MaccaMUFC

I had £4 rewards to spend by next month so I just bought F.E.A.R 2 but now going to have to buy the first one from CEX for £12. F.E.A.R Files can wait as that’s currently £20.

Although not part of the Summer Sale I’ve just bought both The Darkness games, I’ve played them in the early 360 days when they came out but I’ve suddenly just fancied playing some classic games from that era hence why I'm getting into the F.E.A.R games too.

My Series X does sometimes make a bit of noise with the fan building up but it’s to be expected since it’s behind my TV on the media wall so air flow is a bit restricted.

What bothers me more is when certain games are not optimised properly like the new Game Pass addition Shift at Midnight. Everytime I go around the back of the store where the dumpster is the game’s framerate goes all stuttery then my Series X just shuts down and I get a message after switching it back on saying it overheated. So the game is in an unplayable state for me.

I love the original Hell Let Loose, I bought it day one and still play it to this day so it may come as a surprise that I’ve cancelled my pre-order for HLL: Vietnam after playing a few matches from the playtest.

I know it’s not representative of the day one release but I’ve played enough to know that I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would of for a number of reasons. I’ll buy it once it’s been discounted and been out for a while and received significant patches. I’ve got the original HLL and BF6 for my online FPS fix.

We all know PS6 will outsell Helix by 3x or 4x due to popularity and brand recognition alone. The on-going physical debacle isn’t going to deter PS6 buyers, they can comment and vote in polls saying they are not going to buy it and will get a PC instead but fomo will creep in and they’ll change their tune completely once pre-orders go live.

I’m going to pre-order Helix as I’ve been with Xbox since the beginning, amassed a massive digital library and been a Game Pass Ultimate subscriber since it’s inception. Depending on how Helix plays PC games I’ll probably use the console to buy and play PC games.

I’ve had almost 700,000 lifetime points and currently have 52,500+ which I’m saving towards GTA 6.

I got the message on my Xbox, I’m actually glad CoD isn’t on Game Pass day one as it’s probably the main reason it got the recent price decrease. I’m happy to wait until next year to play it. I do the same for the EA Sports FC games, I just wait for them to be added to Game Pass almost a year after release.

I’ll be using the balanced mode for all the bells and whistles at 40fps but I won’t be buying the game until it’s half price, which as with all Ubisoft games tends to be a few months after release.

It really doesn’t matter even if Xbox was being outsold 8:1 because Rockstar wouldn’t scoff at the fact there’s 35 million Series X/S consoles out there that a good majority will be buying GTA 6. Even if half of that 35 million Xboxes bought the standard edition of the game that equals to well over a billion in £/$ but we know it’s going to be more than that when you factor in the ultimate edition and that it’s much more likely going to be well over half of that 35 million buying the game.

I’ll pre-order the day before release as I’m building up as much reward points as possible then will redeem it for the best digital version which will probably be called Ultimate Edition, like RDR2 did, expecting it to cost around £110.

@AccessibleDaydream I’d of bought the Premium Edition for Halo: CE (since it’s at a more reasonable £20) if it also included the pre-order items but it doesn’t. No point me pre-ordering the full game when I subscribe to GPU every month all year round.

As for Gears and Fable I’m not paying that much for the Premium Editions for what you get. Gears main perk is 5 days early access, I’m happy to wait an extra 5 days and save myself £30. Fable’s isn’t too bad since you also get an expansion along with early access but not knowing how significant the expansion is it’s a bit much expecting to pay £40 imo.

I can understand them only making two games an Xbox console exclusive as it would be drastic and risky deciding to suddenly make every first party game an Xbox console exclusive especially when they are all going to be added to Game Pass day one.

It would most likely affect sales massively and result in lay offs and possibly even studio closures. If Game Pass didn’t exist then yeah they should absolutely make every first party game exclusive to Xbox but not when they are added to Game Pass day one. In the future they could plan to drop adding games day one to the service and add them a year later so they can get more sales on a game’s release.

