mac_da_man

I´ve had quite a lot of game time this week, which is nice 😊

Gears of War Reloaded – Still slowly making progress in the campaign playing split-screen with my son, and still loving it. I´ve had plenty time to play this week but the son has been rather busy so we´ve not played much sadly. On act 3, maybe halfway through that.

Robocop Unfinished business – finished and platinumed, enjoyed it quite a bit. IT didn’t overstay its welcome either!

Forza Horizon 5 – finally popped that platinum 😊 Its been a very fun ride, and I’ve enjoyed it a lot. Time to switch to The Crew Motorfest for more relaxed open-world racing!

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – replaying this awesome game going for the platinum this time, and I love it. The first playthrough I just did the main story, so doing everything and exploring etc is great fun and there’s a lot I missed the first time (on purpose but still). In Gizeh right now, enjoying every second 😊

Sword of the Sea - finished and platinumed! Such a nice little gem of a game, great gameplay flow, nice soundtrack, nice graphics. Really enjoyed this!

Gears of War Reloaded - Slowly making progress in the campaign playing split-screen with my son, and loving it. Sure, it shows its age sometimes but overall its still a very enjoyable campaign imo, but the co-op is what makes it awesome!

Also been trying to like the multiplayer but thats so much harder to enjoy. Its just not that Im not the best player but also its some wierd coding, hit detection and some obvious cheating going on that just drags the experience down a lot. Will probably not play versus anymore.

Robocop Unfinished business - having some fun with this. Its literally more of the same as the first game, this being a stand alone instead of DLC. Im missing the open world sections of the first game but aside from that its good. Im nearing the last few chapters so should finish this up pretty soon and then its time to play Indy again!

Since last week

Sword of the sea - This is awesome 🤩So much fun to play with smooth gameplay, it looks great and has a good soundtrack. I've finished it once and I'm now doing a new game plus playthrough. The snowboarding feeling is great in the game, makes me want a new and good SSX game or a remaster of any of the first three!

Gears of War Reloaded - fond memories of playing this all those years ago, it shows its age sometimes but its a good remaster and I'm really enjoying it playing it split-screen with my boy (which adds so much to the experience). He likes his game hard, so we're playing on insane level 😅 really looking forward to playing more!

Indika - So, saw a friend play this on the friend list and thought I'd try it going in blind. It sure is special 😂 You play as a nun, just that is an experience I didnt expect! So, without giving away any spoilers I kind of got stuck after playing for five minutes and now I just have to know how it ends 😂 Just know its a bit wierd if you try it 😅

Hellblade - finished and platinumed. really enjoy this game, great upgrade imo.

Hellblade II - I went straight on with Hellblade II. Played it on the S at release but playing it on the Pro in 60 fps is a huge upgrade. The game simply looks amazing. I´ve finished the story and I feel like I enjoyed it more this time for some reason. No platinum yet, the ***** added a new trophy meaning you need to finish the game in Dark Rot Mode, meaning its on hard and you can only die a total of four times with most enemies killing you with 2 hits or even 1... Will probably give that up but still, really enjoyed the game. Neither of the Hellblade games are for everyone, but if you like these kind of games they are very good imo.

Delta Force - Nah. I had some hopes for this but its really not good, looks like crap and its buggy and badly optimized. Moving on.

Forza Horizon 5 - still going strong, still working on that last trophy and still having fun!

Sword of the sea - I’ve only just started, played maybe 20 minutes but this seems very, very good and I’m likely going to enjoy this a lot!
Happy gaming 🙂

Having played Delta Force I would say its pretty bad. Dropped it after trying both single player and multiplayer and its ugly, buggy and has performance issues.

Banishers - I´ve finished the story. I felt like the game started to drag on a bit in the end so I didnt do all the optional stuff, which led to me getting the bad ending. Which I actually dont mind, it fits the grimness of the story and the world. I dont see myself going for any of the good endings so I watched them on youtube instead. Overall, a good game with a nice story but gameplay mechanics, a world looking pretty much the same everywhere and a bit of bloat dragged it down for me a bit.

Forza Horizon 5 - still going strong, just the one trophjy to get before the platinum. This game I´ll keep installed, pretty nice for some short plays here and there.

Hellblade Senuas Sacrifice - So I stumbled on a free ps5 upgrade the other day that I had missed was coming so I thought I´d check that out just to see, but then the opening is so good and its been a while since I played it so I just got stuck playing for two hours straight wich wasnt the plan. Anyhow, its a great game imo, much more "game" than the sequel, and its a good upgrade so I´ll be finishing this and then I might go for Hellblade 2 to experience it on the Pro. Even if the sequel isnt as good as this game, its pretty short and I kind of want that platinum in my collection 🙂

Happy gaming!

