Author: Scott

What goes up…

We kind of expected there would be some sort of change to the whole Gamepass thing once we knew the Activision stuff would start showing up on Gamepass for day-one releases. Maybe a price hike, or an extra tier type of subscription to add onto it. Had to be something when you spend that much money on buying a company but also have the money juggernaut of the Call Of Duty franchise. I mean, in the world of gaming CoD is like Mickey Mouse.

So, a price increase is it. Seems a bit odd it’s only (for some) a three dollar increase. But maybe this is water testing for a while. See how many people stay on after a small rise in price, so later they can raise it a bit more and see who sticks around. Look, I feel certain that Microsoft went over the numbers on this and came up with something that wouldn’t feel too bad in the pocketbook, but when prices on things like this go up they never go down. I’m usually one to throw an “almost” in there just to leave some wiggle room that it might happen, but no, it absolutely won’t.

The question then becomes how much is too much for you? This will vary by gamer as to what’s on offer from the service and how worth it is to them, but I never thought I’d ever get rid of Netflix and I absolutely did that (coming up on a year now) so I could easily see myself dropping off the Gamepass train at some point. Even now I rarely use it. But I like having the option of it there whenever I want. We’ll see how long that holds for me.

This is where I’d say I’d sign up to a subscription service to play the next Splinter Cell. But I’ve never once ever considered signing up to Ubisofts subscription thing and Splinter Cell won’t change that. Still, it has been 3,963 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.

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Just a heads up that we’ll be taking off next weekend so no show again until July 13th.

The days between shows didn’t really afford me as much time with gaming as I would have liked so there isn’t much I’ve played lately. Still, the current Steam Summer Sale happening now is making me all wide-eyed like a kid in a candy store.

And again, I suppose I have the people at Bungie to thank for that. I’m not sure where I’d be gaming wise if I were still able to play Destiny 2. I don’t really know what’s going on over there anyway after this final expansion thing or story ender or whatever. I’m not sure I’d still be grinding – look, we all know I would be. But that ban has now afforded me more time with other games and to actually get excited about these sales cause I’ll put in the time with the games I end up buying.

Now I’m just playing a lot of catch up on games I never bought or never played while I was focusing all my free time in Destiny 2. And you’re likely aware that my backlog of games runs deep. Like, deep deep.

Who knows, maybe I’ll fire up some old Splinter Cell. I mean, it has been 3,949 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.

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Well, the demos start coming and they don’t stop coming.

I didn’t think we’d spend more than half of the show going over demos I’ve been playing but then again I ramble horribly so, maybe that isn’t so surprising to you.

But man, those demos. Plus, I revisit a game from NINE years ago that I finally finished – MAD MAX. There’s spoilers there, but the game was horribly received and it’s also been NINE years. And, by the way, I say it in the show, but when this game goes on sale, it’s absolutely worth picking up. For a fiver, you can’t beat the value there. Even a tenner is worth it.

I’m glad we finally got more information on Nivalis. It’s a game I’ve been looking forward to since last year’s reveal from the Cloudpunk folks, and it’s set, coincidentally, in the Cloudpunk universe. It’s like they took that third person game and made it first person, seemingly. Anyway, anything within a Cyberpunk world, and you’ve already got my attention.

PVKK, playing as Zelda in a Zelda game, and Metroid Prime 4 were all amazingly unexpected. Now we know what some of us will be playing when the Switch 2 launches.

What we will NOT be playing on the Switch 2 or anywhere else for that matter is Splinter Cell. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,942 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.

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Still drowning in demos over here.

A week removed from Summer Game Fest and getting close to the end of Steam Next Fest and I’ve still got around 30 or so demos left to play. I probably won’t make it through all of them but that’s okay. I never expected I would.

I do wish these demos would stick around longer. Because while I don’t expect to get through them all before they are gone, I absolutely WOULD if I knew they were hanging around for say…a month.

