pip_muzz

Considering this news comes out on the same day that MS have 343i drop all offline components of the new Halo game to focus on live service monetisation and I'd say that single player Xbox fans have a genuine reason to be very concerned.

@Kaloudz 🤣 everybody makes mistakes. But when a flagship company drops the ball again and again and again... Something has to be done. I also really enjoyed Halo 4 too btw. Worst thing Halo 5 did (apart from dropping split screen) was to undo all the really cool heartfelt Cortana stuff that 4 did so well.

@NeoRatt yes I know the MGS4 re-release is a pipe dream but one can hope 😂 I'd definitely take a remake however (preferably with less cutscenes than the original)

@NeoRatt TPS to FPS makes zero difference in terms of Split Screen ability. Gears 5 isn't as open world as Halo granted but you can still get a decent way apart.
It's just the lazyness.
343i could simply add a "co-op" mode where the main campaign missions are edited and re-designed slightly to have a smaller gaming field. Having played the campaign Single-Player this would absolutely fix the problem. But rather than think creatively as to how to solve the problems, they cancel Split-Screen to focus on service model monetisation. It's very concerning for games moving forward under the GP model as well

@RedSabat equally shattered with the news too. My brother and I always play Halo and Gears co-op split screen. Often agreeing weekends to meet up after months apart to play these games. We couldn't do it for Halo 5 and now can't do it for Halo Infinite. Despite both us very much looking forward to it. Rather than 343i killing dreams I wish MS would kill 343i (in the metaphorical sense)

@Richnj it's genuinely concerning the level of mismanagement from Xbox's in-house studios. Apart from their new already successful acquisitions, 343i are useless, Rare once again have no idea what Everwild is and back to square one and their new studio The Initiative has to have Crystal Dynamics parachuted in to save the day.
I love Xbox and game pass but the elephant in the room here is that they really can't manage their studios well.

For proof of the lies, "we're sorry", "we're listening and we'll improve" here is the response from 343i after Halo 5 had the backlash for the split screen removal.
https://www.destructoid.com/343-industries-promises-to-bring-split-screen-back-for-the-next-halo/
The company cannot be trusted.

@Kaloudz please no 🤣 I'd much rather see The Coalition carry on with Gears and The Coalition have a go at Halo. Just leave 343i out of it forever.

@NeoRatt Gears 5 managed it fine.
The difference is The Coalition are a talented developer and 343i aren't.

Genuinely want the company 343i to go under. Incompetent charlatans. They'll say anything in order to avoid actually admitting that the company doesn't have the right management and ability to function like others already do.

On a day when MS is arguing why the Activision deal should go through and then this news comes out. I'd rather the deal was blocked than Activision turn into a 343i mess.

343i lied again! Split screen co-op cancelled. After the Halo 5 fallout it couldn't be clearer that they promised to make the next Halo with split screen co-op.
Please MS just shut this incompetent company down.
Edit: And season 3 delayed until March next year! Game development is hard I get that, but when you promise very achievable things and don't deliver I'm sorry but it's just not good enough on a professional level.
Remember that all of these features were supposed to be available at launch. Marketed as such as well. Some people will have bought the game fully expecting to play Split-Screen. There should be a refund/discount program at least here to compensate for the complete and total disaster that this has been.

If MS were keeping COD off of PlayStation then they'd have a point, but they're not.
Sony's main concern is that they realise that fans paying £70 for COD on PS5 is not as attractive as having it on GP day 1. And Sony of course, rather than drum up value of their own, simply want to stop the acquisition to hold their incredibly dominant market share.
Nothing will happen as MS can simply point to Sony having had entire game modes exclusive to the PS ecosystem, proving that Sony have made their version the more attractive one for several years already.
It's just governments doing their due diligence. It would be more shocking if a buyout of this scale wasn't looked at properly from all angles.

That'd be the first time MGS 1 is released on Xbox if true? Big deal for that to happen. Sounds very promising.
Now if only Konami/Sony could find a way to get MGS4 off of the PS3 to other consoles too for the full win.

Will give Immortality a go along with Grid Legends.
After 100%ing Assassin's Creed Origins and then starting Far Cry 5, I'm already burnt out of the copy past Ubisoft formula so Immortals Fenyx Rising is a miss for me like Watchdogs was as well.

Very much looking forward to this. Nioh 1+2 are reasons to get a PS4 so this coming to Game Pass is a huge win for Xbox. Can't wait.

Despite all the questions around this upcoming game (and how pointless it is in my view). The way Sony have approached accessibility in their games lately is the one good thing they absolutely deserve praise for

Not a chance.
The fact that Sony chose to keep the price the same in the more competitive American market highlights the cash grab move that it is.
I also recall way back before the consoles came out that even in production the Series X was cheaper to manufacture than the PS5. So there's also the likelihood that MS's mark up on the Series X is higher than Sony's, also negating the need for a price rise.
And the final point, MS is definitely more consumer friendly so again, not a chance they'll follow suit

Grid Legends! Held off on buying this for a while fully expecting it to come to Game Pass via EA Play. Just need to finish Two Point Campus before the 1st September now....

Love that Crossfire X is still attempting to even be a thing with those perks😂

Elden Ring does feel like a boring choice, but it really is the best this year.
Also very good games for me include: TMNT:Shredders Revenge, As Dusk Falls, Two Point Campus and Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
Yet to play the new AI:Somnium Files, Mario Football, Fire Emblem Warriors and Tunic.

It's their third game release this year from the developer (after Shadow Warrior 3 and Trek to Yomi respectively) so I'm amazed they don't need an even longer delay. The folks there could do with a rest.

