Monster Hunter Rise captured me this year like no other game. I’ve dabbled in the series before, but never got hooked. The shorter hunts and mobility changes had a huge influence on me sinking 200 hrs into this game this year. I just kept going back for more and more fun.
I'm hoping this game is a return to form for the series, but it isn't looking like it right now. I'm not sure why they have gotten so far away from the amazing battle system that was in place for the original and the GameCube versions. Those were innovative action RPG's with a turn based system that had you engaged in every battle. The more recent entries just had you on autopilot the entire time.
I'm excited about getting some cross-platform play in Rocket League. The Xbox One community is relatively small, so it will be great to play with PC players.
While it sounds like the future, this seems more like a marketing move to get a headline for Microsoft rather than a true call to have a united ecosystem of gaming across Xbox One, PC, and PS4. Now, Microsoft can claim that they wanted an open system, but lousy Sony didn't play ball.
"I’m old and I’m at the much-discussed water platform run-for-your-life section. I wish I had the reflexes today I had when I wore a younger man’s clothes."
As a 35 year old gamer who's been playing games since 1984, this perfectly sums up my experience with Ori.
Really good review Dan. I think you were very fair with the game, whereas a lot of reviewers have taken the time to skewer the game almost as if they want to make an example out of it. It's true that the game lacks content, and it's an indicator of a larger problem in the industry in terms of DLC and season pass abuse. It's pretty lousy that you're in for $110 if you want all the game content, and a lot of it should have been included on the disc day 1.
With that being said, I really love this game. I really dig the more casual approach to an online shooter, and I feel like this was designed for dads like me who don't have a ton of time to game, but want to jump online for a few matches after the kiddos are down for the night.
Now if we can just get that offline campaign as free DLC ...
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