Topic: Official Push Square Xbox Thread

Nice...

@FullbringIchigo @KratosMD It is a good month and arguably better than PS+ offerings - although as usual it is helped by Backwards Compatibility. I am looking forward to both Assassins Creed: Unity and Mad Max on the PS4 - I say looking forward to but I still have games I paid for to play and finish off. I have already have, played and beaten Dead Space 2 but I gave up on AC after 4 so I don't have Unity or Syndicate (yet). I don't know how Syndicate will feel after Origins which I loved and completed (inc both DLC's too).

@KratosMD Forza 5 was kinda rushed and felt lacking after 4 and it was a 'launch' game BUT they still had 2yrs and a lot of games they could have taken tracks and cars from to give it more. 6 was a return but 7 is even better as the games 'dynamic' weather has much greater impact than 6's more 'cosmetic' feeling weather. Visually 7 is a step up too - maybe because it was built for the 'X' first and foremost with the PC as a strong secondary consideration too where as 6 was built for the base console only. 6 was then ported to PC and adapted but it was still built for the base console as the only consideration at that time. Even FH3 was built with 4k and PC's in mind - as shown at E3 2016 when they demoed the game running on a 4k PC as well and how 4 players with 4 different devices (inc the S in HDR and a 4k PC gamer) could seemlessly join up in the same game. Its funny now though that FH2 is the 'worst' looking game on XB1X as the first 'Horizon' (XB360 game) now runs flawlessly in 4k.

The one thing that disappoints me with Forza is all the 'car pack' DLC's. In 4 (maybe earlier ones too but 4 I remember particularly but could have been the special edition version I had), these came with a second disc that you could install to your HDD to have extra cars. Its not that 'disappointing' but its still a little disappointing. At least 7 for example has around 700 cars but both FH3 and Forza add the DLC cars in the lists which annoys me too - they should only show up if you buy them...

I am happy to make do with the cars the game launches with but these games are more an aside - something different to do when I want a break from some intense story action rather than a 'main' game for me. I don't usually finish 'everything' in these although with 4, I think I made it to 8 or 9 years in my career seasons.

@BAMozzy i recently went back to ACIV after playing Origins and it was a bit jarring but you soon get used to it again

@FullbringIchigo For me, I loved AC - the first - despite its 'flaws' but at that time it still felt very good. AC2 was a massive step forward as it corrected many of the issues most had with the first but then Brotherhood (really didn't like the game as much and the MP was not my thing at all) and Revelations wore thin very quickly. AC3 had potential but wasn't realised and 4 didn't feel like an Assassins Creed game - should have dropped the 'Assassins' and made it a new IP (the first Skin n Bones perhaps?) - at most tied it in to the AC universe but still not an 'Assassins Creed' game. It was this that was the final nail in the coffin for me with the franchise - at least until what I heard about Origins - that and the changes to combat too.

As far as I was concerned, Unity tried to push the series too far for the 'console' hardware to handle (it plays well on PC - apart from the bugs and the co-op aspect didn't fit well either in my opinion) but at least tried to get back to the original premise of what AC games 'should' be - it was only the poor and buggy performance that stopped me buying. Syndicates setting interested me - London - coming from the UK myself but there was still enough that put me off - combat, too 'modern', kind of felt they were uncomfortable of making a 'mainstream' Assassins Creed game with just a female lead - I know Liberation did but that wasn't 'mainstream' as it was (initially) only on Vita - and so had to make brother and sister. The Combat, the Horse and Carriage controls and the rope launcher were all criticised and/or felt old, clunky or out of place in the series and that put me off from buying - at least I can try this out myself now.

One of the 'biggest' draws for me with Origins was the changes to combat, the fluidity and fact that opponents don't attack one at a time like they do in all others which may have been acceptable back in 2009 on the XB360/PS3 gen consoles but by 2014/15 (15 also had the Witcher 3 for example as well as numerous other games) that really made AC's combat feel dated and clunky. As great as AC2 'was' - it was my 'favourite' AC game, I find the game play now clunky and dated - which is why I rate Origins as my 'favourite' AC game. Its telling though that these 2 AC games are the only two that I have played to full completion.

Anyway, that's my opinion on the AC Franchise and no doubt your opinion could well be different. I have no intention of buying Rogue (never played this) or the Ezio collection (played all 3) because I am not that keen to be reminded of why I fell out of love with the franchise. I would be much more interested in hearing that Ubisoft would be adding more DLC to Origins in truth...

