Titntin

Not played many games on xbox this year so it has to be Avowed, which I really enjoyed and was the last game I played to completion on the Box!

Ive been trying V Rising as a single player seeing as its on a service, and I must say Im having a lot of fun. You can change lots of options to reduce grind time if needed, and I do!
Was hoping to try DK on the switch 2 at last, but my wife is hooked on 'strange horticulture' so I think my options for switch gaming are gone for a few days.

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

Its simply a reality that when one game sweeps all the awards, theres, only scraps left for the others. In years when we have so many excellent games its easy for a stunning game to go with zero awards. Im not sure its unfair necessarily, just a function of how awards work. If I was gonna pick a game I thought should have gotten some recognition, it would be Death Stranding 2, which really excelled in many areas..and Im sure there are several others.

Nice to see Lara back. Im glad they showed the new one first, it made the remake seem like the cherry on top! Looking like another stacked year next year already...

Id like to think Playground would be showing some fable, but I suspect it will be FH6 they will be concentrating on. Thats ok as Im a FH fan, but I do want to see more of Fable please!
Looking foward to this, I enjoy most game shows and I think MS needs to put its best foot forward and show its a publishing power house with plenty of content to look forward too, as last nights game awards was pretty light on excitement for xbox only players. It was however, great to see South of Midnight get a little recognition with an Impact Award.

@Fiendish-Beaver I feel for you man. Especially as Im just about to retire through ill health myself Feb 26th - (freedom day), though in my case Im doing it voluntary as I cant take any more of the constant medical assessments. Ive also had an ongoing back issue which is considered a disability for 14 years now, but its clearly not as serious as your own, but I trully sympathise as I have some idea of what your going through. Your such a pleasent and engaging guy, I admire your strength of character mate.

I can't believe people are here expecting some kind of 'tit for tat' exchange of games to validate MS publishing decisions.
MS have decided they need to publish on platforms with a larger install base in order to make money, no other reason. This was prompted by the 70 billion spent buying Activision - they cannot make the money they need to make that purchase make sense without committing to being a full 3rd party publisher, so thats exactly where they have gone.
Just like MS used to, Sony rely on exclusives to help sell their platform, they have never made any promises to publish games on Xbox as they don't need to.
Moaning you don't get anything back from seeing MS published games on PS simply shows you don't have a grasp of the business situation. You won't 'get anything back'. There was never a deal that said you would.

Trying to pretend this is isolated due to having no deals is really such a limp take on this news.
The Series consoles have sold very little all year regardless of promotions and it's clear MS dont care. The hardware deserved more support and marketing but it seems clear that someone near the top has written these machines off already.
What little trust I had in MS has been severely damaged by watching them engineer their own demise - shocking.

I realy rate this game, debatedly best gameworld this gen. Third person is enough to make me consider returning for a replay. I enjoyed 1st person, but I suspect I'll prefer 3rd person as I seem to take in more of the world that way...

I bought the game to support the devs and there's a lot of burnout fun to be had here. It's a slow starter though and it takes a while before you find the races that scratch that burnout itch.
Gutted for the team.

Ive never looked but Id be shocked if I got one as Ive only ever bought FH4 and dlc this gen. Series X is pretty much a GP machine only for me.

@Fiendish-Beaver I completely agree. I jumped back in on gpu for another year on a cheap deal, but Im questioning my sanity now weve seen the last 2 months. I respect we all have different tastes but for me its been awful, and their charging £24 a month for this? Everyone bigging up Banishers, but it was on a service that costs way less than gpu 6 months ago. Im struggling to find any highlights. I guess if you like your COD, weve had that, but Im afraid Im not not much of a shooter guy, so I never play COD.

Im not sure what ms strategy is to increase the price so much and then add so little. I remember when we used to get way over 20 additions a month and could expect big AAA 3rd party titles too. Those days are sadly gone.

Thats a messy rollout.
Apparently its on ps plus extra this month, so if you are on that service I wouldnt consider parting with any cash for it.
Hope they fix the upgrade path soon...

It's nice to see a small improvement and I suspect its due to the sale price on steam. But how ever they arrive, people still playing and having a good time is what we need to see to keep this excellent franchise back in with a shot at reclaiming its crown.

Nice to see this. I really enjoyed this game first time round and I'd like to see it running @ 60fps even if it looks a little dated. It was a lot of fun!

