@PuppetMaster just finished it. I can see why comparisons would be drawn with Soma.
Soma is one of my favourite games of all time. Still Wakes the Deep cannot match the profound story in Soma with its commentary on consciousness and the ethics of what happens in that game.
However, SWtD is better in terms of its nostalgic location and time period, and emotional story moments and side characters. A bit like Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture.
Probably a cross between those games.
The fly in the ointment was the same fly from Soma - I really did not enjoy the stealth sections.
I’d actually prefer if it were not a horror at all. It was at its best during the straight “disaster movie” moments.
Bad product from the start. Obsolete Fresnel lenses crippled the product; it was akin to releasing PS5 with a 5.25" floppy disc drive instead of Blu Ray.
Naturally it didn't sell well enough for a revised pancake "Pro" version later.
Way it could have been a success was to launch with:
*pancakes
*wireless
*PC compat
*video app support
*LCD rather than OLED to offset the cost of pancakes/wireless.
*Updates of Skyrim VR, Astrobot and a few others
Unfortunately they hamstrung it from the start. Very few people in their right mind would buy one over a Quest 3 now.
At this point MS and Sony should darn well look at integrating Quest 3 support into their systems, for those who don't have decent PC's. That way those of us who love VR and care about it's future, might see it starting to take off.
Need a far larger global install base to make development of big titles viable. The current fragmentation and exclusivity is screwing up the entire concept.
As a hardcore Xbox fan since the original, I really feel MS needs to stop messing everyone around, and just come out and announce that all past and future Xbox Games Studio's games will be on PS5 - and at launch for new titles.
Slowly drip feeding is the worst of both worlds. Yeah some Xbox super-fans are going to cry, but just get it over and done with now.
Then Microsoft need to explain what their deal and offer is for Xbox/Gamepass users, and what type/grade of consoles they will be releasing in the future. Explain why anyone would stay with them.
That way we can all make informed decisions now as to which platforms we want to buy and play games on.
I played the AR demo that came with my Quest 3 ( these little alien things start smashing holes and getting into your house) and it is actually damn impressive. Very convincing effect that doesn’t come across well and do justice on YouTube.
Would be great in the future to run around the real world shooting realistic zombies.
Figured immediately that the PSVR2 wouldn’t be capable of AR in this new title.
@thefourfoldroot1 is Origins on Extra? It wasn't as bad as Valhalla, but did stutter occasionally whereas Fallout 4 was perfect.
I've seen similar inconsistencies on GeForce Now.
AC Syndicate on there for example is utterly catastrophic for no apparent reason, where as Deathloop is magical and runs better than it does natively on PS5/XSX.
Spiderman on Portal feels far less "micro-suttery" than Valhalla for example. In fact it feels really good.
I wonder if Valhalla doesn't quite hit the frame rate target on a TV, but I don't notice because I have VRR. Where as on the portal it causes stutter.
I've posted before about my new Portal and how pleased I am with it.
I have more recently discovered inconsistencies between games though.
I understand why the low bit rate can lead to a worse image quality on a very "busy" detailed game like AC Valhalla, versus something older like Fallout 4.
What I don't get is why the performance varies so much between them.
Fallout 4 is as sweet as a nut, even in another persons house using their WiFi, rather than on the same network as my PS5.
Yet Valhalla does seem to have hitching, even when 1m from the posh gaming router than my PS5 is wired too. Both games running in 60fps or 30fps, mode, the gulf in performance between them is the same.
Those are just two examples of good and bad games for the system. There are many others.
Played Inquisition. Quit after the hinterlands dragged on.
Love fantasy games, and loved the aesthetic of DA:I, but not the fact my female character was clearly using male mo-cap, especially in cutscenes. Looked weird and ruined it.
Now they've changed the aesthetic, whatever interest I'd have had by default due to it being a fantasy game, has been negated. If it gets mega reviews from trustworthy sources I might be interested.
Dear Esther and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture are two of my favourite games, and I'm a fan of the genre in genre.
I've been hyped for this and I'm glad it's receiving a positive response.
My only issue is talk of these stealth sections. Another of my favourite games was Soma, and the few sections involving enemies, often with stealth, were the only fly in the ointment in an otherwise perfect experience.
I fear that after some of the critical response to Dear Esther, developers feel compelled to insert "gameplay" sections for the sake of it, rather than having the confidence to embrace the genre and double-down on the pure experience side of things.
Rule 30 of the Internet: There are no girls on the internet.
Personally I don't want to hear anything about any games, until it is a week away from launch.
Very tired of the 2 year hype cycle we now see for games we cannot buy. Leaks that add another year or two on top of that are obviously not something I'm interested in, as I'm sick of the official media hype as it is.
I'd have to single out Ubisoft, as I see adverts for their games all over my Facebook, a year before games launch. Ludicrous.
Like Ford advertising their nuclear powered flying car that will be available in the year 2089, and Top Gear magazine running articles on it every other day.
@Flaming_Kaiser it would become a market of free consumer choice.
A bit like with PC but on a gaming-wide scale.
You can spend console money on a 4060, £800 on a 4070ti, or double that on a 4090.
Choice is yours. Weigh how much you value performance.
Whereas currently the console market is like saying that if you want to play game X, you have to buy a 4060.
Nought wrong with the 4060 per se, but extremely annoying for those with a bit more money but who are stuck with games stuttering along, due to them being exclusive to charity shop hardware.
I mean you’d rather play Tears of the Kingdom on your £500 console than the £270 Switch right? And with good reason.
@anon_pel222 guilty. I paid for map icon unlocks on the cash shop when Valhalla launched.
Must have taken me 15 hours just to get to Britain, as I was collecting every single tiny little thing in the first snow zone, right down to the smallest faintest little orange dot on the map.
