16BitHero

@Tyrant_T103 Just my opinion. I'm happy other folks enjoyed it. There have been some brilliant games in the genre since then, the Dead Space series and many others are clearly inspired by The Thing. If this remaster is popular enough then maybe we'll get another installment 🤞

Senua's Saga, Night Springs dlc for Alan Wake 2 and Asgards Wrath 2 for me (if I have time!).

As a huge fan of the film this is rather disappointing. The game was ok, nothing more. A total remake would have been a much better option. A remaster of an average game based on an incredible film many young gamers don't even know that well or at all is a curious decision to say the least.

@OldGamer999 I have way too many YouTube playlists of soundtrack's going back to Sega Megadrive and Super Nintendo - Banjo gets played the most though!

@OldGamer999 Yes please, I need that entire soundtrack stuck in my head again 24/7.. No seriously. 😉

I'll have to watch on demand later in the day after the India v Pakistan world cup game in New York. I think this Xbox showcase will surpass the last if some of the rumours materialize plus Microsoft Gaming needs to garner some good faith and excitement after a difficult period for it's image and integrity.

I'm getting more Control crossover vibes with that post. Can't wait!

@xMightyMatt14x All Fair points, I definitely enjoyed aspects of some recent COD campaigns - clean house in Modern Warfare was a standout mission for me. They just tend to be on the short side and emphasize choreographed action sequences over varied and challenging AI. I do love a good FPS campaign though, the recent Wolfenstein games are well worth your time, Doom and Doom Eternal, Titanfall 2, the Metro trilogy was really immersive.... I'm glad you're enjoying the COD back catalogue, I'm sure I'll dip in for a bit of nostalgia, particularly COD 2 and 3 (WW2) Gamepass is great for this.

@RetroMan71 Yes please! I'm waiting patiently for this to incorporate some sort of Flight Simulator style photogrammetry coupled with AI upscaling to provide true photo realistic versions of cities like London, NYC, Hong Kong etc. I'm sure it'll happen this generation or next.

The only big ActiBlizz shadow drop would be Modern Warfare 3 surely. How many people truly care about their back catalogue? It's not like their older games are contemporary classics. At the time sure but most haven't aged well unlike Nintendo and Sega classics. With our current backlogs owing to several years of brilliant game releases how many ActiBlizz games will folks put time into other than for a quick nostalgic kick? I'm honestly still astonished at the size of that acquisition. Their portfolio is pretty bland compared to Bethesda for example. COD must be a true behemoth.

Surely Microsoft, Sony et al must be keeping a close eye on the AI upscaling technology that Nvidia/AMD are pioneering. I don't think Microsoft should rush out new hardware without first ensuring it can take advantage of this tech whether on day one and/or through ongoing updates. If not people will no doubt continue to complain about the choice between frame rate and fidelity.

@BAMozzy I somehow missed the Xbox/Steam rumours. If this happens, it'll be the single biggest boost to Xbox I can imagine. A handheld and a high end console would be a great business move - if Steam and the Xbox store/Gamepass are all on there (I can't afford to upgrade my PC any year soon!).

Oh my gosh make a new game/IP already please Bungie.

@NEStalgia That's a different Avalanche studio I think. Could be wrong but I believe they are separate companies. Anyway, I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment. It's all opinions at the end of the day but as a Mad Max fan in general, I thoroughly enjoyed the game and finished most of the gameplay/quest elements. I'm envious of those that got to do it with fps boost on Xbox. I like recent Kojima games too but I don't want a Mad Max game by him.

Whatever happened to Contraband?!

I simply wanted the latest and greatest and armed with my new student loan, I got the OG Xbox with Halo and Tony Hawk 3 back in 2001. The price dropped soon after and Microsoft compensated us early adopters with two free games - there wasn't much to pick from so I went with Project Gotham Racing and Dead or Alive 3. My university dorm room was the place to be, my new friends also had PS2 with GTA 3 and Pro Evo and GameCube.

4 years later I was living in Canada and the 360 came out - Call of Duty 2 was my first game. Back in London a year later Gears of War blew our minds. The start of the level with the pouring rain was the the best graphics I had ever seen in a game. That generation was fantastic overall. I owned four 360's due to the red ring of death then a move to NYC. I still use Kinect for the sports games today.

I skipped Xbox One due to the PS4 having an outstanding catalog of games and returned to Xbox with Series X (primarily for Flight Simulator) where Gamepass helped me catch up on the exclusives I missed and introduced me to the pleasures of many indie gems. I won't be getting any further Xbox hardware as I've joined the PC ecosystem which I find to be far better value after the initially pricey hardware investment. I hope Xbox lives on though, perhaps in the handheld arena (growing among young people in particular) and/or a niche high end console with PC architecture. Only Microsoft knows their plans though. Or do they?!

Lastly, Halo LAN parties are still among my favourite gaming memories.

I'm trying out Fallout 4 on PS5 for the first time. I've never finished a Bethesda RPG (I got bored of Starfield) plus...

Asgards Wrath 2 on Quest 3

Helldivers 2 on PC

Let's Cook Together/Don't Starve Together with wifey on Series X

Paused: Baldurs Gate 3, Talos Principle 2, Deliver Us Mars

The backlog is real: GOW Ragnarok, Jedi Survivor.

