Stadia VS Terraria

 You feel an evil presence watching you...

Yes, look, I know I bring up Stadia too much. I know this has stretched beyond the point of a joke and dipped into sheer obsession. I know you're finger is currently hovering over the button to call the FBI to report my stalker-like devotion to this topic. I know all this- but gosh darn it you just can't stop me when a story goes this batty. I have to talk about it, else I'll just bottle it up inside and go back to the bad old place I used to be in. I don't wanna go there! You understand; this isn't about Stadia or you or me, it's about- well, actually back up: it is about me. This is me. Selfish content. Sue me. Actually don't sue me, sue Stadia, might as well scoop up some of those millions before they run out of it all and get shuttered within the impending few months. (They may have limped into 2021 against my wildest estimations, but I'll eat my hat if they make it to Christmas)

So what's the news today? Well it starts with another 'Have you heard of', only this time it's a much more palatable ask because we're talking about Terraria! Do you remember Terraria? It's the 2D crafting game that an absolute layman who dedicates next to no effort actually playing the game might mistake as being a 2D Minecraft. (So as you can imagine: that's IGN's review) No, Terraria's similarities with Minecraft start and end with the ability to deform the earth and create a house, exactly the same as a hundred different crafting survival games out there. Terraria is much more about the many enemies and bosses that you have to uncover and slay in order to make your world a little safer and keep it from the encroaching corruption. It's actually quite a bit more combat focused than Minecraft, with entire systems built in that take into account tiered weapons and armours, unique items and creative boss-killing traps. In that sense, you might say that Terraria has more in common with your typical Metroidvania than Minecraft, but even that's selling is short. All in all, Terraria is unique, thus a boon for any system to have on their storefront. (Or at least it would be had the team put any effort whatsoever into the modern console UI. Right now the console port pretty much unplayable. Get the PC version.)

Thus I'm hardly surprised that it was on the docket for Stadia conversion at some point within the near future. I mean, that just fits, no? I assume it was part of the write up for "Games we need to get as soon as possible in order to be taken seriously" Alongside Minecraft, Call of Duty and the latest Rockstar release. They- they don't have Call of Duty? Wait seriously? I mean at least they have- WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY DON'T HAVE MINECRAFT! Good god, who is in charge of the Stadia project and how did they secure that a position after such a recent lobotomy? Irregardless, there's a certain type of game that most consider standard on any platform that they game from, and providing that is pretty much the bare minimum that any system needs to achieve. (Thank you for joining the standard as closely as feasibly possible this generation, Nintendo. We missed you for a bit there.)

But, what if I told you that was no longer the case. As in, Terraria suddenly has been pulled from the Stadia lineup just a few hairs before it's debut? Well, you might be wondering "What in the heck could have gone wrong?" I mean it can't be a hardware issue, that's unimaginable considering Stadia have been flaunting their 'magically invisible hardware' forever now. And no, this actually comes back to a much more human issue of bad customer service. Although, I will admit that given some of the comments/accusations that have been made regarding this case, I have a feeling there's another, more business oriented, side to this story that's not come out yet. Until then, however, I'm choosing to believe that this is all about the customer service.

You see, the co creator of Terraria, a Mr Spinks, seems to have had a rather rough go of things recently. He found himself being unceremoniously locked out of his google account recently, and the lackadaisical ethics of the Google support team had hin trapped in a dance that Mr Spinks so generously called "The runaround." Now, you'll likely be somewhat aware of how much of an issue being locked out of a Google account actually is. Google likes to fashion themselves as the front page of the Internet, (sorry Reddit) and their functionality crosses over to pretty much every single daily service one could go through. Want to post videos on Youtube to advertise your game? Google Account required. Want to communicate with your business email of 10 years? Google Account required. Want to manage a deal with Stadia to port your success-story indie game to their platform? It would seem, according to Mr Spinks, Google Account required.

We don't know the details about what went down, just that Spinks is adamant he broke absolutely no TOS rules. (Which, I suppose, we'll just have to believe unless anyone can prove otherwise.) The fallout has cost him the majority of his Google drive, too, so there might be some actual tangible work lost in whatever mix up caused this. And the consequence? Well, in a move that I'm sure some are eager to categorize as 'petty', he's actually gone ahead and cancelled the Stadia version of Terraria. Just like that, another essential game which Stadia has been missing out on, gone in a puff of smoke. I'd almost feel bad for the Stadia team- actually, you know what I do. That may be a little odd coming from me, but they had literally nothing to do with any of this Google account nonsense, so to punish them in order to punish their parent company sort of feels like missing the forest for the trees. Does Mr Spinks really think Google proper is going to bat an eye about losing this game for their service which is already on the way out? I'd imagine they don't even know what a 'Terraria' is.

Which is why I think there's another angle to this story which is yet to come out. The exact phrase which the aggrieved mister used was that it was a "Liability" to work with Google, now I don't know about you but that sounds like it carries a lot more baggage than being knocked about by a little bit of bad service. Additionally, I'd imagine there'd have to be an actual business-related issue for turning down free Google money like that. I mean, those guys are willing to throw around money like it's nothing, so if you're too proud to take advantage of that I can only assume it's because it'll cost you elsewhere. Then again, perhaps Mr Spinks just really holds umbrage with Google's monopolistic practises and was pressured into making a stand by this whole affair, it's hard to say from an outsider's viewpoint.

What this does betray, however, is something of a negative relationship between developers and Stadia, whether that be the rule or the exception over here. We've seen how the Epic Store has managed to secure itself as a viable storefront in recent years, despite being unequivocally worse put together than it's competitors, all through offering the developers a better deal. Heck, Kingdom Hearts just came out as an Epic Exclusive! (Then again, Square does appear to have some sort of personal gripe with Steam for some reason, so that might be more down to that.) As much as it pains you to hear it again, it pains me to say it again, but once more this is evidence of Stadia failing yet another milestone towards becoming the go-to platforms for games; Developer trust. And public coverage of this little disaster is only going to worsen that perception of trust going forward. Man, it really do suck to work for Google, huh. Aside from the paychecks. I'd imagine the paychecks make up for the widespread hatred just that little bit.

New Black Myth trailer?!

 Oh, you're too good to us!

So I'd say its very clear at this present moment that although the world is currently down the pooper; Black Myth Wukong is the one bright spot of our future. The one bridge uniting the Eastern and Western world, the saviour of mankind as we know it, and we all expect nothing but great things out of it. No pressure. But seriously, Black Myth does mark another decided turn in the direction of what Chinese Video gamers want, as opposed to what they are supposed to have wanted for all these years. It looks, honestly, quite astonishing, and when the makers of the game ask for time and patience to get everything right I think we're all for giving it to them, because this is the sort of game that hushes the room when it struts it's stuff. Thus, with the new trailer I was certainly interested to take a look, even though there are some odd contextualisations hanging over the game now due to recent events entirely out of these people's control. But I'll work my way around to that in due time. For now; that trailer.

