• Staff have decided to place a soft ban on topics concerning AI content generation and their algorithms like Stable Diffusion and ChatGPT. You can read more about the update here.

Theorry

Member
Oct 27, 2017
56,914
Summary of all the info.

Progression


  • Players will be able to share their unlocked voyages
  • Gold and experience is shared amongst the crew
  • Crew bond is a core part
  • Remove barriers that stop players from being able to play together
  • We have a game about using tools, showing off your reputation, choosing to show off your progress by how you’re dressed and the title you use
  • The voyages you put on the table will cosmetically look better to represent its rewards
  • Getting the “Legend” status is a long-term goal and requires you to progress a lot with trading companies and other NPCs
  • Even very dedicated players will only reach that status weeks after launch and will, therefore, get some fame in the community
    1f642.svg
  • Reaching “Legend” status is the endgame for launch, but only the start for the future content
  • Legends will, of course, get access to special titles, outfits and customization options
  • Hints towards a fourth trading company
  • Unlocking new songs will be related to Progression


Hideout
  • After you reached “legend” status you will get access/a key to a special Hideout
  • The exact location of the hideout is currently unknown to us
  • From the Hideout NPCs, you will get access to high-tier quests and rewards
  • You will be able to get those quests in the “Tavern of Legends”, which is situated in the Hideout. Ghosts of the E3 2016 characters make an appearance there
  • You will be able to share access to the Hideout with other players in your crew, just as you will be able to share the special voyages with them
  • By talking to the ghosts you will hear hints towards the new trading company and future content
  • Inside the Captains Cabin of the ship in the background is the Pirate Lord who sells legendary voyages
  • These voyages are Sea of Thieves take on public events or “if Sea of Thieves did Raid Content” (Skeleton Forts?)
Ship Captaincy
  • This new system will be introduced with a big update a few months after launch
  • Legendary Players will get access to a new ship that allows for unique forms of customization
  • Others will be able to recognize your achievements by simply looking at your ship from a distance
  • Pirate Legends will be able to ascend to Captains
  • This is where Rare will shift the focus from the personal Legends to the Crew Legends, allowing groups of players to become feared on the high seas, adding in new systems for dedicated teams
  • Once you have your own ship you won’t start at the taverns anymore, but in your hideout
  • You will be able to explode out of the hideout with your ship like Batman
World


  • Currently, there are 3 biomes in the world: Shores of Plenty, Ancient Isles, and The Wilds – we don’t mark them on the map – but one’s more ancient civilization, one’s more Maldivian white sands, one’s more dark and oppressive
  • Beyond launch, we’re going to expand the size of the map, as we grow. We’ll look at increasing ship numbers per world, too
  • New islands can appear in our sea, islands can be destroyed, and what’s on the islands will change over time, too
  • Something like a curse might get released and change the world
  • For now, the closed beta map size will also be the launch map size, although stuff like reefs might get added and changed
Gameplay
  • No safe zones. Not even if Reddit really wants them
  • Death will be punishing without being too frustrating or discouraging
  • You won’t lose your accrued gold, anything you purchased, your voyages or your reputation when you die
  • New threats at sea and on land are coming, although possibly not already at launch
  • However, more things in the sea and “stuff” on the islands will be in at launch
  • Playing music and drinking grog doesn’t buff you in any way, it exists for fun moments with your crew
  • Rare has prototyped alliances and they might be supported in the game too (We assume this is about the clans/fleets that have already formed around the game)
  • There will be more loot aside from chests, like treasure artifacts
  • No PvE only areas
  • There will most likely be more ships to choose from in the future



Skeleton Fort Raids
  • Gigantic Skull cloud will sometimes appear above the forts, visible for every player from a very large distance
  • Swarming with powerful skeletons
  • Once you kill the Outpost skeleton boss he drops a key that players can pick up and fight over
  • The player with the key can open the forts vault full of treasure
  • The Forts should serve as an opportunity for players that are looking for PvP and huge treasure hauls
Animals
  • There will be different animals, but at launch, only pigs, snakes and chicken will have a gameplay effect
  • Pigs need feeding to stay alive
  • Snakes poison you and can be charmed with music
  • Chickens will make loud noises which might alert other crews of their presence
  • Animals can drown, get hit by lightning and even blow up
  • Snakes could be used as makeshift traps for boarding crews
Customization


