Nope. Why would anyone claim Asura's Wrath (QTE: The Game) has one of the best melee combat systems? Hint: the game also features 'God' in its name.Ezekiel said:
God of War Review Thread
- Thread starter hanselthecaretaker
- Start date
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Dude. I can't even remember if I like you or not - I probably don't as I hardly ever seem to agree with anything you say, but you're an institution on here. Please don't go out like this.Ezekiel said:
ON TOPIC: The God of War title that impressed me the most was the very first one. I've been following David Jaffe and collecting pretty much anything he was ever involved in, as I liked his attitude and whatever caustic alien blood trickle that seeped through whatever available pre-Twitter interviews or quotes of his. A bitter, angry man does not suck up to stupid folk. I respect that.
The new God of War doesn't seem to feature any involvement of David Jaffe. This bothers me far beyond expectations. I don't know Cory Barlog, the new director/co-writer. I have severe prequel/sequel/reboot fatigue. The only game I pre-ordered this year was Monster Hunter: World and that one felt like it was well worth the money and time... for a bit. There's only so many monsters one can kill before going back to dat Souls/Bloodborne life.
I liked this most recent little video here, as it once again feels like Sony know what they are doing:
<youtube=80LJg66chYQ>
I was wary of Horizon: Zero Dawn at first, be it as it came somewhat out of nowhere, was a new IP, involved Ashly Burch, who I've come to lazily loathe, but it did win me over simply by being a fresh IP... couldn't put it down before the plat dropped.
I've read very little reviews of the 2018 iteration of God of War, as I do intend to go in as blind as possible. So, yeah, I do want to play it.
Do I expect it to live up to the hype? No. Yes. Maybe. It's complicated.
My trust in current games journalism hovers somewhere around 0%. Aussie reviewbrah SkillUp Ralph has amazingly little skill, and his name is Ralph. I generally don't like people named Ralph. But I like his style and his videos. Not just the treasure trove that is Gaymen Laming. That said, I want this game to be a success, so I will absolutely buy into the hype. Holding off Ubisoft titles, being on a break from Activision and boycotting EA opened up the way for impulse buys. For me, God of War is one of those.
The biggest mistake I've seen in the past 24 hours? People who have no idea what they're talking about have kept comparing God of War (2018) to Dark Souls. May Odin sort them out, I don't care.
One does not simply compare games to the GLORY and the TRUTH that is Dark Souls.
All the way back in third or fourth grade I began noticing a trend in the way kids reported their exam scores.Ezekiel said:
If somebody got a high score they said "I got an A".
If they got a low score it was "Teacher gave me an F".
From a childish perspective, we get what we like and we're given what we don't like.
Something to do with coping mechanisms.
Food for thought.
Deadpan missing-the-point riposte like that, now I've got the Naked Gun theme stuck in my head. Thanks for the chuckles.Ezekiel said:
Another commendable point is it's not often we see a visual upgrade, but Santa Monica Studios appears to have continued their trend from the PS3 days
Also good to see the standard PS4 version hanging in there with the Pro. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VB3aIdXu_U]
Also good to see the standard PS4 version hanging in there with the Pro. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VB3aIdXu_U]
I'm really excited for this game and I'm looking forward to continuing Kratos' story. I do remember the previous God of War games and I've got to say; Kratos doesn't deserve a redemption story of any kind. He is without a doubt one of the worst protagonists I've ever played. He's a scum bag who has sacrificed many innocent lives for the sake of his petty revenge and at the end of it all, became an even greater monster than any of the gods he's killed. He's a real piece of shit, sad backstory be damned. That said, I'm willing to give Santa Monica the chance to try and convince me that Kratos is redeemable. I still want him to die, though. I'd actually love to play as the character that kills him.
Some people have taken to twitter, displeased with God of War getting 10/10's claiming "The score is meaningless now!" or "A 10/10 should mean 'perfect' or 'flawless'" and even "This game has no multiplayer and doesn't deserve a 10/10". Frankly, the scores after reviews have never meant anything. a 9, 8, or 1/10 is meaningless without context from the actual review. They are made further useless by editorial mandate to keep the score in line with other scores. So a review will read like "This game sucks!" but the review score will still be a 7/10. And a 10/10 certainly does not mean said piece of media is perfect or flawless as there is no such thing. These scores aren't even measures of perfection, but of enjoyment. I find the idea of 10/10 meaning "perfect" just as ridiculous as someone throwing a tantrum because a game they like doesn't get it. *Lookin' at you Zelda Fanatics* I wouldn't mind permanently getting rid of review scores in favor of a better system. Sadly, any system will likely be reduced to "positive review" or "negative review" for easier mass consumption.