So Chinese New Year is upon us, and if you travel the Internet circles I do you'll have been assaulted by the fact that this is, in fact, the year of the OX. (Which is the same as my birth year, incidentally) Celebrations are always fun to take part in as everyone comes to it with the sort of vigour and thematic excitement that we just don't get in New Years around the more mundane parts of the world. Over here it's more like a resigned toast to having put up with another year, idly wondering how many more of these you'll have to sit through until your long suffering is cut short with the welcome embrace of death. So both celebrations have more or less the same energy but I think Chinese New Year just sort of squeezes out a tad more jubilance. Point in case, the developers of Black Myth apparently put together this whole beautiful trailer just to celebrate it. (Isn't that fun?)

Firstly, again, the game just looks positively gorgeous, both on terms of graphical fidelity and design. One might call either one of these points into question given how this is meant to be an indie game, how could it look as good as AAA titles? But I would hasten to remind those folk that tech has become a lot more available over the years to anyone with the skill to mould with it, and that the Neir games exist. They were made by a smaller studio that was just given the appropriate time and had the right talent there to get everything done. These sorts of stories can happen. Still, I must say that, as someone who loves to see different styles in my games, I'm totally enamoured by the creatures we've seen in both footage reveals. The rat monsters that seem to almost resemble Master Splinter in their laboured gait, yet fly across the battlefield with the grace of martial dancers are particular favourites from this footage.

But even the world shines with such curiosity and ingenuity that I simply ache to get the chance to explore it. The whole thing looks so curiously desolate and yet seeped in story, intention and culture that I want to paw through each location, absorb their atmosphere and learn how they each connect to and with one another. Honestly, and trust me when I say that I loathe to make this comparison but I really mean it, it reminds me of the medieval/fantastical stylings of a Dark Souls world. (Now bear with me!) The ceremonial and desert-like temples that we see from this trailer in particular actually remind me of Archdragon Peak, with this aura of religious ceremony and sacred import imbued from the very stones. That and the animal people- I suppose they sort of coincide with the Serpent Men, huh?

What really just blows me away time and time again whenever I see Black Myth, however, is the way how they handle the natural elements. They are perhaps the most basic building blocks for creating effects that any game can work with, yet they are often the hardest to make look right. (Given to how closely they relate to that which we see everyday.) Yet as I see some intimidating rat wield a staff of lighting, and see it's crackles and tendrils strike wildly at the surfaces around it; I have to admit it looks great. As though these developers have really got a handle of the lighting, behaviour and general look of something so fiddly off-the-bat. There's also that little shot in the duststorm in which the obscured becomes illuminated by what looks to be ready fire archers, showcasing an understanding of great shot composition and scene planning, if nothing else. And then there was the procedural fire spreading across some beats fur from the first trailer. All this just oozes a level of detail that modern games mostly aren't interested in anymore, and I love it.

I also, surprise surprise, love what I've seen of the combat, as it looks genuinely robust and fit to make a great gameplay experience. We already know that the team looked to God of War and Souls games for inspiration, and it really shows with the weighty man-on-man combat alongside the parries and special moves. But there's also some unique flair there that seems to contain unique and limitless potential if its achieved to the degree these trailers seem to be promising. And I'm of course talking about the transformation system. Sun Wukong, in the legends, is know for being able to transform into 72 different earthly forms; and that is something that these developers want to represent in the game. In the first trailer we saw Sun become a creature wielding a fiery weapon, complete with a full moveset to compliment it, and in this trailer we see him become a row of ranged rat monsters, and a hulking gross arrow-proof abomination. Now I'm pretty sure there won't be quite as many as 72 of these transformations, but considering how the last trailer showcased that his transformation had a complete moveset, I have to wonder if that'll pass on to all the transformations in the game. Because if that's the case, we could be looking at one of the most fluid and evolving combat systems ever put to game. (Assuming they can achieve it.)

Of course, this all hits just the little bit differently then it did the last time we saw Black Myth's footage, now doesn't it? Because now we're living in this age where 'too good to be true' can certainly mean that someone is straight lying to us. As much as I want to believe in what Game Science have put together, I can't help but be that slightest bit sceptical in the very back of my mind. What if it's all just another performative art piece like Cyberpunk turned out to heavily be. And I know; "boo, he's talking about the Cyber game again!", but I'm not sugercoating things when I say that was a title which has changed the gaming world in a manner that I'm fairly certain the team were not intending. This paranoia doesn't seem so conspiratorial given what we've seen about us, honestly it seems like the logical reaction. All that being said, I desperately want Game Science to be everything they say that they are, because wouldn't that just be the greatest launching off point for the Chinese game's market?

'Black Myth: Wukong' sits at a very interesting point in the evolution of it's home countries gaming sensibilities. These first two 2021 months saw the rise of yet another non-mobile RPG Chinese game on the Steam charts, and the release of Steam in China. (Albeit in a predictably limited capacity, makes since: HuniePop 2 did just come out) We could be looking at China's very first properly AAA title in the works here, and that just puts the pressure ever more on the team to get this right. As such, I won't be scrutinising them quite as much going forward in whatever updates they choose to provide for this 2023 game, because, quite frankly, I'm on the cheering side. I want Chinese DNA to enter the creative gaming zeitgeist, because if 'Black Myth: Wukong' tells us anything whatsoever, it's that there's a lot of really cool ideas and designs we'd be missing out on otherwise.

Anthem LAST

It's the final countdown

Woah, speak and you shall be heard, am I right? Honestly, I can't even recall the context with which I recently evoked the name of  the holy Anthem disaster, but right now it's returned to the news in a big way to answer that big question everyone has; what the heck's up with that game anyway? I mean seriously, it feels like we were in a whole other phase of existence when first that name cursed our airwaves, and I'm contemplating both what kept them quiet for so long and why it is we should stand to listen now. And as it turns out, I'm not the only one with such a feeling towards this game, nor are the legions of Bioware fans who are similarly curious, but all that is simply the billows before the hurricane, because I think the real question to be asked here is what should be done about Anthem. None of this about what EA might decide but totally irregardless of their decision, thoughts must be on where should this issue ultimately land; because I think that in solving this conundrum we'll have prepared ourselves for an almost identical conflict down the line.

But first, Anthem. Need a refresher? If you don't, sorry but I like doing intros. Anthem was Bioware's (of Kotor, Mass Effect and Dragon Age fame) first foray into a completely multiplayer game wherein everyone would play together to hunt for loot, complete story raids and grind in perpetuity whilst enrichening the studio on the backend through low-effort microtransactions. (The dream of any and all studios, it seems) It shook off the Bioware roots, of creating various acclaimed single player story driven RPG games, and branched out to new horizons for making a game inviting endless play, something that literally couldn't be further away from their bread and butter. (Even their single player RPGs weren't built for endless play the same way that Bethesda's were) So, as you can imagine, the game was a little bit of a mess at launch. Only, it was a bit more than a little mess; it was a lot mess. Buggy, incomplete, lacking in features, poorly optimized; pretty much the only thing the game had going for it was a decent core gameplay structure, but that was mostly nicked from 'Mass Effect Andromeda' so it's not like people couldn't experience it elsewhere. All and all, badtimes for Bioware.