  • New apparel will just get added to the game when it’s done, no need to wait for the next “big patch”
  • When you first start the game you will be presented with a wheel of 8 randomly generated characters to choose from. You can reroll them as often as you like, but once you choose one it becomes bound to your Microsoft account and can’t be rerolled again.
  • The idea is that no two pirates will look exactly the same
  • There will be no body customization sliders, but you will be able to change things like hairstyles, beards, peg legs, hooks, and more transitory cosmetic options
  • Hitboxes are normalized, so smaller characters have no advantages over bigger ones

Ship customization
  • You will only be able to change your ship at an outpost (shipwright?), your ship’s loadout will be fixed during your adventures
  • Players can buy cosmetic upgrades – figureheads, sail designs, and specific hulls – that they keep forever, in the same way as clothing or equipment
  • They can be applied to any boat, meaning each time you play, you and your crew can decide on the look of the ship
  • The more concrete form of “ship ownership” will be the Ship Captaincy mentioned above
Events
  • Timed events will be a regular thing from launch on
  • There will be fun and time-limited quests that will give you exclusive stuff as reward
  • These events and quests will still always follow the Sea of Thieves lore
  • They have lots of possibilities for small events, for example, increase frequency of sharks for a day, add more vicious storms or raising the tides temporarily
  • These events might sound like small changes, but if all voyages point to the same region for the day the game will feel different from usual, which is better than no variation at all

Items
  • Shouting trumpet: Will allow you to contact ships that are too far away for proximity voice chat
  • White flag to signal surrender and other sorts of signs
  • Messages in Bottles
Kraken


  • 100% in the game at launch
  • It’s a random world encounter and can’t be actively triggered by the players
  • The fight with the Kraken will be different each time thanks to its scale and complexity
  • It can: Attack multiple ships at once, pick player up, ingest players, slam them in the water, dunk them under water, throw them across the map, wrap your ship, punch holes in your ship, rock your ship, spray ink
  • You can fight the tentacles so they release you
  • It will be an epic and memorable experience each time, designed to be replayable
  • There will be special rewards for killing the Kraken
Microtransactions


  • Microtransactions will only be implemented to the game in the first major update approximately 3 months after launch
  • Launch should be focused on the game and the transition to the game as a service and the needed funding for that will happen with that update
  • Microtransactions won’t affect power or progression in any way
  • Lootboxes won’t be in the game
  • Bought items should be fun, social and have an emotional value, but no functional value
  • No intent to charge for content updates (No season pass or DLC, updates will always be free)
  • Fun Potions might also be an MTX option (Potion that makes you look old for example)
  • Some of the Microtransaction things will also have an option to be earned through in-game currency


Pets
  • Buying pets will be the first thing that you will be able to spend money on
  • Parrot, Cat, and Monkey confirmed so far
  • You will be able to fire them out of cannons
  • It will fit the style of the game and be more fun and silly than cruel
    1f642.svg
  • If you buy a pet other people will be able to mess around with and experience it, too
  • So if you have a parrot, you will be able to pick it up and run around with it, but someone else can also pick it up and then drown with it (no worries it will come back to you)
Future
  • First significant update will be around 3 months after launch
  • Updates will service all kinds of players, whether you are a hardcore gamer or a casual
  • New quest types, new trading companies and other gameplay possibilities like fishing will get added to the game over time
  • Smaller additions will just be put into the game without having to wait to get released as part of a big update
  • Events will come daily/weekly, then the bigger updates like for example introduction of underwear to the game, to the really big updates that release every 6-8 weeks (pet system for example)
  • Game will be supported and updated as long as people keep playing it
  • Rare has a detailed roadmap until the end of this calendar year

http://crewofthieves.com/news-en/sea-of-thieves-february-13th-news-summary/



Sea of Thieves' kraken and endgame explained, and Rare's post-launch plans

https://www.pcgamer.com/sea-of-thieves-kraken-and-endgame-explained-and-rares-plans-post-launch/
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Become a Pirate Legend in Sea of Thieves: Character creation, personal hideouts, 'raid' content, and more

https://www.windowscentral.com/beco...a-thieves-personal-hideout-captaincy-and-more
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The Sea of Thieves premium shop will sell pets
But Rare promises no loot boxes.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-02-13-yes-sea-of-thieves-has-a-premium-shop

