Isca

I can vouch for the HyperX Cloud Alpha cans. Great price too! I might buy a spare pair before the end of the sale.

I've been using them for years. Best all round gaming/movie/music headphones I've ever had the pleasure of using!

Like the old Sony headphones, when they used to have excellent bass (can't remember the model number, but they don't make them anymore).

Storming the beach in Halo CE. One of my fav ever gaming moments

I went for Oblivion.

It is now 12 months since I unsubscribed from GPU, so haven't played the others on the list. Looking forward to picking some of them up in the summer (or winter) sales with the £180 saved on my sub so far

@Simu001

You can't win anything with kids....

Hmmm, interesting.

Pleased to see that it is fully licensed, (to kill ... sorry, couldn't resist) and has the classic theme music. Even has appropriate product placement! (Triumph, Landrover, Omega etc.).

Looks the real deal, and we know that technically, IO are brilliant at this type of genre.

@-taco @Kaloudz - agree

I think the Hitman games, while technically very proficient, are a bit bland and too formulaic. Agent 47 isn't much fun a role to take on after a while, and although I always like starting a new game (especially in the last of the series), it gets tiring and dull quickly.

I think with some James Bond panache, some decent cut scenes to add a little flavour and a killer soundtrack, this could do really very well. I look forward to seeing what they do with it!

One of the few games on the horizon that will be an instabuy.

Got it - thanks, Fraser.

I have all 3 on PC, but haven't played for years, and defo not since I got my snazzy super-dooper monitor.

Gotta love a freebie

@OldGamer999 - Same for me. I stopped pre-purchasing games a long time ago (with the exception of Starfield, which I am still very much enjoying).

@Lup I think it will be a refreshing change to have a linear story lasting, say 15-20 hours. It might even leapfrog the backlog because of that (if it launches without problems). Perhaps that's reflected in the price tag.

Even better, I will prolly wait for a discount in sales. That'll likely make it an offer I can't refuse.... (sorry)

@Romans12

Sadly, yes. I gave it another try, but it crashed to the home screen after about 20 mins (after doing a power cycle).

I guess there are issues to iron out, whether it is XSX or XSS.

Off to play something else now

I'm playing on XSX.

After 56+ hours, it has started to CTD frequently (twice yesterday evening, 4 times in the last few hours).

I was really enjoying it but will have to stop now to see if any more patches come out before continuing. Nothing worse than spending over an hour clearing a castle/dungeon to crash when you leave.

My fault, I guess for not saving, but hey, we're only human and can't remember every time.

Shame.

Star Wars Outlaws is on pause - playing Oblivion all weekend (when Mrs Isca lets me )

Been playing all day (and most of last night) and am absolutely loving it. So much seems to have changed for the better.

Completely stable, other than those few stutters on transition. Something to do with auto save ?

My ONLY niggle is that the world map doesn’t seem to update, as in say Skyrim, so portals are still showing up when I have closed them. Caves/ castles etc don’t indicate that they are looted. Small point, again maybe they will see to it.

Cheers, Fetchers

I'm gobsmacked with it. What an amazing job - it feels brand new. Beautiful to look at on XSX and 4K and so far playing really well.

Like others, I've had a few stutters here and there, especially transitioning to a new area. No doubt that will get fixed.

Bye bye life for the next few days

I will not buy this. I will not buy this. I will not buy this...

Oh damn. I accidentally just bought it....

Must ... play .. Star Wars Outlaws ... next. I'm putting 194% tariff on all other backlogged games....

@Ricky-Spanish

Europa Universalis IV on PC

Prob my best run ever

Stuck on backlog games ATM. Too embarrassed to say what I'm playing today

I did try Kingdom Come Deliverance with the aim of trying KCD2, but the head bobbing made me feel sick, so had to abort.

Was toying with the idea of Eternal Strands, but don't know enough to buy it (at 25% discount on Epic). I don't really like Souls-like games, and I didn't get on with Fenyx Rising - anyone got any tips on whether I should try it?

Is it a bit too cheaty boss heavy? Does it have lots of mindless 'move the blocks around' minigames?

I remember finishing all other ES games (some several times), but don't remember finishing Oblivion for some reason.

Will defo keep my eyes out for this to add to the backlog....

Can't wait to play it in 2027, when all the bugs are fixed and the GOTY version is under £20.

Due to the stupid backlog, I defo won't be buying any games this year. Even cancelled UGP it is so ridiculous

Currently playing AC Odyssey again at the moment (determined to finish it and all of its DLC) and loving it. Cannot believe it is 7 years old - it looks brilliant. Mind you, I have a better PC than in 2008....

Then its:

AC Valhalla (if finishing Odyssey)
Legions on PC
Last of us 1 and 2 on PC (again)
Red dead Redemption 1 and 2 on PC
Starfield on XBX
Cyberpunk on XBX
Halo (all of them) on XBX
Star Wars Outlaws on PC
Alien dark descent on PC
etc etc etc ... about 20 others on the list

Then might reinstate UGP for Indiana Jones, Avowed, Atomfall, and whatever else floats my boat.

Might not even live on long enough for Shadows....

I've started the original about 4 times, but never made it past a few hours. It is an incredibly unkind and janky game to the player, and not much fun (although, I did like the writing).

I've only played it on PC, as the Xbox version always crashed when I opened the map for some reason.

I'll probably try the original again, and if I finally like it past a few hours, I'll pick up the GOTY in a few years' time (when it is 75% discounted).

I'll wait for the sale

Enough games already to keep me going to 2027

I wouldn't right now.