Of course, then came the Schreier articles delving into the backwards work ethics and the way how the initial trailer was completely fake. (And not like the Cyberpunk 'completely Fake'; we're talking about a composite that was shoved together in order to appease some EA exec who thought all the world only likes the same games he does. Huh, kinda sounds like that Ubisoft Exec in hindsight. Wonder if they're related?) Bioware had apparently fluffed around with the Anthem project for years without any real progress until EA called them out on it and thus proceeded a truncated development period in which the absolute mess of a game we received was actually rather remarkable, considering there wasn't enough time to really make anything at all. The main takeaway, however, is that when you're pretentious enough to codename your game after Bob Dylan, (whilst making some odd claims that your game is going to be the 'Bob Dylan of gaming', whatever that means) you're probably overcompensating for something.

So the game bombed, super bombed, to the point where people were doing a Stadia and literally just counting the days until it was to be abandoned by the devs. I mean sure, there was some upcoming support coming in an update but- whoops, that update was a trainwreck too, better abandon it. But then something amazing happened. As it turns out, EA are apparently believers of second chances, as they allowed Bioware to commit to a full renewal of Anthem (which I'm guessing is a full remake at this point) called Anthem NEXT, due to reshape the very flawed foundation of that game. Could they manage it? Would Anthem become the juggernaut that all of 5 people thought it might be? Are Bioware truly not in the firing range for EA like they insist, or is Anthem NEXT their last chance to save their own hide like logic fuelled by precedent would denote?

Well I guess we're going to find out any day now because, according to a leak that absolutely was not supposed to make it to the public by EA's estimations, their fate is soon to be decided. In the two years since Anthem launched, armed with a team of just around thirty, it's unclear exactly what it is that they've all been up to over there. What with everything that's happened over the years with them losing their rally leader who announced NEXT, losing Hudson, the global pandemic, and all that nonsense; has any actual work been done? I can only imagine that they must have been laying out plans for what they would do if only EA got off their asses and funded the damn project, but who can say? Whatever it is, the results of their toils is soon to be presented before an EA tribunal for ultimate judgement, will the project be scrapped or will it receive the necessary funding; and I'm honestly not optimistic for Bioware here.

Firstly, this story involves an extended amount of development time wherein Bioware were operating without the prevue of EA making sure things were getting done, and we know Bioware's history with Anthem in that regard. Secondly, we should think about what they have worked on since then, because it's kind of looking like the Bioware hands might be full. They've announced the new Dragon Age (again), revealed a new mainline Mass Effect and a remaster of the first three, but not a word on Anthem. Makes one wonder if the thirty on the job were really working on Anthem or just treating that at their side gig. (I'm not saying, I'm just saying.) We may be looking at an eventuality where Bioware is forced to break yet another promise they made to their consumers, and cancel Anthem outright, bringing a neat end to that messy saga in a way we don't usually get too often in the gaming world. And as sad as that might be, is it perhaps for the best?

Now I don't want to throw shade on any of the Bioware staff (or at least, not any more than I already have) but they've really got to remember where their talents lie. Just as Bethesda are known for their single player content and floundered when presented to the online masses, Bioware is perhaps better off sticking to what they know and remastering their craft there. It's not as though they reached the peak of their RPG game and could not improve, there very well could still be a single player masterpiece waiting in Bioware's future, but the same cannot be said for their online ventures. They've just proven rather soundly how that world isn't even really in their wheelhouse to create for, either physically or mentally. (As in; a lot of their ideas were dumb and missed the point too.) But by that same merit I don't want to pour cold water on anyone trying something new and outside their established field of talents, so as you can see I'm of several minds right now.

I think this might be an important conversation to have amidst ourselves right now because of another recent addition to the whipping boy lineup- CDPR. Remember, Cyberpunk 2077 was announced to have some sort of seamless multiplayer mode years before the launch of the game, and that's still something we have to live with despite the mess of the base game. Whatever strengths that Cyberpunk might hold, most agree that the world and it's systems is not it, and given how that world is likely to be the focal point of Cyberpunk Online, one has to wonder whether or not that upcoming expansion is still a good idea. Perhaps it's better for single player developers to stick to what they know, or perhaps that's a callous undermining of everyone's abilities. As I said, this is ultimately quite the sticky conundrum with no clear solution. I say we see what EA has to say on things in the very near future.

Ori and the unkempt online outbursts

 Odd sequel, really shifted the tone

I think I went a month without talking about Cyberpunk. (Almost a month? I can't be sure...) But the reason has been because there really hasn't been much of anything really going on with that whole extended genre. The act has just been slowly rolling through a transitional phase from one storyline to the next, and I've kept a cursory eye from a distance. I'm just kind of curious if the game will ever be playable for people around my neck of the woods, or if I'm just too poor. (Again, I fully understand if it's the latter case; I just want confirmation.) But then this week came (or 'last week' if we're being specific) and every just straight jumped the shark in terms of narrative. I mean, you couldn't make this stuff up and now the conspiracy theories are starting to make more sense than reality. (Maybe that Bob Page guy isn't all on the up-and-up...)

First, or at the least first bit of insanity to grab my attention, was the random unprovoked outburst from the game director of the Ori games. You know, those gorgeous platformers about the light-rabbit-thing who loses it's mother and... you know I never actually finished the Blind Forest, I don't know what it's about. I just know that it's cute and adorable with some sadness swirled in there and an absolutely masterful art style backing everything up. Yeah, that game director went a bit nuts over on ResetEra. (Yuck, if he was an active user over there than no wonder he's a little unhinged...) He railed against CDPR for misleading consumers and exploiting hype culture, swung a bit at Hello Games and Peter Molyneux for their contribution and even worked in a backhand at Geoff Keighley for rewarding all this behaviour with game awards. Not the Keigh-miester! What foul magic could possibly bring such vitriol upon that poor Canadian man?

Well I think it comes back to an angle I haven't really considered much in all of this 'Cyberpunk backlash' and it's the response of other game developers. The actions of someone as prominent as CDPR was sure to have an effect on everyone, but I just didn't think it would be enough to elicit genuine ire out of them. (But I suppose, in hindsight, that is a natural reaction whenever one's fate is not entirely within their own grasp.) The games industry is a boat that everyone has to ride, and when someone updeck decides to start rocking it, everyone else gets wet. Maybe a loss of trust between developer and consumer is good for someone like CDPR, who received much more trust than they ever truly deserved, but what about the knock-on ire that smaller studios get? Or heck, what about the example this sets for mistruth, wherein it doesn't matter how good the game is, merely how much you have to market/lie about it to the public. How's the industry supposed to compete with that? At least, that's what I assume this man's gripes were about, he just seemed to be very angry in general.

All in all it was all very justified, I was just slightly taken aback from the fact that this bad laundry was being aired in such an unprofessional manner by a game director, of all people, and then that it was coming from this game director. I mean, I obviously never knew the man, I haven't even finished any of his games, but just the impression I got from the work he headed gave me the concept of a gentler soul who appreciated beauty and love. Instead we got a full blown "Never forgive, Never forget! Carve their crimes across the forehead for all to see! Blood for the Blood god! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!" But hey, I never got to 'The Will of the Wisps'; maybe that game was an unreserved Ori bloodbath. After it was all said and done the director apologised, said he was challenging an outspoken version of himself from days past, and... well he didn't wallback his words but he said they were unprofessional. Which is true. They were. But do you wanna know what was even more unprofessional? The next thing that happened to CDPR.

