Nothing the Xbox has discussed in the post few months have been of any interest to me and the overall state of the industry has been miserable since 2014. This year has seen a decent uptick in quality and I know there are at least two major games I'm excited for next year (Fable and Perfect Dark) but otherwise I haven't seen anything to give me much optimism going forward. It takes new consoles time to pick up steam. It took Series X/S 5 years and now they're ready to drop it for a new platform and start the whole thing over. Just not for me and unless they opt for a purely Xbox-branded PC, I have no interest in purchasing shut more consoles going forward.
I was going to play it on my new laptop I just bought, but the opening cutscene in the demo was a stuttery 15-FPS mess. Apparently $1,200 laptops don't get you very far these days, which is pathetic since I could buy a $400 PS5 and play it no problem. Yeah... that laptop was returned immediately.
That's cool. I think they overvalue their own work. For example, I would never pay to own a game like 'RotSP' because it's just another dime-a-dozen open-world crafting game in a market that is ridiculously oversaturated with them.
On the other hand, it's free on GamePass and I still have zero intention of ever installing or playing it, so for somebody like me, the 'valuing' of the game is neither positive nor negative, so they have not been affected by it's presence on GamePass in any way.
Nice. Looks like I've got about 8 more games this year to look forward to. Crazy year for somebody who typically only finds 1 or 2 games a year these past could generations. Space Marine, Tony Hawk, Keeper, Ninja Gaiden 4, Outer Worlds 2, and High On Life 2 all look to be awesome! Plus Jurassic World Evolution 3 and Powerwash Simulator 2 are on the way and I probably won't wait for GamePass on those.
Hopefully Cities Skylines 2 is about ready to join the fray finally, as well, but I suspect it will be delayed to next year with their recent DLC delay.
God it better not be a Halo Reboot or I'm done with the series. I'm sick of every game dumping the framework the previous game setup, I want the plot of Infinite to keep going, and I'm too invested in the 30+ novels to have them go and reboot everything and render them all irrelevant. Reboot the franchise and I walk away for good.
@Lup Fair enough. I also loved NG3 (more than MG2, but not as much as Black.) I'm just used to that being a hot take and most people hating that game. lol.
@Lup Ehhh... We're talking the same team that did Ninja Gaiden 3, DOAX3:VV and the Nioh series? I'm excited for NG4, but without Itagaki I will temper my excitment and approach with caution.
@TapeLoader I agree it is hard to envision, but the same thing was said years ago about releasing 1st party games on competitor platforms because it undercuts their hardware sales, but now here we are.
I do believe one advantage would be getting GamePass access onto Steam and unlocking the full Steam library as potential GamePass content going forward. It gives them a lot of options versus being a locked system with limited content to offer, especially in a world where studios keep skipping over Xbox entirely.
It's definitely the largest stretch on my wishlist and maybe there is some way to do a Lite version if they do anything at all. It's just a hope of mine and definitely a mic drop wishlist moment for me.
Besides the obvious gameplay and cinematic footage for announced games like Fable, Perfect Dark, Everwild, Contraband, Clockwork Revolution, etc... what I would like in terms of new content includes:
Sequels to Mechassault, Brutal Legend, Kameo, Viva Pinata, Fuzion Frenzy, Voodoo Vince, Vigilante 8, Spyro the Dragon, and Crimson Skies.
Port of StarCraft 1 & 2 to consoles.
KOTOR Remake re-revealed and officially announced for Xbox.
Death Stranding 2 Xbox Launch confirmed to coincide with the PS5 launch.
Steam Support officially launched for Devices
Direct sequel to Halo Infinite continuing the story (not a reboot!) Spin-offs from other studios would also be welcome.
Gotta give it an F. Thanks for the JWE3 release date and it's good to know RE9 is going in a new direction, but I can't remember a single other thing they showed. Hope the Sunday show does better. Microsoft has been killing it this year. Lets see that continue!
Neat. I don't plan on buying one done I barely even played my Switch, but it'll be nice seeing the platform get games at the same time rather than getting 3-5 year posthumous ports like Switch always seemed to get.
The fact that I saw the trailer thumbnail for 'Romeo is a Dead Man' and knew it was a Grasshopper and Suda51 game is a good sign. Can't wait to get my hands on that, though I still wish we could get a Killer7 remaster on Xbox at some point.
Naturally not much to talk about on MGS Delta since it's clearly just a graphically overhauled remaster of the original, but suffice to say I'm excited to play through it again.
Besides that, psyched to finally have some news on Pragmata after such a long wait, Silent Hill F looks like Silent Hill and Fatal Frame had a freaky ass child together, and despite not being a fan of the James Bond franchise in general First Light gave me major Splinter Cell Conviction vibes and hopefully it will be a good balance between that and the Hitman series. I've been dying for another game like SC: Conviction because it was an awesome game even though it wasn't a great Splinter Cell game.
