Titntin

@Raffles Thanks for the heads up on playnite. I have a decent PC (i9 9900k, evga ftw3 ultra 3090, 64meg ram etc etc) but I never use it to game as using windows and half a dozen store fronts is not the same experience as a decent console, so I barely ever game on it. Maybe play nite might help the user experience for me... I hope so!

Good to see Microsoft finally getting it together for some streaming at last. I wander if the timing is prompted by PS announcing you can now stream 150 titles if you own them to the PS portal? You have to be subbed to top tier of PS plus too, so nobody gives this functionality for free, but I am often offered the option to stream an owned game on a ps5 rather than install it.
1080p streaming is still not my chosen way to play of course, but I often use streaming while deciding if a service game is worth the download and the experience is surprisingly good.
I'd like to see MS increase the rate and quality of its roll out, as with their tech muscle they should be the streaming pack leaders..

@OldGamer999 Watch Skillups video and tell me 'thats a bash show', it's properly documented for anyone to see and he clearly wishes to like the game.
..and I get it, you got a new TV congrats. You don't need to shoehorn that into everything you write. Almost all of us committed gamers have top end TVs playing in 4k 120hz etc, you are not part of an exclusive club.
I hope you continue to enjoy the game.

@OldGamer999 So every single other reviewer who's had plenty of time to play it is somehow wrong because it was smooth for you for 40 minutes?
I have not played it and can't give a personal assesment. But I've read the reviews and watched Skillups video which seems to agree with many others and shows a game which has a host of issues well beyond simple frame rates. If you wish to pretend the game is problem free, that's your perogative, but the broken systems and balancing demonstrated in Skillups video are unlikely to have been fixed in the day 1 patch.
I do hope that many issues have been addressed though. It's not my sort of game, so it's not for personal reasons that I really want the game to succeed. The Team deserve all the goodwill and success they can get from this, and I wouldn't begrudge them any of it.

Much as I have a lot of sympathy for them all in Ukraine, suggesting it's a miracle that the game released is way wide of the mark when development moved to Prague quite some time ago. Pretending this was developed in a war zone is pretty silly when it factually was developed in the Czech Republic.

It's yet another game that seems released far too early with low quality standards, which is a shame as apparently there's a good game in there amoung the glitches, poor ai and story issues.
I think it's worth waiting till early next year unless you must play it now.

@themightyant No one wants common sense in here mate. Your facts about who votes and how diverse the range of votes is might interfere with someone's self entitled grievance!
I do appreciate you trying though, but this is an audience who cares not for facts..

Sony already have a 15% interest in fromsoft. The companies portfolio of anime and media align with Songs own properties so the buyout makes sense and funding would not necessarily come from PS and instead be spread across some divisions.
If this goes ahead, I think it's likely the software arm making souls games will remain operating independently despite a Sony controlling interest. It's extremely unlikely that it will become a playstation studio, and I suspect it will continue to make multiplatform releases.
But hey, never say never right?

Still playing Dragon Age veilguard and enjoying it a lot. Been difficult to see the 'wokeness' that offended people so much, and though the writting is variable, it's decent enough in places and mainly serves its purpose. I had thought it was a 7 game, but as I continue through it it's becoming an 8 for me.
Also looking to jump back into Crew Motor Fest as there's a whole new island to explore and I really enjoyed it.

What ever you are playing this weekend, I hope you have fun!

If they charge $600 for the old Series X tech with no disc drive and 2tb ssd, imagine what they would charge for an improved version. Of course they wouldn't make one, it's unlikely they would get many sales....

Whilst everyone has been expecting this, its still likely to be dissapointing to many.
I understand those that are dissapointed, im very much into playing games locally on my own hardware, running the best they can and owning titles over renting. Whilst my series x isnt going anywhere for now, it seems unlikely that that the future microsoft envisage is one that will appeal to me..
I guess with Microsoft games coming everywhere, and PS likely to stick to the traditional model, I can still play games like I want to. But rather than seeing this as a huge expansion of xbox, I cant help but see this as another nail in the coffin of xbox, the only division of MS I liked and one I believe gaming needs. I dont have any hate for PS at all, but I fear what this means for xbox.

@NEStalgia lol.
He'd just put a credit card behind the bar while the team attempted to drink it dry. He had pretty much shuffled off once EA bought Bullfrog, so I didnt see much of him as I came in for Dungeon Keeper 2, but he genuinely had his heart in the right place back then..

