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[DaGwaphics]

I haven't played it yet (no PS5 and not released on PC), but the talk of it being a rather short experience surprised me. Not that I want it to be bloated, but it seems like this is the kind of game that shouldn't really need to be excessively short. The first one setup many of the missions with just the audio, so each mission doesn't necessarily need mocap and cinematic cut scenes as a setup. I thought the first game was the perfect length for what they were trying to do, the second one (Miles) felt extremely short by comparison.

 

[StueyDuck]

You’re kind of counting Spiderman 1’s plot without counting the ending scene of him discovering Miles has powers (thus changing everything) and also him realizing that Miles saved the entire city without him in the Miles Morales game.

Those events literally changed his trajectory. He started to see a way to where he could reasonably work a job and live life and still be on-call as Spiderman, while another Spiderman takes care of smaller issues so that he could work on his life. Remember, Peter said ‘call me if you need me’ to Miles at the end of Spiderman 2.

The only hardships I recall between Peter and MJ in part 2 is when he had on the black suit and started acting like an asshole. Before and after the black suit and one newspaper article, they were fine together.

Miles, narratively, is still far from being the best. He’s good, but he’s still naive at times and makes mistakes. He made a ton of mistakes in his own game. In this one he kept jumping to conclusions. The biggest mistake he made in this game is getting captured twice and almost getting killed twice, all because he couldn’t let go of finding Mr. Negative no matter the cost, because he assumed the worst from Mr. Negative.

Now Miles, gameplay wise? Is too powerful and potentially more powerful than a symbiote, which is why I think people are upset about this, because someone like Venom was always considered the top of the food chain in power. Miles did have the advantage of sound waves in that fight I guess.

Regarding the side characters, once again I agree regarding their lack of character development. Even bigger names were a bit undercooked, including even Harry and of course Kraven. The game just needed 5-10ish more hours of all of this important writing and it would have been better. I would have personally cut some of the Venom nonsense and the ‘protect this bomb’ missions.

Having a true off the chest moment here, I honestly feel like Venom is a curse on the Spiderman franchise. He ruins the story of the games and he ruins the story of the movies too. Once he took over in this game after Kraven it all felt goofy. He is an edgy/extreme creation with a lazy backstory and looks cool because that was what was in during the 90s when Mcfarlane, Spawn, and Joe Mad was what was popular in the comic scene.

I get the idea of a creature bringing out a person’s darker emotions, but it all ends up being a negative to actual character development because then it’s all blamed on some black goop instead of being seriously discussed with potentially great lines and acting.

Honestly I think you are reading into it alot deeper them what the writers intended.

Modern era writing is very surface level, I'm glad you've managed to find nuance in the work. I just can't see it because I know it's not what the writers intended.

The self inserts wanted you to hate Peter and what he stands for and after the first game, which I thought while simple was excellently written themes and plot wise, I just can't come to the same conclusion they did, which is Peter must stop being a hero cause his gf can't have her own podcast.

It just really isn't a good spiderman story and at the end of the day it's meant to be a spiderman story. It's meant to be Peter Parker spiderman story, aside from physically controlling peter, he plays 0 role in the story. He's just that guy we have to get rid of now so we can pander more later.

His whole arc is literally. Tries to have normal life, finds its hard because spiderman, gets infected, forgets to read a non warranted slander hit piece against him one night after being tired from saving the city again, then is the worst person Alive and must stop being the webslinger so his overbearing, non caring selfish gf can start a podcast honestly how is that not the worst spiderman story ever put to paper.

And I'm not even a huge comic reader and I still know it's one of the worst

 

[Topher]

I haven't played it yet (no PS5 and not released on PC), but the talk of it being a rather short experience surprised me. Not that I want it to be bloated, but it seems like this is the kind of game that shouldn't really need to be excessively short. The first one setup many of the missions with just the audio, so each mission doesn't necessarily need mocap and cinematic cut scenes as a setup. I thought the first game was the perfect length for what they were trying to do, the second one (Miles) felt extremely short by comparison.

Main campaign is about the same as the first Spider-man. There isn't as much side content which is a good thing as it sucks worse than the first one.

 

[hyperbertha]

Game has amazing pacing, set pieces, and action throughout.

Probably the best of that type since uncharted 2

People aren't impressed by setpieces anymore. It's not 2009.

 

[Krappadizzle]

I stopped buying these Sony exclusives long ago.

Spider Man 2 is probably good, but I platted Spiderman 1 and basically had my fill. I played MM for a few hours and dropped it, despite being better than SM1 so far. I dropped Horizon 2 after a few hours too, despite liking it more than H1. Its just that I've seen it all before. They are very samey experiences in a different skin.

In the end I only like Astrobot, Returnal and GT7 out of the lot.

This made me think of the evolution of Arkham Asylum to Arkham City and why I liked it so much and I'd wager because Asylum was very reserved in comparison to the City in the Batman fantasy, the jump from enclosed Asylum to the "City" was enough to make it feel like a proper evolution.