I never feasted on the game, as I never got that into it. But like a buffet, I kept dipping back in.
Almost 4 years later, I must be 50 hours in, am still playing it, but have gotten nowhere in the story!
It’s almost like it’s become World of Warcraft rather than COD, where I dip in and out once a week for 20 minutes.
If the deal is that the two characters exist to cover the bases of the two types of player, that is clearly an acknowledgment of player preferences, and therefore it would be a bad move to force players to use both.
Fan boys will be fan boys, and gladly cut off their noses to spite their faces. No reasoning with them.
Glad to see that there are a lot of adults in the comments who realise that ultimately gamers lose from slimy tit-for-tat type deals.
Sony were every bit as much the villains as any other company. Arguably the worst offenders.
I’d rather all games on all platforms, and I’d buy the best hardware, based on the power v price point preferences I have, and how much I like the user experience.
Exactly as I do with Apple v Android. Or between different suppliers of Android phones.
Skyrim on Switch whilst on holiday! Was tempted to take the Portal as I have it on PS5, but the WiFi at my holiday destination is too flakey.
Damn what a stunning port on Switch though. Silky smooth, must have great frame pacing and looks superb. Then you see Dragon's Dogma 2 staggering like a drunkard on PS5 and you wonder where the power is going....
Developers? They choose to embark on projects that take 5+ years, and have created this syndrome where we see games being released in dead genres, that were all the rage 5 years earlier.
Reviewers? Do they use games like TLoU 2 or RDR2 that took 7 years to produce as a benchmark for what a quality game looks like, and then harshly critique games that only took 2 years?
Gamers? For listening to reviewers and having the same delusional expectations?
Glad I have a large backlog of excellent games that I simply lack the time to get through. As there is nothing new on the horizon that interests me.
Actually in terms of games I will most likely buy in the future, it will almost certainly be games that are out now, but over the coming months will receive patches or new hardware that makes them run properly.
So with upcoming games being so lacklustre, it's patches and hardware releases - be it PS5 Pro, Switch 2 and the 50** GPU's that are of interest.
Looks like another “bandwagon” game, where the Suits wanted to hop on the hot genre of the era, not realising that 5 years later when their game is ready, said genre would be over saturated and old news.
If you want to be successful, you need to create the trend of five years time, not release in the dying days of a 5 year old spent force.
@Mustoe I was playing AC Odyssey on my PC via Xbox Cloud a couple of days ago. Allowed me to continue my 40+ hour save from my XSX that I’d sold.
Perfectly playable and very good in terms of no latency or stutter, but image quality and resolution was lacklustre.
Whereas GeForce Now would be pristine 4k HDR and indistinguishable from playing on an XSX.
So Microsoft still have a lot of work to do on their cloud.
Can’t imagine how bad the Sony cloud service is, I’ve heard it’s even worse!
Think we are at least a decade away from the point where I’d give up having local hardware, and I’m on a Virgin 1Gb connection, where as most people are stuttering along on twisted copper at 20 to 40mb!
Gotta be 20 years before we see the end of home consoles. A few generations yet.
May have been fixed since the early days, but the fundamental structure of the game were these competing pvp player factions and that was the flaw.
As happens in most mmo’s, the game was destroyed by Sweats, but this game was far more susceptible as there wasn’t enough content for the solo player compared to TESO, and the player-created content that the game was built around, got broken by try hards.
I’d hope a console version at least had fresh servers. The original PC servers had the economy destroyed by dupe bugs/exploits etc.
It's amazing how the Suits at these corporations really hate money.
Want to get rich?
Just do a Capcom/Resident Evil.
Start re-making (that's re-make not re-master) Asylum, City, Origins and Knight for the current gen.
Some changes and revisions would be nice as per RE4, but the voice acting would sadly be an issue there. But hey significant changes could be handled by other playable characters in addition to their DLC's.
Yeah they were remastered once already, but RE4 had been tweaked how many times?
Plus many Batman fans weren't even born when Asylum and City were released and probably overlooked the remasters.
Question about something I noticed last night. I’d watched a YT video on my PC about Kingdom Come.
I’d not played the original, so I opened a browser tab for the UK PSN store (note I’m not logged into my PSN account), and they had the Royal Edition on offer for £6.
The standard edition was £25 or something and the DLC would be more on top.
I went on my PS5 and no matter what I did or searched for, the Royal Edition was invisible.
I then tried on the app on my phone (that is logged in to my account), and again the Royal Edition was invisible.
Are Sony scamming certain customers, by hiding certain deals when logged into an account, where an algorithm suspects that you would likely pay the higher non-sale price?
As a new Portal owner I question the need for such a product.
I can play PS4 games in 99% of usage scenarios - let’s not pretend people play at skate parks per the fake looking Switch adverts.
In addition, I can also play all the latest PS5 games and upcoming PS5 Pro games with no heat or battery concerns.
I suppose you could make a niche Portal Pro with an OLED and the ability to play “some” games whilst out of WiFi range, but not sure there is a market over and above the current Portal which will remain a far cheaper product.
Sony would just end up competing with themselves and damaging both products.
If such a product did exist, it would not be aimed at anyone reading this.
It would be aimed at people who don’t own a console. A small “my first PlayStation” for a kid to buy old £5.99 PS4 games on, and some modern indie titles like Animal Well.
Ubisoft gets a lot of hate too, but I actually find them to be one of my favourite publishers/set of developers.
They don't do 10/10 classics, but good solid 8/10's that deliver VFM.
Also I just sold my XSX to get a PS Portal. Unfortunately I'd put dozens of hours each into games like Valhalla and Mirage and I feared that progress was lost.
I bought them again on PS5, and to my surprise my save-games transferred over from Xbox!
Sorry but I'm going to give them a load of respect for that alone.
