I'm about 20 hours in and I'd give it a 7.5 so far. It does take me back to the first time I played the first Mass Effect and in many ways the bland and lifeless looking planets and moons you land on remind me a lot of that. I think for the most part the overall drab look of the game kind of takes me out of it. Not saying their aren't any good looking areas but the amount of grey at times hurts my eyes. Other than that it is essentially Fallout in space.
@Pimpernel I think you are completely missing the point. You can change certain aspects of the gameplay mechanics and not have it play like a totally different game. They aren't saying it should play like a different game.
Alternatively if you want a 360 just for display you can but one of the million of ones that don't work and sit it on a shelf all for a fraction of the price.
The thing is some people seem to only rate a 1 or a 10 and feel they have to defend their console of purchase to the death. Or anything they follow for that matter if there is a competitor. There are no shades of grey for these people. It's never just one sided though as this kind of thing will equally incite others to defend the game and review bomb a rival game with this being their justification.
Most newer recent games that have be available on Xbox One in the last couple have years have really struggled to perform moderately well. I get games still coming out on the PS4 in a way because of the huge install base but why on the Xbox One? It's like publishers still feel obligated even though they know it won't run well and they won't put in any time optimising it or updating it later.
The thing is that on Xbox you have to essentially pay for the PC version and the Xbox access is an add on for a higher price. Seeing as the amount of games available is around the same as what EA play offers and that is available for £20 a year then Ubisoft Plus looks like a really bad deal if you are just wanting to play on Xbox. There really should be an option to just subscribe to what is available on Xbox and not have it as an extra. So while this deal is good for one month I can't see too many people paying the full price for it after that month.
Can't imagine there will be all that many people who will be buying this game for launch who haven't previously been on Xbox for a while and had gamepass at some point in that time. Especially ones who have been playing Fifa. So for those two people who are buying an Xbox just before the game releases just for that game then pre-ordering it in time it's a great deal for them. Otherwise it's not really something most will benefit from.
@RUNNINGDUDE1 bad decision? Inflation in general is an issue all over the world and prices for everything are increasing so it more than likely explains why a free rewards system would suffer as a result. They aren't exactly responsible for global inflation.
No not for any gaming thing. I get people used to treat all of the E3 press conferences as some kind of weird sporting event as the ones representing the piece of hardware they backed would get cheered as they announced new games. Even then if I had the time I'd watch them live if not it's not like I'm missing a life changing even or a sporting moment that is better watching live.
I have also never taken time off of work specifically to play a new game that has launched. If I have booked time off and I am not going anywhere then I may pick something up and play it as I have the time but I don't use the time exclusively to play a new game not in the past or now.
I have never been able to get to deep into a GTA game I have played many briefly when they first come out but can never find the motivation to ever keep going. I think the furthest I ever got was on GTA3 on the PS2. Saying that I already have GTA5 on two other systems at this point that I don't play so this can join them on my never going to play list.
A lot of their monthly rewards have been cut in half recently. Not a great deal as it's still pretty easy to get enough to renew gamepass each month. Not sure why so many people seem entitles to unlimited free stuff though they are still a business after all. While I'll admit I have taken advantage of the rewards system to not pay for Gamepass I don't think I am owed the rewards system and a higher amount of point simply because I have been using it up until now.
The thing is if consoles had no exclusives from either first or third party and all games were on everything then why would Sony or even Nintendo choose to make their own hardware if it wasn't the only place play them. If that were the case you would just have one single console because there would be no point in others releasing hardware as all the games would be on the same thing and then people would simply only buy the most powerful one. Exclusives help give your product an identity in terms of games consoles if you take that away you also would make customers ask why they should buy one generic games console over the other one as they both play all the same games.
This is one reason I don't like games that aren't even in development properly getting an announcement trailer or even games that are several years away from getting finished. But to still be in the earliest stages of development around 3 years in shows that no one actually had a vision for the game and Microsoft essentially took one of the Rare's IPs and gave it to a random developer and said "here make a game"
The console I actually get as a promotional thing. I even think the controllers with those faceplates might actually sell reasonably well but it's the game that is paired with that doesn't seem to fit right even though it has a couple of cars just randomly added.
