Titntin

I'm kinda waiting to play 'Trails in the Sky Chapter 2' later this week, so I was reluctant to start any big game.
Its kinda ironic then that I've started a new game of Red Dead Redemption 2. I've always waited for a decent 60 FPS patch on console but its never arrived. Now I have a Steam Machine I'm running the game with full ultra PC settings and 60 FPS and the game kinda sucked me in again...
There are so many titles worthy of my attention I'm almost giddy with the choice. Nice situation to be in
Whatever you are playing this weekend, I hope you and yours are blessed with fun and laughter!

This is a really good line up for me. I'll try to get some time with nearly all of them

I think this spike was expected, but it weird that Sony didn't have the stock to take advantage.
Good to see Xbox selling well - ultimately there will only be a couple of ways to play GTA6, and the Series X version should be as good as any!

@Mr-Cage Yes mate, I'm not beholden to PS, MS, Nintendo or Valve despite gaming on all their devices.
I think its important to feel free as a consumer to criticise changes, especially if they devalue a service you sub to and we have already seen that sometimes making your opinion heard can influence change.
While I don't think Asha is the next Messiah, she has demonstrated that she is listening. Bootlicking after we lose access to features we had is definitely no help to gamers.

Looking forwards to Onimusha - it looks a really different vibe to most samurai games.

Isle of Reveries looks like a game my wife will really enjoy, so its existence must be hidden! I get limited Xbox time as it is as she plays all the cosy games on GP

@Jenkinss Hoping the narrator is the same as it is dead funny!

@fatpunkslim
Once again, you are selectively reading and understanding nothing. I've always (cept for 6 months) had a GPU membership and still do as I clearly stated in my initial post, so I don't need your advertising quotes at me. Go sell your fave corp to someone who is not already in the system.
Meanwhile, as a long term customer of GP, I can and will complain when I see the corp continuously undermining and making a service I once loved worse value. Unlike you, I wont take anything they throw out there and say thank you....and I don't make stuff up to try and protect a multi trillion pound company.

@fatpunkslim "Have you seen other companies offering cloud gaming alongside a game catalog? No, because it doesn’t exist!"

In addition to my GPU I also have PSextra premium account. A premium sub allows me to stream games for as long as I want each month no limits, no extra payments.
In your urge to race to protect MS's behaviour you have once again just made up what you want, completely ignoring reality.

Push has been much harsher with its scores for quite some time now!
It certainly seems like its not as universally praised as I thought it might be, but I'm very interested in what it offers and really want to see for myself, so I'll pick this one up!

Trying not to commit to anything after Black Flag as there are so many games just about to release that I will want to start quickly.

I've played a couple of cutesy Steam games now I have a Steam Machine and can couch game them, and installed Forza Horizon 4 (bought on steam before it was delisted.) Its a joy with ultra settings at 4K and well over 60hz, and I've been sucked back into the game again as its my fave by far.

On Series X I've still not been able to play as my wife has hogged that machine now theres a controller she likes!

On PS5 I've started another game of Dragons Crown Pro as its good silly fun and easy to put down for the new titles when they arrive.

Whatever you are playing this weekend, I hope you have a great time

I just wish Xbox had some balls and stated clearly what they are doing instead of leaving people guessing. Its clear that when they make a PC based console it wont have a Disc drive like every other PC.
This idea that they can pick up disgruntled PS players by offering a disc drive on an all digital PC is madness.
They can win many players by doing what they need to concentrate on, having the best games on the best machine with the best feature set - like they have achieved in the past.
Not announcing anything and letting idle speculation define the narrative is what they've done now for years and is a sure way to lose any mind share and remain bottom of the pile. We don't need that, we need a strong confident MS that's prepared to tell people what they are planning - not this constant non communication or word salad that says nothing. Come on MS, you are better than this - just tell people what you have planned.

I doubt if they are interested in pitching to Sony
It does make sense to get maximum coverage for your IP's in this way, I just hope they make quality programmes and films and not not just cheapen the IP's.

As someone who prefers digital distribution for many reasons, I think this is a good feature and roll out.
Its clearly being offered as Helix wont have a disc drive - I'd take that bet any day of the week.
But most of the people throwing their toys out the pram on Push are completely against having a digital licence, so this initiative surely just takes the thing they love and converts it it to the thing they hate? Its a big thumbs up from me for trying something, but its just gonna create even more plastic waste (a disc you cannot sell lend or use) that will have zero value and just end up in land fill.