Sounds good, I dropped it playing on the S since performance and optimization and in part gameplay just wasnt good enough but Id like to give the game another chance in the future.

So summer leave is over, and we’re back home which should mean more gaming 😃
CoD WWII - I’ve finished the campaign and even if its not my favorite its still very enjoyable in that old school FPS blockbuster action kind of way. I hope we get all the older CoDs on gamepass, and I’ll happily play/replay them.

Banishers - I’m enjoying the story, and the grimness of the world, however the gameplay (the fighting mostly) and that many locations look very samey (especially caves/mines) is starting to have a negative effect on me. Should be getting closer to the end though, so thats good cause Indont want it to overstay its welcome. Probably not going to platinum this game.

FH5 - gotta say that after getting the Eliminator trophy this is a pretty fun platinum to get, and I enjoy playing shorter sessions each day 🙂

Wait a minute! Is the score on PS lower than on Xbox? But I’ve been told games always gets a higher score on PS???

Either way, pretty ”game” 🙂

We're been on a family trip for most of the week so I've been using the Portal to play Banishers and FH 5 which are both great and I'm enjoying them both a lot.

And again, its great how good the portal works as long as you have a stable (and fast also helps) connection!

I’m so surprised that good games sell a lot of copies, especially when not on a service. Really shocking!

Its great for MS and its great for Playstation, win-win. Might not be so great for future Xbox console sales but they might go more towards PC and then thats not a problem anymore either. Another win-win 😃

Banishers - Its growing on me the more I play, so I’m enjoying it quite a lot. Its a pretty grim tale from DontNod, I like it!

Cod WW2 - only playing short sessions here and there since I only can play when my son isnt using the Series S but it remains a fun action blockbuster 🙂

Also, Forza Horizon 5 which I’m enjoying but its going to take a while to get that platinum…

@Fiendish-Beaver Sounds great, I’ll def stick with it as theres a lot I like 🙂

Some new games played since last week 🙂

Oblivion remaster - Finished and platinumed. I must say I really enjoyed playing this game again, but its a shame its in such a bad shape technically and with the studio behind it getting hit with massive lay-offs theres a big risk it wont ever be fixed. Which is like most Bethesda games but its a real shame.

CoD WW2 - Its not the best cod campaign but its still some good fun blockbuster action so far which is great and all I really want from the game!

Banishers - been waiting for this to drop on PS Plus 🙂 I’m a couple of hours in and like the game so far, its a bit slow at times perhaps and might get repetitive down the line but so far so good!

Arken Age PSVR2 - I picked it up in the sale but only managed to play like 45 minutes as I dont have the headset at the summer place so can only play when I’m back home once a week but it seems very promising, it looks and plays well and the story and the world seems cool. Cant wait to play more 🙂

Havent played it on the series S but really enjoyed it when I played it last year. 8/10 for me, and a strong 8 at that 🙂

Feel like these weekly updates have been me posting about playing the same games for a while, but I'm making some progress so maybe I'll have something new and exotic next week or so 😅
Oblivion Remastered I've finished the thieves guild questline which feel very much like playing like a thief compared to the questline in Skyrim, which was great. I only have the main questline left to do for the platinum, think I'll do that and then leave Cyrodiil again. Its been great to play, very nostalgic, but its still buggy as hell and runs like ***** 😅

​Forza Horizon 5 So, I'm back playing Horizon. Not getting the trophy for winning The Eliminator bugged me, so I had to get it 😂 and now that I've done it I might as well get the platinum 🙂 gonna take me a while though, will probably play some ​Motorfest as well as Horizon but I'm in no rush with either game!

We've been on a family trip this last week so I havent played as much as I usually do. I brought the Portal, so I've played some Oblivion (still buggy but very fun and nostalgic to play) and I've picked up The Crew Motorfest in the sale so switching to that from Horizon. I've just tried a bit of Motorfest and it seems pretty fun, and its obvious Ubisoft has looked a lot at Horizon when making their game which is fine by me!

Just wanna say, as I’ve said many times before, how happy I am with the Portal! Its working great, and games like Oblivion and Motorfest can imo be played without much problems at all with a fast connection. Playing PvP games like CoD or Apex legends dont work well enough though, there is always a bit of input lag and in games like that it affects gameplay to much I would say. Still, the Portal is great 🙂

Yes, day 1! Loved it, and a remake would be awesome!

Basically playing the same games as last week

TES Oblivion remaster - I'm really enjoying playing this game again after all these years, ***** performance and bugs and all. I've had some hilarious bugs, one where like seven of the guards from the Malacath quest followed me around Cyrodiil and would pop up every now and then and take turns endlessly harassing me 😂 I had to kill them eventually,, couldnt get on with the game once they cought up with me, which also was pretty funny cause they didnt fight back and the city guards ended up helping me kill them... you dont see features like these in other games! Currently doing the Dark Brotherhood questline, which imo is better than the one in Skyrim! Love it!