Regardless, there’s a ton of little small indie games out there waiting for you to discover them and given the sheer amount of what’s available you’re near guaranteed to find something you like. Probably a lot of somethings you like, actually. So take a break from whatever you’ve been playing and jump into some demos to see what floats your boat (there’s a lot of boat games to pick from, by the way).

What you will NOT find in the demo section or anywhere else for that matter is Splinter Cell. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,935 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.

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Throw a drowning man a line…

I am covered in games. I don’t ever want to go back to the old E3 if this is what it means to lose that. I’m perfectly fine with it.

I think I’ve likely added close to a hundred of them to my Steam Wishlist and that has been growing. It’s Sunday as I’m writing this and I’m downloading a massive amount of demos currently. This is mostly coming from the smaller showcases. Day Of The Devs, Wholesome Games Direct, Future Of Play, Latin American Games Showcase, and Women-Led Games. There’s a few from the Future Games Show and some from the actual Summer Games Fest. I still haven’t seen the Guerrilla Collective showcase and there’s Microsoft today along with the PC Gaming Show.

Ever since this whole “summer games fest” shift I think more games are actually shown off. It’s interesting to remember back during the E3 of old and watching the big publishers do their thing showing off these massive AAA titles. And somewhere in between you’d get a sizzle reel of a bunch of smaller games. Except now those smaller games get more time and don’t feel as lost in the shuffle. I say that after staying up late rewinding the YouTube video so I can get a game’s name and add it to my wishlist. But the more games the better, I say.

While not getting lost in the shuffle of the big players there’s still just a crazy amount of games to get lost in regardless. So watch these presentations and take note (like seriously, pen and paper) of what you like and add it to your wishlist on Steam or whatever. Play the demos if they’re available to see how it plays.

This is the way of the gaming world without an E3.

Everyone is welcome.

And that means you too, Splinter Cell. What will tomorrow bring? Maybe the end of this post tag once and for all. Probably not. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,928 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.

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I enjoy games that want you to experience them. That’s a bit of a broad stroke so let me be a bit more specific about what I mean.

Hellblade 2 wants you to experience the game. Ninja Theory was so adamant about this that there’s even a setting to let the game automatically control combat. So, any time there’s a fight, it’ll take care of it for you. All you need to do is solve puzzles (that can also be tuned for the player) and keep moving through the world (it’s practically on rails so you’ll likely never get lost). Sort of makes it an experience first and a game second. And I’m okay with that.

With a lot of these big, triple A, story driven, single player games, I’d actually like more of that. God Of War doesn’t go to the same extremes, but there were settings within the game that made me enjoy it more and I think it’s something more games should strive for – player enjoyment.

That sort of goes without saying for the most part because if a game isn’t enjoyable it’ll get bad reviews, won’t sell, etc. But going one step beyond that and giving the player an enormous amount of options and tuning FOR the player so they can enjoy the experience – maybe not to the point of the game playing itself, perhaps, but enough that the player can find enjoyment in the game.

I think it’s something we might see more and more from the bigger studios and developers. And that isn’t to say they are the only ones who can do this, but the smaller studios provide smaller and more specific experiences, and already a lot of them give you that leeway in how you play their game.

While I did bring up Hellblade 2 and applaud the studios efforts on making sure the player enjoys their game, I should say – it’s an amazing game. It isn’t long, but it’s PACKED with story, character, emotion, and some of THE absolute most stunning visuals we’ve seen in a game so far. Play it.

It’s June, you can smell the new game trailers beginning to cook. Perhaps…just maybe…Ubisoft, it’s been 3,921 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.

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Thy cup runneth over…

This month has been a killer for Indie games. Just hit after hit after hit getting released. And that’s already on top of a pretty good year so far for indie titles. I mean, for me, it started with Balatro in February and there’s probably been one release per month that I’ve added to my wishlist on Steam. May has just added an insane amount of new, small, indie titles to that list.

