Tomb Raider on PS4 is Still Very Tempting...

Back when Tomb Raider:  Definitive Edition was announced, I mentioned that I made a quick mental decision that while I was going to get the game eventually because -shiny-, I wasn't going to get it right away.  That has not changed, but after seeing the comparison video above, it has become infinitely more troublesome.  On the one hand - I know the quality of the product already and it's high (spoiler: it broke my top 5 in my GotY list - posts for that are coming, btw) and presented in such a lovely fashion on a brand-new console (that I don't have yet, granted) is very, very tempting.  On the other hand, it's a game I've spent $60 on already, and to do so again only gets me the shinies since I don't give one ounce of shit about the Multi-player to this day, so more maps does nothing to tickle my fancies.

I can't deny that if they would've just introduced it at $40, it would be a much, much more difficult decision, one that I probably would make in their favor.  I understand their position for the price-point and I don't really even begrudge them for it - they obviously crafted the new graphics and such with care and effort, and unless the game stutters to sub-30 FPS, well, they probably earned the higher price point, if only because of the quality of the game itself.  I just can't do it to myself, though.  My lined-up PS4 games are Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (since I'll be able to buy it physically) and inFamous:  Second Son, though I'll definitely have a PS4 before those games come out.  What I play on it in the meanwhile is...something I will have to figure out.  But after Tomb Raider: DE's first big price cut, I think I'll be there with bells on.  If only so I can get my Ropebow on again.

also because Lara was a pretty damn awesome character

Tomb Raider - The Quandary

With yesterday's official announcement of Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, I had a brief thought about picking the game up with my own Playstation 4 purchase, since January was the intended get of that as well.  I thought about playing through the game for a third time, but on this new console, and partaking of all the same things which I was already aware of, that I'd already tasted of.  I thought of how good the game would look during particular scenes in 1080p rather than...I guess 720p on the PS3?  I honestly don't know what resolution it was.  Really, I thought of every moment of fun I had with Tomb Raider and the possibility of doing so again on the PS4 for a price.

I'm....not sold.  It's a weird barrier of entry that I didn't know I had, especially since I have gleefully partaken in so many HD Collections thus far into my gaming life with the advent of them on the PS3 and Vita.  But thinking about 100% completing Tomb Raider -again-, but this time on the PS4 where it looks better but has all the exact same content with nothing added on....just gets me thinking about paying the PS3 version again since I already have that.  I can try to validate it by saying that enough time has passed for the HD Collections, that they routinely offer a bit more content (at least trophies for all the 'ugh' you can throw at me for that, but also "Making of" and sorts of things that I don't believe were in the originals) or even that it's simply harder to hook up my PS2 instead of just playing it on my PS3, as lazy as that sounds.  It's certainly why I bought Persona 4 Golden for my Vita (extra content) rather than the version of Persona 4 that I owned for my PS2 for years prior and never played.

Part of the problem is simply how off-guard Squeenix was caught when it came to Tomb Raider and the expectations thereof.  For some odd reason, Squeenix anticipated the Multiplayer of the game would be a huge hit and that's why the DLC was staggered towards that rather than having at least a few people working on Single-Player DLC to add more tombs to the game or something along those lines.  The Multiplayer was, as we know, awful by most stretches and definitions of the word and thus the inclusion of the Multiplayer-centric DLC in the Definitive Edition has almost negative value to me and most people.  Not only is it unwanted, but it's almost representative of the fact that we never got, nor will we ever get single-player DLC for the game that was by and large fantastic in single-player.  It's not fair, of course, but that's just how it falls sometimes.

By all accounts it seems that the game will retail for $60 rather than....$40 or so, as a re-release might generally run at.  Most will just say "Well, duh, Squeenix" and some will claim that adding TressFX and native 1080p and all that, as well as inclusion of the DLC necessitates the 'extra' $20, but the fact remains that many, many people bought Tomb Raider for $60 already  Some are more than happy to do so again and I tip my hat to those people because even though I loved Tomb Raider, you clearly love it more than I.  And that's great!  It's a great game and deserves all the support in the world, it's simply that I cannot justify throwing another full price at it.  I'm not sure I could even justify it for Metal Gear Rising:  REVENGEANCE, even with all the DLC on-disk.  I would be tempted - I own the game and the DLC (but haven't downloaded it) - but I think I would even refuse that at $60, perhaps even $40.  And you all know how much I loved REVENGEANCE.