Love the look of this. Very cute. As for the business model, I personally have no preference between getting all the content for £70 up front, or drip feeding in £70 in small installments over time.
The latter is better, as if I get bored, I can quit and only lose say £30 instead of £70.
However we all know the business model is NOT to put in £70 over time.....
It's going to require a lot more 00000's on the end of that number....
Sure I've probably put £2000 in WoW with subs, expansions, shop items and shop services.
But I don't think this type of game offers the type of value I got from WoW. I dislike these types of games as the money required is truly egregious, and not because I have a problem with F2P out of principle. On the contrary, if it was done fairly and not tailored to whales, I'd be happy with F2P.
This was a day one purchase for me, until they released it in a botched state 6 months before it was ready, and rolled back quality of life features that they'd introduced in Dark Arisen.
They practically took my money off the counter, and shoved it back in my wallet.
So they won't be selling me any DLC unless it is along the lines of Dark Arisen, and adds those quality of life improvements and improved performance.
Albeit with Dark Arisen the performance was more due to the release on newer more capable hardware. With a GPU-only improved PS5 Pro coming, and Xbox going down the toilet, there doesn't seem to be much room to resolve the performances, outside of the PC market.
@Agramonte Quest 3 is a vastly superior device though. None of those features you describe can offset the generational leap in image quality of the Quest 3. It's night and day. The HDR OLED's on PSVR2 are rendered useless by the old fashioned lens tech, such that overall image quality is inferior to Q3.
There is also lots of future META support planned for native apps, /games and of course PC VR titles down the line. They have confidence and are supporting their product into the future.
Meanwhile we know that this adapter coincides with Sony shutting their VR studios, and a total vote of no-confidence with the 2D-only Astrobot announcement.
Smart money would therefore invest in the Quest 3.
Although I suspect that anyone with the money for a decent enough PC to play VR, and an interest in VR, would have purchased a Quest 3 already and have no need for this adapter.
@reek no idea then mate. I've added keys before that came from Asian-Pacific, as well as Eastern Europe and it worked fine.
I still don't understand the issue though. Having Sony Playstation exclusive games on PC is an unexpected bonus.
I've been PC gaming since the mid-90's, and never expected Sony, Sega or Nintendo exclusives to be available. If it happened, it was a miracle rather than an expectation.
If PSN isn't available in your region, then basically the complaint is that you are unable to access something now, that you were never able to access in the first place.
I couldn't buy Horizon Zero Dawn for my Xbox Series X, but no one got the violins out for me, and I wouldn't expect them to.
Most of the people on this board who only have a PS5, can't play Breath of the Wild or Mario Odyssey.
Life isn't fair, but then you get to keep your money in the bank, and Sony are the real losers as they get no cash. Plenty of other games out there on PC, many of which are exclusive to PC and PS5 players can't access them.
You pays your money and you takes your choice when picking platforms.
@ChrisDeku good point. Guess they don’t know that.
Don’t think I’ve bought a game on the Steam store itself for over a decade. Always buy keys from cheaper territories instead via key sellers.
Naturally from legitimate agents who buy legit keys in the region, rather than the “eBay of keys” type sites that can be stolen/charged back acquired keys.
@Beerheadgamer82 definitely interested in Ghost 2, but it’s not something where I’d be upset if there isn’t an announcement. Plenty of great titles from third party developers, so when such exclusives come, it’s just a bonus.
For me at least, there are too many games and not enough time. I have the money but can’t play them if I buy them. So I’m not fussed about announcements at these events.
I place Capcom titles in the same category as From/Souls games.
They release in a juddery state and are never improved. Even years later on newer and faster hardware, they still run like a one legged man with giant bunion.
Look at it this way; every month it takes to release a patch that delivers bare minimum performance, is a month by which the game was released too early.
Clearly this should not have been released until this Autumn. It was rushed out in a shoddy state to meet a target.
Even more unforgivable is when developers create games that they know can’t run on current hardware. Ambition exceeding talent and technology.
That’s why I won’t buy any game until it’s fit for purpose and achieving the bare minimum of consistent performance.
@Ricky63 agree with you. There were zero announcements that interested me, but very few of my favourite games are Sony or MS exclusives anyway.
That’s why I just sold my XSX. I was playing AC Mirage and after being disappointed by Hellblade 2, questioned why I don’t just stop with Mirage, flog the console, minimise my subscriptions bill, cull the cable nest behind the TV, and just buy it on my PS5.
I don’t even own God of War 2 or Spider-Man 2, it’s just not relevant. Astrobot? Don’t care and won’t buy, still have a backlog I will never get through.
I’m all third party. Sony can do what they like, they are just supplemental titles.
People have no trouble creating accounts for adult websites, even circumventing bans and restrictions in their own countries with VPN’s.
Many also have no issue creating Japanese Sony or Nintendo accounts to access titles that aren’t available in the UK and US.
So I struggle to accept the arguments against this. So long as the requirement is made clear before purchasing, they have no grounds to complain.
As a PC gamer I want system’s that involve signing into MS or Sony accounts, as I like earning achievements and having cross save progression. I want to go full steam ahead with such integration.
I also avoid multiplayer gaming on PC as it’s infested with cheats, so a system that allows for users to be banned, wiping out their single player game library at the same time and inflicting a painful cost on them, is most welcome.
@thefourfoldroot1 yes before I bought my Portal, I tested out Sony's streaming system on my iPad Pro just to get an idea of how viable it was with my home network performance.
Whilst I proved the streaming was good, it wasn't really practical on the iPad as I had to sit at a table or something so I could prop it up using it's cover/stand. Then I had to sit rigidly facing it.
Plus I had to connect my PS5 controller to the tablet, and reconnect it to the PS5 afterwards, or buy another pad.
A joypad is just another inconvenient item to carry/charge.
