Westernwolf4

@GamingFan4Lyf This is where I am. I am excited for the games, but really hope they are using the McCaffrey voice work. Max Payne would not be at all the same without that voice.

@Savage_Joe I hope you enjoy it! I am going to try it too, although both of these reviews have lowered my expectations a bit......

@Savage_Joe Both reviews are well written, and it looks to me like they point out a lot of the same positive and negative points (great art style, but bloated repetitive story and shallow gameplay).

I think the scores come down to how willing a person was to forgive the negative to get to the positive-which is often what it comes down to with differing opinions. But the reviews are actually noting a lot of the same things, leading us to weigh how important they are to us.

I am playing it for the first time right now! I didn’t have an Xbox in 2014, so when I got one it was one of the games I wanted to get around to.

It is chaotic fun! I am a few missions from rolling credits. The story and quest design aren’t going to win any awards, but the guns and traversal are delightful.

I get this, and Pushsquare gave the game the same score. But this:

"Superb performances from two incredibly talented leads"

plus its availability on GP is why I am absolutely giving this a shot.

I played through this with my youngest son just this past weekend. It is a delightful game, just like the first one.

1.I really hate this for all impacted. Hope everyone finds a new position soon.

2.I assume the cancelled FPS project from Respawn is the Mandalorian game we just heard about? If so, what a shame. I have wanted another good Star Wars game of that type since Bounty Hunter and the cancellation of 1313. I was really excited about the possibilities there.

Of course I told my wife Dead Island 2 was the one game I really wanted for Christmas..,… 😃

I am glad it is there for those that haven’t played it. It is a good game. I was ready for it to be over when I finished, but there are some solid hours of Zombie killing fun to be had.

I love the tagline under the headline. Well done Pure Xbox.

“New and improved Joker products!!!!!!!!!!”

I am also looking forward to the game!

I will play the crap out of this.

Part of the game is a platformer. The game consists of time on board your ship and time exploring for resources on land. The stuff on ship is close to something like Stardew Valley-you farm, you cook, you fish etc. and keep those on your boat happy. Then you explore on land for resources, and there is light platforming and the occasional puzzle. There is a platforming challenge every once in a while on the ship, but mostly that is saved for land.

I don’t know how much you know about this game, so no spoilers. But I played through this game with my youngest son when he saw me playing and wanted to join. Going through Spiritfarer with him lead to some awesome discussions about life. The themes in the game hit really hard, but it is also really beautiful.

@Kaloudz Have fun! I just wanted to say: Spiritfarer is also great (in a very different way)!

@Kaloudz No problem! Hope you enjoy!

Years ago, a fellow gamer friend of mine convinced me to play the game. I thought it just looked strange and was resistant, but he kept at it and I eventually relented. This was more than a decade ago and I still thank him to this day. Great game.

@Kaloudz The Bioshock games are great-the first is absolutely an all timer. I highly suggest picking up the remastered collection for cheap ( or just playing it if you have PS Plus) and trying it out.

Of course, how you spend your valuable time is absolutely up to you! But to me the first one is not to be missed, and the other two are good games.

Count me among those who still think this should be in third person. But at this point that is a nitpick. The gameplay looks really fun, and they seem like they got those Indy vibes exactly right. Really hyped for this.

Those pullbacks Machine is doing for epic moments-I just want that for the entire game! But it looks like it will be great either way.

@NintendoByNature If that is the case, you are going to be in heaven with this, I promise. Those of us who grew up with the movies: Rogue City makes sure we are in very good hands. It is unbelievably fun.

@NintendoByNature I am playing RoboCop right now. It is so good-especially for those who grew up with it like me. The developer nailed the feel of that world.

@CharlieChooChoo I was hoping for a response just like this!

Your username and picture are obviously the best.........

@CharlieChooChoo “Blaine is a pain, but we have to take the train.”

I put 202 hours into Starfield. Some of that was my son building outposts in his own save file, but most of it was me loving the single player quests.

I know a lot of folks were disappointed by the game, and I totally get why. But it was exactly what I wanted and expected. GOTY for me, followed closely by Spidey 2.

I hate cancer, and I hate this.

Thank you for all the great performances Mr. McCaffrey.

I love Starfield. I put more hours into it than any game this year, and it is my game of the year 2023 by a wide margin-and I played all the big ones. Personally, I think their game is great.

However, Bethesda really should stop responding to criticism of Starfield in this way. Their response to fan feedback here and elsewhere (Steam especially) has been odd and off putting. Like it or not, players get to decide what a reasonable criticism of your work is. Lecture them at your peril.