I've just got hold of a 4k 144hz monitor and that has made all the difference to the quality for me. I'll be happy with that for a while.

Honestly, I spend £500 on a nice new monitor to play games at amazing clarity, and then what do I go and play?

Stardew Valley

@Fiendish-Beaver £120 is outrageous. I see the same price for AC Shadows coming up, so looks like the norm.

i can do without the artbook, a couple of extra costumes and a side mission.

If I still like it in 2 year's time, I'll pick up the season pass when it is 90% off

Picked it up on PC late yesterday and have been playing several hours. It is a lot of fun.

I'm not keen on the colours in places - can look a bit washed out. I really like the characters.

The soundscape inc soundtrack is fab. Quite true to the films.

It is a bit of a stealth-fest, but lots of fun gunplay too.

No bugs to speak of. Seems pretty stable.

All in all, I'm pleased with it

@FraserG Thanks very much for that info.

I have BG3 on PC, but stopped playing it until all of the updates were done. It kept doing something weird where at the time it updated, it seemed to want all of the orginal files PLUS the update files. I kept needing over 200gb of space whenever it wanted to update (and my PC is only 1tb).

Toying with the idea of getting it for XSX as well as PC. I know that might seem daft to some, but the XSX is in the lounge, the PC is in the office, and I'm a lazy git

Is all of the save game malarkey resolved with BG3 now on XSX?

@Stocksy

Now unsubscribed from Ultimate. Plan B in place

Anyone fancy a new multiplayer game called Corporate Greed?

We went for a beach walk today in a beautiful Northumberland vilage. The official car park was £6.50 for 3 hours. We rejected that and parked nearby for free, and then bought pies for the England vs Spain match tomorrow night for £6.50

You get what you pay for, I suppose.

There has to be a line somewhere, and I think it is here.

Will unsubscribe from ultimate next month. I'll just save the £15 per month and spend £180 in the Christmas sales to buy a stack of games to play over the next year.

In my mid-50s now. I thought I would slow down, but I probably play more than ever (defo more than I should!)

Most of the time I can be found playing PC games - mainly Grand Strategies and city builders. For action games, it is the XSX or PS5.

I'll likely be a sad old 60-something gamer

Excellent!

Loved Inquisition, once it played properly.

I look forward to playing this in 2026, when the GOTY version is 75% off and all the bugs have been squished

Big fan of the ES series.

I played ESO a few times when it very first came out. I absolutely hated it.

I found it too 2 dimensional and not engaging at all. In fact, I think it was ESO that put me off playing another MMORP game, and I don't think that will change now.

I hated the lack of interactivity (loads of weapons sitting around that you couldn't pick up), the artwork, and the griefers (who would stand in groups on the exact spot you needed for a quest).

Bah! Never again.

Thanks BBB

After Elder Scrolls online I'll never play a MMORPG or Co-op again!

Installed the trial a while back, but didn't play it.

Is it multiplayer/co-op only?

Won't go near it if it is.

I’ve said it before and will say again. Mad Max is an absolute blast to play and hugely under rated.

You can’t even get a beer for £2.99

I'm starting my final run of Cyberpunk - haven't played the add on yet, so should keep me busy for a while.

Also a bit of Stardew Valley .. um, I mean Coral Island on the side

Have a fab Christmas everyone!

Thanks so much for the heads-up on this, Fraser

Also for the instructions on how to get the trial. Really, nothing obvious on the store page, but it is now downloading

Dead Space. Like others, I very nearly bought it recently.

Defo my playlist for Hallowe'en

Loved playing it, but will restart again, after it has been properly patched.

8/10, but not GOTY. That, for me is probably BG3 (PC) so far.

A genius of his craft. So very sad to hear this

One of those people you don't miss, until they're gone.

8/10 for me. That might go up with more play time.

I'd have given Skyrim a solid 10/10 back when it was newly released, and Fallout New Vegas (fully patched) 9/10.

Great tip! Thanks

I didn't sign up when I had the chance, in case it conflicted with other offers later, but I will do so when I am next in New Atlantis (ETA, just after tea )

I think it is absolutely great and I'm loving it.

My favourite things are the fluidity of movement and responsive controls. I also love the space combat - the movement is very intuitive.

Not loving some of the colour palettes, but that is prob just me.

Plan to restart completely now and start my first proper run. The character I made at 1am yesterday isn't right. Mind you, the whole character creation wasn't top of my mind then, and there were so many choices - I just wanted to get going!

If I put 2k hours into Skyrim, I think this will EASILY beat that.

Thinking back to playing Elite on the BBC electron in the '90s, I could never have imagined this type of game would be around in my lifetime. Sometimes I think we gamers don't appreciate how far games development has come in a very short period of time.

Right, here we go again. Time to rock 'n roll.

Good luck out there, early access folks

First hour? Skyrim in space

Utter quality - no issues

Lovely controls

It's Skyrim - in space!!

Quality first 30 mins

I'm in

and I think it's gonna be a long, long time....

300 seconds

Here we go....

Ah well, very soon, we'll all know about the ratings/hype.

T-minus 60 minutes...

Good luck out there, folks....

@Kaloudz ah - cleanest, most bug free. Wouldn't that be just awesome?

I don't know about TES 6. Just hoping to be alive to play it (2028?) I sincerely hope it isn't a case of being 'mediocre like every Xbox exclusive is and always will be'

T-minus 345 minutes....

OMG - IGN's review is only a 7? I'm going to get a refund on my pre-order right now!

(Except I'm not. Snacks secured, cat put out, sick note ready to go, lights out and door locked. I'm ready for blast off in T-minus 7 hours, baby)