I use reward points to sub and and unless they suddenly remove that option I don't plan on actually paying any time soon. So I will stay subbed even on days I don't actually play Xbox games I can still claim everything I need in less than an hour a day. I also have over a year left on my current subscription as I chose to stop the auto renewal for now on adding a month through rewards so I can save for some stuff on the Microsoft store as I currently earn enough points for the equivalent of £15-£20 a month.
Not too bothered about the price of Gamepass going up as I don't pay for it and use Microsoft rewards currently to do that. Although most subscriptions usually go up over time anyway due to inflation so it's to be expected at some point. The Series X however going up just seems ludicrous. It's already bad enough that consoles years after release are no longer dropping in price like they used to an tend to maintain the same launch price for much longer but to increase the price? is just going to make less people want to buy it although they do seem to see the Series S as the target system anyway.
@Banjo- I am aware of how to filter stuff but it is much more cumbersome that other search and filter features. Just because it reacts fast doesn't mean it is an easier system than others.
@Banjo- It may be faster but it is a pain to find what you are looking for at times when it comes to simply sorting in a certain order. A feature most other digital store fronts have for games yet microsoft can't seem to implement it. Fast yes easy not really.
@Tharsman the context of the two words "right now" which means they have obviously considered it for the future. It suggests to me they are considering multiple options in the future if it doesn't get improved. I am not suggesting they have considered doing it right away but more of a we will wait and see approach.
The fact that from their own words they seem to have considered closing them because of the negative backlash makes it seem like unless its improved by the next major update then it will happen sooner rather than later.
Seeing a couple of people say Fatal Frame 1-3 when only the first two came out on Xbox, but I would be up for those and Obscure because I love a good cheesy survival horror.
Why though? We have barely got any games this gen that haven't been held back by the previous one and if anything those games are only just starting to come along.
I noticed this pop up yesterday myself. I still wonder how Microsoft can afford to simply give so much away for free as it is now you can redeem monthly for Game Pass Ultimate for a little over 10,000 points which is relatively easy to get. I'm not complaining I just have to admit it's almost overly generous.
I had World Championship Boxing manager back on my C64. I sunk quite a few hours into it. Not sure if I would be into this new version as much as I was 30 years ago though.
It's functional but at times a bit cumbersome and not really ideal that you have to have the EA app downloaded and installed to be able to download and play those games. If the pc xbox app had some kind of big picture mode that was the Xbox dashboard it may make it more useable because navigating it and the store on there is even worse than on console.
How can you have pride in releasing something that isn't finished? Can you imagine after all the time it took James Cameron to make each Avatar movie if it released with some scenes filled with story board place holders and him saying he is so proud of the work but if people are patient for the blu-ray release they would get the complete experience. Video games seem to be the only form of media these days that get a pass by some for releasing in an unfinished state. Personally I would be ashamed if something I worked on was given to a customer unfinished.
I have done 3 yesterday and 3 today on Guilty Gear Strive and nothing has happened obviously a bit on the broken side as I noticed the daily achievement was also there for 50 points and also didn't work.
I was going to play it tonight but I'm now on the fence after seeing the reviews coming in. Not only is it launching on console at 30fps but clearly not in any kind of finished state. When they announced that it should have been obvious it was no where near finished and being released just to have something on Gamepass for a deadline.
The thing is now it seems even with Gamepass it looks like the PS5 will still sell way more this generation and that many people who do have and Xbox use it solely for games on Gamepass and are not buying much else. It seems to have become their only revenue stream and I would guess that even sales of first party games are down significantly when at full price on launch. If that had a massive lead in system sales and people were buying more games outside of Gamepass then yes I can see it being a possibility but as of right now it's the only thing that is keeping them relevant and competitive which is not a great long term business strategy.
If you directly compare it to something like EA Play then it's really not good value for money even if you don't get it through gamepass. Then if you directly compare it to Gamepass or even Playstation Plus Premium it's even worse value.
@Techno92LFC It's not that FIFA don't want them to it's because they raised the fee for the licence by a lot from the sounds of everything and FIFA thought they would pay it or there would be no game. When all the FIFA name gets them is the name itself and the World Cup everything else EA has licenced from the other individual leagues and continental governing bodies like UEFA as well as some individual teams. So overall very little will be removed from the games.