The internet can be a very unfair place. It must be very hard to have something you poured years of your life into be dissected in that forum. And I even agree with them that they made a great game! But Bethesda’s responses are not what you want to see. Obviously, no personal or toxic attacks should be tolerated and should be called out. But in terms of regular criticism, They need to be incorporating feedback where they can, not outlining the difficulties of game design. Less talking Bethesda, more listening, even if it is hard and you don’t agree.

My time was almost evenly split between my Xbox and PS, and I played more this year than ever before (one of my kids is off at college, and the other is at an age where hanging out with Dad has little remaining appeal. This makes me sad, but I figured my playtime would spike this year). My shame is: 202 hours in Starfield. (Gritted teeth emoji here) I know a lot of folks had issues with it, which is fine, but I REALLY liked it. Maybe too much!

I would say about 50 of those hours was playing the game with my youngest son, who just had his own save file to build outposts which he really enjoyed. And that was time very well spent.

My second most played game was Eastward, with far fewer hours. It is funny, because those games could not be more different.

I feel bad for the people who didn’t like Starfield. It stinks to look forward to a game and then not have it be the experience you wanted.

I really loved Starfield, but I have been on the other side of this conversation with other games.

It seems Mr. Spencer has never heard of our friends over at Super Giant Games! 😃

I cover my consoles with a clean pillow case when not in use, and dust the surface of each before I play. I have never once had a problem with a console in decades of owning multiple consoles using this method, and I have never had to open one up either.

(Knocks on wood furiously)

Bethesda should be proud. It’s a great game. My game of 2023 so far (although Spidey will have something to say about that over Thanksgiving).

I am deleting some saves because I have started getting a crash to dashboard or two each play session. Otherwise mostly bug free (amazing for such a vast world), with interesting quests in a cool space setting.

Starfield was everything I hoped it would be.

Like many, I was unsure at first. I think this game is not very good at getting players on board, so the first hours were kind of messy for me.

But ever since those opening hours: I love it. 9/10 for me, and a personal GOTY contender. I can’t stop playing it. It is Bethesda type quests in a space setting, which is exactly what I wanted. I didn’t expect this to be No Man’s Bethesda, so the lack of lots of space exploration doesn’t bother me. I never thought it would be that kind of game.

I will say: More bugs since the last patch. Including more crashes and characters in underwear, as others have mentioned above.

@themightyant FYI, Turnip Boy is both short and well worth playing. My son and I played it together passing controller back and forth, and leisurely finished everything the game has in a weekend. We had a blast. Starfield also has me hooked with no end in sight, but if you can tear yourself away for a couple hours, Turnip Boy is a hoot.

Sadly, I agree with you and Tintin about Trek to Yomi. The visuals and audio are so good, but the game play is a mess. I haven’t hated combat in a game that much in a long time-super repetitive. Did I mention it was repetitive? Very repetitive. 😃

Starfield is GOTY for me so far, and pretty easily. Spider-Man 2 and BG3 have a chance to top it once I get to them.

@PracticeDummyGaming This is exactly how I feel. Witcher 3 was also the last game I played that I couldn’t stop thinking about. Now I sit at work thinking about what quest on a distant planet I am going to tackle next. Starfield has its hooks in me deep.

The chatter around this game is really true. The more hours you put into it, the better it gets as you get comfortable with game systems. First few hours it was a 7, a few more an 8. Now I have done the UC Vanguard mission “Grunt Work” and it has all climbed to a 9 for me. Great mission. Great game.

I have two recommendations to do with what you will:

-I strongly suggest sticking to the main path until completing the mission “Into the Unknown.” It is tempting to wander and explore, but the missions up to that point are good at giving players the basics for exploring fun.

-Seriously: When you are ready to explore, go to New Atlantis and start the UC Vanguard quest line. I have played all the Bethesda games (minus 76), and “Grunt Work” is one of my favorite quests of theirs ever.

@all3forever You too! Enjoy Starfield!

Starfield. That is going to be my answer for quite some time.

@GuyinPA75 Me too! I am hoping this game trends more like that than in a Gollum direction. If so, I would gladly spend a few bucks or a few hours on it.

I am actually getting Maneater vibes-fearsome animal grows and gets power and eventually takes over the area. Cheesy graphics, limited story and combat, but good for a few hours of fun.

A new Maneater type of game would be a good outcome here!

Oh Chorus, your gameplay was so great. Why did your story and boss fights have to be so boring?

@FraserG I really do appreciate the article, and all the great work and writing that goes into this site! The first part of the headline just got me pumped before I got to the second part.

The information is much appreciated, but might I humbly suggest constructing the headline in a different way when announcing Game Pass Departures?

"XBOX adds six more game pass titles-YAY..........

....to June's leaving soon list"-awwwwww.

