pip_muzz

8 hours till the showcase, the Azerbaijan GP starts in 1 hour. A very decent Sunday all round ☺️

Where's the @Banjo- user of this forum when you need him 😂😅

As grumpy as I was with the news earlier that Forza Motorsport is potentially not releasing this year, when I'm reminded that TMNT is coming to Game Pass Day 1 next week I'm definitely less annoyed. Can't wait for that one.

That's the easiest poll vote in a long long time. Alien Isolation all the way. A genuine modern classic of video games.

That really would be a shame if true. Outside of a surprise in the showcase tomorrow that would be over a full calendar year without one single new first party game.
I am a big fan of the team in green, but they NEED something up their sleeve tomorrow. I call out Sony for a lot of their poor practices lately, and now if this is true, this is unacceptable. Covid or not, Nintendo is showing you can still pump out 1st party games even with delayed games.

Too many remakes and remasters being announced at the moment anyway. All for the better the company's resources are going into something new.

@Daniel1221 @Grumblevolcano The separate island thing is possible. The Steam Page thing does really strongly suggest the Hot Wheels theme but that image is definitely confusing... You'd think MS would deliberately make something more clearly visibly new if that were the case.

I really hope it's not just a re-tread of old content however. More Hot Wheels is fine in itself, but not if it's the exact same island and similar layouts already used in FH3.

I'm not sure... The image in question doesn't look like Mexico in the background but the same as the Australian landscape used for FH3. Blizzard mountain is visible and everything...
Also, this would break the trend of having the normal expansion first and the crazier one second. I'm not buying into it just yet

@themightyant Why do I love Frontier Developments. For me, they carry the old Sid Meier's torch of simulation game design. All the PC tycoon games of the 90's are alive and kicking with Frontier Developments games. Planet Coaster, Planet Zoo, Jurassic World Evolution and now this F1 game. Historically their founder made Elite for the PC, a true gaming monument. They've also developed other small interesting games along the way, Lostwinds for Wii was a lovely little platformer, the Wallace and Gromit games in Xbox OG were good fun too.
Simply put, I've yet to play a game of theirs I didn't really, really enjoy.

This looks absolutely amazing! Love F1, Love Frontier Developments. Count me in!

Great review and one that really gets me hyped to give this a go soon.

I bought this on Switch on release and it was one of my most played games last year. The gameplay approach has that "just one more try" hook which works so so well here.
A game that shows how much can be done when creative talent joins together to work with one simple idea.

I predict

• Wolfenstein 3 to be announced from Machine Games, maybe for release this year
• Quake 2/4 Remasters to come to Xbox
• Age of Empires 4 to get a console release/date for the year (maybe also AoE2 for consoles as well...)
• Flight Simulator to showcase the new Helicopter additions
• Deathloop to be formally revealed for Xbox, perhaps with extra content
• Double fine will announce what they're now working on, perhaps also with a smaller game in scope still releasing this year
• Goldeneye to be announced with a June/July release on game pass with cross-play between Xbox and Switch users (it's bound to come to switch online too)
• Horizon 5 DLC to drop the day of the showcase
• Plague Tale: Requiem with a new trailer and official 2022 release date
• A couple of big game pass additions, some Activision, some from Sega, something to soften that Redfall/Starfield winter blow.

If the reference to Dr Doak is removed, I also suspect the Klobb will be renamed as well (another Rare staff member reference to Ken Lobb)

Seems my decision to hold off on starting Creed Origins was the right one.
Can't wait to play this on my Series X with a stable frame rate! I still plug in my N64 every few years for a playthrough but my controller stick is horribly busted and the frame rate with explosions grinds the game to a halt.
Newer gamers will probably wonder what all the fuss is about but for me, this has been a Looooooooong time coming. Starfield Garfield, I want some Goldeneye multiplayer again, online! Super stoked.

