Matthewnh

I had the original Elite controller. Series 1, I suppose you might call it now.

It was very good, but the rubber grips on the handles peeled away eventually. Considering that these cost over £100 each, at the time, this was most disappointing.

As you can imagine, I have not been inclined to get the Series 2 controller.

Best game of this generation so far for me has to be Hogwarts Legacy. Just because of the phenomenal attention to detail.

Unfortunately, I have only played the PS5 version.

I only seem to use the XBox for exclusives.

So it has to be Starfield. No Question.

Of course, will there actually be such a thing as “Xbox exclusive games” in the future?

I agree completely. Microsoft’s naming conventions are a little odd.

Xbox
Xbox 360
Xbox One
Xbox One X
Xbox Series X

That is hardly what I would call a logical sequence, or any sort of sequence at all, in fact. For non-gamers (parents) it must be especially confusing. The obvious solution is to ask which is the most expensive? That will likely be the newest model.

As to what to call the very newest model, I have no idea.

Xbox A?
Xbox Series Y? Z?

Actually the name XBox Prime is not too bad, given previous examples. Although it does make me think of Transformers.

Mirrors Edge is an incredible game.

It is definitely not a First-person shooter. Think of it more as a puzzle game. How do I get from A to B to C, as quickly as possible?

The game can, and really should, be completed without shooting anybody at all. The only time I picked up a pistol, I just used it to break a window.

The hand-to-hand combat is really tricky in first-person, especially when your opponents have guns, and you do not. But a well-timed disarm will leave your opponent unconscious.

When the game flows, and runs really well at speed, it is amazing. There is truly no other game quite like Mirrors Edge.

I am in this position. I own both a Series X, and a PS5.

I own both consoles, because there are great games that are exclusive to both of these consoles. But those games may no longer be exclusive.

If customers can now play Xbox games on their home consoles without having to buy an actual xbox, then it will get more people playing a wider variety of games.

Several years ago I bought an Xbox one so that I could play Halo and Gears of War.

Developers will always sell far more software than they will sell hardware.

If PlayStation owners can now play Xbox games without having to spend £500 on an Xbox, then surely everybody wins?

Are Sony going to follow suit? And release their best titles on the Xbox?

The very fact that Dragon Age Veilguard was a single-player story based adventure was the only reason I bought it.

If the new game had been a live service “game” like Anthem, then I would not have bothered.

But the fact that Veilguard is a success bodes well for the new Mass Effect. It would be good to get back into that universe.

It is an unpopular idea, but I would also like to see a sequel to Andromeda, one day.

They name it “The Competitor”.

That is either very appropriate, or it is intended as irony.

I wonder if Sony will complain, as it is possible that Hyperkin violated trademarks and such things.

There seem to be a few PlayStation fans throwing “shade” at Microsoft for this. Despite Microsoft not being responsible.

Currently replaying Avatar Frontiers of Pandora.

Thoroughly enjoying it, again.

I play XBox games, on an XBox.
Series X, to be precise.

Why would I bother using anything else?

I realise now that I only actually bought ONE game this year.
I bought Dragon Age Veilguard, for the Xbox.

And I must buy Indy, some time next year. And I want to give Starfield another go, too.

However, I also got five games this year for the PS5.
They are Flintlock Siege of Dawn, Astrobot, Black Myth Wukong, Avatar, and Star Trek Resurgence.

@PhileasFragg

I agree with you. Star Trek Resurgence is brilliant. Underrated, though. I suppose it only appeals to Star Trek fans.

If you have The Next Generation on disc or streaming, then watch “The Last Outpost”, season 1, episode 4. It will be a precursor to the events of the game. The story will therefore make more sense, having that episode as a backstory.

Currently playing through Dragon Age II, on series X.

Having finished Veilguard, going to try to replay all of the Dragon Age games.

Bought Black Myth Wukong, for Christmas. But it can wait.

I will also try to replay Starfield, after this new update. Sometime.

Now is a good time to buy a Storage Expansion Card.