I'll give this a go because...I grew up with 16 bit American Football games but always liked Mutant League Football the best (being a White Dwarf/Warhammer kid). After moving to NYC I still couldn't really get into the NFL but then I had a stint in Tallahassee. Wow, college football is BIG. With multiple stadiums seating over 100,000 and entire towns' economies reliant on just 7 home games per season, the atmosphere is infectious. You could argue the games are more entertaining than pro football too as they take more risks and make more mistakes at college level. I'm glad the players will finally be compensated as they are risking a lot considering the billions TV networks make airing college sports.

@Banjo- I played about 15 hours of the sequel then quit but that was early days. It's larger and tries for a deeper story but it (initially) failed to bring that heightened sense of fear at night and had some hit and miss mechanics. That said, it has been significantly patched and is supposedly a pretty good experience in it's own right now - certainly better than Dead Island 2 but I'm not returning because my backlog is ever growing!

A Doom reveal is always exciting to me having grown up with the original games. 2016 and Eternal are absolute top level fps campaigns in a world now saturated with live service and pvp fps. In addition, ID are always at the forefront of cutting edge graphics tech - I don't think any other studio can optimize games for current hardware like they can. Very talented bunch of folks.

If you consider yourself a zombie fan and haven't tried this yet then I say go for it! In my opinion it was the best zombie game of the previous generation and top five all time for me personally. It's got the b-movie soundtrack and score, excellent traversal mechanics and most importantly, an incredibly scary/high octane night and day cycle. The story is fine but you didn't come here for that. File with hidden gems like Mad Max.

I'm finally playing through Deliver Us Mars which I recommend for anyone who enjoyed Deliver Us The Moon. Baldurs Gate 3 will be continued when I'm ready for a longer play session as will Asgards Wrath 2. Happy weekend y'all!

@NEStalgia I'd be happy with 1440p but many of us would use this potential PC Xbox hybrid in a living room or bedroom, likely with a TV 55" or larger which means a stretched image. Somewhat related - I'm fairly clueless when it comes to all this fancy new upscaling technology but perhaps that could be leveraged to have games look closer to 4K even if they aren't technically.

@NEStalgia I'd be pleased to see a 'high end' console equitable to a decent PC but it has to be somewhat future proof and that is also an emerging question mark hanging over future hardware with large games now requiring 5-8 years to develop (maybe AI can help but let's not go there for now). How about something somewhat modular, a high end CPU with options to upgrade the storage, GPU and RAM - that could potentially enable the hardware to transcend two generations of gaming evolution. Wishful thinking maybe but one can dream! I'd also like it to have the Steam storefront but maybe I'm losing my grip on reality at this point.

Xbox has put itself in a lose lose situation in my opinion. Consoles don't make money and in any case they're likely to fall even further behind their competition after these latest developments. I can't fathom Microsoft's aims or business plan at this point. Going straight up publisher has seemed obvious for a while but they've created all this negative publicity for themselves and likely resentment that could damage sales of both hardware and software. It's all rather baffling. You'd think a trillion dollar company would employ smarter people but everything seems geared toward quick returns with no regard for sustainability.

At this point I simply can't envisage further Xbox hardware. Nothing competitive or mass market anyway.

If you are that high up in a major corporation then it's a prerequisite that you don't have any feelings whatsoever when decisions like this are made. These people live in a different world to most of us. I'm also sure these decisions are coming from above Phil but if you really feel anything for the thousands out of work then just resign. You've got plenty for early retirement if nothing else.

The games industry has been pivoting in the same direction as the film industry for several years now (less and less new ideas/creativity, more and more sequels, remakes etc) - whatever makes money, we've only got customer trends to blame. I still have no idea how gamers feel any sort of allegiance to these corporations. It must be a young person thing before you realize capitalism doesn't actually care what you think.

I jumped on an Epic Games store sale before Christmas, AW2 for $35. I would have paid full whack but hey, times are tight. I wouldn't be surprised if many people are waiting for further sales and discounts. It's a brilliant game, especially if you like the joint universe of Wake and Control. I hope they at least break even as there aren't many studios that tell stories quite like Remedy.

I played through both games on PC in college. A similar budget to Alan Wake 2 has me excited for these remakes. Remedy games aren't for everyone but if you click with their style and storytelling then there have been few developers as prolific and consistent. The shared worlds between games is a welcome bonus.

I've messaged a few developers upon completing their games (when did we start using the word 'beating' like it's an accomplishment in anything other than Souls games?!). They're always appreciative and if a gamer has the spare disposable income to tip a smaller dev then I see nothing wrong with that. (I personally detest what tipping culture has become - certainly tied to a lack of wages rising with inflation/cheap capitalist employers). The developers I've messaged were for Alien Isolation, LOU2, Deliver Us The Moon, Terminator Resistance and Aliens Dark Descent.

This is the trade off this console generation. This game has always been about pushing fidelity so I'm not surprised and I'm sure it'll be a dazzling experience. Indiana Jones on the other hand ought to have a 60 fps option. The type of game should be considered.

