Comments 77

Re: E3 2016: Titanfall 2 DLC Will Be All Free, All The Time

DesiccantOwl

It will be interesting to see how Respawn handles the character development between Pilot and Titan for the single player campaign.

To go off on a tangent: as a traditionalist I feel that multiplayer should always be the dessert to a strong story-driven main course. It's one of the reasons why I feel Overwatch doesn't appeal and why Destiny was, initially, a big disappointment. Each has a rich backstory punctuated with creative characters which are rarely, if ever, fully explored which is a shame.

Hopefully Titanfall will explore the creation of the Titans, the war between the Militia and IMC (or new factions) in more detail. Why the move from traditional armour to agile mechanised warfare? Do Pilots and Titans develop bonds and, if so, how?

Re: E3 2016: Poll - What Did You Think of Microsoft's Conference?

DesiccantOwl

For me it was a solid 9/10. I tend to like the way Microsoft approaches conferences in general. Rather than show gameplay trailers captured back in development they put players front and centre on their own platforms holding their own controllers. Their conference is always a more personal affair.

Sony's conference was amazing but in a different way. The pacing and delivery were let down slightly by trailers without substance and while it's great to see stuff like Horizon Zero Dawn and The Last Guardian there were many rebooted franchises and sequals. For example I would have loved to see someone playing the X-Wing VR game as any legitimacy that AAA devs can bring to VR is welcome.

E3 is always a mixed bag but the scope of the event so far has got me excited for the remainder of 2016. Bring on Gamescom and, fingers crossed, a Mass Effect: Andromeda info deluge.

Re: E3 2016: Microsoft Announces Xbox Play Anywhere

DesiccantOwl

@crazycrazydave It's certainly an issue of concern to those on PC who have traditionally been a group that shout the loudest about being marginalised by developers with shoddy ports. The Quantum Break release was a step in the right direction and gave us a flavour of the system that Microsoft is going for but was still marred by small problems such as the lack of a quit button on the main menu.

@WINGNUT That's my biggest fear for the system as well. PC games have traditonally been cheaper than console games by a significant degree thanks in part to the ubiquitous retail of said games via sites like Steam, G2A, CDKeys and GOG. Microsoft currently has a controlling stake in the retail of Xbox games and it's hard to see them shifting that position for first party games.

However, there are rumblings that third party software may embrace this system which means either Microsoft gets developers to sign an exclusivity clause to retail through their digital storefront, with associated perks, or face having to compete in a saturated market. The ID@Xbox system has already proved that indy devs are not restricted to Xbox so in theory a similar system could be put in place for AAA but it's certainly a loaded gun at the moment.

I guess the take home message is that Microsoft have to prove the benefits of this cross-buy system and price it in a way that's competetive.

Re: WW1 Shooter Verdun Rated for Xbox One Release

DesiccantOwl

While it doesn't have a SP campaign it does try to emulate what a realistic WW1 battle would be like. It's true that while Battlefield 1 will have glorious set pieces and fluid mechanics, which makes it a great game, it doesn't make the point that WW1 was one of the bloodiest wars to overcome our planet. While we acknowledge the anniverary of the first world war we need games like Verdun and Valient Hearts to demonstrate realistic warfare and tales that are informed by the period.

I respect you opinion @KelticDevil but why not try Verdun, or Valient Hearts, when you get a chance. You won't be disappointed

Re: Rumour: At Least One Developer Already Working on Xbox One VR Title

DesiccantOwl

@Captain_Chao5 I managed to get my grubby little wings on an Oculus recently and have been addicted ever since. For stuff like flight sims the realism is unparalleled, I refuse to take it off when I'm playing Elite

Stuff like Eve: Valkyrie and Lucky's Tales are made for VR and they play really nicely. I wouldn't be too worried, VR is no gimick

Re: Review: Dead Island: Definitive Collection (Xbox One)

DesiccantOwl

Great review as usual Ken! It's a shame when publishers push for re-release bundle but don't spend time fixing the issues that went into the game in the first place. I attempted Dead Island on the 360 and couldn't get past the favela section though the reason why escapes me for some reason. The mechanics were interesting, especially when you hooked the combat to the analogs only, but the overall execution suggested the developers had great ideas but didn't quite get them into the game.