My biggest disappointment is the Mortal Kombat Kollection. While I'm sure a lot of people are excited for it, I'll be the first to admit I prefer the 3D entries and have been put out with the series ever since MK9 went back to the flat 2D format. Considering the sheer lack of 3D fighters in the industry right now with DOA and Soul Calibur nowhere to be seen, I would much rather get a collection with Deadly Alliance, Deception, Armageddon and Shaolin Monks.
I think I'm most excited about a potential expansion for Hitman. I would love to see some new levels introduced to the game even if they aren't tied into the plot in any way. Even just seeing reimagined takes on some classic Hitman levels like the Opera House would be fine by me.
Oh well. Not a big fan of handhelds personally. Rather they focus on releasing a Steam Machine with full access to my existing Xbox and Steam, and GOG libraries. I would love a PC console actually design to interface with my TV.
Probably not. I'm not much of a mobile gamer and feel like I would spend more time just plugging this into my TV like I do my switch.
I am much more interested in a home console that combines seamless access to my full Xbox library and my Steam library. I don't give a damn about specs beyond it being powerful enough to run the most demanding PC games smoothly and I really just want to give my PC games the console experience with my 100" TV, comfy couch, and built-in controller emulation for games that don't have it natively. Access to mods and being able to play Sony games are my primary incentive here.
My answer is none of them. I would never pay $80 for a videogame, but especially a modern game because I know it's going to be unfinished and unpolished at launch and more than likely packed to the brim with cosmetics and various other microtransactions.
Hell, I'm still not happy with the move to to $60 games in the 360 generation. $40-$50 was the sweet spot for a new game back in the day, but given the quality of what we've been getting for the last decade, I would say most game launches aren't with more than $30 anymore.
I'll continue to do as I've been doing for the last decade and either wait for it to come to GamePass or wait for it to do below $15.
Only played a couple chapters so far before it had to catch my plane, so I'll get back to it when I get home in a couple weeks, but so far it's a 9/10 game. Not as good as DOOM 2016 (One of my Top 3 GOTY of Last Decade) but soooo much better then Eternal and all of its awfulness (of which I still haven't finished a single playthrough to this day and never will.)
Love the slower pacing and more methodical approach to combat. I'm so glad to see that ***** poledancing removed and just like Assassinations in Halo Infinite, I am not sad to see Glory Kills absent as they quickly became repetitive and were my last favorite part of DOOM 2016 and it was even worse when Eternal forced them and that awful Flame Belcher on you.
Honestly doesn't bother me. I'm hopeful this new entry will be good, but I'm keeping my anticipation in check after having to suffer through the last entry in the series. Even if a couple dozen people boycotting the game were to somehow impact its overall success, I honestly wouldn't be disappointed if they decided it was time to retire the franchise altogether. I don't feel hype of excitement for the series like I did back in the days waiting for DOOM 3 and the 2016 Reboot.
Pretty sure everybody was talking mad ***** about how garbage Bethesda games were after that acquisition as well. Starfield was and still is ***** on regularly. We'll see how it performs when it eventually drops on PS5 next year.
As for ABK, I'm pretty sure everybody (Xbox fans included) still agrees that COD is trash and Blizzard is a shell of ours former self, so nobody expects anything to come from this acquisition.
@ScalenePowers It's one of my personal favorite games, but honestly a hard sell for somebody who isn't a longtime fan. The graphics are janky, the flick targeting will fight you (turn it down to the lowest sensitivity setting if you do play it), and the game has framerate issues and scripting that fails to activate, rendering things like elevators you need to progress inoperable. It can all be worked around, but it's a game that requires you to be patient. I've been playing it since it launched in 2005.
If I haven't scared you off yet, it's an amazing game with Indie vibes. It's an epic story co-penned by Orson Card about Humanity's ascension to godhood. The gameplay is extremely Max Payne with Dual-Wielding and Bullet-time, but in a Sci-Fi setting. The game boasts a fair variety of weapons and special powers that each come with alternate fire modes that completely change their function and you can dual-equip any combination of weapons and powers for some crazy combos. It also boasts an amazing Orchestra soundtrack composed by Tommy Tallarico and is my personal favorite element of the game and one of my favorite soundtracks in gaming.
About 100 hours into Oblivion Remastered and still going strong, so I've been taking a break from my usual rounds of Morrowind. Also been firing up Advent Rising, Breakdown, and Tropico 6 on occasion. Just started Crime Scene Cleaner, as well.
I did. Only thing I didn't do was the difficulty achievement. Haven't brought myself to do a 2nd playthrough yet to finish it.
The Totems would've been annoying except they had a toggle in the settings section that caused them to show up on the map. Small collectibles in Open-world maps tend not to be my favorite feature and they added buffs to your character and incentivized completing them before the end of the game, so I had that bad boy turned on immediately.
Took me about 40, which is long for most games, but fairly short for this genre of games, experience compared to titles like Cyberpunk, Witcher, Fallout, and Elder Scrolls.
I think the issue was more how linear it was. It didn't really have much in the way of side quests, alternate factions, or even branching paths of progression. I've gone on record wishing this game had been a more blatant copy of Elder Scrolls, though, so that's probably where most of my disappointment comes into play here.