Also I had terrible reflections from the iPad screen. I've seen reviews criticise that on the Portal, but I've had no such trouble with it.
With the portal I have the all-in-one device, the aspect ratio is correct so there are no borders like I'd have on my phone, and I can sit back in the chair and half watch TV whilst using it, instead of sitting at a table.
Heck I can spin around in my chair whilst playing if I want, or lay on my back in bed as you say. Can't do that with an ipad!
As far as PSVR2 goes, give me a Skyrim VR patch and that AC VR game from Quest, and I'd consider that a win.
Microsoft are in a financial pickle at the moment with their broken business model and acquisitions that aren't delivering, and clearly desperately raking in that PS5 owner cash of late to make ends meet. Ubisoft also need to recoup some of AC VR's dev costs. Win win all round.
I don't need Alyx, and frankly the majority of people with a PS5 and PSVR2 have never played a Half Life game. There is no brand recognition there.
It absolutely blows my mind that I played Half Life 2 almost 20 years ago.... Scarrily, many PS5 owners weren't even born.
I'd obviously heard a lot of people grumbling about them, and was very apprehensive.
My PS5 has always been wired to my router, so worth pointing that out.
Playing around my house on WiFi, there is no discernable lag or stutter. I am hypersensitive to lag and stutter, and had no issues at all. Image quality was perfect, and in many ways looks better than on my LG CX, as games are running at native resolution.
Visited my brother and connected it to his decent WiFi for the ultimate test..... Was battling away at 60fps in Fallout 4, with again no stutters or perceivable latency (on a par with my GF Now Ultimate tier).
Yeah in the holiday cottage I'm going to in a few weeks, the internet is appalling and the Wi-Fi always dropping out, so I will take my Switch instead.
But for 99.9999% of usage, it practically is a handheld PS5.
I prefer using Portal to playing on my TV now, as I can keep my VDU/reading glasses on, where as with the TV I have to grab my distance glasses.
Conceptually, I really think the idea of the handheld with onboard processing has no future. This tech renders it inefficient and obsolete. Why waste your battery powering a GPU, that could otherwise be connected direct to the mains/network and streaming to you. Just needs a HDR screen to improve it, albeit might hit battery life.
Comments 197
Re: Poll: One Year Later, What Are Your Thoughts on Final Fantasy 16?
Not an FF fan, so I can't comment as to whether it is a "true" FF or not as I don't even know what that would be.
Actually aside from playing the MMO a little bit, I've not played any FF games other than this one.
As a complete outsider, I'd say it is not an RPG.
It's more like a very long spectacle fighter.
Re: Still Wakes the Deep (PS5) - Scottish Oil Rig Conjures Up the Horror Magic
@PuppetMaster just finished it. I can see why comparisons would be drawn with Soma.
Soma is one of my favourite games of all time. Still Wakes the Deep cannot match the profound story in Soma with its commentary on consciousness and the ethics of what happens in that game.
However, SWtD is better in terms of its nostalgic location and time period, and emotional story moments and side characters. A bit like Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture.
Probably a cross between those games.
The fly in the ointment was the same fly from Soma - I really did not enjoy the stealth sections.
I’d actually prefer if it were not a horror at all. It was at its best during the straight “disaster movie” moments.
Re: Sony Is Allegedly Pulling PSVR2 Funding, Report Claims
Bad product from the start. Obsolete Fresnel lenses crippled the product; it was akin to releasing PS5 with a 5.25" floppy disc drive instead of Blu Ray.
Naturally it didn't sell well enough for a revised pancake "Pro" version later.
Way it could have been a success was to launch with:
*pancakes
*wireless
*PC compat
*video app support
*LCD rather than OLED to offset the cost of pancakes/wireless.
*Updates of Skyrim VR, Astrobot and a few others
Unfortunately they hamstrung it from the start. Very few people in their right mind would buy one over a Quest 3 now.
At this point MS and Sony should darn well look at integrating Quest 3 support into their systems, for those who don't have decent PC's. That way those of us who love VR and care about it's future, might see it starting to take off.
Need a far larger global install base to make development of big titles viable. The current fragmentation and exclusivity is screwing up the entire concept.
Re: Microsoft 'Really Pleased' with Sea of Thieves PS5 Sales
As a hardcore Xbox fan since the original, I really feel MS needs to stop messing everyone around, and just come out and announce that all past and future Xbox Games Studio's games will be on PS5 - and at launch for new titles.
Slowly drip feeding is the worst of both worlds. Yeah some Xbox super-fans are going to cry, but just get it over and done with now.
Then Microsoft need to explain what their deal and offer is for Xbox/Gamepass users, and what type/grade of consoles they will be releasing in the future. Explain why anyone would stay with them.
That way we can all make informed decisions now as to which platforms we want to buy and play games on.
Re: PSVR2 Puzzler Infinite Inside Blends AR and VR on 12th July
I played the AR demo that came with my Quest 3 ( these little alien things start smashing holes and getting into your house) and it is actually damn impressive. Very convincing effect that doesn’t come across well and do justice on YouTube.
Would be great in the future to run around the real world shooting realistic zombies.
Figured immediately that the PSVR2 wouldn’t be capable of AR in this new title.
Re: New PS Portal Firmware Update Adds Better Wi-Fi Features and More
@thefourfoldroot1 is Origins on Extra? It wasn't as bad as Valhalla, but did stutter occasionally whereas Fallout 4 was perfect.
I've seen similar inconsistencies on GeForce Now.
AC Syndicate on there for example is utterly catastrophic for no apparent reason, where as Deathloop is magical and runs better than it does natively on PS5/XSX.
Spiderman on Portal feels far less "micro-suttery" than Valhalla for example. In fact it feels really good.