And that’s fantastic! Look, the triple A games have their place. The big budget, massively advertised, franchise titles will always take center stage during their release and reveal, but for the price of JUST ONE of those you can probably get 3 to 4 indie titles (or even more).

It’s a trend that I hope continues. And, in fact, it might just have to. Given the state of our big publishers and studios draining money, closing shops, and preventing entire countries from buying your games, the indies are likely to keep gaming alive throughout all of this. And in a way that is, hopefully, noticed by those other studios and publishers. These indie titles are usually one-dev operations. Maybe a little more than that for some, but it’s small. However, they produce games that can easily rival anything from studios with massive teams and budgets.

My point is, don’t skip the indies. Don’t let the news of everything going on in the world of gaming distract you from everything going on in the smaller world of gaming. Because the games are there. There is fun in those smaller titles. There is inventiveness and creativity. There are some mind bending experiences and some major wholesome ones as well. There are things you never even thought of yet in those titles and even more surprise at the simplicity of what you find.

Don’t skip the indies.

Again, a topic that makes it difficult to segue into a triple A game. However, the gag must continue to run. So…Ubisoft, it’s been 3,907 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.

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Three blind mice…

It’s mostly just two though. Let’s get Nintendo out of the way first since it seems in this episode we covered all three consoles. Nintendo basically just told us the next Switch is coming and we’re gonna talk about it soon. That was it.

Sony reversed their stance on requiring a PSN account to play Helldivers 2 on PC. That’s good, this time. But what about next? And I don’t mean Ghost Of Tsushima or God Of War Ragnarok. I’m talking about the next multiplayer PC/PS game. Because this whole PSN requirement was already baked into Helldivers 2. They just turned it off when they launched because of all the login problems they were having. What happens on the next title? Still required? My guess is yes.

Then there’s Microsoft. If you missed the EA of the 2010s and around that time frame, don’t worry. Microsoft has your back. Soak in the nostalgia of a company buying up studios, making a big deal about what they’re going to bring to the table, releasing whatever they were currently working on and then completely shutting them down. Except, unlike back then, Microsoft is speedrunning this thing with the closure of FOUR studios in one single day.

I don’t think we’ll look back on this year and be talking about all the cool games that came out – we’ll be talking about all the jobs lost and studios that closed. Because this is adding on to what already happened earlier in the year and a whole bunch of people who know more than me about this are saying there’s more closures on the way.
And that makes it hard to segue into my whole Splinter Cell weekly running gag. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,900 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.

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I’ve got a bad feeling about this…

Well, I had to tie it into Star Wars Day somehow. Still, that bad feeling is sitting around the people who are about to be unable to enjoy a game they bought.

I’m speaking of Sony and the Helldivers 2 situation. We discussed it in this episode but just after we finished recording Sony made their move. We had speculated on what they might do and I think we settled on exactly what they actually did.

At launch Helldivers 2 had issues with logins and the like so Sony disabled the requirement to have a PSN account in order to play the game (even on PC). However, this was back in February and only now is Sony coming around to reinstating that requirement. Normally, it’s not a big deal. Plenty of games have requirements just like this in order to play, but the problem here is that in some countries there is no PlayStation Network. They didn’t enforce it as the game launched so a number of people in a number of different countries (177 countries, to be exact) can’t play their game. The Playstation Network doesn’t exist in their country. They can’t make an account.

Steam has now started issuing refunds because of this problem – regardless of time played or how long you’ve owned the game.

I’m sure more will come out about this be it a statement from Sony or the developers, Arrowhead Studios – who’ve actually been on twitter responding to people. The obvious answer for this problem was to just disable the requirement to have a PSN account in order to play the game. It was working fine and had a massive positive review rating on Steam. Within the span of a weekend all of that has been lost.

Speaking of lost, where the hell is Splinter Cell? Ubisoft, it’s been 3,893 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.

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I feel like there was a time when I was younger that I could play all manner of games and pretty much at any time I wanted.