That is not to say that I won't eventually own Tomb Raider for my PS4 - I will.  I will be compelled to eventually for the lush visuals and the engaging gameplay and the wonderful character progression of Lara herself.  I will be compelled to once again 100% the game and, if there's a separate trophy list, potentially even bother with Platinuming it as I intend on doing with the PS3 version.  (The opposition, of course, is the dregs of Multiplayer)  I just won't be doing it Day-One.  I won't be throwing down $60 for Tomb Raider again until there is a 2 or a subtitle after those key words.  Even a single bit of new single-player content would have had me questioning this decision but Squeenix has made it easy to stand firm.  Though I still do find myself regretting that.

I really do kinda wanna play Tomb Raider all over again though

Dear Squeenix, Pull Your Head Out of Your Goddamn Ass

I probably do it more than I realize, but I will say that I specifically don't like 'Rage-posting', or sitting down with a topic in mind and just writing up something vitriolic and annoyed over a situation or thing.  It can be cathartic, of course, and at times, it's warranted (topically enough, for Final Fantasy XIII-2, it was certainly acceptable) and this is one of those times.  While I'm sure this is a "Moving Parts" scenario, or a thing where there's a lot more going on than what is obvious, and all that other such rot, I don't really care.  This is a situation in which the solution to a problem is completely and totally in front of their face, and they refuse to actually understand that and acknowledge it.  Yet, they are more than willing to completely misappropriate things in whatever way they can to try and put a spin on it, which is the last thing they should be doing at the moment.

The situation, as it stands currently is that CEO Wada is going to step down as the company restructures in the face of posting a $106 Million loss.  Technically, Wada's in place until at least June when they vote on whether or not he can actually step down, I guess, but let's face it - dude is gone.  That part?  That's whatever.  Good luck to that dude or good riddance - it's a judgment call as to which one you're saying and you're probably justified either way.  The other part, the whole restructuring and losing a ton of money is where stuff starts to get interesting, and by 'interesting' I mean that Squeenix lets their patently Squeenix colors fly, meaning they felt the urge to say something dumb and make the situation worse for themselves.  Because that is just how they roll, you see.

You see the primary reason, they said, that they're doing so financially poorly at the moment is because their latest games are selling so bad.  You know, Sleeping Dogs which is a pretty great game, Hitman:  Absolution, which admittedly saw something of a mixed reaction and Tomb Raider, which sold over a million copies in forty-eight hours.  Only a million, of course, and then only 3.4 million retail copies by the end of the month, based on their projections.  I will say and specify retail once more because they are not counting downloaded versions of the game, of any of the games, which means they're actually short-selling it when the goddamn game was available on Steam and PSN on day-one at least, if not XBL as well, all of which will comfortably add a million to the total at least.  In a month.  Since it was released on the fifth, the fiscal year ends on the 31st and that is the window that they estimate 3.4 Million disk sales after I assume they did not update their sales forecasts after delaying the game for over a year.  Yet the sales are 'weak'.

You might think that it's funny that they're just sort of blaming the western games, and make no mistake, they are just doing that in a pompous sort of way.  Though, there's really nothing to compare it against because the last Squeenix proper game that came out was Theatrhythm in goddamn February of 2012.  Or, if you don't count handheld games, then Final Fantasy XIII-2 in January of 2011.  The former being a wacky spin-off of a spin-off and the latter being a shitty sequel to a game that was collectively despised more than it was touted.  Before those, it was Final Fantasy IV:  The Complete Collection in March of 2011 and before that, Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy in the same month.  My point is that Squeenix is not good at making and putting out their own games, so whinging on and on about games that have actually entered development, finished and released in the same span of time that their own game has solely been in development (Not counting the years prior to it) seems a little silly.  Be glad you're releasing anything at all, because that means money at the end of the day, which is certainly not something -you're- bringing in.

Really, the bulk of the losses is because of the restructuring that they're doing in the face of losses.  So they're throwing out more money because they're losing money.  This, of course, makes perfect Squeenix sense and just lends itself to allowing us to stand by and point and laugh.  They have plenty of money to print if they would just do it - Lightning Returns might not actually be terrible, so I might pick it up, and I would definitely buy a digital copy of Final Fantasy Type-0 on my Vita if such a thing ever happened.  The upcoming FFX/X-2 HD Remasters will also gain a few bucks depending on the strategy they go for it.  If it's $40 for the PS3 package and $20 for each Vita game individually, well, good on them.  I do, of course, expect $30 per Vita game and will continue to believe that until I am proven incorrect.  Because Squeenix are, clearly, assholes that will do that, if just to have something else to blame when their shitty things don't sell well.

