Capcom’s Re-releasing Strategy is missing One Game …

So, Capcom announced they’re going to re-release yet more Resident Evil games … but for fuck’s sake Capcom, who cares, especially about the “fan favourites” 5 and 6?

You know Capcom, you have one gem in your inventory, one diamond that has just been released for PC … you know that one game that made people believe in you again?

Yes, Rabidgames is talking about Dragon’s Dogma, which was a rough diamond as we all know; beneath technical imperfections lay tons of innovative and addictive gameplay. So Capcom, for the love of the Arisen, learn from the fact the PC version of Dragon’s Dogma made you a shitload of money, and re-release it for the PS4 and the Xbox One already!

It’s a win-win situation for all involved – you make money, we get Dragon’s Dogma 2 – deal?

Rabidgames hopes: Here’s hoping Capcom puts one and one together and we get a Dragon’s Dogma release on current consoles a game that runs fluently and without glitches. But furthermore, a game that will be as much fun as it was last generation! The pawns are waiting, Capcom … now MAKE IT HAPPEN!

The Division (Beta) or A Better Destiny?

The comparison with Destiny makes sense in many ways: Just like the (in)famous Bungie shooter, Tom Clancy’s The Division is an co-op online (and in both it’s questionable why it’s gotta be always online) shooter with light RPG elements, it takes place in a kinda post-apocalyptic world, and in both betas, the story remains abstruse – at best.

But there are differences – while Destiny feels like an arcade story in a sci-fi world far, far away, The Division’s catastrophe-ravaged version of New York feel darker, grittier and more realistic. You can almost feel the despair and the drama, the deaths and the pain in the mostly empty snow-covered streets of Manhattan.

In terms of gunplay, Destiny feels more like the winner – The Division’s guns don’t have the intuitive feel to them. You get used to them, and sure, one-hit kills with snipers rifles are always fun, and the mix of handguns with infinite ammo (that’s where realism says farewell) and two slots for either sniper rifles, shotguns, assault rifles or SMGs is still okay. Modding weapons makes them more unique, and in the full game, crafting promises some more width. Same goes for the rest of the equipment – The Division has plenty of slots to customise your avatar – plus some for appearance such as jackets, hats or shoes.

When it comes to gameplay, there’s a bit of running and exploration (you can enter some buildings and subway stations), and of course, lots of shooting. Some side missions involve you listening to “echoes” (conversations from the past somehow restored) and then following clues – nothing deep or immersive, but a welcome diversion in for sure. There’s also lots of intel and other collectibles hidden across Manhattan, providing us with some back story. Additionally, the old trick “hearing emotional stories from people you’ve never met before still gets you invested” works once more, giving this game already more emotional depth than Destiny has ever had.

In The Division, you also need to gather 3 different resources to expand your base, which in turn grants you new skills and perks for either medical, tech or security wings (security not accssible in the beta), and each section has 10 upgrades. There are tons of upgrades locked in the beta, but judging from the various screens, fingers crossed for some interesting ideas. There are also quite a few vendors in your base, and crafting is done here as well.

Then, there are the dark zones – it’s basically PvP, everyone is pitted against everyone. Yes, you need to play as a team to get to some good gear, but everyone can betray the team in The Division’s rather weird take on PvP. Unfortunately, it is possible you survive the betrayal of your team and some random guy kills you from afar. Well, the beta might be the right point to realise this … There needs to be more balance otherwise it pays off to be doing nothing and gaining the spoils – yes, Wall Street is close but games should be escapism, right?

Now, is The Division any good? Well, there is some potential, and if expanding the base and exploring Manhattan can entertain for more than 10 hours, it might well be worth it. But after Destiny’s hollow shell there is room for doubt, it is fair enough to doubt not to buy The Division blindly if you have zero interest in the dark zones or PvP in general, plus there’s doubt there actually is enough story and content to play the game on your own.

Rabidgames hesitates: After Destiny empty promises, the saying “fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me” comes to mind. The reviews and word of mouth will show if The Division can become what Destiny utterly failed to be at launch – an online game where you choose how social you want to be, with plenty of content for old-fashioned gamers who want to play on their own. And once more, it makes you wonder how fleshed out the game could have been without the online gimmick …

Rebel Galaxy or A Solo Space Adventure

Imagine you’re Han Solo before getting entangled in that nasty civil war. And imagine there’s no Chewie which is a shame. If you can live without a wookie friend, Rebel Galaxy is your kind of game!

You start out as a rather ignorant nobody in a galaxy far, far away, and at the beginning, you have no clue what’s going on. There are many ship types, lots of different weapons and equipment from the beginning, and the first system alone is vast – and there are a dozen systems in Rebel Galaxy! But pretty soon you get the hang of things, some cash flows in through missions or random encounters in space – you might even want to study the economy in a system and get rich that way – and you get in a nice rhythm of upgrading the ship, completing missions, a bit of mining, and simply cruising around.

From fast frigates to massive dreadnoughts, Rebel Galaxy offers tons of ships for different playstyles. The battles feel like proper sci-fi battles, and while it is weird at first you fire broadsides like in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag and you can only navigate in 2D (although fighters can fly in 3D), you’ll get quickly used to it. And as you can see, the space battles looks awesome:

Sure, the gameplay gets a bit repetitive after a while, and you’ll need to quite a few side missions and quite a bit of grinding to afford all the upgrades, and the game is prone to crash at times (here’s hoping for a patch soon), but Rebel Galaxy is the perfect game to relax after one prolonged trip to the Commonwealth or a few rather depressing hours with This War of Mine. It’s a relaxing game after all, and just cruising around exploring space alone can be fun.

Rabidgames rejoices: Rebel Galaxy is a gem out of nowhere and the first positive surprise of the year, and weirdly enough, there has been zero advertising. On consoles, there are hardly any space sims to choose from, so a bit of marketing would have been smarter than just releasing the game quietly. But word of mouth should make sure potential Han Solos find their way into this Rebel Galaxy far, far away …