It felt like Insomniac really did a great job with SM1 and gave you that Spiderman game that we all wanted, but without major revisions to the design, it would be hard to evolve the game much more than SM1, so it'd have to lean harder on the story and that seems to have fallen flat for a lot of people now that the honeymoon phase is over.

 

[DaGwaphics]

Main campaign is about the same as the first Spider-man. There isn't as much side content which is a good thing as it sucks worse than the first one.

That's good to hear. All the buzz was about it being short, so I figured it was more like Miles than the first one.

 

[Topher]

People aren't impressed by setpieces anymore. It's not 2009.

I see folks talking about set pieces all the time so don't think what you are saying is representative of all "people".

 

[hyperbertha]

LOL, GAF hated FF16 and they're wrong and I've had to say that countless times.

Roughly 70 percent in the ot was gushing over it until a month or so later when the game started being universally recognised mediocre. People who buy a game, especially an exclusive on their platform, take a long time to admit it's a piece of trash.

 

[RedC]

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

Not really my kind of game, but I watched my son play through the entire intro sequence with giant sand dude and found it mind-numbing. Does anyone still feel impressed or excited by these kinds of lengthy, scripted action set-pieces? Who (*over the age of 12) wants to pretend to play a damn movie?

 

[JayK47]

Honestly I think you are reading into it alot deeper them what the writers intended.

Modern era writing is very surface level, I'm glad you've managed to find nuance in the work. I just can't see it because I know it's not what the writers intended.

The self inserts wanted you to hate Peter and what he stands for and after the first game, which I thought while simple was excellently written themes and plot wise, I just can't come to the same conclusion they did, which is Peter must stop being a hero cause his gf can't have her own podcast.

It just really isn't a good spiderman story and at the end of the day it's meant to be a spiderman story. It's meant to be Peter Parker spiderman story, aside from physically controlling peter, he plays 0 role in the story. He's just that guy we have to get rid of now so we can pander more later.

His whole arc is literally. Tries to have normal life, finds its hard because spiderman, gets infected, forgets to read a non warranted slander hit piece against him one night after being tired from saving the city again, then is the worst person Alive and must stop being the webslinger so his overbearing, non caring selfish gf can start a podcast honestly how is that not the worst spiderman story ever put to paper.

And I'm not even a huge comic reader and I still know it's one of the worst

I'm a story and characters gamer. The more I read about this game, the worse it sounds. Woke developers seem to manage ok with graphics and gameplay, but butcher the writing. Sad to see it. I loved the first game. This one sounds like a cringe fest. So bad it ruins the first game. I wanted to eventually grab this, but sounds like I really shouldn't. We seriously need a list of games that have been infected by Sweet Baby.

 

[ByWatterson]

Roughly 70 percent in the ot was gushing over it until a month or so later when the game started being universally recognised mediocre. People who buy a game, especially an exclusive on their platform, take a long time to admit it's a piece of trash.

It's trash the way a Banksy is graffiti.

 

[Jaybe]

I didn’t experience any bugs but I played it in late November so maybe some bugs were fixed by then. I also just mainlined the story. I enjoyed the combat a lot, however, i thought the story and writing were pretty terrible, so at some point maybe two-thirds through I started skipping cutscenes. It’s funny they are bringing out new game+. So not interested in that. Give me a Mercenaries mode or something combat-focused.

 

[Toots]

It's trash the way a Banksy is graffiti.

You mean it's fake consumerist trash then ?

 

[Topher]

Not really my kind of game, but I watched my son play through the entire intro sequence with giant sand dude and found it mind-numbing. Does anyone still feel impressed or excited by these kinds of lengthy, scripted action set-pieces? Who (*over the age of 12) wants to pretend to play a damn movie?

Not every game is for everyone. I'm way over 12 and personally I have no problem with the big set pieces. That's the kind of stuff one should expect from a superhero game. As is the cinematic aspect of it. I've got handful of gripes about the game that far outweigh fussing over set pieces and playing "a damn movie". I've gone on quite a bit about the horrible side content.

 

[SkylineRKR]

Roughly 70 percent in the ot was gushing over it until a month or so later when the game started being universally recognised mediocre. People who buy a game, especially an exclusive on their platform, take a long time to admit it's a piece of trash.

The problem with XVI was that the demo was actually good. It was limited in gameplay but it was the very prologue. You'd expect the full game to open up. This didn't really happen in XVI. The rest was arguably worse.

 

[Topher]

I'm a story and characters gamer. The more I read about this game, the worse it sounds. Woke developers seem to manage ok with graphics and gameplay, but butcher the writing. Sad to see it. I loved the first game. This one sounds like a cringe fest. So bad it ruins the first game. I wanted to eventually grab this, but sounds like I really shouldn't. We seriously need a list of games that have been infected by Sweet Baby.

Stick to the main campaign in SM2 and it is fine.

