Microsoft E3 2012 - 12:30 EST June 4th.

The 360 is my favorite console this current console generation, but I must say, Microsoft has set the bar pretty low for the opening E3 press conferences/keynotes.

I'm not holding out much hope for Sony and Nintendo at this point either, because I've been disappointed with their last few too.
 
Okay so what the hell was going on with that flying sequence? It was all brown and dust and seriously screwed up speed effects. I couldn't tell what he was doing at all.
 
what a horrible conference. south park was literally the best thing coming.
 
Wasn't expecting a multi-platform game to be their final 'showcase' title.
 
Q1DM6 said:
what a horrible conference. south park was literally the best thing coming.
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Halo 4 looked alright. Not bad looking graphically, well done HUD, maybe something fun. Wouldn't mind seeing another good Halo game.
 
Halo 4 looks like a bit of a jump graphically on the same hardware that we've all been used to.....that might have just infused some longer legs into the 360 hardware.
(very similar to how Naughty Dog has squeezed a lot out of the Ps3 with Uncharted)

Splinter Cell looks good.
Gears prequel sounds good.
(as a huge fan of RE4) = happy to see RE6

The Kinect / "connects to everything" tv viewing stuff I could care less about.
FFS Usher?

....And another CoD to finish with, standard CoD impressive as usual, par for the course for CoD.

Overall C+

Not really much worthwhile here IMHO.
The few games that are non-Kinect games look good to great.
Everything else I have a TV and a computer for, MS. I don't need my game console to do all that other BS.

Can't really say I'm too surprised. Other than a neXt Box showing, I figured this year's MS conference was going to be a fairly stale repeat of last year for the most part; in reality, that's really what happened. Just a little leaner on shoving the Kinect down our throats this year.

I don't expect much from Sony either. God of War: Ascension, Naughty Dog will show their new game, they'll probably talk about the Vita. A lot. And that'll probably be about it. Some more multiplatform stuff, and maybe something on the Move trying to show that they don't view it as a complete and utter failure (which it is). Wouldn't be surprised to see a new Assassin's Creed or GTA 5 trailer since MS got to show off SC and CoD: BO2.

If anyone's going to 'win' E3 this year, it's going to be Nintendo.
The only way that doesn't happen is a) if Sony shows off the Ps4, or b) if Nintendo disappoints. Nintendo generally doesn't disappoint too much on new hardware announcements.....I'm still waiting on some Wii U games worth buying the console for, specifically something either Zelda, new, or 3rd party based. Not sure if any of that's going to happen though. (if I'm being cynical)
 
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zero2dash said:
Halo 4 looks like a bit of a jump graphically on the same hardware that we've all been used to.....that might have just infused some longer legs into the 360 hardware.
(very similar to how Naughty Dog has squeezed a lot out of the Ps3 with Uncharted)

Splinter Cell looks good.
Gears prequel sounds good.
(as a huge fan of RE4) = happy to see RE6

The Kinect / "connects to everything" tv viewing stuff I could care less about.
FFS Usher?

....And another CoD to finish with, impressive as usual, par for the course for CoD.

Overall C+

Not really much worthwhile here IMHO.
The few games that are non-Kinect games look good to great.
Everything else I have a TV and a computer for, MS. I don't need my game console to do all that other BS.

Can't really say I'm too surprised. Other than a neXt Box showing, I figured this year's MS conference was going to be a fairly stale repeat of last year for the most part; in reality, that's really what happened. Just a little leaner on shoving the Kinect down our throats this year.

I don't expect much from Sony either. God of War: Ascension, Naughty Dog will show their new game, they'll probably talk about the Vita. A lot. And that'll probably be about it. Some more multiplatform stuff, and maybe something on the Move trying to show that they don't view it as a complete and utter failure (which it is). Wouldn't be surprised to see a new Assassin's Creed or GTA 5 trailer since MS got to show off SC and CoD: BO2.
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What exactly was impressive about CODBLOPS2? Looks like every other dull brown modern shooter to me. Nothing unique or interesting about it. Also COD games are really looking ugly these days.
 
Annual E3 Press Conferences have gone down in interest quality since the original announcements of PS3 and Xbox 360. Now, 7 years after launch, E3 is pretty much worthless in terms of excitement. This Microsoft conference has set a new bar for low expectations.
 
Derangel said:
What exactly was impressive about CODBLOPS2? Looks like every other dull brown modern shooter to me. Nothing unique or interesting about it. Also COD games are really looking ugly these days.
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I suppose I should rephrase that....
not necessarily "impressive" like "more impressive than H4", but again par for the course.

