Slow Burn

PS4 and Xbox One came out close to three years ago. So where the hell are all the great games?

Both systems launched in November 2013 promising next generation consoles with higher quality graphics, better engines, more connectivity and a fantastic new slate of games. Well it’s 2016 and I’m still waiting for these games—shit, any game—to blow me away. The libraries on both systems at launch were lackluster at best. Other games announced wound up delayed for a ridiculously long time. When they finally did release, they were nothing like the hype and were major disappointments. For the long time and at a cost of $60 a pop, these games have to be at a minimum universally good. Too many times, I have felt cheated and taken advantage of.

I own both systems which I purchased a little over a year after launch. My plan was to wait out the initial systems for bugs and give game developers time to release more titles. It was a slow wait—frankly, it still is. For my PS4, I bought the Destiny edition extremely anxious to play this game. The trailers were captivating and the premise of jumping to different worlds for missions was right up my alley as a sci-fi nerd. Too bad the reality was that the game was nothing like the hype. Four to five worlds that you couldn’t even explore past the designated paths was all that you’re given. Once you leveled up, there was really nothing more you could do. Yeah, they came out with DLC packs later but I’m sorry if they game is lacking at $60 why should I have to pay for additional content that (supposedly) matches more of what was originally intended. Do what The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt did and make the DLC free.

I anxiously awaited Star Wars: Battlefront, The Division, Rainbow Six: Siege, Need for Speed and Hitman all to be sold games that were basically…ehhh! Most of them looked gorgeous especially Battlefront, Division and Speed but the gameplay for all became repetitive way too quick. Speed just was empty—no large amounts of AI cars and I still don’t know where any of the other online players existed. Hitman is now an episodic format and Siege has those damn in-game transactions like mobile games. Fuck that! I don’t want it nor will I pay for it.

Now I may be older than the demographic these developers lust after but I can guarantee you I spend a shit load more money than their desired demo does. I have no issue paying just a bit more for a complete game but I have major problems paying for a game in piece meal parts. That’s why I stopped mobile gaming. It became too nickel and dime. That’s not fun nor does it enhance my gaming experience. There’s titles I’m waiting to drop but I’ll be more hesitant about buying them outright until after launch to find out about all the caveats.

Definitely think it’s time to renew my Gamefly subscription.