MOOD SWINGS - Insider “Scoops” Are Super Boring
Patience is a virtue.
By Jay Tee
22/02/21
MOOD SWINGS?
Besides being the obvious side effect to a hormonal outburst, ‘Mood Swings’ is an editorial crafted by our editor Jay Tee, alongside contributions from the team. It’s like a series of extended tweets, ranting or raving about something terrible / great that has happened in the world of gaming. It’s a collection of random musings designed to provide a snapshot of what we’re doing, things you should be excited for, and stuff to avoid as you navigate the choppy waters of this wonderfully unpredictable hobby.
Anything, from reactions to a new game announcement, surprising breaking news, to “our cat just nibbled our thumb sticks”, can be found here. We try to be as honest as possible, sharing our gut reactions to stuff that has occurred in the last twenty four hours.
SWITCH PRO RUMOURS
At this point, there have been so many “insider scoops” about a still theoretical Switch hardware update that any semblance of suspense or anticipation has been swallowed up in a swamp of hearsay. I always go internet dark around major gaming events (E3, Gamescom, The Game Awards etc…) out of fear that pre show leaks will ruin some of the pageantry and excitement that typically goes hand in hand with new game announcements. Stuff like these latest Reddit inflaming Switch Pro rumours are a perfect example of exactly the kind of greasy palm leaks that bore me senseless.
I wish data mining simply wasn’t a thing. This whole subset of games “journalism” that thrives on unverified, clickbait rumours is tiresome at best; just let them announce it (or not) when they’re ready, and on their own terms! The same goes for people digging around in game files for Fortnite update clues, or upcoming Legends for Apex… I’d always rather hear it from an official source.
SOULJA BOY STRIKES AGAIN
You’d think after multiple cease and desists and a hefty whack of litigation that he’d get the hint? But apparently Soulja Boy is gearing up to bring another cracked ROM, back door shady deals console to market and… it just doesn’t make sense to me. I’m sure he loves gaming, and that’s great, but this reeks of “too much money and I’m bored” energy.
Why not partner up with a third party publisher, or even one of the big hardware players? The dude has 5.2 million followers on Twitter. Surely he has enough of a “celebrity” presence to justify sitting down with the Epic Games and Ubisoft’s of the world? If those photos are the genuine article, his console looks like a knockoff Xbox One S with a PlayStation Square button blutaked on the front.
WATCH DOGS: LEGION ONLINE
The best part of both Watch Dogs 1 and 2’s multiplayer offering was hands down the secretive Invasion mode, where you’re disguised as an NPC and tasked with hacking another human player. It’s tense, and leads to some really cool emergent moments. Legion’s lack of online support at launch was a bizarre misstep (especially given how long the game has been in development) and while I respect Ubisoft for pushing it back and letting it cook, the version that’s dropping feels a tad lacking.
Apparently the first version of the online modes will be co-op focused, but Invasion won’t even be available straight away! I can’t fathom the logic here. Fingers crossed the co-op missions are meaty enough to justify the additional wait.
That won’t draw any attention.