Page 2 • Need for Speed: Payback • Gaming • General Gaming • Eurogamer.net

DangerousDave_87 7 Nov 2017 13:11:13 7,074 posts
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I went through a period of times somewhere between the PS1 and PS2 era in which I paid no attention to reviews or opinions. I probably enjoyed more games during that time than I ever have. That might just say more about late 90's gaming, but I had no clue what was many to be great.

I remember looking at reviews of Ocarina of Time years later and being surprised that it was considered to be one of the greatest games of all time. I enjoyed it, but it didn't think of it that highly. I got more enjoyment from Parappa the Rappa and Abe's Odessey at the time!

Edited by DangerousDave_87 at 13:11:43 07-11-2017

KD 7 Nov 2017 13:13:32 3,575 posts
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After Hot Pursuit I'm at a loss how EA can put more money into this style of game, The Run seems better than this.

Gabriel2R 8 Nov 2017 09:34:43 265 posts
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Review is out, game is a dud for 3 big sites, at least something good this year, now let's put Ghost Games to sleep and maybe have some decent devs get a fair shot at this.

DangerousDave_87 8 Nov 2017 10:13:59 7,074 posts
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@Gabriel2R Who says it's the devs? I'd point the finger at EA myself. How many games did Criterion manage before they were done with?

StarchildHypocrethes 8 Nov 2017 10:16:29 33,974 posts
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I'd suggest the developers are the must culpable for shit game development.

wobbly_Bob 8 Nov 2017 10:18:00 5,162 posts
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I can see Ghost games becoming an actual ghost EA will add this studio to it's kill list for sure.

Derblington 8 Nov 2017 10:19:27 35,161 posts
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@DangerousDave_87
Criterion are still active.

Deleted user 8 November 2017 10:25:22

Bullet in the head for Ghosts then...

DangerousDave_87 8 Nov 2017 11:32:21 7,074 posts
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@Derblington I'm just saying they managed two games before jumping ship. They were also alternating with another developer at the time, weren't they?

Gabriel2R 8 Nov 2017 16:39:21 265 posts
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@DangerousDave_87 Because this is their third game, and third trash, do you want to say all those trash games were to blame on EA?

All those shitty design decisions, they are on ghost, and won't matter if it's EA or not, they will take the bullet and they deserve it, the NFS franchise is to big to be spearheaded by Mediocre devs with stupid ideas.

PS: Rivals was co-developed with Criterion, they probably did what was good in that game and Ghost fucked up the rest.

NFS 2015 was a barebones, broken in the most basic physics level kind of game. Tons of other problems, inherent from design as well.

Payback is just a mediocre game with lootboxes and Speedcards progression.

spamdangled 8 Nov 2017 16:58:04 31,803 posts
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StarchildHypocrethes wrote:
I'd suggest the developers are the must culpable for shit game development.

I don't know. EA are notorious for demanding features and things be added or changed. They interfere a lot with development, by all accounts. The story behind Visceral's recent demise springs to mind.

mikew1985 8 Nov 2017 17:04:01 15,598 posts
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Anyone who thinks developers under EA should be the sole ones to blame for yet another EA studio make yet another sub-par game is a little short-sighted and short on memory.

EA are notorious for buying and subsequently ruining great game studios. With a history almost too long to mention but for context some recent and upcoming casualties; Bioware, Visceral, Criterion/Ghost games (one, in effect, became the other after the EA buyout). The common theme here is EA buying the studio.

Making Ghost focus on NFS and probably pushing them to create a "Fast-like" racing game can't have helped matters. The first Criterion NFS game (Hot Pursuit) was the only really exceptional one in a long line of ghost/criterion productions. It was the one closest to the EA buyout. This is not a coincidence.

Edit: Visceral actually may have always been EA but they were afforded some autonomy in the great start to Riccitiello's EA tenure (which also went sour). At the inception of Dead Space was the last time EA was good - Mass Effect 1, Mirror's Edge etc. all getting greenlit around the same time.

Edited by mikew1985 at 17:07:15 08-11-2017

spamdangled 8 Nov 2017 17:07:17 31,803 posts
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Don't forget Westwood and Bullfrog.