Well, let me explain a bit. Currently, and in this case that means for like the last 5 years or more, I really can only stick to one or two games at a time – depending on what they are and what they require of me. Balatro is a nice quick play kind of thing. Talos II is not as quick, but can be if you take it puzzle by puzzle. I recently thought about starting up Spider-Man 2, but backed off because I thought it might get in the way of my time with Talos. Games have done that before. I took nearly a 6-month break halfway into Last Of Us 2 and I think it ruined my experience of that game. Wasn’t a complete loss or anything but my feelings towards it at the end, I feel, would have been different had I not waited so long to finish it.

Yet, I feel like there was, at some point in my youth, a time when I could have taken on any game I wanted, multiples of them, all at the same time, just playing them like I could remember all the controls and the story for what I was playing as well.

Just doesn’t feel that way anymore. Now, that could be something to do with me.Maybe it’s age, or brain function or…something. I don’t know. It could also be the games, as well. Games are longer, more involved, more complex in their storytelling. More mechanics in gameplay. I guess maybe there’s more you need to give into a game than maybe what was required in whatever time period my mind is thinking of where I could just hop from game to game. Maybe it’s my own free time where I get to play these games. Something I can easily say has shrunk significantly since I’ve gotten older.

Speaking of getting older, the last time a Splinter Cell game was released was ten years ago. And we’re still waiting for something new from it. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,886 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.

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Nothing lasts forever.

I probably don’t talk about peripherals enough. Or maybe there isn’t a need to? Either way, I’m very picky with my gaming headsets. So much so I kept a stock of a specific model of them from Turtle Beach. I can’t remember the name of it now but I still have them laying around the room here. I was worried about what might happen when I ran out. They aren’t making any more of that specific model and of the others I’ve tried they just didn’t give me what I wanted from the Turtle Beach set.

Then I found the Roccat headset. Still in production, on sale, and they did exactly what the old Turtle Beach did for me. Sounded great and gave me everything I wanted from the old set. Turns out, Roccat was owned by Turtle Beach so that made a bit of sense. Finally, I wouldn’t have to rely on eBay and second hand sellers to get a replacement headset.
Well, now Turtle Beach is killing off the Roccat brand. I don’t feel too bad about it given the set I have works wonderfully and, well, ever since the BANNENING from Destiny 2, I haven’t used them too much. Still, before they completely remove them from stores, I’ll probably stock up again for the time being. Until I find another one that does what I like in a headset. As goes the cycle, I suppose.

Still, it’d be nice to find a product that sticks around.

Speaking of something sticking around, the Splinter Cell franchise did that a good ten or so years ago. We weren’t short of Tom Clancy titles, much less the Splinter Cell titles within that. Then…nothing. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,879 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.

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It’s good to see more and more video game stories making the jump into television series stories.

Obviously I’m talking about both Fallout and The Last Of Us. I haven’t finished Fallout yet, but it really is quite enjoyable and I’m only 4 episodes in so far. It’ll be interesting to see what the success of these shows does for future shows based on video games.

Then there’s the whole film side of things which…hasn’t been great in the past. We’ve gotten plenty of adaptations but a lot of them don’t really hold up – it’s only been recently with the Sonic franchise and now the animated Super Mario film. You go back beyond that and, yeah, there’s content, but it isn’t the best.

I guess as with comic books moving to other media, video games kinda had to crawl before they could walk – or something like that. And we’re still not sure they can cause that Borderlands film is right around the corner.

I have hope for it. I have hope for anything that comes from my comic books or video games and moves into a medium a LOT of other people can enjoy. It’s almost like showing people a video game but without the standard generalization that comes from people who don’t play or like video games. It’s another way to connect, I suppose.

And that’s the whole point really, isn’t it? To make that connection with the audience and, by extension, you making a connection with someone else over this…shared thing. So yeah, I always hope for the best in these situations. So far so good.

And then there’s that Borderlands film right around the corner.

There was talk of a Splinter Cell series. But good luck with that if it takes them as long in between seasons as it does the games. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,872 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.