Asha and co do seem to be muddying the waters with their strategy with exclusives, making Gears E-Day and Clockwork Revolution an Xbox console exclusive but not Halo Campaign Evolved, SoD 3, Fable and Spyro? It’s nothing to do with the games already being announced for PlayStation and Nintendo because there was already a copy of Gears E-Day for PS5 but they decided last minute to cancel it and make it an Xbox console exclusive. So why not the others? As I’ve explained earlier in this comment I think that’s the reason why.

Some great games coming to Xbox like Alien Isolation 2, RE: Veronica, Crossfire and more but don’t forget that once Helix is released we will be able to play the games that were shown to only coming to Steam as well.

Can’t wait for this, I’m more excited for Codename 47 which up until now has been a PC exclusive since its release in 2000. I loved Silent Assassin and Contracts too and looking forward to playing through them all in the new upgraded graphics.

Asha Sharma is stuck between a rock and a hard place in regards to exclusives. On one hand putting all exclusives on PlayStation and Nintendo is guaranteed more money with more sales but on the other hand Xbox’s hardware and ecosystem will suffer driving loyal Xbox fans away to PlayStation. Also making games exclusive to Xbox will pale in comparison to making it multi platform so wouldn’t make sense business-wise.

I honestly think once Helix is out they should just go fully multi platform with all their first party games and promote the new console as a more casual way to play PC and Xbox games under the TV with full controller and mouse/keyboard support.

The main reason I’m getting Helix is because it can play PC games, if it wasn’t for that I’d of been getting a PS6 instead especially since most Xbox games are released on PlayStation and that we’re seeing more and more games skip Xbox altogether.

Need to see more of this on Friday when it’s shown at Summer Game Fest but I’m definitely interested especially as I was quite disappointed with Forza Horizon 6 which I think is the weakest in the series. Too short, not many new cars added, map was boring, the story missions were the worse it’s been, I could go on.

@Skinny-Pete @Fiendish-Beaver Yeah I see offers like that sometimes as well which don’t make sense but in this case with Red Dead Redemption your being rewarded a better current gen digital copy of the game because you owned a last gen copy. It’s a free upgrade from Rockstar but it’s being done in this way with Just for You deal because there was a mix up in people not receiving their free upgrade despite owning a last gen copy.

@Fiendish-Beaver That will be the Series X/S version you got for free because you owned the 360 version. I got mine too a while back and it’s a significant upgrade especially the 60fps.

There’s nothing in this sale that I haven’t already played and owned but it’s still a decent sale for others. I’m keeping my money for Hell Let Loose Vietnam next month and my rewards points for GTA 6.

Don’t digital sales account for around 80% these days? It makes total sense for Helix to be completely digital. Also game disc these days don’t actually have anything on it other than the license to play the game.

Physical media is on its death bed and is now considered a niche market for collectors and those who just won’t accept that digital is the future.

Absolutely loved Hell Let Loose (WW2) and I still play it to this day so I’m pre-ordering this. I like that they are adding new gameplay mechanics like dragging your squad member to cover while they heal.

I’ve actually got a Just For You deal, it’s only 10% off at £31.49 but I was always buying it regardless, it’s still a nice little discount.

I think it’s crazy that this Elite range still doesn’t have TMR/hall effect sticks/triggers, especially at the price it will be going for.

I bought the GameSir G7 Pro wireless (ZZZ edition) last week, it has all of the above and gyro. It is pricey at £139.99 but it’s worth it imo. It comes in a big box with three drawers with accessories to customise the controller face, thumb sticks and directional button. Also comes in a high quality controller case, charging dock and you can download the GameSir app on the Xbox Store to change dead zones and lots of other ways to customise the controller the way you want it, what more could you want?

@fraserG Off topic here but do you know about the Hell Let Loose Vietnam pre-orders have gone live? It’s out 18th June for £34.99 and £54.99 for the Deluxe edition.

I like this new update, I’ll be content having that 1M badge. I don’t care about 2M, I still go for achievements in certain games I like but after reaching 1M gamerscore I’m done caring about the total amount.

I do like the look of it but then I also liked the look of MindsEye and we all know how that turned out. If it does come to Xbox I’d be waiting for reviews and probably a sale.

@themightyant Those stats I posted are from TrueAchievements, which going by your recent post you’re already familiar with.