I have had one more or less ever since I got the Series X.

351GB free (of 802) on internal storage.
326.5GB free (of 920) on expansion card.

It specifically says that it is a 1TB storage card, but I guess not.

Just started the Mass Effect Trilogy, yet again. Honestly, started yesterday.

Recently completed the Horizon Zero Dawn remaster, so followed up with Forbidden West.

Next, I will pick up Veilguard (Series X) come payday, in two weeks time.

Will probably buy my copy, on Xbox, at the end of next month. My Christmas gift to myself.

I have played Dragon Age Inquisition more than I have any other game. So, regardless of the reviews, this is a must buy for me. I shall make up my own mind as to whether I enjoy it or not.

But purely because the PS5 version of Horizon Zero Dawn comes out tomorrow, I have more than enough to keep me busy for the time being.

And I have always found something to enjoy from every BioWare title I have ever played. Even Andromeda.

Okay, maybe not Anthem. That one does not count.

If you actually have the Xbox fridge, then yes, I can see the appeal.
But not directly attached to your console. That’s a terrible idea. There is just too much potential for things to go wrong.

I have Shattered Space, as I bought the Premium edition of Starfield. Have not got around to playing this new expansion yet, though. But I will soon. I would prefer to make up my own mind, than read reviews.

It is actually quite clear, if you look at the top of the plastic case.

The one on the left says “XBOX ONE”
And the one on the right says “XBOX” and has the logo for “Series X”.

But I agree that it is confusing.
This is likely to cause problems, because some people are novices, or not even gamers. Imagine someone buying one as a present.

Perhaps we could have them colour coded as well? Make the Xbox One games in green plastic cases. Maybe put the Series S/X versions into black plastic cases, instead?

This might make it more obvious.

But I agree with the other comment - Activision is at fault here, and not Microsoft. The real issue is - Is this deliberate?

I bought the Starfield controller.

Does that count?

Personally, I think this looks good.
I am certain that I will give it a go, eventually.

And the new Dragon Age game.

I do not play games as much as I used to, simply because - I suspect much like most other people - I can no longer find the time. The perils of getting older.

I work, though not as many hours as some, and have other responsibilities. Like everybody else. But no children, though.

What free time I have, is now divided between gaming, reading, or watching a film. But I suppose the positive side is that this does make me value my free time much more.

But also, the games I play have changed. I now play rpgs and adventure games much more than I used to. I guess I want to be involved in a story, rather than just a quick action fix.

The two games I have played most this year are Hogwarts Legacy, and Avatar Frontiers of Pandora. Looking forward to Dragon Age 4, and Black Myth Wukong.

Mass Effect 3 - The Citadel

Mirrors Edge - Pure Time Trials

@Lup I did not enjoy Trespasser as much as I enjoyed exploring the area with the Avvar. (The Jaws of Hakkon)

@Kienda

Play Dragon Age Inquisition.

I can thoroughly recommend it.

The Dragon Age games have a continuous narrative running through them, so you will probably have a better grasp of the story for having played the previous instalment. It will also help you understand who your various companions are.

I am sure there will be some sort of recap, but the “recent events” of Dragon Age Inquisition are going have a direct impact upon the plot of Veilguard.

I still want to call it “Dreadwolf”. Ha Ha.

Plus, the original Dragon Age game (360) is probably the greatest computer RPG ever made.

@Banjo-

Yes. I really enjoyed it.

It perfectly captures the atmosphere of the films. It is fair to say that the game is simply a Far Cry clone, with a coat of blue paint. However, the recreation of the world of Pandora is just stunning, and the exploration feels natural.

I explored the map, not for the usual Ubisoft checklist of stuff, but because I genuinely wanted to see what was over the next hill.

The idea of clearing installations and camps, in order to heal the surrounding wilderness, and thereby gain access to its resources - this was very clever.

But honestly, I love the Avatar movies as well. If you do not enjoy those films, then you would be unlikely to enjoy 50-odd hours exploring Pandora.