 

[Bernardougf]

I have an issue with the entire story. I've written entire paragraphs on here before and I'm not getting too deep into again here and I also don't feel like finding all those old posts.

But the sweet babies had a huge impact on the overall story and not just the woke missions. It was clear the writers of spiderman 2 weren't the writers of the first game (and they weren't, there were many insert writers as well as those who clearly haven't had the experience to take on a big project)

The whole entire plot and characters were completely at odds and against what they created in the first game.

I mean the entire Peter arc in the second game is that he gets infected, sleeps instead of reads an article (which completely defames him anyway for literally no reason) and then he's sorry and gives up the webs

Miles went from youthful innocent trying to reach his mentor to bloodlust insane revenge murder, for a character that wasn't even his opposition. Then became the greatest super hero of all time and made Peter a bitch because of... reasons I guess.

The whole kraven story was dumb as shit, without even mentioning the random off screen killings of major villains.

The game was written by people who hated Peter and hate the first game and it shows, especially with how they treated legacy characters. They did absolutely everything in their power to make sure Peter could never be in a sequel, honestly I'm shocked they didn't kill him off but maybe that would have been too obvious what the writers goals were.

The woke shit was just crappy diarrhea icing on the pile of horse Maneur cake that they writers created. And the only explanation is that sweet baby fiddlers had a very very big consulting role for the game, more than they have had for others.

The only redeeming quality of the game is the gameplay itself, but level design, mission design, side quests and so on were all absolutely hot shit because they were designed to be In favor of a terrible mess of a story.

Wtf is this "sweet babie" shit i've seeing being mentioned often ... ?? Honest question

 

[Topher]

Wtf is this "sweet babie" shit i've seeing being mentioned often ... ?? Honest question

Basically, a woke writing service for hire.

"Our mission is to tell better, more empathetic stories while diversifying and enriching the video games industry. We aim to make games more engaging, more fun, more meaningful, and more inclusive, for everyone."

Home - Sweet Baby Inc

sweetbabyinc.com

 

[DeepEnigma]

Basically, a woke writing service for hire.

"Our mission is to tell better, more empathetic stories while diversifying and enriching the video games industry. We aim to make games more engaging, more fun, more meaningful, and more inclusive, for everyone."

Home - Sweet Baby Inc

sweetbabyinc.com

And it was nothing but bigoted stereotypes and tropes they got completely wrong.

These companies are a damned grift.

There may be hope, Insomniac was removed off that trash company's site as a partner.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

Xbox and PS5 flagship game releases both underwhelmed me this year. Spiderman 2 was far less of a disappointment than Starfield was. Starfield deprived me of my favorite thing about Bethesda games, while Spiderman 2 was a rather generic open world game that wore out it's welcome with non-stop boss battles and frustrating combat. I am extremely grateful that Spiderman 2 could be platinumed in less than 30 hours. This 100+ hour bloat from other games has gotten old.

 

[Shakka43]

Stick to the main campaign in SM2 and it is fine.

Even the main campaign has its troubles, the horrible pacing due to switching so much between characters, enemy designs were repetitive and boring especially the symbiotes in the latter half and the overall story just wasn't that interesting tbh. It was just a poorly executed game all around. They nailed the traversal mechanics but that's just about it when it comes to improvements over the first one.

 

[Topher]

Even the main campaign has its troubles, the horrible pacing due to switching so much between characters, enemy designs were repetitive and boring especially the symbiotes in the latter half and the overall story just wasn't that interesting tbh. It was just a poorly executed game all around. They nailed the travelsal mechanics but that's just about it when it comes to improvements over the first one.

Yeah, but I'm just talking about the "woke" aspects of the game. The main story doesn't really have any of that. I didn't like the character switching either outside of Miles and Pete. MJ shouldn't be playable at all, imo. I thought the story ending was great, but overall it was my least favorite SM game.

 

[3liteDragon]

They did so much damage that 10 million bought it and has a 90 Metacritic on both users and reviewers

You guys are delusional beyond belief.

This is the epitome of "I don't like thing" threads. The supposedly unfinished state of Spider-Man 2 is not discussed because very few feel the way that you do. It reviewed in the 90s, got nominated for lots of awards, and sold a ton of copies, and probably pushed even more PS5s in the long run.

So you're not wrong, but few agree with you.

Seems to be a GAF thing lmao

 

[ThatPolishGuy]

I thought the spear alone made Ragnarok worth it, but it's a major step down in story telling from 2018 and it left a lot to be desired. Definitely not a 94 for me.

I finished it and I'm glad it did. Wasn't a bad game or experience, just not a great one, which seems to be in line with almost every Sony first party game this generation for me. I don't know if it is because they were cross-gen or what, but they haven't had that appeal. Spider-Man 2 wasn't cross gen but might as well have been.

It was the switching between characters.

And writing, something felt off in Ragnarok, I agree. I already wrote something similar in GoW thread a while back.

First game had better writing, no characters switching, you felt manly well like a God of War, here instead you could loose immersion and I did actually a few times.

