Tag: open-world

The Xbox-exclusive game Contraband

The Xbox-exclusive game Contraband

carlocarrasco

Until now, there is still a lot of positive reactions and discussions about the huge impact the Xbox-Bethesda games showcase of June 13 left on gamers. While not perfect, it was a great showcase with lots of Xbox-exclusive games coming and among the newly announced exclusives was Contraband, a new game being developed by Avalanche Studios (Just Cause game franchise) in cooperation with Xbox Game Studios. It is being developed specifically for Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X and Windows 10 PC and it will be added to Xbox Game Pass (XGP).

Here again is the video…

On June 14, Xbox Games Marketing General Manager Aaron Greenberg wrote on Twitter: Excited to announce big new AAA Xbox Games Studios exclusive game we are making in partnership w/ the talented team at Avalanche Studios (team behind games like Just Cause). Contraband, a co-op smuggler’s paradise set in the fictional world of 1970s Bayan.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the Xbox.com article written by Contraband game director Omar Shakir. Some parts in boldface…

Three years ago, we started talking with our partners at Xbox Game Studios about what a co-op smuggler’s paradise would look like and how we could bring it to life together. Today, at the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase, we finally announced what our team has been working on, Contraband.

Contraband is a co-op smuggler’s paradise set in the fictional world of 1970s Bayan, and our most ambitious and spectacular game to date. We’re taking everything that we’ve learned from 18 years of being at the forefront of creating beautiful, vast open game worlds filled with stunning vistas and incredible emergent gameplay moments.

To fully deliver on our vision for Contraband, we have an amazing team at Avalanche Studios that are pushing the boundaries with the next generation of our Apex Engine, the technology behind all our games, including the Just Cause series. We built the engine to unlock the creativity of our developers and we’re excited to take full advantage of the unique capabilities of Xbox Series X|S.

What caught my attention was the name Bayan as the fictional setting of the Xbox-exclusive game and it could be a veiled reference to my native Philippines. For us Filipinos, “Bayan” or “bayan” is a common term in reference to a nation or to a local region/province and down to a local community. In the Filipino culture, when someone meets a different person who comes from the same province he/she originated from, that said person is referred to as “kabayan” or “kababayan”.

And there is something I noticed in the captured screenshot below. Please pay close attention to the captions I wrote.

The interior design and furniture in the background were pretty common here in the Philippines in previous decades.

Going back to the general description of Contraband, it will have an open-world environment (which Avalanche Studio specializes on) with co-op play and with an emphasis on smuggling. What is not clear is whether or not it will share key technical aspects with the Just Cause games and the 2015 Mad Max video game such as having a 3rd-person perspective with an option to switch to 1st-person view in key sequences in the game. How much realism can we expect from the developers? Will they be able to come up with new action sequences and brand new gameplay features that they have yet to do?

Even without gameplay footage shown during the Xbox-Bethesda game showcase, I can say that I am very interested on Contraband and I look forward to the eventual release of new information and gameplay footage in the months to come. I am also happy that even though Team Xbox has 23 game studios, they still pushed through with making deals with 3rd party game developers to produce exclusive titles. Remember, Team Xbox today has the full support and financial backing of Microsoft which itself continues to be very profitable as a corporation! For the future, I don’t expect Team Xbox to slow down on making exclusive-game deals with 3rd party game studios.

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: Are you excited about the Xbox-exclusive Contraband knowing that the same team behind the Just Cause games are developing it? What is your favorite of all the video games made by Avalanche Studios?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

In closing this article, posted below are Xbox-related videos for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

Crackdown 3’s Critical Reception Should Concern Gamers Who Want The Best Value For Their Money

Crackdown 3’s Critical Reception Should Concern Gamers Who Want The Best Value For Their Money

carlocarrasco

I am a gamer who owns an Xbox One console and I always want the best value possible in return for the amount of money I spend on buying new video games.

For this current console generation, Xbox One’s lineup of exclusive games has not been very engaging compared to what was offered on Xbox 360 in the previous generation. To put things in perspective, the start of the current console generation was pretty bad for Xbox One and things slowly started to improve when Phil Spencer replaced Don Mattrick as the head of Xbox.

While the improvements continued to develop, it’s too late for Xbox One to match sales success of Xbox 360 and it only made sense for Microsoft to prepare themselves focusing on the next-generation.

Ironically, something from the embarrassing build-up of Xbox One finally got released commercially and that game is Crackdown 3.

To put things in perspective, Crackdown 3 was first announced at E3 of 2014 exclusively for Xbox One. It went through a very troublesome production and it was heavily delayed before finally getting released on February 15, 2019.