Forza Horizon 5 - I've enjoyed it but starting to feel like maybe I'm done, for now at least. Gonna try some rounds of the Eliminator and see if I can get that trophy and go for the platinum but if not I think its time to move on. Hoping The Crew Motorfest gets a new sale soon , want to see how that holds up against Horizon and I enjoyed The Crew 2.

TES Oblivion - I’m really enjoying my revisit to Cyrodiil. Nostalgia plays a big part for me, I’ve had many trips down memory lane while playing which is bittersweet, some great memories but also a reminder of how quickly time flies (I’m saying I’m old). Anyway, back to the game: it looks great, plays like ***** and still has a lot of the original features left untouched but still, I’m going to play this for so many hours 🙂

FH 5 - Looks and plays great, but imo best enjoyed in short sessions and just keeping it relaxed.

The Alters - Gave it a fair try, but its not for me. I can see the appeal though, so maybe its just that I’m not in the mood for this kind of game right now.

Im happy there will be an xbox console next generation, it would have been bad in many ways if not. I´m not sure I´ll get one though, if they keep their strategy of releasing games on all platforms I might settle for buying Xbox games but not the console.

I finished Doom - TDA last weekend. It was fun, but its not a perfect game by any means and its not my favorite Doom at all. I hope the next Doom is more like the 2016 one.

I also picked up Still wakes the deep on a sale, but playing it on the ps5 this time. Great game imo!

And, its summer. I want some relaxing games giving that feel good vibe so I got
Forza Horizon 5 - for the ps5 pro. Its not the best racer (not my favorite Horizon game either) but it really fits the critera above 🙂 looks amazing on the Pro.

TES Oblivion - with the patches coming I cant hold off anymore 😅 it might be so buggy it'll make me furious instead of happy and relaxed, but its one of my favourite games and some parts are better than Skyrim imo so hopefully I can get through it without to much bugs and technical trouble 🙂

Its been mostly Doom - The Dark Ages for me this last week. I’m a couple of chapters from the end and I’m enjoying it. Its good old fast paced action fun with some great level design. The shield is a fun addition, however I do feel it gets a bit to arcadey with different colored attacks for deflecting etc but its a minor complaint. Also, rest assured that even if you find yourself in the belly of the Beast, you’ll find Sentinel Shrines there so you can upgrade your gear. A bit less of that sort of thing would have been better imo. But all in all, very fun 🙂

Finally some patches, been waiting for that before playing! Guess it’ll need a couple more and then maybe its time to play 🙂

@FarmDog08

Enjoy 😀 I thought the journals had bugged out for me but turns out there are a couple of the unknown ones and I had missed one. Just in case 🙂

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - Its done, and the platinum trophy is mine 🥹 Its high on my list of the best games I’ve ever played, imo a true masterpiece in every aspect and it will stay with me in that way that truly great games do! I’ll replay it every now and then and I’ll also listen to the soundtrack from time to time.

Doom - TDA - Barely just started but seems like what I need right now, all action and no brain, and it runs good on the Series S so far.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - I’ve finished the story now. What an amazing game, absolutely love it. Its one of my favorite games of all time. Finishing of some collectibles and bosses for the platinum. Not really looking forward to finishing it, dont want it to end as I enjoy it so much and I always get that hollow feeling after completing a great game and need a day or two before starting something new.

Think play I’ll Doom next, might be the perfect palette cleanser.

If they can patch performance and memory leaks Im all in on this amazing classic, but not touching it again until then.

Mainly Clair Obscur - and I love it. On act 3 now, still absolutely amazing and its really a game were I’m enjoying exactly every aspect of it which doesnt happen very often.

I hope they can fix the problems, I remember playing Skyrim on the PS3 which wasnt the best experience. Especially when the save file grew big 😬

Since last week I´ve finished a decent game and started playing a true masterpiece

Lost records: Bloom & Rage - So I've finished the game, its not bad but its not nearly as good as I had hoped and pretty much expected from Dont Nod so I´m a little dissapointed. Maybe thats unfair, maybe my expectations were to high, but thats how I feel.

Clair Obscur: expedition 33 - Wow, what a game!!! At the beginning of act 2 and its just amazing how good this is . All of it, the design, the soundtrack, everything. Most likely my GOTY right here. If you like RPGs and dont hate turn-based combat - play it! Or maybe play it regardless 🙂

Halo would sell like crazy on other consoles, I dont think MS want to miss out on that now that they´ve seen the success of other former exclusive titles so I guess it-ll make the jump this year or early next year. Starfield seems obvious to go multi plat and later this year makes sense. But then I believe no Xbox games will be exclusive going forward other than for a period of time.