@Would_you_kindly the repetitive environment is a valid negative point. That said the campaign is without a doubt the most fun that 343i have made being definitely better than both 4&5's. If the story is the only thing putting you off its well worth a play still for sure. One of the best FPS campaigns in a good while.

@Would_you_kindly for multiplayer yes, the campaign however was very enjoyable

I'm still loving it and getting my money's worth. Two Point Campus is fantastic. There have been better months in the past for sure. But surely everyone can't expect games like Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite to launch within a month of each other all the time?
I'm also hoping Deathloop does indeed show up sometime this year still... Give me the Goldeneye re-release and I'll be over the moon.

The longer this goes on the worse Sony will look. I'm sure Sony were super happy with how the PS4 generation went since they dominated it, but now Microsoft have decided to turn up this gen it seems rather than improving their own situation, Sony simply goes the path of least resistance and tries to squash the opposition.
Nothing MS has said of late the last few days about the Activision buyout has been remotely unjustified.

Pre-Installed and ready to go. Was looking forward to this for around Easter time until it was delayed. Can't wait to get stuck in later today

Sounds great. I loved Two Point Hospital as well.
Quick question, does this game have the annoying feature that both Two Point Hospital and the Jurassic World Evolution games have? In that once you get deep into the campaign you have earthquakes/storms and other random events which simply serve as a delay/distraction/annoyance?

A big fan of PGR here too. I do feel that FH has taken everything good about that series and improved it however. I feel that FH is like PGR in all but name sometimes. Kudos-Skill Points are the same. Racing through Cities with arcade handling and radio stations. The only difference is the variety you get in one game but then the detail in each FH is greater than any PGR game.
They could just call the next FH game PGR 5 and it wouldn't be that different.

The review system just needs to go altogether. Filled with absolute nonsense for almost every game on the store.
About time a dev called this out.

Two Point Campus! That's my August sorted!

Considering the expansion isn't part of Game Pass that's a very decent number indeed.

@Would_you_kindly an equal number of idiots, but all idiots nevertheless

I find it funny how people state that God of War Ragnarok is going to be a GOTY contender when the game isn't even out yet. People have definitely made their minds up already on that one.

Nothing is going to knock off Elden Ring. Not just on Xbox, but PS5 and Switch too.
Disappointed As Dusk Falls isn't in the top 10 for Xbox. Without a doubt the single best narrative focussed game that I've played, and I've played them all from Telltale to Dontnod and back.

@FraserG Super. Thanks. I was pretty sure Team Ninja didn't do Bloodborne but if it's staff linked then it makes absolute sense to link them in the article. Thanks again

Bloodborne is From Software. This game is Team Ninja. Dead or Alive, Ninja Gaiden, Nioh, Stranger of Paradise...
Unless you're referring to a specific person who may have worked on Bloodborne previously, company wise Team Ninja had nothing to do with that game.

One of my favourite games of all time. Don't look up too much before playing this as it's better to go in blind. If you weren't so keen on Limbo this game is significantly better than that one as well.

Female protagonist makes no difference to me in GTA. The fact the writing team is all different is what I fear. GTA would satire and parody EVERYONE. Some people got offended, but if everyone is offended then it is a level playing field.

@themcnoisy you're thinking of Hexic.
Hexen was a game like Doom where you had different characters (mage, knight etc...) in an old school FPS way.

Great shout-out for Raven Software. Not just the underrated Singularity but also their Wolfenstein game is often overlooked as well. And imagine if we get Hexen on Game Pass!

Yep, 8/10 is my score too. It's very good and does exactly what it sets out to do, but as a player of all the FH games and expansions it does feel a little too familiar.
The graphics are superb however, driving down the corkscrew parts into volcano or the water rushing past with waterfalls either side definitely make this the game to showcase the Series X's graphical prowess.

The team have clearly listened to feedback after the main game, as progression here is like the first FH. Having to unlock the next set of events and get faster as you do so. I loved the fact the base game gave everything to you all at once, but here in the Hot Wheels expansion, the ramping up of cars and content works well. 9/10 from me so far.

Sony doing their best to hold MS' beer today by having a PSN meltdown. Just when I was getting genuinely irritated with MS suddenly perspective shines through

@Titntin 😂😅 from what the other user has said, unless you've got that downloaded already that's another game you're waiting for 😂

Hard to stay cool when it's so **** hot as well.

Edit: oh you've said exactly that, it's already downloaded. My bad. The heat really is killing my brain cells today.

@awp69 fair enough, but MS infrastructure should be a lot better than Sony's. From Smart delivery to Pre-Install, MS normally operate at a much higher standard. The fact I checked for updates this morning to avoid this specific issue makes it doubly frustrating.

@Titntin oh and it's two hours you'll be waiting for. The base game also now comes with a mandatory 12gb update as well 🙄

@Titntin the baffling part is that if they knew it comes with a massive multi GB update, why didn't they just allow us to download the update earlier at 00:00 or something? It's the arbitrary wait until 18:00 to only then be allowed to download the update which is the poor part.

Awfully managed MS. With an obligatory update of 10GB+ which we weren't even able to begin downloading until most of the day is over, I feel it very cheeky that this expansion is advertised as "launching today".
As Dusk Falls successfully launched today, this expansion didn't.
It's not the waiting that annoys me, it's the whole marketing nonsense they put behind these things and leave out the utter nonsense between the lines.

When I read the headline I thought you meant the Halo TV series director 🤣😂 Phew disaster averted.

The biggest problem is that this game launches an hour before Horizon 5's Hot Wheels expansion, which itself launches an hour before Halo Infinite's new event.
Tomorrow evening is going to be a long one 😁