antstephenson

It really should have Craig on the cover.

@xMightyMatt14x

Yeah, I loved everything up to blops2.

Blops3 was passable fun, but like a totally different game.

Couldn't get into Advanced Warfare at all.
Ignored Ghosts.
Infinite War came with my PS4 bundle and was dreadful.
WW2 was kind of ok-ish.
Blops4... Nah.
MW 2019... Too sweaty.
Cold War... I was put off by the beta.

However, I re-bought blops1 on sale the other week... and it's still kinda fun. Great maps and gameplay (same with MW1+2 which both still hold up).
I would rather have a remastered Blops 1+2 package than one of the newer style CoD games.

Maybe it's just my (old) age and I can't keep up with what the kids like!

@Carck

Damn that reminds me of an actual Excel based football manager kinda game I played in the early 2000s on my PC at work.
The beauty of it being a spreadsheet was that people thought I was actually working... need to find that again!

@Dad

Rather than buy the expensive Seagate expansion, or have to keep deleting and re-downloading, how about an external SSD?

It will play games that are not optimised for X/S and you can also use it as storage for the X/S optimised stuff (much quicker to move games between internal and external storage than to download).

I use one of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B078STRHBX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_imm_V2CXBXMPKN0CM9B285PN?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

CoD MP just doesn't feel like fun anymore... the newer MW just felt stressful to play MP.

I actually just bought the discounted original Black Ops for a bit of nostalgia... Yeah it looks rough now, but it's still a hell of a lot more fun to play than the newer CoD games.

I've stopped watching FH5 videos now... I'm definitely gonna play the game, so want everything to come as a nice surprise when I play it.
Can't wait 👍

@Slugo4
I expect she does her hair to please herself, not some random guy (or people posting on Xbox forums)... and more power to her.
A weird thing to be concerning yourself with my friend... Focus on the game 👍

@StylesT
It's not just a question of putting in time to get good enough.
There are other factors that can affect a person's capabilities.
For example...
As I've got old(er)... nearly 50... I am much less capable at certain games, due to slowing reflexes, poorer eyesight (even with glasses, I can't seem to pick out enemies as quickly as I used to) and so on...

So, what you see as a easy/medium setting, might still feel like a medium/hard setting for me... and no amount of practice will make me perform like a teenage or 20-something again.

In short... It's great to have a choice.
Gives options and accessibility to everyone.
As long as you are not losing your more challenging settings that you prefer, it's all good.

@UltimateOtaku91
It is quickly addictive.
I started by just running and gunning... not using the portal mechanic... and it was still fun.
Later, I got into using the portals to get sneaky kills from behind the enemy... it is SO satisfying.
I'm honestly wondering whether Halo will match the level of fun of Splitgate (hoping it will!).
BTW, I am a moderately competent gamer (at best), but I still manage to top score in Splitgate... Something I find impossible in the likes of CoD these days.

I was looking at this the other day... At about £16 I was tempted into some blops nostalgia... But that doesn't include the dlc.
Once you add on all the map packs, you're still looking at about £50 for a game where MP is dead (or unplayable due to hackers).

Pricing doesn't make sense for me... Yeah I could buy a disc, but if still be gouged on the extra maps).

A remastered Blops 1+2 pack put out say a reasonable price would do very well... But Activision obviously want to steer people away from the oldies and into Warzone.

@DrEagleG
Isn't it funny how in life that it is often racists who try and gaslight us, telling us that racism doesn't exist (or even that WE are the racists for calling out such behaviour).
I think I'm gonna stop posting to this thread now, because it's too depressing seeing some of the comments here.
Might avoid the site completely if this is the way things are going to be.
Such a shame, as most people on here are wonderful, smart, funny and friendly.
But... It only takes one person to take a crap in the swimming pool to make you want to jump out!

@CaptainCluck
I hope I am not one of the people you are accusing of anti-English racism? I am half English, half Portuguese and have always lived in England.
I am a realist about my country... I will praise it when it should be praised and criticise it when it should be criticised.
I also deliberately used "fans" in quotation marks in my post to indicate that the hooligans and racists are not real fans... So I am not trashing actual fans of the sport and the England team (I am one of them, so why would I do that?).
Hope that clarifies for you.

@Originut
Thank you... Have a great day 👍

Also a comp through Xbox to win England tickets...

https://twitter.com/xboxuk/status/1432387687345008647?s=19

It has started...

https://twitter.com/England/status/1432312142485721095?s=19

It is a chance to win a Series S... Nice 👍
Surprised they didn't give it a limited edition 3 Lions crest, per a previous poster's suggestion, but nice to win anyway.

@Dezzy70
It certainly felt like we became a more welcoming society as I got older... Until about 5-10 years ago, things seemed to have regressed.

I'm half Portuguese and my wife is Mexican (though now a British national)... We've certainly noticed the difference in attitudes.
It's been sad and worrying for us (and many of our friends).

I honestly can't speak to the racism amongst other cultures that you mention, except to say that ALL racism is bad... However, as someone who has been racially abused several times (usually, but not always, inaccurately by people assuming I'm Arabic or Asian), I actually would rather people kept their racist beliefs quiet than shouted them at me or my wife in the street.

