16BitHero

I've had a huge smile/terrified expression on my face this weekend so far. Two gaming dreams come true - Indiana Jones (bloody marvellous!) and I've finally got the VR mod working for Alien Isolation which looks absolutely incredible almost 11 years on.

Hmmm I'm curious. It's my favourite franchise along with the Alien Saga. Resistance and it's dlc was an underrated gem for me. If this is 2D then it'll still be of interest. I'd really like to see a Nex Machina style twin stick Terminator too. Isometric games always punch above their weight for art/visual style in my opinion.

Darn I've got to finish the Doom Eternal dlc soon! I'd still argue no game gets the adrenaline flowing like the recent doom games on higher difficulties.

Interesting time indeed. I can't see Microsoft trying to compete directly with Nintendo or Sony in the standard priced console space next gen. A handheld with full Steam and Xbox app support plus a high end console perhaps although the latter is debatable with mid range PCs better value than ever. It's a guessing game until the big reveal. It does seem like Xbox is going the way Sega consoles eventually did but none of us truly know what the future of gaming looks like. Speculation keeps us engaged nonetheless.

Edit: crazy idea but maybe Microsoft enter the PC hardware market with a 'modular/upgradable Xbox'. The PC scene is expanding all the time and advances in technology means you can potentially have one sitting below your TV in the living room without taking up too much space.

They definitely need to freshen up this formula for me. The 3rd game has exerted far too much influence at this point. 6 could have been a culmination of all the great things the series had produced with some news ideas too but I got really bored (and a little overwhelmed by the size) within four or so hours. I enjoyed every installment up to that point with Primal being my favourite because... they mixed things up a bit even if it was a rehash of the map from 4. I played 5 and New Dawn co-op which was fun. I'm not sure what the answer is but I'm clearly a sucker for the formula nonetheless as I'm playing through Avatar currently.

Wow that's a huge improvement for Series X players. I switched to PC because I thought something looked a bit off but now I can go back to a larger 4K screen and lying in bed rather than an office chair at 1440p (which still looks amazing).

As long as there is a place to play games I own, I'm not too invested in how the console market looks in the future - other than the importance of competition which seems under threat. I'm counting on Microsoft to ensure game preservation via cloud and PC integration/emulation.

Speculative opinion only but I'm guessing those reviewing Japanese developed games are big fans of those series/IPs/developers already therefore are likely to get excited and rate these titles highly. I think non Japanese developed games face more scrutiny from reviewers and gamers alike. Or maybe Japanese games are just better/more fun?! I don't play too many and don't get on with JRPGs.

I'm going to let my wife hog the PC and finish Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. That means Indiana Jones will have to wait as she's using the adjacent TV so no Series X access either. I will continue on with Resident Evil 4 on Quest 3!

@themightyant that's a perfect summation of Immortality. And Indiana Jones for that matter. Indy is a dream come true for this 80's kid.

@Nintendo4Sonic my guess is that although there are some fantastic fighting games out there, they don't have the same share of the market nowadays with many new genres, ways to play games and just the sheer choice available to gamers. Go back to the 90's and I bet their sales were a larger chunk of the overall pie.

@Cakefish I would add that while consoles exist and with their ever increasing adoption of PC architecture, there should be less excuses for not having backward compatibility and emulation.

@Fiendish-Beaver the Trine games are fabulous! Underrated gems.

I can only vote for what I've played:

5 Indiana Jones (gaming dream come true)
4 Hellblade 2 (gorgeous and immersive)
3 Still Wakes the Deep (The Thing remastered?! Skip that and play this instead!)
2 Stalker 2 (very atmospheric and tough as nails)
1 Botany Manor (gotta relax and puzzle sometime eh?)

Owned backlog from the list:

Star Wars Outlaws
Space Marine 2

Waiting on Flight Sim to be out of beta.

Special mention to Death Stranding directors cut which I played on PS5 and immediately entered my top 5 games of all time.