-
Rare's voyage into uncharted waters with Sea of Thieves

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/artic...age-into-uncharted-waters-with-sea-of-thieves
-
The Sea of Thieves endgame sounds super cool

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-02-13-the-sea-of-thieves-endgame-sounds-super-cool
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SEA OF THIEVES: HOW IT STARTS, WHAT YOU'RE AIMING FOR, AND KRAKEN ATTACKS

http://www.ign.com/articles/2018/02...arts-what-youre-aiming-for-and-kraken-attacks
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Sea of Thieves and the future: Ditching loot crates for pirate pet pals, DLC plans, and more

https://www.windowscentral.com/sea-of-thieves-microtransactions-pets
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The vision behind the Sea of Thieves world, griefing protection, and more

https://www.windowscentral.com/the-sea-of-thieves-vision-interview
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Sea of Thieves design director discusses the Kraken boss battle and beyond

https://www.windowscentral.com/sea-of-thieves-kraken


----

Video's









 
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Oct 25, 2017
7,523


http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-02-13-yes-sea-of-thieves-has-a-premium-shop

Rare insisted the premium shop will sell nothing that affects player power or progression. Also, you'll always know what you're buying, hence no loot boxes.

"No loot boxes. No loot crates," Neate confirmed.
"It's things that add to the fun, social nature of Sea of thieves."

To that end, the first addition to the Sea of Thieves premium shop will be virtual pets, which you can buy directly (individually). These pets work like other items in the game: they're physical objects that can be held not just by the owner, but by other players.

EDIT:

"It's entirely optional, but if you had a monkey, for example, you'll be able to hold it like you can other things in the game, but then I'll also be able to hold it, then drop it overboard, because that's funny," Neate explained.

"It'll come back. It'll be fine! I desperately want us to be able to fire other stuff out of cannons, including monkeys and other animals, just because it's fun, right?

Yep, this is going to be the best game ever.
 
Last edited:

pswii60

Member
Oct 27, 2017
24,967
The Milky Way
From Eurogamer
Your ultimate goal in Sea of Thieves is to become a pirate legend. As you play you'll bump into a mysterious group of NPCs who, if you prove yourself to them, will reveal more secrets about the world. At the end of this progression, you'll discover a secret which gives you a quest to do a certain thing in a certain place (Rare won't say what it is). The upshot is you become a pirate legend and gain a key that opens the door to a hidden area of the world (this hidden area, by the way, was in the closed beta, but no-one discovered it). This area is not loaded in from a menu. It is a place that exists in the virtual world, and, once discovered, can be accessed seamlessly - as long as you have the key. For now, its location is a secret - and Rare's happy to keep it that way.
.
Amazing!

Sea of Thieves OT | But what don't you do?
 

Potterson

Member
Oct 28, 2017
5,572
Premium Shop with cosmetic items in a game where the only form of progress is basically unlocking cosmetic items? Hmm...

Also there's really not much we didn't know before, right? The legendary cove is the only new thing and I still don't know what's really there. Will we finally get more quest variety? Because if it's "bring me that chest" all the time, I will be sad.

Oh, and no word on actual things to find in the world. So I assume I will find bananas, barrels, canonballs and planks all the time.
 

ry-dog

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,180
I'm still not convinced this game will have enough content at launch, but what an amazing foundation to build on
 

pswii60

Member
Oct 27, 2017
24,967
The Milky Way
Premium Shop with cosmetic items in a game where the only form of progress is basically unlocking cosmetic items? Hmm...

Also there's really not much we didn't know before, right? The legendary cove is the only new thing and I still don't know what's really there. Will we finally get more quest variety? Because if it's "bring me that chest" all the time, I will be sad.

