actually gonna want to enjoy. This is just my analysis btw and its subjective based on what I define as value which may be different to you.
"Suddenly", my gosh are people so slow on the uptake.
I've been saying this for years, its just a rental service nothing special, and you don't get to pick what the rental catalogue is nor how long it lasts. Anything can be taken away from you on a whim, even while you keep paying.
You know what the best deal in gaming is? BUY your games on disc / cart, OWN THEM, play them as much as you want, and no one can take them away from you.
Tapes and cartridges from the 80's still work to this day, and people can still enjoy them without having to pay any additional fees. That sounds like a far better deal than a corporate rental service.
This. Playing xenogears on my OG PS1 right now. Just got to Dazil and have most deathblows learnt but not accesible due to my level. What makes it bearable on a 4K tv is a AV to HDMI upscaler. Obviously has limits but good enough for me. No worries of the game being removed from a service too.
That's the whole point of renting... you rent, you play, you buy your own copy if you feel the need. What GP is doing is no different than the blockbuster or hollywood videos or every mom and pop rental shop. And people would buy their own copies if they liked what they rented.
I'll probably download 4 of the games they announced coming today over the next month for £9. Seems ok to me.
But then, I tend to play single player games and i rarely revisit so a "rental service" suits me. Pretty much everything I play on PS is via PS+ extra.
I am the complete opposite. I have ditched both GamePass and PlusExtra because I find I just add stuff to my play later queue and end up playing all the games I've bought instead. I went a whole year on both services and barely used them at all.
It was always overrated. It only ever appealed to a certain subset of gamers anyways, which are the type who don’t care about owning games and are content to just experience them once and move on…or people who wanted to play CoD without buying it. It never seemed that glamorous to me, and I’m not at all surprised it has turned out to be unsustainable for MS.
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