Community round-up XXIII

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This haggard chap's from Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, and he's just as surprised as I am that his game garnered a decent amount of discussion on the forum this week.   

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by Sam Sant

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@SlamShotSam

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New footage of Modern Warfare Remastered provoked quite a strong response from Metalrodent. He's got a spot of nostalgia for the classic FPS and resents the fact it's only available as part of a pricey bundle, you see. Bezza agreed it was a "dick move" on Activision's part, whilst BAMozzy and Liam defended the decision. 

​Bam sees it as a way to reward the most loyal of fans, whilst Liam thinks it's a great way to justify the cost of a special edition. The problem therein, as Rodent pointed out, is that it doesn't so much justify the price when it's the only bonus offered - you're literally just paying for it. Whilst that's fine and dandy for those already planning to purchase Infinite Warfare, those that aren't are forced to either fork out or miss out.   

"That's the very definition of treating fans with contempt, given that CoD has a large and casual player base."

Well said, Rodent. Don't worry too much, though, as Bezza's guaranteeing it'll be available standalone next year! He's probably right, but if he isn't, feel free to tell him he sucks.

Whilst the marketing decisions caused some friction, everyone largely agreed that Infinite Warfare actually looks decent. It's hard for me to get excited about Call of Duty, even the beloved Battlefield 1 hasn't done much to grab my attention. The two mammoth franchises feel passé nowadays, despite their best efforts to diversify.

Maybe it's just me, as I've been playing Unravel following its addition to the EA Access Vault and finding it pretty tedious. Liam gave the almost photo-realistically beautiful platformer 9/10 in our review, yet awkward physics and controls mire it in a much lower region for me. 

I also have to question the decision behind including an achievement for completing the game without any deaths. Why make your thoughtful, placid game into something inherently stressful? It's equivalent to Fragments of Him requiring a speedrun.

Whilst you might sigh and wonder why I just don't bother, that isn't a mindset that would've seen me surpass 300,000 Gamerscore this week!  

It's the completion percentage I actually care about.

Mad Max took me beyond the threshold, the sweltering room I played in mirroring the post-apocalyptic, arid deserts on-screen.

On a side note, what the hell happened to our Great British summer ? Where were the angry-looking clouds that put us under constant threat of rain? The biting, gale-force winds?

Elsewhere, the community once again fell back on old favourites in World of Tanks (no points for guessing who), Overwatch and GTAV. We'll finally start seeing some decent new releases with the arrival of We Happy Few's preview phase, Headlander, Hyper Light Drifter and more next week, followed by the digital release of BATMAN - The Telltale Series' first episode the week after. What's more, these round-ups will be much easier to write with actual games to discuss; we've almost weathered the storm, people!

Soon after that we'll be able to get our grubby mitts on Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, though Johnbhoy questions whether it's actually worth getting excited about. The undeniably awful lip sync and rigid animations he cited won't hamper the signature gameplay, though we have some bad news for Rodent even on that front.

"Having mini cutscenes and using energy each time you melee attack was naff." Yeah, that's kinda still in there... 

This is about as animated as protagonist Adam Jensen gets.

Something so befitting of the community round-up that it pains me it can't be included occurred Thursday evening. Whilst I realise bringing that up and not delivering is a "dick move" of Activision proportions, maybe someone will point to this down the line when I'm able to disclose it.

Anyway, if you think I let you down there, just take a look this woeful fumble from Chris. Whilst discussing the recently announced NES: Classic Edition console, he asked "There's no Alex the Kid?" ... Oh dear. It's Alex Kidd, and the game was for SEGA Master System. He saw himself out with an appropriately grovelling apology, so we've since let him back into the fold.
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Passed that along like a pro.   

We'll close this week by having Song of the Deep's lovely main theme whisk us away to an aquatic realm of adventure.  

Bliss.

​Why not get involved by liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and having your say in the forums or comments below. You might even feature in a future instalment as a result!