This week on Bad Gamers, @Dan Oravasaari throws some product placement for Shock Top Honey Crisp Apple Wheat, and @Chandler Wood gets pissed off about Vita entitlement and Basement Crawl. Also, they both (or bolth??) falsely assume that I tune out of the podcast a minute or two before it ends. Welcome to Bad Gamers, where these guys do things very badly.
This guy is doing things badly.
Lego Games
Why does Vita get DS / 3DS ports for Lego games? Why not a PS3 port? Like they were saying in the podcast, the Vita is more than capable of handling some solid PS3 ports. With games like Borderlands 2 showing up, I have no doubts about the capabilities of the handheld at all. The only likely holdups are online play and budgeting, which is always a problem when it comes to smaller install bases.
Chandler says that Lego games are excellent for couch co-op. That is - until @D'yani decides halfway through the game that she doesn't want to play anymore.
I know that feeling. My wife and I occasionally play games together, but we rarely play two player games. It's almost always a single player game where we take turns, like South Park: The Stick of Truth or Alice: Madness Returns.
Evergreen PS Plus titles
Last week, it was announced that the Evergreen PlayStation Plus titles for PS3 and PS4 are leaving the Instant Game Collection. Evergreen titles are the ones that stay for a year or so, and are typically games that are PS Plus sellers. This means that Uncharted 3 and LittleBigPlanet Karting are leaving the PS3 IGC, and Resogun will be leaving for the PS4. The most important thing to decide now (after you download these games; seriously, play them all. Chandler hasn't played LBP Karting, and he should) is: What is going to replace these awesome games?
Dan's immediate idea for a replacement was Journey. Journey is a solid PS3-exclusive indie game from thatgamecompany, and won a number of accolades from critics and fans everywhere. I personally hated the demo, so I never purchased it. Would I play it if it was free? Hell yes! I think this idea is one of the more viable ones that were addressed during the chat. The PlayStation Network ecosystem is quickly becoming known for its championing of might hand of indies, so why not offer a well-received indie for free via PS Plus subscriptions? It's a model that a lot of people might or might not like, but I could see Sony saying, "Hey, that's an awesome idea!"
Still, Journey isn't a AAA blockbuster smash that many would see as a worthy successor of Uncharted 3. Maybe it would replace LBP Karting, but what would replace Uncharted 3? The Last of Us would be a great choice, except it's already being shown off as a headliner for PS Now, Sony's console game version of Netflix coming out this summer / fall. Plus, it isn't even fully a year old yet, and a remaster of it has been announced for PS4. Next, we have Beyond: Two Souls, another excellent exclusive from last year that kind of didn't get the critical acclaim it might have deserved because it was overshadowed by both The Last of Us and the launch of the PS4. Sure, it only recently became available via digital format, but it would be a great choice. Alternatively, I think Heavy Rain would be a great idea. It's not as new as Beyond: Two Souls, but it's probably a game that many who are fairly new to the PSN would say, "Damn, I'd like to try that!" God of War: Ascension was mentioned, too, possibly as a way to create buzz for a new God of War announcement at E3 (we can hope, right?).
For PlayStation 4, we have Resogun leaving, which could be replaced by umm... Knack or the multiplayer from Killzone: Shadow Fall? I have a better idea - a new unannounced surprise from a first party studio would create some great buzz, and also cement PS Plus as something that's not only for multiplayer gaming on PS4. I mean, The Order: 1886 would be nice, but it has been delayed until next year. With that being said, why not pull out a wildcard game that nobody is talking about yet and use it to "Wow" people, which is precisely what Sony has been saying that they want to do?
Wait, what about Vita?
The Evergreen Vita titles are not changing. You might be wondering why, but think about this: what's going to replace Uncharted: Golden Abyss and Gravity Rush? Sony hasn't exactly been as passionate about publishing AAA exclusives for the handheld, so why bother replacing two of the best games that are already there?
My recommendation: I echo the thoughts of the hosts by saying - go download these titles while you know they're safe. Don't let them eat at your backlog, as they're both solid titles who need your love, trust, and discretionary time... or don't because they're probably going to be there forever.
Sorry @Borshay!PlayStation Plus Entitlement
Of course, no matter what replaces the Evergreen titles, people are going to be pissed off about it. For instance: if Journey is picked, then people are gonna be like, "That's not a good AAA title that we wanted! Sony doesn't care about us!" If they pick The Last of Us or Beyond: Two Souls, people are going to say, "I just paid $50-$60 for this game on the PSN a month ago! What treachery is this?!"
