Comments 407

Re: Talking Point: If You Could Ask Phil Spencer Anything, What Would It Be?

swedetrap

I'd ask him a few things:

1. What happened with Scalebound and Fable Legends? Be specific. I wasn't particularly looking forward to them, but I'm curious how far along they were before they got killed off.

2. Why not revisit some of the other Microsoft-owned IP? I know a lot of people are hot for the old RARE games, but what about Crimson Skies? Midtown Madness? PGR? It seems like any of these would be an instant hype machine with the right studio in charge of it.

3. How hard was it to right the Xbox One ship after launch? (I'm of the opinion he's done an amazing job but that damage done pre-launch to that system was horrendous.)

Re: Xbox Wants To Know If You Like The PS5's Controller Features

swedetrap

I have a PS5 and think DualSense is pretty ok. It does remind me of the hype around "HD Rumble" on the Switch though, one of those things that sounds much cooler than it inevitably ends up being because devs get bored with it and don't bother to keep it interesting. I filled out the survey as well and would love to see similar features on the Xbox, if for no other reason than to have parity in cross-console releases. My favorite rumble to date is still the amazing work being done by both Forza teams. DualSense still has nothing on that in my opinion.

Re: 2K's Battleborn Will Be Completely Unplayable After This Month

swedetrap

I really liked this game when it came out. Lack of a decent-sized player base really hurt it as the months went on though. I do think it's a bit crap that the single-player game will no longer work. At some point, either they need to release this stuff as free to play right out of the gate (it went F2P but later on I think) or make the online component optional. 2K has burned me twice with this, first with Evolve (which I really loved) and now this.

Re: These 20+ Games Are Coming To Xbox In January 2021

swedetrap

I'm down for The Medium, Hitman III, and the formerly-absent-on-Xbox Yakuza games. All of this obsession with Scott Pilgrim though, I really don't get it. I've had it on my PS3 (PS Plus freebie) since 2012 or so and man, it doesn't live up to the hype around it. What will be interesting to see is what they charge for it as it was a $9.99 game when it first released. I fully expect the new/improved version to be $20 or more.

Re: NieR:Automata Celebrates Five Million Copies Sold Worldwide

swedetrap

Several of my friends begged me to try this game when it came out, so I did, only it didn't take. That was on PS4. When it came to Xbox, several more friends told me I was crazy for not 'getting it' so I tried it again. Still didn't take. I'm a big fan of Platinum's stuff but NieR just hasn't clicked with me. Now that I see all of this praise, maybe the 3rd time will be the charm.

Re: Control's Anna Megill Will Be Lead Writer On The New Fable

swedetrap

I can't remember Control's plot but I was so underwhelmed by the action it had that I think it's possible I've simply blocked it out of my mind. That said, knowing Fable is in the hands of someone respected is great. It's been far too long since Fable has been a thing. I played the crap out of the Fable Legends early release and was always bummed that it was canceled. It didn't blow my mind or anything but it was new Fable.

Re: Sony Still Seems Confident The Elder Scrolls VI Is Coming To PS5

swedetrap

The best part about the console wars is that the biggest system seller for any of these companies over the past couple years has been Fortnite. What sells on the software side more than anything? Also Fortnite (via microtransactions). What will the truly huge sellers this holiday season be? CoD, FIFA, Madden, and ... Fortnite microtransactions. Sure, a few million copies of Spider-Man the Amazing 15 Minute Reboot don't hurt, but it's mostly the cross platform stuff that's been making everyone money lately. Having a handful of mostly similar single-player adventure games is a great reason to own a PlayStation (I own mine solely for said games) but what are the kids yappin' about? Fortnite, CoD, EA Sports.

Re: New Xbox Feature Will Reveal Why Your Downloads Are Going Slow

swedetrap

I get 30-40MB/s when I have a game active on Xbox, always have. It goes up to 900MB/s otherwise. Now, if that game is Destiny 2 or something, hey great, I get it. When it's Unraveled, that makes zero sense to me.

Still, my PlayStation 4 and 5 downloads seem to hover around 80MB/s regardless of what I'm doing. Day one with my PS5 consisted solely of installing games. I didn't get to play anything until the following day. GREAT user experience there.

Re: Pick One: Which Of These Remedy Xbox Games Is Your Favourite?

swedetrap

I'm very happy to see Quantum Break get some love here. To me, Control seemed like a whole lot of Quantum Break B-roll but without the plot and (mostly great) TV episode interludes. I love Quantum Break.

Now, as for the rest, I love me some OG Max Payne but I didn't get what everyone saw in Alan Wake. I tried, more than once, but it didn't stick.