It's not a bad game but any means. It just felt like it was missing some stuff.
That's sort of how I feel. I loved Ninja Gaiden Black, but wasn't a huge fan of 2 and 3 wasn't much of an improvement over the 2nd one.
Outer Worlds I agree. Not really a game I feel needed a sequel. I welcome the opportunity to see them give it a 2nd chance, but it's not a game I ever ached to revisit after I completed the 1st playthrough and never bothered returning for the DLC. Hopefully the sequel does something to make it standout.
I did enjoy Avowed for what it was, but like Outer Worlds, it was a ridiculously short game that took me a week to beat and I haven't really thought about it since. Obsidian is a talented developer, but aside from Knights of the Old Republic 2 I've never been a huge fan of their work.
At this point my Microsoft want list for the next few years includes DOOM, Fable, Perfect Dark, and Elder Scrolls VI. Hopefully they've got some good stuff coming up that they can talk about in next month's show, but unless it's launching in the next year, they'd be better off shutting up and focusing on getting some new IP and reviving some more classic franchises that people want. (I'd kill for a new entry in Crimson Skies, Brutal Legend, Mechassault, Fuzion Frenzy, Phantom Dust, Fable...)
For me, yes and no. DOOM, Ninja Gaiden, and Outer Worlds are all on my watchlist, but they also all have a history with their previous entries being not so great (Outer Worlds was good, but insanely short and limited in content. It felt more like a tech demo than a game.) I'm hoping they managed to work their magic and give us something to write home about, though, because otherwise 2025 is pretty much done for me with GTA delayed and Death Stranding 2 not coming to Xbox immediately.
Shenmue 3 please!!! I helped Kickstart it and have my PS4 copy still, but I absolutely hate the PS controller and trying to do QTEs on it is a nightmare. I've been holding out for an Xbox release for years now so I can finally beat it.
Still no Campaign expansions = Still not reinstalling the game. It had solid writing and felt like a good continuation of John's development that Halo 4 started to establish, but the actual missions and scripted events were dialed back and bland compared to the epicness of earlier entries. There was a lot of room to expand on the campaign with more vehicle, activities, and events, but they dropped the ball and Infinite is as dead to me as Happy 5 and Reach are.
Got high hopes the new DOOM is better then Eternal was (my biggest letdown of this decade), but we'll see what happens. Police Simulator has been on my list for a while, so glad I finally get to try it out. Hopefully it'll keep me busy until Powerwash 2 launches.
I would love to see Fable moved back into 2025 with GTA6 out of the way, but I doubt we'll be that lucky.
Honestly I'm hoping Microsoft has an original IP in the bank for later this year. They've said they have unannounced surprises yet to come this year and I would love to see something big drop in the near future. Double Fine and Rare are both due for another major release and I'm praying some of the the ABK studios like Raven & High Moon have been set free from their Call of Duty purgatory and allowed to make their own games again.
I'm still kind of twiddling my thumbs waiting for something good to launch this year. Avowed was fun, but way too short and a very linear experience. Oblivion is amazing, but also a remaster of an old game that I have already put thousands of hours into over the years, so I'm not in any rush to finish it again and would rather sip it like a fine wine.
Hoping DOOM next month is good, but DOOM Eternal is my biggest disappointment of this decade and I'm going in with tempered expectations this time. Still waiting for dates and information on Ninja Gaiden 4, GTA 6, & Outer Worlds 2. Also keeping an eye on Ready or Not, MindsEye, Death Stranding 2, and Metroid Prime 4.
I would be more onboard with 'Remasters' if this was the level of effort they put into all of them. Graphics are far from the most important element in gaming and I'm honestly content with being at a 360/XB1 range of quality with new releases, but most classics already nailed the gameplay, so bringing that forward with Graphics, UI, and QOL updates is how it needs to be going forward.
1.) When characters walk in robes (the Emperor is who I noticed) the robe lacks motion and the character's legs shoot out the back.
2.) Feels like the ground in the open world is littered with tons of floating sticks. It's a bizarre sight to have a stick pointing straight up every 10 steps.
Besides that, I'm having a blast. Loved it 20 years ago and loving it just as much today. My only hope is that they add mod support down the road so we can continue improving it like we do with Skyrim.
I also ask that they add a slow-time function to the Shortcut radial. The original system used the D-Pad to switch in real time, but the new popup wheel forces your character to pause while the enemies still relentlessly bombard you with attacks. It's more productive to just pause the game and change out in the inventory menu.
Meh. Still looks like an awful slog to play through. Not really surprising considering who developed it, though. Never liked either of their previous titles, either.
@acmiguens In some regards I agree, but others I don't. By your definition, Halo CE and Halo 2 Anniversaries are Remakes, but I don't believe they are. Supposedly they are currently working on a Halo CE Remake that will be rebuilt from the ground up, but if those are two different things, do they use the same definition?
