16BitHero

@Titntin Once the feedback became positive after a few big patches, as a Star Wars fan I knew I couldn't say no for $20. It's very immersive in terms of characters, music and world building. I definitely want to see and do most of what's here despite having an insane backlog of many higher rated games.

Huuuuge backlog here but this weekend it's Star Wars Outlaws (I waited for a sale and the numerous patches and you know what? It's Star Wars and it's fun), Split Fiction with my wife and hopefully some more Alien Isolation VR (an hour at a time for both battery and pant wetting reasons).

Can't see this happening for several reasons mentioned above but never say never in the ever evolving world of gaming.

@OldGamer999 I feel the same way, the gunplay in Halo is practically unsurpassed at this point, only Doom is competitive and evolving in that respect. The grappling hook was a simple but excellent mechanic. The AI on harder difficulties is still a million years ahead of COD for example. The story and environments have just been a bit stagnant for too long. There is so much potential in this franchise still. Maybe an ODST style spinoff would freshen things up again. It's always going to be multiplatform and have multiplayer but a special focus on solo campaign innovation would make Halo exciting again.

Nacon is quickly becoming one of my favourite publishers. More RoboCop? Yes please.

@Yukairi @Deljo @LordDieALot cheers for the info. I might jump in this year!

Do these games still have a decent roster of classic wrestlers? Now they're finally getting consistently good reviews I'm tempted to recapture the good old days of wrestling games on PS1 and N64 but have been hesitant due to the current state of WWE - dull personalities, dull writing, dull wrestling, dull commentary. Maybe I'm just getting old and cranky?!

@themightyant I think the main tech leap will be AI upscaling, similar to what AMD and Nvidia are doing with PC graphics cards and now PlayStation with the pro. More than anything else the next gen of consoles needs to have a minimum of 60fps that maintains good graphical fidelity including fancy features like Ray tracing. Just my opinion but if this isn't the bare minimum then consoles risk falling further behind even modest PC builds.

A strange generation indeed but gaming is going to evolve and change like everything else tech related and often in unpredictable fashion. The Series X is an excellent console, it just had an uphill battle to contend with after the Xbox One generation. Personally, I'm going all in on PC and VR from now on. Gamepass is cheaper and not tied to online multiplayer. The only thing I'll miss is day one PlayStation exclusives but I haven't been a day one gamer for a while - sales are frequent.

@Kilamanjaro VR will also have more widespread application in the medical industry too. I think it's here to stay in various applications meaning that hopefully it'll stick around for gaming too.

Hoping to have time to finally finish the wonderful Indiana Jones. Also hoping to try Monster Hunter Wilds with a friend who generously gifted me the game. If there is still time thereafter, I'll dive back into the first Kingdom Come Deliverance which I started last weekend in an effort to gain the maximum backstory for the sequel.

@armondo36 There is a VR mod for Halo Combat Evolved - its incredible but the cost of entry is steep if you don't have a PC or headset to begin with. Its nevertheless a worthwhile investment at this point in time in my opinion.

@LMN118 the Art and Design high school I work at utilizes VR for a range of subjects. I think it'll become more prevalent, at least in countries that fund education effectively. My dream is to learn languages with AI NPCs who respond, teach and correct in real time.

Total nonsense. I was a VR skeptic for years, I returned both psvr and psvr 2 after two week trials. Despite being impressed by a few of the titles I did get motion sick and didn't think the cost of entry worth it at the time. Fast forward to having owned a Quest 3 for 14 months and some of my best all time gaming experiences since the 80's have been with VR. I never get motion sick anymore (switch to snap turning makes the world of difference even if other movement locomotion is smooth). The Quest alone has a fantastic library but add in PCVR and you've got a thoroughly outstanding selection of games/experiences to choose from.

Half Life Alyx
Metro Awakening
Batman Arkham Shadow
Assassin's Creed
Asgards Wrath 1+2
Lone Echo 1+2
Red Matter 1+2
Microsoft Flight Simulator
Resident Evil 4/7/8
Walkabout Mini Golf
Moss 1+2

My personal favourites Eye of the Temple and the utterly incredible Alien Isolation VR mod speaking of which you can already play Indiana Jones in VR as well as RoboCop, Avatar and Cyberpunk among many others if you have a PC.

I haven't even mentioned legions of indie titles, puzzle games, music/virtual instrument games, educational titles...

I think Microsoft didn't take the plunge because they correctly think most people aren't aware of how far VR has come. Sony killed psvr by not getting the support it needed from both first and third party.

A Terminator game? An Alien game? A RoboCop game? A Predator game? Count me in! We've been thoroughly treated in recent years and with this game, an Alien Isolation sequel and more on the horizon, I'm one happy/nostalgic 80's camper.