@BeautyandtheBeer
Hi Beauty and the Beer...
So... Yeah, there was violence at the final and there is NO excuse for it.
For toxicity and racism around football, just check social media... There's LOADS of it (and it isn't a small minority anymore)... Plus I have heard it at grounds as well (prior to lockdown).
I don't think saying "country X is worse than we are" is good enough... we need to stamp racism and violence out of the game better than we are at the moment.

Anyhow... I sense we are very different people and won't reach a common consensus on this, so... enjoy the bank holiday and happy gaming 👍🎮

@dezzy70
It was heartening to see a lot of people push back against the events surrounding the Euros final... It was a shame it was necessary though and it is a sign of how divided the country has become (and the division extends beyond sport to politics, race, religion, vaccinations, 5G... much of it had resulted in violence).
Football isn't the only sport affected... you should see some of the awful stuff posted about Lewis Hamilton on social media F1 posts... truly sickening.

I try and comfort myself with the notion that these things are cyclical and that our country we become a saner place again sometime (at least for a while).

Anyway... Getting back on topic... I hope the Xbox thing works out. Maybe they will partner some footballers with some streamers to do some xbox promo for Halo, Forza, Gears etc.

@CaptainCluck

Well... I'm not against Xbox being involved with football... just saying it needs to be managed very carefully given all the stuff going on around the game in England at the moment.
It's something to be wary of... But, if managed well, it could be very good for Xbox.

P.S. let's keep the discussion friendly eh? 🙂

@Dezzy70

Hi Dezzy...
I did! Was born in 72, so I remember the bad old days of hooliganism and the National Front etc. Also, Hillsborough, Heysel, Bradford...
Football (and society generally) feels like we are rushing headlong back to those times... note the scenes at the Euro final with fans literally fighting their way into the stadium and the torrent of racial abuse that followed the shootout result.

I wish I could agree it is a small minority, but I think that minority has grown hugely in the last few years.

Yeah, there are problems in some other countries... But there are also other countries who don't really have these issues (or not to the same extent)... We need to aim higher than where we are.

Sad, but there it is.

I'm not against Xbox being involved with football, but I would hate for the brand to be tarnished by association with some of the stuff going on in the game right now... has to be managed carefully is all in saying.

Love the current England team, but the toxicity around English football "fans" at the moment makes this a risky marketing move... So much violence, racism, homophobia etc.
Honestly, if I were a business, I would keep my brand far away from the nastiness that surrounds football in England at the moment (not that it is the fault of the England team itself).

I honestly don't get the big deal...
At launch, there'll be single player and multiplayer to keep you plenty busy... then you'll get co-op S2 and forge S3...

Patience people 🙂

I get that waiting a bit longer for a particular element you like IS a minor frustration, but it's no more than that.
There's a few entitled people on social media really throwing their toys out the pram and losing any sense of perspective!

Server issues seem massively better now... Rarely have to queue (and it's very quick on the odd occasion I have had to wait).

Graphically looks a bit dated, but it's LOTS of fun to play... I'm interested to see how the Halo Infinite multiplayer compares.
Love the simplicity... No faffing about with loadouts.

Probably spending more time on this game than any other at the moment.

Splitgate & F1 2020.

Might give Hades and Art Of Rally a quick try as well.

@Blessed_Koz
Exactly... the gameplay and handling was perfectly balanced between arcade and sim... never found another game like it.
Driveclub was ok, but leaned a bit more to the dry sim side. Forza Horizon is fantastic, though very arcade handling.

To be honest, it feels fine as it is... great fun.

Phil enters stage right, announces Forza Motorsport for this holiday season, drops the mic and exits stage left. Gameplay trailer plays in the background as he walks off.

Honestly I'm ok with that... I'll just delete CoD, which I don't play anymore (and probably never will again)... and, as great an achievement as Flight Simulator is, I'll be bored of it by November.
So that'll free up a massive chunk of disk space, once I've removed those two (plus any gamepass fodder that I haven't touched).

Clippy is Microsoft's Jar Jar Binks... still, glad they're having some fun with it though.

Be patient folks... it's worth it.

Is it the most original game?
No (melds gameplay Halo with mechanics from Portal and adds a dash of Overwatch aesthetic).

Is it the prettiest game?
No. Graphically it is serviceable, but not special.

What it is... is FUN.
And I cannot emphasize FUN enough... even a rubbish old geezer like me can notch up a nice tally of kills...and have a big daft smile on my face while doing so.
Fun is something missing from too many games today... and Splitgate nails it.

Hope it really takes off.

GRID is fun, but... sometimes the AI are way aggressive and your car will always come out worst in any collision (usually putting you at the back of the pack)... sometimes feels random rather than fair.

That said, there's still enjoyment to be had with GRID, especially using the F1000 car on the street circuits.

@RedShirtRod
Fortnite and PUBG weren't for me... But Apex Legends is a LOT of fun... worth giving it a few goes to experience how differently the games can play out.