I wonder if Valhalla doesn't quite hit the frame rate target on a TV, but I don't notice because I have VRR. Where as on the portal it causes stutter.
Re: New PS Portal Firmware Update Adds Better Wi-Fi Features and More
I've posted before about my new Portal and how pleased I am with it.
I have more recently discovered inconsistencies between games though.
I understand why the low bit rate can lead to a worse image quality on a very "busy" detailed game like AC Valhalla, versus something older like Fallout 4.
What I don't get is why the performance varies so much between them.
Fallout 4 is as sweet as a nut, even in another persons house using their WiFi, rather than on the same network as my PS5.
Yet Valhalla does seem to have hitching, even when 1m from the posh gaming router than my PS5 is wired too. Both games running in 60fps or 30fps, mode, the gulf in performance between them is the same.
Those are just two examples of good and bad games for the system. There are many others.
Re: Poll: So, What Are Your Thoughts on Dragon Age: The Veilguard?
Played Inquisition. Quit after the hinterlands dragged on.
Love fantasy games, and loved the aesthetic of DA:I, but not the fact my female character was clearly using male mo-cap, especially in cutscenes. Looked weird and ruined it.
Now they've changed the aesthetic, whatever interest I'd have had by default due to it being a fantasy game, has been negated. If it gets mega reviews from trustworthy sources I might be interested.
Not going to say "never".
Re: Still Wakes the Deep (PS5) - Scottish Oil Rig Conjures Up the Horror Magic
Dear Esther and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture are two of my favourite games, and I'm a fan of the genre in genre.
I've been hyped for this and I'm glad it's receiving a positive response.
My only issue is talk of these stealth sections. Another of my favourite games was Soma, and the few sections involving enemies, often with stealth, were the only fly in the ointment in an otherwise perfect experience.
I fear that after some of the critical response to Dear Esther, developers feel compelled to insert "gameplay" sections for the sake of it, rather than having the confidence to embrace the genre and double-down on the pure experience side of things.
Re: Video Game Leaking Culture Has Hit an Embarrassing New Low
Rule 30 of the Internet: There are no girls on the internet.
Personally I don't want to hear anything about any games, until it is a week away from launch.
Very tired of the 2 year hype cycle we now see for games we cannot buy. Leaks that add another year or two on top of that are obviously not something I'm interested in, as I'm sick of the official media hype as it is.
I'd have to single out Ubisoft, as I see adverts for their games all over my Facebook, a year before games launch. Ludicrous.
Like Ford advertising their nuclear powered flying car that will be available in the year 2089, and Top Gear magazine running articles on it every other day.
Re: Star Wars Outlaws Has a Meaty 30-Hour Main Story
You are joking? I just Googled this as it’s the second story about this game I’ve read today.
Assumed it was out in a week, but it’s still two and a half months away isn’t it?
Does get tiring with the drip fed media cycle around games these days.
90% of content is about stuff we can’t buy now, or even buy two months from now.
5% at most is reviews, and the other 5% about patches for games we couldn’t play when they did launch, due to being broken.
Might as well feed me stories about flying cars with laser guns. Can’t buy one of those either!
Re: Xbox Really Wasn't Happy with PlayStation's Call of Duty Marketing Deal
@Flaming_Kaiser it would become a market of free consumer choice.
A bit like with PC but on a gaming-wide scale.
You can spend console money on a 4060, £800 on a 4070ti, or double that on a 4090.
Choice is yours. Weigh how much you value performance.
Whereas currently the console market is like saying that if you want to play game X, you have to buy a 4060.
Nought wrong with the 4060 per se, but extremely annoying for those with a bit more money but who are stuck with games stuttering along, due to them being exclusive to charity shop hardware.
I mean you’d rather play Tears of the Kingdom on your £500 console than the £270 Switch right? And with good reason.
Re: Tons More Massive PS5, PS4 Games with Huge Discounts
Really thought Banishers would be down to £20 by now. Surprised how long that is holding.
Re: Sublime Horror Resident Evil Village Tops 10 Million Units
Was a fantastic game.
Not a 10/10 as I felt it had some weaker sections, but one of the best in the series.
I hope we can go back to roots now though, with more classic zombies.
Re: Scathing Star Wars Outlaws PS5 Previews Unfavourably Compare Gameplay to PS Vita's Uncharted: Golden Abyss
@invictus4000 agree. 20 years ago I’d have bought a piece of dog excrement if it had a Star Wars logo on it.
Nowadays you couldn’t give me a diamond with it on for free.
I wasn’t blown away by previous footage, and wondered if the gushing media were watching a different game to me.
But if I still had the same passion for Star Wars that I had pre Disney, I’d have already preordered the most expensive bundle on offer!
Re: Only 35% of PS5, PS4 Elden Ring Players Have Progressed Enough to Start Shadow of the Erdtree
For comparison, anyone know the percentage that got far enough in Horizon Forbidden West to play that games DLC?
Re: Preview: Assassin's Creed Shadows' Two Characters Will Satisfy Both Old and New Fans on PS5
@anon_pel222 guilty. I paid for map icon unlocks on the cash shop when Valhalla launched.
Must have taken me 15 hours just to get to Britain, as I was collecting every single tiny little thing in the first snow zone, right down to the smallest faintest little orange dot on the map.
I never feasted on the game, as I never got that into it. But like a buffet, I kept dipping back in.
Almost 4 years later, I must be 50 hours in, am still playing it, but have gotten nowhere in the story!
It’s almost like it’s become World of Warcraft rather than COD, where I dip in and out once a week for 20 minutes.
Re: Preview: Assassin's Creed Shadows' Two Characters Will Satisfy Both Old and New Fans on PS5
If the deal is that the two characters exist to cover the bases of the two types of player, that is clearly an acknowledgment of player preferences, and therefore it would be a bad move to force players to use both.