@Kaloudz @Odium Cheers chaps for the insightful and amusing parental remarks etc. Lots to look forward to apparently ha. I'd completely forgotten which article this comment thread originated on. Have a great day!

@Kaloudz Ha I've contributed to the list but I can't help feeling I'll be ultimately downvoted. Maybe I'll get to choose a middle name...

@Kaloudz I've heard the same from many friends (I'll be an older dad). Trying to plough through the biggest backlog I've ever had beforehand!

@Kaloudz @Odium I've very much enjoyed your comment conversation! I've gone back to Banjo and Perfect Dark myself recently. Relatively simple games with timeless soundtracks. It's great reading about your kids preferences as I am hopefully going to embark on that particular adventure soon too!

@Kaloudz If you're an Aliens fan then you should give Dark Descent a go! I'm not one for today's overly complex games myself but this one is really very simple and accessible from the outset. You can customize aspects of the difficulty settings then managing your squad between deployments is about as basic as it gets in strategy games. The real time action can be paused and in my humble opinion, this is the best Alien game after Isolation albeit a very different style. It nails the Aliens look and feel and the story is perfect for the universe it's set in.

@Fiendish-Beaver try them both in first and third person perspective. I find 40fps to be fine in first person if you want the nicest looking game and a relatively smooth experience (tested in Avatar FOP). Third person you might prefer 60 fps performance mode however as 40 just didn't feel smooth enough in this perspective for me (tested in Hogwarts Legacy).

@OldGamer999 Just my opinion but I've found I can do 40fps balanced in first person (Avatar looks incredible and plays just fine), but I have to stick to 60fps in third person (Hogwarts Legacy being my test subject there). I suppose it could be different depending on each title nonetheless. 30 is out of the question if there are options. Improving upscaling technology will kill 30fps by next gen.

@Xbox_Dashboard yup, I'm on the PC app or Series X several times a week and I have 210 points. I don't remember the last time I spent any. I think rewards must be for kids glued to their TV or something.

@GoldenPants I made the same mistake (getting a PC). From the incredible Steam, GOG sales, Epic and Prime giveaways to free online gaming and Gamepass being cheaper, it's just a terrible terrible place to game. Infinite backlog, not enough time. I wish I just had a Megadrive and 3 games like I did in the early 90's.

More Batman please, my favourite comic book character by some distance. Batman Arkham Shadow is so so good but a new console game perhaps in a different universe as mentioned above would be interesting, Nolan or Reeves' vision.

@Ricky-Spanish I'm not exactly a Harry Potter fan (enjoyed the films once through way back when) but I absolutely loved Hogwarts Legacy. Don't sleep on it - and I definitely recommend 60fps mode.

I don't play racing games as much as I used to but when I do dabble, it's Wreckfest with the Destruction Derby 2 soundtrack on USB accompanying the chaos!

The number of comments says it all (and some are even off topic). I had the beta early on and was really put off by the setting/city let alone the overall style. But then I'm not a Marvel or DC fan in general. I like Batman, Spider-Man and Watchmen. That's it. Glad some enjoyed it but this was a colossal waste of time for Rocksteady. More Batman please!

It's a truly wonderful game if you're a fan of the films and an excellent adventure game regardless. If I had to nitpick I wish Gina's ambient dialogue was a little less immersion breaking at times but that's really all I can come up with. I'm sure a likely sequel will improve on many aspects as all great game series by talented developers do. I'm nearing the end but absolutely loving it.

I credit Hazelight with finally being able to get my wife into more 'dextrous' gaming. We play plenty of single player puzzle and narrative games 'together' but No Way Out and It Takes Two led to Portal 2 and other proper multiplayer games with more challenging controls. We can't wait for Split Fiction!

Edit: her 200+ hours with Powerwash Simulator has also helped.

One thing I'd like to see is Sony give up it's own VR and have both PlayStation and Xbox support various third party headsets much like the PC ecosystem does.

@Kaloudz oh gosh I didn't even think about that. They could do an incredible Halo. Xbox really needs to leverage it's studios into making what they do best and this is a prime example.

@Kaloudz very true. They know exactly how to take something great and freshen it up with a few new aspects. For example, the difference in combat between Doom and Doom Eternal is quite pronounced if you flip flop between them. It can make it briefly challenging to go back to an earlier game but I'm all for the creative evolution of any game series. Something Farcry never managed.

Doom will no doubt continue to set the standard for fps shooters in graphics/mechanics and mostly importantly of all, kinetic, frantic, no holds barred fun. The emphasis on melee sounds interesting. It works so well in VR with Asgards Wrath 2 for example but on the flat screen there is surely no developer better at immersing us in the chaos and action than ID Software.