Started Soul Hackers 2 yesterday and there sure is a lot of dialogue early on but I am not hating it so far it definitely fits in between the SMT and Persona games just maybe not up to their higher standards.
None as I rarely if ever buy games on Xbox these days just primarily use Gamepass then maybe pick up an older game when a deal is on that's incredibly low.
Won't lie because of Gamepass and Microsoft rewards not only have I picked up very few games on Xbox I also haven't paid for Gamepass in nearly a year and and am currently subscribed until the middle of next year without paying a penny. I tend to spend my money on games on Switch and PlayStation as a result since I know I will get to play all first party Xbox games day one with out paying.
While I was a fan of the Project Gotham games I would still have to go for Simpsons Hit and Run as it was the best Simpsons game ever made and could arguable be improved with a modern remaster the other two maybe not as much.
How can you have no idea if a story about you is true especially if you were supposed to be there at the time? I get he is using this as an example and isn't saying that's an event that happened but if you were there when something happened you would know if a story about it was true or not.
If you plan on always staying subscribed to Gamepass I don't see a need to ever buy a first party game again or games from studios they buy only third party ones and indie titles would be worth buying if they have any replay value long term as many probably play the game once and have no reason to go back because they have already seen and experienced it all. That's why I think the likes of EA and Sony have it right by not adding their big new releases day one so they can get sales beforehand from those that really want to play it. It also says a lot if people are using gamepass to try a game before buying it on a different system instead.
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Re: Poll: Based On What You've Played So Far, What Score Would You Give Starfield?
I'm about 20 hours in and I'd give it a 7.5 so far. It does take me back to the first time I played the first Mass Effect and in many ways the bland and lifeless looking planets and moons you land on remind me a lot of that. I think for the most part the overall drab look of the game kind of takes me out of it. Not saying their aren't any good looking areas but the amount of grey at times hurts my eyes. Other than that it is essentially Fallout in space.
Re: Mortal Kombat 1 Reveals Jean-Claude Van Damme Johnny Cage Skin
@Pimpernel I think you are completely missing the point. You can change certain aspects of the gameplay mechanics and not have it play like a totally different game. They aren't saying it should play like a different game.
Re: Mortal Kombat 1 Reveals Jean-Claude Van Damme Johnny Cage Skin
@Pimpernel he meant in terms of do the fighting mechanics work differently not that it should be a different genre of game
Re: Create An Entire Replica Xbox 360 Console With This New MEGA Building Set
Alternatively if you want a 360 just for display you can but one of the million of ones that don't work and sit it on a shelf all for a fraction of the price.
Re: Oh Look, Starfield Is Getting Review Bombed On Metacritic
The thing is some people seem to only rate a 1 or a 10 and feel they have to defend their console of purchase to the death. Or anything they follow for that matter if there is a competitor. There are no shades of grey for these people. It's never just one sided though as this kind of thing will equally incite others to defend the game and review bomb a rival game with this being their justification.
Re: Quake 2 Remastered Will Seemingly Stealth Launch On Xbox Game Pass This Month
Is it a stealth launch if you know it's happening?
Re: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Is Coming To Xbox One
Most newer recent games that have be available on Xbox One in the last couple have years have really struggled to perform moderately well. I get games still coming out on the PS4 in a way because of the huge install base but why on the Xbox One? It's like publishers still feel obligated even though they know it won't run well and they won't put in any time optimising it or updating it later.
Re: Ubisoft Plus Introduces New $1 / £1 Offer For First Month On Xbox
The thing is that on Xbox you have to essentially pay for the PC version and the Xbox access is an add on for a higher price. Seeing as the amount of games available is around the same as what EA play offers and that is available for £20 a year then Ubisoft Plus looks like a really bad deal if you are just wanting to play on Xbox. There really should be an option to just subscribe to what is available on Xbox and not have it as an extra. So while this deal is good for one month I can't see too many people paying the full price for it after that month.
