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[Renmyra]

SO Iwasnt gonna read the second half, but now Im glad I did.

WTF is gaf complaining about exactly? LOL They make one mention of a set piece after only 40hours of gameplay, and people are trippin? LMAO. We dont even know how long it took for them to get to that particular point. We dont even know what follows afterwards.

This sounds like a nice change of pace and Im sure the ENTIRE rest of the game wont even be like that anyways. Come on now.

I'm honestly starting to think people are interpreting the spoilered part as

Spoiler

"the entire second half of the game will be a stealth section with horror elements, without your buddies".

 

[KingdomHeartsFan]

Must resist clicking on spoilers.

 

[AlexFlame116]

No that actually didn't happen to Duke Nukem didn't receive 10s across the board it was just bad. Lul. Or did reality rewrite itself when i didn't pay attention?

What??? No I'm talking about living up to the hype. That game was in development for so long people were extremely happy when it was announced again with a release date. But then the game came out and it was terrible.

 

[Socivol]

Yeah, if you only read the segments that were posted here it sounds positive, but in context of the whole article...Not so much. There's a lot not posted here.

Spoiler

Luna is a waste. She's barely in the game. The bromance has good parts (including an emotional rooftop scene) but the lack of female characters is "a damaging oversight". The plot is lacking. The game is "litered with stuctural issues". The take away from the article is that Tabata managed to make an eccentric, and original game that never escapes it's development hell past.

Yeah after reading the whole thing they make it sound like a complete cluster fuck without many redeeming qualities.

 

[YankeeDonB]

Sounds like the game has some weird in it. If anything, I find that potentially exciting, as some of my favorite FFs have a ton of it. If the entire back HALF of the game is as described, that could be a bit much though.

I like this from the actual article: "Allow yourself to adjust to the unusual flow and yield to the wild eccentricity, however, and in this way FF XV can offer that rarest of blockbuster experiences: originality."

 

[UrbanRats]

There's a huge difference though. Chapter 2 of MGSV was a lot of repeated missions with a half-baked (if that) story in the middle. It also had no real conclusion. The "linear" stuff in FFXV doesn't sound like that at all, nor does it sound like the game doesn't have a proper climax/finale. It sounds like the "openness" begins to pare down in the second half to focus on the plot more, with only the last stretch or so being in a dungeon or dungeon-like environment which is typical of most RPG's.

This doesn't sound like an MGSV case at all. Sure, that choice for them to go more narrative instead of making the open world even more open...er could be because of budget/time, but it doesn't say that the entire second half of the game is linear weirdness.

MGSAV lacking a climax was the least of its problems.

I'm in the camp of people that thinks that, a proper Episode 51, would've changed little to nothing about my opinion of the game.
By the end of it, you could see more than clearly through its facade (as much as i loved to death its gameplay).

I don't expect FFXV to be anything of that magnitude, but i'm wondering if it didn't run into a similar problem, with over ambition.
After all, having a massive open world game with that level of polish, isn't something you see often (almost never, actually), it wouldn't surprise me if they decided to tone back the second half, in terms of scope, for that reason.
But again, as long as it works in context, i wouldn't be mad.

 

[MaverickHunterAsh]

I love what I'm reading about the second half, especially with regard to linearity. I loved XIII for its punchiness and confidence in that regard - and it's incredible how many people didn't realize that XIII wasn't newly linear so much as it simply made no pretenses of trying to keep up an illusion of linearity like previous games have. Games like IV and VII-IX were never as non-linear as you thought they were - which is not a bad thing, but people act like it is and like XIII is the game that started the trend when it really didn't.

Anyway, XV could very well end up falling flat - it's too early to say - but if it does, a more linear second half won't be why; especially when a linear focus is exactly what's eventually needed in so many open-world games that sorely need their fat trimmed. I had a wonderful time with XIII and my least favorite part was actually when you reach Pulse and the momentum comes grinding to a screeching halt as the game suddenly goes open-world for awhile, so the idea of a "reverse XIII" sounds just peachy to me. Let me explore at my leisure early on, then start funneling me toward the conclusion as I progress and the stakes (presumably) ramp up in the story. Hell yeah - sounds infinitely better to me than staying open-world the whole way through.

Clearly my tastes don't align with a lot of you here, especially considering I think linearity is often a wonderful thing in games (as it was in XIII), but it sounds like XV is set to appeal to me significantly more because of that. Works for me!

 

[Holundrian]

Because that translates to perfect review scores and unique standards that exclude things like poor story telling, dialogue, broken game design and a totally incomplete second half.