The problem is there's no clear terminology to cover the spectrum of these kinds of games. If it releases 1:1 with improved textures, it's a remaster like The Thing, but if they rebuild the game from scratch and make obvious changes it's a Remake like Resident Evil 4.
What about a game like Halo where the gameplay is untouched, but they've overhauled it with Remade assets and visuals? What if it's like Ninja Gaiden 2 Black where they remade the entire game in a new engine, but otherwise it remains almost identical to the original? At what point does a game transition from being a port to a remaster to a remake and what about those games that exist between the lines?
As far as anybody can tell, Oblivion looks like it'll be on par with Ninja Gaiden 2 with it being a new engine, but otherwise the same game. Perhaps a flourish of new visuals, but I don't expect them to change anything in the gameplay or item models. We'll likely still have the same potato-faced NPCs and wonky UI. I do suspect the physics will be significantly different from the original, however, so it'll be interesting to see how the game feels with it's loss of zany chaotic physics (would love to be able to actually decorate my home without ***** constantly exploding everywhere, so I welcome this change personally, nostalgia be damned.)
So wait. This isn't just another brainless PvP shooter where idiots go back and forth shooting each other on repeat ad nauseum? We're actually getting a spiritual successor to SWAT and the Rainbow games when they were still good? I'm having trouble believing it...
Feel like Fallout 3 (and a lot of these games really) would benefit more from them doing something quirky rather than just straight have remasters. I would love to see it remade into a Coloring Book as something tongue-in-cheek considering how monotone and bland the original was visually.
@AlwaysPlaying Ubisoft's very existence undermines their value as a company. They're on their last leg and hopefully won't exist as a company by year's end. Time to move these IP to studios that will actually do them justice.
Dammit... I hate that we're being given yet another rumour about this and I'm ready to 'Boy who cried wolf' this, but Jeff is a difficult source to ignore. Doesn't mean he hasn't been wrong in the past, but his name holds more credibility than most of these "Insider Sources".
That'd be neat. Haven't played a CoD game since CoD4 ruined the franchise for me, but I've always been a bit curious about Infinite Warfare and there's a severe lack of Sci-Fi FPS these days.
THPS1+2 would've been nice a year or two ago. I've been holding off on buying it ever since the ABK Acquisition was first announced, but now that 3+4 is getting ready to launch, I couldn't care less about playing the older title. 3 was always my favorite entry in the series anyway.
God this looks awful. Ignoring the fact that this is yet another awful extraction shooter, this looks like a a cat vomited up a bunch of random colors and we're playing as chunky hairballs with guns. Nothing about this game looks even slightly redeeming.
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Re: Talking Point: Have This Month's Announcements Made You Excited About Xbox Again?
Nothing the Xbox has discussed in the post few months have been of any interest to me and the overall state of the industry has been miserable since 2014. This year has seen a decent uptick in quality and I know there are at least two major games I'm excited for next year (Fable and Perfect Dark) but otherwise I haven't seen anything to give me much optimism going forward. It takes new consoles time to pick up steam. It took Series X/S 5 years and now they're ready to drop it for a new platform and start the whole thing over. Just not for me and unless they opt for a purely Xbox-branded PC, I have no interest in purchasing shut more consoles going forward.
Re: Talking Point: What Do You Want To See From Next Week's 'Capcom Spotlight' Showcase?
Dink Crisis Reboot or Remake and gameplay + release date for Pragmata.
I would also welcome new entries for Killer7, P.N.03, and Dark Void.
That's about all I can think
Re: PS5's Stellar Blade Could Move To Switch 2, But What About Xbox?
I was going to play it on my new laptop I just bought, but the opening cutscene in the demo was a stuttery 15-FPS mess. Apparently $1,200 laptops don't get you very far these days, which is pathetic since I could buy a $400 PS5 and play it no problem. Yeah... that laptop was returned immediately.
Re: Developer Reveals Surprisingly Critical Feedback After Launching On Xbox Game Pass
That's cool. I think they overvalue their own work. For example, I would never pay to own a game like 'RotSP' because it's just another dime-a-dozen open-world crafting game in a market that is ridiculously oversaturated with them.
On the other hand, it's free on GamePass and I still have zero intention of ever installing or playing it, so for somebody like me, the 'valuing' of the game is neither positive nor negative, so they have not been affected by it's presence on GamePass in any way.
Re: Oblivion Remastered Update 1.1 Now Available On Xbox, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
Removed
Re: Xbox Game Pass In 2025: The Full List Of Everything Announced So Far
Nice. Looks like I've got about 8 more games this year to look forward to. Crazy year for somebody who typically only finds 1 or 2 games a year these past could generations. Space Marine, Tony Hawk, Keeper, Ninja Gaiden 4, Outer Worlds 2, and High On Life 2 all look to be awesome! Plus Jurassic World Evolution 3 and Powerwash Simulator 2 are on the way and I probably won't wait for GamePass on those.
Hopefully Cities Skylines 2 is about ready to join the fray finally, as well, but I suspect it will be delayed to next year with their recent DLC delay.
