What would you pay for an identical 2011 game with a badly shoehorned Duke Nukem cameo?
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The half-cocked decisions behind Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition
- Thread starter JournalBot
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Here I was, thinking we were going to get a rant about the web site selling secondhand product keys, which may or may not be valid, and GearBox's decision to completely stop supporting or endorsing that site.
Instead, I get a well reasoned article about why Bulletstorm, a 6 year old game, should be $20 instead of $50.
I find myself completely agreeing.
Well done.
Instead, I get a well reasoned article about why Bulletstorm, a 6 year old game, should be $20 instead of $50.
I find myself completely agreeing.
Well done.
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Skimmed the review and I noticed something not brought up.
Games For Windows Live
Bulletstorm PC was infected with the most severe case of GFWL I have ever seen. They used features and DRM restrictions that nobody had used before, or after. And getting the game to install and update and register was so onerous, it was mythical in nature. It was a 16 step process before you even got the game to run.
Being able to get a copy of Bulletstorm without being infected by GFWL is a truly good improvement. But still not even remotely worth $50.
*checks Steam*
Yep, its on Steam. And yet for a 6 year old game, they still ran DRM. Denuvo and $50 for a 6 year old game. I can wait till December, of 2020.
Games For Windows Live
Bulletstorm PC was infected with the most severe case of GFWL I have ever seen. They used features and DRM restrictions that nobody had used before, or after. And getting the game to install and update and register was so onerous, it was mythical in nature. It was a 16 step process before you even got the game to run.
Being able to get a copy of Bulletstorm without being infected by GFWL is a truly good improvement. But still not even remotely worth $50.
*checks Steam*
Yep, its on Steam. And yet for a 6 year old game, they still ran DRM. Denuvo and $50 for a 6 year old game. I can wait till December, of 2020.
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I'd rather just wait for Hell to freeze over. Having -played it when it was first available, I found the game tedious. The gameplay mechanics are fun for a few levels - then the staleness hits you like a brick. The lasso mechanics get tiresome, listening to people curse isn't really all that funny, and the dumb AI required for the trick-shot gameplay to work makes the game feel tedious long before it actually ends.
You're better off buying the just released Bayonetta for PC at $20.
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Correction:
You could totally rip apart a guy in multiplayer by leashing him at the same time as somebody else.
The skillshot was called "Tug-o-War".
You could totally rip apart a guy in multiplayer by leashing him at the same time as somebody else.
The skillshot was called "Tug-o-War".
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That's a huge miss on my part; I totally forgot that I had done a few co-op kills with friends but was still disappointed with the total number of opportunities available. I have updated the article accordingly, thank you.
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It really saddens me to see Gearbox publicly fail so much and so hard as of late. I *REALLY* like the Borderlands series, and it's really disappointing to see literally nothing else that they have made in the last decade appeal to me.
It really does look like Gearbox is going to go the way of one of my other favorite studios: Relic Entertainment
It really does look like Gearbox is going to go the way of one of my other favorite studios: Relic Entertainment
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You could use the gfwl key to add it to an ea origin account, though even that had a bunch of the gfwl cruft in it and there's a decent chance you'd need to manually download and install the title updates to get around the "zero day protection" that they used. And sometimes even that wouldn't work.
I was also expecting to hear more about the key reseller showdown that gearbox started last week, but guess the game is bad enough without needing to bring that up.
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Ignus Fast
Ars Centurion
I'm so unhappy with this release. This coming from one who LOVED the original, and actually just played through it again a few months back. I know, please be kind.
The original game looked great 6 years ago, and it still holds up. But I paid $50 and got almost no value - the Duke stuff is stupid and poorly implemented, and the original game was barely touched.
So disappointed.
The original game looked great 6 years ago, and it still holds up. But I paid $50 and got almost no value - the Duke stuff is stupid and poorly implemented, and the original game was barely touched.
So disappointed.
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Off Topic:
I had to look this up, I did not realize EA rebooted Syndicate. I loved the original BullFrog release back in the early/mid 90's. I had a "Game Pack" from BullFrog that had Syndicate, Populous, Populous II, Hi-Octane and Magic Capet II, I think.
Now I want to play Hi-Octane
I had to look this up, I did not realize EA rebooted Syndicate. I loved the original BullFrog release back in the early/mid 90's. I had a "Game Pack" from BullFrog that had Syndicate, Populous, Populous II, Hi-Octane and Magic Capet II, I think.
