It was mediocre at launch, and it's still mediocre. Most of the quests are built out of "talk to an NPC, go somewhere else, talk to another NPC, go back to the first one" and "talk to an NPC, go to a planet and kill some dudes, go back to the NPC" with only a couple of them deviating from that template, the sense of exploration and discovery is minimal due to the game being built from small chunks separated by a series of loading screens, the minigame for getting powers is tedious beyond belief, and the Creation engine doesn't really seem to have changed since Oblivion.
Multiplayer is a bit annoying; the whole "simulating a race weekend with practice/qualifying" probably sounded good on paper but in reality it's tedious - spending 20 minutes killing time before a 5-10 minute race just feels like a chore, especially if you then get taken out on the first turn by an idiot who can't find their brakes (especially as the penalty system has issues; I keep getting penalised when someone else hits me if it causes me to hit someone else or get knocked off the track). Career mode is lacking something; all the races are short and there's not really any sense of progression - a few car upgrades, but then at the end of the tournament you're on to a new non-upgraded car - and "driver level" seems to have no effect on anything. The lack of any kind of music during races feels weird, the UI is a bit clunky, it's a bit buggy, AI drivers are terrible, and it feels half finished somehow, but it looks pretty I suppose.
After 25-ish hours I think I'm pretty much done with it, and my overall take is that it's pretty mediocre. Some good moments, but it lacks the sense of exploration and discovery that made Skyrim and Fallout interesting. Trudging across featureless deserted planets towards a distant marker is just tedious, and I think Todd Howard's "it's meant to be dull" explanation makes it worse. The Bethesda jank and the limitations of the Creation engine are also getting kind of tired now - apart from the improved visuals (and even those feel behind the curve - my heavily modded Skyrim looks better!) it feels like little has changed under the hood since Oblivion. The sad truth is that, based on Starfield, my anticipation for Elder Scrolls VI has all but disappeared now...
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Re: Xbox's Phil Spencer Knows How Annoying The Forza Horizon 4 Situation Is
At least they're not pulling an Ubisoft and making the game unplayable for everyone who owns it. Heck, I still play the original FH from time to time!
Re: Talking Point: One Month On From Launch, How Are You Feeling About Starfield?
It was mediocre at launch, and it's still mediocre. Most of the quests are built out of "talk to an NPC, go somewhere else, talk to another NPC, go back to the first one" and "talk to an NPC, go to a planet and kill some dudes, go back to the NPC" with only a couple of them deviating from that template, the sense of exploration and discovery is minimal due to the game being built from small chunks separated by a series of loading screens, the minigame for getting powers is tedious beyond belief, and the Creation engine doesn't really seem to have changed since Oblivion.
Re: Talking Point: Early Access Players, What Do You Think Of Forza Motorsport So Far?
Multiplayer is a bit annoying; the whole "simulating a race weekend with practice/qualifying" probably sounded good on paper but in reality it's tedious - spending 20 minutes killing time before a 5-10 minute race just feels like a chore, especially if you then get taken out on the first turn by an idiot who can't find their brakes (especially as the penalty system has issues; I keep getting penalised when someone else hits me if it causes me to hit someone else or get knocked off the track). Career mode is lacking something; all the races are short and there's not really any sense of progression - a few car upgrades, but then at the end of the tournament you're on to a new non-upgraded car - and "driver level" seems to have no effect on anything. The lack of any kind of music during races feels weird, the UI is a bit clunky, it's a bit buggy, AI drivers are terrible, and it feels half finished somehow, but it looks pretty I suppose.
Re: Talking Point: Where Does Starfield Rank In Your Top Games Of 2023?
After 25-ish hours I think I'm pretty much done with it, and my overall take is that it's pretty mediocre. Some good moments, but it lacks the sense of exploration and discovery that made Skyrim and Fallout interesting. Trudging across featureless deserted planets towards a distant marker is just tedious, and I think Todd Howard's "it's meant to be dull" explanation makes it worse. The Bethesda jank and the limitations of the Creation engine are also getting kind of tired now - apart from the improved visuals (and even those feel behind the curve - my heavily modded Skyrim looks better!) it feels like little has changed under the hood since Oblivion. The sad truth is that, based on Starfield, my anticipation for Elder Scrolls VI has all but disappeared now...
Re: Forza Horizon 1 & 2 Are Shutting Their Servers On Xbox This August
Last time I tried FH1 there were literally no other players online so it seems pretty reasonable to kill the servers.