A quiet gaming weekend/week for me until I decide what to play after the Xbox Showcase next week.
Some Halo Infinite multiplayer which is fun, Forza Horizon 5's new season, Pokémon Diamond on switch (left for a while and coming back to it now) and also a quick replay of the game with one of the best ever soundtracks, Brütal Legend!

I definitely have reduced expectations after the delays for this year so far, but still expect a good show. Age of Empires 4 on Console would be a nice cushion after the delays for other games. Grounded Full release would be good... Think the new Forza coming out this year is the minimum Xbox can get away with.
Surprises... We don't know what Double Fine are working on and they're a productive studio. Surely Rare also can't just be wasting their time on this Everwild disaster (Banjo Kazooie 3 time)
Goldeneye re-release would be nice. Maybe As Dusk Falls or Somerville to shadow drop after the showcase. Forza Horizon 5 expansion is also must show by now...
Deathloop is bound to turn up. Marcus Fenix collection maybe... Let's see. I'm already looking forward to it

I have to say, I'm not excited about this game at all. Anyone who really wanted to play it has surely played in on PS4 by now? If this is announced I hope it's not given much weight in the showcase.

That's a very decent perk indeed. Don't mind if I do, cheers for pointing this out too. I tent to forget the perks exist unless sites like this point them out to me.

Disc Room is a superb game. Highly highly recommended!

Super Meat Boy is one of the finest games ever made. A platforming game where EVERY single time you fail, it's your fault and not the games. A masterclass in control and level design. Games like this are the reason when people complain about "Indies" they don't know what they're talking about.

It is a very fun mode, but one that really hurts when your team don't play as a team. Coming back from a deficit is possible, but only if your team don't just all stand at the nearest Land Zone and allow the opponent to split up and take the other two every time.
A good mode however. Much more fun than Attrition in my view.

I mean, they're ALL underated. Xbox doesn't have the die-hard cult like fanbase that Nintendo and Sony do and this is reflected by the fact that even when they release very good consoles they still end up in last place in terms of sales. I voted Series X (though Series S also would count). I think of Xbox as I think of Sega in their Dreamcast years. Very creative, very innovative but not getting anywhere near the recognition they deserve. My only hope is Xbox doesn't go the way of Sega in the console market.

I'm also thinking this now has Game Pass Day 1 written all over it.

Also an A from me too. The delays to Starfield and Redfall aren't great, but to suddenly claim Xbox Game Pass is no longer value just shows ignorance. Again, how do these people have jobs for a gaming website if all they play is AAA. Windjammers 2, Shredders, Trek to Yomi, Far Changing Tides, Deaths Door, Research and Destroy... And that's just the ones I've played and loved myself! If you're not finding new games to play monthly on Game Pass, Game Pass isn't the problem, you're the problem.

I absolutely love Frontier's games, and have played 90% of that list.
I think their best game may well be their next one. The F1 management simulator coming later this year looks to be a real winner.
Such a great company with a real depth of history behind them. Without the original Elite, we wouldn't have many of the games we have today.

@Boldfoxrd Naughty Bear! I totally forgot about that game! That was such a strange fun game! Good taste.

Finally got round to giving Research and Destroy a go. It's absolutely amazing. @Purexbox you should definitely get a mini review of this game up.

Great news. Looking forward to giving Origins a go. Gives me a good few days to get stuck in before the Xbox showcase on that weekend as well.

AI: Somnium Files sequel coming to Game Pass at launch. That's what I'm keeping my fingers crossed for. Decent chance too with all the Spike Chunsoft games making their way to Game Pass lately.

@theduckofdeath Great game. So is Bard's Tale IV.
Good point....I wonder if Inxile have something to show that would be very pleasant surprise

This would be a nice addition to Xbox, but it's just that, an addition. This is no way is going to compensate for the potential barren wasteland Xbox has ahead of it....
This should be a quick opening for the June Showcase, the more time this gets in the showcase, the worse the situation will ultimately be for Xbox...
Ages of Empires 4 console version, that's the rumours I want to be hearing ahead of the June Showcase.