That's why you don't only trust review if you really care about making an informed purchase.
Some games gain a free pass most of the time because reviewers just don't have the time to let things sink in or what not. (Forever salty about launch diablo 3 reviews)

 

[baberunisei]

So it is Versus XIII after all. Very disappointing

 

[Blackleg-sanji1]

Not to me tho lol.

Ah what do I kno lol. I think 8 is better than 7 and 13 isnt crap

 

[AlexFlame116]

In the end does it matter? Fact is FFXV doesn't pull it off. It's as simple as that unfortunaly, and I was hoping that it would, but I had a feeling it really wouldn't.

Thanks for answering the question....

Are you really set on your conclusion after one magazine preview? Or is this about the lack of females?


EDIT: You know what never mind. Don't want to get into this.

 

[Blackleg-sanji1]

Sounds like the game has some weird in it. If anything, I find that potentially exciting, as some of my favorite FFs have a ton of it. If the entire back HALF of the game is as described, that could be a bit much though.

I like this from the actual article: "Allow yourself to adjust to the unusual flow and yield to the wild eccentricity, however, and in this way FF XV can offer that rarest of blockbuster experiences: originality."

Ooo that's a nice quote. I'll take some originality in my gaming life

 

[MilkBeard]

I feel like everything I'm hearing sounds like some cool, experimental choices that don't always land. That's basically the core of a Final Fantasy game to me.

I feel the same way. I mean, if Final Fantasy VII was coming out today, people would be complaining about all the weird minigames that don't really add anything to the game.

"Jumping off a dolphin's back? An arcade style motorcycle run? A pointless submarine section? What are these doing in my JRPG?"

JRPGs tend to mash a lot of different systems, especially Final Fantasy in its heyday. Relax folks. This quirky stuff is often what gives these games character.

 

[Toth]

God, I hate to see Edge's reviews of Dragon Quest games if getting money is such a big issue for them. Frankly, I have yet to be impressed by their reviews as they seem to go against the grain to be....edgy.

But holy hell at the hyperbole.

 

[Seven Force]

Subsystems and mechanics being discarded soon after being introduced is far and away the most concerning thing for me. Doesn't paint a picture of the game design coming together cohesively.

 

[novabolt]

Kind of reads like a weak 7/10 which is good.

 

[Blackleg-sanji1]

Kind of reads like a weak 7/10 which is good.

I'll take it.

 

[tdwig]

Edge was pretty negative on FFXIII with a score of 5/10:

"FFXIII takes brave risks with the series' foundations, but they ultimately create trembling fractures throughout the entire edifice, that robust battle system unable to support the weight of an entire world. Final Fantasy games are always an investment. This time, the returns are questionable."

They gave FFXII their game of the year for 2006.
They gave FFX a 6/10.

edit: added their score for xiii

 

[Rush_Khan]

So it is Versus XIII after all. Very disappointing

I'm kind of okay with this. What exactly do you mean by this? (I didn't read any spoilers in the OP.)

 

[brandonh83]

MGSAV lacking a climax was the least of its problems.

I'm in the camp of people that thinks that, a proper Episode 51, would've changed little to nothing about my opinion of the game.
By the end of it, you could see more than clearly through its facade (as much as i loved to death its gameplay).

I'm with you. And I'm in the camp of people that didn't even find that it had redeeming gameplay. Sure the mechanics were great, but I never gave a fuck about what I was doing. 20 hours in, I'm infiltrating the exact same bases. When you go to South Africa or wherever, it was just the same shit in a different setting. I can play a Mario game just for fun because that's what it had always been and the point was the level/game design. Metal Gear, I had been conditioned to expect fun gameplay and a wacky but incredibly fun story that moves. Balance. MGSV had none.

This is off topic though so I'll drop it Needless to say, not a fan of MGSV, totally agreed that a chapter 51 wouldn't have solved all the problems. FFXV doesn't really sound like this just because of a blurb about how the game becomes more condensed in the latter half.

 

[UpDownLeftRight]

In the end does it matter? Fact is FFXV doesn't pull it off. It's as simple as that unfortunaly, and I was hoping that it would, but I had a feeling it really wouldn't.

Edge releasing a single preview makes it fact now then? That doesn't sound like someone who was hoping for success to be honest.

 

[Toth]

Edge was pretty negative on FFXIII:


They gave FFXII their game of the year for 2006.
They gave FFX a 6/10.

Well, that seals it. Keep trying Edge.

 

[Servbot24]

Sounds like XIII in reverse. :/

FFXIII never had anything close to an open world design. It was hallway, hallway, hallway, wider hallway, hallway.

