@gamer_152: Contractually obligated to put the game out because of a deal with the government of Singapore. That's why they stuck with it. Cheaper and easier to release a flop than to have to deal with whatever would happen from not meeting the requirements.
I had no idea about this. This is so cool. Imagine being contractually obligated to make a pirate combat game by the Singaporean government.
I'm honestly amazed that Ubisoft stuck with this. For all the projects that got cancelled, from that Deus Ex sequel to Blizzard's survival adventure, here is a concept that feels like a real long shot and that the developer stayed with. I'm not even saying that's necessarily a good thing; I just still don't believe Skull & Bones is coming out, even after it's come out.
As a big fan of Black Flag and someone who thinks that pirate themes are underutilised in games, I used to get annoyed by these delays, but I've come to think of them as part of a comfortably predictable pattern in the universe. The year is 2073 and I am an old man. I stand on a windswept beach, flecked with ashes from the nearby burning ruins. Most of my friends have had to flee the country or died in the war. But at that moment, my cognitive implant buzzes. A notification in my retinal display informs me that Skull & Bones has been delayed for a forty-fifth time. I know that in spite of everything, the world keeps spinning. I let a circle of sand go into the vastness of the wind.
@spacemanspiff00: Thank you. I think all of us are looking at people who are a little more skilled in what we do and a little less skilled. I'm not very good at taking this advice, but if you're writing, the thing that matters more than whether you're surpassing the people around you is whether you're seeing your own work evolve over time. Everyone came up through practice, seeing a bunch of people around them that had had the opportunity to gain more experience than them. If there was another really good place to post these essays, I'd probably be doing it over there, but for now, I'm glad I can contribute something here. I think if the community is going to stay alive, it needs decent exclusive content.
@marino: Homer's floor cam was legendary. I've seen few other shows that were as good at making you feel like you were in the space the presenter was. Several years before those "IRL" Twitch streams existed, you had Homer visiting the Namco booth.
I am less inclined to stick with a game if I've not paid a lot for it, but I am still likely to play it for a while. Generally speaking, I'm not dipping in and out of games a lot. Unless a game is really derivative, I'm usually interested to see where it goes, to see what tricks it has up its sleeve. If it really doesn't have anything new to offer, that's probably something I've clocked before I picked it up, and I'm not playing it. The thing that usually motivates me to play games is that I enjoy them. If I enjoy something, I want more of it. I'm also not buying new £70 games though. There's plenty I could play that I'll have a great time with that doesn't involve putting down that huge sum of money. If the title is that good, I'll play it later and it'll still be the same game but without the huge price tag.
@justin258: I don't want to mislead, the game is entirely looking for collectibles, and taking pictures, editing pictures, and working out how to get to places from which you can take pictures. But it's such a thoughtfully and carefully executed version of that concept. Your mileage may vary. I did see Chris Franklin put up his video on this, but at first, I didn't want to spoil the game for myself, and then I didn't want it to skew how I might write about it. I should go back and check that out.
Log in to comment