@AverageGamer WTF are you talking about? Whos fleeing where? I'm stating we are unlikely to agree and I'd rather not hijack a thread about one issue arguing about something that's off topic?
You said I cant buy a Steam deck on Amazon. I gave you a link, I can and its £404 when the switch 2 is £399. They are the same price and I posted the link to prove it, you made a provably false statement. Have some balls and own your mistake.
When I judge a system, its judged against what other systems offer and what I want of course. Just as I expect you to judge by your own criteria. There is no wrong when its subjective judgement which is why it helps to state what your issues are so people can assess if they matter to them or not.
Your attempt to try and insist there is some 'right' or 'wrong' subjective opinion is clearly silly. You can never prove my opinion is wrong, you can merely disagree with it.
Again, I do not wish to waste any more space in this thread arguing with someone who does not understand subjective opinion. A conversation with you, judged by your posts here, is a pointless waste of time.

@AverageGamer
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Valve-V004284-30-Steam-Deck-256gb/dp/B0B7KFFKT5/ref=asc_df_B0B7KFFKT5?mcid=1ec7546357263f699abada2c5f82ec8a&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=696386561236&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3308995169764548949&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045345&hvtargid=pla-1831825105343&psc=1&hvocijid=3308995169764548949-B0B7KFFKT5-&hvexpln=0&gad_source=1
Steam deck for £404 Amazon UK. Your simply wrong.

"That sound like a YOU problem. No one told you to buy a controller and SD card."
At 256 meg, switch 2 has very little storage, and certainly less than any other system. If you have switch 1 titles you need to move across (as I do), internal storage becomes absolutely crucial. That's a system issue, not mine, it has far too little storage.
It's a machine designed to be played plugged into a TV if you want. As such it needs a decent joystick. Not only is the Joycon Grip ergonomically awful, but its just not up to the task. The magnetic holding strength is not enough in the Joycon and everyone who used it over this weekend while we played MK world, had regular disconnects as one side or another would disconnect from the grip and take us to the disconnect screen.
After a while we just moved onto another machine - the switch 2 was unplayable in practice unless you had the pro controller. Of course nintendo decided to ensure that your switch 1 pro controller can't wake up the Switch 2 either. So a new pro controller was pretty much mandatory if you want decent multiplayer - though you can use the left and right separately of course if you feel that's comfortable.
Its not a me issue, its a hardware issue and you simping for them doesn't make any of that any less true.

I can certainly agree though that this port is shoddy and could have been far better.

It's quite clear that we will not agree on this, so I finish with stating I'm very happy you love your switch 2 so much. But that's not everyone's experience and we are allowed to say as much, I've identified my issues best I can with no ill intent. You have a fantastic day while I await for a switch 2 pro controller to turn up so me and the misses can continue the fun we were having with MK world over the weekend.

Edit: Re Joycon connections. If you have suffered similar issues (and there's a whole Redditt thread with people who have the same issue) - ensure you are using the HDMI cable that ships with the Switch 2. I read this fix and thought it was insane, but it 100% works for me. I bought a switch 2 pro controller to go with the switch 1 pro I had, but tbh, I didnt need to as the fix works

@darkswabber I'm aware of the specs thanks. The fact is, to justify its performance, you need to go back a generation as it simply doesnt compete with current gen machines and costs more. Its currently £400 for the base machine with no sd card and no proper controller and a ps5 is £379, steam deck is £404 (all amazon prices this morning) Comparisons are fair enough when these machines are priced the same. I completely get your point that this particular game is a shoddy conversion and I agree with you it should have been better. But even the best conversions perform better on similary priced hardware on other platforms.
@AverageGamer. You can get a steam deck at exactly the same price as the switch2 on amazon, and as you noted, youd often have better performance. Youd also buy the same games much cheaper.
As a platform for playing 3rd party titles, the switch 2 is the worst place to play. However, its the only place to play nintendo titles and that will always be its saving grace and its why its in this household. I just wish there were more 1st party titles out!
I dont hate it but it is very expensive ( with a decent size sd and proper controller mine was £580 - and that was sale prices). At those prices people shouldn't be forced to playing the worst version of games portable or otherwise.

I dont see that any of those opinions should be inflammatory? Ive explained the reasoning and its a perfectly valid common sense viewpoint. Others are welcome to have a different view of course, but I dont give nintendo any free rides ever - they are the least consumer freindly corp of the three main platform holders and dont deserve any special consideration imo.

@RiverGenie Im in exactly the same boat. Tried it 6 months back when it appeared on ps plus and unfortunately I didnt stay long. Id give it another shot, but with such a huge backlog you have to focus on titles you haven't got to yet.
I am delighted its won many fans though and that so many are enjoying it, Id recommend everyone try it.

