METAL GEAR – METAL GEAR SURVIVE

You’d think that Konami couldn’t have given the Metal Gear franchise a worse sendoff than it did with the troubled launch of MGS5 and the acrimonious departure of series mastermind Hideo Kojima, but the company decided to follow up on those disasters with another major screwup. That came in the form of Metal Gear Survive, an abomination of a survival game with mindless, repetitive mechanics, uninspired design, and an unimaginable misuse of a beloved IP. Metal Gear Survive isn’t mainline, of course, and as such easily ignorable- which is good, because that’s exactly what you should do with it.

15. Past Cure (2018)

There’s sordid plot, shoddy action and oddly ilfitting puzzles in a supernatural third person shooter…and then there’s Past Cure. The development team was small and fairly inexperienced, thus resulting in uneven AI and performance. However, that doesn’t excuse the story which was just a meandering mess when it wasn’t outright dull.

There have been quite a few of the latter this generation, and in this feature, we’ll be taking a look at fifteen of those. Do note that you might find a few titles mentioned here that actually manage to turn things around eventually thanks to great post-launch support- but for this feature, we’re looking only at the state of these games at launch.

FALLOUT 76

What a colossal screw up this was on Bethesda’s part. Let’s just ignore all the things that went around the game, and focus on just the game itself- because even that was bad enough to leave a terrible stain on Bethesda’s reputation. Fallout 76 was a broken mess of a game at launch that was lacking in any kind of a souls or identity, and felt like a hastily put-together cash grab that failed to understand what Fallout was all about. Bethesda are making efforts to turn the tide, and they’ve got some new things planned for the game in the coming months- let’s see how it pans out.

Remember Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5? It may have been terrible and likely still is but that isn’t stopping Activision from continuing to patch the game.

The latest patch 1.03 has recently released and is 7.8 GB on the PS4 (expect the Xbox One to receive it soon as well). Along with additional levels like the Underground and Wild West, additional character campaigns for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Tyler the Creator, and improving the lighting and visuals for “several levels”, the patch has updated the textures for many Pro Skaters, updated the Create-A-Park levels, added options for returning to Freeskate when in missions or searching for other players and much more.

You can check out the full patch notes here courtesy of Eurogamer. We’re not really sure if this will ever make Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 a game worth playing in the long run but hey, Activision is trying.

What are your thoughts on all the fixes? Let us know in the comments below.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 was, in every sense of the word, an unmitigated disaster when it launched earlier this year. It was absolutely broken, the codebase seemed to be a mess, and frankly, it almost felt like Activision had dropped pre-alpha code on us all.

On their part, Activision acknowledged the issues with the release, and promised to look into them; they even suspended the PS3 and Xbox 360 releases of the title until the PS4 and Xbox One versions could be brought back up to scratch. And now, an upcoming update for the game promises to fix, while not quite everything (no patch can fix bad game design), but quite a few problems with the game.

The patch is going to be addressing a lot of the game’s general bugginess, according to developer Robomodo, and it will also add new levels for players to skate around in, as well as new characters for players to skate as. The new levels are all going to be original designs.

Who knows, the game may yet become worth picking up, at least from the bargain bin, if nothing else.

As if the negative critical reception for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 on current gen platforms wasn’t enough, Activision has announced that the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions have been delayed. Eurogamer reported that the game will now be releasing 2016 as opposed to November 13th 2015.

Activision stated that, “We are working closely with our developers to address the issues identified by our community. Our development resources are fully focused on fixes and content updates for PS4 and Xbox One, so we have decided to delay the release of THPS5 on PS3 and X360. We will update the community when we have more specific information about a release date for PS3 and Xbox 360.”

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 released not too long and was absolutely lambasted for its visuals, bugs, terrible gameplay and so on. Were you unfortunate enough to play it? Let us know whether you’ll be looking forward to the previous gen versions next year.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 is now available on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One and Xbox 360. The game is published by Activision and developed by Robomodo and Disruptive Games. If you have any questions, let us know in the comments section below.

Traditional Stages:

Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5 is the first new entry in the series in a while, and also the first 3D skateboarding game in a few years, period. If you’ve picked up the game, and want to shred your way to victory, while scoring some sweet combos, the following tips and suggestions will help you to keep that combo counter up:

Each traditional stage includes plenty of collectibles that you probably want to all hunt down: these include collecting the scattered S-K-A-T-E letters, as well as hidden items like a VHS tapes, DVDs, and destructible crates. All of these must be collected if you want 100% on a stage. Each stage also needs you to complete a signature C-O-M-B-O combo with the marked letters, in one unbroken string- pulling this off can be a bit difficult, so you probably want to manual.

Secondary Missions:

Some stages may also have secondary missions. These can include a Sonic-esque challenge to run through a certain number of rings in a fixed period of time, or just pulling off assigned tricks to keep your head from exploding. You’ll want to keep an eye on the percentage corner hidden away in the corner for these latter kinds of secondary objectives- they tell you just how swollen your head has gotten.

Stars and Stat Points:

Completing missions and objectives gets your Stars (which unlock more stages) and stat points (which let you customize and level up your character). Make sure to assign stat points to the areas where your character is weak. Missions have a three-star ranking: Am, Pro and Sick, corresponding to 1, 2, and 3 stars. Ratings are not permanent, and you can always go back and retry a mission to get a higher rating later, as you practice and perfect your moves.

