16BitHero

@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.

@BearFut_1800 the Buildings/Cities will never look perfect as they're using Microsoft Bing maps and satellite data. It would look a lot better with Google data but I digress.

@themightyant I did that Egypt shoot. I crashed upside down but was still able to exit the helicopter and complete the photography challenges - complete with a mini sand storm whipped up by my rotor blades.

It's an experimental technology, we're all essentially beta testers. I'm playing on Series X and a PC (5600X and 3070). It's a lot more stable than at launch but even with 700mbps I'm disappointed with the visuals. I'm going to test VR tonight. Navigating the menus and new bindings isn't at all intuitive but I guess they wanted to try and distinguish this version from 2020 somehow. I do feel like the new features could have been added to 2020 and they could have kept a large install for those without stable or fast bandwidth. I'm currently playing through Gamepass and would like to purchase eventually - I need a few more weeks of play testing!

It's working fine on Series X now- however, it generally doesn't look as good as 2020 in my opinion and that's with 700 Mbps download. Trees and terrain can look better but large cities in particular don't look as lovely as they did in 2020. Not giving the option to do a large install in addition to the cloud streaming technology is a bit of a shame.

@CD456 yes you can just fly helicopters if you choose to.

It ran fine for me on Series X and I actually preferred quality mode. The atmosphere and intrigue kept me gripped for a while but although it is a type of game that is generally up my alley, the high amount of seemingly random and sudden deaths completely broke my immersion. I expect to die a lot in Elden Ring as it's practically part of the overall story and mechanics but in Stalker 2 it just takes you out of the experience too often. You're supposed to be on the edge and yes it's a game where you'll die here and there but it was too relentless for me. I'm glad it's selling well and other hardcore survivors are enjoying it though!

Edit: I didn't rate the game above as I don't think it's fair considering it's simply not a game for me.

I'm going to give it a whirl this weekend regardless. People do also forget it's a relatively niche title. I'm a big Metro series fan who missed the original Stalker game. I think the punishing survival style of this one might be an issue but trying it on Gamepass makes it less of a conundrum. People often have strong emotive responses to other people's reviews and opinions without putting significant time into a game themselves. I'm trying not to fall into that trap.

A 40fps option would be good, I've been using that mode on Avatar and it's perfectly fine for a first person game.

@Markatron84 I did consider that and I'm mostly upset with Microsoft as they can surely help out in the QA department. I've bought the game to support them anyway and going by the reviews, a few patches down the line and it'll be one of the better games this year.

@CallMeDuraSouka Unbelievable. The annoying thing is, even though many like me will skip Xbox and Gamepass next gen, they'll still make money from all the drones buying COD year after year not to mention some pretty decent IPs they own like Doom. I've never seen a game company disrespect it's customer base like Microsoft or maybe they are just plain incompetent? That's a pattern with all business nowadays as younger people with attention deficits, no actual experience and financially short term mindedness take the reigns. Look at customer service almost anywhere. Gaming is not immune.

@MjJmediablogger I know games are becoming more complex but what happened to QA testing? It's like it doesn't exist anymore or devs don't want to pay for it.

Developers - please release games when they are ready. This generation is a bit ridiculous at this point. I'm amazed anyone pre orders or buys a game day one unless it's a Sony exclusive and I'm sure even they have to rush out patches early on.

Sheesh this sounds like another botched launch and for a relatively niche game too. Sounds like they are better off putting some of the new features in the 2020 version for anyone who doesn't want to be reliant on this faulty cloud tech. The Series X 2020 version looked crisp and stunning albeit with the higher install size in addition to decent bandwidth.

@Markatron84 I'm sure Flight Sim may not be for you anyway but Heathrow to Cardiff is about as boring as a flight can be on planet earth 😂

Very excited to try all the new features and modes, especially in VR. Anyone know what the point of a 300mb pre download is though?!

@gollumb82 (See above) and give it a go!

Any self respecting Alien saga fan should definitely check out Dark Descent. I'm not really a strategy gamer but the aesthetic, music, tension and real time gameplay made this a brilliant/essential addition to the Alien gaming library for this huge Alien(s) fan.

@carlos82 Yup, I only use the Xbox app for crossbuy on PC and Series X or Gamepass titles. Everything else I get through Steam and begrudgingly, Epic when they have a good exclusive like Alan Wake 2.

Er what? This has been an issue for over a year, probably longer if you look at Reddit threads. Steam and Epic games download at my Internet speed of up to 700mbps. The Xbox app? 5-10mbps sometimes. I was full of regret when I accidently deleted MSFS then had to wait the better part of a day for it to download again. The app is otherwise decent. It's really quite appalling for a major tech company.

I'm glad Microsoft is waiting for the next gen as Series X is a perfectly good console this gen. The first party output has been sluggish but it's still a decent generation overall (I think we've all become rather entitled as gamers but we've never had more choices/games). The focus should be on AI upscaling tech to push 60fps minimum with graphics/resolution that is still cutting edge. If GTA VI releases at 30fps, I might just have the patience to wait for the inevitable better version a few years later. Or not. Time will tell!

As long as current gen looks and plays beautifully, I'm ok with last gen gamers getting to enjoy this too!

And for hardcore fans, I recommend the 'Whitelight' 7 hour review on YouTube!

@awp69 Yeah this is a common problem for many older titles. My recommendation to devs is to avoid licensing music and get someone in to compose it or at least give exposure to a lesser known artist where the game can retain those rights indefinitely. GTA needs a licensed soundtrack, it's part of the immersion factor but racing games? We can easily use Spotify or even a custom playlist on a USB stick with PS5/Series X. I downloaded the amazing Destruction Derby 2 soundtrack and use it with Wreckfest.

I resubscribed for the holiday season and tried Black Ops 6 but it's just more of the same old COD (albeit still relatively polished). Deleted after the paranormal mission so I have space to try Stalker (followed by MSFS and Indiana Jones). I love the Metro series and am hoping for a similar vibe here.

I've seen less than 30 seconds of gameplay. I fully trust Machine Games (and ID software) to deliver on one of my favourite IPs of all time. Can't wait for this one.

@armondo36 Great comment. (I'm in the latter camp also).