Originally Posted by EAF274 Johan (Post 1338775)

I wouldn't exactly praise Steel Fury, T34 vs Tiger or Rise of Flight as excellent games. They all do a lot of things right, but there is so much stuff not there (for example they rely very much on scripted missions). And I believe Steel Fury and T34 vs Tiger did not receive any patches.

My best hope is that the SH development team "goes indie" and becomes what Thirdwire has become for flight sims. Thirdwire sims are actually much more complex than their 'lite" label would have you expect. They make compromises (don't expect clickable cockpits or hi-res ground objects), but flight models and AI are generally pretty close to those of high-fidelity titles.

Originally Posted by EAF274 Johan (Post 1338775)

I wouldn't exactly praise Steel Fury, T34 vs Tiger or Rise of Flight as excellent games. They all do a lot of things right, but there is so much stuff not there (for example they rely very much on scripted missions). And I believe Steel Fury and T34 vs Tiger did not receive any patches.

My best hope is that the SH development team "goes indie" and becomes what Thirdwire has become for flight sims. Thirdwire sims are actually much more complex than their 'lite" label would have you expect. They make compromises (don't expect clickable cockpits or hi-res ground objects), but flight models and AI are generally pretty close to those of high-fidelity titles.

Originally Posted by Sonarman (Post 1330037)

Yes, I think there is a lot of truth in both your arguments, the bottom line is that since SH3 Ubi seems to have cut both the development & marketing budgets for the series. How much has it hurt sales? only they truly know that. What a tragedy to have an award winning and criticaly acclaimed title like SH3 which was given a proper budget and even had its dev time extended to include a dynamic campaign then to cut the legs off the series. They really need someone who can bang the table at production meetings and fight their corner for the future of the series as we know it.

It makes you wonder also what the new mobile phone and Ipod versions will do to the brand image, doesnt' seem like a very smart move to me, the series very identity is being eroded, what is it a top down action game a 3d arcade game or a serious simulation?

I must also say that bricks and mortar retailers also seem to be out to kill off PC gaming entirely, I think they have suffered massively in sales terms during the credit crunch. The UKs largest retailer GAME/Gamestation which had a virtual monopoly in the UK has recently closed 44 stores and their once extensive displays of PC titles have been slashed to the bare minimum of stock. Whilst the twice as expensive/profitable console titles festoon the walls.

Originally Posted by EAF274 Johan (Post 1338775)

I wouldn't exactly praise Steel Fury, T34 vs Tiger or Rise of Flight as excellent games. They all do a lot of things right, but there is so much stuff not there (for example they rely very much on scripted missions). And I believe Steel Fury and T34 vs Tiger did not receive any patches.

My best hope is that the SH development team "goes indie" and becomes what Thirdwire has become for flight sims. Thirdwire sims are actually much more complex than their 'lite" label would have you expect. They make compromises (don't expect clickable cockpits or hi-res ground objects), but flight models and AI are generally pretty close to those of high-fidelity titles.

Originally Posted by Faamecanic (Post 1339247)

QFT....agreed 100% mate.

Originally Posted by PyRRhUs (Post 1339637)

Hopefully this trend will be continuing when Splinter Cell: Conviction get released. I have been a fan of the series since Pandora Tomorrow but the new action stealth genre gameplay, DRM and the lack of Spy VS Mercenaries multiplayer mode I´m hoping to get a copy cheep as Assassin´s Creed II from amazon.co.uk. :|\\