Feffster

At the moment 4/10 is generous in the extreme…..but…..9.92gb patch now available and maybe this will save the day. I was looking forward to this game and more than willing to give it another try if the patch fixes the abysmal performance on Series X

Downloading now, fingers crossed….

… December 14 Patch Notes
・General crash and proress blocker fixes, including bad respawn in Douglas Mission and Jetpack tutorial.
・Improved PC performance across various hardware configurations.
・Improved performance across Xbox One, and Xbox Series platforms.
・Improved UI text and button readability.
・Localization fixes for incorrect/missing translations, subtitle timing, and overall readability.
・Fixed combat music playing at inappropriate times and music getting stuck during Krubis and Douglas missions.
・Fixed Blorto's menu to display player's warp crystal count accurately and adding a single-purchase limit to Warp Discs
・Fixed commercials starting before the previous video completes.
・Fixed subtitles from remaining on screen after leaving the area or concluding conversations
・Improved recommended default video quality settings detection on PC

I’ve tried 120hz and also experimented to see if turning VRR off might help (?!) but performance is still no better. On my Series X it seems to run at 30fps (or sometimes worse) but with occasional jumps to 60fps which creates a nauseating effect for me.

I hope it gets patched to run at a steady 60fps as I’d like to give this a second chance.

@Dreamcaster9999 - that’s interesting. I’m playing on Series X

Early days but that 3/10 might actually be on the generous side! I was looking forward to this but initial impressions are that it is a mess. I’ve been searching the menus for a performance option but there doesn’t seem to be one - what we’re left with is a wildly inconsistent frame rate and juddery graphics that the motion blur fails miserably to conceal. The chatter is pretty annoying but at least the frequency of that can be reduced or turned off completely.

Completely unimpressed so far.

@BBB - it’s completely new to me, I’m looking forward to getting stuck in over the hols. Just awaiting the upgrade which looks excellent.

I’d wager most of these will be on sale again before the end of the year. I did snaffle The Witcher 3 though, it would have been rude not to.

Good list, Dishonoured 2 and RDR2 are crying out for 60fps. As FPS boost doesn’t work for Dishonoured 2 then a remaster/series upgrade would be welcome- come on Arcane, you can do it!

Quantum Break could do with a fps boost too.

Harsh, their error so I think morally they should stomach the cost. If I walk into Tesco and they have a nice bottle of red marked up for a £1 then I expect them to honour the price, error or not.

I wonder how many people this affected, it was taken down pretty sharpish in any event so it can’t have been a big dent for a company with $69bn burning a hole.

I snaffled The Witcher 3 - only £1.99 thanks to £5 rewards voucher. New game to me, looking forward to getting stuck in after the upgrade.

@DreemWeever - yep, that would be nice 👍

Looking forward to The Witcher 3 series X/S update and High on Life.

I’m like a broken record - but any two from these, please:
Powerslave: Exhumed
Shadowman
Oddworld Strangers Wrath
Omno

Tinykin made me smile

From a purely selfish perspective, I hope the deal goes through. I’ve been avoiding Activision Blizzard titles in the hope that they become available on Gamepass.

I went straight from XB360 to Series X (didn’t really do any gaming for years, so didn’t have an Xbox One or PS4) so I’ve got a LOT of Call of Duty to catch up on. Fingers crossed it goes through next year.

As AC Valhalla is on the list then I suppose Odyssey, Origins and Immortals Fenix Rising should be on there too? All have RPG elements and all decent games too.

@Tharsman - no sarcasm intended. And I’d advise against your suggestion of “warm water in the toaster”!? Lol.

The point I’m making is that a setting to limit the console’s performance so that it only does “half a job” is daft. If I wanted a lower performing machine than my Series X then I’d opt for a Series S (or an Xbox One).

If people want to save energy then there are a million and one other ways which make far for sense than limiting frame-rates on high end consoles.

Absolutely ludicrous. What next? - a washing machine that doesn’t quite make your clothes clean?, a toaster that ‘nearly’ toasts your bread?, a kettle that makes water warm but doesn’t boil water? Ridiculous- I’ve bought the most powerful console on the planet to play the best games at the highest resolution and frame rates. Don’t try and ‘dumb down’ the Xbox experience.

Standby energy saving mode makes sense, but don’t restrict performance while I’m using the device.

For those trying to reduce their use of energy there are far more sensible ways to reduce power consumption than this virtue signalling nonsense.

@Green-Bandit - I agree 100%

Good list. Personally I’d also add - Tinykin, Hellblade, Forza Horizon 4&5, Halo Wars (both), Master Chief Collection, Halo Infinite, GRID Legends & Dishonoured

@Liam_Doolan - thanks, looking forward to that.

Haven’t played Infinite in a while, is this the update where we finally get a mission replay option?

& Praetorians HD Remaster is also available on console now for those with GP Ultimate/Gold.

Just give me the option to leave it as it is now. It’s fine.

Any two from - Oddworld: Strangers Wrath, Shadowman, Powerslave (Exhumed), Toy Soldiers HD & Omno.

Plague Tale Requiem - thought it would be a no as 30fps is a slog for my eyes but I’ve been surprised and fascinated by how good it all looks. Playing at 120hz, so maybe I’m getting 40fps (?) and maybe VRR is helping too. At some points I can’t tell it’s not 60fps, but my eyes are telling me that something isn’t quite ‘right’. It does look gorgeous though, and the gameplay is ok even if it is a bit linear and the ‘acting’ is pretty wooden.

Also playing Hellblade (blimey, how did I not play this earlier?), and still enjoying Grid Legends which is way better than I thought it would be, both graphically and gameplay.