Now I want to play Hi-Octane
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Gearbox is a reminder of everything that's wrong with game publishing. For every good idea like Borderlands there are two or three shovel-ware high-profile titles like Aliens: Colonial Marine and Duke Nukem Forever. Sad to see they're continuing the trend. I was just enjoying the Homeworld re-releases when they reminded me what a poorly polished game could be with Battleborn...
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Maybe I'm just more cynical than you but I see the pricing here as simply a matter of future discounting. There will be future sales, a Steam Spring or Summer sale is surely coming, and pricing the game at $50 now allows them to discount it by 40% in the first sale, netting them a not inconsiderable $30. During the next sale you might see a 50% discount, then a 60% discount a d a 75% discount in a year. Releasing it at an inflated price for a few months gives them a years' worth of huge percentage discounts and a very good average price for what they sell.
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There's something in his, um...
He's got a...
He should probably see a doctor about that, is what I'm trying to say.
]
He's got a...
He should probably see a doctor about that, is what I'm trying to say.
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its funny because Bayonetta (2010) was just put on pc today for $20. no way am I paying $60 for bulletstorm.
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Digital content also takes up no warehouse space or overproduction costs. As long as they didn't spend too much "remastering" the game, there's little risk of loss and it lets them keep some staff busy between projects.
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Maybe. But I'm much more likely to impulsively buy a game for $20 when it's new (and compelling enough to lure me in on curiosity alone even if the reviews are middling) versus after it's endured six months of shrugs and ill will en route to tumbling downward toward that price. Once it's stale enough to hit $20 and there's no excitement or newfound curiosity about it, why lock in at $20 when It'll soon be $10, $5 or a Humble Bundle toss-in? Given how quickly games go out of focus and drop in price these days, planning for future discounting seems like a bad play.
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I love Duke, and I was always curious about Bulletstorm since Painkiller was...what's the phrase, beyond flaw and criticism? Yes, I believe that's it. That Shuriken and Lightning gun, man.
Anyways, this is pretty disappointing because it's game I want to play and it's got my Dukie in it, but I guess I'm going to have to wait for a steam sale. Also, I might have missed it being mentioned in the article, but Duke doesn't come with the game. He's DLC!
I swear, gearbox is actively determined to do nothing right.
Anyways, this is pretty disappointing because it's game I want to play and it's got my Dukie in it, but I guess I'm going to have to wait for a steam sale. Also, I might have missed it being mentioned in the article, but Duke doesn't come with the game. He's DLC!
I swear, gearbox is actively determined to do nothing right.
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"I have felt more interactive excitement holding a burning $5 bill in my hand."
Wow man - sick burn.
(no pun intended)
Wow man - sick burn.
(no pun intended)
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I am guessing the $50 price point is because of the painfully stupid Duke Nukem DLC.
The game should have been priced at $20 and Duke should never have been added.
The game should have been priced at $20 and Duke should never have been added.
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Good article, but I think it lacks a certain... passion. Take it away, Jim!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QbJb2taPtk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QbJb2taPtk
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i'm thinking it should have been added, and the price should have been set at $20.
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Relic and Sierra were some of the best back in the day. I still love Gearbox for bringing back Homeworld..... but that love needs to be nurtured or it will disappear.
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Gee, that's a hard one. I may need several microsseconds pondering over this...
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Most helpful part of this article was the comment that said Bayonetta released on pc today. I'd wanted to play that back in the day and never got around to it. So thank you for that mention!
But seriously gearbox, where the fuck is borderlands 3? The Pre-Sequel didn't flip because people were tired of borderlands, it was because you let that scrubly 2k Australia studio make the game and it just kinda sucked. The humor was off, the accents out of nowhere was unnecessary and unwanted. The story was bland. The studio just bombed it. Make real borderlands and it'll sell again. I promise. Fuck, remaster borderlands 1 with a bunch of the improvements to gameplay from borderlands 2 (extra item slots, updated shield abilities, more oranges, etc.) and sell that for $20. I'd buy it even though I own the original.
Nobody wanted bulletstorm: full retard edition.
But seriously gearbox, where the fuck is borderlands 3? The Pre-Sequel didn't flip because people were tired of borderlands, it was because you let that scrubly 2k Australia studio make the game and it just kinda sucked. The humor was off, the accents out of nowhere was unnecessary and unwanted. The story was bland. The studio just bombed it. Make real borderlands and it'll sell again. I promise. Fuck, remaster borderlands 1 with a bunch of the improvements to gameplay from borderlands 2 (extra item slots, updated shield abilities, more oranges, etc.) and sell that for $20. I'd buy it even though I own the original.
Nobody wanted bulletstorm: full retard edition.
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Preface: I did not read this article fully through. I just need to ask Gearbox one question.
