16BitHero

@Acurisur I have to pay closer attention I guess although I have been waiting on the Series X upgrade. Really happy to hear it satisfies fans of the franchise.

I've wanted to play this game for ages, still waiting for a sub $20 price point. In other news, as a fan of another amazing franchise, Aliens Dark Descent is my personal game of the year. Until Starfield perhaps.

Silly decision and why I'll keep Gamepass for console only and buy (multi platform) multiplayer games for PS5 as I usually have PS plus active. If Microsoft did away with these stupid arbitrary decisions and included multiplayer with Gamepass I'd likely stop buying ps plus AND buy multi platform games for Xbox instead. Their business decisions are baffling at times.

What is the Pure Xbox take @fraserg? At this point I think they should include online multiplayer access with Gamepass tiers rather than introduce a Gold replacement for 1$ less than Gamepass for console. Seems arbitrary?

This is actually a very decent list albeit with some previous gen exclusives but I skipped Xbox One completely so this current gen on Gamepass has been incredible value thus far. I'd argue Xbox has had more or at least better overall exclusives than Nintendo. The Switch has a handful of genre defining games which almost every owner erm, owns. Xbox is pretty solid though. PlayStation is consistently strong from generation to generation with a few hiccups here and there. It's a good time to be a gamer.

I'm fortunate to own all three but it would benefit everyone if all remain competitive and although there will inevitably be system exclusives, I do hope the exclusive content and release windows for multi platform games die a quick death.

'as one marine on their own will be quickly overwhelmed and dragged away to become a meaty alien incubator - if they're lucky'

I'd rather be killed instantly than wait around to give chest birth!

Excellent and thorough review, clearly a must for Aliens fans like me. Hopefully it sells better than the brilliant Alien Isolation did so other developer's consider trying their luck in this amazing universe. I do hope they patch the 'barking of orders' when attempting to move quietly down corridors.

Flight Simulator was one of the only actual surprises and has given the only truly current gen experience a new lease of life with all those new gameplay elements.

@Banjo- Contraband by Avalanche Studios - first teased at E3 2021

One of the most ambitious games ever developed surely. I haven't been this excited for a game since, well maybe ever. I'd much prefer a 60fps option but I'll still play it at 30 if I have to.

This (and now Starfield) is the reason I own a Series X. Hoping it's an update as I purchased it for when I take breaks from Gamepass. If it's a whole new 220GB + download I'll just have to deal with it. Looks incredible!!!

The gameplay looks ok but the lazy Fortnite esque cartoon aesthetic that seems to be the industry go to nowadays is unfortunate. Most gamers aren't teenagers anymore.

@Moonglow I have no expectations (to temper any disappointment) but I would like to see something from all those you've mentioned above. I no longer have a backlog on Gamepass or regular Series X games so I'm trudging through an epic backlog on PS5. I'd like to have the problem of two backlogs again!

None, I cancelled Gamepass for now, waiting on Starfield. I know there will undoubtedly be a few decent indie additions between now and then but I can catch up with those later.

Diablo 4 courtesy of a generous friend. Feels just like Diablo 3 but with a much better/darker aesthetic and more of the same is fine by me! Also picked up Deliver Us Mars on sale.

They've got to bring the prices of these down if they expect more people to buy them. 2TB internal SSD expansion for PS5 is as low as $129 now.

Anything on Xbox exclusives Indiana Jones and Contraband - both from excellent studios.

@Kaloudz I feel the same way but if they nail the aesthetic and the mechanics and challenge is there then this could be a real nice surprise.

I just had to play this wonderful sequel on release. 30fps was jarring at first but you quickly get used to it and the game is really quite stunning. I'd prefer most games to be 60fps but I can still enjoy 30 in some cases.

@Widey85 ditto this whole comment ha.

I highly recommend this game - platforming with a cat in a dystopian city and a decent little story to boot. Charming (and occasionally creepy).

I've suspended Gamepass until Starfield as I've essentially played everything I wanted to since the Series X release. If anyone else is in this position and wants FIFA (I haven't bought it for years but fancied a kick about) then in the US it's $17 for the digital version through GameStop.

New (good) games please Microsoft.

@Tonmoy Agreed, I gave Hi Fi Rush a good 45 minutes to an hour and it just wasn't for me but I recognized it as being a great game overall. Same with Elden Ring, I put in 10 hours then quit but still thought of it as GOTY for several reasons.

I thoroughly enjoyed Ghostwire Tokyo and for anyone hesitant about the slightly repetitive, been there done open world format, I finished the game in maybe ten or twelve hours by largely skipping the side quests. The game is gorgeous and changing a couple of controller settings makes it a very smooth experience. Once I finished the story I actually wanted to crack on with the side missions and Spiders Thread DLC so now I can just hop in without getting burned out.

@Sebatrox It may be a niche title but Flight Simulator is what I purchased the Series X for originally and that gets a 9.5 for me. A true current gen experience.