Oh, and no word on actual things to find in the world. So I assume I will find bananas, barrels, canonballs and planks all the time.
I really don't know how you could read these previews and only come to that conclusion.
 

Bahlor

Member
Oct 25, 2017
537
Germany
There is not even the slightest chance this game will ever come to mac / or ps4 right? Is it first party or just MS exclusive? This game looks totally awesome.
 

Stop It

Bad Cat
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,223
Firing a monkey out of a cannon?

Yep that's Rare. As it's part of Game Pass I have no excuse not to try this.

Pirate cat!

Also going by that game description?

Sea of Thieves |OT| No Man's Sea
 
OP
OP
Theorry

Theorry

Member
Oct 27, 2017
56,914
Damn, Such a great idea to do pets.

To that end, the first addition to the Sea of Thieves premium shop will be virtual pets, which you can buy directly (individually). These pets work like other items in the game: they're physical objects that can be held not just by the owner, but by other players.

"It's entirely optional, but if you had a monkey, for example, you'll be able to hold it like you can other things in the game, but then I'll also be able to hold it, then drop it overboard, because that's funny," Neate explained.
 

Vgtomo

Member
Oct 28, 2017
21
From USgamer:
Sea of Thieves Post-Launch DLC Roadmap Will Focus on Pets, Hideouts, Legendary Voyages, and More
“So you can pick up the monkey, or I can pick up your monkey, and I can run away with your monkey and drop it over the side of the ship.”

How Sea of Thieves Attempts to Turns the Tables on Trolls
“Mechanics you see in other traditional games are the vote to kick option, but what you find is that for some trolls, that’s actually what they want,” Chapman explains. “So the idea with the brig was not only to make it feel tonally appropriate, it’s the fact that we shift the balance of power to the people that have been griefed, not to the troll.”
 

litebrite

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
21,832
How do people feel about no character creator but 8 random characters handcrafted by Rare to choose from?
 

bluexy

Comics Enabler & Freelance Games Journalist
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
14,341
As you play you'll bump into a mysterious group of NPCs who, if you prove yourself to them, will reveal more secrets about the world. At the end of this progression, you'll discover a secret which gives you a quest to do a certain thing in a certain place (Rare won't say what it is).

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-02-13-the-sea-of-thieves-endgame-sounds-super-cool

This is the most intriguing new bit I've read about. NPCs you "bump into" giving out unknown tasks. My major want from Sea of Thieves is authored storylines within the world, even knowing story wasn't something Rare was targeting. This sounds about as close as they'll be getting for the time being. Excited to hear more.
 
OP
OP
Theorry

Theorry

Member
Oct 27, 2017
56,914
How do people feel about no character creator but 8 random characters handcrafted by Rare to choose from?

8 is not max. Its 8 per time. And then you can scroll further wich random max another 8. :)
They just didnt want to add sliders etc. And you can further change your character with the vanity chest. :)

Hairstyles, beards, peg legs, hooks, and more transitory cosmetic options will be available in the vanity chest, found on ships or outside clothes shops. Additionally, Rare will let you reroll the pirate generator carousel an infinite number of times until you find the pirate that's right for you. It's important to note too that hitboxes will be normalized, so picking a smaller pirate won't help you.
 

Killer

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,060
Good on them for not including Loot boxes. Kinda weird since most MS games are bloated with that shit.
 

Lucifonz

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,034
United Kingdom
Reading Eurogamer's preview there's some really cool sounding stuff but a lot of potential future talk rather than now talk. I'm still concerned the game is fairly shallow on content (pardon the pun).
 

CountAntonio

Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,768
Love the pirate legend, pirate captain endgame. Being able to Emerge from a waterfall pirating a legendary ship sounds absolutely bad ass. Still worried about the ground combat and quest variety but man that sounds good. Why no create a character thogh? Sure we have infinite randomly generated characters but what's the point?
 

