The only system that will work here is having actual Valve employees who read the reviews and use their friggin' brains - along with some set guidelines - to determine which reviews are bullsh*t and need to be removed and which ones are valid complaints.

"I can't buy the new game on Steam, therefore the previous games by this developer/publisher are crap. Wah!" Not a valid complaint.

"This game has DRM that forces you to verify your purchase every ****ing time you start it, forcing you to waste your damn time when all you want to do is play the friggin' game you paid for, basically accusing you a being a filthy pirate even though you bought the damn game legitimately." Kind of a valid complaint. (If the DRM can impact your enjoyment of a game, that makes it as legitimate a grievance as exceptionally long load times. But, again, Valve would need actual human beings checking to ensure that the game does, in fact, include DRM - and it's not review bombers exploiting a loophole - and that it does negatively impact the experience.)

"This game includes spyware that gathers system information without permission and bogs down your system performance." Absolutely a valid reason to crucify a game with negative reviews. (Again, provided Valve has employees that can verify the claim. At which point, they should really just remove the game from the store and issue a warning to the developer that such practice will not be tolerated.)

This isn't an issue that can be solved with an algorithm. Sure, they can implement a system that flags games that suddenly get a deluge of negative reviews, bringing the matter to someone's attention, but then Valve is going to need actual human beings to read those reviews, sift through the sh*t, and decide whether it's an issue of review bombing or legitimate criticism. Sorry, Valve, but some of your employees are actually going to have to work. They clearly aren't making games, so what the hell else do they have to do?

I really don't understand what they keep doing the two-tone shells. It just never looks right to me - especially on the camo patterns. I'd prefer the entire controller to be a single color/pattern, with the buttons, triggers, D-pad, and thumbsticks being the accent.

That said, I'm not picky about what a controller looks like, I just expect it to last a respectable length of time (5-6 years of moderate usage). And I'm sure as hell not paying $65 just for a different color.

Of course, the big question is: will the Dualshock 4 work on the Playstation 5? (And will the Dualshock 5 carry the touchpad design forward?) It'd be really nice if we finally reached a point where the old stuff worked with the new - whether it's because you just want extra controllers for friends/as spares without forking over $60-$70 a pop for the new ones or you just don't like the redesign for the new model or prefer that color/pattern you just paid $65 for only a year ago.

I'd have a lot more respect for 343i and everyone involved if they adamantly refused to ride that trend.

Until Microsoft decides to get into the ISP game to ensure that 1) everyone has decent high speed internet and 2) there will be no data caps, they really need to abandon their goal of an all-digital platform - unless their ultimate goal is to kill the Xbox. Personally, I don't know why they aren't making moves to that end (becoming an ISP, not killing the Xbox). They want people to be pay for Gold. They want people to pay for Game Pass. If Microsoft was also offering high speed internet, they could offer a Gamer Bundle that combines your internet with Xbox Gold and Game Pass at a reasonably reduced price, which might entice people who ordinarily eschew those services - like me - to go ahead to get the bundle.

I'm fine with all-digital gaming on PC because I'm already paying for my internet (and not being asked to pay an additional $60 a year by Steam to use their service) which, for better or worse, has become just a necessary evil of life, and, thankfully, I have access to moderately decent internet, and, at the moment, I'm not crippled by data caps. But the second my internet connection/speed becomes subpar or I'm saddled with data caps, I'll probably end up buying a lot fewer games on PC, which may, in turn, ultimately diminish how much time I spend gaming...unless I had another option, an option where digital downloads weren't necessary, a option where I could, say, take some sort of physical media and place it inside a device that could then read the data off that media and allow me to play video games entirely separate from the internet. Like, I don't know, a home media console or something.

I get that Microsoft has this massive boner for an all-digital world and, sure, I get it. I feel the same way about that Star Trek-ian universe where all books, all music, all media can be accessed on command, entirely for free, on a lightweight tablet that everyone owns or just by speaking the request aloud to my near-sentient domicile. We've got a pretty decent approximation of the tablet, and Alexa is at least a dimwitted, three-toed cousin to the Star Trek computer systems, but we just aren't there yet on the all media instantly available and the free of charge part. So, sadly, I have to go on dreaming. Similarly, the world isn't quite there on the widespread, incorruptible tech part that would allow Microsoft to have their all-digital Xbox. We're still bottlenecked by the spotty internet coverage and corporate greed of ISPs. But, hey, you go right on dreaming, Microsoft. Maybe someday we'll both have our dreams come true. Maybe.

The Witness might have been a critical darling, but I don't think it qualifies as a 'big one,' given that the majority of people who were stoked for the follow-up to Braid probably bought the game at release. And no matter how seminal the game, a friggin' remaster does not qualify as anything special. When you claim Sony is offering 'rather big ones' as the PS+ freebies, I was expecting something like God of War and Nier Automata. You know, actual big games.

It'll be interesting to see how only offering two free games with PS+ will work out for Sony. With only two titles, they can't dump the typical crap games they've been doing for years now without infuriating/alienating their customers. Sure, the people who really care about multiplayer won't have a choice but to pay, but the rest of us... My subscription lapsed a couple months ago and, honestly, Sony hasn't given me a reason to want to renew. They really better get their hubris sorted out before 2020 when new consoles drop, or they might have to endure another PS3 launch to give them a reality check. Sony might be on top now, but Microsoft is making moves and all they need to do is finally get a decent library of decent exclusive (or semi-exclusive, since they seem committed to launching simultaneously on PC) to go with their more robust, consumer-friendly services/features to take back the crown.

Soooo...Rust, but with cowboys? Yeah, I'll pass.

Meh. Unless they're doing a reverse Black Ops 4 - selling just the campaign for $20 - I can't say I'm really all that interested. With BO4, they showed a willingness to piecemeal their games, first by not having a campaign and then by offering a 'No Zombies' version, so going forward I'm either going to get the option to buy just the campaign - at a vastly reduced price - or I'm just not buying the game. (Unless I happen to catch it during a Black Friday sale for $15 or less.)

And, really, if Activision was even remotely interested in what the consumers want, selling Call of Duty as both a package and individual pieces would be the smart move. At the very least, it give would them some actual market data on what percentage of consumers are interested in which modes. Because I can't be the only person who considers multiplayer to be the unwanted strawberry in the Call of Duty Neapolitan.

Do not want.

Though, in all fairness, it's not just Will Smith - he's just the nail in the coffin. None of the casting works for me.

But that's fine, because this obviously isn't meant for me.

Even though he's pretty hit or miss, David Fincher as director was the only thing that had me remotely interested in a World War Z sequel. I would've been interested to see what he did with a zombie flick.

If it's still available later in the year when holiday sales ramp up, or if it's on sale somewhere before then, I might finally buy an Xbox One with that The Division 2 bundle, since I'm sure as hell not buying it on Epic's store.

I give Microsoft credit for one thing this generation: they have bundles galore available for their console. That's one area where Sony seems to have dropped the ball.