What that means is that this likely isn't dire straights for the company.  But they will probably act like it is and the next year or so of Squeenix will either be -awesome- or -horrible-.  We're used to the latter, so I'm not sure we'll notice much of a change, really.  Regardless, as I implied with the title, they should really take the advice of one of their own published characters.  And all I gotta say beyond that is that if Drakengard 3 doesn't get localized, I'mma cut a bitch.

And you know it's true.

Coming Soon: When I Don't Feel Like Hell

While it would have been super awesome if I were back 100% from my little sleep schedule debacle, I am not.  It is rather unfortunate since these last couple of days, I have felt nothing but sleepy, unmotivated and grouchy, which doesn't lend itself very well to productivity.  This is a shame, of course, as I have been lacking in that lately because of other issues...also this issue, so a lot of issues and it is bugging me.  Because clearly, I don't want to neglect this, it's just hard to think of something to write about, much less find the will and drive to do so, when you wake up at 2:30 AM, disoriented and wondering what the hell happened to the 'hour long nap' you laid down for at 7 PM.

Even though I couldn't think of something to talk about tonight in a sense (actually, I had an idea, but wasn't really feeling it tonight), I figured something out in that I can kind of give you all a little insight into what I want to get posted up in a relatively soon-ish manner which means it could be between now and...er....the end of April.  We'll go with that to stay conservative because I have no idea what's going to happen between now and then, clearly.  Thankfully, unless there's something I forgot about, there's not a new game in sight that I'm picking up until April 30th when Soul Sacrifice drops, so I can play a little catch-up on my backlog.  Which generally means fun times here.  Since if I am focused on games that I've been simmering on for a while, I can generally form them into coherent words moreso than new games.

As I've stated, I have been playing Deus Ex:  Human Revolution lately and while I'm not quite sure -what- I'm going to write of it, I'm going to write -something- about it, even if it's just a few more collection of "Adam Jensen:  Jerk with Super-Powers" stories, since that post was rather fun and I -did- manage to keep it fairly spoiler-free.  I don't want to say here that I -won't- Review it, because I just might, but every time I've considered doing so thus far, I just...haven't been into it.  I dunno, perhaps it is due to the fact that I have two other games that I want to do things with here (that came out wrong) and I want to get them out of the way first.  Or maybe it's just because I feel like I want to play the game on Normal or Easy before actually trying to make an argument of its values.  We'll see how it unfolds.

No matter what I decide, I -am- going to be talking about the game, as I said, because there are things to be said.  Things that have likely been said millions of times before already since I am a bit late to the party, but things that are still ringing out now after the whole test of time and such has passed.  I..guess.  In any case, a playthrough on Normal or Easy will likely allow me to have fun with the game rather than the current 'almost not-fun' I am in a constant state of while playing it on Hard or "Give Me Deus Ex" difficulty.  Prepare to hear me repeat myself again as I whine and grumble about the merits of making Hard Mode Hard and not Bullshit.  That is a little spoiler alert.

One of the games that I have certainly played quite a bit, yet talked almost zero about is the Tomb Raider reboot that I bought purely on a whim.  I intentionally saved my talking about the game for a review that I haven't yet written because of reasons that -should- be obvious by now.  What with the being in an up-and-down mood and sleep-issues thing going on.  Regardless of whether or not I have been able to do so before now, the intention -is- still to write a review of the game because I think I delved enough into it that I think I can speak on its positives and negatives easily enough.  When I play it a little more to...you know, remind myself of them.

Not because I just want to play the whole damn thing over again.  C...certainly not.

Er, I'm getting rather dangerously close to letting you fine folks know what I thought of the game.  And it would be a sad thing indeed if I let it slip that I think it is a wonderful game and certainly worth a purchase before I actually say that in a review.  Even if the multiplayer is a steaming pile of butts.  And steamed butts are, in fact, the worst butts known to man.  Oh, whoops.  Well, anyways, that's certainly on the agenda for some time in the near-ish future.

While I have been a little bit more vocal about REVENGEANCE, it too was a game that I was looking forward to attempting to review which I simply haven't gotten around to doing.  Of course, I'm...not quite sure on this one.  I might just have to go the Sleeping Dogs route with this and just dedicate a couple of posts to just gushing about it because the damn game is that fun.  Yet, I -do- have my gripes with it and they are well-reasoned ones, so perhaps I will manage to be unbiased enough to present something that I am comfortable with labeling as an actual review.