Still, at least Techland applied the knowledge from Dead Island to the fantastic Dying Light.

Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda Will Now Take Orbit in 2017

DesiccantOwl

@Gamer83 I have similar feelings in addition to an unmet curiosity as to exactly what we can expect. If we were to compare to another well known space opera it's not just the films but also the extended universe that flesh out a galaxy. We are not dealing with a village, city or planet but trillions of individuals in what once was an interconnected civilisation and from them can come untold stories of similar epic proportions. Will this tale be of similar galactic proportions, who knows but it's fun to speculate

In essence I don't expect to hold the same attachment to this new protagonist as I did with my Shepard but, then again, why should I? I last played the Commander in 2012. Since then I've moved to a new city, I got married, I started a PhD, bought a house and collected 3 cats. I'm a different person with different goals to the scruffy nerf-herder all those years ago and as such my character will also be different, not only physically, but also in build.

In a way that's great! I get to explore the universe I fell in love with in 2008 as a different person but equipped with the knowledge of what came before.

I am looking forward to E3 and the prospect of more information! (Just read this back, it turned into quite the essay didn't it - hope I don't come across as condesending as that was not my intention)

Re: The Division Launch Trailer is Here

DesiccantOwl

@KelticDevil - it's surprisingly good in the Dark Zone. There are three "zones" within The Division a) Hub - loads of players, mission providers etc, b) Individual Instance - story missions, side missions alone or with friends and c) Dark Zone - PVP, best loot.

The best analogue I can find to describe the experience is Destiny, fun with friends but grindy and isolating when alone. I hopped on with 2 other guys on PC beta and we messed about in the PVE zone completing missions as fast as we could. In the Dark Zone everything changed. We became a tactical squad, moved up in groups, created cover fire zones and engaged in communications with players. We worked together against increased threats and it was an amazing experience. Definitely worth it!

Re: New Destiny Expansion Coming Soon and Full Sequel To Follow in 2017

DesiccantOwl

Destiny has always been a strange beast. The hype disemminating from a well respected studio managed to get players to invest on the concept. The partnership with Sony, the loss of lead writers and internal conflicts within the studio soured the expectations somewhat.

The lack of a coherent story and walled off areas detracted from the lone wolf experience but the real heart of Destiny was the friendships and sense of accomplishment that only comes after working through the challenges. I still remember the constant frustration of @Red620Ti during the jumping sections and @BAMozzy's "yes, Yes, YES!" when we finally defeated Atheon and count among my favourite memories.

I haven't played since the big push in August 2015 to complete my triumphs but am still interested in what the future holds. The Taken King was a big step in the right direction - a story, a fleshed out character in Cayde-6 (serious props for Nathan Fillion for that one) and new content added to the mythos.

Destiny will always be a grindy shooting gallery but when playing with friends it doesn't matter so much.

Re: KeokeN Set to Deliver Us The Moon on Xbox One This Year

DesiccantOwl

@stylon the lonelyness was one thing that really confused me about the demo I played recently on PC. Suspension of disbelief aside I was perplexed by the lonelyness on the Earth and the fact I had to do the rocket launch manually. This is very early days so I'm assuming that there will be NPCs on the Earth but none in space. Also, there is a lot of infrastructure on the moon but absolutely nobody around. There's a lot of scope for story telling here which will make it a must see.

I'm putting together a YT video about the PC demo which should be up either tonight or tomorrow which should shead a little more light on the subject.

Re: Get Excited for Xbox One's 2016 Lineup With This New Trailer

DesiccantOwl

Wow, hyperdrives to maximum! Quantum Break and The Division are hot on my to play list. I have both slated for pX streams the former in April the latter at the beginning of March @Captain_Chao5 so I can answer any questions you may have. As these are both big releases I will be streaming 4 hours of each (20:00-00:00) so plenty of time to get to grips with the mechanics.

Rise of the Tomb Raider was one I played at EGX and missed but will be looking to pick it up at some point soon

Re: Rainbow Six: Siege Will Not Feature a Campaign Mode

DesiccantOwl

@Red620Ti and I played it at EGX and were...underwhelmed by the whole experience. In fact thinking about it now it seems that Ubi has made this a game for eSports rather than have the game become an eSport. We quickly came to the conclusion that the game would sell to harcore gamers thanks to the Rainbow 6 tag with the playbase made of both random lone players and organised teams fresh out of Destiny and Battlefield. Within a short space of time - a month, maybe two - lone players would get tired of matchmaking with players without mics and would quickly leave the system. This would leave both amateur and pro teams thus creating the eSport Ubi wants.