Here's an idea: PS Plus pays itself off with the IGC immediately. Quit whining and play the games that you're given. If the Evergreen titles aren't good enough, then wait until next month when they give away more games! I have so many games in my backlog from being a Day 1 PS+ subscriber that I can't even play them all. After a year of free stuff, you'll be in the same boat unless you have absolutely nothing to do but play video games all the time. If you're at that point - go outside and plant a tree or something. Enjoy your spendings!
Shadow of Mordor
After last week's Bad Gamers podcast where Dan and Chandler might have badly proclaimed that Shadow of Mordor looked reminiscent of Assassin's Creed and Charles Randall, formerly of Ubisoft, claimed that it was a ripoff of ACII (coincidence?). To stoke the fire, the director of the game has since denied these claims, and said that it was more influenced by the Batman: Arkham series, while being built on its own from the ground up.
Still, it looks phenomenal, and I honestly don't care what it's copying. It isn't like real life, so we want it and want it badly. How long until a delay is announced, I wonder? Also, who the fuck is Phil the Ranger?
Basement Crawl Redux: Finished Edition
For anyone who doesn't remember Chandler's hilarious review of this game, he gave it an enormous 4.5 / 10 for feeling completely unfinished. This stirred up a bit of controversy in the comments as always, and the developer asked for a redo after some patches were made. According to PSLS review policy - things don't work that way.
Bloober has now said that they were rebuilding the game from scratch instead of patching it, and they have apologized for sending out a seemingly unfinished product. That's some good PR talk, but here's the kicker: it's not really clear whether gamers are going to have to pay for it a second time or not. I think Dan and Chandler said it best: just release a sequel and treat this game as what it is - a 4.5.
Evolve
Evolve is coming out on October 21 worldwide, but several other games are coming out in October, too. Since it looks awesome, let's hope for a either a strategic delay from them, or someone else. Oh, and speaking of delays -
Primal Carnage Genesis
Primal Carnage: Genesis for PS4 is taking a backseat to the PC version. Apparently it's "not out of the picture entirely," so I guess that means that it's in a picture and on the wall for now, maybe shelved? I was excited for some dinosaurs on PS4, so hopefully we'll hear good news on this soon.
The Order: 1886
@Anthony Severino recently got to experience this game at a pre-E3 hands on event, and we're all jealous. Unfortunately, the game has been delayed until 2015, likely due to some Q1-2015 strategy-making. We all know it's going to be huge, we want to it to knock Gears of War out of the water, and it seems to have a good shot at it based on early PS4 console sales. Ready At Dawn, it's dawn right now in NJ and I'm ready for this to happen. Let's hope that they live up to their promise!
Watch Dogs Review
Daniel Bischoff wrote the PSLS review for Watch Dogs on PS4, and the comments are as great as always, stemming from "You SUCK!!!" to "Why is the score glitched?" Sometimes the scores for reviews are represented by commas instead of decimals (like 4,3 instead of 6.5), so refreshing the page usually helps. Or in Daniel's words, "99 problems and a glitch ain't one."
Dan brought up a really crazy point about the game, though. It seems that the play-while-you-download feature isn't working in accordance with Sony's prophecies. Shortly after finished the tutorial for the digital version of the game, Dan was told that he couldn't play because the rest of the game wasn't installed. In a PlayStation Trophy Hunter group where I hang out on Facebook sometimes, one of the admins had the same problem. Another reviewer somewhere had trouble writing a review for the same reason, so I don't think this is an isolated problem. I'll look forward to reading more about this in the future...
Dan's first impressions: AC4 looks better. Ouch. The Bad Gamers defense? "Maybe this first title in the franchise is still figuring itself out, like a pubescent tween." I'm not going there.
Wolfenstein: The New Order
Chandler wrote a review for Wolfenstein: The New Order, and his vague thesis for the podcast that I'm paraphrasing is, "In the end, it's still a shooter gone right." To elaborate, he said there were lots of Nazis to kill. Sorry, Chandler, but I have South Park: The Stick of Truth. I can kill Nazis all day. You have to come up with something better than that.
Oh wait, you did: it's a mashup between Killzone, Call of Duty, and Duke Nukem? Okay, maybe I'll keep it in my radar when you put it that way. Basically, your character wants to kickass and chew bubblegum that he buys from S-Mart, but he can't because Nazis took over and destroyed the store. Throw in some German remakes of Beatles and Animals songs plus good voice acting and an engaging story, and you have Wolfenstein: The New Order, a game that Chandler scored as an 8.0 / 10 to spur some outlandish comments.
I'm not a huge fps gamer, but I'll keep this one in my thoughts. I mean, I like Killzone, but it's because I'm one of the 5 or 6 people on Earth who enjoy the story. Wolfenstein seems like it can deliver, so I'll look toward it if I ever get around to playing Child of Light, Transistor, Outlast, and the 3 million other games in my backlog.