I will be going into the game where only the events of the original God of War actually happened unless the game directly references the sequels because of how bad the plot and characterizations were in the sequels. I'm guessing you'd have to fill in the basics of Kratos destroying the Greek gods and that's why he's now moved to the Norse mythology, and I'll just fill-in the super basics of Zeus being pissed at Kratos basically forcing Kratos' hand. The actual plot reason why Zeus was mad at Kratos in the sequels was so fucking stupid. I was with Kratos as a character from what I recall of the first game, he did kill innocents but his motivations were understandable as every action he took was to get back at Ares and nothing else mattered to him. Not that Kratos was morally right in doing such things but his actions were in line with most revenge stories.Captain Marvelous said:
Yeah, video game review scores are pointless. I only somewhat "trust" a few reviewers on Youtube, and the ones I really do think are great reviewers (like Super Bunnyhop and Errant Signal) do their reviews at least like a month or so after release. The guys that I do somewhat trust as giving genuine takes on every game, their preferences usually don't line up with mine very well. For example, I definitely think Jim Sterling is completely honest about every game he plays, but I just don't think he's good at reviewing games. You know professional review scores are FUBAR because if games where to have a Tomato-meter, every game would be like 99% fresh. Games routinely get average scores that are higher than the vast majority of movies' Tomato-meters, that don't make sense.
You can't try to say something sucks, then ignore the example/proof of why your argument is wrong. You can't say God of War will suck because of the camera angle when there's a game using that same angle and it has one of the best melee combat systems ever. It's like saying some upcoming 1st-person platformer will suck because 1st-person platforming doesn't work when Mirror's Edge exists and proves that to be wrong. You can argue back and forth and be civil about it.Ezekiel said:
I think I've mentioned this before, but the reason is simple: games are reviewed like TOYS instead of art like movies usually are. Stuff like praising the replay value or length of the game are things you could praise toys for too but not movies. And so on. It's the same issue when you see reviews of Undertale complaining that the gameplay is too retro (or something).Phoenixmgs said:
So...what is this game? I mean, what is the gameplay like? Because after reading this thread, I have genuinely no idea what the hell is going on with it.
The only thing I know for certain is that it's different to the old games. Not that I have a problem with that, the old formula needed a shake-up and anything that has the potential to make Kratos a decent human being and a relatable protagonist is okay by me.
The only thing I know for certain is that it's different to the old games. Not that I have a problem with that, the old formula needed a shake-up and anything that has the potential to make Kratos a decent human being and a relatable protagonist is okay by me.
From what I understand the combat is a little like Assassin's Creed Origins. The shoulder buttons are used to attack instead of the face buttons. Kratos's Axe can be used in Melee or thrown and, much like Mjolnir, the Leviathan Axe can be recalled at any time. When he doesn't have his Axe, Kratos uses his fists to attack. His Rage meter is still there and he can pull off brutal finishers on enemies after attacking for a while. That's about all I really know, at least until I get my hands on the game later this week.Rangaman said:
I don't even know how toys are reviewed, but shouldn't how enjoyable the toy is be a big part of how good the toy is? It's not even that I require a game reviewer to on par a movie reviewer's critical analysis of writing, characters, plot, etc. But at least try, several games' enjoyment hinge on that stuff nowadays, have an opinion about it. Why can't one game reviewer not like something because they didn't enjoy it? For example, Hideo Kojima's writing, lots of people hate his writing yet MGS4 has a 94 average score (when over half the game/experience is cutscenes). Or, why can't a reviewer blast a game having functional Arkham combat but saying it totally doesn't fit the game? You can enjoy Arkham combat (or really any element/mechanic) in a one game and hate it in another depending on how it's used and other factors. Board game reviews can be very divisive and board games are more 'game-y' (they live/die completely on mechanics and balance) and are closer to toys than video games. I can see how toy reviewers would be much more about function and durability over enjoyment because I assume adults would be rating/reviewing toys while they don't actually play with them so enjoyment is obviously not something they could even rate. Whereas everything else that is reviewed is reviewed by people that enjoy said products (when they are good obviously) from movies to music to video games.McElroy said:
I've read combat is more deliberate this time, especially in terms of melee. People have said it has a momentum-like weightiness and feels crunchy, kinda like how The Last of Us is when you're smacking a 2x4 over an infected's face. The combat has moved to the shoulder buttons like Souls, but more tactical in that you will get into trouble more often trying to spam attacks. It sounds like it was designed to mix things up between the ax for both melee and range, melee with fists, and Atreus who can be used on cue to initiate or extend combos.
Considering 95% of the combat in the old games wasn?t spectacle, how much is being lost? The series was overdue for a deeper combat engine regardless of camera perspective, and considering TLoU?s hard hitting melee is pretty much a gold standard the similarity isn?t really a bad thing.Redryhno said:
Why not?Ezekiel said:
Why shouldn't they? Why not go for a change? Change is good. Stagnation and comfort zones are not. Why does everyone have to "make a good argument for it" to you when you clearly have decided what the objective truth is in your head?
If you don't like it, that's unfortunate, because a lot of people do. A lot of people like a change every now and again. And they don't need to justify the developer's decision to you.