It wasn't a bad game, had my share of fun here and there.

But I have felt it wasn't as epic as it could have been.

Maybe because of COVID it was rushed? Saw a heck a lot of support studios pitching in to finish it in the credits- and it wasn't buggy but maybe the direction suffered here and there. Maybe they had to cut content and it actually didn't click. SMS was supposed to initially do a trilogy- maybe cut content? Plus pacing issues. But anyways right now it's water under the bridge- no point in wondering what could have been.

As of SM2 prologue felt last gen as hell it really felt rushed, some parts were actually like some nice next-genish stuff, others felt crossgen. Definitely a few steps back were made in comparison to Miles Morales, which is a shame.

Was hoping for well more Venom, hopefully DLC won't feel like a cut content. But man who knows.

It feels like games made during COVID and post COVID suffered, even Sony couldn't made them 100% top notch with good direction and writing. Feels a bit like some management issues were involved. But it's somewhat uderstandable given the situation. They probably couldn't delay games and push budgets to the infinity and beyond, just to get a more coherent vision.

Hopefully new Sony exclusive games moving forward won't feel rushed, unfinished with a somewhat lacking writing or off feelings with direction or pacing.
But we will see if they were COVID/post-covid issues or that's the new Sony norm or something.

Hopefully not.

And I won't be bitching about it on GAF constantly or make a bunch of new threads about the same stuff because I already played those games and I know what felt off or not- and really there is no point. It's time to move on.

I personally would grade those games lower than critics did, but they weren't bad games. And Ragnarok didn't have any technical issues at launch. Can't say much about SM2, since I didn't play it at launch. And I think the game was mostly patched up when I started playing. Had only one non breaking game bug once during my whole playthrough. That's about it.

Anyways I am playing Dead Space Remake and I really feel like we should have more linear games 8 to 12h long tops, no bloat or XP stuff.
Sony should green light some cool more linear games this gen also or other 3rd party devs. I miss those type of games honestly. Is it just me?

Maybe I'm getting old. But sometimes it's a chore.

The last game I enjoyed 100%, even if it was open world, was Ghost of Tsushima.

 

[ToneyJ]

I don't know how any "critic" who's been gaming for 20+ years could think this safe, by the numbers game is a 9/10 or 10/10. I'm convinced they just score games based on how many people they think will like it, rather than giving their own personal opinion and score.

Hopefully the general gaming audience gets bored of Sony 1st Party's movie game approach sooner than later.

 

[SenkiDala]

It was still more "polished" on day one 1.0 version than any Bethesda game have been or will ever be with 10 years of patches/adjustments and remasters.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

It was the switching between characters.

And writing, something felt off in Ragnarok, I agree. I already wrote something similar in GoW thread a while back.

First game had better writing, no characters switching, you felt manly well like a God of War, here instead you could loose immersion and I did actually a few times.

It wasn't a bad game, had my share of fun here and there.

But I have felt it wasn't as epic as it could have been.

Maybe because of COVID it was rushed? Saw a heck a lot of support studios pitching in to finish it in the credits- and it wasn't buggy but maybe the direction suffered here and there. Maybe they had to cut content and it actually didn't click. SMS was supposed to initially do a trilogy- maybe cut content? Plus pacing issues. But anyways right now it's water under the bridge- no point in wondering what could have been.

As of SM2 prologue felt last gen as hell it really felt rushed, some parts were actually like some nice next-genish stuff, others felt crossgen. Definitely a few steps back were made in comparison to Miles Morales, which is a shame.

Was hoping for well more Venom, hopefully DLC won't feel like a cut content. But man who knows.

It feels like games made during COVID and post COVID suffered, even Sony couldn't made them 100% top notch with good direction and writing. Feels a bit like some management issues were involved. But it's somewhat uderstandable given the situation. They probably couldn't delay games and push budgets to the infinity and beyond, just to get a more coherent vision.

Hopefully new Sony exclusive games moving forward won't feel rushed, unfinished with a somewhat lacking writing or off feelings with direction or pacing.
But we will see if they were COVID/post-covid issues or that's the new Sony norm or something.

Hopefully not.

And I won't be batching about it on GAF constantly or made a bunch of new threads about the same stuff because I already played those games and I know what felt off or not- and really there is no point. It's time to move on.

I personally would grade those games lower than critics did, but they weren't bad games. And Ragnarok didn't have any technical issues at launch. Can't say much about SM2, since I didn't play it at launch. And I think the game was mostly patched up when I started playing. Had only one non breaking game bug once during my whole playthrough. That's about it.

Anyways I am playing Dead Space Remake and I really feel like we should have more linear games 8 to 12h long tops, no bloat or XP stuff.
Sony should green light some cool more linear games this gen also or other 3rd party devs. I miss those type of games honestly. Is it just me?

A lot of these games are largely based on Super Metroid.

What Santa Monica did here though was try to balance the required length of today's games by breaking up the monotony of the gameplay.

