As a UK resident that lives with the impact of CMA's previous decisions to allow large UK chains to merge (Thus affecting thousands of jobs at companies like Argos, O2, Vodafone and Carphone Warehouse to name a few) I see the real impact of their bad sessions in the past and have little trust in them.
Mass closure of Argos and Carphone Warehouse stores in the last few years is something I'm sure many UK residents can resnonte with. Remember the CMA passed those mergers.
@lacerz Eurogamer like many of the gaming news sites are part of large conglomerates (Like gamernetwork/reedpop) so can afford to pick and chose where they make their ad money and where they take the moral high horse which is disappointing at best.
@Moby Yes I played it for several hours and I stand by my comment that is is currently fundamentally broken. It goes way beyond bugs. The core loop of the game is structured around the AI and the AI is broken right now. To top it off I had 2 crashes back to the dashboard in 2 hours. If you enjoyed the game I am glad.
Redfall is honestly one of the worst games I have played in 30 years. I struggle to think of a game that has left me that shocked with the lack of quality and depth.
It is currently fundamentally broken and what makes this worse is that it is meant to be a "next gen" game. It looks like an early Xbox one indie game I could have played a decade a go, but with worse AI.
Abuse or laughing at someone's sadness or suffering is never acceptable and I am surprised/sad to hear Xbox colleagues or gaming industry peers would be like that.
The harsh criticism was warranted on a game wide level and the studio leads and management team should be held accountable for a product which is borderline theft for whoever purchased it.
P.S: I am happy for whoever enjoyed it but also understand that other people had a very bad experience which is also valid.
I would recommend watching the full show in context before passing comment. The quotes here are just a small snippet of an hour long conversation. To be fair to Phil he was very honest and blunt about the situation and the questions were great too. He also has something in the background of the actual video that looks like a switch, but not sure if it is?
This is the sort of game where you apologise, work on main patches and move on quickly to a new IP (SP).
The skillup video essay was an eye opener on the state of the game. I'm happy for anyone who is enjoying it, but please don't put down those who may have alternative standards.
@Sam_TSM Yeah the PS5, Series X and PC version launched on Feb 7th, but the last gen versions of PS4 and Xbox One are out on friday and they could even sell more than the insane amount it sold on next gen only. I work for a company that sells video games and we have a signficant amount of pre orders for PS4.
@Sam_TSM Yeah it would be unwise to launch the same time as the new Zelda game and Hogwarts Legacy which will probally sell more than both of them combined on last gen is out on Friday.
Probably the worst game I have played this year. And I have played about 25 so far. I wouldn't say it is inherently a bad game, but it sure isn't inherently good either. Performance on Series S is poor, I don't even care about 30fps, but those textures, the AI and the pretty but overall empty world meant I just did not have any fun after 2-3 hours.
Thankfully there is usually at least 1 game per month that keeps me subscribed.
Tried playing for a couple of hours but really didn't click with me. Gameplay and graphics looks and feel dated, the world seems kind of empty and lifeless. It seems to have elements of other games like Dead Island 2 and Far Cry 6 - but not as good versions and less polished. A shame but not a suprise. On the plus side I have saved 40gb on my series S,
@Fenbops He posted his Redfall review early by mistake and had to take it down but the title was along the lines of "The worst game of 2023". It was pretty savage haha.
Playing this on Series S and it is pretty stable so far, the game is a lot more enjoyable than the first one, and Xbox online codes are just so much cheaper than PSN that are harder to come by.
I'm pretty concerned about how difficult solo play is based on the early reviews. A concerning theme. I really hope the game has difficulty options or it could be dead in the water with the majority of SP causal gamepass players.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is my most anticipated gamepass game of this year (If it actually launches this year). I am also pretty keen on Starfield, Replaced and Forza when they drop this autumn/winter. I shall check out Redfall tomorrow.
The MS marketing can be quite fun when it is funny and meme based, but ads like this are a bit more on the cheesy cringe side. Too many MS ads with voice narration and vocalised backing tracks that add noise.
