The Video Game Critic

I was reading the latest Game Informer, mainly because it's about the only video game mag left in print! There were a few interesting articles but naturally I have my share of criticisms. Here are articles of note:

4K Is Here - apparently the PS4 Pro is not native 4k, but has some kind of upscaling. For this reason it can't play 4K Blu Rays. The new Xbox One S does have this functionality. The article also touches on a new High Dynamic Range (HDR) lighting feature which just sounds like better contrast to me.

Collecting History - talks about how a company is working to put digital games on disc. Not only has the demand exceeded expectations, but the revenue has too. I'd like to see all games on physical media.

Where Sonic Went Wrong - Interesting article with a lot of good quotes. Could have been longer though - they gloss over most Sonic titles in his timeline.

Creative Quarterbacking - interview with Rex Dickson who is the head of Madden. Check out this great question and non-answer:
Q: "Do you think the current lack of competition hurts you as a developer and as a fan of games?"
A: "I don't personally think it hurts us because we kind of look at FIFA and NBA 2K; we compare ourselves against other sports titles"
That makes about as much sense as Terminator Genisys.

The preview section caught my eye with a remake of Toe Jam and Earl. Also, Mario Maker is being released for the 3DS.

The reviews are pretty awful. Sounds like they were written by their respective publishers.
NBA 2K17: "Embracing player expression is what NBA 2K17's MyGM and MyLeague modes are all about" (Groan)
NHL 17: "The big selling point of franchise mode this year is team relocation" (really?)
Good luck finding any clue of what it's like to actually play these games.

Two games caught my eye: Virginia and Pac-Man Championship Edition 2, but I fear they are digital only. For some reason this magazine prefers not to make a distinction, which is ridiculous since it's published by Gamestop.

Forza Horizon 3 (XB1) looks good in a drive anywhere, Smuggler's Run kind of way (without local multiplayer of course since that technology has been lost).

The last article ranked the top 25 controllers. How the PS4 controller made #5 I have no idea. It's one of the most poorly designed controllers in history.

Sorry, not a South Park fan so skipped that stuff.

Comments?

What the heck is "print?"

I don't like Game Informer. It's a thin magazine light on content, and the reviews seem bought, as you said.

Man oh man. Why are they bothering to release the PS4 Pro if it can't play 4K Blu-Rays or games? It UPSCALES? Somebody at Sony is out of their minds.

Where Sonic went wrong...watch this instead:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ON70qr7h8M
Part 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu_sC4HoXP0

The last South Park game, The Stick of Truth, was fantastic. I hope the new one follows suit.

The best controller of all time, to me, is the SNES pad, followed closely by PS1-3 Dual Shock. That's just me though.

Cheers!

VideoGameCritic wrote:Two games caught my eye: Virginia and Pac-Man Championship Edition 2, but I fear they are digital only.

Not sure about Virginia, but Pacman Championship Edition 2 is getting a physical release:

https://www.amazon.com/Pac-Man-Champion ... +edition+2

I'm looking forward to South Park: The Fractured But Whole (easily my favorite video game title of this generation so far) even though I never got around to finishing Stick of Truth. You can't go wrong with a video game that successfully juggles maintaining the spirit of the show with legitimately fun gameplay.

Personally, I don't think Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 is nearly as fun as Championship Edition 1 or DX (the latter of which may be one of the best downloadable arcade-style games ever made). It makes a few unnecessary changes to the formula that really bog down the gameplay as a result. It's not horrible, but not fantastic either.

As far as the PS4 controller being "one of the most poorly designed controllers in history," I'm going to have to respectfully disagree. I don't like it as much as the PS2's or PS3's controller (replacing Start and Select with Option and Share was...not a wise decision), but I much prefer it to any of the Xbox controllers, mostly due to Microsoft having no clue how to make an ergonomically pleasing D-pad. Plus, "in history" would seem to include the Atari 5200/Colecovision/Intellivision era, and we all know how frustrating those controllers are to deal with.

Another annoyance with the PS4 controller is the worthless touch pad. The only purpose it serves is as an oversized button. The problem is, there's no label. So when a game tells you to press a non-descript black button it takes you a while to realize what the hell it's referring to.

VideoGameCritic wrote:The reviews are pretty awful. Sounds like they were written by their respective publishers.
NBA 2K17: "Embracing player expression is what NBA 2K17's MyGM and MyLeague modes are all about" (Groan)
NHL 17: "The big selling point of franchise mode this year is team relocation" (really?)
Good luck finding any clue of what it's like to actually play these games.


Comments?

Thanks for the input critic. Always a fun read. Your review of the reviews of the sports games are what stood out to me. Now, for my review of your reviews.

You're right about how professional review sites handle reviews too "professionally," if that makes sense. Your comment "good luck finding any clue of what it's like to actually play these games" was pretty spot-on. I feel they spend most of the review talking about gameplay features, story, etc. but don't often get to the point of what the gameplay is like.

other points:

I'd say gamecube is my favorite controller.

I'd much rather see physical games, not digital. Pac-man championship edition seems to me like a digital only. It just seems as if publishers might not feel it is necessary to put it on a disc or cart if it is light on content. They might think if a disc can hold a game as big as no man's sky, why produce a disc with a much, much smaller game on it?

CharlieR wrote:
I'd much rather see physical games, not digital. Pac-man championship edition seems to me like a digital only. It just seems as if publishers might not feel it is necessary to put it on a disc or cart if it is light on content. They might think if a disc can hold a game as big as no man's sky, why produce a disc with a much, much smaller game on it?

Looking at Amazon their appears to be a physical release for the game.

They have the digital codes for PS4 & Xbone for $9.99:

https://www.amazon.com/Pac-Man-Champion ... +Edition+2

The physical copies ( I would assume?) then come out next month for $19.99:

https://www.amazon.com/Pac-Man-Champion ... +Edition+2

https://www.amazon.com/Pac-Man-Champion ... +Edition+2

CharlieR wrote:
I'd much rather see physical games, not digital. Pac-man championship edition seems to me like a digital only. It just seems as if publishers might not feel it is necessary to put it on a disc or cart if it is light on content. They might think if a disc can hold a game as big as no man's sky, why produce a disc with a much, much smaller game on it?

Charlie,
Not sure if you meant to be sarcastic, but I think this mindset is what has prevented the industry from releasing smaller games on disc. But it's the wrong attitude. A disc costs 10 cents to produce whether it's 1% full or 99%. Every game doesn't need to be a sprawling epic. I think just as many people would be willing to buy a quality Pac-Man game over the latest Halo. And if $60 seems to steep, sell it at $19.99. That seems to be the sweet spot for impulse buyers.
VGC