I will say now, however, that I hope they release they Gray Fox/Fox Blade DLC as a paid option for folks who didn't pre-order the game.  This is because, quite simply, the Fox Blade is Over-powered as shit and also provides me the experience I specifically grumbled about way back when I wasn't sure about this game.  With an upgrade to its special effect, the Fox Blade will slice and dice something fierce.  As in, you cut, things fall apart, no muss, no fuss to it.  This is, of course, game-breakingly powerful since it only -doesn't- work on bosses, but it is also pretty damn fun to mess around with.  As I told a friend:  "Throw on the Gray Fox Outfit, equip the Fox Blade, run around cutting people and yell "Hurt me more!" and you have the Frank Jaeger experience."  It is a pretty fun experience, all told.

As for what is essentially the elephant in the room at this point, I have absolutely no idea just what I'm going to do about God of War:  Ascension.  There are things I can say about the game, things I -want- to say about it, big things, but I usually reserve those big things for at -least- until after I have beaten it.  At that point, I usually know whether or not I'm even going to attempt to try and review it, if not before it.  However, that's sort of the rub:  I -can't- say those things because I -can't- beat God of War:  Ascension.  Or rather, I can, in theory, but I'm not willing to expend the effort in the attempt until I know that the game works.

I hit a rather nasty glitch in which I got to the literal end of a chapter or what have you and, for whatever reason, the doors that are supposed to open will not open.  No matter what I do.  Logically, I know that the thing I -should- attempt to do is replay the chapter to get to that point and it will likely work properly, but the thing is...well....Ascension just is not fun enough to make that a viable option.  Yes, I'm playing on Hard Mode, yes, it's another game that doesn't really get that right, and yes, it's because of those elements that I'm just not happy with the game at all.  It doesn't help that there are other problematic factors mixed in, but those are for another night.  I have the game on my "To Play" stack where it will remain until I have heard that a patch is out that fixes a bunch of the issues people are having with it.  And likely for a time thereafter.  Because I'm really not expecting them to fix re-balance the gameplay with that same patch or any other patch for that matter.

So there you have it.  I -do- have things brewing and these are certainly not all of them.  It's simply a matter of being able to sit down with a clear enough head to translate those things in my brain into words on here.  It is not always an easy task, as I'm sure you're aware, but it's something that I enjoy trying to do, at the very least.  With any luck, I'll get normalized on my sleep at least, and figure out something to do for the burgeoning allergies that will likely follow my normalization.  Since nothing can be easy or let up and just let me be because why would it.  I'm not bitter or anything, of course, why would you ask that.  You're silly.  That's silly.

Birthday Post - Now With 100% More Tomb Raider

Today was a pretty good birthday.  I got to sleep in a bit, went off to pick up Tomb Raider and then had a nice lunch on the way home.  While I downloaded the DLC and the Day-One patch, presumably for said DLC, I entertained myself, said in the loosest way possible, with some Plants Vs. Zombies on my Vita.  It has fast become a game that I do not enjoy or have fun with, but tolerate because it doesn't make me angry except for the mini-games because the mini-games are diabolical ass.  Oh sure, limit what I can put down by only spoon-feeding me plants every other minute or so and oh all the zombies are invisible and come in the exact same timing as regular maps.  'Finicky' is not even the right word to begin describing that, nor will I be able to put a good word -on- it.

When I actually started playing Tomb Raider, however, I quickly became enamored with Crystal Dynamics' latest effort in the series.  While I'm not a veteran of the series in any fashion, I know -of- the series, and I can tell the stark departure this reboot takes while also still playing close to the roots of the franchise.  Yet for how different it is from what came before it, it's all at once familiar and comfortable because it retains those roots, as well as taking a few notes from games that may have taken notes from its former self and refined them into something much more refined.  Yes, I'm essentially saying that Tomb Raider takes from Uncharted which took from the original Tomb Raiders because, well, that's what happened.  Uncharted took the platforming and made it something spectacular and Tomb Raider says "Yes!  That is what we were trying to do!" and manages to do it now that it's a known quantity.  No matter the way it got there, it's resplendent and that shining brilliance elevates the entire game with it.

I won't get too far in-depth in my praise, as I want to save some for later, and my impressions are only based on a small chunk of the game.  Suffice to say, however, that I'm having quite a bit of fun with it and I do believe that it will prove to be a worthy birthday gift to myself.