Cause you see, in the background to all this there was an update where the modding community could finally get their mitts into the game. Twas a time of great celebration all around, and then an immediate freakout when some idiot made a Keanu Reeves sex mod. (What where they thinking!? They tryna get everyone sued?) What followed, however, was a surprise situation wherein some vulnerability allowed for malicious files to be hidden inside of mods. Yep, that's an express ticket to malware doing the backwards shuffle into people's computers through Cyberpunk modding, and to quote Sega's wise blue Hedgehog; "That's no good". Since then the vulnerability has been patched and everything's just hunkey dorey. Except... maybe that was just the prelude for something much wor-

CDPR got hacked. Good lord does this saga ever stop going off the rails? Somehow someone managed to worm their way into CDPR's systems and make off with (according to them) source code, legal documents, and other such things that people really would prefer remains within the fold. The hacker, in as juvenile manner as possible, claimed that unless a deal would be reached the documents would be sent off and CDPR's reputation would suffer. (Which is impossible, you can't go lower than nothing.) They also made a finically questionable claim that the data would be sold off and/or given to their contacts in games journalism. First of all 90% of 'game's journalists' are just pundits with a paycheck, they don't manage contacts. Secondly, how are they going to sell off data which is only valuable if it's then made public? You're basically going to charge someone to do a public dump for you, which means you'll need to get either a moron with too much money or a philanthropist who really hates CDPR for some reason. Unless they intend to sell these documents to a direct competitor, but given how that's cooperate espionage and a big no-no, I'd imagine no one would seriously risk their livelihood in doing business with a hacker who writes a random note on Wordpad with the line "Your have been EPICALLY pwned." Seriously, talk about the most cringeworthy hack ransom note known to man.

 

But then we get to the conspiracy theories, because already people are turning around and throwing a "I'm not sure I believe this" into the mix and it's making me a little nauseous. People are seriously suggesting that the note looks so dumb, that it's clearly been put together by the studio themselves in order to fake a hack and illicit sympathy or provide an excuse for their lethargic updates. And I mean, seriously; do you really think CDPR are that stupid? After making public accusations, themselves, that a crime has been committed, they'd literally be incriminating themselves for making a false police report. (Unless they never report it officially, but even then I think it counts as wasting police resources) Honestly, I understand the mistrust but there has to be limits;  the real story here is that CDPR have apparently been given the runaround by an 8 year old with a macbook, judging by the demand letter. (That's embarrassing enough)

Quite honestly, right now I'm just waiting for the movie rights on CDPR's fall from grace to get optioned, because these three months alone have provided plenty of material for a docu-movie. I keep expecting Cthulu to rise from the depths and reveal how the elder gods were subcontracted for coding the Cyberpunk crime system but ended up getting stiffed by CD management; at this point I'd find that believable. At least I can say that the extent of this lunacy has managed to cross the threshold from being sad and into outright hilarity, because you couldn't take all this carnage without ultimately laughing it down, you'd go crazy. However, condolences for the team themselves, I guess, it must have been a really crappy 2021 so far.

Avatar Tabletop RPG?

Water, Earth, Fire, Tabletops

My self imposed limitations turns this blog into a little bit of a discovery exercise at times. I get to talk about my favourite games and often spill out my thoughts on beloved legacy franchises, but I'm of course a fan of many forms of entertainment which often gets unmentioned. I'm a huge Jojo fan, as you might have noticed, and I simply adore that Wandavision limited show that we're in the middle of right now, but one of perhaps my favourite pieces of non-gaming media of alltime has to be Avatar. Oh, no I'm not talking James Cameron's movie franchise(?) which he still insists on making 5 sequels for even after everyone's forgotten every last snippet of note from the original. (To shake your memory, Avatar was the movie in which the McGuffin was embarrassingly called: 'unobtanium'. Very subtle, James) no, I'm talking about 'The Last Airbender'; the show which inherently spits in the face of all low-effort kids shows that think they have to phone it in for their target audience. To this day I hold 'The Last Airbender' as one of the greatest shows of all time, not just kids shows or animated shows, and thus I long for the day when it's brilliance can grace the gaming world too.

Oh don't get me wrong, there have been Avatar games in the past; they've just not been... good. There were a few PS2 titles that tried to follow the events of the various 'Books' (what the show called series'), a game which told a whole fresh story for the Nintendo Wii and another Wii game that was... based on the Movie? Oh god, they didn't. They did! How could this have happened? Who let this into E3 2010 of all places!? I just guess that goes to show you that there's been too much misspent money floating around the industry for a while now, huh. But for all of these games, there hasn't been a single one to really capture all that this series represents; wit, growth, drama, action, friendship, loss, never has a game quite nailed it all. And I'd go so far as to say the reason might have been because we just weren't ready for the perfect Avatar game yet. The industry hadn't matured enough to bring this kids show to life. Now, however, we might be there; and the first step will be- a board game?

That's right, the first Avatar game in god knows how long isn't even coming to digital spaces; it's a Tabletop game. Well darn. Now of course, I have nothing against Tabletop games, they just aren't really in my purview of ways to enjoy myself. I actually have huge respect for the Tabletop genre and the way they leverage the players themselves to create the space for a game. Whether that be by highlighting their creativity and imagination, or just their penchant for lying. The simplicity of Tabletop games allows them to tap into places where traditional videogames cannot. That being said, I'll still prefer a traditional video game. Warcraft and Dungeons and Dragons have proven the viability of the physical gaming medium recently, however, and thus I will concede that there's some potential for this RPG and I may be willing to watch some games on it once it is out. Playing vicariously, as it were.

As for how the game will shape out, we've very little details on what it will be before the 2022 launch, but there's enough to paint a decently clear picture. The game will place folk in the shoes of various heroes from the universe and set them on missions that, from the examples I've seen, appear to borrow snippets of the lore whilst not exactly being based on actual events. On the IGN article there was mention of exploring the spirit world, helping rival Earth Kingdom communities broker peace (Which would imply this is set between the end of Aang and the reunification in Korra) and even a little bit of protecting merchants from Triple Threat Triad. (Huh, I remember that one scene from Korra in which the Triple Threat were introduced, and mistaking that for a prelude to what I assumed to be major players in the story. Guess they get their due today, huh?)

There will be templates for making characters, meaning that player won't be stuck telling the extended adventures of Sokka for the rest of their lives, and I'm seeing some conflicting reports on setting that implies stories will branch from Aang's feudal era to Korra's industrial one. Personally, I see this as a bit of a missed opportunity as there is a plethora of previous Avatar periods we know next to nothing about, but perhaps the world of Avatar Kyoshi can make it too an expansion book. Somehow, even a year before launch, they've already detailed the first two expansion books as focusing on Republic City and The Spirit World. No clues as to how one can plan 2 years of work into the future, but I would love if they would teach me their secrets. I can hardly get 5 days ahead of work.