The spear does an excellent job of that, but the rest of the weapons you had from the previous game. I'm sure a lot of people in Santa Monica felt like Kratos should get Thor's hammer, but that poses its own problem in terms of how the gameplay differs significantly from the Axe.

Similarly there aren't a ton of issues with the story, but the issues are in my estimation around the pacing and I think this is maybe more the reason why you didn't love the switching. Whenever you jump into Atreus, the game really slows down storywise, especially the Angraboda section. I think they needed to really develop Atreus' abilities more than they did in the game.

I think his transformations were a bit half baked. Here I think they specifically took homage from Castlevania, a game the developer loves, where Alucard can turn into a wolf, but it's really key to remember Alucard has 3 very different transformations that all have significant gameplay differences.

Bat, Wolf, Fog. The Bat can fly, the wolf has a really strong dash attack, and the fog can get into specific areas. I think they needed to explore his transformations more to make each one more unique and interesting. So I think Atreus just needed a lot more development time, but you still have to keep the game balanced.

Insomniac is going to have the same issue when it comes to Wolverine and Jean Grey.

 

[ThatPolishGuy]

I don't know how any "critic" who's been gaming for 20+ years could think this safe, by the numbers game is a 9/10 or 10/10. I'm convinced they just score games based on how many people they think will like it, rather than giving their own personal opinion and score.

Hopefully the general gaming audience gets bored of Sony 1st Party's movie game approach sooner than later.

I already felt this during playthrough of Dead Space Remake. Like I would want more linear games, no bloat, or XP stuff, coherent vision and writing. 8 to 12h long epic games. Ramp up the graphics, honestly DS Remake had a bunch of low res textures here and there it doesn't feel next-gen but it sure is coherent and fun to play, I give that game that.

Gimme more of that with epic graphics and sharp textures and well, I'm in. And a nice and steady performance mode.

I played Callisto Protocol and I ENJOYED it, despite it's obvious issues with repetitive combat and bad combat design. I hear that those devs are making a new game. Hopefully they will acknowledge what was bad and move forward and make something 100% epic with polished combat next time- similar lenght time, maybe not the same genre but I honestly wouldn't mind if it was polished at launch.

 

[Bernardougf]

It was the switching between characters.

And writing, something felt off in Ragnarok, I agree. I already wrote something similar in GoW thread a while back.

First game had better writing, no characters switching, you felt manly well like a God of War, here instead you could loose immersion and I did actually a few times.

It wasn't a bad game, had my share of fun here and there.

But I have felt it wasn't as epic as it could have been.

Maybe because of COVID it was rushed? Saw a heck a lot of support studios pitching in to finish it in the credits- and it wasn't buggy but maybe the direction suffered here and there. Maybe they had to cut content and it actually didn't click. SMS was supposed to initially do a trilogy- maybe cut content? Plus pacing issues. But anyways right now it's water under the bridge- no point in wondering what could have been.

As of SM2 prologue felt last gen as hell it really felt rushed, some parts were actually like some nice next-genish stuff, others felt crossgen. Definitely a few steps back were made in comparison to Miles Morales, which is a shame.

Was hoping for well more Venom, hopefully DLC won't feel like a cut content. But man who knows.

It feels like games made during COVID and post COVID suffered, even Sony couldn't made them 100% top notch with good direction and writing. Feels a bit like some management issues were involved. But it's somewhat uderstandable given the situation. They probably couldn't delay games and push budgets to the infinity and beyond, just to get a more coherent vision.

Hopefully new Sony exclusive games moving forward won't feel rushed, unfinished with a somewhat lacking writing or off feelings with direction or pacing.
But we will see if they were COVID/post-covid issues or that's the new Sony norm or something.

Hopefully not.

And I won't be bitching about it on GAF constantly or make a bunch of new threads about the same stuff because I already played those games and I know what felt off or not- and really there is no point. It's time to move on.

I personally would grade those games lower than critics did, but they weren't bad games. And Ragnarok didn't have any technical issues at launch. Can't say much about SM2, since I didn't play it at launch. And I think the game was mostly patched up when I started playing. Had only one non breaking game bug once during my whole playthrough. That's about it.

Anyways I am playing Dead Space Remake and I really feel like we should have more linear games 8 to 12h long tops, no bloat or XP stuff.
Sony should green light some cool more linear games this gen also or other 3rd party devs. I miss those type of games honestly. Is it just me?

Maybe I'm getting old. But sometimes it's a chore.

The last game I enjoyed 100%, even if it was open world, was Ghost of Tsushima.

Playing This remake right now also.. after spending 40 hours on bloated Hogwards Legacy... Dead Space Remake is awsome. Damn.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Now that I'm thinking about it, it seems like Sony is definitely trying to expand on their formulas in the same ways.

Originally it was all about you and your sidekick character. The Last of Us, Uncharted 4, God of War 2018, at times Ghost of Tsushima.