Re: Phil Spencer Teases Four Massive Xbox Games For 2026, Including A New Forza
God it better not be a Halo Reboot or I'm done with the series. I'm sick of every game dumping the framework the previous game setup, I want the plot of Infinite to keep going, and I'm too invested in the 30+ novels to have them go and reboot everything and render them all irrelevant. Reboot the franchise and I walk away for good.
Re: Ninja Gaiden 4 Gets Release Date, Arrives On Xbox Game Pass This October
@Lup Fair enough. I also loved NG3 (more than MG2, but not as much as Black.) I'm just used to that being a hot take and most people hating that game. lol.
Re: Ninja Gaiden 4 Gets Release Date, Arrives On Xbox Game Pass This October
@Lup Ehhh... We're talking the same team that did Ninja Gaiden 3, DOAX3:VV and the Nioh series? I'm excited for NG4, but without Itagaki I will temper my excitment and approach with caution.
Re: Last Chance! What Are Your Final Hopes For The Xbox Games Showcase 2025?
@TapeLoader I agree it is hard to envision, but the same thing was said years ago about releasing 1st party games on competitor platforms because it undercuts their hardware sales, but now here we are.
I do believe one advantage would be getting GamePass access onto Steam and unlocking the full Steam library as potential GamePass content going forward. It gives them a lot of options versus being a locked system with limited content to offer, especially in a world where studios keep skipping over Xbox entirely.
It's definitely the largest stretch on my wishlist and maybe there is some way to do a Lite version if they do anything at all. It's just a hope of mine and definitely a mic drop wishlist moment for me.
Re: Last Chance! What Are Your Final Hopes For The Xbox Games Showcase 2025?
Besides the obvious gameplay and cinematic footage for announced games like Fable, Perfect Dark, Everwild, Contraband, Clockwork Revolution, etc... what I would like in terms of new content includes:
Most importantly, StarCraft Ghost revival!
Re: Roundup: All The Xbox Reveals From The Future Games Show 'Summer Showcase' 2025
Can't wait for Directive 8020! Nothing else of interest here, though. Bring on the Microsoft show!
Re: Roundup: All The Xbox Reveals From The Future Games Show 'Summer Showcase' 2025
@TheSimulator Pretty sure you're thinking about tomorrow's event. The Microsoft show hasn't happened yet.
Re: Poll: How Would You Grade The Summer Game Fest 2025 Showcase?
Gotta give it an F. Thanks for the JWE3 release date and it's good to know RE9 is going in a new direction, but I can't remember a single other thing they showed. Hope the Sunday show does better. Microsoft has been killing it this year. Lets see that continue!
Re: Xbox's First Switch 2 Release Skates Onto Hybrid Console Next Month
Neat. I don't plan on buying one done I barely even played my Switch, but it'll be nice seeing the platform get games at the same time rather than getting 3-5 year posthumous ports like Switch always seemed to get.
Re: Roundup: All The Xbox Reveals From June 2025's State Of Play
The fact that I saw the trailer thumbnail for 'Romeo is a Dead Man' and knew it was a Grasshopper and Suda51 game is a good sign. Can't wait to get my hands on that, though I still wish we could get a Killer7 remaster on Xbox at some point.
Naturally not much to talk about on MGS Delta since it's clearly just a graphically overhauled remaster of the original, but suffice to say I'm excited to play through it again.
Besides that, psyched to finally have some news on Pragmata after such a long wait, Silent Hill F looks like Silent Hill and Fatal Frame had a freaky ass child together, and despite not being a fan of the James Bond franchise in general First Light gave me major Splinter Cell Conviction vibes and hopefully it will be a good balance between that and the Hitman series. I've been dying for another game like SC: Conviction because it was an awesome game even though it wasn't a great Splinter Cell game.
My biggest disappointment is the Mortal Kombat Kollection. While I'm sure a lot of people are excited for it, I'll be the first to admit I prefer the 3D entries and have been put out with the series ever since MK9 went back to the flat 2D format. Considering the sheer lack of 3D fighters in the industry right now with DOA and Soul Calibur nowhere to be seen, I would much rather get a collection with Deadly Alliance, Deception, Armageddon and Shaolin Monks.
Re: MindsEye, 007 First Light & More To Be Featured In Special Showcase This Weekend
I think I'm most excited about a potential expansion for Hitman. I would love to see some new levels introduced to the game even if they aren't tied into the plot in any way. Even just seeing reimagined takes on some classic Hitman levels like the Opera House would be fine by me.
Re: Talking Point: What Are Your Plans For The Xbox Games Showcase 2025?
Same thing I always do. Load up on Chinese food and a bunch of Whiskey and enjoy the show alone in my living room.
Re: Xbox Has Reportedly 'Sidelined' Plans For A 2027 First-Party Handheld
Oh well. Not a big fan of handhelds personally. Rather they focus on releasing a Steam Machine with full access to my existing Xbox and Steam, and GOG libraries. I would love a PC console actually design to interface with my TV.
