Horizon Horizon: Zero Dawn

[Joe Von Zombie]

Even with the positive press, I'm still incredibly skeptical. Also hearing that it has embraced Ubisoft's formula is a big fat "get it when it's cheap" for me.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Even with the positive press, I'm still incredibly skeptical. Also hearing that it has embraced Ubisoft's formula is a big fat "get it when it's cheap" for me.

Yeah, that made me pause as well. I am thinking I might grab Nier to go with Zelda until Mass Effect hits.

 

[Solidus]

Cannot wait to get this.

Lots of games in the next month.

-Horizon
-Switch (With Zelda)
-Mass Effect
-Nioh (hopefully I get it in the mail soon)

Gonna need more time to play.

 

[Gee]

Just saw 4k footage of this on a 4k tv....

This game is exactly why I got the Pro and a 4K TV.

Eh, does this game even run at native 4k? Last time I checked, only a handful of games do and HZD isn't one of them.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Eurogamer - Horizon is a technical masterpiece on PS4 and Pro
The best 4K Pro release yet still looks phenomenal on base hardware.

Horizon's excellent performance at checkerboard 4K vs the native 1080p of the base PS4 version is a great achievement. While the Pro hardware has 2.3x the GPU power of the standard model, memory bandwidth hasn't scaled in step - and it's rare that we see a PS4 engine scale so gracefully between 1080p on base hardware and 4K on Pro (checkerboard or otherwise). That Guerrilla has achieved this with no impact to performance is impressive enough, but the team has pushed the envelope here, handing in more visual enhancements over the base version of the game.

While Horizon would be lauded for its resolution boost alone, what we like about the title's presentation is that Guerrilla has accepted that it's not just the pixel-count alone that matters - more is required to deliver a great 4K presentation. With that in mind, we were really happy to see improvements to resolution on some textures. Also worthy of praise is a marked increase in texture filtering quality. Lower levels of anisotropic filtering on base hardware can stand out on a 1080p image - but the effect is much more pronounced at 4K. Thankfully this is not an issue with Horizon.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2017-horizon-zero-dawn-ps4-pro-performance-analysis

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

lots of really great reviews for this game, damn. i'm just gonna wait for either mass effect or persona, which i already have preordered

 

[X Knight]

what's the "Ubisoft formula?"

 

[eternalinferno]

what's the "Ubisoft formula?"

I've been wondering the same thing.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Some people just bash any open world game anymore made by anyone as Ubisoft. It's become really annoying. Trying to read threads derailed elsewhere by wah wah Ubisoft wah or wah wah No Man's Sky wah is just stupid.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

what's the "Ubisoft formula?"

A game where you set up towers of various names and have to claim the points. They don't have unique side quest or missions like the Witcher, but instead the usual, "collect 100 blank, kill this animal, do this type of kill 100 times, etc". These are their "open world" games. Its tedious, repetitive gameplay that you see in Far Cry, Assassin Creed, etc.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Some people just bash any open world game anymore made by anyone as Ubisoft. It's become really annoying. Trying to read threads derailed elsewhere by wah wah Ubisoft wah or wah wah No Man's Sky wah is just stupid.

The Witcher 3 is open world. It does not follow the Ubisoft formula or does it have this problem. It is why you will rarely if ever hear that complaint about it.

 

[X Knight]

A game where you set up towers of various names and have to claim the points. They don't have unique side quest or missions like the Witcher, but instead the usual, "collect 100 blank, kill this animal, do this type of kill 100 times, etc". These are their "open world" games. Its tedious, repetitive gameplay that you see in Far Cry, Assassin Creed, etc.

ah, thanks.

DAI followed a similar approach. claim this spot, collect x of this, kill x of that, etc.

so the reviews are saying Horizon follows a similar model?

 

[Joe Von Zombie]

A game where you set up towers of various names and have to claim the points. They don't have unique side quest or missions like the Witcher, but instead the usual, "collect 100 blank, kill this animal, do this type of kill 100 times, etc". These are their "open world" games. Its tedious, repetitive gameplay that you see in Far Cry, Assassin Creed, etc.

Nailed it. It's essentially needless padding to justify your games open world. If you have to do this, you need to reevaluate whether or not your game actually needs to be an open world game to begin with.

ah, thanks.

DAI followed a similar approach. claim this spot, collect x of this, kill x of that, etc.

so the reviews are saying Horizon follows a similar model?

yes

 

[X Knight]

Nailed it. It's essentially needless padding to justify your games open world. If you have to do this, you need to reevaluate whether or not your game actually needs to be an open world game to begin with.



yes

thanks.

that's a bit disappointing to hear. but I wasn't planning on getting Horizon right away, anyways.

 

[Spider-Who?]

Eh, does this game even run at native 4k? Last time I checked, only a handful of games do and HZD isn't one of them.