There’s been many times over the years I’ve played games whether it’s Game Pass, free-to-play, rented or owned just to unlock achievements, sometimes even going for time consuming ones but like you and because I'm almost at one million GS I’m taking it easy and just playing games I actually want to play and not letting achievements dictate what I play.

I’ll still go for achievements in certain games because sometimes you can get more out of the game and it can be fun to play it in a certain way on the way to unlocking them but I’ll be very selective. Off the top of my head GTA 6, Max Payne remakes, Halo Campaign Evolved, Forza Horizon 6, Hell Let Loose Vietnam are some that I’ll unlock the majority of their achievements since I know I’ll really enjoy my time with those games and spend a significant amount of time playing.

@BIG3 DE4N MUFC has won 35,342 Achievements out of a possible 91,509 (38.62% Completion - 56,167 remaining)

DE4N MUFC has a Gamerscore of 999,035 out of a possible 2,601,090 (38.41% Completion - 1,602,055 remaining)

DE4N MUFC has spent 2 years, 298 days, 20 hours and 47 minutes playing across all platforms.

All that is based on 2,473 games. As you can see I’m no completionist, got no time for that with a job and family but do game on a daily basis.

Pretty disappointed with the size of the map, especially the city which looks to only make up about 10% of the whole map. I thought they’d of really went all in on the Tokyo street/drift race scene, car meets showing off each other’s customised cars. I’m still looking forward to playing it, just wasn’t expecting the map being what it is.

As I’m about to reach one million GS, with just under 1000 GS needed, this update although is a welcome one it is also too little too late for me.

When I’ve reached a million GS I’ll just be unlocking achievements in certain games I really like and actually want to go out of my way to unlock. One million is the ultimate milestone imo, after that two million, three million etc just isn’t the same. It’ll of took me nearly 21 years reaching one million!

@Millionski @johnedwin @themightyant How can you seriously expect the PS6 to cost less than the PS5 Pro? It just wouldn’t make sense. PS5 Pro is about to be £790/$900 so it’s only logical to expect the PS6 to cost more.

Only game I’m buying in the sale is The Hong Kong Massacre. It hasn’t reviewed well but I’m willing to give it a chance for just £3.34.

Even if you’re opposed to the use of AI in games, you can’t honestly deny that DLSS 5 brings games to life. The difference is night and day, such a shame it won’t be used with Project Helix.

@Gemini53 Even in the current financial crisis we’re in, the next gen consoles will still sell out. They will be the next big thing that everyone has to have. Too many people will have FOMO so they will find a way to buy one. Also like we saw when Series X/S and PS5 came out, we should expect scalpers buying in bulk and reselling them for hundreds over the retail price or some even doubling the price.

I’d go for Balanced mode if I ever get round to playing the game but I really hope Project Helix can do at least full 4K at 60fps with high ray tracing as standard with all games, otherwise what’s the point in upgrading from Series X?

I’d buy it at even £1,200. I could justify it at that price when I consider the fact that I’d be using it every day for years. It’s got to have PC storefronts like Steam and Epic Game Store though because if it only added the Xbox PC app then I wouldn’t buy the console at all, I’d just move over to PS6.

When the time comes for the reveal, I’d expect it will be during the Xbox Showcase and then announcing that pre-orders are live after the reveal. I’ll be ready with my Xbox account signed in ready to mash the pre-order button and filling in my details quickly. All this could only happen if it was definitely coming out end of 2027.

I’ve just finished Cyberpunk 2077 last week, had a great time with it putting 100+ hrs into it doing almost everything it had to offer. I’ll get the Phantom Liberty add-on in a sale sometime this year as I’m understandably burnt out with the game atm.

With the massive decline in Series X/S console sales, the next Xbox console is going to have to offer something that no other console will, which is access to PC storefronts like Steam. If it doesn't let us play PC games and at the same graphics and fps as a native next gen Xbox game then for the first time since the OG Xbox I’ll be buying a PS6 to use as my primary console.

I love Game Pass, the achievement system, the controllers and just being in the Xbox ecosystem but I also sometimes think I’d rather they stopped making consoles and just made the choice easier for us to just buy and use a PlayStation console as our main and only gaming platform.