Re: Talking Point: Will You Be Buying The 2025 Xbox Handheld From ASUS?
Probably not. I'm not much of a mobile gamer and feel like I would spend more time just plugging this into my TV like I do my switch.
I am much more interested in a home console that combines seamless access to my full Xbox library and my Steam library. I don't give a damn about specs beyond it being powerful enough to run the most demanding PC games smoothly and I really just want to give my PC games the console experience with my 100" TV, comfy couch, and built-in controller emulation for games that don't have it natively. Access to mods and being able to play Sony games are my primary incentive here.
Re: Talking Point: What Game Franchises Would You Pay $80 For On Xbox?
My answer is none of them. I would never pay $80 for a videogame, but especially a modern game because I know it's going to be unfinished and unpolished at launch and more than likely packed to the brim with cosmetics and various other microtransactions.
Hell, I'm still not happy with the move to to $60 games in the 360 generation. $40-$50 was the sweet spot for a new game back in the day, but given the quality of what we've been getting for the last decade, I would say most game launches aren't with more than $30 anymore.
I'll continue to do as I've been doing for the last decade and either wait for it to come to GamePass or wait for it to do below $15.
Re: Poll: What Do You Think Of DOOM: The Dark Ages So Far?
Only played a couple chapters so far before it had to catch my plane, so I'll get back to it when I get home in a couple weeks, but so far it's a 9/10 game. Not as good as DOOM 2016 (One of my Top 3 GOTY of Last Decade) but soooo much better then Eternal and all of its awfulness (of which I still haven't finished a single playthrough to this day and never will.)
Love the slower pacing and more methodical approach to combat. I'm so glad to see that ***** poledancing removed and just like Assassinations in Halo Infinite, I am not sad to see Glory Kills absent as they quickly became repetitive and were my last favorite part of DOOM 2016 and it was even worse when Eternal forced them and that awful Flame Belcher on you.
Re: 'Huge' Number Of People Cancelling DOOM Pre-Orders Over 'Botched Physical Release'
Honestly doesn't bother me. I'm hopeful this new entry will be good, but I'm keeping my anticipation in check after having to suffer through the last entry in the series. Even if a couple dozen people boycotting the game were to somehow impact its overall success, I honestly wouldn't be disappointed if they decided it was time to retire the franchise altogether. I don't feel hype of excitement for the series like I did back in the days waiting for DOOM 3 and the 2016 Reboot.
Re: New Sales Data Highlights How Xbox Is 'Dominating' PS5 Right Now
@TheGameThrifter
Pretty sure everybody was talking mad ***** about how garbage Bethesda games were after that acquisition as well. Starfield was and still is ***** on regularly. We'll see how it performs when it eventually drops on PS5 next year.
As for ABK, I'm pretty sure everybody (Xbox fans included) still agrees that COD is trash and Blizzard is a shell of ours former self, so nobody expects anything to come from this acquisition.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 10-11)
@ScalenePowers It's one of my personal favorite games, but honestly a hard sell for somebody who isn't a longtime fan. The graphics are janky, the flick targeting will fight you (turn it down to the lowest sensitivity setting if you do play it), and the game has framerate issues and scripting that fails to activate, rendering things like elevators you need to progress inoperable. It can all be worked around, but it's a game that requires you to be patient. I've been playing it since it launched in 2005.
If I haven't scared you off yet, it's an amazing game with Indie vibes. It's an epic story co-penned by Orson Card about Humanity's ascension to godhood. The gameplay is extremely Max Payne with Dual-Wielding and Bullet-time, but in a Sci-Fi setting. The game boasts a fair variety of weapons and special powers that each come with alternate fire modes that completely change their function and you can dual-equip any combination of weapons and powers for some crazy combos. It also boasts an amazing Orchestra soundtrack composed by Tommy Tallarico and is my personal favorite element of the game and one of my favorite soundtracks in gaming.
Re: New Sales Data Highlights How Xbox Is 'Dominating' PS5 Right Now
But I thought Xbox didn't have games PS fans wanted to play? I've always been told they have no interest in the "garage" that Xbox Studios produce...
Re: Four Games Are Confirmed For Xbox Game Pass In June 2025 So Far
I'm moderately curious about Alters. Personally won't be anything huge, but might be fun to dabble in for a couple hours.
So far nothing else of interest to me.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 10-11)
About 100 hours into Oblivion Remastered and still going strong, so I've been taking a break from my usual rounds of Morrowind. Also been firing up Advent Rising, Breakdown, and Tropico 6 on occasion. Just started Crime Scene Cleaner, as well.
Re: Here's A Look At The Updated Xbox Game Studios Roadmap From May 2025
@jesse_dylan
I did. Only thing I didn't do was the difficulty achievement. Haven't brought myself to do a 2nd playthrough yet to finish it.
The Totems would've been annoying except they had a toggle in the settings section that caused them to show up on the map. Small collectibles in Open-world maps tend not to be my favorite feature and they added buffs to your character and incentivized completing them before the end of the game, so I had that bad boy turned on immediately.