Gearbox! Will you please make a new "Brothers In Arms" WWII tactical FPS? "Hell's Highway" was a great game!!! Very enjoyable to play and very enjoyable story, based on actions of the 101st Airborne.
P - L - E - A - S - E ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Gearbox! Will you please make a new "Brothers In Arms" WWII tactical FPS? "Hell's Highway" was a great game!!! Very enjoyable to play and very enjoyable story, based on actions of the 101st Airborne.
P - L - E - A - S - E ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
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I boggled at the price too. Seems this happens a lot with re-releases. I wanted to pick up the PS4 version of Transformers: Fall of Cybertron the other day but it's $50 on the Playstation store. It's 5 years old! I bought it on my Xbox for like $20! So I'll just wait for a sale.
Anyways, I feel like this was a GIANT missed opportunity. Imagine if the Duke Nukem cameo had been properly done, turning the game (which I think was already kind of tongue-in-cheek) into full-on nonsense. Change the gameplay to allow Duke to break it. Add romance options to allow Duke to... uh, break them. Add dialogue where people react to Duke instead of just calling him Gray and glossing over it. Put toilets everywhere so Duke can flush them and then wash his hands like a responsible member of society.
Duke Nukem used to be this funny satirical take on the action guy cliche - like, "I'm going to rip your head off and shit down your neckhole", okay, that's ridiculo- OH GOD HE'S ACTUALLY DOING IT. This could have been a re-release and also a "special edition" parody of itself that actually worked.
Although, I still don't think I would have paid $60 for that. It is a 6-year-old game after all.
Anyways, I feel like this was a GIANT missed opportunity. Imagine if the Duke Nukem cameo had been properly done, turning the game (which I think was already kind of tongue-in-cheek) into full-on nonsense. Change the gameplay to allow Duke to break it. Add romance options to allow Duke to... uh, break them. Add dialogue where people react to Duke instead of just calling him Gray and glossing over it. Put toilets everywhere so Duke can flush them and then wash his hands like a responsible member of society.
Duke Nukem used to be this funny satirical take on the action guy cliche - like, "I'm going to rip your head off and shit down your neckhole", okay, that's ridiculo- OH GOD HE'S ACTUALLY DOING IT. This could have been a re-release and also a "special edition" parody of itself that actually worked.
Although, I still don't think I would have paid $60 for that. It is a 6-year-old game after all.
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That could possibly make something resembling sense - if the DLC was included at that price.
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If you're going to blow $60 on something, why not an actually EXCELLENT game, such as NieR: Automata?
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Meta-arsian aside, enjoyed the irony of the denouncement of Hardcore Henry (for the reasons listed) when Annalee loved it up in the linked review. Bizarro world moment.
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Calls itself "Full Clip," yet apparently has no clip-fed weapons. All I see are weapons fed by drums, magazines, etc. Did I miss the M1 Garand somewhere?
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I received two separate e-mails from Gearbox trying to convince me to buy Bulletstorm at 15% off -- QUICK! Before the release.
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Meta-arsian aside, enjoyed the irony of the denouncement of Hardcore Henry (for the reasons listed) when Annalee loved it up in the linked review. Bizarro world moment.
I think some of HH's dialogue has serious issues, and that most of the film counts as Required Viewing for any modern filmmaker. And all-in-all, it's fun! It's not always a successful film, but I haven't seen a film in the past five years take as many interesting big swings.
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Gearbox is the modern Rovio: they had one big hit and are exploiting it. The moves they make that seem altruistic don't seem to sell well (Homeworld) and the moves they make to expand off their Rad Bad-Ass Game Development Skills seem to show how much of a fluke Borderlands was (Battleborn, Duke Nukem Forever).
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I never even heard of Bulletstorm until a couple years ago, and it was just in the context of seeing the train chase sequence, which looked ridiculous and hilarious. But I wasn't going to buy a game based on only that, unless it got super cheap. Looks like I have no reason to think differently about this remake.
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I agree. Automata seems to be a game that really does deserve a full price. I'm considering to dump my hard-earned europe dollars on that game for the Easter.
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I bought it.
It was £32, I didn't buy it back in the day but did play through a friend's copy and I want a sequel, so I don't begrudge it.
That said, I disagree with none of the article, I have my own reasons for buying it but I'm buggered if I know why anyone else would want to.
It was £32, I didn't buy it back in the day but did play through a friend's copy and I want a sequel, so I don't begrudge it.
That said, I disagree with none of the article, I have my own reasons for buying it but I'm buggered if I know why anyone else would want to.
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