CunningPig

That 2nd screen shot says a lot. Every enemy looks identical, and they're all just sort of crowding in on the character with their fists raised in the same way, just walking up to a guy with multiple guns, trying to punch his face.

@BAMozzy Mass Effect games are pretty short on the next playthrough once you know what to do, and playing as a different class can feel very different. Also, you can play renegade/paragon, male/female and it will feel different. Also, also, you can romance different characters, and some choices like saving certain characters can give actual reasons to replay. I've played through all of them several times and the first time I played ME2 as Renegade Femshep, after Paragon Manshep, was awesome. She's such a b**** lol. But either way, you get to choose which save you import so it won't affect the sequel, unless I'm misunderstanding you.

Only AC game I've played start to finish is AC1. I would have played AC2 but a save corruption bug got me twice and I never went back. I bought Valhalla for... 10.99? something like that. Deep discount. I made it to England and did one area, never finished. It's pretty boring. I've always found the story outside the animus to be more interesting and it seems they've basically abandoned that aspect of the series.

It's weirdly inconsistent too. It has some really great looking landscapes and structures to play around on, but then it also has the worst animations of any AAA game I've ever seen. The crazy facial expressions and hand movements of some of the side characters during dialogue would be a fireable offense if I ran Ubi. They look like The Grudge, demonic possession or something.

@pip_muzz I mean, if your pick is Pentiment, which I'm enjoying pretty well, I think many people would have a similar argument about it not really being a game. After all, you just run around and read dialogue, an interactive book if you will. It's hard to argue that one type of game is "correct" and another isn't. True interactive movies, like Immortality or Late Shift, are all valid too.

If I had to pick the game I had the most fun playing, it would be Tinykin. Similar to Psychonauts 2, it was just a joy to play from start to finish.

If I had to pick the game that I thought was the most well crafted top to bottom it would be TUNIC. It really was a perfect love letter to old school Zelda fans.

I'm a little concerned about this game ethically. I've heard it's a terrible strain on the animator's wrists.

@ParsnipHero The progression is pretty quick.

I think my favorite things about this game is that #1 it's cross save, so I've been able to play while working on my pc and then on xbox seamlessly. Haven't really played any other games with cross save like that yet, it's a cool feature. And #2 it has 140 achievements lol. Which is just fun.

Edit: I take it back. It appears cross save broke my game. I unlocked some things on xbox and then upon syncing the data for pc they weren't unlocked, but the ability to unlock them is now gone, specifically the bracelet.

Edit 2: Deleting my save data on Xbox fixed it, if anyone else encounters this problem.

The thing is, the game is basically an idle clicker. It's addictive in the same way, and there is almost zero gameplay in the same way. It has good math, meaning they've done the numbers and things scale well, but none of the characters or levels feel appreciably different than the others. Each run will feel basically the same as the last. You will either turn your screen into a brain melting flash of spell effects and survive for 30 mins, or you wont. And once you've got the correct combination to survive, you barely have to try to survive every time. You have to really screw up bad to risk failure. It's addictive, but it's way, way overrated when people are talking about this as a GOTY contender to dethrone Elden Ring. Just kinda insane, and I'm no From fan.

I literally fell asleep at about 24 mins 2 nights ago, and didn't lose. It's like highway hypnosis.

@k3lt0n the garlic is good for the enhanced knockback, combined with the book it makes it so they can't get close. Get the book, the garlic, and the santa water for its damage. Evolve them and nothing will get close to you and you don't even have to move.

Played some Halo Infinite campaign coop with my nephew. He's never played Halo before so that was fun.

Also been melting my eyeballs with Vampire Survivors.

I liked Control but the story was pretty pointless. It was just a shell for a meta narrative. SPOILER The actual story of Jesse trying to rescue her brother, or clearing the building of Hiss, didn't have any meaninful resolution at all and it was full of red herrings. The lore of the world they built was really interesting though and I would like to see a more traditional story told in that world.

As others have said Alan Wake and Quantum Break were better, or at least felt more complete.