Now it's all about switching to break up monotony: The Last of Us: Part 2, Rift Apart, God of War Ragnarok, Spider-Man 2

That's way too many to be a coincidence.

In the last 4 games I would say that the switching has almost universally resulted in people liking the game less and we're almost guaranteed to have forced switching in Wolverine.

Notice in Ghost of Tsushima, you never switch. They break up the gameplay monotony by giving you 4 different sword styles, and by giving you a myriad of other ways to attack, bows, smoke bombs, outright attack, stealth/assassination.

Sucker Punch kind of stayed true to the Metroid formula, where these other games largely stray. What's worse is switching for the sake of switching, when you largely have the same abilities despite the switch.

 

[March Climber]

Honestly I think you are reading into it alot deeper them what the writers intended.

You can’t say something like this, and then state things like this:

The self inserts wanted you to hate Peter and what he stands for and after the first game,

Peter must stop being a hero cause his gf can't have her own podcast.

aside from physically controlling peter, he plays 0 role in the story. He's just that guy we have to get rid of now so we can pander more later.

then is the worst person Alive and must stop being the webslinger so his overbearing, non caring selfish gf can start a podcast

Like c’mon man. Your posts have been 70% about sweet baby and agendas and 30% about the actual plot of the game. Worst ever spiderman, best ever spiderman, ‘get rid of’ Spiderman, self-inserts, etc.

Like I’ve been cutting some of this stuff out from what I’ve been quoting from you because the way you’re making it out to be is very, very hyperbolic and charged. You’re painting a picture that isn’t even in the game and you say we should take it at surface level but you keep making these wild accusations.

I like when you actually point out legitimate plot and pacing criticisms, because there are some there, but it’s hard to address because it all slowly devolves back into things surrounding the quotes above.

I understand sweet baby is a thing. I understand they exist. I understand their messaging. But for the love of God, can we please just take a minute to remove them from the picture and discuss the actual events of the plot and not what you felt the events of the plot signify based on one company’s agenda?

 

[ThatPolishGuy]

Now that I'm thinking about it, it seems like Sony is definitely trying to expand on their formulas in the same ways.

Originally it was all about you and your sidekick character. The Last of Us, Uncharted 4, God of War 2018, at times Ghost of Tsushima.

Now it's all about switching to break up monotony: The Last of Us: Part 2, Rift Apart, God of War Ragnarok, Spider-Man 2

That's way too many to be a coincidence.

In the last 4 games I would say that the switching has almost universally resulted in people liking the game less and we're almost guaranteed to have forced switching in Wolverine.

Notice in Ghost of Tsushima, you never switch. They break up the gameplay monotony by giving you 4 different sword styles, and by giving you a myriad of other ways to attack, bows, smoke bombs, outright attack, stealth/assassination.

Sucker Punch kind of stayed true to the Metroid formula, where these other games largely stray. What's worse is switching for the sake of switching, when you largely have the same abilities despite the switch.

Couldn't put it into words what's exactly off. But you sure did it.

It's like they forgot that simple is best rule. Immersion breaking stuff and weird pacing should be a no go.

It's like they are trying to reinvent wheel.

Trying to throw in character switching in all games isn't good. It's like forced diversity because of the sake of diversity- it won't work.

If the story is grounded and diverse characters are grounded into the game world and well written, diversity works.

I suppose it's the same with characters switch, it kind of did make sense in Spider-Man 2 and TLOU 1- it had meaning, I mean Joel was wounded etc it was grounded not felt forced, gameplay was fun. Generally whole game was simple adventure, kinda cinematic style, length was ok, polished, everything was simple it didn't reinvent wheel, loved stealth and gunplay.

I absolutely hated TLOU2 switch, felt forced for the sake of whatever controversy, combat was fun though and environments.

Hmm.

You may be onto something here.

Edit: I absolutely loved Ghost of Tsushima, switching sword styles felt refreshing. It was quite large game but well thought, didn't feel much bloat. DLC was better though. Felt the same kind of thing like with going from Witcher 3 to Blood and Wine.

Haven't have yet played Cyberpunk so I am curious if it's the same with Phantom Liberty.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Couldn't put it into words what's exactly off. But you sure did it.

It's like they forgot that simple is best rule. Immersion breaking stuff and weird pacing should be a no go.

It's like they are trying to reinvent wheel.

Trying to throw in character switching in all games isn't good. It's like forced diversity because of the sake of diversity- it won't work.

If the story is grounded and diverse characters are grounded into the game world and well written, diversity works.

I suppose it's the same with characters switch, it kind of did make sense in Spider-Man 2 and TLOU 1- it had meaning, I mean Joel was wounded etc it was grounded not felt forced, gameplay was fun. Generally whole game was simple adventure, kinda cinematic style, length was ok, polished, everything was simple it didn't reinvent wheel, loved stealth and gunplay.

I absolutely hated TLOU2 switch, felt forced for the sake of whatever controversy, combat was fun though and environments.

Hmm.

You may be onto something here.