@Cakefish Same here. It's a real privilege to own all consoles and a PC at this stage in my life but also a headache. Ideally I'd like to have PC only if I'm patient enough to wait for console exclusives to eventually be ported over. Microsoft should definitely consider game preservation through their 'play everywhere' strategy by allowing us full access to our libraries on PC.

Another fab co-op adventure to enjoy with my part time gamer wife!

I find these games undeniably fun in co-op. I don't think they would have kept hold of me in single player only though.

Both thoroughly deserved. It's not a game for everyone but it's objectively a fantastic accomplishment and I was completely immersed from the get go.

SPOILER COMMENT

@xxk7xx my only disappointment is due to the fact that Ciri sacrificed herself in my Witcher 3 ending - the more powerful (and dark re Geralt's) ending in my opinion. This was befitting of the rather bleak world I had spent over 150 hours in which is to this day my favourite game of all time. I'm sure I'll get over it but there is now that disconnect continuation wise for me. It is however up there with Alien Isolation sequel and GTA VI as my most anticipated game.

@FraserG I'm sure I'm not the only one but I have a 120hz TV without HDMI 2.1 so I can lower the console output resolution to 1440p and still get 120fps. I'd obviously prefer 4K 60 in most cases but some games are worth having the extra fps and some of these new 120hz vrr graphical options such as 'quality 40fps' are really great for games like Avatar.

I'll come back to this when it goes on sale for the first time. Loved the last installment. With my backlog I can be patient for a relatively flawless and smooth experience.

Game preservation indeed. I'm not sure how effective this will be but when I eventually 'retire' my Series X and it's game library, I'll ensure it's disconnected from the Internet in the hope that nothing disappears!

@darylb24 NG+ is the only ingredient still missing! I just started the game over anyway. A second and final playthrough plus Phantom Liberty. It's a modern classic at this point.

Definitely interested in a few here, if my seemingly never ending backlog let's up. I can heartily recommend Turbo Overkill for frantic fps fans.

@themightyant I thought Immortality was truly excellent. That, Disco Elysium and the recently released Lorelei and the Laser Eyes are probably my three favourite non AAA titles of recent years. Enjoy!

@FraserG makes sense, the other difficulty being how long games are becoming! Have a great weekend.

@FraserG Hey Fraser, I'm jumping in a little late here and with somewhat limited context but I do think it might be a good idea to perhaps have at least two if not three members of your team review major releases like this. I think a few other publications go down this route, occasionally. I know you said you've got a small team but it might be worth the extra effort in cases like this. (I'm available freelance - at no cost!) I completely respect your reviewers opinion and look forward to forming my own next week.

Key takeaways from various reviews - ignore AI issue?! The films bad guys and henchmen are idiots! The only other issue I've read about is the pacing and one review recommended a first playthrough focused on the main story then another where you can explore more and find the collectibles. I guess I'm just going to go with it and see what happens like most of us! Really excited all in all.

Huge 'The Thing' fan here. Another cash grab praying on nostalgic suckers like me eh. How about an actual remake?

@InheritNegative I'd love the new collection to add Saturn and Dreamcast classics. I'd pay $60.

@Medic_alert true but Jedi Survivor is 155GB on my PS5 somehow?! I think future generations will see more content/artifacts streaming with smaller install sizes but I'm not confident in the technology yet going by my experience with MSFS 2024.

I'm going to install on both Series X and my mid range PC then see which performs/looks better. 4K on Series X and 1440p on PC but other aspects make a difference too.

So many games these days and with Fortnite and COD still utterly dominant, it's a wonder other companies are still throwing large amounts of money at this genre. There is room for less popular games of course but they should be made with the appropriate budget and market research, at least you'd think so. As for Ubisoft, they're clearly better at single player titles although I'd argue there is room for something like a new Division and/or Rainbow Six installment.

I'm just going to come back to this some time next year. Occasionally it runs fine, other times it's glitchy and frequently crashes on PC. The lighting and textures are improved over the previous version but even with 700mbps bandwidth, it doesn't look as consistent. There's a marvel of a game/simulator here somewhere but it's in the beta testing phase at the moment.