I still mourn the loss of command and conquer. C&C4 was an abomination.

mikew1985 8 Nov 2017 17:10:55 15,598 posts
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I didn't forget them, they're both just so long ago and possibly irrelevant to some of the younger users on here that I decided to opt for three (very recent) examples.

StarchildHypocrethes 8 Nov 2017 17:30:06 33,974 posts
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I never suggested they were solely responsible. EA likely do stick their noses in and request various "features" are added.

However, I'd still say the developers are the most culpable for shit game development.

It's the develop bit that makes me think that.

All the Ghost NFS games were crap.

DangerousDave_87 8 Nov 2017 17:41:28 7,074 posts
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@Gabriel2R I think it's telling that Criterion aren't working on the series anymore. I don't think the developers have all that much creative control and given that the series is in decline, the budget has likely dropped since then, along with the team sizes.

I dunno. I'm just speculating. All I did know is that EA aren't great at extracting the most out of developers. They've got a long history of the doing the opposite.

spamdangled 8 Nov 2017 17:58:53 31,803 posts
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What is Criterion even doing these days? I seem to recall that they have some involvement in Battlefield and Battlefront. But I can't recall a solo project for a very long time. They seem to have been relegated to a support studio.

Derblington 8 Nov 2017 18:01:11 35,161 posts
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They've got stuff brewing.

Dougs 8 Nov 2017 18:20:06 100,414 posts
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Have they stuck some bobbins story mode in this then, like The Crew? Just give me a fucking arcade racer ffs.

spamdangled 8 Nov 2017 18:26:54 31,803 posts
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@Dougs Yup. It's really railroaded. Even the races are now called "questlines".

Gabriel2R 9 Nov 2017 21:15:45 265 posts
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@DangerousDave_87 Criterion jumped ship because they could, and because they wanted to make different games, they still exists and they are making a new game.

it's almost always better to work as independent than under the umbrella of these big corporations.

Globalmeltdown 9 Nov 2017 22:21:05 1,061 posts
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I was enjoying this until the enhanced x patch, it looks good but in races it stutters and I don’t think it hits a smooth 30FPS which is disappointing, hope they patch it because I expected more 😢

Gabriel2R 10 Nov 2017 05:18:31 265 posts
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@Globalmeltdown It does not runs that great on PC either, you are not the only fucked by the game perfomance if that helps a little.

SomaticSense 10 Nov 2017 13:20:14 15,062 posts
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Derblington wrote:
They've got stuff brewing.

Sedatives to prepare for the inevitable trip to the barn.

solidsneek 13 Nov 2017 08:12:33 763 posts
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I actually really am enjoying this yes it's not an ideal racing game but the missions are solid enough if you want an action game and the car handling is great.

I think for need for speed fans this is the best we have had in years.

Deleted user 20 November 2017 11:30:18

http://www.mcvuk.com/articles/publishing/ea-adjusts-progression-in-need-for-speed-payback-following-microtransaction

spamdangled 20 Nov 2017 11:35:37 31,803 posts
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I saw that yesterday. Not surprising.

Between this and the reaction to BF2, I hope that EA execs have got the message that their approach towards shoehorning microtransactions into games is being thoroughly rejected and they need to go back toa more consumer-friendly model.

They won't, of course, and will trundle on in an ongoing act of self-harm. But at least they can't claim anymore that the audience wants the vision of gaming they're peddling.

Frogofdoom 20 Nov 2017 14:41:15 17,973 posts
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The rubber banding from the ai in this is so bad I stopped playing the trial after a couple of hours. There is probably some good in the game but that stuff annoys me enough to not be interested in finding it.

Gabriel2R 20 Nov 2017 21:26:31 265 posts
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The adjustments are bandaid, anyone that believes this will be fixed is naive.

Really, the whole system is broken and only a complety rehaul would fix it, Speedcards are an awful idea and don't fit this shitty game at all, and even then, even if they revert to a normal, non retarded progression system it won't save this game from every other lazy and incompetent design decision in the game and the numerous problems it has, I hate this game so much because the racing franchise that I love the most is being killed by incompetence and greed.

Need for Speed: Payback • Page 2