For record, guys, Troy Baker and Nolan North are both devoid of the Wolfenstein cast listing at imdb. I demand a livestream!
Shock Top
Where is Dan's Shock Top picture for this week's cover photo???
This guy is doing things badly.
Lego Games
Why does Vita get DS / 3DS ports for Lego games? Why not a PS3 port? Like they were saying in the podcast, the Vita is more than capable of handling some solid PS3 ports. With games like Borderlands 2 showing up, I have no doubts about the capabilities of the handheld at all. The only likely holdups are online play and budgeting, which is always a problem when it comes to smaller install bases.
Chandler says that Lego games are excellent for couch co-op. That is - until @D'yani decides halfway through the game that she doesn't want to play anymore.
I know that feeling. My wife and I occasionally play games together, but we rarely play two player games. It's almost always a single player game where we take turns, like South Park: The Stick of Truth or Alice: Madness Returns.Evergreen PS Plus titles
Last week, it was announced that the Evergreen PlayStation Plus titles for PS3 and PS4 are leaving the Instant Game Collection. Evergreen titles are the ones that stay for a year or so, and are typically games that are PS Plus sellers. This means that Uncharted 3 and LittleBigPlanet Karting are leaving the PS3 IGC, and Resogun will be leaving for the PS4. The most important thing to decide now (after you download these games; seriously, play them all. Chandler hasn't played LBP Karting, and he should) is: What is going to replace these awesome games?
Dan's immediate idea for a replacement was Journey. Journey is a solid PS3-exclusive indie game from thatgamecompany, and won a number of accolades from critics and fans everywhere. I personally hated the demo, so I never purchased it. Would I play it if it was free? Hell yes! I think this idea is one of the more viable ones that were addressed during the chat. The PlayStation Network ecosystem is quickly becoming known for its championing of might hand of indies, so why not offer a well-received indie for free via PS Plus subscriptions? It's a model that a lot of people might or might not like, but I could see Sony saying, "Hey, that's an awesome idea!"
Still, Journey isn't a AAA blockbuster smash that many would see as a worthy successor of Uncharted 3. Maybe it would replace LBP Karting, but what would replace Uncharted 3? The Last of Us would be a great choice, except it's already being shown off as a headliner for PS Now, Sony's console game version of Netflix coming out this summer / fall. Plus, it isn't even fully a year old yet, and a remaster of it has been announced for PS4. Next, we have Beyond: Two Souls, another excellent exclusive from last year that kind of didn't get the critical acclaim it might have deserved because it was overshadowed by both The Last of Us and the launch of the PS4. Sure, it only recently became available via digital format, but it would be a great choice. Alternatively, I think Heavy Rain would be a great idea. It's not as new as Beyond: Two Souls, but it's probably a game that many who are fairly new to the PSN would say, "Damn, I'd like to try that!" God of War: Ascension was mentioned, too, possibly as a way to create buzz for a new God of War announcement at E3 (we can hope, right?).
For PlayStation 4, we have Resogun leaving, which could be replaced by umm... Knack or the multiplayer from Killzone: Shadow Fall? I have a better idea - a new unannounced surprise from a first party studio would create some great buzz, and also cement PS Plus as something that's not only for multiplayer gaming on PS4. I mean, The Order: 1886 would be nice, but it has been delayed until next year. With that being said, why not pull out a wildcard game that nobody is talking about yet and use it to "Wow" people, which is precisely what Sony has been saying that they want to do?
Wait, what about Vita?
The Evergreen Vita titles are not changing. You might be wondering why, but think about this: what's going to replace Uncharted: Golden Abyss and Gravity Rush? Sony hasn't exactly been as passionate about publishing AAA exclusives for the handheld, so why bother replacing two of the best games that are already there?
My recommendation: I echo the thoughts of the hosts by saying - go download these titles while you know they're safe. Don't let them eat at your backlog, as they're both solid titles who need your love, trust, and discretionary time... or don't because they're probably going to be there forever.
Sorry @Borshay!
Of course, no matter what replaces the Evergreen titles, people are going to be pissed off about it. For instance: if Journey is picked, then people are gonna be like, "That's not a good AAA title that we wanted! Sony doesn't care about us!" If they pick The Last of Us or Beyond: Two Souls, people are going to say, "I just paid $50-$60 for this game on the PSN a month ago! What treachery is this?!"
Here's an idea: PS Plus pays itself off with the IGC immediately. Quit whining and play the games that you're given. If the Evergreen titles aren't good enough, then wait until next month when they give away more games! I have so many games in my backlog from being a Day 1 PS+ subscriber that I can't even play them all. After a year of free stuff, you'll be in the same boat unless you have absolutely nothing to do but play video games all the time. If you're at that point - go outside and plant a tree or something. Enjoy your spendings!