Re: 'EA Sports FC 24' Brings Lots Of Game Pass Benefits, Including A Month Of Free Membership
Can't imagine there will be all that many people who will be buying this game for launch who haven't previously been on Xbox for a while and had gamepass at some point in that time. Especially ones who have been playing Fifa. So for those two people who are buying an Xbox just before the game releases just for that game then pre-ordering it in time it's a great deal for them. Otherwise it's not really something most will benefit from.
Re: Microsoft Rewards: How To Claim 1000 Bonus Points On Xbox In July 2023
@RUNNINGDUDE1 bad decision? Inflation in general is an issue all over the world and prices for everything are increasing so it more than likely explains why a free rewards system would suffer as a result. They aren't exactly responsible for global inflation.
Re: Talking Point: Have You Ever Taken A 'Day Off' For Something Xbox Related?
No not for any gaming thing. I get people used to treat all of the E3 press conferences as some kind of weird sporting event as the ones representing the piece of hardware they backed would get cheered as they announced new games. Even then if I had the time I'd watch them live if not it's not like I'm missing a life changing even or a sporting moment that is better watching live.
I have also never taken time off of work specifically to play a new game that has launched. If I have booked time off and I am not going anywhere then I may pick something up and play it as I have the time but I don't use the time exclusively to play a new game not in the past or now.
Re: GTA 5 Returns To Xbox Game Pass, Including Next-Gen Upgrade
I have never been able to get to deep into a GTA game I have played many briefly when they first come out but can never find the motivation to ever keep going. I think the furthest I ever got was on GTA3 on the PS2. Saying that I already have GTA5 on two other systems at this point that I don't play so this can join them on my never going to play list.
Re: Microsoft Rewards: How To Claim 1000 Bonus Points On Xbox In July 2023
A lot of their monthly rewards have been cut in half recently. Not a great deal as it's still pretty easy to get enough to renew gamepass each month. Not sure why so many people seem entitles to unlimited free stuff though they are still a business after all. While I'll admit I have taken advantage of the rewards system to not pay for Gamepass I don't think I am owed the rewards system and a higher amount of point simply because I have been using it up until now.
Re: Microsoft's CEO Isn't A Fan Of Console Exclusives, Blames Sony
The thing is if consoles had no exclusives from either first or third party and all games were on everything then why would Sony or even Nintendo choose to make their own hardware if it wasn't the only place play them. If that were the case you would just have one single console because there would be no point in others releasing hardware as all the games would be on the same thing and then people would simply only buy the most powerful one. Exclusives help give your product an identity in terms of games consoles if you take that away you also would make customers ask why they should buy one generic games console over the other one as they both play all the same games.
Re: Report: Xbox's Perfect Dark Won't Release Until 2025+ Due To Years Of Development Struggles
This is one reason I don't like games that aren't even in development properly getting an announcement trailer or even games that are several years away from getting finished. But to still be in the earliest stages of development around 3 years in shows that no one actually had a vision for the game and Microsoft essentially took one of the Rare's IPs and gave it to a random developer and said "here make a game"
Re: Xbox Is Giving Away A Barbie Console & Free Forza Horizon 5 Content
The console I actually get as a promotional thing. I even think the controllers with those faceplates might actually sell reasonably well but it's the game that is paired with that doesn't seem to fit right even though it has a couple of cars just randomly added.
Re: Poll: Will You Stay Subscribed To Xbox Game Pass After The Price Hike?
I use reward points to sub and and unless they suddenly remove that option I don't plan on actually paying any time soon. So I will stay subbed even on days I don't actually play Xbox games I can still claim everything I need in less than an hour a day. I also have over a year left on my current subscription as I chose to stop the auto renewal for now on adding a month through rewards so I can save for some stuff on the Microsoft store as I currently earn enough points for the equivalent of £15-£20 a month.
Re: Microsoft Announces Price Increases For Xbox Series X And Xbox Game Pass
Not too bothered about the price of Gamepass going up as I don't pay for it and use Microsoft rewards currently to do that. Although most subscriptions usually go up over time anyway due to inflation so it's to be expected at some point. The Series X however going up just seems ludicrous. It's already bad enough that consoles years after release are no longer dropping in price like they used to an tend to maintain the same launch price for much longer but to increase the price? is just going to make less people want to buy it although they do seem to see the Series S as the target system anyway.