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Every once in a while you come across a game or maybe even a TV show or a book, but you enjoy everything about it. So much so you don’t really want it to end. Come to think of it, I think I’ve even done this with food.

But my point is, there are games I can sometimes play where I wish they could go on longer. The entire MYST series is this for me. I’m currently playing The Talos Principle 2 and enjoying every single second of it. I’m early into the game but it already gives me this wonderful feeling of exploration and puzzle solving and secrets and I’m just soaking it all in. But I also know it’s going to eventually end and so I do plan to drag this game out for however long I can. And I don’t mean take it slow, I just mean milking it on my first run for everything it has to offer. Side missions, side puzzles, every nook and cranny to be explored and poured over. No stone unturned and no door left closed.

It’s also interesting that, while I enjoyed the first game very much, I remember that I didn’t sort of feel this way about it as I do its sequel. Maybe it was the setting or something, I’m not sure. And, also, I’m as early as ever in this game. Not even half of halfway through it – there’s still time for me to hit a mechanic in the game that turns all of this gushing on its head.

But for now, I am in love with this game and I cherish every single moment while I am in it. I hope you find games like this from time to time as well. That whole feeling of “This is it! This is my jam…or whatever!”. I’m even rushing through this post so I can get back to playing the game, actually.

Another game and game series I so dearly love is Splinter Cell. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,857 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.

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The amount of other games I have played since getting banned from Destiny 2 has easily eclipsed all the other games I played while I was NOT banned from Destiny 2.

I’d say that I’m better off for it, but it’s something I wouldn’t have noticed or cared about had I not lost access to play that game. D2 was a routine and while my routine was thrown off because of losing access to the game, I’ve been able to really enjoy so many more titles now and look at upcoming releases with an interest that I’ll actually play them.

Thinking about it, the loss is really only with finishing something that started over a decade ago – something I would have liked to have seen to the end, story wise. And the other is the loss of just playing with my group of friends. I miss my clanmates.

And I think that’s the focus of games like this. We had it a long time ago with City Of Heroes. And then again with Call Of Duty on the 360. I don’t want to call it a sense of community. That sounds too political or something. And, more so, it wasn’t a sense of anything. It was actually real friends enjoying playing a game together on a pretty regular basis. And it’s something I never would have had without my time in those games.

I guess if anything writing all of this has shown me, it’s that you’ve done it at least three times before…take comfort in the fact that you’ll probably do it again. And again. And again.

Something else we’ll do again and again is calling out the days since we’ve gotten a new Splinter Cell. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,850 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.

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I really do miss arcades. I know they still exist in some form or another but, even now, they just can’t hold a candle to the arcade you can have at home. And I’m not even talking about building cabinets and such.

We talk about this on the show but I’ll say it again here – arcades, as a kid, were like walking into the future. You had your games at home, sure, but they were nothing like what was in that arcade. That’s where the most advanced tech was. The best graphics and games you’ll NEVER get to play at home. Only at the arcade.

That’s how it was for me, anyway. Then it all changed and morphed and sort of went backwards. I’ll give credit to the arcade/bar synergy thing that happened, but I don’t run around those places wide-eyed at all the cool games like I did way back when. Now I look for whatever will give me the most redeemable tickets…or pinball. And that’s only if I make it out to an arcade to begin with. Not everyone has those places within reach and mostly, if you do, it’s full of just redemption games. Actually, it’s been forever since I’ve been into any local arcades here so I don’t know what they stock them with now.

Given the way technology is going and how great we have it at home, we’ll likely never see arcades be, to me, what they once were. And I’m okay with that. I absolutely love what we have at home on our consoles and PCs and handhelds. I also love that we can bring over most of everything we had at arcades into our home with custom built cabinets housing hundreds of games and even pinball tables too.

Which reminds me, I need to really work on building those two things, actually.

You can probably easily spot the transition here. You know what else used to be great but is not a ghost town of nothing – the Splinter Cell franchise. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,843 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.

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