smoreon

So Ubisoft releases what looks like a Zelda rip-off, people are understandably skeptical, and then it turns out to actually be good.

And now they're surprised and disappointed that everyone wasn't rushing out to buy this on day one?

Lots of retro games???
"As part of the cloud-based Antstream Arcade"
Oh.

The pricing sounds like a great value, if you're into cloud (or even subscription) gaming.
But I want to buy and keep my games, not get a subscription that vanishes as soon as I stop paying for it! And of course, this has the additional issues brought on by streaming.

@DdG1408 It's great that the whole set is finally coming to more platforms, but the original MGS doesn't really replace Twin Snakes or make it redundant, seeing as the latter has much better graphics, running at 60fps- not to mention all of the other changes (whether good or bad, they still make it different)!

By the way, has the resolution of these games been confirmed, besides MGS1 (plus MG1 and MG2, of course) being an eye-gouging 240p at 30fps? I'd expect 4K60 on Xbox, seeing as this is a separate release from the backwards compatibility versions.

@NEStalgia Yeah, if anything, I'd say PC gaming peaked during the past generation (2013-2020). Driver and compatibility issues were at a minimum (only case I personally encountered was Deadly Premonition), and even the lower-end cards were well above what the consoles were offering.

Now, between ridiculously high GPU prices, all-around terrible optimization, and consoles being good again, PC isn't quite as attractive as before.

That said, the whole thing about PCs not lasting as long as consoles is a misconception: Yes, if you NEED to be on the cutting edge, then you have to upgrade constantly, and also replace your whole rig every few years. But if you just want a decent gaming experience- which must be the case, if you'd consider a console- then you can easily get 5-10 years without upgrading.

I'm still rocking a GTX 960, a lower mid-range card that I got 8 years ago. Is it too old to run the latest games at 60fps? Yes, but it still fares better than its rival consoles (base Xbone and PS4), and isn't too far behind today's lower-end Xboxes and PCs. Had I splurged on a 980 (or waited another year for the 10 series), I'd be golden.

All of the good announcements really are coming from Microsoft lately.
Now they're the ones announcing new PlayStation hardware!

RDR needs a 60fps upgrade, one way or another. I'm assuming that FPS Boost somehow didn't quite work perfectly. (Wasn't a similar or identical technique successfully used on the 360 emulator, Xenia, as well as on RPCS3?)

A full remake, though? Maybe not quite as redundant as The Last of Us, but still unnecessary at this point.

@BrilliantBill Oh yeah, those character models are pretty bad, even compared to other games from that year (or from 5 years earlier, for that matter).
I wonder if the rigging system could allow for the models to be swapped out for higher-poly versions, at least during cutscenes. Basically a more in-depth remaster, without rebuilding everything from scratch. Because now that you mention it, H3 was really jarring at first, especially seeing the downgrade in Johnson's face compared to H2 Anniversary!

You consider H1 Anniversary's cutscenes to have aged poorly compared to Reach and H4, though? It didn't strike me as having issues, whether compared to the others or on its own (besides changing H1's art direction a bit much), though I did start with H1A before moving on to the later ones.

@BrilliantBill The 10 years figure definitely made sense in the past... Resident Evil and Conker's Bad Fur Day received remakes after just 6 and 4 years, respectively- and the audiovisual upgrades were more than enough to justify it.
There are plenty of other games from that era that arguably deserved remakes in the '00s as well, for graphical and gameplay reasons, because things were changing so quickly.

But now? Wasn't Halo 3 still perfectly enjoyable and accessible in 2017, a decade after its release? And why wouldn't it still hold up on its 20th anniversary as well? I don't think games have evolved much since 2007, though I'm curious if you feel differently- and why.

@Banjo- MGS 2 and 3 are listed as the HD Collection versions, so it'll basically be the original graphics, but in HD. 1080p60 seems likely, since the 360 and PS3 were able to do 720, but the trailer's quality is too low to tell.

Not sure why they're showing off MGS1 in its original 240p. Are they really not going to make it HD as well? (Either way, I think it's hardcoded to 30fps.)

Yeah, Twin Snakes is a full remake of MGS1, but Nintendo's involvement apparently prevents it from being ported to anything but a Nintendo system... not like they've been jumping to release it on Switch themselves.

@Banjo- Seeing as the previous HD collection already ran at 720p 60fps, the Switch should be able to get good results.

The NES games are unironically a big draw, as I already have the others.

@Zoidpilot4 I really hope they capture what made the original Perfect Dark so good. Part of it was that wacky side that you mentioned, but Zero was also wacky, and it somehow missed the mark. I think the original had just the right amount of wackiness, with a bit of subtlety and restraint- maybe that's it? Or maybe it's just that it was a certain British flavour of weird.