Id never buy a game on switch 2 I could get elsewhere as they are all inferior to other versions. For such an expensive machine, its just not good enough. If you have to play portable I guess its your choice, but there are better ways to play these games portably as well if you look at steamdecks or handheld pcs
My primary use for switch 2 is plugged into a tv, and in that mode its only worth buying switch exclusives, though theres been precious few to make it worth the effort so far.

It's a shame Xbox didnt give the ardent fans any thought, but let's face it, they wouldn't expect any different now would they?

Thats a really good start and should be applauded!
Of course, we want it on everything, but its early days yet and nice to see it starting to take shape.

@OldGamer999 They were making money 2 years after launch and still are of course? Im sorry your entire crusade seems rediculous to me like you expect companies to not make profits? Ive no idea what world you live in but MS Sony and Nintendo should all be making decent profits or you'll never even have games machines. It was pointless to talk with you, I really shouldn't have, but thought you might want to know one of the big three is not raising prices. You have fun on the soapbox and I'll wish you a pleasent evening.

@OldGamer999 You dont appear to be reading. Sony are not putting prices up and invested specifically so that they would not have too.
Sorry if it spoils your soapboxing, but your not talking reality and for some reason I thought you might want to be grounded in reality. Silly me.

@OldGamer999 You need to do some research, surely you read push Square? According to their story, published Saturday, Sony bought up lots of Ram at good prices before the surge and will not need to push prices up as a result for quite some time. I'm afraid I don't have information on Nintendo, but if if Xbox are putting their prices up again as claimed, it will not be matched by Sony.

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2025/11/quick-thinking-from-sony-should-shield-ps5-from-ram-shortages-for-now

Nice looking stick - but it would need to be for the price Its pretty safe to trust scuff though and this was a good write up - thank you.
I'm setting my sights much lower and want a Hyperkin 'The competitor' controller - hall effect sticks laid out PS style as is my preference. Didn't think they would be popular with the Xbox crowd, but its been sold out here in the UK since launch, so I may get mine from the U.S. rather than waiting any longer.

Edit: Currys have some new stock and free delivery, yey! It arrives tomorrow

@GamingGod Thanks man, In performance mode its great so Im getting to play it.
Yeah pssr is mainly excellent as long as its done right. Looks very stable on a moving image compared to other solutions and will continue to improve as its developed. Im very happy with the pro to the point where we updated our second ps5 too, so we are running two pros, but theres the odd outlier title where there are issues.
Nice to see the game on xbox and I bet it looks great on series X. Its on ps plus though, so I'll play it there as Im paying there anyway!

@TrollOfWar I could have sworn I played in performance mode, I always use performance. Ill check again now....

Edit: Thank you. Quite how I remained in quality mode when I always choose performance is a mystery, but Ive just ensured Im in performance mode and ran down the hill, all the hideousness is gone! Im really happy 😀 I might have never looked at this again, so I have you to thank that I can play this game. HUGE thank you!

Im completely stuck in the pit! Ball x Pit is adictive af.
Im also playing the wonderfully compelling Unicorn Overlord.
I will take some time for Outer Worlds 2 via GP soon, but I suspect I wont get the chance this weekend!

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

@GamingGod Really? How did you put up with god awful shimmering? The moment you get to a foggy area (the pathway down from the opening car park), I found the shimmering and fuz of the fomeffects unbearable on the pro..
I tried a couple of days ago and I intended to push through any discomfort with the visuals, but it was the worst Id seen and knowing the game is all about foggy environments I just couldn't put up with that. Shame, as I dont believe they will fix it, which leaves it unplayable for me.

Happy days with excellent games and a real feeling this brand was going somewhere! I had rrod 3 times, but there was never a question Id drop the brand, there were too many good things happening! 20 years goes quick 😊

Promotion of play anywhere is simply a way to get people to shift to PC. If you are firmly locked in MS systems, then its good that this option exists.
I dont buy games in MS ecosystem for many years, they are gamepass boxes for me, so it really means nothing to me, but Im glad its an option for those who want or need it.

Raji is the only one I may like, I'm just not interested in the others. Loved Vampire survivors, but this follow up looks like a dogs dinner. You can get away with that pixelated look for an overhead view game like survivors, but as soon as you go 3D the whole pixel thing looks dreadful imo. Hopefully be better to play than to look at!
I hope GP has some decent games to offer in the next year...