@BAMozzy honestly i want them to do a AC set in the modern day using Origins game play style where we can create our own custom character (as the modern day character form Origins was bland as hell and i hope to Ra she isn't in the next one) and let us finish the modern day story, that should free up the series from all the Animus crap then perhaps they could start making AC games actually set in the various time periods we play in

@FullbringIchigo A modern day AC game may not work - or would end up being a bit too much like Hitman or a 3rd person shooter. I agree Bayek wasn't the greatest protagonist - especially compared to Ezio. It would be great if we could pick our own character but it still needs good writing and an injection of 'personality' too. I prefer the older settings myself, not having guns and cars. Modern settings also could introduce 'tech' - like cameras everywhere and I doubt the 'local' police would accept someone climbing up buildings, running over rooftops etc. Helicopters with thermal cameras wouldn't help making an escape and I can't see 'haystacks' or some other 'soft' (despite the distance you are falling, never likely to really break your fall safely) areas around a city.

A modern setting just opens up more issues that would need to be addressed and could change the game far too much. Just the introduction of modern day weapons - like automatic guns - would change the format too much. I know Bows allow for ranged combat with the Predator bow being the sniper, the Warrior Bow the shotgun, the Hunter bow the AR and Quick bow the SMG but there is still a lot of hand to hand combat with swords, spears, axes etc too. Cameras could be hacked but then it gets a bit 'Watchdogs', 3rd person cover shooter could be a bit too Ghost Recon/Division and it could all end up being a bit Far Cry too. This is why I am happy that they are sticking to Historical settings. Greece is supposed to be next but I think Japan would also be great too. I think Japan has a lot of potential but with Ghost of Tsushima in the works, may have put Ubisoft off from this - a Ninja assassin? I also think a 'Witcher' style game set in Feudal Japan with different Shogun armies controlling different areas and the various political landscape that incurs with some 'mysticism' - similar to the witches, elves/ogres etc that require an unaffiliated Samurai to deal with - like Geralt does. Point is, feudal Japan has a lot of unapped gaming potential. I know Nioh and Ghost may start to fill that potential - at least for PS owners but I think AC is a great franchise to also visit that setting in particular.

@BAMozzy yeah i guess a modern AC would be too much like Watch_Dogs oh and i meant the modern day character from Origins was bland (Layla, i had to look her name up that's how much of an impact she made) but yeah i can see Bayek is kinda bland too

but still either way a custom character for the modern day segments would be nice and they could still bring that particular story thread to an end, it's dragged on too long i think

as for a AC set in Japan i would LOVE that although Greece sounds like a cool place to set one too IF it's true

others settings i would like to see would be Mayan, Rome Norse and World War 1

@FullbringIchigo Greece has a lot of possibility and so does other ancient civilisations like Mayan and the Cambodian temple regions of Angkor Wat too but Feudal japan seems a better fit in my opinion. It already has the 'Ninja' assassin and the potential of Shogun armies with Samurai's as the main higher level 'enemies' - the Captains in Origins for example. I think if we get to automatic 'gun' era, we are too modern.

So No Man's Sky is coming to Xbox too...

https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2018/03/29/no-mans-sky-coming-soo...

@BAMozzy
With all the 'exclusives' Sony is losing hopefully this means list wars will start fading into the sunset, gamers can accept the fact that PlayStation and Xbox have always been essentially the samething and just get back to gaming. Only company with a majority of its hits as true exclusives is Nintendo.

@Gamer83 the only true exclusives on PS4 and XB1 now a days are the ones made by first party studios, most of the others end up coming to other systems or P.C eventually which is a good thing in my opinion

people should have a chance to play as many games as possible regardless of whether they own a PS4, XB1 or P.C

@KratosMD To be honest, I never had issues with the bumpers at all. I bought an Elite on release which also supposed to have 'bumper' issues but again not had any issues - yet. I do know the V2 was supposed to have 'better' bumpers as that was one area that people felt could be improved - not necessarily because they broke but the way they felt after the 360's. I can only suggest that its worth trying - after all what choice do we have if a controller stops functioning properly...

@KratosMD my OG XB1 controller had an issue with the control stick it would "drift" to the left all by itself but i have had no issues at all with my new one which is a the V2, although i haven't noticed any difference in the way the bumper work between the two

@FullbringIchigo
My comment was more or less tongue-in-cheek, I do agree though, the more who get to play third party games, the better. I'm not a big fan of exclusive deals on third party games at all unless it's the absolute only way possible for something to get made like was the case with Bayonetta 2 and 3.

@KratosMD This is what I have found about the V2 Controller

"The first thing improved with this version are the bumper buttons. Microsoft says it has "fine tuned" them for better performance along the full length of the buttons, and honestly, they do feel better to use. You get a pretty even 'clickyness' along the entire length which is probably what Microsoft was shooting for."