Indiana Jones, maybe another Wolfenstein from Machine Games, and Contraband from Avalanche studios are also highly anticipated for me.

Arkane Austin need to watch the SkillUp review and move on to the next project. Microsoft really need some quality control to be implemented across their studios. They have talented developers being wasted. Someone must have pressured Arkane to move away from what they're good at to please the masses but leave those games to the cynical live service devs as we need innovation to continue.

Contraband, Indiana Jones, Avowed, Fable etc let's see something promising.

Thank you SkillUp (for his honest review of the game in it's current condition albeit worse on PC than console). I still can't believe people are so impatient as to play a broken/bugged game rather than wait a few months for patches. So many other games to play in the meantime. I guess if you're in school or college you might risk spoilers from friends?

I do think EA didn't want to delay the game and probably forced Respawn to release it unfinished knowing it would sell and patches would come.

I'll definitely be playing through this. I was the outlier who got the N64 without Super Mario 64 because my parents would only get one game to start with and I made that Shadows of the Empire
(I did get Mario next!). I'm fairly sure the speeder bike level in Mos Eisley paved the way for Episode 1 Pod Racer as the sense of speed eclipsed even Extreme G at the time.

@TheSimulator an epic wishlist 😉

@Romans12 Agreed. The Series X is a good and competitive console unlike the Xbox One but two years in and the software story remains the same with Microsoft.

Definitely giving co-op a go once the 60fps patch drops.

@Kaloudz It's a continuous story throughout the trilogy so I recommend starting at the beginning and seeing if you dig it. I personally liked the first game the most but all are worth it if you like the story/world building.

@Kaloudz Metro is more of a story driven survivalist fps, you definitely need to look for ammo and supplies on harder difficulties much like Resident Evil but I wouldn't class it as a looter shooter. I'm not keen on those either although Borderlands is fun in co-op.

@Kaloudz good FPS campaigns are few and far between nowadays. The best I've experienced in recent years are Titanfall 2, the Metro trilogy, both recent Doom games and the Wolfenstein saga.

@Kaloudz Unfortunately I don't think so. You could try the GP versions and if you want a crisper experience the remasters are often on sale. As with @Dezzy70 2 was my favourite. More linear than the first but had a great score and certainly stand out graphics at the time.

@Kaloudz If you like FPS games they are well worth a go and they respect your time with regards to campaign length. I'd say go with the HD remasters though as I find going back to certain previous Gen games quite jarring for my eyes - Ryse Son of Rome being an example.

Really not sure what all the fuss is about. Started Ghostwire yesterday on Series X with HFR performance mode w/vsync. I changed the three or four controller settings recommended in recent articles and the game looks and plays beautifully. I can only assume those having issues haven't changed the controls and/or their TV doesn't have VRR? I have PS5 too and see no difference whatsoever. Playing on Series X as I have more space on the SSD.

I bought Flight Simulator which I originally purchased the Series X for. Now I can pause the Gamepass sub until Starfield (and Redfall 60fps patch). Gonna blow through Ghostwire Tokyo and Ori 2 before it expires hopefully.

Loving the niche love for Far Cry Primal. Tough decision but that's what I went with ultimately.

After having Gamepass for over two years (as part of Series X purchase) I finally cancelled my sub until there are more games I want to play (waiting for you Starfield). It's definitely been more than good value - catching up on Xbox One games, tons of indies and various other titles but now I'll get it as and when I want to play specific games. I think this is what Ubisoft will likely see, players only picking up the service for a few months here and there when new titles release.

Ubisoft missed April 1st by a full 12 days! On a serious note, they'll reduce the price to $10, still have hardly any subscribers and possibly reduce it to $7.99 or something. Many of us have played the Ubisoft games we want to play already. There are so many great games/devs to choose from nowadays, Ubisoft are barely on my radar at this point.

@GamingFan4Lyf Interesting points. I'd like to see a high end Xbox that can get closer to a high end PC performance for a third of the cost. Wishful thinking maybe but I can dream!

@Nexozi I honestly hope they do stick with Xbox. I'd like to see a higher end console perhaps aimed at people like me who would like a high end PC but certainly can't afford $3k+. Gotta look up this console tease you speak of....

@Dezzy70 I'm mostly satisfied with the Series X but I got it for Flight Simulator which is essentially the standout current gen exclusive albeit a niche genre. At this point I really do believe Microsoft will be leaving the console space and concentrating on publisher and developer spaces. I guess we'll have to wait and see if the COD on Gamepass factor really boosts console sales to a point where MS consider further consoles but I can see them going the way of Sega only much larger with Gamepass accessible on other consoles as well as PC.

@stinkyx You should have been on the marketing team when 6 released! I'm tempted to give it a go now it's cheap as chips.

I didn't have an Xbox last gen but recently played through Ryse on Series X and thoroughly enjoyed it. With a deeper combat system, more varied enemies and perhaps a slightly longer campaign, I'd certainly return for more.

@themightyant Who IS voting for RE6 indeed!