Well-it is happening on my 25th wedding anniversary. And I enjoy being married and want to stay that way. So I’ll definitely be watching it later. 😃

My wife is very supportive of my gaming, but understandably not on that particular day……

I have no dog in XBOX v. PlayStation. I have both, like both, and have other consoles besides.

These statements are nonsense, leaving out a big part of the picture, from a politician accepting donations from Microsoft. All statements from our leaders need to be approached with critical thinking and a large grain of salt, but this one is just eyeroll worthy on its face.

@Dezzy70 I am with you on this. I love Arkane games (in fact, I just finished Deathloop which was really fun). I like vampire stories. But every preview I see for this makes me want to play it less. I can't put my finger on why.

I hope to be wrong-I have yet to dislike (or fail to finish) a game from Arkane.

I just finished this on Gamepass. It is really good! It is by no means a perfect gaming experience-my biggest gripe was that some of the puzzles were tedious and did not yield great rewards. But it was very good execution of a really cool idea. If Arkane ever wants to make a sequel, they can count me in.

Series S is my Game Pass Machine. I don’t use it for anything else. I buy games on other consoles sometimes, but Xbox is GP only for me.

I can tell you this right now: I have no idea what Sony is or is not doing. But I have no interest in anything Kotick says, especially when he has something obvious to gain. That scum can piss off.

I am a gamer and a dad, and I want to offer a word of comfort for new dads:

1.When you have a child, there is obviously less time for gaming (and, you know, everything else). But-it is not forever or even for very long. Once a kiddo gets on a regular sleep schedule and sleeps through the night, the evening is again your oyster. That is what I have done for years-play games while the family is asleep in bed. And, I will also admit: Both of my kids may have received a bottle feeding or two while a had a controller in the other hand.

2.Even more importantly: If your kids become interested in games when they are a little older, it will open up some great time you can spend together! Some of my best gaming memories are now Mario Kart tournaments with my sons, or playing through Portal with my youngest, or taking turns flying around as Batman in Arkham City, or cruising through another Lego game with them.

It is always good to know what the shorter games are-we all have busy lives. But to all you new Dads out there-take heart. Your hobby is not done for long if it is something you want to find time to continue. And, kids eventually make it even better than it was before!

After watching the video, edited to say that As Dusk Falls is an awesome game if you like visual novel/choice type gameplay. Maybe my favorite Game Pass title last year. And you can indeed finish the playthrough in a weekend!

I agree with all the comments above: Darkest Dungeon is awesome. Punishing, but awesome.

@InterceptorAlpha A number of years ago, a well known gaming site started a review of Horizon Zero Dawn saying something to the effect of: "I don't like these kind of open world map games", and then proceeded with a negative review. I wrote a comment respectfully saying something like: How much are we supposed to get out of a review, even a well done one, from someone who goes in not liking that kind of game?

I still remember how badly I got blasted for that comment-a lot of negativity came my way. A lot of people seemed to not understand what I was saying, and thought I meant that the reviewer had to like Horizon. That was not my point at all (although I do think HZD is pretty frigging great): All I was saying is that if a person does not like a certain type of game, they should probably not review it just because it is not much use to the reader. I dislike platformers, so no one should ask me to review one because even the best one has little chance of breaking through with me. Someone who actually plays them and likes them is better qualified to tell a potential player what a game of that type gets right and wrong.

Again: Nothing against this review. I found it entertaining, and I think this title is going to be highly divisive no matter what. But I do think someone who likes Rick and Morty type humor is probably a better judge of whether they hit the mark they were aiming at. And I do think gaming sites should stick with folks who like a certain type of game to review that type generally.

Folks who do not like JR's brand of humor don't need to be told-they already know this game is not for them. The rest of us need to be made aware whether this game hits the mark or not.

@InterceptorAlpha I am glad you raised this, because that assertion was the thing that struck me most about the review. I enjoyed the review, and I have no dog in this fight. I plan to play the game, but the conclusion that the humor will be ultra divisive is a very predictable outcome for this title.

But: "to how it constantly berates gaming culture and harshes on gaming clichés without offering up any better alternatives or improving upon anything it's ripping into." I mean......is that really the job of comedy and parody-to rip something and then propose a sensible alternative? Because I don't think that has ever been the case or that expectation.

That idea just stuck out to me as really odd. So I agree with you.

Hmmm…torn about this.

On the one hand, I like Hades and I LOVE Supergiant. Every game they make is a day one purchase, because they are all so good and entertaining.

On the other hand, one of the things that has made them so great is that every game is unique with unique story ideas, mechanics and music. I don’t really like the idea of them being stuck churning out sequels to anything when they have shown how truly creative they can be from game to game.

Still getting this, but this is the first SG release that makes me feel uneasy.