I'd also be down for a more serious thriller sort of spin on things, but it would have to be handled well, and feel somewhat authentic to Perfect Dark.
Definitely looking forward to seeing how this turns out!

PS: The N64 needed a RAM upgrade to run Perfect Dark. That's what the Expansion Pak was.

@Feffster Why be sorry for them? Maybe we should be jealous instead, as they can play their games on bargain-bin potatoes, and not be bothered at all by how these games run. It sure would save a lot of money!

@Enigk Haha, what I meant by "brings back" was using Godsmack's music in another Prince of Persia game- I had no idea whether they were still around.
Good for them, I guess?

@Enigk Now watch as Ubisoft grants you a monkey's paw wish, and brings back Godsmack instead. That's not modern, is it?

@SuntannedDuck2 Some good points, and some great choices. I always hear about how Blur is an underappreciated gem, and though I'd completely forgotten about Pitfall, I'd heard it was pretty good as well.
I'd definitely pick them both up if they were on BC. Probably a few others that you mentioned, too.

Gunvalkyrie is already available, though: both via the disc and through the store!

I wish Microsoft would revisit the back compat program in general. Not just so I can play my physical games in HD (though that is a bonus!), but so I can buy more of the classics that I missed. Too many games are exclusive to a dead console, or their PC port is delisted.

Some candidates that come to mind:
Chronicles of Riddick
Condemned 2: Bloodshot
Outrun 2/2006
Simpsons Hit and Run/Road Rage
Vexx
XG III

There were others that I would have wanted, but I just ended up getting physical copies. MS's loss!

System Shock 2 was really compelling, and it drew me into its world and gameplay systems more than Bioshock did (the latter was still great).

SS1 is pretty rough around the edges by today's standards, though. It'll be great if this remake makes a classic more approachable without sacrificing its core identity- but I still hope to finish the original first!

I still feel like the Controller S is underappreciated (getting neither the praise of the One/Series, nor the nostalgia and mockery of the Duke), but I have to admit that the newer controllers are better overall.

The black and white buttons are fine for what they are, but they can't beat the conveniently-placed bumpers found on everything from the 360 onward.

@Ashadelo An MGS1 re-remake, you mean?
You'd think that really would be the ideal place to start, though, seeing as the 2004 remake is still stranded on the GameCube to this day.

Or even the original Metal Gear, since that's the most archaic (for obvious reasons). I know it's not as well-known worldwide as MGS, but you'd think being Solid Snake's debut title and including Big Boss would both be major draws now.

@Sam_TSM I remember the early 2000s, too, how we played Super Smash Bros. (1 and Melee), F-Zero (X and GX), Mario Kart DD, Metroid Prime, Sonic Adventure (2 and DX), Mario Party 5, and countless 8- and 16-bit games of the previous decade or so. All 60fps. And I wasn't even into PC gaming back then, but those who were would have a few things to say as well!

It's fine if you don't notice or care about 60fps (it sure simplifies things!), but many of us do notice and care, and preferred 60fps long before it became a mainstream buzzword.

@Widey85 I've heard accounts like this from a few others, and I find it baffling: your eyes can pick out minute details, but you're less sensitive to motion? I'm close to your age, and I'm the opposite: 60fps every time, no matter the resolution sacrifice, as the smooth motion (or lack thereof) is always noticeable.
A 720p TV looks perfectly fine to me, as long as I don't put my face right up to it.

Not a criticism- I just find it interesting and surprising!

@theduckofdeath Wouldn't the "30fps is fine" people be the ones who get left behind?

On a more serious note, the difference between 30 and 60 is something that more people are consciously aware of and vocal about these days- such that the naysayers think that 60fps is some sort of new fad or trend. 60fps was the norm twice before (the pre-3D era, and the 6th gen or "PS2 era"), but it only broke into mainstream awareness just recently. Third time really is the charm!

@Widey85 Fortunately, you do get smaller bonuses every few weeks until you work up to the 20-week streak. If I'm not mistaken, it's the same amount, but spread out over a few milestones.
(Something like 250+500+750+1000.)

@SplooshDmg Not sure how several companies have made this exact mistake, instead of learning from each other.
Fans: "Give us a sequel to [great game]!"
Company: "Okay, here's a lame mobile/pachinko thing, which is based on [great game]."

@Banjo- I would've said to press View, but if that just opens the general settings, then I have no idea.
I wonder if the UI for per-game configs isn't there yet, or if it's just hidden well.

@Banjo- I hear ya. Grew up with Nintendo (and Sega, to a lesser extent), but was driven away by their decisions- first creative, and now business. Ah, well, still lots of great stuff out there!

On desktop Dolphin, you'd right-click the game and open its Properties.
Then go to the AR Codes tab and paste in the new code, along with a descriptive name.
Make sure that code has a check box in the list after you've created it, and also make sure your main Dolphin settings have "Enable Cheats" checked.
It should be a similar process on Series X, now that it has a proper GUI, but I haven't used it.