It's addictive. Not much gameplay. It's like one step above a mobile idle game. It's weird that it is so derivative of Castlevania too, because other than the vampires and the art assets, the game is nothing like Castlevania. Everything in the game could be reskinned with literally anything and it would be the same game.

Best indie this year for me is Tinykin hands down.

Ssd, cpu, fps boost, auto hdr, quick resume, all of the above

I had a One S. Playing Outer Worlds was the moment I really fell out of love with that console. The load times just killed it towards the end. The SX was such a massive upgrade in performance. Everything immediately felt so much better to just jump in and play. Add to that FPS boost on games like Skyrim SE, which I was in the middle of playing when the feature was added. What an eye opening experience that was, 30fps one day, 60fps the next. It's improvements like that, across the board, that just make everything about gaming on SX feel smoother, faster, and more accessible.

@themightyant negotiating timed exclusivity using the leverage of the console market leader is not a level playing field. Xbox would have to pay a lot more for those same deals to lure developers away from that leading platform. It IS anticompetitive for Sony to use their position as console market lead to strong arm developers away from xbox and game pass. Sony uses their position to keep xbox down, the only recourse is for MS to use their money, one way or another. Either pay more for the same timed deal, or buy it outright.

Let's try this in reverse. You say "there is nothing stopping Microsoft doing EXACTLY the same." But what if they did? What if they used their money, the way Sony uses their market strength, to just outbid Sony for all exclusivity deals? Wouldn't that be anticompetitive too? So what's the difference? How could Sony compete if Xbox just moneyhats exclusivity on all 3rd party?

Should a company the size of MS just not be allowed to do business? Someone was going to buy ABK. They were for sale. MS didn't force this on them, their toxic workplace did. Should MS be penalized for being one of the handful of entities who can afford it? If it's down to Google, Apple, Amazon, MS, Tencent, as the only companies with enough cash to do the deal, who among that group would be any different than MS?

Is the only option to kill ABK and break it up so that no one can own it? Would that even be good for the individual studios or the industry at large? CoD and Candy Crush might be the only things that survive that. That would suck.

@hypnotoad Yep, I have only the first 11 seasons and haven't watched any new simpsons since the movie. Even 11 had some stinker episodes. But it has some classics too and my favorite, E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt), the tomacco episode.

@raftos that's terrible lol. The idea that the pop in is so bad that part of the gameplay loop is going around looking for traversal structures to pop in is just insane. wow

I haven't played a sonic game since sonic 2 on my game gear in 1993. Now that I think about it, I briefly played a 3d one on my friend's dreamcast, maybe. I'm kind of interested in this one. Free play days would be great, because I have no idea what to expect from this, especially after these reviews.

Systems of Starcraft mmo, book it

But the revived Blizzard IP that will crown xbox the king of all time is THE LOST VIKINGS!

I've basically done what I wanted to in D2R. Beat it on hell with every class on single player, killed Uber Diablo with my only SoJ for an anni, built some high runewords.

D3 has been shelved for a while for me. I played maybe 1 season a year, just got bored with the same grind again, but sometimes they would pull me back in for a week if the new mechanic sounded interesting enough.

So ready for 4! and everything they've said and shown looks good to me so far. Not worried about cosmetic mtx at all. If that supports a more robust seasonal content development team, then I can happily ignore the shop. D3 seasons revived the game but they were sort of tacked on, and by and large they were all the same, until the last few started mixing it up. From what they've said it sounds like there's a much more solid long term plan here than there was for D3

So is it 5 or 4? I always thought of Andromeda like New Vegas, in naming convention only. If it's a direct sequel to the main games, then it should be 4, right?

@CrazyJF it's definitely a relay. Maybe being built from scratch, not repair. That doesn't look like the original smooth, curvy, bluish material is there at all. In the lower left corner it says (kinda blurry so some letters are hard to make out)

"Vacuumdock Relay Construction Record / Monitoring Station Operated by Green Dagger Ltd. Property of Deepspace **ow SAV / Ship Captain Sub-Navarch Soa'Rhai Zhilan-Jones"

@AstraeaV for 99% of them, yes they're permanent based on what they've said. afaik the only ones that will have some issues are the Forza series because they require licensing deals for the cars and eventually those expire. Maybe there are others with similar issues that I don't know about, like Flight Sim? Not sure.