@gollumb82 lol! I liked Peter. When he said he was buying the team a drink he meant it!
But I know what you mean of course... 😊

@IronMan30 I think you are correct and I would anticipate more microsoft titles coming to Switch 2 once thats out, for two reasons:
Development for switch 1 needs a lot of skills to cut a game down from its original if it were developed for series consoles, where it wont need as much compromise for switch 2.
Having confirmed xbox working on handheld hardware, Switch 2 porting will give their teams good insight into designing for a handheld device, which often comeswith its own unique issues to consider.
Interesting times..

@Nintendo4Sonic I think you need to keep up with the news:
https://www.purexbox.com/news/2024/11/xbox-boss-says-everything-is-on-the-table-when-it-comes-to-ps5-ports

It doesnt confirm anything except you cant say with any certainty that a title wont go to ps.
I primarily play on PlayStation, but I find that news a little depressing as I want to see Xbox being a strong platform, and I dont see that news helping..

@HonestHick Yes mate, the output looks great and xbox players will certainly have tons to look forward too next year.
This game now being my most anticipated, closeky followed by Avowed. Good times!

@TheGameThrifter I dont need another list of their ills. I pointed out the simple truth of some games not being affected by the issues that are of such concern to you. I also clearly stated I had my own concerns about some of their influence on titles and some of their agendas on other titles.
Both those things can be true. The world is not black and white. They have done decent work before, and I hope thats what we get here...

Im glad they have concentrated on the exploration and puzzle aspects of the game. That was a really good call, as the action stuff looks a little formulaec and not enough to carry the game.
However, the story telling and environments look really top notch and Im really keen to play it.

@HonestHick If only 1st party games in that quantity and quality had been released every yerar of the Series machines life Im sure things would look realy different in terms of futures.
Im not a doom or cod player, but if the others hit well, then Ill be glad to have kept the series X..

@TheGameThrifter
I respectfully disagree.
They designed all characters and wrote the script for Sable, which was a fantastic title.
They also wrote a lot of script for AC Vallhalla, which again I had no issue with.
Don't let your hate blind you to truth, and the truth is they have done some good work as well as hugely objectionable stuff.

@TheGameThrifter
Yup, I was looking forward to this, but learning that Sweet Baby Inc has written the script, makes me slightly more reserved.
Thats not quite the death blow many woukd assume as they have done some good scripts imo, but Ive dialled back my enthusiasm a little. Still hope this turns out great.

Nice to see spyro on gp. Id argue its not a stellar drop as surely most people who were interested would have already played this?
Being on GP is good news though as those people who were not previously prepared to buy or try can now do so with no risk - and thats the beauty of the service.
Its well worth a try!

@Ilyn Yeah I didnt really flesh out any specs, but its clear it would be a Steam Box with much better specs, and yes you would need to specify a lot more than that for it to be relevant, but I suspect that's where a lot of their thinking has gone.
Ultimately, they are a software company though, so I suspect they wont make this as its not an area where they can make big profit and there are already platforms where they can make big bucks from their existing studios.

@Steel76 You still don't get it. It's BETTER than native rendering - why would you want worse PQ that ties up more of your resources?
My machine is 2 years old now, but I use an EVGA 3090 FTW3 Ultra myself - though I rarely ever game on PC. I'd rather use DLSS and have horsepower to spare than waste my time native rendering 4K for a worse output.

Forza 5 launch on series X. It wasn't perfect, but I thought that would be the start of loads of technically awesome Series X exclusives. Sadly, I've been waiting since for any more. Hopeful we will get some next year...

We all know it was just BS. I'd be surprised if they have even decided at this point.
However, if they did have plans to make a TV friendly PC with a bespoke games OS, this could be what she was referring to. If this is the direction they are going I'd bet the $700 for a PS5 pro will be chump change in comparison to what they would have to charge - particularly as I don't see them launching with a price that looses money any further.
Having said that - if this is where they are going - I'd be all in for it!

@Steel76 "as developers sadly are using upscalers now."

You clearly haven't moved on and realised that Ai upscaled gaming titles are often producing better image quality than native renders. This has been happening on PC for some time.
The idea that native internal rendering resolution is the metric that matters is now way off the mark. For the end user, how such a fine 4K image is derived doesn't matter at all, and its often much better to use DLSS on a 2K or 1080p image than to render native.

@Sol4ris Delighted everyone can play Death Stranding now, and yes its batsh*t crazy! After a while I gave up trying to understand and just strapped myself in for the ride... 👍

Im about 70% through Avatar and would like to finish that this weekend.
I started Dragon Age Veilguard on ps5 pro and have to say it looks great and Im enjoying the gameplay loads. The opening story piece (leading up to the titles) was a bit 'off' tbh, but its improved a lot since then, and the acting seems fine and characters are likable so far.

Whatever you are playing this weekend, I hope you have fun!