Now that the game is out, you must be wondering how did the video game critics react to it. Sad to say, Crackdown 3 was not the stellar hit and I’m not really surprised.

According to the game critics…..

Crackdown 3 shows very little in the way of learning from the past or learning from the other open-world games that have graced consoles over the last nine years. Instead it feels slight, mindless, and dull. It feels like a gussied-up first-generation Xbox One game. ~ Giant Bomb

Crackdown 3 is just more Crackdown. For some players, that will be enough. But compared to what Crackdown 3 initially promised, what we ended up with seems lacking in depth and destruction. ~ EGM

Crackdown 3 makes no sense on paper. Its story is nonsense, you spend way too much time searching for hidden orbs and leveling up, and the presentation isn’t anything spectacular. And yet, the over-the-top madness and hilarious, memorable moments it brought me made it impossible to put down. ~ GamingTrend

Crackdown 3 just doesn’t meet contemporary standards as a premium $60 title, with dated visuals, thin gameplay features, and an under-delivered story. There are too many open world superhero-style games that simply do it better. ~ Windows Central

Forget Crackdown 2 ever happened, Crackdown 3 is the sequel we deserve. ~ GameSpew

As a big fan of the first part, it’s not easy for me to say that, but Crackdown 3 is at least five years late…This is all the sadder, because the mechanics in Crackdown 3 are quite solid and I especially enjoy the search for the movement Orbs. But the bottom line is the sobering result of a developmental odyssey, which will probably be the last nail for the series. ~ GamePro Germany

It certainly delivers on letting you blow things up and jump around the city. However, a dozen years after the first Crackdown offered that same experience but failed to provide you with enough interesting content surrounding that, it’s truly disappointing to see this latest iteration suffer from the very same problems. ~ GameSpot

The game isn’t the visual masterpiece one would expect from a AAA production, but it isn’t without its charm. It’s with Wrecking Zone that Sumo Digital stretches their wings thanks to the chaos of destructible environments, but the glaring lack of content and missing features makes it more of a curiosity rather than a fully fleshed out mode. ~ Hardcore Gamer

Crackdown is back with a fun game that ends up being quite repetitive. Sumo Digital has done a great job finishing this title, but we expected a more evolved concept after so many years.  ~ Vandal

Crackdown 3 is a good Crackdown game, which, unfortunately, doesn’t mean much anymore. ~ Destructoid

There you have it. Some reviews and statements for your reference in case you are thinking about spending a lot of your hard-earned money on Crackdown 3.

Personally I have no intention of buying the game right now not because of the critical reception but it’s because I am still enjoying Resident Evil 2 “remake” and Tales of Vesperia on my Xbox One. Even if I get tired of those two games, there’s no guarantee I’ll buy Crackdown 3. As far as open-world games are concerned, I want a game that has very in-depth gameplay combined with sufficient cinematic storytelling, high production values and of course enduring, high level of enjoyment. Believe it or not, I still have not played Red Dead Redemption 2 and that game alone is the better choice over Crackdown 3 as far as open-world games of recent times are concerned.

Thank you for reading. If you found this article to be engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco.

 

 

I’m not too interested with Crackdown 3

carlocarrasco

So Crackdown 3 will finally be released on Xbox One on February 15. That Xbox-exclusive has been delayed way too long due to a very troubled production.

The game at this stage is looking better than ever and it even has popular movie star Terry Crews in it and his character can be played by gamers.

Still, as an Xbox One owner and long-time Xbox fan, I am not too interested in Crackdown 3 at all.

For one thing, I played Crackdown on Xbox 360 twelve years ago. I endured the game’s single-player campaign, explored a lot and played until I finished it.

But ultimately the whole experience was a disappointment for me.

Sure that old game had lots of action and thrills but the narrative is very shallow and there are no characters to follow other than your agent. There really was no story.

By comparison the open-world game Saints Row had a lot more depth, a serviceable story, had more varied gameplay and had memorable characters to follow. Crackdown was simply a very hollow game.

Years later I skipped out on Crackdown 2 which was released to a weaker reception.

I am not judging Crackdown 3 based on game previews alone but what I am saying is that very delayed game does not look like it can deliver the great stuff to justify the years-long wait.

I hope I am wrong about Crackdown 3. What I love to enjoy about open-world games are varied gameplay, deep exploration, characters worth following and a good story to endure that goes well with the gameplay.

Soon enough we will find out if Crackdown 3 will live up to expectations and spare Microsoft from potential embarrassment as they prepare for the next-generation Xbox.