 

[Aostia]

sounds exactly like a game that was in development hell

this is my same sensation.
let's see how it will turn out in the end

 

[Kouriozan]

Clearly my tastes don't align with a lot of you here, especially considering I think linearity is often a wonderful thing in games (as it was in XIII), but it sounds like XV is set to appeal to me significantly more because of that. Works for me!

I platinum-ed all 3 FF XIII games, I was fine with it because the story kept me hooked and the gameplay was alright.
In FF XV, both of them sounds bad, and playing the Platinum Demo really didn't help that feeling.

 

[F0rneus]

Subsystems and mechanics being discarded soon after being introduced is far and away the most concerning thing for me. Doesn't paint a picture of the game design coming together cohesively.

"As further evidence of the underlying structural issues, the game is filled with nascent design ideas that never feel like finished, meaningful components."

 

[Ray Down]

Subsystems and mechanics being discarded soon after being introduced is far and away the most concerning thing for me. Doesn't paint a picture of the game design coming together cohesively.

Cid upgrading mechanic doesn't disappear, you just have to travel back to him, unless something really happens to him.

 

[NoctisVsStar]

Kind of reads like a weak 7/10 which is good.

Give it to me

 

[Servbot24]

Subsystems and mechanics being discarded soon after being introduced is far and away the most concerning thing for me. Doesn't paint a picture of the game design coming together cohesively.

Yeah, this is the only bad thing I saw in that preview.

Open world games are terrible, hopefully FFXV turns linear ASAP.

 

[Holundrian]

I platinum-ed all 3 FF XIII games, I was fine with it because the story kept me hooked and the gameplay was alright.
In FF XV, both of them sounds bad, and playing the Platinum Demo really didn't help that feeling.

Ok actually if the story in XIII kept you hooked I think chances are going to be good you're going to like XV :-x but maybe that's just me.
I feel like people that didn't like XIII at all especially because they didn't connect with any of the characters have a lot more to fear of XV falling really short for them.

 

[Jarmel]

Edge was pretty negative on FFXIII:


They gave FFXII their game of the year for 2006.
They gave FFX a 6/10.

Does this matter unless it was the same person reviewing it?

 

[bigol]

"As further evidence of the underlying structural issues, the game is filled with nascent design ideas that never feel like finished, meaningful components."

So, does the previewer really expect to have Chocobos everywhere? Or what is wrong about having to go back to Cid to improve weapons?

Even in Final Fantasy XII, or X you couldn't use Chocobos outside selected areas.

 

[pablito]

Edge was pretty negative on FFXIII:


They gave FFXII their game of the year for 2006.
They gave FFX a 6/10.

Negative on XIII
XII GOTY

Spoiler

Bully or Okami probably should take it but I can't hate this

FFX a 6/10

Spoiler

I'd give it lower

3 for 3 from where I'm standing.

 

[Boy Wander]

There are some positives in the preview for sure but obviously I picked out a few of the sections that I found interesting.

Also, I typed the quotes from the physical magazine whilst simultaneously editing a file on Linux for work and watching the movie Predator, so if there are any grammatical errors, they're on me, not EDGE.

 

[Philippo]

Jesus the hyperbole in this thread.

 

[Byvar]

I read the article. I actually like that it'll get more linear - that's rather interesting if done right. I'm more concerned about the story being up to par and now also slightly disappointed that these mechanics from early in the game (Chocobos w/ leveling, weapon upgrades) seem to disappear rather quickly, even before the second part of the game if I understood that right. If Edge didn't just look over all of these things then it's like the devs are introducing "core" mechanics left and right and later just taking them away, which I think will make the game feel rushed.
I just hope the story is good, and the Edge article at least mentions that its conclusion is powerful, so I'm looking forward to it.

Spoiler

Here, Noctis, working alone, must duck into doorways in order to hide from the stalking, haunted guards. The stealth is delivered in a horror style, complete with jump scares, a disembodied, Joker-like voiceover, and Resident Evil-style key-card puzzles."

Sounds good, actually. A lot like the Omen trailer, then, which I already thought was showing a scenario from the actual game...

Spoiler

What they're describing with the disembodied voice and the stalking guards also kind of feels like the ending to Type-0, which I already thought the Omen trailer felt like. Seems like Tabata and his team like that style of scenario a lot.

 

[LordKasual]

That's why you don't only trust review if you really care about making an informed purchase.
Some games gain a free pass most of the time because reviewers just don't have the time to let things sink in or what not. (Forever salty about launch diablo 3 reviews)

I dunno, i think reviewers just played a different MGSV when they gave it those 10s.

I don't know how anyone get to any of the Skulls, or the fire guy, or that big walker piece of shit and not immediately drop the score an entire point. Those bosses were fucking terrible.

So it is Versus XIII after all. Very disappointing

This should be the best news on earth to half of the XV community here.

