7 Times You Were Right To Worry About Video Games
Gee. Who could have seen THAT coming?
So let's face facts, when it comes to video games, there's a lot to worry about.
From deadlines coming and going, behind-the-scenes chaos and shady workplace practices, and of course gameplay footage confirming your worst fears on a title, there are so many ways in which the panic levels can rise to dangerous levels before you've even had a chance to play.
Plus when you factor in the sheer cost of each new gleaming title, your level of emotional attachment to a new pre-order is going to be far higher. After all, you've chosen to get this game over heating your house for an hour here in the UK so of course, you want this thing to be bloody brilliant.
And sometimes those fears are more than well-founded, as a rogue slice of gameplay or the reveal of predatory microtransactions may indeed confirm that the "next big thing" is going to be anything but.
There's a blessing to spot these faults early and save yourself some cash, and hopefully after studying some of the examples on this list, you too will be able to keep the wallet closed on bad games and your mouth wide open as you yell at others to get a goddam clue.
7. When XCOM Went Mobile
Now, to be clear, this entry could very well read "When 'X Favourite Video Game Franchise' Went Mobile" and still hold true for about 99% of cases as when it comes to the mobile gaming market, to quote Obi-Wan Kenobi "you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy"
Oh sorry I got the quote wrong, it was actually Obi-Wan in the deleted scenes that said "Dude this marketplace !*$% sucks". Alec McGuinness thought it was a bit out of character so they dropped it.
Regardless of questionable Star Wars lore, the real battle within the mobile game marketplace is one concerning IPs and their own dignity, for all too often publishers will hand over the rights and a spade full of goodwill to an unknown dev team in order to line their coffers with a few more greasy pennies. Final Fantasy All The Bravest, Dungeon Keeper Mobile, Kick-Ass: The Game and so many more utterly burn not just the brand but the customer base to ashes.
But for me, one of the greatest insults to an even greater franchise was XCOM Legends.
So, imagine what a typical XCOM video game experience is. You're likely thinking of a demanding, squad-based tactics game in which you're always desperately fighting against a far more technologically advance foe. It's brilliant and you love it.
Now please take all that excitement and tension and shove all of it off the table onto the floor and stomp it into the ground, as that's not on the menu today friend. No, instead you get to chow down on partially defrosted cabbage seasoned with spit and scalp flakes.
The more and more the marketing of Legends told me this was a true XCOM experience the less and less faith I had in this game. As with a ridiculous art style favouring hi-tech weapons and skins, a loot box so aggressive it reaches out and throttles you, and a gameplay style that looks more akin to that shoddy space invaders remake than anything else... this was a panic attack on the app store for fans.
And wouldn't you know, it absolutely sucked.