That’s key for me and whether I buy this.
Re: Assassin's Creed Shadows' 'Smaller' Open World Map Is Still a Healthy Chunk of Japan
Personally I liked the size of Mirage’s map.
But then my ideal game is only 20 hours, perhaps 30 to 100% it.
Clearly such a map couldn’t sustain the play times that many people expect the days.
Re: Xbox Really Wasn't Happy with PlayStation's Call of Duty Marketing Deal
Fan boys will be fan boys, and gladly cut off their noses to spite their faces. No reasoning with them.
Glad to see that there are a lot of adults in the comments who realise that ultimately gamers lose from slimy tit-for-tat type deals.
Sony were every bit as much the villains as any other company. Arguably the worst offenders.
I’d rather all games on all platforms, and I’d buy the best hardware, based on the power v price point preferences I have, and how much I like the user experience.
Exactly as I do with Apple v Android. Or between different suppliers of Android phones.
Re: Hold Your Horses, Dragon Age: The Veilguard Actually Looks Sick in Gameplay Teaser
What gameplay? I didn’t see any.
All I take away from that is the Saturday morning cartoon voice acting aimed at 10 year olds.
It still has that inappropriate “vibe” that is at odds with that gritty fantasy I wanted from the franchise.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 532
Skyrim on Switch whilst on holiday! Was tempted to take the Portal as I have it on PS5, but the WiFi at my holiday destination is too flakey.
Damn what a stunning port on Switch though. Silky smooth, must have great frame pacing and looks superb. Then you see Dragon's Dogma 2 staggering like a drunkard on PS5 and you wonder where the power is going....
Re: PS5 Hardware Architect Says It May Take Less Time to Build a Console Than a Game Now
Who is to blame for these development troubles?
Developers? They choose to embark on projects that take 5+ years, and have created this syndrome where we see games being released in dead genres, that were all the rage 5 years earlier.
Reviewers? Do they use games like TLoU 2 or RDR2 that took 7 years to produce as a benchmark for what a quality game looks like, and then harshly critique games that only took 2 years?
Gamers? For listening to reviewers and having the same delusional expectations?
Re: Poll: Was Summer Game Fest 2024 Great or a Letdown?
Glad I have a large backlog of excellent games that I simply lack the time to get through. As there is nothing new on the horizon that interests me.
Actually in terms of games I will most likely buy in the future, it will almost certainly be games that are out now, but over the coming months will receive patches or new hardware that makes them run properly.
So with upcoming games being so lacklustre, it's patches and hardware releases - be it PS5 Pro, Switch 2 and the 50** GPU's that are of interest.
Re: Video: Is Concord Destined to Fail?
Looks like another “bandwagon” game, where the Suits wanted to hop on the hot genre of the era, not realising that 5 years later when their game is ready, said genre would be over saturated and old news.
If you want to be successful, you need to create the trend of five years time, not release in the dying days of a 5 year old spent force.
Re: Many, Many More Major Xbox Games Are Being Plotted for PS5
@Mustoe I was playing AC Odyssey on my PC via Xbox Cloud a couple of days ago. Allowed me to continue my 40+ hour save from my XSX that I’d sold.
Perfectly playable and very good in terms of no latency or stutter, but image quality and resolution was lacklustre.
Whereas GeForce Now would be pristine 4k HDR and indistinguishable from playing on an XSX.
So Microsoft still have a lot of work to do on their cloud.
Can’t imagine how bad the Sony cloud service is, I’ve heard it’s even worse!
Think we are at least a decade away from the point where I’d give up having local hardware, and I’m on a Virgin 1Gb connection, where as most people are stuttering along on twisted copper at 20 to 40mb!
Gotta be 20 years before we see the end of home consoles. A few generations yet.
Re: Many, Many More Major Xbox Games Are Being Plotted for PS5
This is why I sold my XSX.
E.g. I wouldn’t own a console made by Ubisoft, when I could play their games on my PS5, Xbox or PC.
So why would I own a Microsoft console?
Unless they leave the mass market and create an £800 niche high powered console or something.
But as far as the XSX goes, it’s now dead hardware.
Re: New World, Amazon's Big-Money MMORPG from 2021, Is Seemingly Adventuring to PS5
Won’t go down well on console.
Not a proper story based mmo like TESO or FF.
May have been fixed since the early days, but the fundamental structure of the game were these competing pvp player factions and that was the flaw.
As happens in most mmo’s, the game was destroyed by Sweats, but this game was far more susceptible as there wasn’t enough content for the solo player compared to TESO, and the player-created content that the game was built around, got broken by try hards.
I’d hope a console version at least had fresh servers. The original PC servers had the economy destroyed by dupe bugs/exploits etc.
Re: PS Store Adds Another 1,500 Big PS5, PS4 Deals for Summer Game Fest
@thefourfoldroot1 thanks mate you are spot on! Just tried it in the app and it works!!!
Will have to figure out how I do it on the console!
Re: Batman: Arkham Dev Allegedly Enlisted to Work on Hogwarts Legacy After Suicide Squad Flop
It's amazing how the Suits at these corporations really hate money.
Want to get rich?
Just do a Capcom/Resident Evil.
Start re-making (that's re-make not re-master) Asylum, City, Origins and Knight for the current gen.
Some changes and revisions would be nice as per RE4, but the voice acting would sadly be an issue there. But hey significant changes could be handled by other playable characters in addition to their DLC's.
Yeah they were remastered once already, but RE4 had been tweaked how many times?
Plus many Batman fans weren't even born when Asylum and City were released and probably overlooked the remasters.
Re: PS Store Adds Another 1,500 Big PS5, PS4 Deals for Summer Game Fest
Question about something I noticed last night. I’d watched a YT video on my PC about Kingdom Come.
