abe_hikura

@The-Grezzly-Bear I reckon that's their workaround for the whole "Ubisoft get the cloud rights for Activision games" deal. Oh look Gamepass ultimate gives you access to Ubisoft cloud games.

Games, games, games... updated controller with hall sticks, games, games, games

@Kaloudz I love the DR games i liked how they could juggle the camp and the dark and twisted but man 4 was dumb, it felt like a cheap knockoff or a parody game.

@themightyant Quick version. To a veteran player it's a deep cut of content that's removed, to new players its a way of staggering content so your not getting hit by 5 years of content updates all at the same time.

The idea is the "cut" stuff is basically endgame content, and I suspect intention is the exact effect it's having here keeping veterans on the high seas (public)

I really like Sea of Thieves, I love the mechanics and even love the shared world experience.

However, sometimes there are things like the Tall Tales where I just want to get stuff done. I don't want to jump back because someone tucked on my ship and dumped a quest item overboard.

If this helps even a little with stick drift it I'll be thankful, even if its just making diy fixes better.

I love the Xbox pad but I have to but a new pad almost every year and only twice was it not stick related.

Considering how R* basically abandoned RDR2 I doubt we'll get a 60fps update short of some rerelease next gen.

Generally if I like the game I'll get the dlc if it's "more game."

It's how I usually show my support for a game I like on GP, grabbing the DLC/complete edition.

It being part of the developer direct all but confirmed it being a 2024.

@Daaan14 oh I agree but it is worth remembering this the Wolfenstien reboot studio. Their games have had rough bits.

Boy did I enjoy the original Tomb Raider games but I am really hesitant about playing them again. Nostalgia can only get you so far.

@countmeout this may be just some leftover business from their purchases. As an example CoD.

I like the new games, the classic games burned me completely. The new games are finding their place (I really liked Valhalla's gear system wasn't a mess of minor stat mods).

Not saying they are prefect they have their issues. Valhalla's main story was too long. I'm not complaining about the amount of content just that it needs distributing better. Maybe shorten the main quest length but create better, longer optional side stories.

I do like the idea that going forward we're going to be getting a mixture of different types of AC experiences. Big RPGS and smaller slimmer games.

Personally, I've enjoyed the "new" games as much as the old games. Sure they have weak points like the open world segments in 5, but every Gears game has that one bit you really don't like playing again and would gladly skip if you could.

I adored Gears Tactics and really hope we see a sequel.

I just don't like how quiet the franchise has gone. I get they just aren't ready to release Gears 6 but there are other options to keep the brand active. Remakes/remasters of the other Gears games, spin-offs like Tactics, and a sequel of Tactics. All things that don't take the coalition away from Gears 6 whilst keeping the IP alive.

I have to agree with others here, it was to the game's benefit. Giving it any amount of lead time would have had the game directed and digested before launch. Instead with the stealth drop everyone just played it.

I get removing the specific game ones, it's a super rare thing where I actually play more than I need to to get the reward, maybe I'll stick around for an easy achievement for the daily.
But a GP game every day and 16 daily achievements almost feels like punishing buying games, and logically if I'm playing a GP title I'm not going to stop after earning a single achievement so I'm gonna have to play games I'm not interested in playing to drip feed achievements across 16 days

I don't know. On the one hand it'd be cool but on the other why the secrecy? We got confirmation of Fable and Perfect Dark long before the games had any major work done but banjo it's been a dev for a year and nothing?

Like A Dragon will dominate my Xbox for some time (baring any big GP surprises.)

Yeah as much as I'd like to see the Tony Hawk games get the BC and GP treatment, it just isn't happening. The game being BC means bringing it to the Xbox Store, which means the licence holders will need a new deal (double so if it's a GP release too).

Music licencing is always a pain and you really can't simply gut the soundtrack to a Tony Hawks game and not be "kicked to death" but the fans.

It's a start.

MS has insane number of studios, it's time to start delivering.

Oh and my kids have not stopped bugging me about the Trolls game.

Not yet, got a bunch of options I'm considering. I was considering the SR bundle as I (personally) enjoyed it when it was freeplay but I finished the main story and the bundle is nearly £40.

Was also considering hogwarts but it's doing that "only deluxe edition" nonsense again.

Will probably be picking up the survi8ng the aftermarth bundle as I never got the DLC

I seem to recall enjoying my time with Brink. I'm not saying it was a good game. Just that me and my buddy used to have a blast playing it. I'm sure it's the games movement and there wasn't anything like it till Titanfall

Certainly looking like it might be worth a month's sub (probably why there isn't a trial anymore).

Most of my game purchases this year was on Switch and Quest.

Gamepass did a lot of the heavily lifting on Xbox.

I finished the story with one faction, done a few Ng+ speed runs, done another faction. Spent about 300 hours in the game when it came out.

I do come back to it every few weeks when I'm between games. I fly about, explore some planets discover somethings I missed, work on an outpost and then at some point I find another game to play.

IF Bethesda is serious about continually supporting it outside of DLC I could see it staying as my little "pallet clense" / "game break" between major releases.

Map expansion sounds good.

I liked the "expedition" format for The Pitt but for Atlantic City it feels like it needed to be more like Point lookout or Far Harbor, a seperate smaller visitable map.

What weird me out about this hug is that whenever I load a game after playing cloud/elsewhere it asks if I want to load the clod save or the local save, so what's happening to the local save in this bug?

I grabbed Cyberpunk the DLC so I'm doing a fresh playthrough. I'm currently trying Tropico out as I'm looking for a smaller-scale city builder.

I'm also playing Asgards Wrath 2 on Quest 3

Rather surprisingly neither of the Yakuza/Like A Dragon games made my top 5 this year.