CoD titles generally look like good titles. Then again it's fairly impossible for them not too; they've been using the same fucking game engine for years and years and years now. :rolleyes: :p

I'm more anti-Activision/anti-CoD due to their shit support on PC's, but generally I've enjoyed the CoD's that I have played through. Brown or not. ;)
 
There was no mention of GTA5 during the MS conference was there? $10 Sony just secured GTA5 as an exclusive.
 
As far as games go I'm looking forward to Forza Horizon, Gears of War: Judgment, Halo 4, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, and I'm also interested in the South Park game, and perhaps Matter.

Maplehamwich said:
Annual E3 Press Conferences have gone down in interest quality since the original announcements of PS3 and Xbox 360. Now, 7 years after launch, E3 is pretty much worthless in terms of excitement. This Microsoft conference has set a new bar for low expectations.
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Yup, I think it's time for Xbox 720 and PS4. They're scraping the bottom of the barrel at this point. I'm not even talking about graphics either. Things have just gotten stale. The only thing that is going to re-excite things is going to be new hardware, and the cool and interesting things developers are going to do with the new systems.
 
I can't wait for Sony to show off more of Last of Us. Game looks great so far. Also a big Sly Cooper fan, I hope to see more on part 4. Can't forget Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch also.
 
SeymourGore said:
There was no mention of GTA5 during the MS conference was there? $10 Sony just secured GTA5 as an exclusive.
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No. (Unless I missed it in the few minutes I was away from my desk or had the stream muted)

Would assume that Sony will show some exclusive DLC/trailer announcement for it though - as you said, and as I mentioned a few posts up.

MS showing their 'exclusive' trailers of the other big ones, I'm sure Sony's pulling out all their phones and checkbooks right now trying to take the ones that haven't already been taken.

I did forget to say - the Smart Glass thing - they just stole a LOT of the Wii U buzz away.
Working on all your existing smart phones and tablets... WOW. MAJOR coup for MS with that.
 
zero2dash said:
I suppose I should rephrase that....
not necessarily "impressive" like "more impressive than H4", but again par for the course.

CoD titles generally look like good titles. Then again it's fairly impossible for them not too; they've been using the same fucking game engine for years and years and years now. :rolleyes: :p

I'm more anti-Activision/anti-CoD due to their shit support on PC's, but generally I've enjoyed the CoD's that I have played through. Brown or not. ;)
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I thought Halo 4 looked a million times more interesting and fun. Then again I hate modern/near future shooters.
 
zero2dash said:
I did forget to say - the Smart Glass thing - they just stole a LOT of the Wii U buzz away.
Working on all your existing smart phones and tablets... WOW. MAJOR coup for MS with that.
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No it does not work on "all existing smart phones and tablets" it only works on Microsoft devices. It doesn't work on iOS or Android.
 
Derangel said:
I thought Halo 4 looked a million times more interesting and fun.
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Agreed. H4 has me interested in Halo again.
It also reminds me that I need to pick up ODST and Reach. ;)

Derangel said:
No it does not work on "all existing smart phones and tablets" it only works on Microsoft devices. It doesn't work on iOS or Android.
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Yes it does. Confirmed for iOS and Android as well as WP7.
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/06/03/microsoft-registers-series-of-smart-glass-domains/
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/06/01/microsoft-to-announce-airplay-esque-smart-glass-app-at-e3-for/
An internal presentation from Microsoft to content partners reveals a soon-to-be announced Apple AirPlay-style app. Engadget got its eyes on a presentation that shows off the app, named "Smart Glass," which will enable AirPlay-style functionality on your Xbox 360 via iOS, Android, and Windows Phone 7 devices.
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Guy was just on Spike saying the same thing.
 
Derangel said:
No it does not work on "all existing smart phones and tablets" it only works on Microsoft devices. It doesn't work on iOS or Android.
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I swear he mentioned that it will work on iOS and Android platforms as well. It was all demoed on Windows platforms, but like I said, I think at one point he mentioned the others as usable.
 
^^^ He did.
I just hope the app gets pushed out to the Amazon App store so I can throw it on my Kindle Fire otherwise I'm going to be rooting that damn thing real soon. ;)
 
I thought halo 4's graphics looked worse then reach. I really didn't enjoy the large grainy flat image mountain they were showing off at the begging of the level.

Splinter cell looked awful... the middle east really? I was tired with it in the one level in conviction and every modern shooter for the last 3 years. Looks like they didn't fix any the problems with conviction and still going even more with the extremely easy action route with the locate all enemies with one button... no thanks.
 