It is a subscription service though so, yeah they could technically yank anything at any time and there's nothing we could do about it. But if you think about it, there's no real reason for them to remove any of their own stuff. I would guess it costs them very little to host their own game on the service and even old games add to the overall appeal of the catalogue. On top of that, there is opportunity for monetization through dlc and that type of stuff, which is basically just free money at this point.

@Kaloudz yep haha. Done it at least 3-4 times. But I think it's out of my system for now.

Just waiting on 3 and cautiously optimistic for good things coming from undead labs. The support they showed throughout the lifespan of SoD2 makes me feel confident that the new one is going to turn out well. Just hopefully it's a little more polished at launch than 1 & 2. Using Coalition and UE5 should help with that.

@Kaloudz yes, more enemy variety and better AI as opposed to just ramping up density. Campaign structure for sure, but also just more to do on a map once you're established. Also I think overall it would feel better if it was a more gradual progression from start to finish. Most the time it feels like you can just jump from the first base to the best base and then again from there to the next map. Especially once you've played your first map and are reusing your already powerful characters and weapons.

Outposts need to feel more meaningful and should have some function other than just a resource stream. Their location should matter and they should impact the surrounding territory like in the first game. They should be used to secure an area or give you a forward operating base, not just supply X food a day.

The other thing I'd like to see is not just clearing the plague hearts, but transforming the map. From zombie hellscape to thriving community. Or maybe from zombie hellscape to raider hellscape, or militaristic dystopia, or religious cult, or new age commune, so many possibilities for RPG elements and long haul playthroughs.

Also, my military truck should hold more than my backpack lmao

And for the love of god no more sleeping bloater pop-in literally right in front of me while I'm driving. I've rage uninstalled more than once over that lol

Might I suggest for your xbox enjoyment this weekend, the most amazing thing that has happened to your gamer score since.. ever. For over 2 years I have been ending on either a 1 or a 6 all thanks to Doom Eternal and some rando achv that gave me 1 darn point.

But if you're like me don't despair! Now there is HOPE! I give you GUNFIRE REBORN! It will fix all your awkward gamer scores guaranteed. It has all sorts of random achievements with odd numbers and you will for sure be able to fix those tricky scores.

Can someone answer, when do I get to control my character and explore a bit in persona 5? I've been playing for a few hours it feels like, and it's just almost all cut scene. Like a VN really, does it open up to more gameplay later?

Forge and Co-op should be fun. I don't really care about multiplayer anymore, but the forge adds so much creativity that it gets me to dabble, trying out different modes.

I didn't mind sims 4 on xbox. It was mostly playable. After a while my guy wouldn't piss in any toilet I had though, and would just wet himself constantly. Apparently it was a known bug that just never got fixed. I quit playing.

It's a shame, I spent a lot of time on 1,2,3 on PC. Hopefully they focus just a little more on quality control and actual new content for this "new sims" and not just pumping out add on packs that are basically just reskins of the add on packs from the previous entries in the series, i.e. selling you the same stuff again and again.

I added up all the dlc on xbox and it's like $260, if I remember correctly. Just gross.

The first Walking Dead was probably my favorite. Man that game was so well written, made a grown man cry. Little Nightmares was probably my 2nd favorite with Dead Space 1&2 close behind.

Games I played this year, I liked The Medium. Playing Scorn right now and it's pretty good, plus I always wanted to escape room in hell, so check that off the bucket list. I would consider Immortality and Plague Tale to be horror as well and both of those were great.

I loved Dying Light and the night was truly scary, haven't played the 2nd one yet, waiting for complete edition.

Hellblade is also arguably horror and that game really surprised me. Can't wait for 2.

Peppa Pig was the stuff of nightmares.

The one game I loved, but hated actually playing it, was Alien Isolation. Hate stealth, and it was too terrifying. I would find a place to hide and put the controller down for long periods of time. But the game was awesome, I just couldn't handle it.