Bahlor

Member
Oct 25, 2017
537
Germany
Yeah this is first party since it’s developed by Rare. Xbox/PC only

Damn... bad for me^^ How is the performance then? I'm considering installing windows on my macbook pro using bootcamp but I'm not sure if it will be fast enough. It's been a long time since pc gaming for me. (Intel Core i7 2,5 Ghz / GeForce GT 750M 2Gb memory / 16 GB memory)
 

litebrite

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
21,832
8 is not max. Its 8 per time. And then you can scroll further wich random max another 8. :)
They just didnt want to add sliders etc. And you can further change your character with the vanity chest. :)
Oh yeah, I know. I actually like it because it keeps all the characters cohesive within Rare's unique character design for the game.
 

Garrett 2U

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
5,425
Forts are going to be insane. A huge skull appearing in the sky, tons of enemy skeletons, a boss, enemy pirate crews, and a vault full of too much loot for one crew to carry.

The Kraken sounds like it is going to be terrifying. A pool of ink slowly seeping to the surface...

I love the idea of Legendary Pirates, a secret hidden cove, Legendary Voyages, and Legendary Crews.

Bring on this game!
 

Gundam

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
12,801
How do people feel about no character creator but 8 random characters handcrafted by Rare to choose from?

I believe Rare said we could get things such as hairstyles, so that combined with the cosmetics makes me not mind so long as the handcrafted pirates aren't all ugly bastards.
 

TomNinetyTwo

Member
Oct 27, 2017
68
Solihull, UK
Loved my time with the Alpha and Beta, have read a few previews but trying not to spoil any endgame, cannot wait for this game to release!
Revealed content
(the Kraken)
 

MonkeySleeve

Member
Nov 15, 2017
549
How do people feel about no character creator but 8 random characters handcrafted by Rare to choose from?
I'm not really into spending 4 hours into creating a character to my liking so I'm perfectly fine with this. As long as the amount of customization regarding cosmetics is enough to make the character feel mine i'll be satisfied.
 

Pepin

Member
Oct 27, 2017
281
London
Two from Daily Star Online, too:

Sea of Thieves: How Rare plans to make its new game as popular as Forza, Halo, Gears of War and maybe even Minecraft

"We’re treating this like it’s the next big IP for Microsoft," Duncan explained.

"So that's how we want to support it. [At launch], there’s a lore book, featuring adventures of early players in the game’s production, a seperate art book, a comic, a Limited Edition controller, a branded SeaGate HDD, a tankard and more."

In a later interview with Joe Neate - executive producer on the game - we followed up this statement and asked if he could clarify the comments, asking if the studio wanted Sea of Thieves to sit alongside brands like Forza, Halo and Gears of War.

"Don't forget Minecraft!" laughs Neate. "But yes, that's a fundamental goal for us. And I genuinely have the utmost confidence in our ability to do that."

"The buzz, the excitement and the awareness our closed beta has generated is impossible to ignore," Neate continued.

"To see the numbers that we're seeing on Youtube, on Twitch, on Mixer.. it's exceeded our expectations, but it's also met them, if that makes sense? Because we've always had this real strong belief that the game would be watchable and shareable, but we're still seeing it excel.

"Going onto Google Trends and looking at Sea of Thieves and watching the spikes throughout the development of the game and seeing where it's at now... I think there's every opportunity for us, equally in line [with other Microsoft brands].

"The buzz and the excitement we're seeing around the studio, around the game now - it's very reassuring."

Neate continued to state that his job was to oversee the game not just at launch, but further than that - as a business. Neate stated that he wanted to see as many people as possible interested in the game beyond launch, at to that end Rare will be keeping 'a very large team' active on the game after it's released.

Sea of Thieves: Could Rare's game be the next GTA Online?

"Games in the past give you the backstory, you play the bit in the middle, then you get the end," explains Mike Chapman, design director on the title. "We don’t want that with Sea of Thieves. We want to build the story around you, around your exploits.

"The Golden Age of Piracy is yet to come," teases Chapman. "Think of your goal on Day One as the journey to becoming a Pirate Legend, and what lays beyond that... well, that's a mystery.

"Someone that picks this game up on Day One is going to have a very different experience to someone picking this up a year later."