Without getting into a console war, statements like this just come across as daft. Xbox has launched very good games into its service. PlayStation makes very good games too but I still think the £70 a pop for their exclusives is not sustainable either. I don't think there's a right or wrong answer for the game pass model.
It's just two different approaches, both have pros and cons and both could learn from each other.
End of the day, I'd rather have the 1st party exclusives at launch into a subscription service than have to fork out £70 each and every time at launch... I know which methodology I prefer.

The home console thing is one of those mistakes you learn about with hindsight. I remember moving house and trying to play my PS4 games but because I didn't have internet yet it wouldn't let me play them because it wasn't the 'home console'. It's the same thing here with Xbox.
Surely the logical solution is to automatically set the console to the "home console" and then change it if otherwise?!?!

The thing is, the comments about challenges being tied to specific modes have been said months ago already. So either he's not been listening for the last 6 months or he's lying...

Watching it live. It's already in my calendar and I'm even attempting to get the Mrs into watching this time round (purely so I can get in on the big living room TV)

The ability to play all the games you own via the cloud, not just currently the ones with cloud enabled on game pass would be a HUGE benefit and improvement. Fingers crossed 🤞

The lack of change over the already poor challenge system is the most unforgivable error. It essentially flat out confirms that 343i never intended to have a fair progression system but instead one that nudges and encourages the player to spend real money on "challenge swaps".
The gunplay is as superb as ever and the new maps both well designed, sadly this game appears to be rotten at its core and with this season lasting a huge 6 months it'll be a whole year before any decent changes are made.
The lack of content I can forgive, the predatory microtransactions approach I cannot. At some point this starts to look bad on Microsoft and not just 343i....

Feels rather nice to jump back into Halo after a long time off. The new map Breaker is very good, as is the Last Spartan mode that accompanies it.
That said, glitches and errors creep in again from 343i. The challenge progress to the event is bugged, it says challenge progress continues once you're out, but this is half true. Some of the progress comes when the match is finished, some as cumulative playscore requires you to sit till the end of the game regardless of where you finish.
For a time when a lot of people like myself are coming back after a while off, it's annoying to see errors like this which really should have been caught in testing.

I've been watching the series since the 1st episode. The MasterChief parts are really good, the few battle scenes we've had so far have been really well done too. The series has on the whole, exceeded my admittedly middling expectations.
That said, the Kwan character has been getting worse and worse throughout the series. After a decent introduction with MasterChief she now just does her own "save her planet" thing which feels so far removed from Halo it's increasingly difficult to watch. Not to mention the acting of the character is pretty poor, shouting "we need to fight" every 30seconds.
The show definitely has potential to be very good once it gets going however

I'll be playing this later on this evening. I'm not even expecting that much, so hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised jumping back into the game.
I just hope beyond hope they've fixed the challenges to be less irritating... Please no more Killjoys...

Hype levels limit exceeded! Still over a month before the show. Hope I don't blow a gasket before then with all this hype.

@Wilforce Drivatars are derived from actual player racing data. This means that they behave more like people racing online. They crash into you a lot more, use your car as a brake when turning or sometimes just blast off into the distance for no reason when racing.
The AI of the first Horizon Game, whilst not perfect, felt a lot less "elbows out"

The 1st Horizon is such a good racing game. Still has my favourite soundtrack of the series, the lack of Drivatars is a plus in my view too. An absolute classic of the genre.

That's a solid entry. Yoku's Island is good and Hydro Thunder: Hurricane is a classic.

That is indeed a surprise! Not my cup of tea but a pleasant surprise nevertheless.

Oh yes!! Was waiting for the date for the big one. Cannot wait!

I'm one of them. I never use it when at home but it's great to be able to play my games when I'm on holiday or staying with people. The input lag is noticeable but games are still playable and it's better than nothing.

Carrying on with my F1 2021 career mode since it's Imola this weekend. Also about to finish a playthrough of Grim Fandango as well.

Can't wait for this one. Currently my highlight release for August!