would you say its more similar to Worlds or Rise?

I found Rise felt a bit underwhelming after Worlds and didn't end up putting much time into it.

having previously been a reviewer, they will do this, but only to an extent. Often they will send out multiple "waves" of review keys, some people will get them earlier than others.

usually bigger more established outlets like GS, IGN, Eurogamer etc. will get them early regardless. otherwise, they are more likely to give out early keys to smaller sites/channels if they are more likely to give out a positive review. I don't think there will be a formal agreement or anything, but some sites tend to skew more positive than others (possibly to appease publishers and get quotes from their reviews on store pages etc.) Giving a game from EA or whatever a harsh review is a good way to end up on the "you get a review copy later" list.

Not all publishers are like this. some will send out copies to everyone at the same time regardless of their past reviews.

I'm also aware of an instance where someone writing for our site gave a highly hyped/anticipated game a 8/10, and the publisher asked if they'd be willing to "reconsider" and give it a higher score because it was hurting their MC average.

only one instance mind you, but there is some shady stuff that happens for sure.

I gave it a download on gamepass yesterday, will give it a go at some point. takes an absurd amount of SSD space.

For the first time in ages, I enjoyed the multiplayer in MW2 a couple years ago. Didn't play MW3. we'll see how this one is.

reviews seem mostly positive. sounds like the best game Bioware has made since Inquisition at least.

will probably give it a go eventually, though I'm slowly working through BG3 so it won't be any time soon.

yea i noticed that as well. honestly extremely funny choice of name

Ultimately they spent too much time following/playing it safe/being late to trends. They got super stale in the last 5+ years or so with their big budget games.

The biggest hits tend to set trends, not follow ones that have already have several big games that have established themselves and filled that part of the market.

They have some really talented studios and people and some great tech. I hope whoever buys them out puts those assets to better use!

Meanwhile, pre-orders for the newest Monster Hunter game are up on Steam and it costs $96 Canadian.

definitely firm. i'm tall and prone to back problems, and after a few nights sleeping on a soft mattress I definitely start getting more back pain.

fighting games, or most games where the combat relies heavily on memorizing longer/elaborate button combos

been playing Baldurs Gate 3 and Helldivers 2, both of which I got on sale in the last bit.

BG3 is obviously a super well made game, but as with previous Larian games, its not fully clicking with me. The constant dice rolls can be annoying, and you spend too much time picking through containers for items/fiddling around in your inventory. I also feel the map is almost too densely packed with quests. You can't ever really focus on just going through one questline, you are constantly tripping over stuff on your way and blundering into fights you can't win. I feel a lot of the design choices really promote save scumming.

Still, the characters are great and the gameplay has some great elements. just wish their games fully grabbed me like they evidently do so many others. I'm just under 20 hours in, so we'll see how long I stick with it.

Helldivers 2 is just good co-op fun. not sure how long i'll stick with it but i'm having a good time right now playing it with friends. they are all high level veterans and play in tougher difficulties, so I just try and stick to team mates and stay alive.