Legions of younger gamers coming of age dramatically affects this ranking. They're playing what their peers are playing and as soon as you're old enough for GTA V, well VI isn't here yet so... I think older generations are playing a much wider variety of games and when you're as old as me, mostly solitary single player games (with the odd Helldivers 2 dance here and there).

@Darude84 The atmosphere, music and then the Spiders Thread mode after the campaign were all really excellent in my opinion. And just for your username, here is my favourite imgur of all time:
https://imgur.com/hcl3btj

I was pleasantly surprised by Ghostwire Tokyo in addition to a few of the aforementioned titles above.

I finally started Alan Wake 2 - love the shared universe with Control! Also running through The Talos Principle 2 and Let's Cook Together with my wife. Helldivers 2 late night carnage too I'm sure.

What is Microsoft going to do next and what will become of the Xbox brand? This is now the story of this generation and with speculation rife, my latest complete guess/hope is that they maybe continue their current two console offering but with updated specs AND the Steam ecosystem in addition to Gamepass etc?! (This could really eat into Gamepass though as Steam is the best value storefront in gaming). I think Valve are in Washington State too and they're surely all buddies outside the office. It's that or publisher only in my admittedly clueless opinion! Sony making the only premium spec home console will be terrible for consumers.

It's painfully obvious that Xbox and Microsoft Game Studios will be a publisher/development umbrella only in the near future. The signs have been there for years but they can't admit it in the middle of a console cycle. The only hardware I can see Microsoft producing with regard to gaming is a compact PC of sorts but that's hardly worth it with the potential competition out there. It's not great for competition but this is the reality of the industry at the moment.

I thoroughly enjoyed Deliver Us The Moon, so much so that I emailed the developer. I bought Deliver Us Mars to keep supporting them and enjoy their Sci Fi narrative adventures. They are however relatively niche games still and I think they'd do well to focus on 1-3 of those games while financial backing isn't certain. I haven't been sorry to see some devs fold - lots of live service or just copy and paste versions of existing IPs. If you aren't doing something relatively original then you've got to absolutely nail every aspect - like Helldivers 2.

@Neither_scene I've had a similar experience. I got the Series X for Flight Simulator (which is astonishingly well optimized and still the only true current gen game imo). I finally saved enough to get a gaming PC for the first time in 15 years and geewhiz was it worth it. Gamepass for PC is great value, Steam games are often cheaper than Xbox or PS5 and are frequently on sale AND you don't pay to play online with friends etc - I finally let my PS plus sub lapse. I think the main thing, possibly the only thing holding back current gen consoles is that they are frequently hooked up to 4K TVs therefore that is the expectation hence 30fps or fidelity trade offs. PC games running with high to ultra specs on a 1440p monitor look just incredible though and you get 60 fps minimum depending on those aforementioned settings and your rig specs. It's hard to go back but I do get used to 30fps quickly if that's the only option I have.

@Trmn8r Recent polls point to most Democrats wanting a change in leadership and believing Biden to be too old at best, and failing politically at worst (border/Israel etc). Anyway, I regret commenting on a political story on a gaming site, let's all move on eh?

Some folks are seemingly surprised or annoyed by the title of this article. I've been visiting this site and Push Square for a while now and they're a good bet for the latest Xbox and PS5 news. They don't have the budget of a major media company however so you're going to get a lot of click bait articles and almost every title will include 'Xbox' or 'PS5' for algorithm purposes. PC Gamer is no different nowadays. But hey, beggars can't be choosers. If you don't waste time on X then these sites are decent for breaking news and actually have a good community of regular folks in the comments section (among a few toxic cretins).

They made a game for teenagers only (dialogue and humour is cringe worthy) in an increasingly competitive and crowded industry. No surprises here. I'm glad I stopped at the free beta. Hopefully there is more Batman to come from Rocksteady with no WB meddling or, something completely original.

Another day, more pathetic cretins.

@NoLifeDGenerate I think we'll start to see companies listening to gamers feedback a lot more during the development process as with Baldurs Gate 3. Not necessarily with an early access model but maybe simple polls to find out what is popular among fans of a franchise. There is simply too much competition nowadays for them to ignore us.

@Spider-Kev T2 the Arcade Game with the Sega Menacer was fantastic as was Robocop vs Terminator. Good times.

I came to Terminator Resistance late, only completed it along with it's DLC in the past month BUT it's an essential experience for any fans of that universe. The story, art style, sound effects and original music integration are just what I was hoping for in a Terminator game. I can look past the middling gunplay and stealth. I sincerely hope the next title is this good but with better overall mechanics and current gen graphics.

Helldivers 2, it's got to be the best co op shooter of the last ten years if not longer. Playing on PC with a Series X controller - I sincerely hope it comes to Xbox as no one should miss out on this much fun. Time will tell if they can keep it fresh but at the moment the Starship Troopers and Terminator influences only heighten it's appeal for me. Then to calm down, maybe a bit of Flight Simulator on Series X where it's better optimized than I'm able to do with a 3070 GPU somehow.

@pip_muzz Maybe Contraband although it's been very quiet on that front.