Re: Poll: What Are Your Thoughts On The New Xbox Series Controller So Far?

swedetrap

I'm 90% in love with the new controller, preferring it over all previous gen Xbox controllers and even over my DualSense PS5 controller (which I find to be very much a novelty and rather uncomfortable to use).

If not for the persistent wake-from-sleep connection issues I'm having with the new controllers (I have 3, all of them have the problem) I would give it a 95% and be anxiously waiting the next gen Elite controller.

As it stands now, I can only praise it so much as it locks up on my regularly if I leave a gaming a session and come back.

Having said all of that, I share more stuff now than I ever have, much like I've done throughout the PS4 era. Xbox has the wonkiest sharing features ever before. So glad they've finally fixed it.

Re: Xbox Teases New Game Pass Additions, Is One Of Them Control?

swedetrap

To those that bought Control during the Black Friday sale, count yourself lucky. I bought it BEFORE the Black Friday sale and before the Series X|S version delay. It was one of the first games I wanted to play on my Series X so I paid full price only for it to get delayed, get discounted, and then (presumably) put on Game Pass before I've even tried it.

Yes, I'm aware I can go back and download and play the last gen version but who wants to do that?

Re: These 20+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (Dec 1-4)

swedetrap

Though I had no interest in it at first, the more recent trailers for Immortals Fenyx Rising have me pretty excited. I dare say it's the most awkwardly named game I've been looking forward to since Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice. And that one ended up being in my all time top 10.

Re: Poll: Which Xbox Series X Launch Game Is Your Favourite So Far?

swedetrap

Though it doesn't feel particularly "next gen," I've been enjoying Watch Dog Legions despite its dreadful save game glitch. Some of these missions are very fun, but not fun enough to repeat 4-5x because the stupid thing won't save my game.

Aside from that I'm all over MK11 and CoD Cold War (multiplayer). I've tried almost all of them and can safely say that it's ok to avoid The Falconeer and Bright Memory. You won't be missing anything.

Re: Xbox Responds To Reports Of Games Running Better On PS5 Than Series X

swedetrap

Because of a PS5 bundle I didn't really want (thanks Gamestop!) I ended up with AC Valhalla on both systems and quite frankly if you can truly see any difference between the two, you need to get a life. Both versions look decidedly last gen to me but if PS5 gets the edge per Digital Foundry's tests, then so be it. It's a wickedly fun game but graphically it's a huge disappointment on both consoles right now. I feel the exact same way about Dirt 5, it's a blast to play but looks a bit meh.

That said, MK11 on my Series X is mindblowing in every possible way. I couldn't stand the lengthy loading times with MK11 on XB1X (I'm an old school SF2/MK kid so the very idea of loading times in between fights seems stupid) but man, it's absolutely amazing.

Devs will figure this stuff out. They always do. Much ado about nothing.

Re: Unity Exec: The Xbox Series S Will Be A Real Differentiator This Generation

swedetrap

I think the entire industry overlooked how "meh" 4K really is. I have several 4K TVs in my house, in addition to a 4K monitor for my gaming PC, and while I see the difference, it's seriously not something that I feel was really worth my time, money and research for. 4K monitors are great for clarity but I'm sitting 6-8 feet away from my TV and genuinely don't see much difference. 60 fps (or even 120 fps) though? Absolute gold. I'd rather they look the remaining horsepower and created convincing hair for once. It's so weird to see all of these near-photo realistic humans walking about and interacting with plastic wigs on their heads.

Re: Poll: Two Weeks On, Are You Happy With Your Xbox Series X|S?

swedetrap

Love my Series X to death despite an apparent known-issue with it losing track of my controller and wireless headset if left unattended for 10-15 minutes. Fix that and I'm 100% happy with it. It really was the weirdest console launch (Xbox and PS5 both) that I've ever witnessed though, and I've been gaming since the Atari 2600 days. I do rather like this approach though. I love playing older games but my TV only has so many inputs and my house is only so big. Nice to be able to more or less shelve my PS4, Xbox One X, 360, etc. for now.

Re: Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Slams Console War Toxicity, Says Sony Isn't An Enemy

swedetrap

I'm a bit of a head case and buy all the systems at (or near) launch. While I might lean Xbox, I'm not about to miss the occasional Sony first-party gem here and there out of console allegiance, but holy s**t are people obsessed with this garbage.

Also, agree with @koffing above that the publisher-fueled tripe I read on a daily basis is neither constructive or even entertaining anymore. The sheer number of YouTube videos with OMGGASPCONTROVERY style headlines has annoyed me to the point where I'm questioning why I subscribe to YouTube premium, and these endless Digital Foundry videos about 2-3 fps differences just make it all that much worse. I couldn't care less who "wins" the whole thing - though I suspect the only REAL winner is PC gaming.