Re: Here's A Look At The Updated Xbox Game Studios Roadmap From May 2025
@jesse_dylan
Took me about 40, which is long for most games, but fairly short for this genre of games, experience compared to titles like Cyberpunk, Witcher, Fallout, and Elder Scrolls.
I think the issue was more how linear it was. It didn't really have much in the way of side quests, alternate factions, or even branching paths of progression. I've gone on record wishing this game had been a more blatant copy of Elder Scrolls, though, so that's probably where most of my disappointment comes into play here.
It's not a bad game but any means. It just felt like it was missing some stuff.
Re: Here's A Look At The Updated Xbox Game Studios Roadmap From May 2025
@somnambulance
That's sort of how I feel. I loved Ninja Gaiden Black, but wasn't a huge fan of 2 and 3 wasn't much of an improvement over the 2nd one.
Outer Worlds I agree. Not really a game I feel needed a sequel. I welcome the opportunity to see them give it a 2nd chance, but it's not a game I ever ached to revisit after I completed the 1st playthrough and never bothered returning for the DLC. Hopefully the sequel does something to make it standout.
I did enjoy Avowed for what it was, but like Outer Worlds, it was a ridiculously short game that took me a week to beat and I haven't really thought about it since. Obsidian is a talented developer, but aside from Knights of the Old Republic 2 I've never been a huge fan of their work.
At this point my Microsoft want list for the next few years includes DOOM, Fable, Perfect Dark, and Elder Scrolls VI. Hopefully they've got some good stuff coming up that they can talk about in next month's show, but unless it's launching in the next year, they'd be better off shutting up and focusing on getting some new IP and reviving some more classic franchises that people want. (I'd kill for a new entry in Crimson Skies, Brutal Legend, Mechassault, Fuzion Frenzy, Phantom Dust, Fable...)
Re: Here's A Look At The Updated Xbox Game Studios Roadmap From May 2025
@somnambulance
For me, yes and no. DOOM, Ninja Gaiden, and Outer Worlds are all on my watchlist, but they also all have a history with their previous entries being not so great (Outer Worlds was good, but insanely short and limited in content. It felt more like a tech demo than a game.) I'm hoping they managed to work their magic and give us something to write home about, though, because otherwise 2025 is pretty much done for me with GTA delayed and Death Stranding 2 not coming to Xbox immediately.
Re: ININ Wants To Bring More Games To Xbox, And Needs Your Help
Shenmue 3 please!!! I helped Kickstart it and have my PS4 copy still, but I absolutely hate the PS controller and trying to do QTEs on it is a nightmare. I've been holding out for an Xbox release for years now so I can finally beat it.
Re: Halo Infinite Summer 2025 Update Adds 'Linear Firefight Experience' On Xbox & PC
Still no Campaign expansions = Still not reinstalling the game. It had solid writing and felt like a good continuation of John's development that Halo 4 started to establish, but the actual missions and scripted events were dialed back and bland compared to the epicness of earlier entries. There was a lot of room to expand on the campaign with more vehicle, activities, and events, but they dropped the ball and Infinite is as dead to me as Happy 5 and Reach are.
Re: These 11 Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (May 7-20)
Got high hopes the new DOOM is better then Eternal was (my biggest letdown of this decade), but we'll see what happens. Police Simulator has been on my list for a while, so glad I finally get to try it out. Hopefully it'll keep me busy until Powerwash 2 launches.
Re: Reaction: GTA 6's Delay Could Be Great News For Xbox And Its Fall 2025 Lineup
I would love to see Fable moved back into 2025 with GTA6 out of the way, but I doubt we'll be that lucky.
Honestly I'm hoping Microsoft has an original IP in the bank for later this year. They've said they have unannounced surprises yet to come this year and I would love to see something big drop in the near future. Double Fine and Rare are both due for another major release and I'm praying some of the the ABK studios like Raven & High Moon have been set free from their Call of Duty purgatory and allowed to make their own games again.
Re: Talking Point: Xbox Fans, How Do You Find Time For All These Amazing 2025 Games?
I'm still kind of twiddling my thumbs waiting for something good to launch this year. Avowed was fun, but way too short and a very linear experience. Oblivion is amazing, but also a remaster of an old game that I have already put thousands of hours into over the years, so I'm not in any rush to finish it again and would rather sip it like a fine wine.
Hoping DOOM next month is good, but DOOM Eternal is my biggest disappointment of this decade and I'm going in with tempered expectations this time. Still waiting for dates and information on Ninja Gaiden 4, GTA 6, & Outer Worlds 2. Also keeping an eye on Ready or Not, MindsEye, Death Stranding 2, and Metroid Prime 4.
Re: Poll: What Score Would You Give Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 So Far?
Haven't played it and never plan to. Not touching this one with a 10 ft pole.