Shadow of Mordor
After last week's Bad Gamers podcast where Dan and Chandler might have badly proclaimed that Shadow of Mordor looked reminiscent of Assassin's Creed and Charles Randall, formerly of Ubisoft, claimed that it was a ripoff of ACII (coincidence?). To stoke the fire, the director of the game has since denied these claims, and said that it was more influenced by the Batman: Arkham series, while being built on its own from the ground up.
Still, it looks phenomenal, and I honestly don't care what it's copying. It isn't like real life, so we want it and want it badly. How long until a delay is announced, I wonder? Also, who the fuck is Phil the Ranger?
Basement Crawl Redux: Finished Edition
For anyone who doesn't remember Chandler's hilarious review of this game, he gave it an enormous 4.5 / 10 for feeling completely unfinished. This stirred up a bit of controversy in the comments as always, and the developer asked for a redo after some patches were made. According to PSLS review policy - things don't work that way.
Bloober has now said that they were rebuilding the game from scratch instead of patching it, and they have apologized for sending out a seemingly unfinished product. That's some good PR talk, but here's the kicker: it's not really clear whether gamers are going to have to pay for it a second time or not. I think Dan and Chandler said it best: just release a sequel and treat this game as what it is - a 4.5.
Evolve
Evolve is coming out on October 21 worldwide, but several other games are coming out in October, too. Since it looks awesome, let's hope for a either a strategic delay from them, or someone else. Oh, and speaking of delays -
Primal Carnage Genesis
Primal Carnage: Genesis for PS4 is taking a backseat to the PC version. Apparently it's "not out of the picture entirely," so I guess that means that it's in a picture and on the wall for now, maybe shelved? I was excited for some dinosaurs on PS4, so hopefully we'll hear good news on this soon.
The Order: 1886
@Anthony Severino recently got to experience this game at a pre-E3 hands on event, and we're all jealous. Unfortunately, the game has been delayed until 2015, likely due to some Q1-2015 strategy-making. We all know it's going to be huge, we want to it to knock Gears of War out of the water, and it seems to have a good shot at it based on early PS4 console sales. Ready At Dawn, it's dawn right now in NJ and I'm ready for this to happen. Let's hope that they live up to their promise!
Watch Dogs Review
Daniel Bischoff wrote the PSLS review for Watch Dogs on PS4, and the comments are as great as always, stemming from "You SUCK!!!" to "Why is the score glitched?" Sometimes the scores for reviews are represented by commas instead of decimals (like 4,3 instead of 6.5), so refreshing the page usually helps. Or in Daniel's words, "99 problems and a glitch ain't one."
Dan brought up a really crazy point about the game, though. It seems that the play-while-you-download feature isn't working in accordance with Sony's prophecies. Shortly after finished the tutorial for the digital version of the game, Dan was told that he couldn't play because the rest of the game wasn't installed. In a PlayStation Trophy Hunter group where I hang out on Facebook sometimes, one of the admins had the same problem. Another reviewer somewhere had trouble writing a review for the same reason, so I don't think this is an isolated problem. I'll look forward to reading more about this in the future...
Dan's first impressions: AC4 looks better. Ouch. The Bad Gamers defense? "Maybe this first title in the franchise is still figuring itself out, like a pubescent tween." I'm not going there.
Wolfenstein: The New Order
Chandler wrote a review for Wolfenstein: The New Order, and his vague thesis for the podcast that I'm paraphrasing is, "In the end, it's still a shooter gone right." To elaborate, he said there were lots of Nazis to kill. Sorry, Chandler, but I have South Park: The Stick of Truth. I can kill Nazis all day. You have to come up with something better than that.
Oh wait, you did: it's a mashup between Killzone, Call of Duty, and Duke Nukem? Okay, maybe I'll keep it in my radar when you put it that way. Basically, your character wants to kickass and chew bubblegum that he buys from S-Mart, but he can't because Nazis took over and destroyed the store. Throw in some German remakes of Beatles and Animals songs plus good voice acting and an engaging story, and you have Wolfenstein: The New Order, a game that Chandler scored as an 8.0 / 10 to spur some outlandish comments.
I'm not a huge fps gamer, but I'll keep this one in my thoughts. I mean, I like Killzone, but it's because I'm one of the 5 or 6 people on Earth who enjoy the story. Wolfenstein seems like it can deliver, so I'll look toward it if I ever get around to playing Child of Light, Transistor, Outlast, and the 3 million other games in my backlog.
For record, guys, Troy Baker and Nolan North are both devoid of the Wolfenstein cast listing at imdb. I demand a livestream!
Shock Top
Where is Dan's Shock Top picture for this week's cover photo???