I’d not played the original, so I opened a browser tab for the UK PSN store (note I’m not logged into my PSN account), and they had the Royal Edition on offer for £6.
The standard edition was £25 or something and the DLC would be more on top.
I went on my PS5 and no matter what I did or searched for, the Royal Edition was invisible.
I then tried on the app on my phone (that is logged in to my account), and again the Royal Edition was invisible.
Are Sony scamming certain customers, by hiding certain deals when logged into an account, where an algorithm suspects that you would likely pay the higher non-sale price?
Or was it an innocent bug?
Re: PlayStation Fans Are Losing Their Heads Over an Iffy Portable PS4 Rumour
As a new Portal owner I question the need for such a product.
I can play PS4 games in 99% of usage scenarios - let’s not pretend people play at skate parks per the fake looking Switch adverts.
In addition, I can also play all the latest PS5 games and upcoming PS5 Pro games with no heat or battery concerns.
I suppose you could make a niche Portal Pro with an OLED and the ability to play “some” games whilst out of WiFi range, but not sure there is a market over and above the current Portal which will remain a far cheaper product.
Sony would just end up competing with themselves and damaging both products.
If such a product did exist, it would not be aimed at anyone reading this.
It would be aimed at people who don’t own a console. A small “my first PlayStation” for a kid to buy old £5.99 PS4 games on, and some modern indie titles like Animal Well.
Re: Ubisoft Calls in Second Studio for Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake
I liked the original so I'm interested.
Ubisoft gets a lot of hate too, but I actually find them to be one of my favourite publishers/set of developers.
They don't do 10/10 classics, but good solid 8/10's that deliver VFM.
Also I just sold my XSX to get a PS Portal. Unfortunately I'd put dozens of hours each into games like Valhalla and Mirage and I feared that progress was lost.
I bought them again on PS5, and to my surprise my save-games transferred over from Xbox!
Sorry but I'm going to give them a load of respect for that alone.
Re: Breath of the Wild Meets Style Savvy in Whimsical PS5 Open World Infinity Nikki
Love the look of this. Very cute. As for the business model, I personally have no preference between getting all the content for £70 up front, or drip feeding in £70 in small installments over time.
The latter is better, as if I get bored, I can quit and only lose say £30 instead of £70.
However we all know the business model is NOT to put in £70 over time.....
It's going to require a lot more 00000's on the end of that number....
Sure I've probably put £2000 in WoW with subs, expansions, shop items and shop services.
But I don't think this type of game offers the type of value I got from WoW. I dislike these types of games as the money required is truly egregious, and not because I have a problem with F2P out of principle. On the contrary, if it was done fairly and not tailored to whales, I'd be happy with F2P.
Re: Dragon's Dogma 2 DLC Speculation Intensifies Thanks to Summer Game Fest Promo
This was a day one purchase for me, until they released it in a botched state 6 months before it was ready, and rolled back quality of life features that they'd introduced in Dark Arisen.
They practically took my money off the counter, and shoved it back in my wallet.
So they won't be selling me any DLC unless it is along the lines of Dark Arisen, and adds those quality of life improvements and improved performance.
Albeit with Dark Arisen the performance was more due to the release on newer more capable hardware. With a GPU-only improved PS5 Pro coming, and Xbox going down the toilet, there doesn't seem to be much room to resolve the performances, outside of the PC market.
Re: PSVR2's PC Adapter Available on 7th August, Costs $60
@Agramonte Quest 3 is a vastly superior device though. None of those features you describe can offset the generational leap in image quality of the Quest 3. It's night and day. The HDR OLED's on PSVR2 are rendered useless by the old fashioned lens tech, such that overall image quality is inferior to Q3.
There is also lots of future META support planned for native apps, /games and of course PC VR titles down the line. They have confidence and are supporting their product into the future.
Meanwhile we know that this adapter coincides with Sony shutting their VR studios, and a total vote of no-confidence with the 2D-only Astrobot announcement.
Smart money would therefore invest in the Quest 3.
Although I suspect that anyone with the money for a decent enough PC to play VR, and an interest in VR, would have purchased a Quest 3 already and have no need for this adapter.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 531
AC Origins on the Portal. Great for map icon clearing whilst watching Sports on TV.
Re: PC Players Are Fuming Until Dawn, God of War Ragnarok Appear to Require PSN Logins
@reek no idea then mate. I've added keys before that came from Asian-Pacific, as well as Eastern Europe and it worked fine.
I still don't understand the issue though. Having Sony Playstation exclusive games on PC is an unexpected bonus.
I've been PC gaming since the mid-90's, and never expected Sony, Sega or Nintendo exclusives to be available. If it happened, it was a miracle rather than an expectation.
If PSN isn't available in your region, then basically the complaint is that you are unable to access something now, that you were never able to access in the first place.
I couldn't buy Horizon Zero Dawn for my Xbox Series X, but no one got the violins out for me, and I wouldn't expect them to.
Most of the people on this board who only have a PS5, can't play Breath of the Wild or Mario Odyssey.
Life isn't fair, but then you get to keep your money in the bank, and Sony are the real losers as they get no cash. Plenty of other games out there on PC, many of which are exclusive to PC and PS5 players can't access them.
You pays your money and you takes your choice when picking platforms.
Re: PC Players Are Fuming Until Dawn, God of War Ragnarok Appear to Require PSN Logins
@ChrisDeku good point. Guess they don’t know that.
Don’t think I’ve bought a game on the Steam store itself for over a decade. Always buy keys from cheaper territories instead via key sellers.
Naturally from legitimate agents who buy legit keys in the region, rather than the “eBay of keys” type sites that can be stolen/charged back acquired keys.