@16BitHero Absolutely agree. How a game hits you is all about how crafted and designed it is, not the tech with which its delivered. The GTA games have always been exceptional in those regards.
Fun fact, I took a little freelance job and upressed all the vehicles in GTA3 from their playstation versions for the xbox version. Seems a lifetime ago now..

Those who wish to engage with me re the pro, please forgive me, but this is not the thread for such a discussion, so I'll not answer here cept to say I have it and am very happy with my initial findings.

@16BitHero That is a sad state of affairs for those of us who care (I appreciate there are many who say 30fps doesnt bother them, but since a tv upgrade from lcd it does bother me)
I suspect the ps5 pro will have a good ai upscaled 60hz version, so I can hope for that as I got one today.
It would be nice to think the game will offer a performance mode on all platforms...

I really enjoyed this game and I'm sure this will be treat for many.
Its not everyones cup of tea, but I'm delighted more people are having a chance to play it

@Ken_Kaniff Don't the physical discs need to contact the servers anyway for DRM?
I think if the servers are screwed digital and disc games are affected....

If someone knows better than that, please educate me!

Having seen every generation, its normal to be excited at the launch of a generation as you are always thinking about what might come.
Whilst I don't think there have been as many Xbox exclusives to this point as I might have wanted, you cannot argue that they are not investing to make sure this improves next year, and it looks like there will be many more in the future. In my experience, all platform holders have relied on 3rd party games to provide most of the software people will buy and enjoy through all the generations, and we have seen some outstanding games experiences from 3rd parties in the last few years. I know I'm not alone in having a huge backlog of titles, and I've never had a backlog so big. Whilst some might suggest this is because I often play on PS5, the vast majority of titles I'm playing are also available on Xbox - I play elsewhere mainly because my wife, who plays as much as me, can't stand the Xbox controller, so my default is play elsewhere unless its exclusive.

I think the malaise at Xbox's potential future is because of Microsoft's own communications. Not only are they not clear, in some instances they have been untruthful, so of course people are going to be worried. But the Series X is a powerful machine which I still think we have not seen the best of, and without a doubt there will be some fantastic titles that will still be coming to it. It doesn't matter if those titles are elsewhere as long as they are available on the Xbox system. The series machines will be a great platform for at least the next 3 or 4 years.

Im concerned that any handheld would be a downgrade on the series x. Being battery powered is a big limitation.
In that respect Id almost rather see a remote device like the ps portal so we can have series x power on a handheld.. I might even be able to pursuade my wife to play xbox with one of them!

Im really hopeful for Indiana Jones. I'm convinced the presentation and story will be top grade. Im still a little worried that the 1st person gameplay might be a bit underwhelming, but Im hoping Im wrong and this will be the whole package! Fingers crossed! 🤞

I think Stalker 2 will also be excellent, but its a genre I rarely play, so Im not likely to enjoy it. I can still appreciate it though, and I do..

I really enjoyed Robocop. If you are an old fan of this film, then definitely consider it, its a great deal at this price.

@Fiendish-Beaver That's a really well written post and I can't disagree with any of it.
As someone with more than one foot in the other camp, I'm not upset at missing game titles, cause I'm not going to miss anything.
But seeing Xbox taken over by MS games is a real shame, as loyal fans should have been given more respect as the policies change, and I believe gamers are better off with a competitive Xbox having some of its own titles. I genuinely hope they wont all come over, but its too late now, the messaging has been so unspecific that most people looking to buy a new system are likely to believe that if they buy PS they will get all the titles to play..

I would also love to have SC on consoles. I do have a PC, but I'm not keen on playing on that platform, so an alternate to play these fantastic games would be excellent!

@GeeForce No prob mate, I hope next year there will be some cracking xbox exclusives vying for pole position.
I had originally agreed with my wife we would sell the series X, but Ive not kept the box and prices for older machines are low, so we still have it and Im still keeping my fingers crossed for Avowed to be a blast, so it looks like I will remain a Series X owner. It means I can keep my forza collection available too... a big win in this house!

@GeeForce
Unfortunately not mate - though it surely can't be long before they release Wukong, and that was my top pick..
We were asked 'which of these are your picks this year - we were not advised to keep our picks Xbox only.

The list has at least %50 of titles not being available on xbox, and I didnt pick the list. It's just unfortunate that so many of the top titles this year were not on Xbox.

Glad its enhanced, but unless its a different game, I'm not playing it regardless of having Pro's arriving this week.
I've just read that Cod has shifted 75% of all units on PS (digital and hardware) which is %30 uplift on last year. Sony no longer gives Activision a special rate for COD, so thats a huge uplift in revenue for Sony from this title this year. Xbox sales have fallen %66, which was perhaps predictable, but I doubt a few extra subs will make up for that loss. The above figure are just UK, so maybe the metrics look better elsewhere.
I'd love to see how many extra GP signups they get this month, and how many continue to subscribe, but I doubt that information will be shared with us.