Halo 4 doesn't look bad. I skipped all of the Halo 3 spin-off games, but I might get that one. Halo and South Park are really the only things of interest I saw. This generation needs to be put out to pasture soon.
 
yourgrandma said:
I thought halo 4's graphics looked worse then reach.
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I haven't played Reach in a while, but I don't see that as being the case. I thought it looked pretty good, and an improvement over all the previous Halo games. Not a huge leap, but it looked better to me.
 
Domingo said:
This generation needs to be put out to pasture soon.
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Why?

They're finally at a point where they can put out the best games and squeeze the most out of the hardware.

What else are you looking for exactly?
Or do you just like blowing money on shiny new smelling plastic?

Halo 4 looks amazing. Easily the best looking 360 game and I'd put it on par with the Uncharted series as the Ps3 showcases. If all of the major AAA games from this point forward look as good as at least Gears 3 if not Halo 4, I'd be happier than shit and the 360 could stick around another 10 years as far as I'm concerned. Watch the HD trailers. Looks a lot better than a buffered window. ;) http://www.joystiq.com/2012/06/04/halo-4-gameplay-demo-reveals-forerunner-weapons-new-enemies

I could do without the Kinect shit and the TV stuff but otherwise I'm happy with the 360 and Ps3 as video game consoles.
 
zero2dash said:
Why?

They're finally at a point where they can put out the best games and squeeze the most out of the hardware.

What else are you looking for exactly?
Or do you just like blowing money on shiny new smelling plastic?

Halo 4 looks amazing. Easily the best looking 360 game and I'd put it on par with the Uncharted series as the Ps3 showcases. If all of the major AAA games from this point forward look as good as at least Gears 3 if not Halo 4, I'd be happier than shit and the 360 could stick around another 10 years as far as I'm concerned. Watch the HD trailers. Looks a lot better than a buffered window. ;) http://www.joystiq.com/2012/06/04/halo-4-gameplay-demo-reveals-forerunner-weapons-new-enemies

I could do without the Kinect shit and the TV stuff but otherwise I'm happy with the 360 and Ps3 as video game consoles.
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They are very long in the tooth and the fact that we're saying Halo 4 is the best looking game on consoles is pretty sad. It's a nice looking game but it's also a rare showcase. Look at UE3 titles or COD games. Hell look at Splinter Cell: whateveritscalled looks kind of meh. Beyond that we're not going to see games really advance in other ways without more powerful hardware. Development of AI and physics are pretty much at a stand still.
 
[shrug]

Where exactly is PC gaming better to the nth degree other than >1080P res w/AF+AA?
Not like AI is improved on PC to the point where 4+ cores are being used.

The console is a locked platform. Anyone who looks at a spec sheet is going to say "oh that's old shit, it's no good" but that's not the point. They can squeeze more out of the hardware because it's a closed ecosystem; it's not like a PC where a new graphics card is required every 6 months because new stuff comes out.

You have:
-mass storage
-online capabilities
-DLC
-1080P, generally acceptable framerates
-5.1

What else is left? Maybe I'm missing something here but I fail to see where gaming has evolved sooooooo greater elsewhere that "OMG consoles suck now". The only complaint I have is when stuff is upscaled and not put out at a true 1080P. Otherwise other than being minor nitpicky, I have no problem with consoles. I have yet to see anything in my Steam account that is not possible on the old and busted console hardware that we've had around for years now.

Maybe some of you guys are never happy. I think the biggest thing we have now that we never had before was online/updates. Games that shipped broken and flawed had to stay that way. That doesn't happen anymore. Again -> [shrug].
 
zero2dash said:
Why?

They're finally at a point where they can put out the best games and squeeze the most out of the hardware.

What else are you looking for exactly?
Or do you just like blowing money on shiny new smelling plastic?
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Personally, I'm sick of 720(ish)p graphics, muddy textures, no AA, and 30fps. It's been 6 years and I have managed to save up $300-500 over those 6 years for a replacement that can do those things.

The obvious solution is "buy a PC!" (which I have), but I'm interested in the more mainstream-like games that will only see the light of day on consoles.

I think one reason we're seeming more and more console ports coming to PC and being done better is because I'm not alone. This generation has gone on too long. I want a Genesis to breathe some life into this NES kind of generation.
 
Domingo said:
Personally, I'm sick of 720(ish)p graphics, muddy textures, no AA, and 30fps. It's been 6 years and I have managed to save up $300-500 over those 6 years for a replacement that can do those things.
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I'll agree with you on the word "muddy". I think too many games nowadays show "grit" and "brown". However I'd argue that's a gaming problem; doesn't matter what the platform is. Plenty of high horsepower PC games have the same problem. The lone difference is a few like Far Cry or Crysis; the former is VERY long in the tooth and the latter was released, what...4 1/2 years ago, and we're finally at a point where GPU's can actually do something respectable with the game.