@FraserG - great idea, but suggest you run this article earlier (say 1st of the month) to give gamers an extra month’s heads-up on the likely departures, perhaps repeat the article middle of the month as a reminder. Thank you.

Gotham Knights doesn’t really interest me so I’m not that bothered - but (and I might be wrong on this) I thought I read that Starfield is aiming for 30fps??….

My eyes are much happier with 60fps (or higher). One of the things I’m most impressed with about Series X is the consistent and smooth 60fps is almost all titles.

Aha, thanks guys. Should have gone to Specsavers!

I’ve updated but I can’t see/hear the new content. I’m probably being dim but how is this accessed?….no sign of a new radio station clicking through the channels, no ‘Horizon Origins’ under new events, etc. The update was 10+ GB so I’m sure the content is there somewhere, I just can’t see/access it.

Presumably (fingers crossed) these will joined by Goldeneye tomorrow to coincide with James Bond Day/60th Anniversary…

@Spaceman-Spiff - good thinking, I wish that was an option in the settings.

@PhhhCough - you are correct, it is subjective.

But I’m not suggesting for one minute that the options shouldn’t be there, just that there needs to be a logical/sensible way the Xbox system applies those options and that more information is available to the user to help make an informed choice.

An example from this week’s Gamepass title Grid Legends which defaults to 120hz if connected to an appropriate screen. There’s no information in the menus about the graphical differences if you switch to 60fps. It’s only by researching that you find the 120fps mode runs at 1440p with reduced reflections or at 4K (with DRS) and better reflections at 60fps.

At the very least, why not provide this information in the menus so the user can make an informed decision?

Mostly Tinykin (great little game) and Grid Legends (my eyes love the 120fps mode). If there’s any time left then maybe a splash of Immortals Fenix Rising ….but Guardians of the Galaxy keeps winking at me from the to-do list and I guess it won’t be on GP forever.

I still don’t understand why it takes them a year to add Mission Replay.

I’m amazed it wasn’t included at launch - as others have said on here many gamers like to replay their favourite Halo levels repeatedly. Surely this should have been a feature easily implemented at launch? I can’t think of a single reason this is so difficult to roll out - just have a system with a ‘primary’ campaign save that the player can return to whenever they wish and a separate save for Mission Select. Or am I missing something?

The Campaign is a good return to form for Halo and I’d love to see them expand it with new missions and areas. Maybe also add changing seasons/weather to the existing biome - just to add some more variety and more replay value.

@WVProductionsUK - U.K. gets additions at 5pm.

Looking forward to this, was tempted to buy earlier but glad I held out for it to arrive on GP

When’s level select yappening?

@frabbit - 5PM. You can pre-install Tinykin as of this morning.

Some great recent/imminent additions to GP with Playdead's Inside, AC: Origins, Tinykin, Immortals Fenyx Rising, Immortality, GRID Legends and (hopefully soon) Deathloop

Assassins Creed Odyssey and Origins...both look superb on Series X

Good news on the improvement but one thing I dislike about this generation is the confusion created by multiple graphics options.

It seems the first thing I have to do with most game installs is research which setting I should select as you can’t rely on the default option. Take Dying Light 1 for example - default settings are for performance mode (1080p 60fps) but selecting “balanced” ups the resolution to 1440p with virtually no frame rate drops (especially for those with VRR displays).

If only there was a simple reference chart for gamers to refer to, or better still a system setting that would auto detect the best in game graphic options according to Xbox (X or S) and the display it is connected to.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Goldeneye speculation pans out to be real or just idle nonsense.

Needs to be much cheaper on Xbox. At £4.99pm I’d be tempted.

Hopefully they’ll be joined by Deathloop

I still play both games regularly and don’t find either boring in the slightest. Like the Hot Wheels expansion and can’t help thinking the tech behind the game would lend itself to a brilliant Wipeout style racer on Series X.

I’m still not convinced that MS would can PlayStation COD after they are not contractually obliged to make it anyway - it would still be financially prudent to make it multi platform. The real power behind the acquisition is simply being able to bring the COD franchise to Gamepass, and all new titles to the service on Day 1. That’s what MS want, and as a Gamepass subscriber it is definitely what I want too!

@themightyant - thank you. That’s disappointing and I’ve been spoilt by Series X….I find it very hard to go back to 30fps. Will give it a try though.

Does anyone know if Wildlands is 60fps on Series X?

Inside for me, a little gem of a game (even if the ending was a bit meh). Tried Powerwash Simulator but just couldn’t see the attraction. Reminded me of watching paint dry but each to their own. Already own FC5 and I will give Watchdogs 2 a try. Moto GP was quickly deleted - visuals are fine but the handling is a million miles away from the Moto GP games I remember (and enjoyed) on original XB. I’ve just gone all nostalgic for those early days of XB Live!

@DominoHurley - thanks, yes I enjoyed Limbo. I also found it a tougher challenge and to my shame it didn’t get completed before it was removed from GP. Hope it makes a return one day.

Played through Inside - first time for me, a very nice addition to Gamepass

Powerslave (exhumed), Oddworld Strangers Wrath, Shadowman, Far Cry 3 (XB 360)

Had a quick spin this morning for an hour or so and it all looks and plays very impressively. The lighting is superb, both from the natural world and also the cars - headlights/brake lights illuminate the environment, other cars and tracks very effectively. The forest biome looks particularly stunning with its cascading waterfalls and surrounding vegetation.

I haven’t played Hot Wheels before and this looks a lot of fun, and of course there’s the usual Forza polish to the graphics & excellent fluidity. Good stuff!