FraserG

FraserG

Editor for Pure Xbox

Comments 2,619

Re: Review: Indiana Jones And The Great Circle (Xbox) - A MachineGames Misfire

FraserG

@16BitHero Hey, thanks for your comments! So, in this case we didn't have a choice if we wanted to hit embargo - we only had access to one code (which is a pretty common practice actually).

We do have a "Second Opinion" feature that we can use when it makes sense, but that's usually when we're reviewing something post-release that a bunch of us have already played a lot of. It also puts pressure on multiple staff members to completely finish a game, because typically we like to be very thorough before giving a final verdict on something. We waited to publish our Stalker 2 review because we'd only played 20 hours, for example - we wanted to completely finish it first.

In this specific case, there were no indications (and there are still no indications) that we should have delayed the review, and I absolutely stand by it.

That said, I appreciate the desire to hear from as many voices as possible.

Re: Review: Indiana Jones And The Great Circle (Xbox) - A MachineGames Misfire

FraserG

@BaldB3lper78 Yeah, I'll happily admit that we often prioritise Game Pass-related articles and headlines because they're proven to generate more engagement (which is obviously the overall goal here), but that's been part of my focus since Pure Xbox was relaunched back in early 2020 - nothing's changed in that regard. We're a small team with a limited amount of news that we can cover, so I've always simply tried to focus on what gets the most interest.

For those questioning whether we're making decisions about the Indiana Jones review based on clicks or a dying site or anything along those lines though... we're not.

I swear it's as simple as this - we got the game, we reviewed the game, we published the review. It's obviously proving controversial, but sometimes reviews ARE controversial - one person's opinion might not align with the majority vote 🤷‍♂️

To those suggesting we should be representing a positive force for Xbox fans, I obviously agree with that to an extent, but if we play a game and decide it's a 6, we're not going to change that score to an 8 just because it's a first-party title. Outlets get criticised for that all the time (this whole thing about "paid reviews" never happens, but people always say it does), so we can't really win - if we go too high, people will say we're being paid off or favouring Xbox too much, but if we go too low, they'll say we're not representing the brand well enough.

We try not to overthink these things - we play a game, we tell you our thoughts on it. That's how every review goes down on PX.

Re: Site News: Where's Our Stalker 2 Review?

FraserG

@bowzoid We'll have a performance video soon showing what it's like on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S

@LonR Obviously we've played it a bit since the patches, but nowhere near enough to analyse them properly. Bear with us...

Re: Deals: Xbox Black Friday Sale 2024 Now Live, 800+ Games Discounted

FraserG

If anyone's wondering why Death Stranding isn't in the roundup here, it's because it's not technically part of the Black Friday sale - it's a separate discount that arrived alongside the surprise Xbox launch.

If you want to grab DS, don't wait around until the end of November - the discount only lasts for another week.

Re: Xbox Has Two 'BOGOF' Promotions Running Right Now

FraserG

In terms of the Sports one, most of them aren't value for money IMO - but there are a couple of exceptions.

If you're interested in NBA 2K25 & TopSpin 2K24 for example, that's not a bad deal at £69.99 in the UK.

Rockstar Table Tennis and Midnight Club for £11.99 is pretty decent as well.

The rest of the titles in there often go on sale, so it's probably best to wait if you're interested in stuff like WWE 2K24 or Madden 25.

Still, it's definitely worth a look as Ben says!