Monster Train and Grounded by day, Scorn by night.

I always set out to play specific things and end up playing something else. Been playing Fuga Melodies of Steel instead. It's pretty okay.

My only complaint is it seems really difficult, even on mild. I get mobbed by anywhere from 2-5 stink bugs, or orb weavers and can barely damage them even with my mightiest club. Basically just have to run away all the time, or try to cheese the AI while sniping with arrows. And blocking takes way too much stamina. But it's the game of my childhood dreams, so I still love it.

Avowed is another game I think has a chance at 2nd half '23, maybe Nov, or Dec. Obsidian seems to have all their ducks in a row.

As far as Forza Motorsport. All I really want is a more structured career progression than FH5. Rags to riches, not supercars within minutes of starting. Although honestly, I really just want that in FH5 because it's open world and would make the journey much more satisfying if it felt like the whole game wasn't opened up so quickly.

@GamingFan4Lyf yeah it's really strange there's no hdr support, I thought something was wrong at first, but it looks great either way. I played last night for about an hour and had to stop myself to get some sleep after doing the first claw puzzle. It really is immersive from the first menu, just straight into it. And it's almost humorous in a way how disgusting it is. Like wtf am I looking at type lawls

@Thrussted yeah basically you said everything I was going to say. Thief! Stardew clone probably worth playing when it leaves early access. I'm not sure it's got the same, let's say, quirky creative soul that Stardew has to its writing and characters. It seems more sanitized. Also, the character creator could use some work. No matter what I did my character looked basically the same.

@BBB Full mod support has been confirmed in a reddit ama. I haven't heard anything about console vs pc, or creation club. There were some lawsuits about the season pass and not having access to creation club content on Fallout 4. I'm not sure what happened with those or if that will motivate them to open up the console to full mod support or not.

My guess is it will be similar to previous games, but as this is their first game as an xbox studio we don't really know.

@S1ayeR74 Where did you see this about nintendo not being a competitor? I would think the only logic that would support that would be to assume infinite discretional income, which would negate any conflict of choice between ps and xbox. Most people only have so much money to spend and nintendo vs ps vs xbox is a real decision people have to make when considering how to spend their entertainment budget. That makes nintendo competitors by default.

@UndyingInsurgent95 Mute protag is better, at least for bethesda rpgs as we've come to know them. The voiced protag for Fallout 4 really limited the dialogue options and it sort of forces a role on the player when they really should be able to create whatever role they want to play.

I'm ready for a full fat bethesda rpg. They've made some of my favorite game worlds ever and I'm fairly optimistic this will be another on that list.

@SithItachi I think it wont matter too much if it's an inch deep honestly. Giving their games breadth means the modders have a lot to work with to add depth. From what we've seen this looks like the most ambitious framework they've ever attempted, and appears to be a great foundation for the community to build on. That's why Skyrim and even Morrowind are still played even decades later.

In the classical Greek sense, you know, those guys who made up the word, a planet was just any celestial body that moved across the backdrop of fixed stars. So the sun and the moon were considered planets, along with the 5 planets that can be seen with the naked eye. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Sun, Moon, the 7 luminaries, the wanderers, the planetes.

@Xiovanni I wouldn't look too deep into this. This move was part of MS putting all their apps on the VR headsets. Windows, office, teams, etc. will now be usable on the quest pro and quest 2. This is nothing new for MS. They want their software on anything and everything. Just like Game Pass, they don't care which platform, as long as people are engaging with MS products.

I lied. I ended up playing monster train all day

Should they be played in order? Or just jump into 5 in a couple weeks?

Finishing Beacon Pines which really surprised me in a good way. Then probably Grounded. Maybe D2R new season.

Also, the past of Prey. The turrets are very similar design.

Thinking about it some more, if tetris effect connected or slay the spire ever leave the service I'll definitely buy them. Stardew Valley, probably as well. There's just certain games I feel are essential at this point.

I've bought a few before they leave, like FF7, just to own a legit copy of it. I mostly buy dlc for first party though, for games like Fallout New Vegas when I replayed that, knowing it would always be on the service, buying the dlc seemed like a fun thing to do for a definitive playthrough.