@KratosMD i haven't heard anything about a V3 i'm afraid

@FullbringIchigo I think the V3 is the one with Bluetooth for PC owners. V2 added the 3.5mm jack and improved the bumpers but didn't have Bluetooth. The V3 is no different other than in-built bluetooth and 'textured' grips - also known as the Xbox One S revision.

From Wiki
2015 revision (V2)
On June 9, 2015, Microsoft unveiled a revised version of the standard controller. Its shoulder buttons were redesigned for improved responsiveness, a 3.5 mm headphone jack was added near the controller's expansion port, and support for wireless firmware updates was added.

2016 revision (Xbox One S)
A third revision of the controller was introduced alongside the Xbox One S, an updated model of the Xbox One console, unveiled in June 2016. It features textured grips, and additionally supports Bluetooth, which allows it to be used wirelessly on Bluetooth-enabled PCs without the need for the proprietary Wireless Adapter. Users can also custom-order this controller revision via the "Xbox Design Lab" service, with their choice of colors, and an optional inscription of their Xbox Live screen name for an additional fee. It has been made available in white, black, red, and blue colors, as well as other limited edition colors.

If you want to get the 'latest' controller, if it has Bluetooth - its a 2016 (V3) revision. If it doesn't but has the 3.5mm jack, its the 2015 (V2) revision. I doubt you will find many of these in stores now and even less likely to find the original version...

So I've been putting a fair bit of time in on the X recently with The Witcher 2, Cuphead and Sea of Thieves (that I'm quite addicted to) and many first party games on the console are hitting full 4k with third party open worlds coming in under that. Until that is Far Cry 5 with it's full fat 4k HDR presentation in a huge open world and it looks simply stunning, hopefully others will follow suit as it really does make a huge difference to these games.

As for Far Cry itself I bought the gold edition mainly as I was more excited for the DLC than anything, oh and number 3 and after my first few hours I was having a lot of fun but felt the story was a bit absent. Now after quite a bit more time I'm completely hooked and I also how how well the story is presented as it happens more organically through your choice rather than just been told where to go. This goes for the exploration as a whole as towers are gone so you now need to explore, with my absolute favourite parts being the prepper rooms which are nice little contained puzzles/experiences. Combat is as excellent as always with dizzying amount of options in how to tackle situations and all at rock solid performance regardless of platform. I'm having a lot of fun with this game and can't recommend it enough despite the somewhat mixed reviews

@carlos82 I bought FC5 as soon as I saw the Season Pass details and the fact that FC3 was included. I had a £10 voucher with Amazon so I pre-ordered the Gold Edition too. Visually, the game is (almost) Photorealistic - the characters etc do look more 'game-like' than real but still incredibly good but compared to the vegetation etc, its obvious these are 'graphics'. The native 4k HDR imagery is absolutely stunning but even still, you can see the limitations of the consoles - most obviously the pop-in draw distance - not just vegetation/shadows either. Its not a 'criticism' as such but it does show some of the compromise Ubisoft had to make to get the native 4k and rock solid performance. Strange though the map screen has quite bad screen tear but at least its not affecting actual game play.

Point is though, that other devs may well not compromise on draw distances for example so 'harshly' and rather drop the resolution down (or at least have dynamic scaling). We don't know how expensive (as far as 'time' goes) all the settings are with different engines. Each frame, at 30fps, have to be ready within 33ms (that's 3.3 hundredths or 0.033s). That's for all the calculations of enemy positions, AI calculations, bullets and their trajectory, physics, explosions etc as well as render the frame and apply all the lighting, shadow calculations, ambient occlusion, etc. Whilst the 'image' is presented in 2D, the GPU still builds up a 3D world. A lot of engines now though don't bother rendering (in detail) the things that we as the player can't see - for example if a car was behind a wall with the back-end visible, the GPU will only render the back end and keep the 'hidden' section in low detail - even wire frame until it has to 'render' it properly but as the back-end was rendered, its held in cache to cut time down. This is just 1 trick that devs can use to cut down render time and different engines/devs may have more tricks and time saving or less expensive methods for things like shadows for example.

That's why just because Ubisoft may offer 4k 30 in an open world this large and impressively detailed, maybe one of their other engines or another dev/publisher can't deliver that 'resolution' or aren't prepared to sacrifice draw distance (for example) as much.

Anyway - Far Cry 5 is a good game, both visually and its 'game-play'. There is a lot of humour and tongue in cheek moments, side quests etc too...

@KratosMD i never looked at it that way but now that you mentioned it I have to agree with you. I also don't care for trophies if I'm not going for platinum as I deem only that one as important while with achievements and gamerscore everything counts. You can even compare yourself to your friends how you fared in the last/current month and that's sorely missing from psn.

So I like your insight, you have so easily influenced me