Edit: I absolutely loved Ghost of Tsushima, switching sword styles felt refreshing. It was quite large game but well thought, didn't feel much bloat. DLC was better though. Felt the same kind of thing like with going from Witcher 3 to Blood and Wine.

Haven't have yet played Cyberpunk so I am curious if it's the same with Phantom Liberty.

My guess is play testing reveals that people don't want to do the exact same gameplay or character for 15-20+ hours.

Wolverine only has melee attacks and only uses his claws/fists. How do you make that interesting for 15 hours?

Even God of War 2018 has 2 different weapons, with the axe having both melee and projectile.

So they are trying to reinvent the wheel, but because the industry has forced them into this hole of, hey your game has to be open world and it has to be at least 20 hours long.

Think of all the games that have the Metroid formula, even Metal Gear Solid. You need X weapon to get past this area. Think of how many different weapons Snake has. There is no need to switch because you're always forced to change things up.

So I think they're struggling to balance modern expectations with good story telling and gameplay and kind of coming up short.

 

[semiconscious]

You lost me at the "woke crap"

Calm down, but yeah, they're not a guaranteed day 1 buy anymore, but honestly, I haven't bought most of their games day 1. Maybe Spider-Man 1, Miles Morales, Spider-Man 2, Rift Apart, and I think I was day 10 or so for Ratchet and Clank PS4. Before that I'd buy their games when I got around to them, my favorites being Crank in Time.

sorry, but rift apart's replacement of all the sarcasm & questionable humor of the previous r&c games with half-baked, 'empowering' feels overload left a seriously bad taste in my mouth. the series transitioned from its previously sardonic 'fun for kids of all ages' spirit to homogenized sugary sweet pap...

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

sorry, but rift apart's replacement of all the sarcasm & questionable humor of the previous r&c games with half-baked, 'empowering' feels overload left a seriously bad taste in my mouth. the series transitioned from its previously sardonic 'fun for kids of all ages' spirit to homogenized sugary sweet pap...

sadly this is the trajectory of all children's entertainment over the last decade

As a parent, it's deeply depressing. The entire field of entertainment aimed at kids is worse than braindead; it's a cancer on the human race, along with every person who writes or produces this crap or who thinks affirmation & empowerment are the axes along which imagination should take place. They've destroyed the human spirit bit by bit.

 

[hyperbertha]

Not every game is for everyone. I'm way over 12 and personally I have no problem with the big set pieces. That's the kind of stuff one should expect from a superhero game. As is the cinematic aspect of it. I've got handful of gripes about the game that far outweigh fussing over set pieces and playing "a damn movie". I've gone on quite a bit about the horrible side content.

The best superhero games ever made, the arkham games have no setpieces that I remember. Just sublime gameplay, which Spiderman lacks sorely. So you're wrong.

 

[Topher]

The best superhero games ever made, the arkham games have no setpieces that I remember. Just sublime gameplay, which Spiderman lacks sorely. So you're wrong.

Batman had set pieces as well. Spider-man's gameplay is derivative of Batman's so saying it lacks it makes no sense at all.

 

[lefty1117]

I knew it wouldn't be good because of venom. Boring villain

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

Anyone got a name for her?

Viet Bunny

Snipfeed. Build your business from your bio link.

snipfeed.co

 

[ClosBSAS]

lol remember here how everyone said it was gonna be the second coming of christ in graphics? hahahaha

 

[Faust]

sadly this is the trajectory of all children's entertainment over the last decade

As a parent, it's deeply depressing. The entire field of entertainment aimed at kids is worse than braindead; it's a cancer on the human race, along with every person who writes or produces this crap or who thinks affirmation & empowerment are the axes along which imagination should take place. They've destroyed the human spirit bit by bit.

I remember when children's shows were films like Secret of Nimh and Monster Squad.

How did kids growing up in the 80s breed such pussies in the early 2000s.

 

[Raonak]

sadly this is the trajectory of all children's entertainment over the last decade

As a parent, it's deeply depressing. The entire field of entertainment aimed at kids is worse than braindead; it's a cancer on the human race, along with every person who writes or produces this crap or who thinks affirmation & empowerment are the axes along which imagination should take place. They've destroyed the human spirit bit by bit.

It's called growing up.

Old rigid people get upset because the world constantly evolves in ways that don't make sense to them. It's a tale as old as time itself.

If it makes you feel any better; you kids will also grow up and complain the the future too.

 

[MasterDerico]

I'll never trust the scores again for Sony 1st party after Ragnarok. I watched all the trailers for that game, and I'd post super mild - but critical, observations. "I don't see much new in the gameplay," etc. Wasn't going to get it. Then it literally got a 94 MC, like it was some Breath of the Wild tier masterpiece, so I bought it day one for $70. Didn't last 10 hours before dropping it. I don't think it's trash, it's obviously a polished game, but it sure didn't seem like a 94. One of the most extreme examples of review overhype in my lifetime.

I knew that was going to be the case again when I saw the scores for Spider Man 2.