Whilst other games as a service have an outlook extending beyond the first year too, it seems Rare is acutely aware that its game is going to see new players drop in almost constantly, and as such it's putting as few barriers in the way of getting people in, making sure everyone always has an equal opportunity to experience all the content, be a part of the social experience.

"That's why we have a horizontal progression system," Neate tells us, explaining the way that you don't get better or get better tools with more play: they just look nicer.

"Our progression system isn't stat-based: that would create barriers for players and it’s against the vision of our game."

"We wanted the relationship between players to run deeper than stats," continued Chapman.

"We don't want players to go into our world, see another ship at 'level 50' and think 'oh I have no chance. That's bad. We want you to think you always have a chance, that strategy is the key. We think that will keep players trying, keep them interested."
 
Oct 25, 2017
7,523
I believe Rare said we could get things such as hairstyles, so that combined with the cosmetics makes me not mind so long as the handcrafted pirates aren't all ugly bastards.

I think you're going to be disappointed then, they've said that they want everything in the world to look battered and worn and the pirates and NPCs are a reflection of that. All the objects you use have little chips or cracks, everything looks used, even the stuff you buy from the shops.
 

Gowans

Moderator
Oct 27, 2017
5,354
North East, UK
Looks great, love the constant updates and treating it almost like a finished early access game with the content roadmap. I will also NEED a pet.

They will need to nail the 'What this is' with this game tho, it's not going to be a story or campaign game but a sandbox like Ark, Pubg, Fortnite wish works for me as they are the games I have the most hours in.
 

Garrett 2U

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
5,425
I've seen many folks concerned about how collecting and transporting animals could possibly be challenging and fun. I like this description a lot.

The Merchant Alliance will task you with finding animals, and the animals can be... problematic. Not only do you need to find rare breeds out in the wild, but pirates need to work together to catch them, store them and transport them back for reputation and gold.

Imagine you've just taken cannon fire and you've got water filling up the bottom deck of your ship. Well, you'll need to grab the chickens and move them to safe ground, because they will die if they drown. Chickens can be shot, and they will startle and run around like... headless chickens. It's probably a good idea to store gunpowder kegs where the animals aren't.

Chickens will also cock a doodle doo each dawn, which will alert nearby ships to your presence. Pigs get hungry and need to be fed. They'll die of starvation if you're not careful. Do you dip into your supply of bananas to keep them alive during the return voyage to an outpost, or keep them for yourself in-case you're attacked?

The snakes sound best, though (snakes often sound best in most things, don't they?). They're poisonous, so you have to be careful while you're catching them. They can also bite you through the basket you carry them in. However, you can make the snakes docile by playing music, which makes them easier to catch and transport. Imagine the stress of one player carrying a snake in a basket while another player plays their concertina close behind. Why not place your snakes around your most valuable chest, so if you are boarded, enemy pirates will get a nice surprise? Instant snake trap. That's exactly the kind of recipe for disaster Rare wants to provoke.
 

Aldi

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,591
United Kingdom
That confirms it. For the first time in years iv'e booked a day off for a video game.

I'm going to love this, Lets hope i don't have any issues with the servers at launch.
 

Garrett 2U

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
5,425
Not sure whether to play this on pc or xbox. The only thing putting me off PC is windows store. >_>

It is a Play Anywhere title. It doesn't matter which platform you purchase the game on, you can play it on both!

And that goes for if you want to access the game via the Xbox Game Pass subscription too.
 

CountAntonio

Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,768
I need one more weekend beta rare. I'll go full on and see if I can get used to things I don't like. I really like what they are trying to do here and I love sandbox games. 60 dollars is pricey though.
 

DaeJim

Founder LifeisXbox.eu
Verified
Oct 28, 2017
163
Xbox One has a few generation defying games (Ori, Cuphead, Forza Horizon 3) but this Sea of Thieves thing looks to become something massive.
If servers hold up and Rare can provide enough content I really believe this could become the next big thing.
 

Deleted member 2254

user requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
21,467
I'm trying not to read too many previews, but the bits and pieces I'm seeing here are awesome. Seems like Rare's got a hit in their hands, one that could be a biggie for years to come. Can't wait to play it again!