Now all of this comes in the wake of renewed Interest around the Avatar license ever since the series came to Netflix. People have binged it and been reminded of how brilliant that show was, and that inspired a flux of fandom activity and adoration, as well as some more lamentable decisions; such as an impending live action remake series coming to Netflix. I don't know why people keep trying to actively destroy the things they claim to love, but let me be clear; even if this series turns out worlds better than the movie (and I'm freakin' positive that it will) there's still no point because it won't be as good as the animated show. You won't get a young actress to pull of Azula with the same level of narcissistic menace as Grey DeLisle, there's not going to be another Zuko with the intensity and ultimate relatability of Dante Basco. And though I hate to bring it up, the voice of Iroh, Mako, has unfortunately passed away; you may get people who can imitate him but it will never be quite the same.

And I say this not as a fan who riles at the very thought of anyone touching his beloved unimprovable franchise, but as a fan who wants to see more of his favourite series, not re-treading of what we've already seen. Which is why I would love to get a Legend of Aang video game, preferably with as much of the old team aboard as possible, because I think that'd make for ripe grounds to expand upon the story we know. Yes, I know that there'll inherently be retreading in a video game designed to follow the events of the show, but given the freedom of game design (especially in how we allow stories to be pretty much as long as they need to be in gaming) there could really be whole new dimensions to the story that could be explored. It could bring in new characters that show how over pockets of the world are responding to the rumors of the Avatar's return, how they start to stand up against their oppression based on their hope alone. Maybe some further explorations into the movements of Azula after she ran off into those woods. Heck, we might even learn how Ozai ended up. (Why do I only seem to focus on Firenation stuff? I've got a villain complex, haven't I? )

But that's all just hope and dreams right now, because all we're getting is a boardgame and we better be darn happy about it! As the law of the land does dictate, however, when properties get attention the big studios follow, so I'm fairly confident at least discussion about an Avatar game will be made before the year's out. (I mean there's definitely an audience here, someone just needs to take advantage.) At this point hopes and dreams should be directed towards ensuring that the right company ends up getting the contract, because I just can't take another Cyberpunk. I'm telling you, having that happen to Avatar would just break me. But apart from that, no pressure Nickelodeon! 

Activision's Lawsuits Renaissance

 Nanomachines, Son!

I guess I like lawsuit news now? I cover it enough. Perhaps through some backhanded way I find this most frivolous yet prevalent of legal challenges morbidly entertaining as it represents a manner through which rare true business-related grievances can be aired publicly. I've heard that humans are naturally voyeuristic creatures, but I've found that to largely not be true on a personal level, yet when it comes to the faceless corporations, oh boy, you bet I'm digging through trashcans and peeping through the downstairs bathroom window; I just can't get enough of seeing the real people who hide behind the abstract names and million-dollar logos. And sometimes I just want to see who has the gall, nay the hubris, to stand up to these titans of money printing; that is, without the protection of company dollars to back them up. I mean that's a true David vs Goliath battle right there, only it's in the real world so we don't automatically have to side with the underdog. That being what it is, I wonder what side you'll take in regards to Activision's recent legal struggle.

So you might have heard of a little game known as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. (No, not that one; the later one) In the manner of ever moving forward, Modern Warfare Junior took it upon itself to further a trend started by Advanced Warfare (Or started by Overwatch/Siege if you're feeling spicy) to have a system called 'Operators' take over online matches to spread a bit more personality than your typical multiplayer loadouts. Now I'll be honest, I haven't played an Infinity Ward multiplayer since Advanced Warfare so I don't know how these systems are playing out in today's COD, but I imagine they're somewhat successful as the project hasn't been abandoned. Activision is putting real effort into creating these operators that work within the Warzone add-on gamemode, so it's makes sense that steps would be taken to put real value and quality into these operators. In fact, I'd even imagine it'd make sense to go the distance and have models come in to be the basis for the operators, to give them that real feeling, you know? Only, that was Activision's big mistake.

Because, you see, one of Warzone/Modern Warfare's most popular operatives, Mara, has recently come under accusations of plagiarism through way of lawsuit. That's right, as reported by Polygon, a writer, photographer called Clayton Haugen has filled a suit claiming that Mara is a direct rip-off of his own OC-don't-steal, Cade Janus. (Urgh. I guess that's Cade to sound futuristic and Janus to reference the two-faced roman god who looks simultaneously into the past and future? Yep, this guy's a writer alright.) But as you can imagine this goes beyond a circumstantial resemblance in concept; actually Clayton's grievances stem from the fact that his Cade character and Mara share the exact same reference model. (Ohh, things are getting interesting!) That's right, the same woman posed for both roles and that lays the basis for what Clayton assumes to be an active effort from Activision to spot his work and try to copy it in as subtle a manner as possible.

And although my gut instinct is "Really? That sounds far fetched." one must always remember that this is Activision we're talking about and they're no stranger to doing incredibly dumb things. Might that have bled over to their developers? It's possible... Clayton, for his part, claims that Infinity Ward hired the exact same makeup professional for the job and instructed them to model her in the exact same fashion that he did. Down to hair, makeup, the whole job. And then, the dastardly villains, forced those involved to sign a Non-disclosure agreement in order to cover up their copyright infringement! Quite the damning story right? Whatsmore, Clayton provided pictures of his Janus character next to the in-game model of Mara. (Because the Infinity Photoshoot isn't public domain. NDA, remember) And the results? Oh man...

They show... a military woman in military gear. Yeah, to be honest there's not really much one can do to make such a generic concept unique. The plaintiff wants to argue that COD copied everything about his photoshot character, but I have to wonder when the only point of potential non-circumstantial crossover is the hairstyle, which are admittedly pretty identical. But maybe that's just how her hair looks best in a decently tactical style? I don't know. I'd imagine if two separate clients asked the same hairdresser to arrange the same woman's hair in a manner that looks 'military-esque' two different times, the results would probably be similar at least. I've never really been one to stand up for Activision, but I really wish there was more actual substance to this suit. It looks a bit frivolous from here. And as for the NDA thing? Is this guy completely unfamiliar with how the entertainment industry works? (I know he's unfamiliar with gaming due to reasons I'll touch on later) NDAs out the windows, NDAs up to your eyeballs, you so much as knock on the studio door and ask to use the toilet, you'll be signing 5 NDAs on your way out. There's nothing particularly incriminating about a studio asking for NDAs. 

But then, the story can't just end there, can it? I was quite interested when I started, but as I went on the lawsuit seemed to lose more and more water until it was totally flaccid. At the end of it I was wondering what the actual point of all this was, although in hindsight I suppose that really should have been apparent from the getgo, no? As I'm sure Clayton wanted, I ended up asking "Wait, what is this Cade Janus and her horrible name a part of again? Some project called November Renaissance? Is that a book?" Well actually no, because you see Porygon left one vital title out of Mr Haugen's name. He is a writer, Photographer- and Director. Oh baby, you know what time it is! It's time to dive down the rabbit hole and check out this movie boys!