I also agree with the 720P/upscaling (as I posted before). I think that's a major common cop-out and I'm sick of it.

However - it's obvious, and we'll never see PC graphics on console. I'm not saying that's what you're asking for ~ I'm just making the point. Most people know this already, but it bears repeating. You want graphics, bleeding edge = buy PC.

Problem then is, even then, you'll still get console-to-PC ports most of the time. Anything that's console only is the lone difference. Then you're tied into the hardware you have to go by, and comparing averages - I think consoles fare pretty well.

Domingo said:
I think one reason we're seeming more and more console ports coming to PC and being done better is because I'm not alone.
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I didn't think anything was even close to being like this; seems like they always neuter the console version and release it on PC, same P2P multiplayer online gaming included. I don't agree with it, and I'd like to see it change - but the fact is, the publishers generally publish out on the consoles first because the market there is greater. Hence the "no one really gives a shit about PC's anymore" cries from the pro-PC gamer crowd. Of course there's a few lone exceptions, but those are generally PC-only or PC-centric developers (such as Valve).

I hate to say "settle on it" but that's really the only thing that can be said.
On average - a game on console or PC plays fairly well on both. Anything mainstream at least. (the Call of Duties, the Battlefields)
Each platform has its few shining stars - PC has Crysis and Metro 2033; 360 has Gears and Halo; Ps3 has Uncharted and God of War.
Averages though, I think they're fairly equal. (Other than console being tied to a lower res, but until TV's push higher than 1080P, that's not going to change.)
 
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zero2dash said:
[shrug]

Where exactly is PC gaming better to the nth degree other than >1080P res w/AF+AA?
Not like AI is improved on PC to the point where 4+ cores are being used.

The console is a locked platform. Anyone who looks at a spec sheet is going to say "oh that's old shit, it's no good" but that's not the point. They can squeeze more out of the hardware because it's a closed ecosystem; it's not like a PC where a new graphics card is required every 6 months because new stuff comes out.

You have:
-mass storage
-online capabilities
-DLC
-1080P, generally acceptable framerates
-5.1

What else is left? Maybe I'm missing something here but I fail to see where gaming has evolved sooooooo greater elsewhere that "OMG consoles suck now". The only complaint I have is when stuff is upscaled and not put out at a true 1080P. Otherwise other than being minor nitpicky, I have no problem with consoles. I have yet to see anything in my Steam account that is not possible on the old and busted console hardware that we've had around for years now.

Maybe some of you guys are never happy. I think the biggest thing we have now that we never had before was online/updates. Games that shipped broken and flawed had to stay that way. That doesn't happen anymore. Again -> [shrug].
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When was the PC brought up? Also, you realize that the reason you haven't seen those advancements on the PC is because everyone is developing based on the limitations of console hardware, right? Anyway this conversation has nothing to do with the PC.

I'm well aware of how specs work on a closed platform thank you but there is a limit to what can be pushed out of anything. It'll be interesting to see what 343 had to "sacrifice" to push the graphics level up on Halo 4. I don't mean sacrifice in a negative sense so much so as to what tricks they used to push the system. I also wonder if it will even be native 720p.

Actually you don't really have 1080p on consoles. Only a very limited number of games support it natively they rest upscale and a lot of games have to run natively at less than "HD' resolutions in order to even work. As for acceptable framerates? Eh yeah for the most part. I'm not terribly picky about framerate stuff unless it's really bad. A new generation of consoles isn't going to fix that anyway, developers will just make more games with unstable framerates they will just look nicer.

5.1 has been around a long time. The last generation of consoles support it. Not as widely but it was there. Audio hasn't exactly advanced much either. Once consoles moved away from midi audio development kind of stalled. Though that is really a minor issue since audio quality is good enough as it is now.

Yes DLC.....Lovely. Paying for stuff that used to be free. Great advancement. If more companies actually did DLC well you would have a point.

As for patches, good and bad. It's great that games can be easily fixed now on consoles but it seems like more and more games are being pushed out with a "we'll fix it later if we feel like it" attitude.
 
I bring up PC gaming because it's the only other bastion of gaming besides consoles and since consoles are "long in the tooth", the only alternative is PC. So again I ask what exactly is so advanced on PC that makes consoles long in the tooth? Graphics - OK, that's a given. Again though....is Cell incapable of decent AI now? Is the sound inadequate? Is ethernet inadequate? I fail to see where those are fact.