I finished the Avatar game recently.

Have the Season Pass for it, so it is good to know that there is more content coming soon.

This is apparently called “The Sky Breaker”. I wonder just what that title means.

A sequel to Quantum Break?

The remake of Knights of the Old Republic?

Something else entirely, that is neither a sequel, nor a remake.

What am I playing this weekend?

Nothing.

Moving house the day after tomorrow, so everything is in boxes right now. So, ask me again in a few weeks, once I unpack.

I am curious to see what Starfield is like now, mind you.

And I seriously recommend keeping the boxes for your consoles and other electronic equipment. You never know when it will come in useful.

Right now, I am not playing anything at all.
My Xbox is away, in its box.

Once I move house, and unpack - in a few weeks - I will probably restart Starfield. From the beginning.

The update might actually make it feel like a completely different game.

I had a PS3. Played Saints Row 2

Loved that game.

Wanted to play the first Saints Row game. So I bought a basic 360 Arcade.

Then I added a few other Xbox exclusives. Halo is the one really remember.

Every generation since, I have had both a PS and an XBox.

But I always seem to buy the Xbox first.

The series x was certainly easier to get hold of than the ps5.

I would like to, but I cannot. Not right now.

I move house in about two weeks. So everything is boxed up.

I know that I will undoubtedly have a lot to do, once the move is finished - but I will definitely restart Starfield once I get the chance.

Or, more likely, start over from the beginning. Again.

This sounds fabulous. What more reason do I need to boot up Starfield, and give it yet another go?

Except that I can’t. The Xbox is…well, in its box.

I move house in two weeks. So this is going to be one more thing, of many others, that I can look forward to.

Have not played Jedi Survivor. Played Fallen Order, though, and it is very good.

Playing this weekend - Avatar Frontiers of Pandora PS5 version though). Not playing anything on Xbox at the minute.

But I will get back into Starfield once this new update kicks in.

Might be tempted to give Starfield another go.

I quit trying to while get off that ship that is full of treasure. Literally died dozens (perhaps hundreds) of times. Then I gave up.

This might tempt me start again. But I would probably start again from scratch. I am determined to finish the game at some point.

Got to try and complete the Avatar game first of all, though.

This is good news.

The more people playing these different titles, the better.
The rivalry between the two consoles is unnecessary.

Will Forza, Gears, Halo, and Starfield make the jump to PS5?
Will Spiderman swing onto Xbox Series X?

In the end, more choices for gamers can only be good.

I have owned both an Xbox and a PlayStation for the last three generations. Happy to play games on both consoles.

Started reading the article.
Got as far as the second paragraph. “Clear absence of a disc drive”.

No, thank you. I will give this a miss.

I have a Series X.

Internal storage is 69% full. 244GB remaining.
1TB Storage Expansion Card is 69% full. 285GB remaining.
5TB External Hard Drive 24% full. 3.5 TB remaining.

Basically all of my Series X games are either stored on the Internal Hard Drive or the Expansion Card, for the faster storage.

Most Xbox One games are on the external HDD.

I have a total of 55 games on my library. But I did have a bit of a purge recently, and got rid of a few I no longer played very regularly,

The first Xbox I bought was the 360 Arcade.

I bought it to play Saints Row.
I had lots of fun with the madness of Saints Row 2, on PS3. And wanted to play the original game.

I subsequently discovered great Xbox games like Halo.

When the next generation arrived the first console I bought was the Xbox One.

And I also bought a Series X before I got my PS5. But that is possibly because the PS5 was not exactly easy to get hold of at the time.

Even now I still have a handful of 360 games on disc, that I still play.

Dragon Age, Mirrors Edge, Red Dead Redemption

I only replaced the 360 versions of the Mass Effect games once the Legendary Edition arrived.

Even now I think most of their games I own are remakes of older games.

I stopped playing a while ago.

Finding Kryx’s lost ship was fun. But getting off of it proved impossible. After thirty-odd attempts to leave, with no way to breathe the now-toxic atmosphere.