I enjoyed a lot of the games shown and am interested, but its fair to say a lot of them are a bit similar.
Any show with a new guitar hero and a remastered Witcher 3 for free gets a solid C from me.

Was I the only one underwhelmed by the Final Fantasy showing?

Love these shows and will be here on Pure when they are playing. See you guys in the comments.

@fatpunkslim I'm not basing the console price off the portable price in terms of compatible components, but in terms of what they are prepared to bring a machine to market at.
You don't get to make the 'most powerful games machine ever' without strong components and plenty of Ram - and they are commanding huge prices right now. Everyone else apart from the guy who continually gets it wrong is making the association because its an obvious association to make no matter how much defence mode you splurge...

Not In the market for a portable, but it seems really expensive for what it is. The market at the moment is really ruining these decent hardware launches. There are definitely gaming laptops which offer better bang per buck.
Still, I cant scoff, I have my 2tb steam machine that didn't cost much less than this (with steam controller) and I love it. I'm sure many will will pay this and be happy and I'm pleased for them.

This is however a real wake up call for the people that have suggested that project helix is going to come in less than $1K, that's just not happening.

Carrier command 2 is defs on my wishlist now. I loved the first one, way back in time, and I hope the 2nd will grab me too.

Hard to look at Blood Dungeon for me, though their could be a good game hiding under that garish exterior.

I'm also not keen on Resonance, which is a completely different game to the first Plague Tale where you had to be careful and sneak and avoid combat in a very memorable way. Now it looks like another generic hack n slash action title, and there are many more exciting ones being released in the next few months. If I get a chance I'll take a look anyway, but I don't hold any excitement for it.

Finally finished AC Black Flag - great game.
I've had my Steam Machine turn up, so I'm playing with that and catching up with some cute steam titles I've been keen to play. Better play it now as there are so many must plays coming in the next couple of months!

Whatever you are playing, I hope you have fun!

If people really want it, they will pay, but its clearly not a good deal if you are watching your pennies.
I think the controller looks pretty cool, but that design looks really tacky on the machine, but I appreciate we are all different.

That's pretty awesome I must admit! I'm not likely to buy it, but I understand someone who would
I know its expensive, but most of these kits are (especially the Lego ones).

I'd rather wait till Sega's new original crazy taxi and then I'd compare. Big Simpsons fan (earlier stuff), so if all were equal I'd buy that one

@AI-Generation @Stoned_Patrol
Thanks guys! 26 on Friday - or is that the other way round? Where does the time go!

So many things to look forward to, I'm interested in at least half those titles!
My Steam machine arrives tomorrow, my birthday is Friday, and all this news and preview stuff still excites me after so many years. Its gonna be a great weekend. 👍

@TrollOfWar "they should honor people who have institutional knowledge as that type of experience is hard to build up in a company."
Amen to that bro.
I have worked on Microsoft games- though the last was over 20 years ago. Their producers never came down and worked with those of us actually creating the games, which was in stark contrast to Sony, Nintendo and Electronic Arts, all of whom I created games for and got to chat to the producers regularly. I'm advised the situation has not changed that much and I suspect this is still much of the issue with MS not extracting the full potential of the games they are making all the time. Hopefully things are changing.

@TrollOfWar Thanks man. Yeah I definitely agree some games are artificially extended 'Beast oif reincarnation' for instance! I actually prefer less hand holding myself (100s of hours enjoying elden Ring) but that does mean games take longer to complete I'll take it as the Devs seem fit to supply it.
Your also right about Xboxs management issues, though I actually appreciated it when I was working on their games and could just get on with it. In reality they need to take more control and have producers who get stuck in rather than have lunches - but I liked the MS lunches I got too.
We're probably not as far apart as it seemed. I just don't go back to play old games is all

@TrollOfWar Thanks for providing me with your perspective, appreciated and I understand what you are saying.
But I do strongly disagree as I absolutely relish strong open world titles with emergent systems that combine to provide gameplay, rather than always being led by the hand through a story in a linear fashion. There's plenty of room for all styles of gameplay but a game does not need to be old to have a linear focus.
Narratives, acting performances and characterisation have all progressed remarkably in the last decade, and and you have to look at the past with rose tinted glasses to think past titles match contemporary ones in terms of brining characters and stories to life. Indeed, there are precious few titles in the list that I think would warrant a replay with most being mediocre at best.