Whether or not it can top the birthday gift of this ultra-comfortable new computer chair I have has yet to be seen, though it will be a hard-fought battle.  Because it is not just any chair, but what is called an Executive Chair, and yes, it's as swank as it sounds.  It is quite comfortable, as stated, and I certainly wouldn't be surprised if I find myself asleep in it one night because it is -that- accommodating.  It was a surprise in every facet of the word as, in no way, would I have ever expected to receive a computer chair for my birthday, but at the same time, it's quite the perfect gift, seeing as I find myself here a lot lately, what with the writing here and the short story stuff.  Which is going to end up not being very short at all, I believe. 

So, all in all, it was a pretty good birthday.  Pleasant surprises and affirmations all around and while it could've been better in -some- personal regards, it was as good as it's going to get these days.  So I'll take that happily and move on to the next day which will hopefully be good as well.  With that, though, I'm off to break in this chair with some more youtube watching for maximum comfort.

A Look Ahead - Tomb Raider

While it might not be that far ahead, tonight marks the first appreciable time that I've actually sat down to try and absorb the new look and the new direction of the Tomb Raider reboot.  I've read a little bit about it, I've seen bits and pieces here, but I've not really invested much into it - until this week, I was prepared to let it skip over me as I do with so many other games.  Yet, I've had this kind of nagging feeling for a while now, telling me "Hey, look into Tomb Raider"  "C'mon, it might be good", and finally when I was at GameStop to pick up REVENGEANCE with a list of other things to pre-order, I saw something that made me give in.  It's a silly thing, or rather, beyond a silly thing, but it was enough to let me give into that persistent nagging that I might give it a shot and see what Tomb Raider offers.

That little thing that pushed me into telling the clerk "Yeah, I'll put $5 down on Tomb Raider" is the fact that it releases on March 5th - my birthday.

It's silly at best, self-important at worst, and given that I haven't really taken the time to absorb that which is the reboot, it could have very well been a poor choice on my part.  Yet, I like to think that I'm not the only person who at least -tries- to do something to make their own birthday stand out from the other days of a given week, since any cause to celebrate is a good one.  After all, we're given plenty enough reasons to get upset or be angry or whatever about things without even looking for them - why not try to combat that scale a little bit?  A fun story like "I just got this game on a whim because it was my birthday, and it turned out to be really great" is just that - a fun story and something I'd like to think we all sort of shoot for.  Perhaps not this specific example, but you know what I'm getting at.

So as I've said, I've heard the outskirts of conversations, of discussion about the game, and I've read a little here or there, but nothing committed.  I've seen how one simple thing such as a picture of a female protagonist can reveal the worst about some of the folks out there that claim to share our hobby, people who we want to dissociate ourselves from.  Hell, I've heard the grumblings of folks who say the game is a little too over-the-top gruesome in terms of the inherent danger to Lara Croft as if this is some brand-new thing.  I guess it's just because Lara's a girl or something?  Real progressive thinking, folks.  Doing a service to us all, truly.

Regardless of all the negativity surrounding it, one thing that I've gleaned from everything is some things that aren't that bad and are in fact, good.  Tonight I spent about an hour looking at trailers, developer diary type things and the like and what I saw was a rather gorgeous game that looks like Uncharted and Far Cry 3 had a glorious baby.  I'm obviously not the first person to make that comparison, nor will I likely be the last, but it is honestly one of the highest forms of praise that I can give it.  In many ways, it's a return to form for the series since, well, it came -before- Uncharted and Uncharted was clearly at least a little inspired by it.  You know, just a tiny bit.  With Tomb Raider's popularity having waned in previous years due in no small part to a series of lack-luster titles (or ones that were perceived as much, at least) wherein Uncharted became a mega-hit, it's easy to say that the game that took the root formula from what Tomb Raider was and grew it is the one to take notes on, which they obviously did.  And from what gameplay I've seen, it shines all the brighter for it.

Even though I have investigated a lot, I still don't know quite a bit about this reboot, but you know what?  I'm fine with that.  I've reassured myself enough that it will be a game that I enjoy, and I know the basics of it - a formative story from which they likely hope to build a new iteration of the franchise off of.  That is most likely something that I would be a fan of seeing, from what little of the game that I've experienced.  With any luck, Lara's will be a tale that I look on with the same fondness as Nathan Drake's many stories, or, depending on the narrative, the same appreciation that I held towards the first half of Far Cry 3.  There's a lot there and it all promises to be very powerful, so when March is upon us, we'll just see what it delivers on.  I know I'm looking forward to it.