danielrestored

@Nightcrawler71 I own a Switch, a PS5, an XSX, and have a gaming PC. I abhor Pushsquare's bias. I prefer Pure Xbox and Nintendo Life over that narrow-minded website, so I avoid it like the plague.

@FraserG Of course. Just, those writers have no editorial integrity with their forced spin. There are different takes, but bias isn't it.

@GunValkyria I have to agree with you there. The vague dates, even this close to the end of the year, is just PR speak for, "Well, we don't really know, but, it's most likely going to be pushed back to 2024." I'm expecting a statement in a few weeks that says, "Due to the polish we'd like to give this game, we feel it necessary to push it back to 2024. We apologize, but, we want to give all of our console consumers the best experience possible."

It's always saddening to hear when staff are laid off, especially those with tons of industry experience, like Liana Ruppert. 😭

I was trying so hard to be patient in 2021 to not buy the Xbox Series X. Everywhere was sold out, and I vowed to wait until December of that year.

Then, I got tired of the Destiny 2 load times on my One, so I gave up in April. I chose to bite the bullet and get the Series X through All Access. The moment I downloaded and played Destiny 2, I was floored. The 20 second plus load times dwindled to just 3 or 4. It was a purchase I knew then I wouldn't ever regret. I still haven't.

@somnambulance Keep in mind that not all players will game on Zelda. Conversely, not all gamers will play the Diablo IV server slam. Two unique and sizable audiences, some of which can enjoy both games at similar times this weekend.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. I couldn't wait to see if it would go on GPU. Great price for a great game.

This was the first game I pre-ordered since the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time because of the hype. The punishing difficulty level kept me coming back for more. I loved how Elden Ring didn't hold my hand and actually gave me a world to explore on my own. I also enjoyed that this punishing difficulty level opened up a wide community of gamers who would work together to find the best builds/strategies. I haven't felt this connected to the gaming community since my SNES.

Before I had stable, fast internet, downloading a "free play days" game on Steam/PS Store/Xbox would take a long time. When I finally had time to play, it would be on the final day. Therefore, I couldn't enjoy it. Now that I have fast, stable internet, this habit of just saying "Meh" to these games has stuck with me.

I've worked in PR and writing for some time. The abrupt resignation and the "leaving and attending to family illness" is Microsoft's way of allowing Bonnie Ross to "quit" with grace. In other words, she was pushed out.

I'm sure the developers at 343 Industries work tirelessly to give us a wonderful product. Yet because the studio suffers from poor management, I feel that the studio has failed - and will continue to fail - to deliver the product that the franchise deserves.

In other words, transfer the talented developers to another studio, fire the management, and take the franchise to another in-house studio. 343 Industries has done enough damage.

Personally, when I first tried Outriders during the public beta, the game seemed a ton of fun. The missions were exciting, the gameplay was familiar, and the progression was fluid. I was genuinely excited about playing Outriders once it launched.

Honestly, the reason why I forgot about Outriders was due to its absolutely horrendous launch. I couldn't sign in, couldn't play, couldn't advance, couldn't do anything. For weeks, I tried and tried, but ultimately, just gave up.

Once the servers stabilized, all that excitement that I had from the beta just died. There was no reason for me to try again, even though I'm a Game Pass subscriber. My reasoning? "Why bother when I have many more gamers that aren't plagued with this issue?" I imagine that's what ultimately did Outriders in. The servers coupled with a lack of progression, formulaic gameplay (though exciting at first) didn't give a reason for many of us to come back and give it another go. And, now, a full priced expansion? Please.

I've bought 2. Elden Ring (first time pre-ordering a game in 19 years) and the Metro bundle.

I'm currently playing Borderlands 2 and Elden Ring. The latter is my first Souls style game. Elden Ring is also the first video game I've pre-ordered since The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time a long, long time ago. (The hype just got to me).

I greatly appreciate Elden Ring's high difficulty level. It's refreshing to feel my butt handed to me over and over. Now, I can't stop playing.