Playing on Series S and weirdly enough looks to be the most stable performer of the consoles and PC. Respawn are hardly R* when it comes to game engine optimisation but this launch has come in pretty hot with EA likely rushing this one. I'm about 10 hours in and really enjoying the game so far. The Qol features are significant enough over the first game that I am happy with the £52 I paid online. The content upgrade and expansion of features and character interaction is quite significant too. I have had a couple of crashes to the dashboard and some pop in on texture streaming in Koboh but the fps has been solid and I have not noticed any drops.
I can see why some players may want to wait for patches or a sale, for me it's more about time than money. If I buy things at launch I usually finish the game in 2-6 weeks and it keeps my backlog down, freeing up precious time. The exception to the 2-6 week rule is games like Persona or Xenoblade because they are 100+ campaigns.
Just finished up Dead Island 2 which I really enjoyed, and just started playing Jedi Survivor. I have to say over Fallen Order this a significant upgrade with really impactful quality of life improvements like better map navigation, fast travel, more accessibility customisation, characters more integral to missions including the puzzles, all your learned skills in fallen order carried over, much more interesting and larger open worlds.. the list goes on. I am also on Series S and its running nice and smooth so far 5 hours in.
Got this for my Series S, was able to get it pretty cheap and it looks like one of the more stable versions to play having seen a lot of Series S content online.
@TheGrizMan Guessing each organisation (Hookshot Media in this case) only gets 1 code for this particular game and PushSquare is likely to have a bigger audience, being the more established site, plus PS is a bigger install base. But it is a shame 2 codes were not given.
I just pray the puzzle design has significantly improved.. it blew my mind how many people had to watch a YouTube video on how to just get back to the ship. If you combined all the views.. over a million!
Sad that this isn't part of the EA play 10 hour trial. I'm not really a big star wars fan, but I might check out the first game on gamepass as I like SP narrative games.
Not feeling very confident after Starfield already broke that 12 month speech they gave.. This should be out already. Things are not working in regards to studio management at MS.
I'd say Matrick's time as Xbox head was pretty commercially successful until this showcase. He got Netflix to offer streaming services on a console for the first time ever when streaming was primitive, he pushed the very successful connect device and the kept a good stream of first party and third party games coming in following on from Peter Moore. The Xbox one itself was a decent console. The problem was Matrick was thinking way too far into the future and got wrapped up in all the things this machine could do beyond gaming. The worst part was that his exec team (including Phil Spencer) and the marketing team let him push forward with awful messaging. In the end it lead to his demise. Since Phil Spencer has taken over his a done a good job of rebuilding positive mindshare from a hardware and consumer practice point of view.. but the gaming side.. he and Matt Booty have not been great at all.. Moore and Matrick delivered far better output in their tenures. The next head of Xbox needs to focus on game output - and the effective management of studios and deadlines.
Comments 844
Re: Pick One: Which Of These June Xbox Releases Are You Most Excited For?
Loop 8 and FF16
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 20-21)
Xbox - Jedi Survivor
PS5 - Ghost of Tsushima
Re: UK CMA Encouraged To Promote 'Economic Growth' Despite Reservations Over ActiBlizz Deal
@x3King84 Advertisement money, gotta get the clicks and engagement.
Re: Rumour: Forza Motorsport To Release This October, It's Claimed
Sept - Starfield
Oct - Forza Motorsport
Nov - Hellblade 2
Thank me later
Re: UK MPs Question Why The CMA Blocked Xbox's ActiBlizz Deal Following EU Approval
@101Force Very true even the retail sectors where thousands lost jobs because they approved billion pound mergers.
Re: UK CMA Issues Official Response To EU's Activision Blizzard Verdict
You can totally trust the CMA.. right?
Re: Rumour: Microsoft Won't Stick To '12-Month Window' For Xbox Games Showcase 2023
No PC gameplay at the showcase unless it is a PC exclusive.. thanks..
Re: Redfall Dev Reveals Sadness Over 'Mean Spirited' Feedback From Peers
Congrats on finishing it.