Okay, now first of all I have to establish some points. Firstly, it seems that this model's photos were actually shot before this movie was finalised and so she doesn't actually appear on any of the material for the movie in question. But secondly, there is material for this movie because it's actually a Kickstarter project from 2017 which, as far as I can tell, is still in development? Or not in development? (The official website linked off the page is down, so that bodes well.) Yes, peeps, we've got ourselves an honest-to-goodness indie film project headed by Clayton that appears to be something of a Cyberpunk homage? Yeah, judging by the obviously superimposed  purple neon billboards everywhere, the ugly pee-saturation to most shots and criminal overuse of lens flare; this is definitely a Cyberpunk project. (Guess here's a project to remind you that despite their faults, CDPR are still spectacular designers. Imagine if Night City looked like this! >Shudder<) All of which I recommend you look up yourself because ol' Calyton has already demonstrated how he's not above a little lawsuit here and there and though I'm a nobody on the Internet, I don't really want to risk it. (It takes nothing to set up Google alerts, afterall)

Aside from questionable concept shots, however, our Clayton friend has an entire pitch video as Kickstarter etiquette demands; so I wonder what's on the plate here? Well, amateurish camera work aside, the effects are certainly- effecting. Yeah, I came away not too impressed, but curious as to what this was all about. What was this November Renaissance about anyway? Well, as Clayton himself helpfully explained, it's about a world wherein nanotechnology has progressed to the point where it can rewire humans to a molecular level. A society wherein technology can bridge the gap between the poor and the rich- only for the idea to immediately be stolen and then integrated into the capitalist economic hierarchy because- duh. So basically it's transhumanism 101. No thrills or frills, it's just a basic transhumanist plot. That can't be right because I just got through a video of people gushing over how unique of an idea this is and how brilliant the script is. Except, this idea isn't unique. Bladerunner exists where a world like that makes up just the background for a much more relevant conversation about what it means to be living and how the very inevitability of death fuels us. Deus Ex made a concept like that it's very forefront in exploring how a world without technological limits can be exploited to divide society much more than it already is. Both those projects are masterpieces that wrote the book on how to address these topics. But here's November Renaissance with it's biggest contribution to the conversation being the use (and slight, if common, misunderstanding) of the term 'nanomachines'. (I hate to do this to ya, but 'Metal Gear' did it first.)

So yeah, I went a bit offtrack. This started with a lawsuit and ended off bashing an indie film project like a hero, what a ride. Although when you put something this goofy in front of me, I can't help but point and laugh a little bit. Hey, I'm involved with my fair share of cringey indie stuff too, it's just a natural human response. That being said, I hope this November Renaissance gets made because I would absolutely love to watch it. Oh, and I pray that they never hire a proper cinematographer too! Keep the crappy shots with the blinding lens flares, they literally make the whole thing come together. (In many ways, the shoddiness of it is the single most endearing quality. Like your garden variety Neil Breen flick, except not quite as magical) As to the lawsuit? I'm no lawyer but it seems pretty weak, focus on your movie, my man, that's where the real glory is at! 

Agonising Succubus

 Oh, the depths to which I'll stride whenever I see 'Free Download'

Ya'll remember the game Agony? I didn't, because for a very long time all the title consisted of was teaser footage of snippets of gameplay so anaemic that I always wondered off for a snack halfway through them. Yeah, I don't think I completed a single video of theirs when they were in their marketing stage, because I was just interested in the final product. "Ah" you may say "But you were interested!" And sure I was, I'd seen the cover demon and read the concept and that sounded interesting enough. It promised to be a journey into the pits of hell, which leaned close to what it's contemporary, Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice, was offering. It was going to be entirely first person with horror elements attached to it, thus invoking another contemporary, Prey, to mind. And it had a really interesting looking design to it's demons that teased some warped artistic ingenuity in the mix, almost like a less extreme version of what Scorn is tempting. (Honestly, I think a lot of my memories of early Agony footage is mixed up with early Scorn teases in my head.)

So you might notice that for me at least, there was nothing wholly unique about what Agony had to offer in order to draw me in. With the amount of other games on the market, I just didn't have the brain space to contain watching out for this game alongside others, no matter how much I thought it looked genuinely cool in places. The only thing that seemed promising was the fact that game was said to be a decently high quality horror-adjacent experience, but with my history involving horror as a genre you best know I wouldn't find that as a selling point. And so the game has faded from my mind and only really come up again when I started seeing reviews saying that the game was pretty broken. Or boring. Or broken and boring. Yeah, this game shifted from my consciousness so much that I can't even remember what people didn't like about it. So ends the legacy of Agony in my mind, until...

Yeah, Youtube recommendations have been wild lately, no? It's either throwing videos at you from 12 years ago which saw next to no views at the time, or wildly picking at topics you might possibly be even slightly interested in. I've come across so many new games just from off-the-cuff Youtube suggestions alone, thus it makes sense that I'd see a new game being posted on Agony's official Youtube, only this game was called 'Succubus'? So this is a real game that you can look up right now, but rather than the survival horror vibe that the first game rocked, this title seems to be an action adventure slash-em-up about a Succubus, within the Agony world, that is... fighting her way out of hell? I think? (Zagreus called, he wants his MO back) I don't know, I was just surprised and kind of interested to see that this studio were doubling down on their design and not shifting gears after that lukewarm initial release. I thought it was an opportunity not to let promising content lie unused.

And when I said 'it seems' I was being a little facetious, because as it turns out this 'Succubus' game has a demo and have I played it because I'll play any free thing if it's shoved in front of me. Despite not having had a chance to try Agony, I thought there might be some cool things here and as much as I hate to acknowledge it and try to pretend like I don't like it, some masochistic part of me is a sucker for horror. (Not that the demo I played really displayed any horror, but I went in expecting and ready for it.) From the otherside I can say that the demo is certainly indicative of some roughness, this game is still being developed, but there's definite promise and I actually do want to keep an eye on things. (Maybe not as closely as some other games, but I'll glance this game's way a couple times a year maybe.) Yes, I actually did enjoy the little snippet of this game that I played. Although that isn't to say I didn't have my gripes.

For example, the design; What happened? When you look to even the title character of Agony you'll be struck by the sheer horrific creativity of it. (That creature actually returns for Succubus, actually.) I expected more of that, but the Succubus herself is the most generic goat-legged design I've seen. I wanted something horrific, something that would make me glad the game is in first person, but instead they're practically identical to The Witcher's Succubus'. On the flipside-however, I will say that the team have certainly put themselves up against quite the wall at tackling first person melee combat. (Traditionally that can go awry very easily) And from what I've seen they've got a decent basis with different weapons relating to different styles of fighting and decent manoeuvrability in the dodges. Xeno Clash this is not, but I can see a decently fun game coming out of this.

What really impressed me, however, was the animations; because it is evident that some genuine talent went into this. Doom style finishers come into play for weakened enemies and even when applied with the slow-down effect this game uses to show them off, these finisher animations look clean. I was genuinely impressed. Of course, some of the actual movement of enemies is a little clunky, but given how this is early development I can really look past that and assume that's the sort of stuff that's just awaiting some back-end work. They definitely have the talent on staff. As for the scope of gameplay; well that's something you really need more than a little demo to pick through. What I played was almost embarrassingly easy to get through, but then I acknowledge that the point of this demo was to give you a feel for what the game is, rather than challenge you. So I suppose that means difficulty isn't exactly a pillar of their design philosophy, which I sort of bemoan given my penchant for self punishment, but there it is. 