@SplooshDmg

Hoping Halo will tide me over until Battlefield comes to EA Pass / Gamepass.

Splitgate is fun... it's a blatant Halo MP ripoff, but with portals added to the gameplay. Feels quite nice and easy for a rubbish player like me to still get a nice tally of kills. Feels light and fun.

@Halucigens

Yeah, loved Blops 1 and 2, tolerated Blops 3.
Infinite Warfare was AWFUL.
Advanced Warfare... Meh.
WW2 kinda tolerated it.
The latest MW feels frustrating and the latest Blops, I gave up on during the beta.
As for Warzone... just NO (Apex feels like a MUCH more fun Battle Royale).

@SplooshDmg
Yep 👍 Looking forward to it... I'm really done with CoD (which stopped being enjoyable quite a long time ago) and want a regular team shooter to play again.
Splitgate is a LOT of fun, but I'm expecting a bit more polish from Halo.

@LtSarge @SplooshDmg

It's been a long time since I played Halo MP properly... Maybe my memories of the sci fi maps were from 4 (I think I only really played MP in 3 and 4).
I liked that aesthetic, but I guess it's not for everyone... and that's ok.
I guess I can always get my futuristic fix from Splitgate and still enjoy Halo for what it is 👍

Looking forward to playing this solely on the basis of how much fun the gameplay is, based on everyone's feedback.

However, gotta say... The environment of that one map I've seen, looks pretty dull and industrial.... was hoping for something a bit more colourful and Sci-Fi.
Is it just me that sees/thinks that? Nobody else seems to have mentioned it.

Hoping there's a nice mix of more interesting environments in the full multiplayer map rotation.

@brunojenso
Play 2 and 3, then wait for Infinite.

@lokozar
Yep, but per the comments earlier in the thread, it is a licensing issue... i.e. they only "rent" the right to use the manufacturers cars (games with pop music soundtracks also effectively "rent" the right to use it... usually for a limited period).
I'm hoping that Microsoft figure out a perpetual licence solution for future games.

@Shigurui
One of the things I loved in PGR 1 on the original Xbox, was being able to customise your playlist from the included tracks AND add tracks you copied from your CDs onto the Xbox.

I seem to remember having "borderline" by Madonna, "seven days in the sun" by Feeder (both from CD} and "beat em up" Iggy Pop (from in game) on my playlist.

I think my go-to track on PGR4 was "heart of hearts" by !!!

I wish the Forza Horizon games built in integration with Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music etc.... would be great (I know you can open up the Spotify app separately to play in the background, but having integration, where you could skip tracks and choose playlists using the d_pad would be cool).
That's prob my one gripe with Horizon, is that the selection of music is small (and for me, really only has 3 tracks I like).

@Blessed_Koz
To be honest... you could still make a great game without Ferrari (I know a lot of people may disagree).
You don't even really need to use the Project Gotham name either... call it Forza Metro or something. But yeah... I know PGR will never come back

@Shigurui
For some reason I didn't play pgr 2 or 3 much.
I played 4 a LOT... But it was the original that will always be the benchmark of balanced play style and great tracks for me.

@VenomousAlbino
I do like Horizon a lot... but, I guess I'll never be truly happy until there's another Project Gotham 😆

@NEStalgia the last FM I played was 3 I think, which I enjoyed a bit... Think it has some nice racing around the Amalfi coast... But was shocked when I tried 7 and found it so dull.
Thank God for Forza Horizon... I still think there is a middle ground between the two though (which was where Project Gotham sat).

@notleks_
Yeah, you should be fine... it'll get withdrawn from digital sale (and gamepass) but still be playable.
One day, in the distant future, they may turn off server support for online multiplayer etc, but you can still do the single player offline stuff.

Don't suppose this could be leading to a surprise early drop for the new Motorsport this autumn/winter?
I kinda doubt it... But then FH5 was unexpected (until the leak).

@Turnip_Knight

Yeah, it'll be 2 things...

1) licensing
2) move the player base to the new game

Mainly the first of the above.

I would hope that MS start looking to sign longer (or perpetual) licenses to be able to keep their games on gamepass indefinitely.

Will be interested to see what the next Forza Motorsport brings.
I tried 7 (a few times) and found it exceedingly dull... kept thinking that I must be missing something, but I don't think so.

Loved Horizon 4 though, have had a decent bit of play out of Dirt 5, plus the new Grid trailer looks promising (the racing bits, not the driver story nonsense). So with FH5 coming soon as well, I'm pretty well covered for racing games.

I do wish there was a good purely city street based racer out there though, like Project Gotham.

@PJ5
To be honest, when I played the beta, I didn't really use the portal functionality (a few others did, but not much)... was enough fun without it.

@suikoden

Think Halo multiplayer, but with portals.
Halo style map design and a bit of Overwatch aesthetic.

Maybe that'll be for you, maybe not... that doesn't make it trash.
I had a blast playing it the last couple of days... and so did a lot of other people by the sounds of it!

@101Force
Definitely won't be a competitor.
Definitely will be a basement dwelling incel.