 

[F0rneus]

So, does the previewer really expect to have Chocobos everwhere? Or what is wrong about having to go back to Cid to improve weapons?

Are they really talking about two features only? Or are they talking about a game that's literal with unfinished ideas pretty much everywhere?

Article makes it abundantly clear it's the later.

 

[Holundrian]

I dunno, i think reviewers just played a different MGSV when they gave it those 10s.

I don't know how anyone get to any of the Skulls, or the fire guy, or that big walker piece of shit and not immediately drop the score an entire point. Those bosses were fucking terrible.

Well dunno haven't played MGS V, maybe they didn't get to it?
It's shockingly not uncommon for reviewers having the I don't need to play it to completion to accurately judge it shtick.

 

[Death Penalty]

Cid upgrading mechanic doesn't disappear, you just have to travel back to him, unless something really happens to him.

Considering Cid can only upgrade certain weapons I think the possibility of this system being vestigial at best is very high. You assume you can go back which may or may not be the case in the first place, but do you even keep getting weapons that CAN be upgraded? Is the preview saying you can't or that the system stops being implemented by the game? You really shouldn't say such things as fact when you don't know for a fact. Misinformation around this game gets spread like crazy.

 

[wild wild rice]

Subsystems and mechanics being discarded soon after being introduced is far and away the most concerning thing for me. Doesn't paint a picture of the game design coming together cohesively.

Nothing about this game paints a picture that it came together cohesively.

 

[Servbot24]

I dunno, i think reviewers just played a different MGSV when they gave it those 10s.

I don't know how anyone get to any of the Skulls, or the fire guy, or that big walker piece of shit and not immediately drop the score an entire point. Those bosses were fucking terrible.

If FFXV turns out to be another MGSV situation I will weep with joy. MGSV is absolutely masterful.

 

[Guess Who]

I'd honestly be more surprised if a game that's been in development on and off for ten years, changed lead developers, and gotten overhauled and redesigned multiple times didn't feel like a disjointed mess, sadly.

 

[Vex_]

I'm honestly starting to think people are interpreting the spoilered part as

Spoiler

"the entire second half of the game will be a stealth section with horror elements, without your buddies".

seriously. they need to interpret better. This could mean anything, but people automatically assume the worst. lmaok

 

[LordKasual]

Well dunno haven't played MGS V, maybe they didn't get to it?
It's shockingly not uncommon for reviewers having the I don't need to play it to completion to accurately judge it shtick.

That's gotta be the only excuse. Because MGSV starts off as a 10-feeling experience. And it's pretty much all downhill from there.

The crazy thing about this preview is that it's essentially a scoreless review. Has this issue already dropped?

If FFXV turns out to be another MGSV situation I will weep with joy. MGSV is absolutely masterful.

What's going to be hilarious is if FFXV actually turns out to be exactly like MGSV except without the benefit of being artistically impenetrable and thus gets railed for all the same things.

Wouldn't be surprised. Although i'm not really expecting XV's second half to actually be barren.

 

[Aters]

The story sounds like an absolute mess just as I expected. I hope it's FFVIII kind of mess because I love that game. On the other hand, if it's like FFX-2, oh well.

 

[golem]

Yeah, if you only read the segments that were posted here it sounds positive, but in context of the whole article...Not so much. There's a lot not posted here.

Spoiler

Luna is a waste. She's barely in the game. The bromance has good parts (including an emotional rooftop scene) but the lack of female characters is "a damaging oversight". The plot is lacking. The game is "litered with stuctural issues". The take away from the article is that Tabata managed to make an eccentric, and original game that never escapes it's development hell past.

This pretty much sounds like every leaked bit from earlier was true and nothing has changed. It's going to to review badly i think.

 

[Blackleg-sanji1]

The story sounds like an absolute mess just as I expected. I hope it's FFVIII kind of mess because I love that game. On the other hand, if it's like FFX-2, oh well.

No such thing. These two words shouldn't be in the same sentence. For shame

 

[AkirraKrylon]

seriously. they need to interpret better. This could mean anything, but people automatically assume the worst. lmaok

This.


I didn't read the "spoilers" initially and this is what everyone was saying and that leaves people like me like "wait WHAT?"

For what it's worth....tweeted this before I actually read the article myself and was just going off of what everyone else was saying.

Spoiler

 

[Kaneda Shotaro]

I'm ok with this. Some of my favorite RPGs, final fantasy VI and Xenogears had a very linear second half. Still a flaw, but I'll live with it.

The fact that you can travel back in time is sweet though.

Thanks for the random drop of a spoiler, didn't know time travel was a thing in this. The fuck man.