Re: UK CMA Places Further Restrictions On Microsoft And Activision Blizzard
As a UK resident that lives with the impact of CMA's previous decisions to allow large UK chains to merge (Thus affecting thousands of jobs at companies like Argos, O2, Vodafone and Carphone Warehouse to name a few) I see the real impact of their bad sessions in the past and have little trust in them.
Mass closure of Argos and Carphone Warehouse stores in the last few years is something I'm sure many UK residents can resnonte with. Remember the CMA passed those mergers.
Re: Video: Digital Foundry Compares Last-Gen Hogwarts Legacy To Xbox Series S
@lacerz Eurogamer like many of the gaming news sites are part of large conglomerates (Like gamernetwork/reedpop) so can afford to pick and chose where they make their ad money and where they take the moral high horse which is disappointing at best.
Re: Redfall Dev Reveals Sadness Over 'Mean Spirited' Feedback From Peers
@Moby Yes I played it for several hours and I stand by my comment that is is currently fundamentally broken. It goes way beyond bugs. The core loop of the game is structured around the AI and the AI is broken right now. To top it off I had 2 crashes back to the dashboard in 2 hours. If you enjoyed the game I am glad.
Re: Xbox Series X|S Arctic Camo Controller Appears On Microsoft Store
After Redfall I can see why they quietly launched this one - they are aware with the backlash around an excess of controllers.
Probably one of the better looking ones I've seen.
Re: Redfall Dev Reveals Sadness Over 'Mean Spirited' Feedback From Peers
@Mingus Mercifully not! but Tecmo World Cup might have had slightly worse AI
Re: Redfall Dev Reveals Sadness Over 'Mean Spirited' Feedback From Peers
Redfall is honestly one of the worst games I have played in 30 years. I struggle to think of a game that has left me that shocked with the lack of quality and depth.
It is currently fundamentally broken and what makes this worse is that it is meant to be a "next gen" game. It looks like an early Xbox one indie game I could have played a decade a go, but with worse AI.
Abuse or laughing at someone's sadness or suffering is never acceptable and I am surprised/sad to hear Xbox colleagues or gaming industry peers would be like that.
The harsh criticism was warranted on a game wide level and the studio leads and management team should be held accountable for a product which is borderline theft for whoever purchased it.
P.S: I am happy for whoever enjoyed it but also understand that other people had a very bad experience which is also valid.
Re: Talking Point: Are You Hoping Xbox's 'Gears Collection' Is Real?
Forza or Fable 1-3 collection please!
Re: Deals: Xbox 'Next-Gen' Sale Now Live, 300+ Games Discounted This Week (May 9-16)
Might buy GTA 5 for the 8th time
Far Cry 6, Mafia Trilogy and Gotham Knights are all worth their sale prices.
Re: Xbox's Phil Spencer: 'I'm Upset With Myself' Over Redfall Launch
Did anyone actually watch the whole podcast before commenting? Many of your answers lie there beyond this snapshot article.
Re: Phil Spencer Says Xbox 'Needs To Improve' Its Development Process
I would recommend watching the full show in context before passing comment. The quotes here are just a small snippet of an hour long conversation. To be fair to Phil he was very honest and blunt about the situation and the questions were great too. He also has something in the background of the actual video that looks like a switch, but not sure if it is?
Re: Video: Check Out Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's Frame Rate Update For Xbox
Honestly the Series S kind of feels the same. I still notice the frame drops in Koboh
Re: Redfall Dev Says The Team Is 'Continuing To Improve' The Xbox Title
This is the sort of game where you apologise, work on main patches and move on quickly to a new IP (SP).
The skillup video essay was an eye opener on the state of the game. I'm happy for anyone who is enjoying it, but please don't put down those who may have alternative standards.
Re: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor First Major Patch For Xbox Series X|S Now Live
@Sam_TSM Yeah the PS5, Series X and PC version launched on Feb 7th, but the last gen versions of PS4 and Xbox One are out on friday and they could even sell more than the insane amount it sold on next gen only. I work for a company that sells video games and we have a signficant amount of pre orders for PS4.