I’m going to buy this, love World War Z and TWD such a great collaboration so it’s a no brainer for me.

I’ll check out the sale but not expecting anything that wasn’t in the previous big themed sale. I’ll actually be glad to just work on my backlog, currently starting a proper playthrough of Cyberpunk 2077.

@BaldB3lper78 Totally agree with you, really don’t see the point in watching it live if you’re outside the US. I’d much rather skip through the video later in the morning and just watch the stuff you find interesting, saves a lot of time too.

We got there in the end, kudos to Rockstar/Microsoft for dealing with it before the day’s end 🐴 🤠

@JaffeGaffe If you’ve not played it yet or only put little time into it then there’s a good chance you could get a refund when you request it.

@coinstar5 I’ve just installed it via remote play but it’s saying I need a GTA+ subscription, the install was 9.6GB but the actual full download is supposed to be 20.55GB.

Ah well that’s me back on Silent Hill 2 until Rockstar sort this mess out.

@Jase77 Thanks for letting us know. Least we know for definite that we’re getting the upgrade for free.

I’ve now got the option to download the Series X/S version now, I’ve just checked on the Xbox app. So anyone who owns the digital Xbox 360 version is definitely entitled to the free X/S upgrade. Don’t click on the bundle option, instead click on the stand alone one. I’m downloading it when I get in later, yeehaw!!

Yeah right now I’m not sure those of us who own the 360 version are going to receive this upgrade for free. I’ve just posted in another RDR article to Fraser, it’s one thing PS4 and Switch getting this upgrade for free but it’s another when the only other Xbox version is from two console generations ago. So yeah at this point I wouldn’t be surprised if those of us with the digital 360 version aren’t eligible for the free upgrade.

@FraserG Ah right that’s a relief, I honestly thought us on Xbox were being screwed over as it’s one thing those on PS4 and Switch getting the upgrade but we’re getting the upgrade from a version two console generations ago.

@FraserG Any word on how we go about getting this free upgrade? I already own the digital 360 version, have done for many years, but when bringing up the new X/S version on the Xbox Store it’s showing to pay £24.99?

@fatpunkslim I bought the game last night and I absolutely love it. I’ve only just got the handgun at Wood Side Apartments but already spent hours exploring up to that point, entering every building possible collecting items and going for all collectibles.

Already can’t wait for the original Silent Hill to be remade and I’ll definitely be trying out Silent Hill F someday.

I’m planning on buying Silent Hill 2 and Dying Light: The Beast next month. They’ll keep me busy going into the new year.

@Chip-Douglas I’ve got the Xbox cloud gaming app but there’s only a certain selection of games on there, not a whole library like on console. One of my kids is getting a gaming PC for this Christmas so I’ll just go on his for Xbox Windows games 👍🏻

@dskatter @Chip-Douglas Is there a way to play the Windows version without a PC or laptop? Thought they’d be a way to play it on an iPhone or something.

@fatpunkslim I’ve seen people posting their thoughts on the amount of enemy encounters in the game and a lot have said they wished there were less enemies as the combat got tedious and they were frustrated that they couldn’t explore and take in the atmosphere because of enemies keep ambushing them. One even said they couldn’t even explore the prison properly due to the amount of enemies and had to keep moving on.

I may still get it, especially at the price it’s at right now. When finishing off an enemy do they stay dead and won’t appear in that area again or do they always respawn? I’m hoping it’s the former, especially in a game like this.

I’m not too sure about buying the game now after reading that there’s a heavy emphasis on combat with the amount of enemies in the game. I can see that would ruin the immersion the original game is known for, whereas in this remake it seems the enemies are more cannon fodder than actual scary encounters. I also like to take my time exploring every area in a game like this and a constant stream of enemies would spoil that.

I’ve not bought it yet, I’m about to start a proper play through of Cyberpunk 2077. I’m going to buy this next month as there’s no hurry to take advantage of the 50% off sale since it’s apparently on offer until 8th January according to the Xbox app.

I’m looking forward to playing it as the last time I played a Silent Hill game was the original on PS1. I was just a kid back then and barely made a start as it was just too intense and scary, now it looks even more so in this remake 🫣