So is there any thing else to talk about? Hmm, can't really think... oh yeah- the sexual content! Yeah, considering the game is literally called 'Succubus' you'd be able to guess there would be a little bit of eroticism in there, but I'm glad to report that the soul of the project seems to be in making a decent combat-based game rather than a porn game. But that isn't to say there isn't some fetishism, such to the point, in fact, that I was practically crying with laughter for one point. Okay, so don't judge me, (Actually do, I don't care) but I couldn't stop laughing with how over-the-top this game treats 'health packs'. So, near the back end of this demo you come across a pregnant woman hanging on a wall and are instructed to beat her stomach for health. (I kid you not.) And the grand finale is literally reaching in there and pulling out the foetus to drink it's blood. It's so ludicrously demented that I just couldn't stop giggling. But safe to say; maybe not a game for everyone.

Though not traditionally my bag of game, (fighting games don't exactly rule my digital games shelf) I can certainly see Succubus appealing to some folk out there if it comes around; and I'm certainly glad that the artistic talent that went into creating Agony isn't being wasted. (Although I do wonder if it's maybe going a tad underutilised.) All I would say that could be improved this very moment about the game is that A. it could perhaps use with a 'censored' mode if it wants to take full advantage of grass-routes marketing and B. it could use a stronger name. Succubus just sounds pretty plain and lame, I think they'd be better suited using another melodramatic synonym to pain that riffs off of 'Agony'. Or just another one-word title that's vague, but indicative. I don't know, I just think that with a name like 'Succubus' they're risking putting people off that haven't played it yet. But aside from that, I'm morbidly curious about how much more twisted the world these developers have made can get. Hey, what else can I say? I'm a glutton. 

Judgement is coming to the west!

 Wait, I mean the game. Not... whatever else that could mean...

Now whilst that may sound the like the ominous ultimatum uttered by a particular rotund Asian autocrat, it's actually a statement of gaming fact. Judgement, the side-game from the series Ryū Ga Gotoku which has enjoyed exclusivity on Playstation, is coming to the rest of us in the near future! Now, I must admit, to call it 'coming to the west' is a tad misleading, PS4 players could play the title if they wanted, but it came without any English audio track and was just really swept under the rug for Yakuza 6: Song of Life, which also came out that year. This time around, however, the game is getting sent directly to Xbox Series X and Playstation 5, complete with advanced visuals and... honestly probably still no English audio track. (This studio is really inconsistent about them.) So do you notice anything missing about that announcement? Anything particularly eyebrow raising? Where's my damn PC announcement, Bruce?

What year are we living in? I have to ask that more and more because I cannot fathom what would possess these developers to forsake PC, again. It makes no sense. Commonly, in the old days, there was a clear distinction for the sort of game which was fit for the PC market and what would work better on consoles. Strategy which required slow paced gameplay, that's PC. Faster paced action games with lots of explosions and unpacked sound files in general? Console, no doubt. 100 hour RPGs? Also console, for some inexplicable reason. Within those bias', I can almost forgive keeping Yakuza as a console game. But the market has grown since then, morphed to the point where that line in the sand doesn't exist anymore, if indeed it ever did. From Software are selling each of their, non PS exclusive, latest entries on PC nowdays. That's From Software we're talking about. Heck, if I were them I'd never trust PC again after that botch of a Dark Souls 1 PC port. But we've put that pain behind us and moved onto more enlightened times. (For the most part. I'm still bitter.) What makes this especially galling, the part that really kicks me in the nuts, is the fact that Judgement is also coming to Stadia.

Didn't I just talk about you, Stadia? Can't stay out of the crosshairs for a single minute, huh? You're so eager to rile me up that you actively go after the one thing that I love in this world? Over-the-top Japanese Crime Dramas!? Very well then, but if there's one thing that Kuse taught me, it's that as long as you're alive you haven't lost yet. And something tells me that we won't be able to say that about both of us for much longer, now will we? So laugh it up, nick your PC exclusives, wave that phallus around, but do so in the knowledge that with every purchase met with a response that fails to justify the price, you're only hastening your demise. The light that burns twice as bright burns for half as long. And the blaze which flounders about desperately, eager but unable to find any robust fuel, burns even shorter. You have floundered for so very long, Stadia. Keep your 'Judgement' for as long as the exclusivity has bought you, but remember, You're not the only one with a dragon on his back, boy.

But seriously, what the heck? I was under the impression that the base game which Stadia would stream around the world as part of it's business model would be based off of PC versions. Am I wrong to assume that? Admittedly, I might be because Stadia is such an waste of time that I try actively to erase all knowledge of it, and how it works, from my immediate knowledge base. But if I'm not, that means Stadia has, inexplicably, managed to stifle a dedicated PC launch in favour of their service being the only way to play on PC. And RGG Studio went along with it? Why? Doesn't everyone watch the same industry news? Don't you see the failing numbers, the shutting down of studios, the pimping of their patented tech? This is a sinking ship and you, RGG, are courting with them! Leave the damned to their damned fate, it's not as though it wasn't bought upon themselves anyway!

But alas, what even is Judgement, I hear you ask. Well, imagine Yakuza, but this time on the side of the law, alongside the enforcement agents who oh-so-often go ignored in the franchise. You know, the same guys who are pretty much just the perpetual puppets of anyone in power for the time, who have such a low barrier to buy-out it seems that every two-bit family in Kamurocho has them in their pockets? Well I wonder what their story is? Judgement follows one detective on the search for a Serial killer in the mean streets of Tokyo, and aside from that has a lot of the staples on would expect from the franchise. Constant street fights, heat actions and a fully playable version of one of the Virtua Fighters built into the arcade. It's a Yakuza title like any other, only without the slight pangs of "Am I the badguy in this situation?" (All of which are immediately quenched once you realise, "Oh, of course not. Kiryu and Majima have never killed anyone. Ever.")

This is the first actual example of that exact wave I anticipated, the wave of Yakuza content becoming more available to the wider gaming world! For so very long Yakuza was a niche franchise that those who played it liked, but which could never cut it with the big leagues. Now it's a headliner for the new generation, with new people coming to it every single year. The masterpiece that is Yakuza 0 stands as the gateway drug, but we're slowly getting a whole pharmacies worth of new entries to be really hooked on. 3-5 are getting remasters, 6 and 7 are already widely available. All we need now is a remaster and rerelease of 'Dead Souls' and a full localisation of 'Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin' and there'll finally be parity across the Yakuza fandom. Then we can all gather and do the Samurai Ondo together!

And yet, somehow the celebrations don't feel yet warranted given the situation with the PC. I may have voiced this before, and perhaps you're getting tired of hearing it, but there's almost no reason for a staggered PC/console launch in today's age unless we're talking about a product that literally would require from-the-ground rebuilding like Red Dead Redemption 1. (In that case, I can understand Rockstar declaring it not worth the effort) Yakuza was given a whole new lease on life partially because of it's Steam release, and the games are still heavily enjoyed on the PC platform according to charts. Maybe it's stupid, given everything we've seen these past years, to be surprised when something so obvious escapes the attention of those in charge, but let me try anyway; You have an avid PC audience who will throw money at you. Just accept that money.

