September 7th 2023.
It’s a breath of fresh air to see a game that’s actually worth the hype and not just a rehash of a previous title or a cash grab. It’s a shame that some developers and publishers think they can get away with releasing unfinished or incomplete games that are more of a product than an experience.
Starfield has been getting a lot of buzz lately, and while I’m excited to see what it offers, I’m reminded of the broken promises and hyped-up releases that have become all too common in the gaming industry. I hope that Bethesda doesn’t succumb to the pressure to release an incomplete game, and instead gives us a title that lives up to the hype.
As a gaming enthusiast, I’m happy to see studios like Larian and Bethesda still making quality games, and I can’t wait to see what else they have in store for us.
Andy G
Starfield – has it been fairly represented?
The official launch of Starfield has recently sparked a debate on the Thursday letters page. One reader even went as far as to say that Morrowind is Bethesda’s best game. But have all the reviews been accurate and unbiased?
I appreciate GC’s review in progress of Starfield. It was an in-depth evaluation that highlighted several important aspects of the game. What I found interesting is that many of the points GC made were echoed by other sites, yet the scores they gave were frequently higher than they should have been.
I must give credit to IGN and GameSpot for their reviews of Starfield, as they gave the game a lower score than expected. This was a brave decision, considering the pressure they may have faced from Bethesda to give the game a higher score.
It’s not just GC that has faced this issue. Eurogamer, Edge, and other UK sites have also been given the same treatment by certain publishers. Rather than sending review codes to these sites, they have tried to manipulate the reviews by keeping them off Metacritic until later. Thankfully, the reviews that were available immediately were fair and accurate.
Gordo
Last minute delay
So, I’m all set to play Starfield on my Xbox, as I’ve pre-installed it from Game Pass. But then I hit a bit of a snag. I was suddenly faced with a 15.5GB update! This is ridiculous, considering it was preinstalled and it was the day of the standard release.
This would have been an even bigger issue if I had slow broadband. As it is, the update will take around 20 minutes. That’s still a bit of an annoyance.
Si
Do better
It’s no surprise that Starfield is a Bethesda game, meaning it’s got the usual issues like shonky facial animations, bugs, poor companion AI, and a lacklustre story. This was all fine 10-15 years ago, as Bethesda were at the cutting edge of the industry. But now, games like The Witcher 3, No Man’s Sky, and Baldur’s Gate 3 have shown us what can be done with a fraction of the budget.
The first planets in Starfield are also pretty boring. A game should grab its players within two to three hours; if it fails to do this, players will usually give up on it. Developers should be aware that they can’t start a game with something intentionally boring!
I’ll likely play Starfield once it’s had multiple patches and some PC mods, but the fact that it’s still like this in 2023 is a bit tired.
The Dude Abides
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Starfield reloaded
I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s had enough of Starfield. It’s had loading screens, delayed review copies, and limited world to world travel. It’s like a broken mess before its even been released.
Microsoft really need to do better. Give me No Man’s Sky VR any day. Loading screens are supposed to be a thing of the past!
Anyway, here’s an interesting question for you GC. If you could go back in time and swap one exclusive game franchise from a rival console to make it exclusive on your console instead, which one would it be and why? And which exclusive game franchise would you sacrifice from your console for it to be exclusive on the rival console instead of yours?
Mine would be to have Mario on PlayStation and I would sacrifice LittleBigPlanet to Nintendo .
Keep up the good work guys!
Mark S
GC: Thanks. Although we’re not sure we’d call that a very fair swap.
Sooner than you think
The news that Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom won’t be getting any DLC has certainly surprised me. But this could mean that the next game will be coming sooner than expected, since they won’t have to spend time making the DLC. Who knows what the new game will be, but the producer seemed confident. If the last two games are anything to go by, it should be good!
Lionelh
Don’t give in to hype
It’s great to see that studios like Larian are still developing complete titles, without microtransactions or lies and false promises. I’ve just finished installing Baldur’s Gate 3 on PC, and I’m looking forward to playing it. Hopefully it won’t be a victim of its own hype.
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