Re: A Dying Light Demo Is Now Available on Xbox One

DesiccantOwl

From what I hear there is 3 hours of content, a single main story quest are, several side quests and challenges and online play enabled. This is in addition to all the parkour, day/night and weather effects. For a demo it's a meaty one which, from what I've heard and seen, also contains some proper old-fashioned gravy.

Re: Rumour: Microsoft Planning Disc-less Xbox One Mini Console

DesiccantOwl

Its interesting that MS is slowly returning to its 2013 commitments but semi-quietly. I agree with you @crippyd which brings me full circle to why I was so unhappy with this during the Xbox launch:

Unless MS goes the route of Valve, and start offering significant discounts on digital downloads, users will be stuck between a rock and a hard place; they are bent over a barrel to accept rediculous prices.

Case in point I'm looking to download Dying Light so I look on Xbox Store and it's £55 I subsequently check online and GAME are selling it for £24.99. It seems bananas to me that a game that was shipped from the US, driven to a store, held in store then delivered to my house costs less than a button press.

If I want to buy a game on launch date then sure sell it to me for £55 as it's roughly what the store charges (I'm predownloading The Taken King for silly money because I want to play on launch). That's a privalage I am happy to part cash for, not having to wait in the freezing cold for 2 hours to pick up a game at the store. But be reasonable - when your game has been out for 9 months you can't charge the launch price.

A fair price is all that stopping me from parting with my disk drive.

Re: Review: Q.U.B.E: Director’s Cut (Xbox One)

DesiccantOwl

@Sinalefa that is a very good point and one that is not nearly mentioned enough in all industries. One of my higher ups is colour blind (I make no apologies for my English spelling ) and I sometimes forget to make graphs using appropriate colours.

@lucieisawesome great first review! Well written, concise and informative

Re: Nolan North Takes on Ghost Role for Destiny: The Taken King, Replaces Peter Dinklage

DesiccantOwl

@Gamer83 I fully agree. Destiny should have been a great game but a cut down story and poor direction have created a shallow grind for the same loot.

@TwilightAngel When Peter Dinklage was announced as the voice of Ghost I feel many people expected a Game of Thrones style performance which was never delivered. Ghost as a character was never fully explored past "he is from the traveler because...reasons" which is a real shame.

Re: Review: Beyond Eyes (Xbox One)

DesiccantOwl

Fully agree with this review and absolutely fantastic game to play. Certain parts were frustrating but forgivable when you put yourself in Rae's position. I was, I fear, a little critical during my livestream but by the end I was swept away with...I can't say for fear of spoilers. A great game which will almost certainly be underrated.

Re: Xbox One Firmware Update Rolling Out Today

DesiccantOwl

Bam beats me to the punch. Yeah, don't get too excited folks. Windows 10 is on a slow rollout from 29th of July. It first goes to the Windows "Preview Program" users then in blocs so don't expect full functionality straight away.

In a kinda creepy shut-in sort of way I'm looking forward to chatting with Cortana. The current Xbox state feels like a piece of plastic with cotton wool in it's ears so making it more like Siri will definitely be a plus.

Re: E3 2015: Game-Branded Elite Controller Packs On The Cards?

DesiccantOwl

I have said this after each subsequent E3 since 2011 - "my wallet is going to hate me" - a statement that has never been truer than now in 2015. Interestingly I have gone though a strange progression with this controller starting at impulsive desire, upon unveiling, through disbelief, when pricing was announced to, finally, acceptance that this would be awesome to have

All the customisation options and features already put this controller a level above Scuff, which requires some fiddling to get all the bits to work and are prone to wear and tear.

Whether this was going to be a day one purchase was is still unknown. The reviews of E3 demos are, largely positive, but I reserve judgement until get my mits on it (hopefully they will have one at EGX).

My question to the community - what would you like to see as unique customisations for the controller? I would like a Mass Effect art style for the thumb sticks and D-pad...but that's just me!

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