Whilst its nice to have the most technically performant version of any game, a good game is a good game no matter where or how you consume it.

I'm not much of a shooter fan so its no surprise I just can't get into COD at all.
I very much loved the early Halo games, but I'm afraid I've not been able to get into the later titles at all and have a very low opinion of 'infinite'. I finished the campaign because I was on GP and I genuinely wanted to see if it would get better, but sadly, it really didnt for me.
Love the rest of them though, including GEARS, and I'm really looking forwards to them offering a new title soon!

Lots of great titles to choose from here.

Wukong
FF Rebirth
Astrobot

Was how I voted, but they could be in any order and I feel bad leaving Helldivers 2 out as its great.
I'm hoping Dragon Age is one I consider worthy of being in this list too (despite fierce opposition no doubt), but I'm unlikely to start my playthrough till later this week (might be first title I play on the pro.)

@Romans12 Of course your opinion is your own and you are welcome to it.
Scars have long been a customisable part of many character creations, why would you object to that in a world where physical violence and combat is the norm? What's wrong with choosing 'no scars'?

@JaffeGaffe Yup its 2024 - there always someone playing politics instead of games and posting 7 times in a row to try and insist they are the only one with a valid viewpoint.
Of course anyone who thinks differently to you is a shill or paid off or whatever. In your head they are eating the cat and dogs... of course they are.

The debate over this game is pathetic, and it being targeted by people with an agenda is doubly pathetic.
I've bought the game and will thoroughly enjoy it - those grandstanding over a game they have never played can stay feeling bitter and twisted, they are of no concern to anyone and are an irrelevance.

Still working on Avatar, but I have Dragon Age installed and ready to go. I might hold off on that till I get the pro next week!

Whatever you are playing this weekend, I hope you have fun!

@themightyant
I didnt know a lot of that data, so many thanks for providing it.

Its nice to see the hate campaign that so many wish to jump on has not scuppered the game completely.
Im advised the game is well worth multiple play throughs anyway, as there are multiple endings, classes play differently and skill trees allow for impactful different builds.
I bought the game yesterday and Im confident I will enjoy playing it (trying to finish Avatar first!)

From memory I dont think DLC was expected or normal back in 1999. We released Dungeon Keeoer 2 back then and it was unusual in that we developed and released some new creature types after main release (I remember animating spiders for this, which had been avoided in the main release as they could only handle up to four legs..)

Its personal taste of course, but I actually prefer games which are complete and finished without further dlc. By the time dlc comes, the game is a pleasent memory and I rarely wish to jump back in, relearn skills and contols etc. Elden Ring is one of my all time fave games, but I still haven't bought the dlc for example.

In this case I think its a big reach to suggest the game is a failure because dlc is not planned. It doesnt suprise me though, as some people seem really invested in trying to portray the game as a failure for some sad reason.

This an interesting article very relevant to this subject: https://www.videogamer.com/features/skyrim-lead-on-the-death-of-video-game-expansions/

Just bought this now and it's downloading.
I trust PJ and his review was heartfelt and I'm very likely to agree with it.
Even if I don't, I so fed up with people looking for the latest witch hunt to tag onto I'd buy it just to oppose them! Maybe not, but I certainly won't let a bunch of shouty anti-wokers put me off anything - they can all go to hell, hehe.

Somehow all the people who are enjoying it are 'shills' or been 'bought off' or whatever other nonsense these idiots wish to spread. God forbid anyone might enjoy a game they don't even want to try...

Great that this has landed so strongly, so many people enjoy it and will have a lot of fun with it. It's definitely not for me, I really dislike COD and indeed most such shooters, but I'd far rather this was well received than not.

Hopefully GP will get the lift that MS expect from it - as apparently its 10% less sales than last years, with that 10% being entirely due to less Xbox sales. Thats less drop than I would have expected, so I'd suspect even a modest lift in GP subs will be seen as a win here.
If anyone wants to read more: https://twistedvoxel.com/call-of-duty-black-ops-6-uk-launch-sales-below-modern-warfare-3-xbox-game-pass/

How exciting! I was a little skeptical about the first person view, but it really does sound like its all pulling together. It's quite clear there's a lot of thought and decent direction gone into delivering the story elements, so it's fantastic to hear about the gameplay elements.
It looks like they have delivered. Who doesn't want to play Indy?

I really enjoyed this game.
I miss the earlier days of Xbox with lots of exclusive hits and I do still wish I was excited by the platform. Maybe Avowed will scratch the itch!