It was always like that.
Here's why people keep on the surface.

Look the gameplay on YouTube, if u are a old gamer like me, u know what to expect, u have the knowledge just seeing the game. Then buy, or not.

Dig deeper, look for more games.

You give the score.

 

[Danjin44]

I'll never trust the scores again for Sony 1st party after Ragnarok. I watched all the trailers for that game, and I'd post super mild - but critical, observations. "I don't see much new in the gameplay," etc. Wasn't going to get it. Then it literally got a 94 MC, like it was some Breath of the Wild tier masterpiece, so I bought it day one for $70. Didn't last 10 hours before dropping it. I don't think it's trash, it's obviously a polished game, but it sure didn't seem like a 94. One of the most extreme examples of review overhype in my lifetime.

I knew that was going to be the case again when I saw the scores for Spider Man 2.

I trust my own taste above everything else….i didn’t touch any of Spider Man games because I hate Marvel junk and from looks of it I made the right choice.

 

[DeepEnigma]

I remember when children's shows were films like Secret of Nimh and Monster Squad.

How did kids growing up in the 80s breed such pussies in the early 2000s.

By being overwhelmed financially or unengaged with their kids, and letting the indoctrinating public schooling shape and raise them 7 to 8 hours a day. Single.parent homes greatly impacts that stat as well.

 

[hyperbertha]

Batman had set pieces as well. Spider-man's gameplay is derivative of Batman's so saying it lacks it makes no sense at all.

What setpieces did Batman have? I don't remember any. And yes everybody knows Spiderman is a copycat, but it doesn't do it well. Combat isn't as snappy or varied, enemy variety is lower, stealth is shallow.

 

[Topher]

What setpieces did Batman have? I don't remember any. And yes everybody knows Spiderman is a copycat, but it doesn't do it well. Combat isn't as snappy or varied, enemy variety is lower, stealth is shallow.

The boss fights with Joker and Poison Ivy, for example. Granted, not as grandiose as some in Spider-man. Then there were a number of situational ones. Pretty easy to google and I see plenty of references to the set-pieces in Batman Arkham games....

batman arkham "set-pieces" - Google Search

"The Batman: Arkham franchise is known for its impactful action set-pieces, with Batman traversing maps to fights thugs and supervillains alike. "

10 Scariest Quests In The Batman Arkham Games

Gotham City is home to terrifying villains which leads to encounters in the Batman: Arkham games straight out of a horror movie.

screenrant.com

Actually, Spider-man's take on Batman's combat is pretty damn good. It adds the verticality of web swinging into the fight and the webbing itself is a really cool component. The basic fighting moves are just as "snappy" as Batman's so no idea what you are talking about here. Not sure why you think the enemies are not as varied either. You've got different factions of enemies from common street thugs to military styled to villain specific enemies, etc.. And the enemies you encounter are varied in themselves as you'll need different moves if they are big guys or they have shields, etc. Not that different from Batman. Stealth isn't that different than Batman's either except it often doesn't make sense as you are often hiding in broad daylight whereas Batman is in the shadows.

 

[hyperbertha]

The boss fights with Joker and Poison Ivy, for example. Granted, not as grandiose as some in Spider-man. Then there were a number of situational ones. Pretty easy to google and I see plenty of references to the set-pieces in Batman Arkham games....

batman arkham "set-pieces" - Google Search

"The Batman: Arkham franchise is known for its impactful action set-pieces, with Batman traversing maps to fights thugs and supervillains alike. "

10 Scariest Quests In The Batman Arkham Games

Gotham City is home to terrifying villains which leads to encounters in the Batman: Arkham games straight out of a horror movie.

screenrant.com

Actually, Spider-man's take on Batman's combat is pretty damn good. It adds the verticality of web swinging into the fight and the webbing itself is a really cool component. The basic fighting moves are just as "snappy" as Batman's so no idea what you are talking about here. Not sure why you think the enemies are not as varied either. You've got different factions of enemies from common street thugs to military styled to villain specific enemies, etc.. And the enemies you encounter are varied in themselves as you'll need different moves if they are big guys or they have shields, etc. Not that different from Batman. Stealth isn't that different than Batman's either except it often doesn't make sense as you are often hiding in broad daylight whereas Batman is in the shadows.

Boss fights aren't setpieces. The websites you are referencing are referring to most major combat scenarios as a setpieces which is not what we are talking about.
It's common knowledge that Spiderman doesn't hold a candle to arkham combat wise. Just doesn't have the depth or flow to it. The stealth is very lackluster and kind of an afterthought as well.

 

[Topher]

Boss fights aren't setpieces. The websites you are referencing are referring to most major combat scenarios as a setpieces which is not what we are talking about.
It's common knowledge that Spiderman doesn't hold a candle to arkham combat wise. Just doesn't have the depth or flow to it. The stealth is very lackluster and kind of an afterthought as well.

I don't base my opinion on "common knowledge". I guess we will have to disagree all around.