Neither Ishin or Gaiden was bad, just Gaiden felt like DLC and beside from the ending didn't do much for the overall or Kiryu's story.

My first and second picks were based on my year in review results.

So Microsoft, why'd you buy Larian?

We REALLY wanted BG3 on gamepass.

Woo my second most interesting train game is coming to Xbox.

@elpardo1984 yeah just set a minimum requirement for the headsets like (inside out tracking t sticks/4 button controllers.) And let publishers/market forces see if it works or not. They can probably get away with no new first party VR content since they aren't selling headsets.

it's weird that the EXISTING PC VR games they own from Bethesda (Skyrim, Fallout, Doom, etc) aren't part of PC gamepass

Played an hour of Remnant 1 via the app this morning. Works well, though maxing out the screen size does present resolution issues.

@CutchuSlow This is just a version of the cloud app, you're playing "flat games" on a virtual screen within VR but YES they should bring VR to Xbox, I've said before there is a "low risk" way of doing, letting third party headsets work on Xbox (Steam just released their own "link app" on Quest), and simply "letting" publishers release VR games on the store. If it fails it cost them basically nothing, if it succeeds they can make more money.

@InterceptorAlpha you need to sync a pad, the app really doesn't seem to like the quest controllers, they work but it seems to built around the idea you'll use hand track9ng to interact with the VR bits and gamepad to interact with the xbox bit.

@Sol4ris If it's anything like the Skryim anniversary edition. The Next Gen upgrade and some bits from the creation store will be free for existing owners, then there will be a paid upgrade that'll include ALL the creation club content.

I reckon IF its going to happen it'll be after they remaster/remake gears 2.

If I was them I've been doing all sorts of these collections. Fable is another obvious choice. They wouldn't be remakes, just giving the original games a bit if a freshen up for all the newcomers to xbox.

I shall miss Mork, Greg, and Tes the little buddy's who have followed my starborn around on this run.

Suddenly okay with not being able to afford it till after Christmas.

BG3 hit at the worst possible time, I'm not going to have any free money now until after Christmas.

Last week would have been fine.

My solo gaming plan: try some cities builders i haven't played.
2 player coop plan: dungeons 4
3 player coop: reminant 2

Kinda annoyed it was shadow dropped.
Purely because of funds. Even last week I would have been able to buy it, now it's Xmas shopping time.

Ah well waited this long, what's a few more weeks.

IF I was Bethesda I would add in more of these over time, like one where everywhere is overrun with Terramorphs, I would add a bunch of minor ones where the character's hair and costumes are different. Just these little things where the "boring" NG+ universes are just a little different.

@HonestHick it has changed a lot, comparing it to release the changes feel more like something you'd find in a sequel than the usual updates of a AAA game (or the difference between an Early Access game and full release).

The best example I can give is the skills rework. I was expecting some numbers to be different but the skills themselves are different with different philosophy behind them.

The art of the thing is fantastic, its one of those games that just nails it's environment and atmosphere.

I'm hoping for Cyberpunk DLC is on it but I know full well if it's on there it'll be the "complete" edition.

It's one thing I really like about the Quest store, if you own part of a bundle it's subtracted from the bundle's total.

Whilst they have the rules about turning free mods onto paid creations and dependencies I don't have a problem with this, and having "Bethesda approved content" has to be a nice addition to a modders portfolio when looking for actual work in the business (vs I make mods)

@themightyant are you sure that's true, I seem to recall you could pitch to Bethesda for creation club (I remember modders being concerned they might "do a disney", and modders complaining about being rejected)?

Maybe the "reaching out to modders" was for when they first opened the creation store so it had "stock" on day 1.

It's really going to depend which arkane, there's two studios named that.

I could see this being a Hi-Fi Rush like small project for the studio to have some fun with.

As a note about BG3 being on gamepass, a lot of people talking about how Laurian wouldn't need it on GP, which is true but IF it happens it'll be for Xbox's benefit, ie paying a lot of money for it on gamepass to "offset" the delay.

8bitdo is one of the few companies that annoy me we don't get wirelessly on Xbox. I have a couple of their controllers on switch/pc/android and they are great.

Maybe im missing something but i fail to see how is this reintroducing "paid mods"? All they've done is combine the mod and creation club sections, the rules around "paid creations" doesnt seem to have changed.

The rules for the paid creations is unchanged from the creation club (can't all ready be a free mod, creations have to be vetted by Bethesda, creators are paid as freelancers and as the act of "selling" their creations, not just anybody can throw a mod on there and charge for it).

It's an unnecessary faff of a move, that only seems to exist to blur the lines between mods and creation club content, and quite probably a really stupid one but it doesn't seem to actually change anything on the whole "paid mods" front. Mods are free, content through the creation program is not.

My traditional "wait for the deep discount on black Friday" Assassin's Creed plan didn't materialise this year. So I'm considering signing up to U+ for a month and play both that and this.
@BacklogBrad Agreed. there is this weird thing where people want Ubisoft to completely reinvent the wheel every time they make a game but are fine with other studios and publishers not doing that gestures vaguely at Spiderman-2 (not a criticism)

The trailer is exactly what I was expecting, same as it was for GTA V, 90% showing off the game's setting, 10% tease of the story (reminder the first GTAV trailer only featured Micheal).

My concern is that it's going to be filled with half a dozen performance modes that'll alter the game in some way (like lesser crowd and car density) so your choices will be lesser performance and getting the games the devs wanted, or getting good performance and making this huge world space feel empty.

Man I would have used the hell out of that metro system in my first playthrough.

I avoided fast travel and thanks to the wonky driving I walked ALOT. I would have loved looming out the window of the metro.

Nit sure I'll use it much now.