Re: Reaction: PS5 Livestreams Are No Longer Speaking to the Fans Who Built the Brand
@Beerheadgamer82 definitely interested in Ghost 2, but it’s not something where I’d be upset if there isn’t an announcement. Plenty of great titles from third party developers, so when such exclusives come, it’s just a bonus.
For me at least, there are too many games and not enough time. I have the money but can’t play them if I buy them. So I’m not fussed about announcements at these events.
Re: Dragon's Dogma 2 Patch 1.150 Drops as Players Still Wait for Better PS5 Performance
I place Capcom titles in the same category as From/Souls games.
They release in a juddery state and are never improved. Even years later on newer and faster hardware, they still run like a one legged man with giant bunion.
Look at it this way; every month it takes to release a patch that delivers bare minimum performance, is a month by which the game was released too early.
Clearly this should not have been released until this Autumn. It was rushed out in a shoddy state to meet a target.
Even more unforgivable is when developers create games that they know can’t run on current hardware. Ambition exceeding talent and technology.
That’s why I won’t buy any game until it’s fit for purpose and achieving the bare minimum of consistent performance.
Re: Reaction: PS5 Livestreams Are No Longer Speaking to the Fans Who Built the Brand
@Ricky63 agree with you. There were zero announcements that interested me, but very few of my favourite games are Sony or MS exclusives anyway.
That’s why I just sold my XSX. I was playing AC Mirage and after being disappointed by Hellblade 2, questioned why I don’t just stop with Mirage, flog the console, minimise my subscriptions bill, cull the cable nest behind the TV, and just buy it on my PS5.
I don’t even own God of War 2 or Spider-Man 2, it’s just not relevant. Astrobot? Don’t care and won’t buy, still have a backlog I will never get through.
I’m all third party. Sony can do what they like, they are just supplemental titles.
Re: PC Players Are Fuming Until Dawn, God of War Ragnarok Appear to Require PSN Logins
People have no trouble creating accounts for adult websites, even circumventing bans and restrictions in their own countries with VPN’s.
Many also have no issue creating Japanese Sony or Nintendo accounts to access titles that aren’t available in the UK and US.
So I struggle to accept the arguments against this. So long as the requirement is made clear before purchasing, they have no grounds to complain.
As a PC gamer I want system’s that involve signing into MS or Sony accounts, as I like earning achievements and having cross save progression. I want to go full steam ahead with such integration.
I also avoid multiplayer gaming on PC as it’s infested with cheats, so a system that allows for users to be banned, wiping out their single player game library at the same time and inflicting a painful cost on them, is most welcome.
Re: PS5's Streaming Handheld PS Portal Is Proving a Huge Hit
@thefourfoldroot1 yes before I bought my Portal, I tested out Sony's streaming system on my iPad Pro just to get an idea of how viable it was with my home network performance.
Whilst I proved the streaming was good, it wasn't really practical on the iPad as I had to sit at a table or something so I could prop it up using it's cover/stand. Then I had to sit rigidly facing it.
Plus I had to connect my PS5 controller to the tablet, and reconnect it to the PS5 afterwards, or buy another pad.
A joypad is just another inconvenient item to carry/charge.
Also I had terrible reflections from the iPad screen. I've seen reviews criticise that on the Portal, but I've had no such trouble with it.
With the portal I have the all-in-one device, the aspect ratio is correct so there are no borders like I'd have on my phone, and I can sit back in the chair and half watch TV whilst using it, instead of sitting at a table.
Heck I can spin around in my chair whilst playing if I want, or lay on my back in bed as you say. Can't do that with an ipad!
Re: State of Play Officially Confirmed for 30th May, Updates on PS5, PSVR2 Games
As far as PSVR2 goes, give me a Skyrim VR patch and that AC VR game from Quest, and I'd consider that a win.
Microsoft are in a financial pickle at the moment with their broken business model and acquisitions that aren't delivering, and clearly desperately raking in that PS5 owner cash of late to make ends meet. Ubisoft also need to recoup some of AC VR's dev costs. Win win all round.
I don't need Alyx, and frankly the majority of people with a PS5 and PSVR2 have never played a Half Life game. There is no brand recognition there.
It absolutely blows my mind that I played Half Life 2 almost 20 years ago.... Scarrily, many PS5 owners weren't even born.
Re: Hogwarts Legacy Summer Update Revealed with Photo Mode and More
My favourite game of '23. Gutted it has no DLC and just these non-event patches.
Amazing how something like AC Valhalla gets oodles of DLC every five minutes, and class games like this don't.
Then again, I think if I reinstalled it, I wouldn't have a clue how to play after all this time.
Re: PS5's Streaming Handheld PS Portal Is Proving a Huge Hit
Just sold my Series X to buy one of these.
I'd obviously heard a lot of people grumbling about them, and was very apprehensive.
My PS5 has always been wired to my router, so worth pointing that out.
Playing around my house on WiFi, there is no discernable lag or stutter. I am hypersensitive to lag and stutter, and had no issues at all. Image quality was perfect, and in many ways looks better than on my LG CX, as games are running at native resolution.
Visited my brother and connected it to his decent WiFi for the ultimate test..... Was battling away at 60fps in Fallout 4, with again no stutters or perceivable latency (on a par with my GF Now Ultimate tier).
Yeah in the holiday cottage I'm going to in a few weeks, the internet is appalling and the Wi-Fi always dropping out, so I will take my Switch instead.
But for 99.9999% of usage, it practically is a handheld PS5.
I prefer using Portal to playing on my TV now, as I can keep my VDU/reading glasses on, where as with the TV I have to grab my distance glasses.
Conceptually, I really think the idea of the handheld with onboard processing has no future. This tech renders it inefficient and obsolete. Why waste your battery powering a GPU, that could otherwise be connected direct to the mains/network and streaming to you. Just needs a HDR screen to improve it, albeit might hit battery life.