I don't think consoles are going to evolve as much as you guys do. :)

Derangel said:
Yes DLC.....Lovely. Paying for stuff that used to be free. Great advancement. If more companies actually did DLC well you would have a point.
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Downloadable Content. Not Disc Locked Content (aka Capcom's definition of it).
Just because it's categorized as DLC doesn't mean it costs money.
The problem with consoles+DLC is that the companies are already used to charging for it, so they continue doing so.

Derangel said:
As for patches, good and bad. It's great that games can be easily fixed now on consoles but it seems like more and more games are being pushed out with a "we'll fix it later if we feel like it" attitude.
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Agreed, developers are getting lazy because they can patch it later.
That's really beside the point though. Before we were tied into carts or discs with no storage on the console capable of hosting those updates; that's no longer the case.
 
zero2dash said:
I bring up PC gaming because it's the only other bastion of gaming besides consoles and since consoles are "long in the tooth", the only alternative is PC. So again I ask what exactly is so advanced on PC that makes consoles long in the tooth? Graphics - OK, that's a given. Again though....is Cell incapable of decent AI now? Is the sound inadequate? Is ethernet inadequate? I fail to see where those are fact.



Downloadable Content. Not Disc Locked Content (aka Capcom's definition of it).
Just because it's categorized as DLC doesn't mean it costs money.
The problem with consoles+DLC is that the companies are already used to charging for it, so they continue doing so.



Agreed, developers are getting lazy because they can patch it later.
That's really beside the point though. Before we were tied into carts or discs with no storage on the console capable of hosting those updates; that's no longer the case.
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I'm not just talking about disc locked content. I mean shit like map packs, extra weapons, etc. Remember when games used to have unlockables? They used to provide players with a reason to replay them outside of e-penis points.
 
Derangel said:
I'm not just talking about disc locked content. I mean shit like map packs, extra weapons, etc. Remember when games used to have unlockables? They used to provide players with a reason to replay them outside of e-penis points.
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I remember when fighting games used to have unlockables, especially if it was something by Namco. Namco has recently said TTT2 will have unlockable characters and no DLC (like Capcom pulls).

Anything else - can't really say I remember a lot of games from gaming past that had a lot of unlockables, save for maybe Goldeneye.
 
Just to update - more about Smart Glass
http://kotaku.com/5915543/xbox-smart-glass-lets-you-control-your-xbox-with-your-iphone
Xbox Smart Glass Lets You Control Your Xbox With Your iPhone
Microsoft demonstrated their Xbox Smart Glass tech today at E3, linking consumers' smartphones and tablets to their Xbox games and media. Not only does Smart Glass manage video playback across devices and add extra content to video, but it also makes your currently existing touch device into, essentially, a remote control for your console and a controller for certain new games.

Nintendo, too, is banking on the idea of touch tech for game control, with their Wii U controller, but Microsoft is banking on connecting to the devices that a significant number of consumers already own and carry with them everywhere.

Microsoft promises that it works across nearly all devices: iOS phones and tablets, Android phones and tablets, Windows phones, and Windows 8.
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Plague_Injected said:
This is a bit backward considering Uncharted is basically Tomb Raider with Fisher-Price puzzle design and cutscene-spam.
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Yes and no. They are both heavily influenced by Indiana Jones but Uncharted took Tomb Raider's mechanics and improved them a lot. The action in Uncharted flows better, the combat isn't total shit, the camera doesn't focus exclusively on the main character's ass at the cost of making the game playable, the puzzles may not have been hard but they were intelligently designed (for the most part). For the new Tomb Raider it looks like Crystal D took a lot of cues from what made the Uncharted games work.
 
Derangel said:
Yes and no. They are both heavily influenced by Indiana Jones but Uncharted took Tomb Raider's mechanics and improved them a lot. The action in Uncharted flows better, the combat isn't total shit, the camera doesn't focus exclusively on the main character's ass at the cost of making the game playable, the puzzles may not have been hard but they were intelligently designed (for the most part). For the new Tomb Raider it looks like Crystal D took a lot of cues from what made the Uncharted games work.
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True enough. Uncharted's combat is pretty close to being "total shit" though. Of all the third-person shooting games I've played, UC's shooting mechanics feel the worst by far. Granted the game is not primarily a TPS, but if it is to have specific mechanics in a game, they should be decent at least.
 
Plague_Injected said:
True enough. Uncharted's combat is pretty close to being "total shit" though. Of all the third-person shooting games I've played, UC's shooting mechanics feel the worst by far. Granted the game is not primarily a TPS, but if it is to have specific mechanics in a game, they should be decent at least.
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They're at least a lot better than anything Tomb Raider ever offered and they did get a little better over the games but yes I agree they're not great.
 
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