Re: Deals: 600+ Games Included In This Week's Xbox Sales (June 20-27)
@Banjo- yes and I gave mine
Re: Deals: 600+ Games Included In This Week's Xbox Sales (June 20-27)
@Banjo- I am aware of how to filter stuff but it is much more cumbersome that other search and filter features. Just because it reacts fast doesn't mean it is an easier system than others.
Re: Deals: 600+ Games Included In This Week's Xbox Sales (June 20-27)
@Banjo- It may be faster but it is a pain to find what you are looking for at times when it comes to simply sorting in a certain order. A feature most other digital store fronts have for games yet microsoft can't seem to implement it. Fast yes easy not really.
Re: Xbox's Redfall Plan 'Right Now' Is To Keep The Studio Open & Working On Updates
@Tharsman the context of the two words "right now" which means they have obviously considered it for the future. It suggests to me they are considering multiple options in the future if it doesn't get improved. I am not suggesting they have considered doing it right away but more of a we will wait and see approach.
Re: Xbox's Redfall Plan 'Right Now' Is To Keep The Studio Open & Working On Updates
The fact that from their own words they seem to have considered closing them because of the negative backlash makes it seem like unless its improved by the next major update then it will happen sooner rather than later.
Re: Talking Point: Is There An Xbox Classic You Wish Was Backwards Compatible?
Seeing a couple of people say Fatal Frame 1-3 when only the first two came out on Xbox, but I would be up for those and Obscure because I love a good cheesy survival horror.
Re: We're 'Probably' Getting Mid-Gen Xbox & PlayStation Consoles, Says Take-Two CEO
Why though? We have barely got any games this gen that haven't been held back by the previous one and if anything those games are only just starting to come along.
Re: Microsoft Rewards Begins Offering More Free Points With New 'Daily Check In' Offer
I noticed this pop up yesterday myself. I still wonder how Microsoft can afford to simply give so much away for free as it is now you can redeem monthly for Game Pass Ultimate for a little over 10,000 points which is relatively easy to get. I'm not complaining I just have to admit it's almost overly generous.
Re: Xbox Is Going All Retro With Multiple '90s-Based Releases This Week
I had World Championship Boxing manager back on my C64. I sunk quite a few hours into it. Not sure if I would be into this new version as much as I was 30 years ago though.
Re: Talking Point: How Satisfied Are You With PC Game Pass Right Now?
It's functional but at times a bit cumbersome and not really ideal that you have to have the EA app downloaded and installed to be able to download and play those games. If the pc xbox app had some kind of big picture mode that was the Xbox dashboard it may make it more useable because navigating it and the store on there is even worse than on console.
Re: Redfall Dev Says The Team Is 'Continuing To Improve' The Xbox Title
How can you have pride in releasing something that isn't finished? Can you imagine after all the time it took James Cameron to make each Avatar movie if it released with some scenes filled with story board place holders and him saying he is so proud of the work but if people are patient for the blu-ray release they would get the complete experience. Video games seem to be the only form of media these days that get a pass by some for releasing in an unfinished state. Personally I would be ashamed if something I worked on was given to a customer unfinished.
Re: Microsoft Rewards: How To Complete May's 'Vy For Victory With Game Pass' Punch Card
I have done 3 yesterday and 3 today on Guilty Gear Strive and nothing has happened obviously a bit on the broken side as I noticed the daily achievement was also there for 50 points and also didn't work.
Re: Redfall Is Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (May 2)
I was going to play it tonight but I'm now on the fence after seeing the reviews coming in. Not only is it launching on console at 30fps but clearly not in any kind of finished state. When they announced that it should have been obvious it was no where near finished and being released just to have something on Gamepass for a deadline.
Re: Talking Point: Would You Leave Xbox Game Pass If Microsoft Removed Its Exclusives?
The thing is now it seems even with Gamepass it looks like the PS5 will still sell way more this generation and that many people who do have and Xbox use it solely for games on Gamepass and are not buying much else. It seems to have become their only revenue stream and I would guess that even sales of first party games are down significantly when at full price on launch. If that had a massive lead in system sales and people were buying more games outside of Gamepass then yes I can see it being a possibility but as of right now it's the only thing that is keeping them relevant and competitive which is not a great long term business strategy.