@Ricky-Spanish I second this recommendation although my guess is they are coming out with yet another version like they did for the Xbox 360/Xbox One generations.

I only made it several hours in - not because of any bugs but because it's a bit too hardcore for me. It would have been right up my alley many years ago but I can't do the die try die repeat thing anymore. Nevertheless, considering what they're going for and having watched a few YouTube critiques and gameplay sessions, I think this is a solid 8+ for the genre.

@themightyant Same, I've watched next to nothing and won't read review impressions either. This is my most anticipated game in a long time along with GTA VI and the recently announced Alien Isolation sequel. I do want to know it's in good shape but Machine Games have a good track record and I doubt they want to compromise their reputation like so many other devs have this generation.

No bombastic games for me this weekend, playing through Lorelei and the Laser Eyes with my wife. Really looking forward to Indiana Jones next weekend!!!

Whichever games you want to own on physical disc, now is the time to get them. I've purchased a few 'classics' in recent years - new and used. My biggest concern other than the inevitable disappearance of physical media is the owner rights and longevity of digital titles due to things like online requirements and licensed music etc. The small print will often let you know your purchase isn't for life or is subject to various changes in policy.

Back to physical - Xbox games in particular have been much harder to find both in brick and mortar stores and online for years now. Look at any game section in Best Buy/Walmart/Target etc. Five year old games are often full price too.

The future of emulation/backward compatibility is the savior, I just hope the big three and publishers make more of an effort so we're not reliant on substandard third party emulators/roms.

He's not wrong but allowing games to be released - clearly before they are ready is going to lead to this happening. Are all the professional reviewers out there now responsible for a 'three months in' review? YouTube is great for this but it shouldn't be the norm. Developers and publishers should be doing better QA testing and releasing games that only need minimal patching after release.

SOLD. I've been hesitating mostly because of the new mechanics and refinements they've patched in since I completed the campaign. I started the campaign over but do you think I'd be ok jumping straight into the DLC regardless?

I'm casually playing through Witcher 3 'new game +' as it's still my favourite game of all time. Cyberpunk ended up being a very good game in the face of high expectations and a rather awful launch. I was waiting for the DLC to go on a deeper sale but I think it's probably time to jump in.

These guys made Mad Max so I'm paying attention. The premise sounds interesting and their track record is good for visually nice and fun games.

@WildConcept6 I've recently been guilty/honestly opinionated with a sometimes negative interpretation of MS business practices, particularly with regard to their handling and communication about their games division but everything you say rings true. We're all online impulsive and emotive commentators nowadays but I maintain that we've never had it better as gamers. Adjusted for inflation games aren't more expensive, there are frequent sales and I'm fairly certain we all have seemingly never ending backlogs. The only point of concern which you mention is game preservation and the inevitable disappearance of physical media. It is what is it.

@dskatter

'That said, anyone who doesn’t leap on Forza Horizon 4 at this point is deeply missing out.'

Especially if you're an expat like me - the nostalgia and comfort factor of driving through the English/Scottish countryside in a Land Rover Defender is just so very pleasant.

I enjoy these games single player or in co-op. I now prefer this series to any other with regard to historical battles.

@themightyant lots of frustrated people on MSFS forum, Steam forum and Reddit are available to assist 😔 (It's RB or LB + B on an Xbox controller).

@OldGamer999 I'm an 'old gamer' too and although we had Atari Lynx, Gameboy, Game Gear etc, they weren't as commonplace as the switch is now. I work in a high school and so many kids play games on their phones including 'AAA'. I think there is definitely a market for those who don't have a PC (Asus Rog/Steam deck etc).

I personally will never want to play on a small screen unless it's my Switch undocked on a long haul flight but plenty of young people are really into it on a daily basis.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner I'll be curious to see if Indiana Jones gets an early review. Machine Games are brilliant devs and I can see it reviewing very positively but Xbox 1st party track record is poor recently.