I almost jumped on the Cyberpunk bandwagon just because it was CD Projekt Red. Kept telling myself they wouldn’t stoop to Hello Games’s level. …and they didn’t stoop quite that low, but for CD Projekt Red to put out something as shitty as Cyberpunk was a shock.
Fortunately I kept reminding myself about NMS and never did try Cyberpunk without first seeing reviews from real players… and holy fuck. Sounds like they’ve fixed a lot and the price has dropped, so I might dive in some day, but I definitely dodged a bullet with that one.
Just goes to show that NO company is worthy of your loyalty, regardless of their history.
They showcased a LOT of features that only existed in a demo version, stated plainly that they existed in the full game (as opposed to “this is something we WANT to add but right now it only works in the demo…”). Same in interviews: he went into great detail about features that didn’t exist.
NMS was like being advertised a brand new Lamborghini, charged for a brand new Lamborghini, then being given a 2003 Honda Civic.
That’s not something early access or beta would have fixed. Might have reduced the scale of community’s negative response simply by limiting the number of purple who would have bought it, but those who made the purchase and then realized they were scammed would have been just as upset.
In the case of No Man’s Sky specifically, probably still pretty bad. It wasn’t “lackluster” it was straight up false advertising. What they did was deceptive and intentional.
They’ve done a TON since then to try to make it right, but that doesn’t excuse their initial crime.
Downhill Domination is… honestly stupid as all hell, but by design: it’s a lot of fun :P
It’s a downhill mountain bike racing game with a combat system, and it’s ridiculous. You start being able to punch the bicyclists next to you; once you knock enough of them off their bikes you upgrade to being able to kick; then iirc you eventually get a stick or something lol. Otherwise, it’s just another get-from-point-A-to-B-as-fast-as-possible game that doesn’t require a lot of thought.
Star Wars: Racer Revenge is probably the best racing game I’ve played to-date. It’s very similar to, and often confused with, the N64 podracing game, but it’s way more polished, and the driving physics are chef’s-kiss perfect. Like, the N64 game, the pod and two engines all move together as one unit; basically a car racing game with a pod racer skin. The PS2’s Racer Revenge actually feels like you’re in a pod that’s being pulled by two distinct engines.
Try playing in 1st-person view and set the controls (if you have a PS2 controller) so the left joystick controls the left pod and right joystick controls the right pod - so to turn left for example, you’d pull back on the left stick to brake the left pod, and push forward on the right to accelerate the right pod; since they’re tethered together, the right one arches around the left a bit, and it pulls the pod to the left. It’s harder to play that way vs the usual ‘press X to accelerate’ mechanic, but after the first couple laps you’ll have the hang of it, and it feels so satisfying.
Unfortunately, the last time I tried to run a rom of this game, it did NOT emulate well, to the point of being unplayable. That was probably at least 10 years ago though, so hopefully advancements since then mean it won’t be an issue for you; but heads up.
Especially in the era before just looking shit up on the internet when you hit a snag. I remember scouring levels in that looking for a path that I’d missed when I couldn’t figure out where I was supposed to go next.
Definitely a highlight of the N64 for me. It’s up there with the Zeldas in my book.
…wait, actually this has the potential to be amazing! I remember the early days of online gaming, and gamers for the most part were some of the most welcoming and friendly people I’ve ever been around.
Something changed, and ‘gamer’ became a toxic word, and all but niche gaming communities kinda went to shit.
If Elon makes some cringe-ass MMO or something, it will act as a sponge to soak up all the toxic assholes from other gaming communities.