It won't happen, unfortunately. Rockstar has made several anti-consumer moves lately with the recent and most notable being the dismal release of GTA Trilogy Remastered. They seem intent on squeezing every bit they can of the GTA brand while possibly alienating their diehard fans.

Wow. This definitely makes this game seem rushed. I had high expectations for Dying Light 2. Now, I'll have to wait for a steep sale. ='(

@Dusk_Actual I agree with @Richnj on this. You may be overlooking the impact of these statements as this is a gamer issue. It's refreshing to hear that these two studios are anti-NFT. This also provides pressure to other studios to clarify their stances against Square Enix, Team 17, and Ubisoft going all-in on NFTs as most gamers are against the technology.

Thank you for this list, @FraserG. As a Dad of 3 young growing girls, it's hard to find non-Switch games for my girls to play other than Minecraft and Minecraft Dungeons. I will look into these now.

Social games are what's big and could lead to widespread adoption. That's how Nintendo continues to corner the market. As a family man of three young ladies, I can tell you this would be a welcome addition. I'll be honest, though. I'm not a very social gamer.

It looks great, but I'll steal a quote from Redditor pietro5000pp.

"Same. I expected Grove Street Games to [mess] up again, but it seems... Good? The final games look improved from the trailer. I'll definitely get it on discount or on mobile to play those games again on my tablet. I'm still waiting for people to check out if there are any new glitches. Nonetheless, I would have to be out of my mind to pay 60$ for this trilogy. If it were 25-30$, I would even buy it right now."

And from Hesperrhodos:

"I'm not disappointed, it's exactly what I expected. A £60 texture pack with cut content, censorship, and dumbed down gameplay..."

Basically, I'll grab and enjoy the remastered trilogy at a solid discount.

I can attest to Fable Anniversary's tutorial quest achievement bug. I finished it and nope, I didn't get the 500 points.

Change a single line of code, give it a new name ("HyperMotion"), and voila! A 'new' FIFA game.

While I was playing CrossCode, I really wanted to play an MMO based on this game.

I didn't even know Neverwinter was free. Thanks, PureXbox!

Demolition Man also stated that in 1996, Los Angeles (my birth city) would become a violent and uninhabitable hellhole. That's...pretty much true.

Thanks for the heads-up, Quantum Break and PureXbox!

This game was fun. Unfortunately, 2K aimed too high.

Thank y'all for all of your wonderful efforts this year, especially with this unprecedented pandemic. Keep up the great work. And, please, YouTube video reviews for 2021!

I really tried to get into PUBG. Yet, the physics and the gameplay as @PhhCough said felt too much like an unfinished product. Even other 'players' often acted and behaved as bots.

Honestly, I'm just tired of the Battle Royale genre. I recently tried to get into Apex Legends. After two rounds, I just got frustrated (not because of my lack of skill) and uninstalled the game. The mechanics have been overdone.

Sounds like a 9 from what I'm gathering from the review, and a definite must-get.

If it's $599, then XSX will flounder in the water. As much as I love my Xbox, I won't get one at that ridiculous price.

The company as a whole feels tone-deaf. A more direct answer is, "We've made a profitable, exclusive deal with Sony," and that's it.

I wasn't ever interested in the game. Though I'm a multi-platform gamer (PS4, Xbox, Nintendo, and PC), I'm going to avoid Marvel's Avengers based on principle. Exclusivity hurts consumers, and it's unfair to pay for a game then get gypped on a single exclusive item.

Honestly, I'm enjoying this new look. It allows all consumers and gamers to quickly identify the Xbox ecosystem. It's similar to seeing the Steam, Epic Store, and Battle.net logos. People will quickly identify where it's from, especially with Microsoft's new focus on the Game Pass Ecosystem.

Cuphead continues to be one of my favorite games as it actually forces me to create a strategy and learn the boss fights and patterns, something I honestly haven't been forced to do in games in such a long time.