Not at all fun. So I simply gave up. Haven’t been back yet.

Kinect was a clever piece of hardware.

I did not have any actual “Kinect” games, and did not really have a lot of room, and with motion control you the need space to move around.

But being able to control the Xbox One with my voice, that was cool. I enjoyed that. Now it seems that almost everything else is voice-activated, except for the xbox.

I use to have PSVR, on the PS4, but only ever used it to play movies in 3D

Is it even possible to connect (no pun intended) a Kinect sensor to the Series X? Probably not.!

I agree.
Mass Effect Andromeda was brilliant, and totally under-rated. I enjoyed the fact that they tried something new.

The game needed to have the planned DLC, to answer so many questions. For instance, we never did find out what happened to the Quarians. Hopefully the next game will bring some answers, and not just try to ignore Andromeda altogether.

I have been waiting for this game for so very long, that I am sceptical that it shall ever see the light of day.

After waiting for years, all i can say is that it had better worth the wait.

At the time, this was exactly the kind pirate adventure game I was looking for. But that was then - I have no idea what the ultimate end product will finally look like now.

Nope, that never happened to me. I guess I was one of the lucky ones.

I had the 360 Arcade. I wonder if that made any difference? Replaced my 360 eventually, of course. But I still have a few original games for it, around somewhere.

I have had no problems at all, so far. I get a little lost, sometimes. But I have been saving regularly. Starfield really does seem to have launched in excellent condition. Unless I have just been lucky, so far.

Had early access, so been playing for a few days. Slowly got that hang of it. The story takes a while to really get going. The general feel of it is Mass Effect, mixed with “Firefly”. The world building is incredible, and once I had played through the first few hours, I started again.

Now that I have got the hang of it, and the story is starting to open up, I am thoroughly enjoying every minute of it. Cannot wait to see what happens next.

Really impressed by the scale, and the attention to detail, so far. About five hours of play, yesterday. Exactly the same sense of wonder I got from playing Frontier (Elite II) on the Amiga, years ago.

Just got to Constellation.

Then I went a little too far from safety, and got slaughtered. So now that I understand how it all works, gonna start from scratch. I haven’t missed much, so I can play without having to learn again.

I agree that better map way- pointing might be a good idea. Got lost wandering around New Atlantis. Sounds like I’m not the only one.

Yes. It works. Just used the store code for the Premium Edition content, and the game launches. So I also have a nice steel book case to use, once the disc version arrives next week.

I joined GamePass Ultimate. Thanks to all of the community here, for recommending it. And downloaded Starfield.

I had preordered the disc edition from Amazon, and the Premium Edition Upgrade, download code, too. The premium content code should arrive within the next few hours. Should give me early access, right? While I wait for the disc version to arrive next week.

Got a scary email from Amazon, which suggests that even they are not sure it will work. But I shall let you know.

Redeemed the code for the Premium Content, and yes. It works. Played for about 45mins. Really impressed so far. Just landing on the first new planet.

So looking forward to this game. I am sure that it will live up to the hype. My premium edition upgrade arrives on Friday. Can’t believe that is only two days away, now. Glad to have that day off work.

The reason I bought a 360 was to play Saints Row. (The very first Saints Row game)

I was a huge fan of SR2 (on the PS3) but the earlier game was only ever released on Xbox. So I found a cheap 360 arcade version.

I bought an Xbox One before buying a PS4, and had already bought a Series X before finally managing to buy of a PS5.
but part of that was because the Series X was easier to get ahold of.

The good thing is that once I had a 360, as well as a PS4 I could buy exclusives for both consoles. Something I continue to do, even now.

Well, I have already preordered Starfield.
Will buy the new Forza, but not straight away.
Assassins Creed Mirage looks amazing.
I have the special edition of Avatar Pandora preordered (for the PS5 - yeah I know)
I also fancy the remaster of Metal Gear Solid - not sure how well remastered it will be though.

And that should keep me going for most of 2024 I should imagine.