Re: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor First Major Patch For Xbox Series X|S Now Live
@Sam_TSM Yeah it would be unwise to launch the same time as the new Zelda game and Hogwarts Legacy which will probally sell more than both of them combined on last gen is out on Friday.
Re: Saints Row's First Major Content Update Lands On Xbox Next Week
@grumpypotato Saints Row and the Toilet have one thing in common, they both contain s**t
Re: Redfall Is Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (May 2)
Probably the worst game I have played this year. And I have played about 25 so far. I wouldn't say it is inherently a bad game, but it sure isn't inherently good either. Performance on Series S is poor, I don't even care about 30fps, but those textures, the AI and the pretty but overall empty world meant I just did not have any fun after 2-3 hours.
Thankfully there is usually at least 1 game per month that keeps me subscribed.
Re: Xbox Players Encouraged To Change Two Camera Settings In Redfall
This game encouraged me to uninstall it
Re: Review: Redfall - Arkane's Undead Experiment Brings Mixed Results To Xbox Game Pass
Tried playing for a couple of hours but really didn't click with me. Gameplay and graphics looks and feel dated, the world seems kind of empty and lifeless. It seems to have elements of other games like Dead Island 2 and Far Cry 6 - but not as good versions and less polished. A shame but not a suprise. On the plus side I have saved 40gb on my series S,
Re: Xbox Game Pass Players Are 'Heading For New Zealand' To Play Redfall Early
@Fenbops He posted his Redfall review early by mistake and had to take it down but the title was along the lines of "The worst game of 2023". It was pretty savage haha.
Re: EA Details Major Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Update, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
Playing this on Series S and it is pretty stable so far, the game is a lot more enjoyable than the first one, and Xbox online codes are just so much cheaper than PSN that are harder to come by.
Re: Xbox Game Pass Players Are 'Heading For New Zealand' To Play Redfall Early
Damn that ACG review was savage.
Re: Xbox Reveals 'Sunkissed Vibes' Official Controller To Launch This Month
The amount of first party Xbox controllers is getting a bit much honestly. They should have stopped at 10....
Re: Xbox Game Pass Players Are 'Heading For New Zealand' To Play Redfall Early
@Romans12 I think it is 11pm EST as they are still not up online
Re: Xbox Game Pass Players Are 'Heading For New Zealand' To Play Redfall Early
I'm pretty concerned about how difficult solo play is based on the early reviews. A concerning theme. I really hope the game has difficulty options or it could be dead in the water with the majority of SP causal gamepass players.
Re: Xbox Game Pass: All Games Coming Soon In May 2023
The review embargo lifting one hour before the US launch is rather concerning...
Re: New Xbox Game Pass Ad Reminds Us Of What's Coming In 2023 And Beyond
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is my most anticipated gamepass game of this year (If it actually launches this year). I am also pretty keen on Starfield, Replaced and Forza when they drop this autumn/winter. I shall check out Redfall tomorrow.
The MS marketing can be quite fun when it is funny and meme based, but ads like this are a bit more on the cheesy cringe side. Too many MS ads with voice narration and vocalised backing tracks that add noise.
Re: Talking Point: Have You Been Enjoying 'Star Wars Jedi: Survivor' On Xbox?
Playing on Series S and weirdly enough looks to be the most stable performer of the consoles and PC. Respawn are hardly R* when it comes to game engine optimisation but this launch has come in pretty hot with EA likely rushing this one. I'm about 10 hours in and really enjoying the game so far. The Qol features are significant enough over the first game that I am happy with the £52 I paid online. The content upgrade and expansion of features and character interaction is quite significant too. I have had a couple of crashes to the dashboard and some pop in on texture streaming in Koboh but the fps has been solid and I have not noticed any drops.
I can see why some players may want to wait for patches or a sale, for me it's more about time than money. If I buy things at launch I usually finish the game in 2-6 weeks and it keeps my backlog down, freeing up precious time. The exception to the 2-6 week rule is games like Persona or Xenoblade because they are 100+ campaigns.
