@gadgetnerd: These gaming websites are far more about marketing then giving any sort of objective critiques although they like to pretend as if it's the other way around. It's all smoke and mirrors. You have seen the light!
Never mind how good this game will actually be. The title along is going to sale Activision a ton of copies but as usual Activision is going to put out ads aimed at casuals. Gaming websites is going to direct their marketing at gullible young kids. Then when the game releases and after said people have given Activison their money its going to be the usual's who is going to complain about how BO4 is nowhere near as hardcore as COD4 and that BO4 is just another copy and paste, watered down, causal game, with micro-transactions, season passes, and lootboxes! As if Activision is going to care once they have made their money lol.
EA, Activision, etc. are looking at video games as if they are at its core casino games in digital format. But what they don't understand is that casino games attracts a completely different type of audience from those playing games on PC and Console. Modeling their PC and console games off of casino games is a huge mistake because where as casino games has always been about luck and that's the lure. Video games on PC and console have always been about competitive gameplay and story. If they were real PC and console gamers they would know this but guess what? They don't, obviously!
I am assuming that the real reason why Verceral single player Star Wars game was cancelled is because EA couldn't figure out a good way to incorporate their random loot box system/mirco-transactions into the game and so therefore it wasn't going to meet EA's greedy margin of profitablity. A good single player Star Wars game with a great story, plenty of content, and great gameplay mechanics would have sold plenty but that wasn't good enough for EA. That said, I am assuming that many of the predictory systems that was in BF2 was going to be in Bioware's upcoming game Anthem but because of the backlash BF2 received Anthem is now being reworked and delayed.
It's important to understand that the people running these big AAA publishing companies like EA, Activision, etc. are not gamers. They are gamblers. They are businessmen put there to figure out new ways of maximizing profits at any cost. EA, etc. model is obviously based off of casino games where it's all to do with luck and micro-transactions rather then competitive gameplay and story. The roll of the dice! Over the years most of these AAA publishers have moved away from giving players plenty of content in their vanilla games to moving towards less content and more dlc/micro transactions. 2017 no doubt was the year where EA decided that they was going to take it a step further and take skill based progression out the game entirely and tie progression directly to random loot boxes and micro-transactions. That says it all. The people running these big AAA publishing companies have no clue as to why we love video games! These big AAA publishers have known for a long time that players didn't support pay 2 win and random loot boxes being tied to progression. Yet, EA driven by greed gambled and decided that they was going to push forward anyway so here we are.
@couly: The games difficulty. See, to causal players the story and ease of the game is far more important then any sort of challenging gameplay experience. Causal players will typically set every game on easy mode and blast through the campaign for story. Hardcore players on the other hand don't necessarily play games for story. Great story is a nice bonus but hardcore players play for the challenging gameplay experiences. It's about improving ones skills through gameplay. The harder the better. In the case of Far Cry 2. Guns deteriorate over time. Guns jam. Guns have recoil. Every gun handles differently. There is no mini map exposing enemy locations. There is no infinite run. Quick travel is only at set locations. Different vehicles handles differently. The enemy A.I. will flack you, take cover, run you over, etc.. The main protagonist in the game will never be superior to his enemies which means that you will always have to plan your every move. That's not fun to causal players. Far Cry 2 does have mods though that makes this game easier and also mods that make this game even harder. PS. Diamond GPS is minor and is not a necessity to progression. One can get far more diamonds by completing missions.
@couly: That is subjective. It really depends on the type of player that you are. The younger more causal players tend to prefer Far Cry 3 while older more hardcore players tend to prefer Far Cry 2.
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