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We’re basically done with the week or two of not-E3 that we’ve been given this year. Announcements have sputtered out of showcases, showcases that don’t have the same draw for me as they used to. Part of that is getting older, having less time to waste and less tolerance for marketing. But most of my disillusionment is in the form that marketing takes. Most games at this year’s showcases were shown off with short trailers, split between CGI and “in-engine” cutscenes. If we’re lucky, there’s a bit of highly disguised “gameplay” in them. The experience is mind-numbing in totality. Unlike movie trailers, these can’t convey a full sense of the product. Part of that is on the marketing departments. These trailers just aren’t that great at building excitement. But it’s also due to the nature of the medium. There’s so much more work you need to do to define a game. Most films are audiovisual experiences in the one to three hour range. Games have so much more variance; in length, in scope, in ...

GRID Legends touts a nemesis system (unfortunately no relation to Shadow of Mordor ’s), one which feels like a massive missed opportunity. When you annoy other drivers too much, they become rivals… and that’s about all that happens. As far as I could tell, these organic “rivalries” never lasted beyond a single event. They only developed from contact, not any less aggressive transgression. There was little I could do to influence the system. When I hit them they got mad. When they were mad they hit me back. Not much else to it. If this was more similar to the ongoing Nemesis system exploited by Talion and Celebrimbor, there would be something here, a real sense of engagement with these other drivers. As superficial as it was, it left me focussed on its empty promise. I don’t know why this concept was in the game - certainly not so prominently - if all they really do is detract from the final product. The conceit of the story mode is something similar to a sports documentary series. In ...

 I’ve dipped my toes into two licensed games recently, Middle-earth: Shadow of War and Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun . They exist in a similar space to me, competently made games with awkward or painful elements, moments that feel far too jerky and unrefined. Fun enough, but unremarkable on the whole (yes, even the vaunted Nemesis system does not rise to the level of “remarked” - it’s fine, a point of interest, not as special as you might like, shouldn’t be patented). What particularly stands out, to me, is the way the license layers on top of these games, altering my personal reception of them in odd ways.   Licensed games are nothing new, although I feel I’ve played relatively few. A few Star Wars ones, like most gamers, some big names like Fist of the North Star , alongside smaller IP like Battle Chasers . By and large, though, the games I play come from video game franchises. Video games are my primary entertainment medium, and I’m generally disinterested in the compromis...