I don't see how Microsoft will achieve their stated aims or attract new players by offering a few backwards compatible games on their current console. It wont attract new players and results in zero software sales - indeed, for those prepared to play old games it offers an alternative to purchasing any new ones. I'd still prefer them to invest in new IP rather than cutting so many creatives and concentrating on the few blockbuster IP's.

I guess we are completely opposite in our opinions then, but that doesn't mean I cant respect your viewpoint, I'll just never share it.
Have a great day!

@Elbow There's no issue my friend, I kinda expected a lot of people might feel very differently. You don't appear mean at all, and I didn't and don't take any offense at all to your perfectly expressed opinions.
Most of my gaming life if you wanted to play an old game, you simply plugged in the old console to play it. As emulators became better, if I wanted to play old schumups it was easy to do so and I have every game up to and including PS2 as an archived ROM. But I don't even do that as there are fantastic new versions of that style of game available across the current gen machines too so I play them there. There is an exception. I occasionally plug in a PS3 to play Motrorstorm as that game still holds up with todays standards - but its been a couple of years since I did that and play FH instead when I want a driving fix.
It probably doesn't help that I have so much choice, Series X with GPU, two ps5 pro's with PS plus premium, Switch 2, decent desktop PC and a 2tb Steam Machine arriving this week.
Whilst I remember the original splatter house with fond memories, its very unlikely I'd go back to check out a 2010 version when I have so many current games still waiting for me to get to them.
Understanding this about myself was so liberating. 4 decades of buying everything meant my house was crammed with shelves and cabinets stuffed with dusty games I barely glimpsed at. When I went all digital and decided to get rid of it all it was such a relief and I got half my house back - yet me and the wife still game every day for as long as we can and are missing nothing. I wish I would have learnt that decades ago and not waited till I was nearly 60 before asking myself "what am I doing hoarding all this old junk", but some lessons you cant see till later life and that's one of them for me
I'm waffling. Thanks for showing some interest!

@Elbow I understand that's true for a lot of people. However, I was 14 when the Atari VCS launched in 1978 and I've owned and tried to play everything ever since. One of the things I've learnt about myself, is that much as I thought I'd always go back and play old fave titles, I simply don't do it. As I have approaching 5 decades of experience playing games now, I know that will never change for me. I cant keep up with the games I want to play releasing now - I'm never ever going back to an old release I've played, no matter how much I thought I would.
As a result any penny spent on backwards compatibility is a waste of time for myself - especially when they are cutting huge swathes of active Devs who could be making more new titles.
I did open my comment by saying I must be weird, I hope I've explained better why!

I must be weird, I desire to play new games on my new systems rather than retread old games I've played already.
I couldn't care less if any of these were given backwards compatibility - Xbox need to be looking forwards and not to the past imo.

Hoping to finish off AC Black Flag. I have over 85 hours in it and still cant understand how people seem to finish games so quickly. Maybe I should spend less time looking in every corner, but I cant help myself!
I have pal world lined up as my next game, I'm looking forward to starting that!
I was fortunate enough to finally be offered a 2TB steam machine, so I'm curating my steam collection ahead of recieving it this week. I do have a decent desk top, but I simply don't play games at the desk, so I'm delighted for a silent cool running alternative with no windows! I'm trying to forget how much it cost 🤣

I'd miss game pass, but if it were an expensive fix I'd probably wait till Helix launch now. The series X already has a fault where it will disconnect controllers unless I use wired ones (If I set 120hz, it permanent disconnects them). I use dual sense Edges on the PS5's and with a battery life on them being less than a session I'm well used to just having controllers with wires sticking out! If we ignore controllers, Xbox machines are the only ones I get hardware faults on - if we include controllers then they are all cr@p!
I've enough games machines to fall back on with Switch 2, 2 X ps5 pro and now a steam machine to supplement the expensive desktop I barely use. I can barely keep up with everything I want to play anyway, so if Helix comes next year I think I could wait...

l'm glad they are updating the game and hope this continues for some time. I'm afraid this didn't resonate with me at all so I've already had all the fun I'm going to from it, but a lot of people are enjoying it and they'd should at least be able to turn off film grain and chromatic aberration! It would be nice to see enemy AI updates too, as elites just don't fight like they did in the original from what I experienced. Maybe my memories are shot and the behaviours are exactly the same!