Re: Microsoft Rewards & Xbox: How To Make 20,000 Points Per-Month
One that seems to be missing is through the Bing app you can get 30 points a day reading news articles so that is another 900 points per month.
Re: Ubisoft Plus Launches Today On Xbox, Full Lineup And Price Details Revealed
If you directly compare it to something like EA Play then it's really not good value for money even if you don't get it through gamepass. Then if you directly compare it to Gamepass or even Playstation Plus Premium it's even worse value.
Re: FIFA Makes Way For 'EA Sports FC' With Major Reveal This Summer
@Techno92LFC It's not that FIFA don't want them to it's because they raised the fee for the licence by a lot from the sounds of everything and FIFA thought they would pay it or there would be no game. When all the FIFA name gets them is the name itself and the World Cup everything else EA has licenced from the other individual leagues and continental governing bodies like UEFA as well as some individual teams. So overall very little will be removed from the games.
Re: Microsoft Confirms $1 Xbox Game Pass Trial Offer Has Been 'Stopped'
With rewards I haven't payed for gamepass in over a year anyway.
Re: The Xbox 360 Controller Is Being Revived By Hyperkin This June
The thing is this is a design that's actually been refined to the controller we have today and it being wired only is a massive negative.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (March 11-12)
Started Soul Hackers 2 yesterday and there sure is a lot of dialogue early on but I am not hating it so far it definitely fits in between the SMT and Persona games just maybe not up to their higher standards.
Re: How To Complete All Xbox Game Pass Quests In 2023
@shoeses I have had the same issue the last two days
Re: Poll: How Many Games Have You Bought Because Of Xbox Free Play Days?
None as I rarely if ever buy games on Xbox these days just primarily use Gamepass then maybe pick up an older game when a deal is on that's incredibly low.
Re: Deals: Xbox Anime Sale Continues With Second Wave Of Deep Discounts (February 15-28)
"Anime" yep very loose term there and Cyberpunk 2077 is definitely the most anime of the lot...
Re: Talking Point: Do You Buy Less Third-Party Titles Because Of Xbox Game Pass?
Won't lie because of Gamepass and Microsoft rewards not only have I picked up very few games on Xbox I also haven't paid for Gamepass in nearly a year and and am currently subscribed until the middle of next year without paying a penny. I tend to spend my money on games on Switch and PlayStation as a result since I know I will get to play all first party Xbox games day one with out paying.
Re: Pick One: Which Of These Xbox Classics Would You Remaster?
While I was a fan of the Project Gotham games I would still have to go for Simpsons Hit and Run as it was the best Simpsons game ever made and could arguable be improved with a modern remaster the other two maybe not as much.
Re: Random: Prince Harry Makes Headlines With Story About Diana Buying Him An Xbox
How can you have no idea if a story about you is true especially if you were supposed to be there at the time? I get he is using this as an example and isn't saying that's an event that happened but if you were there when something happened you would know if a story about it was true or not.
Re: Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Praises Sony's New PS5 Accessibility Controller
He praises everything he sees he is an easy man to impress. I don't think it is news anymore.
Re: Phil Spencer Gives Praise To One Of The Best Xbox Game Pass Surprises Of 2022
He praises just about everything he can.
Re: These 20+ Games Are Free To Claim On Xbox One, Series X & Series S
@Doublecell you don't want to buy an Xbox because of this selection of free games? You need a little perspective there.
Re: Apple Music Now Available On Xbox, Allows Background Playback
No Zune music app?
Re: Talking Point: How Often Do You Actually Buy Xbox Game Pass Games?
If you plan on always staying subscribed to Gamepass I don't see a need to ever buy a first party game again or games from studios they buy only third party ones and indie titles would be worth buying if they have any replay value long term as many probably play the game once and have no reason to go back because they have already seen and experienced it all. That's why I think the likes of EA and Sony have it right by not adding their big new releases day one so they can get sales beforehand from those that really want to play it. It also says a lot if people are using gamepass to try a game before buying it on a different system instead.
Re: We're Giving Away 10 Codes For The Launch Of 'Eville' On Xbox
Oh well there goes me entering as its on social media I stopped using all that stuff years ago.