Ben-DutkaOkay, so the biggest games of the fall aren't quite here yet.
But you know, there's plenty to talk about concerning this week's releases, especially in regards to Driveclub and Alien: Isolation , both of which launched on Tuesday.
Now, typically, most games don't generate such a wide variety of critic and gamer reactions. For the most part, a new title is either generally liked or generally disliked by both groups, and that's evident by the review scores and gaming communities online. But both aforementioned titles have prompted plenty of discussion and argument, and the review scores are all over the place, too.
Consider Driveclub 's 72 Metacritic average , with scores as low as 4 and as high as 9.5. That's a ridiculously large range. Then there's Alien: Isolation 's 78 Metacritic average , with scores ranging from 5.9 to 9.0. The gap isn't quite as huge, but it's interesting to see some of the biggest sources hand out higher scores, as they tend to praise the game for being unflinchingly terrifying and ambitious.
No matter which side you take for each game, it's good for the industry. All this discussion is never a bad thing!
Related Game(s): Driveclub , Alien: Isolation
The negative reviews I've seen for both games (for the most part) make it clear why the low score was given. In regards to Isolation I've noticed several reviews that were critical of the pace. I've always preferred taking my time and planning ahead so while someone may reduce the score due to this I bump the score higher.
Wow for those ranges. So when does Driveclub PS Plus come?
as of right now there is no time frame for when ps plus drive club comes out. they claim the servers are maxed and they wont give us the plus version til they fix it.
That's okay I can wait.
Truthfully since drive club basically was a lie n doesn't even have a free to play demo in which there was suppose to be an entire version for free then u could upgrade n add on I'll never try it n the developer would hafta really impress me to get me in on any game they make
It is still coming sometime
You can still play it later for free
You know
So here's what gets me. At NO POINT was the *complete* game ever announced to be fully free. At E3 2013, it was announced that there would be a "special version" that would be free for PS+ members.
On July 9th, 2013 media outlets (Joystic for example) posted Evolution Studios comment reiterating that, "Yes, the PS Plus version will be the exact same as the full version, except that it may be missing a few assets, such as cars or tracks, that will be found in the full version"
And all that is still true, albeit slightly delayed.
I don't know where you are getting your fuzzy information, but you are upset for reasons that don't even exist. Think about that for a second.
No need to be upset anymore.
Last edited by SaiyanSenpai on 10/9/2014 1:11:19 AM
Hi Everyone,
With DRIVECLUB, we are dedicated to delivering a dynamic and socially connected racing game that everyone can enjoy, and along the way we're facing new challenges which we haven’t encountered as a development team before. We are seeing a lot of activity and new social behaviours right now, but unfortunately this is pushing the servers to their absolute limits.
We are sorry if you are having a hard time getting online as we know many of you are. Please be aware that the game will automatically keep trying to connect you. Once you're online, you should have no further problems during your session.
Everyone at the studio is now working hard to get new updates ready for the game servers to improve connectivity. We will be rolling out these updates day by day and will keep you informed.
In order to help all DRIVECLUB players who have the game already, we're temporarily holding back the PS Plus Edition and the My DRIVECLUB app to ease the load and traffic to the servers. This should give players a better chance of connecting to the game servers and, once the servers are operating well, we’ll be sure to let you know when the PS Plus Edition and My DRIVECLUB app will be available to download.
To our PS Plus fans, we're sorry you're having to wait longer to play, but we want to ensure that when you come on board, you get the best experience possible. Rest assured, if you've pre-ordered the full game upgrade from the PS Plus Edition, you will still get the full version of DRIVECLUB digitally, and if you can't get online you'll be able to get started offline like everybody else with single player mode as you start your DRIVECLUB tour. You’ll still be able to earn fame, unlock cars and get to grips with all of the options for playing and creating your own events and challenges – and everything you do will be synchronised with the servers when you do get connected, so you can set-up a bunch of challenges to send out to your friends as soon as you are able to join each other online.
We fully appreciate how frustrating this is for everyone. We want you to get online with your club because racing, challenging and having fun together is what the game is all about. We know that racing with your friends online is what you’ve been waiting for and we are doing everything we can to deliver that experience to you as soon as possible.
Sorry again for the difficult start. We’ll keep you regularly updated on our progress as we work round the clock to improve connectivity. We want everyone to know what's happening so please tag your DRIVECLUB friends or SHARE this message to let them know.
– Rushy
Expectations seems to be a big part of it. I think of complaints made against Drive Club because it doesn't have more assists, like a driving line and rewind. Pro reviewers slam it for this, but then I ask myself do I want to be competing against others in this social racer who have been using a driving line and rewind to help them hit their good times? Is that even fair? I don't think it is. Does football allow you to rewind a play that went bad?
Last edited by Temjin001 on 10/8/2014 11:48:19 PM
I mean seriously, if someone miss identifies what a game is supposed to be it can totally change their score.
In times where a game misleads you, like the back of Destiny's box claims it has "rich cinematic storytelling" you have to nail it for that. Why? Because it's suggesting there's something in there.