What I don't understand is the people who say "buy it to support the devs." Downloading and playing it are metrics xbox keeps track of. The devs are supported by the check they get when they put the game on there. By being a member and playing the game, you are supporting the devs.

I could see if you're hopping in and out of the service that buying games at a discount could make sense if you feel like you're getting your money's worth. Not for me though, I'm never leaving

@Magabro GDP per capita is not a good indication of standard of living. Better than GDP alone, but it's more a measure of output than income. Botswana has almost 60% of their population living on $5.50 a day or less. Brazil has 13%. It's not even close. Brazil has greater wealth disparity and a weaker middle class than the other nations in the top 10 GDP, but the country as a whole is still one of the richest in the world.

Brazil is not a poor country. It has a lot of poor people. But it's the 9th largest economy in the world. Maybe that's where the corruption thing comes into play.

I love obsidian and was highly anticipating this game before launch. Then xbox announced it was day one with game pass. I don't remember them doing that with any previous games and the fact I was so looking forward to it I was thrilled. That's the day I became a game pass lifer lol.

The game was great but unfortunately on xb1s the load times really killed it for me by the end. It just felt like I was looking at my phone for more time than I was playing the game, jumping around from place to place finishing up side quests before the ending. I never went back for the dlc, so if that's included, this is another welcome surprise, and I'll definitely jump back in on SX.

I haven't used it but I want a new/2nd controller that isn't an xbone controller and I've been thinking I'll probably do design lab just for the novelty of it. Not sure I even have a design in mind, but it is just sort of fun to personalize the thing I spend so many hours interacting with.

@J_Mo_Money Waiting will often times provide a better experience anyway. People told me I was crazy, or just said I must be poor, when I said I'd wait for the complete/goty edition before the launch of Cyberpunk (goty edition seems laughable in hindsight). I did it with Witcher 3 and it was great. Nowadays waiting is often the best option imo, especially considering I don't play multiplayer outside of the occasional co-op campaign.

Just like I'm waiting for Dying Light 2. I know techland is going to support the game for several years and improve it along the way. I have no problem waiting for it to achieve it's final form.

@Dezzy70 @theskelf the only thing I would add is that they've made a point of showing in the trailers that combat will be more of an option in this sequel. She says something along the lines of "I'm sick of hiding, it's time to fight back" and then she knifes some guy's throat.

@pip_muzz you had a full year to play these "very good games leaving Game Pass." How is that not a positive thing? They're also discounted if you slept on them, so that's another positive thing.

The only games that I can remember having a short stay since I joined game pass in January 2018 are GTA 5 and RDR2.

What a terrible year for game pass and xbox players! Just by checking my achievements I see I've only completed 25-30 games or so. ME:L, GotG, Tunic, The Artful Escape, Telling Lies, Her Story and Immortality, Unpacking, Hitman 3, Last Stop, Tainted Grail, Death's Door, Contrast, Firewatch, Gorogoa, Weird West, Citizen Sleeper, Stardew Valley, PEPPA PIG!, Plague Tale, Chorus, Far Cry 5, Two Point Campus, finally got around to Gears 5 and Hivebusters campaigns, Floppy Knights, A Memoir Blue, Tinykin, Immortals Fenyx Rising, Escape Academy, Metal Hellsinger.

Meanwhile about halfway through Deathloop while dabbling in Hollow Knight, Beacon Pines, and You Suck at Parking, and started but put aside Death Stranding and Ni No Kuni because not enough time for all of them. Still want to play As Dusk Falls and Grounded 1.0 with my brother if he ever gets the time. And that doesn't include the many other games I've tried but didn't care to put time into. Or the games I will come back to a few times a month like Tetris, Slay the Spire, FH5. Or the amazing looking games still coming like Scorn, Persona, Plague Tale, High on Life. It's terrible value for someone like me, who spends 90% of my entertainment hours playing video games rather than watching shows or movies or reading, and uses rewards points to pay for the whole thing. TERRIBLE!