Saints Row
You may disagree, but you’d also be wrong; Saints Row has gotten worse with every new entry into the series. The first was a superb mix of GTA-style open-world gameplay, with a story about rival gangs and undercover deception, akin to “The Departed” or “Hardboiled.” But with each subsequent iteration, Saints Row grew further and further away from its roots.
Now, the aptly titled Saints Row has been announced. Promoted as a reboot for the franchise, I was desperately hoping that this would turn into the Saints Row 2 that I always wanted and never got. But, it doesn’t appear to be this way. The latest tale from the ‘Row looks to have more in common with the later games than it does the original, and quite frankly, it makes me sick. Sure, we might not be partaking in a literal battle between Heaven and Hell anymore, but it still looks like what would happen to Grand Theft Auto if a room of twelve-year-olds were allowed to design it.
Cyberpunk 2077 Next-Gen
I don’t think I necessarily need to even explain this one, but here we are. We all know of the utter abomination Cyberpunk 2077 was at launch. And, while it has improved over the year since its release, it’s still nowhere near the game CD Project Red had promised. Though, broken promises are quickly becoming the norm for the Polish developer. After all, it wasn’t long ago that we were told to expect the next-gen version of Cyberpunk in late 2021.
Well, it’s late 2021, and we aren’t getting that next-gen update.
Instead, it’s been moved to some time in 2022. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t even need to ask the question of whether or not Cyberpunk will ever be good. The only question is, how long will CDPR keep up this charade? It’s time to cut your losses, ladies, and gentlemen. Move on to The Witcher 4, and let Cyberpunk rest.
Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown
The original Test Drive Unlimited is still, to this day, my favorite racing game. The way Eden Games blended a recreation of Oahu, Hawaii with smooth driving, lifestyle mechanics including purchasing properties, and an online mode that was groundbreaking for the time was as brilliant as it was addicting.
Then Test Drive Unlimited 2 launched, fell flat, and that was the end of the series.
Now, as we look forward to Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, I pray that new developers KT Racing are able to learn from the mistakes of its predecessor and deliver an experience that fans of the original are craving.
EA Sports PGA Tour
It’s probably safe to say that if you’re reading this, you have a strong opinion about EA Sports. Year after year, EA launches a new entry into their hockey, football, and soccer franchises. But it’s gotten to the point where their games have become so lackluster, so unimpressive, that we’ve started to see all-time low scores on Metacritic. Take a look at the abysmal score Madden 22 is currently sitting with.
So I can’t help but feel like EA is going to land in the bunker PGA Tour. Their last golf outing, Rory Mcllroy PGA Tour, was unbelievably bad. EA spent more time figuring out how to have battleships plow through the course as you took a shot as opposed to developing a good golf game. And it showed.
Please, EA, don’t make the same mistake here.
WWE 2K22
WWE 2K20 was one of the major disasters in gaming over the past decade. Its launch has become infamous, garnering widespread attention for how broken the game was. Glitches, bugs, crashes, and a whole host of other issues were only the tip of the iceberg for WWE 2K20. In fact, when the clock turned over from 2019 to 2020, a problem with the coding had broken the game entirely. It wouldn’t even launch.
2K Games decided to take a year off to return to the drawing board with WWE 2K22. However, we haven’t seen much of the game, and if this one isn’t a knockout punch, it might be curtains for the WWE franchise.
Thank you for keeping it locked on COGconnected.