Re: Reaction: Oblivion Remastered Sets A New Standard For Xbox & Bethesda
I would be more onboard with 'Remasters' if this was the level of effort they put into all of them. Graphics are far from the most important element in gaming and I'm honestly content with being at a 360/XB1 range of quality with new releases, but most classics already nailed the gameplay, so bringing that forward with Graphics, UI, and QOL updates is how it needs to be going forward.
Re: Hands On: Oblivion Remastered Is Impressive, But There Are Some Performance Issues At Launch
So far my biggest complaints are:
1.) When characters walk in robes (the Emperor is who I noticed) the robe lacks motion and the character's legs shoot out the back.
2.) Feels like the ground in the open world is littered with tons of floating sticks. It's a bizarre sight to have a stick pointing straight up every 10 steps.
Besides that, I'm having a blast. Loved it 20 years ago and loving it just as much today. My only hope is that they add mod support down the road so we can continue improving it like we do with Skyrim.
I also ask that they add a slow-time function to the Shortcut radial. The original system used the D-Pad to switch in real time, but the new popup wheel forces your character to pause while the enemies still relentlessly bombard you with attacks. It's more productive to just pause the game and change out in the inventory menu.
Re: Xbox First-Party Release Barges Into Top-10 Played Games During Launch Week
Meh. Still looks like an awful slog to play through. Not really surprising considering who developed it, though. Never liked either of their previous titles, either.
Re: Oblivion Remastered PC File Size Leaks Ahead Of Rumoured Xbox Game Pass Launch
@acmiguens In some regards I agree, but others I don't. By your definition, Halo CE and Halo 2 Anniversaries are Remakes, but I don't believe they are. Supposedly they are currently working on a Halo CE Remake that will be rebuilt from the ground up, but if those are two different things, do they use the same definition?
Re: Oblivion Remastered PC File Size Leaks Ahead Of Rumoured Xbox Game Pass Launch
@acmiguens
The problem is there's no clear terminology to cover the spectrum of these kinds of games. If it releases 1:1 with improved textures, it's a remaster like The Thing, but if they rebuild the game from scratch and make obvious changes it's a Remake like Resident Evil 4.
What about a game like Halo where the gameplay is untouched, but they've overhauled it with Remade assets and visuals? What if it's like Ninja Gaiden 2 Black where they remade the entire game in a new engine, but otherwise it remains almost identical to the original? At what point does a game transition from being a port to a remaster to a remake and what about those games that exist between the lines?
As far as anybody can tell, Oblivion looks like it'll be on par with Ninja Gaiden 2 with it being a new engine, but otherwise the same game. Perhaps a flourish of new visuals, but I don't expect them to change anything in the gameplay or item models. We'll likely still have the same potato-faced NPCs and wonky UI. I do suspect the physics will be significantly different from the original, however, so it'll be interesting to see how the game feels with it's loss of zany chaotic physics (would love to be able to actually decorate my home without ***** constantly exploding everywhere, so I welcome this change personally, nostalgia be damned.)
Re: Ready Or Not Officially Releases For Xbox In Summer 2025
So wait. This isn't just another brainless PvP shooter where idiots go back and forth shooting each other on repeat ad nauseum? We're actually getting a spiritual successor to SWAT and the Rainbow games when they were still good? I'm having trouble believing it...
Re: Bethesda Reportedly Has More Than One 'Remaster' In The Works
Feel like Fallout 3 (and a lot of these games really) would benefit more from them doing something quirky rather than just straight have remasters. I would love to see it remade into a Coloring Book as something tongue-in-cheek considering how monotone and bland the original was visually.
Re: These 10 Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (April 16 - May 6)
@AlwaysPlaying Ubisoft's very existence undermines their value as a company. They're on their last leg and hopefully won't exist as a company by year's end. Time to move these IP to studios that will actually do them justice.
Re: These 10 Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (April 16 - May 6)
Sonofabitch... You're welcome everybody! I held out as long as I could and just bought Dredge a week ago. This always happens...
Re: Bethesda's Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remake Will Reportedly Shadow Drop Next Week
Dammit... I hate that we're being given yet another rumour about this and I'm ready to 'Boy who cried wolf' this, but Jeff is a difficult source to ignore. Doesn't mean he hasn't been wrong in the past, but his name holds more credibility than most of these "Insider Sources".
Re: Three Classic Activision Games Listed For Xbox Game Pass By Microsoft
That'd be neat. Haven't played a CoD game since CoD4 ruined the franchise for me, but I've always been a bit curious about Infinite Warfare and there's a severe lack of Sci-Fi FPS these days.
THPS1+2 would've been nice a year or two ago. I've been holding off on buying it ever since the ABK Acquisition was first announced, but now that 3+4 is getting ready to launch, I couldn't care less about playing the older title. 3 was always my favorite entry in the series anyway.
Re: Bungie's 'Marathon' Gets September Release Date For Xbox, Closed Alpha This Month
God this looks awful. Ignoring the fact that this is yet another awful extraction shooter, this looks like a a cat vomited up a bunch of random colors and we're playing as chunky hairballs with guns. Nothing about this game looks even slightly redeeming.
This is not my Marathon.