Doom obviously but Vermintide can be fun co-op so maybe some of that with my son if hes up for it 😀

Somehow I dont really think this will look and run all that good on a series S…

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage - and I'm a little dissappointed as its not as good as I hoped, meaning Life is Strange good, but its good enough for me to want to finish the story and see how it ends. It helps a bit that we're on a family trip and I'm playing on the portal (bloody awesome little device that), and this is the perfect kind of game for it. I might have dropped it otherwise and started Clair Obscur instead but I can wait a few more days to play that 🙂

I’m very happy gaming revenue is up for Xbox even if hardware sales are down, which in part means their current strategy of releasing games on all platforms is working and that means that they’ll be a very sucessful publisher regsrdless in the future 🙂

@Kaloudz

I played the game for a bit on the S and its playable but having the option to play it on the Pro is something I cant resist even if it means buying the game instead of playing on gamepass. It doesnt make it a better game but I will enjoy it a more with a much sharper and smoother image in 60 fps.

Pretty much every game on Gamepass will sell more on other platforms, its sort of the point of gamepass. As for how much each developer gets to put their game on the service, I guess its depends and each developer (not owned by MS) will have to make the choice to take the safe Gamepass-money or gamble that their game will sell with a bigger total profit than they get from MS. Some win, some loose. Either way, we win. Granted, I’ll buy some games from Gamepass just cause the Series S is a bit weak for some games imo but thats just me.

Thats why I wont be playing on my S and I did give it an hour. My son loves the game playing on his X despite some minor issues but overall they’ve done a great job!

Having more trouble than usual picking what game to focus on as right now there are both new games I reeeeaaaally want to play and at the same time the games in the backlog are looking at me with those puppy eyes wanting to be played as well. Ah well, its a nice problem to have. On to the games 😅

South of Midnight - played and finished. Its pretty good, loved the world and the art design and the soundtrack is very interesting and the story was decent. The fighting and the gameplay loop got a bit tedious but overall I enjoyed it!

Lost records - Started this before Oblivion remastered shadowdropped all of a sudden and Clair Obscure turned out to be a must play but I’ll finish this first. Its good, I’m not blown away yet but hopefully it’ll get there soon as I’ve not played for long but its not the same instant love as I had with LiS!

Also, the son really loves the Oblivion remaster. Its awesome to watch him play and be able to help him with some stuff instead of him watching YouTube videos for hints, I’m surprised how much I remember as I havent played this for 17 years or so. Cant wait to play it again myself 🙂

@themightyant

If I had an X instead I would probably have played it on Gamepass as the difference as you say between X and Pro isnt that big but its a huge difference going from the S to the Pro and for games like these I’m a bit of a graphics and framerate whore 😂

@themightyant

Sound really promising. Tried it for a bit on the S just to see how it runs, but might have to get it for the pro instead so I can really enjoy the world and the art design which is amazing!

I might double dip when it gets a deep sale just to experience the game on the Pro, which will be a pretty big difference compared to the S.

Looking forward to this, and I hope it runs well enough on the S!

As I just commented in another article, having played the Series S version for an hour I´ll wait and see if they can improve the performance (maybe even add 60 fps?!) and if not I´ll get it on a sale for the Ps5 as I really want to play this masterpiece and get the best experience possible.

I played for an hour on the Series S and it runs sort of ok but I´ll wait and see if they can patch it or I´ll wait for a sale and play on the PS5 instead. Dont want to play this masterpiece with subpar performance

AC Shadows - I had a lot of gaming time this past week, so focusing on the main story I managed to both finish and platinum the game. Loved it, its my favorite AC since Black Flag. Dont really feel finished with the game though, even if its massive and I've played so many hours I just enjoy the world and the gameplay so much I might have to do some more side missions and castles. Brilliant game imo 🙂

Next up is South of Midnight and some smaller games on VR perhaps 🙂

Nah, I’m gonna pass. As always, think its kind of *****. This at least includes some form of DLC which could be good but also suck. So no.

@Friendly

My guess is because of the games, Xbox games will be playable on Playstation but not the opposite.

Basically the same as last week 🥳

AC Shadows - and still loving it! I dont burn out on these games, which is great for me 🙂 the patch that dropped earlier in the week was great, it made an already stunning world even more stunning on the Pro! What a world they've built, cant get enough! Also you can now sell/dismantle multiple items at once, but why the f that wasnt there from release is just baffling. Dont know how much of the main game I've done, I'm still on act 1 as I keep getting sidetracked and I love it 🙂

South of Midnight - Been looking forward to this so had to try it for a little bit but I could tell from that short time its s game I'll probably love. Very promising. But first Shadows, then this 🙂