@Banjo- This Action Replay code makes the Wii version run at 60fps:
04773008 00000000

I'm not sure that the tech itself is the reason for the change in licensing, as opposed to some wording around the platform definitions, but yeah, MS (and Sony) clearly did something different this past gen, ensuring that the games would carry forward. I figure that the PS3/360/Wii distribution agreements were all made around those specific systems, but MS and Sony decided to future-proof their stores with broader licensing terms the second time around.
Meanwhile, Nintendo just kept on doing what they were doing, and now all of the Wii U and 3DS stuff is gone.

@shoeses Different platforms do have different contracts, at least as far as the game rights themselves are concerned. Like how all of the Xbox One games (including the BC library) transferred straight over to Xbox Series consoles without renegotiation, whereas the OG/360 titles had to be negotiated and added individually to get them on the Xbone in the first place... despite already being available on the Xbox 360 store in many cases!

I am just speculating, but I do find it surprising already that Sonic & Sega Racing is still available, considering its soundtrack, and it seems like that could be a tricky area to work with.

@Banjo- The native PC port looks great, though it doesn't have Banjo and Kazooie. You could also try running the Wii version in Dolphin. Its graphics aren't as good as the PC/360 versions, but it still looks nice in 1080p or 4K with the 60fps code. (This does require a fairly beefy CPU, but I think the Series X or equivalent is up to the task.)

And yes, Microsoft's engineers getting Xbox 360 (or even original Xbox) games to run at full speed or better on the Xbox One is some incredible technical wizardry, and not something I would have thought possible!

@shoeses Yeah, there's definitely more than licensing going on there, as I heard from someone who was trying to get their games included in the BC program. MS seemingly wasn't interested in bringing just any/every title over. Again, hoping they change their minds!

I didn't realize so many games were being delisted. That's a shame.

You mentioned Sonic and Sega- it, specifically, could have some issues around music: namely, the licensed tracks in the Samba de Amigo stages, as well as whatever caused Sega to replace all of the music in HotD Remake.

@shoeses Here's hoping MS will backpedal on that, especially considering the limited number of OG Xbox games that made it over.

Backwards compatibility is a lot of what I buy/play now, and is one of the main reasons that the Series X looks so appealing. (Almost everything from the past 10 years is better on PC anyway, so the chance to play true console exclusives from back in the day, often at 60fps, is a real draw!)

And hey, while we're dreaming, might as well put in a request for more FPS boost titles via simple RAM patches- this would open up a whole bunch more games which didn't work with the current method.

Why is there only "Resident Evil", with no way to choose the original or the remake?

@NorthwestEagle Right, a full-blown Series S inside an OG Xbox shell makes sense as a collector's item and as a proper gaming console.

I really doubt that original hardware would be practical at this point, though, whether that's the OG Xbox or the 360. They both rely on very old hardware, and would probably cost far more to make than a One S or even a Series S. (Notice that basically no one else does this- existing retro consoles are all based on emulators or FPGAs.)

And it would be pointless to sell a dedicated emulation box like the NES Classic Mini, as that would require Xbox One hardware at a bare minimum- at which point, you might as well just make it a proper One/Series console.

So yeah, more BC is the way to go. There are still some great games that got left behind for whatever reason, and they deserve another chance!

What would this be, under the hood? A One S, or maybe a cut down Series S?

It makes no sense to have a dedicated Xbox emulator box, but I'm all for reopening the BC program and adding more OG and 360 games, so they can be bought and played on One/Series consoles.

@LoquaciousB I've found that there's a delay, but the free entries will often show up if you go back later.
Similarly, it's really bad about recognizing achievements that I've gotten in the past hour, but it works if I try again later- even though it might still show "0/3", it gives the points.

@GuyinPA75 I figure that they're trying to encourage player engagement, but yeah, it can be counterproductive for those of us who don't spend hours gaming on Xbox every week.

I was pretty good at timing things so I could score 3+ achievements every two-week cycle, keeping some easy Halo ones in my back pocket in case I ran out of time. But then it all went wrong on week 70 or 80 ($2.50 down the drain), so I just abandoned the program for the foreseeable future. It'll take longer to save up points, but it's freeing at the same time!

@NarutosBiggestFan Series X has that, too? I always assumed it was just my One S being a One S.

The Rewards app on Xbox is really bad overall. Not only is it slow and laggy, but it's buggy (it doesn't acknowledge/display recent achievements, among other issues), and it always redirects to Bing, the store, etc., even when the reward conditions have been fulfilled.

@Stoned_Patrol I agree that the complaints about multiple SKUs seem strange and unwarranted, considering the same games have to run on PC.

However, Series S sometimes is the lowest-spec machine: a few PC games now have minimum specs above those of the S.