It doesn't run at native 4k, but at 2160p which is then upscale using the high quality checkerboard process to get it to 4k. Yes, it isn't native 4k, but it is a dramatic difference in visual quality. I have a couple games that render to 4k like this and going to a friend's house and seeing the same games in 1080 is like night and day. Very impressive.

 

[Spider-Who?]

A game where you set up towers of various names and have to claim the points. They don't have unique side quest or missions like the Witcher, but instead the usual, "collect 100 blank, kill this animal, do this type of kill 100 times, etc". These are their "open world" games. Its tedious, repetitive gameplay that you see in Far Cry, Assassin Creed, etc.

You're misinformed and exaggerating. It's confirmed that the game will have story-based side quests, guilds you can advance in, caves/dungeons to explore, zones to overthrow, etc, to go along with the simpler/more trivial missions. And even The Witcher 3 had "go here, kill this, collect that, etc" padding to go along with its larger story-based side missions. Yes, The Witcher 3 is an example of open world down well, but it too fell into the genre's trappings.

 

[Marvolo]

It doesn't run at native 4k, but at 2160p which is then upscale using the high quality checkerboard process to get it to 4k. Yes, it isn't native 4k, but it is a dramatic difference in visual quality. I have a couple games that render to 4k like this and going to a friend's house and seeing the same games in 1080 is like night and day. Very impressive.

Its running at 2160 vertical pixels? Whats the game's native horizontal pixel resolution? Full UHD 4k is 3840p × 2160p.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

You're misinformed and exaggerating. It's confirmed that the game will have story-based side quests, guilds you can advance in, caves/dungeons to explore, zones to overthrow, etc, to go along with the simpler/more trivial missions. And even The Witcher 3 had "go here, kill this, collect that, etc" padding to go along with its larger story-based side missions. Yes, The Witcher 3 is an example of open world down well, but it too fell into the genre's trappings.

What you just described is Assassin's Creed. Which is the Ubisoft formula. What I am talking about with the "kill this". It is kill this to unlock an achievement for points to level up. I watched the Videogamertv review, and it described a game very much in the design of Ubisoft.

As to the Witcher's "fetch quest". They were plays on the genre. Like collecting a pig with a bell. A joke on such side quest. When you are sent to kill something in the Witcher, it is based around a story thread.

 

[Marvolo]

I dont mind the "Ubisoft formula". Love Farcry and Assassin's Creed. Yeah, Id like for the formula to evolve, but if this game has an open world similar to Far Cry or Assassin's Creed that wont deter me from buying it.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I dont mind the "Ubisoft formula". Love Farcry and Assassin's Creed. Yeah, Id like for the formula to evolve, but if this game has an open world similar to Far Cry or Assassin's Creed that wont deter me from buying it.

I use to enjoy it. But at this point, I am pretty over it. I don't begrudge anyone else enjoying it, but unless something really special comes along, i have other things to play. Namely Nioh, Zelda, Nier and Mass Effect.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Horizon's combat and AI look way better than the Witcher's ever did.

 

[Joe Von Zombie]

I'm still confused as to how this is a Role Playing Game.

Horizon's combat and AI look way better than the Witcher's ever did.

Nobody's playing The Witcher 3 for the combat.

 

[Spider-Who?]

What you just described is Assassin's Creed. Which is the Ubisoft formula. What I am talking about with the "kill this". It is kill this to unlock an achievement for points to level up. I watched the Videogamertv review, and it described a game very much in the design of Ubisoft.

As to the Witcher's "fetch quest". They were plays on the genre. Like collecting a pig with a bell. A joke on such side quest. When you are sent to kill something in the Witcher, it is based around a story thread.

Haha, it doesn't matter if those quests are "parodys" in The Witcher; they're still there as unnecessary padding.

Here is an article that goes in to detail about the issues you have with the game:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertc...you-hate-about-open-world-games/#66f22d326209

If you don't feel like reading it: in short, the worry of the "Ubisoft method" is unfounded, as many other reviews also claim.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

It's not a RPG unless the combat sucks/is mediocre? Is that really the measure now? I don't think so.

You can customize the heck out of Aloy's gear and the game also has moments where you can make decisions and it branches. It has everything a typical RPG has, plus what looks like more sophisticated combat and better enemy AI.

 

[Joe Von Zombie]

It's not a RPG unless the combat sucks/is mediocre? Is that really the measure now? I don't think so.

You can customize the heck out of Aloy's gear and the game also has moments where you can make decisions and it branches. It has everything a typical RPG has, plus what looks like more sophisticated combat and better enemy AI.

I don't consider the Witcher 3 a proper role playing game either so no that is not the measure.

-if it has a dodge or roll button, and/or if the conflict resolution requires "twitch reflexes" = not a RPG because it trivializes your character's build

- if stats/attributes (character advancement) aren't primary determiner of conflict resolution = not a RPG because again, it trivializes your character's build

Both games have similar issues, if I were to pick up your game save and completely ignore your character's build, not a lot about the game would actually change. When video games do get this right, you often have something special on your hands.