Still, I suppose I should count my lucky stars that Judgement is coming at all. Though the game might not have much of a bearing on the overall narrative, I hardly think that's an issue in a franchise as wacky as Yakuza, I'm just in it for the experience to be honest. But if I can't have my Final Fantasy games on the year in which they come out, (still waiting on FF7R's PC launch) I'd at least hope for RGG to throw me a bone. (I'm starved out here!) Still, given that there's literally 3 Yakuza games about to hit in a few months, I suppose I can forgive the team for the time being. I just hope they really take this into account for the future, no one wants to wait for games to come out on their hardware because of dumb backroom industry politics. Keep that crap in the boardrooms, let your players play.

Days Before the Division

 Out of Touch, out of time; outta touch, outta time, oh...

Do ya'll remember The Division? Tactical MMO-esque looter shooter from yesteryear? I hear it's quite popular. Of course you know, and in fact so does the entire gaming industry, because that right there is a fairly successful venture which managed to make a tight community out of a lukewarm original entry. The Division 1 took some time to find it's feet, and the Division 2 really cemented that ground, but when I think about these games, I go back to before all of that all the way to the initial gameplay reveal trailer. I guess I'm a big believer in first impressions, because I always remember the first view I ever see of a game, and the feelings they made me feel. I remember when Bioshock Infinite's gameplay made me feel like I was looking at some exquisitely choreographed dance, Skyrim's felt like a vast oceans worth of robust fanaticism and the Division made me feel embarrassed. Yes, it made me ashamed to call myself a gamer in the way trailers of it's kin always do. Which is why it brings me no pleasure to say that The Day Before reminds me of the very initial Division reveal.

'The Day Before' is an imminently interesting name for a Sci-fi thriller, and yet somehow a depressingly generic one for a zombie game. (Guess which one this is) Maybe I'm just missing all the 'Dead' puns and find that these titles start sounding a little too pretentious when that's veered away from. 'Days gone', 'The Last of Us', 'The Day Before', barf; what's wrong with 'State of Decay'? That there's a clever pun which sounds great on the tongue. And now that I've bored you by talking too much about the title, let me tell you what makes this 'Not your typical Zombie game'. Ready? It's an MMO. That's right, multiplayer zombie slaying looter-shooter madness that's... well as generic as one could get for a game genre, but I guess no one's technically done that with zombies in the mix yet. Not sure why they would... but it's done now...

The busy metropolis of New York was the background for Division, and although some might call that one of the most overused cities in videogames, I suppose there's a certain charm in familiarity. The Day Before, on the otherhand, plays it's location surprisingly coy, meaning that it's either aware of the Division similarities and wants to dissuade them, or it's taking the 'anywhere, USA', approach to world building. (Still looks like Manhattan, though) Both seem to be third person squad-based affairs in which fans are supposed to be excited for the prospect of seeking standard clothing items like unmarked Baseball caps (Division) and gaudy cowboy hats. (The Day Before) But that's all situational or circumstantial, no? One game is about a pandemic wiping through pockets of the civilised world and opening the path to a breakdown of society, whilst the other is about... oh wait. But in all honesty, there's a much bigger reason why these games are one-and-the-same in my mind right now: The gameplay trailers

That trailer. Oh god, that reveal trailer. It's like the developers, FNTASTIC, studied everything cringeworthy about the Division's Reveal trailer and said 'oh- I want that!'. For those with the good luck to have selective memory loss; The Division's reveal trailer correctly highlighted the multiplayer aspect as the only really unique selling point of the business model at that point, the only problem being that they decided to market that through the worst method possible; simulated Multiplayer chat. My god, do I hate simulated Multiplayer chat. It's essentially these moments wherein advertising studios feel the need to hire actors to pretend to be players of this game, which at the moment is but a highly choreographed showcase, in a way to say "Hey, fellow gamers! This could be you! Recognise these words and the things they're saying? That's you! Buy the game, please buy the game..."  And let me be clear; it's a problem which needs to be stamped out of marketing.

It never, NEVER, works like they intend it too. Heck, through the very effort of trying to be relatable they instinctively repel their target audience. We don't need you to sell us the way we could be playing the game; you're supposed to be selling the damn game itself! Anthem did it in a confusing demonstration where we were unsure what was meant to be in-universe dialogue and what was player chat, (this was before we learned it was all bull anyway) Rainbow Six Siege did it in that hilariously nonsense 'mock-up' match which the team absolutely lied was a real multiplayer match. ("I got him!" Said the man who shot his pistol into the wall above the other player 6 times) And then finally there's The Division; the crowning glory of cringe-worthy audio. Where the players are simultaneously taking this as seriously as though they play this game everyday of their lives and have entered that terrifying stage of roleplaying as their avatars (A true low-point that any recovering MMO addict out there recognises) and also seemingly have never played this game before either. ("Argh, I can't get a shot" Said the man who spotted the shooter, yet decided to shoot the transformer under him for absolutely no reason whatsoever)

So to say that The Day Before enters that hall of decorated cringe, ain't exactly a compliment. "Alright, alright, alright, I have found a great cowboy hat", "Easy there Cowboy". Why do they do this to us? To themselves? Otherwise they've got a decently alright looking game that, whilst still seeming like a stich-job of several different genre's, still might be... functional, I guess. But all that good press is jettisoned in the eyes of someone like me, who just cannot stand to look at something so garish and out of touch at even the fundamental marketing level. Of course, I'm just sensitive to this sort of stuff, I'm sure everyone else can look past it and see what's on offer here, and that's- umm... well it's... what exactly on offer here?

We see that this is a game about scavenging and surviving in a world where you can interact dynamically with other players. But "be careful. Because not all players are friendly." Again, what? Have you literally never played online games before? No players are friendly, ever. The image of a online community of dubious relations in any setting that enables PVP is a myth; if players can kill each other, they will. The only game where I see that not being the case is Fallout 76, but that's because the reward for PVP is so infinitesimal and the cost so severe that it really isn't even worth it. There also appears to a dynamic weather system which I'm sure will make it to the final game. (My guess is it's got a 70% chance of getting scrapped.) And then there's the zombies. Almost an afterthought in the footage, hardly even mentioned. In a world post-Resident Evil 2 Remake they look almost comically uninteresting, aside from one cool shot of a room full of them immobile that the player spots in one scene. But again, my bet is that they won't act like that in game. So that's all this game really is, huh? Guess the graphics look alright too...

Go online and you'll see a fair number of pundits casting an appreciative eye over this footage and going "Huh, this looks alright" but I'm going to be the ass; it really doesn't. The idea of a multiplayer world with players and zombies has been done before in DayZ, 7 Days to day and even Unturned. All this trailer promises is to make that multiplayer seamless (kinda what DayZ does in a way) and bring a level of polish comparable to Ubisoft games. Well, honestly I'm not really impressed by this mock-up trailer and even if they could make a game which exactly resembles all this trailer promises (and I'm mostly sure they won't) I really wonder who will be in the market for this. No one is really clambering for a new Zombie game and the survival genre is oversaturated. Unless there's some amazing reveal about this game coming in the next few months, I have to say my interest for this game has died many days before it's even been given a release window. (See what I did there? Did ya?) And as always, I would love it if I'm miles off and this game turns out to be a masterpiece (honestly, some of the screenshots look 10x cooler than the trailer) but my gut really isn't feeling it on this one. Maybe yours is.