It's admittedly a lot less common for consoles- even the S- to fall short of minimum PC specs these days, compared to about 3-5 years ago. But it does happen.

No, this is too soon.
Xbox One and PS4 were technically unimpressive from the start, and usually had to settle for 30fps to get a decent level of fidelity.

Series X and PS5 had a much better start, and have been able to run most games smoothly without sacrificing too much visually. No, they can't do max graphics + 4K + ray tracing + 120fps all at once, but sacrifices will ALWAYS have to be made, regardless of hardware. Once you have a machine that can do all of the above, someone will come up with new games that bring it to its knees all over again.

It is a little concerning that we're seeing 30fps games again, however, and the calls for truly "next-gen" experiences probably aren't helping. If more games are going to be technically compromised like this, then we will need a mid-gen refresh.

Both Left 4 Dead games are still available for cheap, and they run at 4K 120fps (and beyond) on PC, so a remaster doesn't seem all that meaningful.

I've always been interested in Simpsons: Hit & Run- and @Clyde_Radcliffe's suggestion above sounds great: a collection could bring back the '90s arcade game, both '00s driving games, Krusty's Fun House, the movie one, etc.

PGR 1 was gorgeous (if a little frustrating at times), but the sequels are all capped at 30fps, which is a big turnoff. I voted Simpsons, but I think PGR is objectively the series that needs a remaster the most.

@shoeses The roadblock no doubt comes from the games' own publishers in many cases, like you mentioned (upcoming remasters, licensing issues, etc.). But I can confirm that Microsoft chooses not to pursue some games for back compat, despite the publishers' own wishes- I heard directly from a rights holder who pushed for MS to include their OG Xbox games, but got turned down for unknown reasons.

I know MS has officially stopped adding to the back compat and FPS Boost programs, but I hope they revisit them anyway. BC games make up a big portion of my library, and I'm not just talking old discs that I carried over- I actually still shop in their online store for Xbox and X360 games.

@Darylb88 Yeah, that's not great.
I believe MS's usual policy is to allow games (that you own physically or digitally- not GamePass, of course) to work offline indefinitely on your "home" console, but this hasn't always been as consistent as it should be. I had issues starting up recently-updated games offline a while back, for one.

However, some improvements were made last year, which should allow most games to play or even install from disc while offline, even if Quick Resume may not factor into that. (YouTuber MVG did a couple of videos investigating and describing this.)

@Darylb88 Really? That must be for verification purposes, or something, as it makes no sense that the internet would actually be used for intensive things like Quick Resume.

Even the old Xbox One can pull over 100 MB of data from its (annoyingly slow) hard drive per second.
Meanwhile, many people's internet connections are 15 MB/s (120 Megabits/s) or less- if you're in a rural area, probably 625 KB/s (5 Mb/s, or about 1/8 the speed of the PS2's DVD drive!). Not enough to do any real data crunching or loading, yet their Xbox games still play.

PS: If you know of specific cases where anything resembling heavy lifting actually is done via the internet, let me know!

PPS: I'm in Canada, so you may have better results, depending on where you live. Still not multiple gigabytes per second like the Series S|X does, though!

@cornholio005 You might be onto something. The Switch version isn't overclocked, so it rarely hits 60fps. It could be overclocked for consistent performance, but that would make the guns fire too quickly. This firing bug is something Code Mystics could fix on Xbox, but it's not likely that anyone on Nintendo's side would do the same- and so, the Xbox version would be considerably better.

@Feffster It's strange, because the original N64 version was unlocked, and could hit 60fps in a few specific scenarios. (Of course, any Xbox system would be able to effortlessly maintain 60fps with no dips!) This version actually had a 30fps cap added.

Really hoping they patch this, as there's currently no reason for me to play this one over the other options (seeing as I have the original).

@Chaotic_Goat I don't get it. This game already tried to run at 60fps on N64 (even if it rarely hit that target), so the porting team had to go out of their way to cap it at 30fps.

I'm really glad to see this classic brought back for more people to play, but this is looking like a pretty rough port. Sort of a Tales of Symphonia situation all over again.

@NintendoByNature Yes, but apparently only with digital copies?
Oh well, the entire Rare Replay goes on sale for something like $7, so Goldeneye on its own can't be too expensive, I'd think/hope.

@Banjo- I hate to say this now, but did you know that Rare Replay includes sensible controls for Jet Force Gemini? You have to go into the options and choose the "Advanced" control scheme. Basically, it allows you to have dual-stick aim in aiming mode, but normal platform controls outside of that.
(The vanilla N64 version included this option already, but it was a weird southpaw setup like Turok, which doesn't translate well to an Xbox controller.)

If you took issue with the aiming for any other reason, then disregard!

@Kaloudz Xenia Onatopp? She always did enjoy a good squeeze.