Only just caught up and watched it.
Im afraid I thought this was the most forgettable xbox show in a long time, trailer after trailer of pixelated, indie jank Im just not into at all.
Tides of annihilation looked OKish, but was simply a qte boss scene with barely any player interaction. It doesnt help that the trailer had been all over the net well before the show, which was a shame.
Reanimal looked polished, shame thats not coming to GP.
Zoopunk might work as I liked FIST. It remains to be seen if they can craft a 3D title, Id hoped it would be another refined 2d one.
A quick ad for a car in 007 was severely underwhelming.
Nice to see a new Raji as I liked the first title and was pleased this one was coming go GP.
Just cant get excited for anything else, it looked like the kind of jank youd buy on the cheap to fill out your game service if you didnt want to spend.... and I hope thats not a sign of the coming year.
I guess we're all different, but I just didn't get this show at all, no big hitters and nothing that would turn heads and drive people to xbox.

Tried playing it the other day as it was a PS plus freebie, but the rendering on pro is the worst I've seen this gen, I couldn't play it at all.
Delighted it's now out on Xbox, and it's likely thats a better version than what I have - I certainly hope so. 👍

@Tainted Ah that post. After all this time Id forgotten this thread. I seem to have mentioned that you dont seem to be keeping abreast of the news and therefore seemed oblivious of the fact that everyone has been questioning MS choices recently. I guess returnng to the post six weeks later to reply kinda shows its an accurate point.
You seem to have your feathers ruffled with no need. If you completely disagree with anything Ive said, thats absolutely your perogative and I wont lose any sleep over it, Im old enough to know im not always right anyway. Have a good day...

Loved this game and wish we had more like it now. Still looks fantastic.

@Tainted It wasnt a reply to you so why you wanna go geting confrontational over a post over 6 weeks old? It makes perfect sense, but Im not explaining a six week old post line by line to you. Go prod someone else for your sport and have a good evening.

Im clearly a outlier here as I played Banishers when it got added to PS plus and fell off the experience really quickly. My mate agrees with everyone else though and enjoyed it. Either way its nice to see it hit game pass now so xbox players can try for themselves.
Unfortunately the only games, Id like to try from this selection are ones Ive already played. Hopefully something else will turn up as Ive, only just bought another year of GPU and would like to get some value from it...

I'm a huge Forza horizon fan, played them all from the original onwards and done this several times. Great games - though I would suggest they peaked with FH4.
However, I do see this as a great addition for anyone else like me. Some of the races in this are just so much fun, myself and my misses have seldom laughed and yelled with enjoyment as much as we did when we first played this title, and there's been plenty of content added since. Just turn the AI voice down or off as its a bit annoying and prepare to discover an island with a lot of fun activities and plenty of secrets to find in addition to some top racing. Driving off a cliff and quickly turning into a plane to fly over the island doesnt get boring, though the flying and boating are not as good as the driving. Fortunately the driving is centre stage and the bulk of the racing here.

Really nice addition to GP, even if I already own it elsewhere

As others have noted, if Ubi games were not 50% off within 3 months maybe they would have more full priced sales. But when backlogs are large, its easy to wait for Ubi title when savings are guaranteed. They have effectively done this to themselves...

Always happy to see new games on the way. We've seen a lot of 007 already, but I dont mind seeing a little more. I hope we have some interesting suprises.

@Medic_alert They were both great examples of art direction. But it was a strong year and at least three of nominations were titles I believe have merit to be considered placed above them. In some other years they would have made the cut for sure.

The more these execs promise, the less sure I become. Is that fair?
I guess shes not doing much more than doubling down on messages already delivered, so it could all be legit and above board. Its hard not to think theres some crucial detail missing or a twist/pivot will come before delivery.
I do want to believe though..

I hope these freebies find an audience somewhere, but I can't get excited for some fortnite goodies or a dance emoji. It's hard to be excited for any of this stuff TBH, but I'm sure some people might get excited for a weapon skin or two...

It looks excellent. I'm afraid I won't wait and will download and try it on PS5, but I do hope the Xbox version becomes a reality and all Xbox players get it too.....

I'll admit neither of these float my boat, but I'm sure there will something for me in Decembers line up.

@Lup Thank you, I will def give it a shot..👍

@Lup How did you find Devils Daughter? Its been on my backlog for ages, but I enjoy a good mystery.

Now Ive finally finished the wonderful Yotei, Im looking for something new to commit some time too.

I haven't even looked at the new Mario Kart or Donkey Kong on switch 2 yet, so maybe its time.
Id also like to play Outer Worlds 2 on series x..
But I have Miles Morales installed on the ps5...

Does anyone else have committment problems after finishing an epic title like Yotei?

Whatever titles you're playing this weekend, I hope you have fun.