Now in Drive Club, Evolution has been very clear in identifying the intent and purpose of this offering, yet I'm reading comparisons that include Forza Horizon 2 and such and other such racers that aren't billing themselves as this game has.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 10/9/2014 12:07:17 AM
and to keep blabbling on… why doesn't people praise this for it's awesome load times? I'm really impressed by how I go from track to track in an event and the load times are relatively short.
also… some accuse it of being too unforgiving… but at least it lets you restart a round within a championship event. So if you did great on the first race, that solidifies, and when you move on, if on that second race, you botch it big you can always restart on that very race.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 10/9/2014 12:30:04 AM
Your babbling comment made me laugh! Man, I agree completely – expectations play a big role.
And also, I think the rewind feature is the stupidest, laziest #&*%@ feature ever! I put it in the same category as "everyone wins because they showed up! Yay, everyone's a winner! Trophies for everyone!" kind of crap. you just puzzle piece your way through a track instead of running the track over and getting better? How do people feel satisfied with their track time by doing that?!
What a bunch of sissies with their rewind feature. I'll smoke those fools every time.
Last edited by SaiyanSenpai on 10/9/2014 12:54:03 AM
haha yea, I just sit here playing my game with my laptop at my side and whatever enters my brain gets thrown up on here sometimes =)
there seemed to be a time where using rewind was offensive as a gamer pride thing, similar to not playing a game on 'easy.'
But it seems driving assists are okay now, like having a line that tells you when to slow down and where to turn (and coupled with that a rewind feature) now makes it hard to ever lose a race. It's like taking the game out of the sport. Now here's Drive Club assuming competitive racing fans don't need their hands held but fouls get called for it. Like where's the shame now?
Last edited by Temjin001 on 10/9/2014 1:47:08 AM
Uhm, from what I saw on gameplay videos, DC does have driving line..
Yup, JackieBoy… I've watched several streams of DriveClub. It, indeed, does have a driving line. But the line only shows up at certain times…not throughout the race.
I think it only shows up on approach/braking into turns, from what I saw.
It's a cornering line that appears during a face off event in an existing race. The goal is to stay as close to that line as you can to rack up points, hopefully doing it better than your opponent. If you scored the most points they get added to your total. The line appears for like 2% of an entire race. It's not the same as a driver assist.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 10/9/2014 11:46:40 AM
Sorry JackieBoy and Big6, as Temjin said, those aren't driving lines but rather, they signify a challenge (face off) event. If you ride the line long enough to meet the points required to beat the challenge, it won't show up again in the remaining laps.
Got a copy of DRIVECLUB yesterday, and I have to say, I found myself enjoying the game a lot more than I expected. The concept of just getting behind the wheel and cruising along long-winding roads just to replay it to get the best lap and whiz by the technical goodness that is the environment and (omgtheamountof) foliage in the scenery is just so … relaxing … in some ways.
It's not Forza, and definitely not a Gran Turismo killer. But it's not trying to be either of these. If we have to compare it to some other racer, then 'The Crew' might be the closest, but even that seems to be a remote comparison.
SNES all the way to ps2 relied more on world of mouth, rentals, and demos (who can forget Playstation Underground?)
I also blame Metacritic as a site. Before Metacritic no one would care about the amateur sites seeking attention.
If we stop referencing Metacritic and instead focus our efforts on credible sites we'll be better off as customers.
I will say it again though, we need more demos for games. That has to be a standard for any publisher wanting their games to succeed.
Last edited by Scarecrow on 10/9/2014 2:08:36 AM
I got my mom (who is a huge Aliens fan) the Isolation and she didn't like it. She does not like how weak she is and feels it takes away from the game. Ripley wasn't helpless obviously so why does the daughter have to be? I watched her play it for awhile and the game in general bored me to tears. "AHHH THE ALIEN SAW ME AND IM DED" The game could be better, but graphically it looks fantastic.
I'll borrow it from her whenever she's done with it. She does like the Alien more than the glitchy alien's in Colonial Marines though. Thats a given though.
I don't have much to say regarding Driveclub because…well I haven't boughten it yet. And for once, no one I know has it. I guess everyones either waiting for the free2try version or everyones already boughten it who wants it. I know they took it off the ps4's store much like how they did with FF14. Too much buying and trying to go online crashes stuff. Its already not a financial flop at the very least.
Ben, where the hell is our reviews?! Get to work! lol Kidding aside, I am curious to see how you enjoy Isolation. I actually am curious to see what any longtime Aliens fan thinks of the game. I think its boring and very slow paced. Which is fine, had it not been for auto deaths. Being helpless doesn't make me scared, because it wasn't done right. In Amnesia you could easily escape or do a variety of things in Isolation its like "F*** it saw me, I will try to hi…dead"
Except ripley was weak in the first till you got to the end of the film. The alien is stronger here. He isn't the normal weak aliens that get blasted with a few shots and does.
I am waiting for free PS+ version of DC to check it myself. From what I saw the physics are similiar to SHIFT 2 which was the last racer I liked and played. It's a shame that I won't be able to play Japanese cars thou:(