Slam:

Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5 introduces a new technique called Slam. Press the Y or Triangle button in mid-air, and you immediately slam down from mid-air to the ground. This is good for when you don’t want to continue an aerial combo. Use the slam judiciously- since it is assigned to the same button as the Grind, you can easily miscombo, and you might end up in a worse position at the end of it than you were at the beginning.

Miscellaneous Tips, Combos and Tricks:

9 Million Combo:

2 Million Combo:

100 Million Combo:

Get Sick Challenge Tips:

Achievements and Trophies Guide:

This is Merely the Beginning!

Complete all Skate Tutorial Missions.

Ding!

Reach Player Level 10

Straight Cash

Acquire $25,000 total Cash across all Careers

Sand in Your Socks

Unlock Bonfire Beach

Street Smarts

Unlock School III

Siesta!

Unlock Mega Park

Acrophobia

Unlock Rooftops

Explosive Return

Unlock The Bunker

One Ollie for Man…

Unlock Asteroid Belt

Slight Sickness

Achieve a Sick Score on all Missions in The Berrics

Waterborne Illness

Achieve a Sick Score on all Missions in Bonfire Beach

Something Going Around

Achieve a Sick Score on all Missions in School III

Spanish Flu

Achieve a Sick Score on all Missions in Mega Park.

Epidemic

Achieve a Sick Score on all Missions in Rooftops

Biological Warfare

Achieve a Sick Score on all Missions in The Bunker

Light Headed

Achieve a Sick Score on all Missions in Asteroid Belt.

Be Free

Complete all Freeskate Objectives in any Level

Minding the Gaps

Complete all Gaps in any Level

Poor Coordination

Bail 750 number of times

A True Grind

Grind for 200,000 total meters across all games

Two Wheeled Terror

Manual for 100,000 total meters across all games

Good to be King

Acquire the Master Emblem for any Level

My Specialty

Perform 25,000 total Tricks across all games

Over the Limits

Achieve a score of 50,000,000 across all games

…Really?

Achieve a Combo Multiplier of 25 in any mode.

Secret Sauce

Perform 500 Special Tricks

Going Up

Reach Player Level 25

Top Floor?

Reach Player Level 50

Getting Your Bearings

Complete your first PRO Mission on any level

Where’s My Contract?

Complete all PRO Missions in any level

Killer Combo

Land a 250,000 Point Combo in any mode.

Looking for Deals

Purchase an item in Customize Skater

Numero Uno

Earn a Stat Point by completing a mission at Pro Level

Be the Best

Earn 100 total Stat Points

Stat-tastic

Earn 250 total Stat Points

Head Games

Acquire 10 new Heads

The Bod Squad

Acquire 10 new Bodies

Sponsored

Acquire 10 new Decks

Emboldened!

Unlock 10 Emblems

Awesome Adornments!

Unlock 25 Emblems

Show Off!

Unlock 50 Emblems

Professional Judge

Rate 10 total Create-a-Park levels made by other players

Sharing is Caring

Upload a Create-a-Park level

Chief Judge

Rate 25 total Create-a-Park levels made by other players

Feedback Given

Rate a Create-a-Park level made by another player

Despite many worries about the overall visual style and direction (not to mention the lack of pre-launch reviews), Activision’s Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 is now available for all. It also comes with a day one patch which is…baffling to say the least.

The day one patch requires 7.7 GB, which is pretty sizable on its own, but the base game itself only requires 4.66 GB of installation space. Is the entire game being revamped? Is there content missing that was completed at the last moment? We don’t know and we’ll have to wait to find out.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 is available on Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, PS4 and PC. Recently, the game’s art style was changed to a more cel-shaded look. This wouldn’t have been a big deal but it still looks dated. What are your thoughts on the latest Tony Hawk title? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more details.

This year, Activision is bringing back not one, but two franchises from its classic catalog- sure, Guitar Hero is making a comeback with Guitar Hero Live, but the classic skateboarding series, Tony Hawk Pro Skater, will also be returning with a fifth numbered installment.

If you were a fan of the original games, and you have been excited to see how the classic rail grinding, trick pulling gameplay will translate over to the new generation of consoles, well, this new trailer should be just the thing for you. It looks pretty interesting, although I am not sure I am sold on it entirely yet- it does look a bit rough, rough enough that I am not sure I would want to pay $60 for it.

Activision released some more news about the game with this trailer too, reiterating their commitment to release the game by the end of this year, and also announcing that the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game will not have any online functionality- another instance of last generation versions of games being horribly gimped compared to the real, next generation ones.

Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more coverage and information.

While Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5 isn’t one of the bigger games being talked about at E3 2015, we did get a little more info about the resurrection of the series. A brand new gameplay trailer was released showing off just a few of the things that are featured in this new title. The video also has the man himself, Tony Hawk talking about how excited he is to be bringing his newest game to current generation consoles.

It’s been quite a while since anyone has seen a new skating game in the wild other than OlliOlli. It actually seemed as if something like Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5 wouldn’t ever be seen on the PS4 or the Xbox One. Now the game will be out and available on those consoles, as well as the Xbox 360 and the PS3 later this year. Check out the short video below and tell us what you think about this impending game.