The only Farcry game I didn't finish was 6. I started tiring of the formula in 5 BUT I had a good time with New Dawn because I played it through in co-op with a friend. There are some hilarious moments in co-op but it wasn't enough to get us through 6 which was just too large and offered nothing fresh. I'm trying to get through Avatar now but it's the same formula with a little too much light RPG stuff and not enough simply traversing lovely scenery and killing evil capitalist humans!

Not going to happen. Base game will be $70 max and even then if they did release at a higher price, other publishers would be silly to do the same. I don't buy new games unless it's GTA 6 or recently Indiana Jones. Everything else I get on sale/deep discounts because they are so frequent nowadays and many of us have backlogs.

@WildConcept6 Hopefully in time the Microsoft service is of a similar quality to Nvidia's offering and there is an available tier for just cloud gaming utilizing games you own. I'm the meantime I'm tempted to try GeForce now with my Steam library just to get a glimpse of the future!

The infrastructure is terrible at present - that's why they still label it as a beta. I have 700mbps and it's just not good enough to be considered a current technology let alone attract subscribers purely for cloud gaming. I hear Nvidia's offering is significantly better. Hopefully Microsoft really do go all in and leverage whatever AI can offer to give anyone with 50mbps + a smooth cloud gaming experience.

@OldGamer999 Always good to see some proper optimism among the PX/PS comment sections!

Still Indiana Jones - only playing on weekends so I can afford a decent chunk of hours for maximum immersion! I also started a second run on Alien Isolation only this time with the VR mod. Lots of toilet paper at the ready.

Regardless of all the speculation in recent months, it's inevitable that more if not most first party titles land on PlayStation. That's just economics. Xbox console sales are drying up. It's no longer competitive and all consoles, whatever their manufacturer are not profitable. Software is. I can still see Microsoft doing a handheld and perhaps some kind of specialized console/PC hybrid but that's it. The Series S was a nice idea/experiment but the lower specs aren't going to cut it next gen. This isn't great news for gamers as Sony won't have a direct competitor.

Footnote - this comment is also speculation/an opinion!

If the mechanics are solid and the world immersive then I'm sold. Hopefully it's a little more forgiving than Stalker.

Jurassic Park, Fable, GTA VI (campaign only), Dying Light and maybe Light no Fire are my most anticipated on this particular list. I'll probably get to them sometime in 2027 when I've cleared some of my backlog...

@Banjo- not such a niche game but I'm currently replaying Banjo Kazooie for the first time since I was in upper school (N64). It still has one of my top ten soundtracks of all time!

It's about time we had some Contraband gameplay footage.

@Banjo- I'm glad I played DR back in it's heyday in that case! Strangely, I consider myself Resident Evil fan as I was there since day one on PS1 however I never played 4 which most people consider a highlight of the series - I didn't have a GameCube and never got one of the other versions until a few weeks ago when I started playing through the VR version on Quest. It feels wonderfully nostalgic despite having never played it. I like the newer first person ones too. I definitely need to check Fatal Frame - better late than never!

@Banjo- ah yes, it's a bonafide classic and worthy of the recent remake in my opinion. The second is a lot of fun too but that's where the series ended for me. I'm in the same boat regarding what you mentioned about game development. I'm reading A Perfect Organism which is companion book for Alien Isolation fans. There is certainly a lot of good gaming content on YouTube if you can sift through the not so good stuff.

@Banjo- I will add that while I enjoy some of the more articulate and nuanced YouTube critiques of games I like - I tend to watch them after I've played the game. It's true that no matter your IQ, we're all somewhat susceptible to different forms of influence whether it be criticism of a film, TV show, book or video game (among many other things!). I'd simply advise that if you think it's your kind of thing then give it a go before seeking the opinions of others.

@Banjo- I agree wholeheartedly with your final point. We've never had it so good as gamers. I have a backlog that could last years and at the same time there are many great looking upcoming titles. Whatever platform(s) you use, we have so much choice. There have always been system/brand exclusives and troubled development cycles but I don't see any real issues for gamers other than adapting to this new age of digital 'ownership' and navigating various subscription models.

I'm fairly certain those who are expressing any form of discontent are spending too much time on gaming websites or watching attention seeking influencers/streamers instead of actually playing games. Take it from an 80's kid, gaming has never been better.

It's obviously worth it considering how much revenue they generate but as someone who has been there since the beginning, they are incredibly stale and lacking new ideas/mechanics. I think out of the entire series I haven't paid full price more than seven times. Not once since Modern Warfare 2019. It's clearly like GTA V in that young people are in constant supply and the multiplayer is great fun when you're in school/University and have lots of time for mindless fun. I just think other single player shooters have done it better for a while now. Even the latest Black Ops was really more of the same despite what many reviews expressed.