Re: Pick One: What Was Your Favourite Xbox Game Pass Game In April?
Coffee Talk Part 2 is really good so far! need to break away from Jedi Survivor
Re: Redfall: Release Date, Release Times & Download Size On Xbox Game Pass
Looking forward to playing this on Series S! grateful its not over 100gb like Jedi Survivor!
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 29-30)
Just finished up Dead Island 2 which I really enjoyed, and just started playing Jedi Survivor. I have to say over Fallen Order this a significant upgrade with really impactful quality of life improvements like better map navigation, fast travel, more accessibility customisation, characters more integral to missions including the puzzles, all your learned skills in fallen order carried over, much more interesting and larger open worlds.. the list goes on. I am also on Series S and its running nice and smooth so far 5 hours in.
Re: Video: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Xbox Series X Vs. Xbox Series S Comparison
Got this for my Series S, was able to get it pretty cheap and it looks like one of the more stable versions to play having seen a lot of Series S content online.
Re: Microsoft President Makes Headline News With 'Furious' Response To UK ActiBlizz Verdict
The CMA are dodgy. Looking at all the UK supermarket and Mobile network mergers they have allowed, you wonder what made them really reject this deal.
I feel like the EU will relish making the UK look bad and the US agreement is likely to pass too.
Re: Roundup: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Seriously Impresses In Early Reviews
@TheGrizMan Guessing each organisation (Hookshot Media in this case) only gets 1 code for this particular game and PushSquare is likely to have a bigger audience, being the more established site, plus PS is a bigger install base. But it is a shame 2 codes were not given.
I just pray the puzzle design has significantly improved.. it blew my mind how many people had to watch a YouTube video on how to just get back to the ship. If you combined all the views.. over a million!
Re: Xbox's Activision Blizzard Deal Officially Blocked In The UK
The same CMA that allowed o2 to merge with Virgin media? or Sainsburys with Argos...
Re: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Release Date, Release Times & Download Size On Xbox
Sad that this isn't part of the EA play 10 hour trial. I'm not really a big star wars fan, but I might check out the first game on gamepass as I like SP narrative games.
Re: Forza Motorsport Being 'Polished And Prepared' For Release Later This Year
Not feeling very confident after Starfield already broke that 12 month speech they gave.. This should be out already. Things are not working in regards to studio management at MS.
Re: Redfall Final Preview Shows Huge Differences Between Solo And Co-Op Play
I'm going to give it a go on single player mode, hopefully it has difficulty options
Re: Talking Point: Next Month, It'll Be 10 Years Since The Xbox One Reveal Event
I'd say Matrick's time as Xbox head was pretty commercially successful until this showcase. He got Netflix to offer streaming services on a console for the first time ever when streaming was primitive, he pushed the very successful connect device and the kept a good stream of first party and third party games coming in following on from Peter Moore. The Xbox one itself was a decent console. The problem was Matrick was thinking way too far into the future and got wrapped up in all the things this machine could do beyond gaming. The worst part was that his exec team (including Phil Spencer) and the marketing team let him push forward with awful messaging. In the end it lead to his demise. Since Phil Spencer has taken over his a done a good job of rebuilding positive mindshare from a hardware and consumer practice point of view.. but the gaming side.. he and Matt Booty have not been great at all.. Moore and Matrick delivered far better output in their tenures. The next head of Xbox needs to focus on game output - and the effective management of studios and deadlines.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 22-23)
@fabisputza007 $100CA is like £58? Not too bad for a brand new game if you really like it.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 22-23)
Dead Island 2, Hogwarts Legacy and a bit of Coffee Talk on Gamepass
Re: Bethesda Introduces The Four Main Stars Of Redfall's Story Campaign
The characters seem a bit meh, saints row remake kind of vibe.
Re: New FPS 'Unrecord' Looks Hyper Realistic, And It Could Be Coming To Xbox
You aren't getting that kind of fps on a console for at least 5-6 years. The most powerful console has hardware that's already 4 years old.