@HelloCraigo I'm feeling like an imposter. I never finished it and I really meant to. Its pretty easy to jump back in though, so I'm now resolved to revisit it myself. I've put in many many hours, but it deserves to be seen through all the way 👍

@Lup Ah...that makes sense I thought it was a bit late to the party. Thanks for pointing that out!

Ball X Pit really is worth spending some time with. I got it when it appeared on Sony's service and loved playing it. Nice to see it come to GP so everyone here gets a chance to try it too!

@Weebleman Same here - I picked up a 2TB for £135 and I got a 1TB for my other pro for about £90. Hard to imagine getting them at those prices now....

Bounty Star has my interest here. I know very little about it, but it will cost me nothing to dive in and find out!
Unfortunately I don't enjoy survival game play loops and just didn't get on with grounded, but I'm sure it will appeal to plenty and is another decent offering on GP.
Cant think of anything worse than a dating sim.

Great to see these titles doing well - they are good games and deserve success.
I buy exclusively digital, normally for PS, occasionally for switch 2, rarely for Xbox which remains a GP machine for me. Once every game needed a day 1 update there was no point in physical discs for me and I don't miss them a bit, indeed clearing 4 decades worth of unplayed and mostly untouched disks and cartridges has given me so much of my house back. It was formally full of storage units with games and films just getting dusty and old. It was a joy to be done with them.

Ridiculous prices still, I could use an expansion, but theres no way I'll pay those prices. This is the issue with propriety expansion cards, you pay through the nose for them - but to be fair, with memory prices being what they are right now, they are cheaper than they might have been.
It is good to see another option becoming available though - the more the better.

@DuskMaple26 Thank you mate, that's really useful!

I wish the game well and I hope they rake in some cash.
But I cant say I like it. I loved the original game, but I never got around to playing the master chief collection, so I was really happy to download this on Game Pass and see if I could rekindle the magic. But it just doesn't work for me any longer and I really don't like what they have done to the game, it just doesn't feel good to me and I've regrettably uninstalled it before it completely tarnishes the happy memories I have of the original game when it released.
I don't play a lot of shooters anyway, so what do I know? But I do know that I really don't like this..

Many of my favourite games are rated 7 or sometimes even lower. I've learnt over the decades that I like a lot of stuff which others don't, and conversely, lots of games given high scores I'm really disappointed in.
Beast of Reincarnation is an appealing enough title that I wish to try it no matter the meta score. I've not much room left on the series X, but I'll probably delete the new Halo to make room for it. Case in point - I'd rather that game had remained in my memory from the release where I loved it. I'm not loving the remake at all, so that gives me room! Theres always a silver lining...

We cant moan theres nothing to play! GP brining the goods too with beast of reincarnation and the resonance game - both have gotta be worth a try...

Unlike several others, I've always read and rated Famitsu. That their tastes are more Japanese than my own is pretty obvious. I used to have to import it 40 years ago and bought my sub from the Japan travel center at St Paul's, London. There were no western magazines covering games at the time.
I'm looking forward to trying the game and seeing for myself, but I don't expect a cut and paste western title. I'm looking for the kind of Jap jank I like working through and it will cost me nothing to see if its for me.

@Kilamanjaro Brilliant choice! I have a lot of memories for the original.. You've reminded me I need to buy this

@Nall3k That's what they were bought for. The more zany and weird AA titles that Xbox wanted at the time to pad out their GP offerings.
To have the rug pulled from under your feet in this circumstance does not leave you with AAA product to show to potential investors, it just leaves you drowning with no chance of rescue.

@oopsiezz Thanks for letting me know! Looks like I might pass...

I am rather hoping there is a solid single player experience buried in this game? They do state that there is.
I'm afraid I'm not much into extraction MP games, but given the solid artwork and decent looking combat I'll enjoy a single player experience if there is one 🙏