JB_Whiting

@Rich33 Yeah totally agree. This release strategy has payed off clearly. I wouldn't be surprised if the "leaks" weren't deliberately let loose by Bethesda themselves. It didn't take long for the fervour to build up and FOMO to kick in for many players (specifically streamers, who's whole careers are based on engaging with the newest thing ASAP).

But for me, there's no rush. With great games out right now, like Indiana Jones, and Clair Obsur mere days away, we're eating good right now. I'm going to watch this closely over the next few weeks (especially DF's analysis), and hey, by then it'll probably hit the sales.

As excited we all are for this. I think it'd be wise to take a step back, and wait for impressions/reviews. The downside to a stealth release like this is no one will have an immediate opinions on it. I think best to wait a week or two before taking the plunge.

I've just got this horrible feeling that the mechanics of the game aren't going to be given a proper do over, I know they've listed a handful of improvements; but this being Virtuous studios, I'm just not sure they have the tech savvy to get into the guts of the game and completely revamp it? It's a huge task.

I hope I'm wrong though!

Weren't there a load of people on here doubting the credibility of the leaks and leakers? They seem real quiet right about now.

"We've also increased the femininity of the female body types, with more attractive face options, and a more conventionally feminine body shape"

Why? Did players find female characters too "ugly" looking? Get real please.

If you watch the alpha test video it paints a much better picture of the gameplay. Looks fast and snappy. I actually think this'll be really good.

I gave it a go but couldn't go on after the first episode. This version of Dante is just far too annoying; as other people have said (and I agree) he feels more like Deadpool. Too much wisecracking without the touching moments from the games.

Maybe I need to watch more but it doesn't sit well with me. It's like the writers didn't properly understand the characters. The animation is pretty good though.

I think it's definitely one that requires a lot from you. But if you persevere, it rewards you ten-fold. I've read glowing reviews where the critic is still thinking about it when they're not playing it. It sounds like a transformative and memorable experience if you allow it to be.

Perhaps this reviewer didn't fully see or appreciate everything it had to offer, and that's okay. I can't wait to try it though. But I know that I need patience and fortitude to get the most out of it.

Looking forward to picking this up on Switch 2. Confident we'll get full 4K 60 on their new machine.

@JoDoMac The game itself isn't bad per se. Just that the demo is totally broken.

@YoureTooSlowBro Came here to say the same thing. The demo in its current state is totally unplayable. The framerate on quality mode isn't steady (playing on Pro); and there's some serious dithering too. And of course, there's no option to alter turn ramp up time. Also I'm pretty sure the FOV doesn't actually change when you alter it. No option to turn off egregious motion blur either. I think they just left out a load of settings.

Hopefully it'll get patched (can't believe we live in a world where demos need patching but here we are), cos it could be a fun little game.

@Ravix It's a toggle thankfully. I only tried on performance mode with HDR unchanged. I honestly didn't notice much of a res bump either way.

PSSR is letting me down once again.

Just tried it with PSSR and and it totally screws up the lighting. The sun now looks like a giant squishy orange marshmallow; horrible banding all round.

Classic PSSR

I don't think it's a simple as "this runs just like that console". From what I've seen on DF for example it looks like FF VII for Switch 2 is running the Intergrade version with improved lighting.

It also looks like it's running Cyberpunk much better than the PS4 ever did. So I dunno you could say that it is more powerful. I mean it has much newer components of course.

@Ravix I'm curious to know why you've picked Quality over say, Balanced. Do you use an OLED? I tried quality on mine and the frame judder was so awful I just couldn't bear it.

I feel like the performance mode was surprisingly sharp. Excited to see PSSR boost the res further.

I'm not gonna let the file size bother me because:

A - It's Machine Games.
B - it's id Tech and it looks phenomenal
and C - well it's Indy. Day one no matter the gigabytes!

Not sure what it's about yet but I take it it'll be an FPS of sorts right? I mean if that's Bungie's wheelhouse.

@GirlVersusGame I dunno man I think Empire are worse. They always rate things 1 or 2 stars above everyone else. I say that because I'm still not over their 5 star review of Attack of the Clones from like 25 years ago utter travesty!

@EfYI I actually can't tell if this is satire. If it isn't then, well, I feel sorry for you.

As for the game in question; never heard of it before, but I'm always up for a new, transformative experience, and at no extra cost! Can't wait to tuck in.

@Feffster I mean none of us know what the future holds about anything really, you can apply that logic to everything. But right now? It's awful, and it's theft. I work in a creative field, and I'm proud of the work I do as it's completely my own design, drawing from genuine inspiration, not getting some machine to vomit out what it thinks is art.

Sure, in the future it might be better? But it also might (and probably will) be a whole lot worse. People with genuine skill and creativity will lose jobs, and tech bros will steal from real talent and call themselves artists. It's pretty disgusting to be honest.

The film looks atrocious, but In a way I'm glad it's doing well more for cinemas in general; it's been a quiet few weeks and this has injected some much needed interest. I'm always worried that my local chain will close down but films like this basically keep them open.

@Feffster OK, but this "vision of the future" is sucking up untold amounts of energy to copy (badly) what has been made by human artists and programmers. The tools are getting better sure, but they are still used by people to make art. This is just asking a computer to make it for you. And it looks horrendous, like all AI made art does.

I wonder if "enhanced performance" mean a 120fps option or that it'll stick closer to "target" 60. I'd be more interested in the Pro version having 60fps mode with "quality" resolution, and an option to turn down/off motion blur; it looked horrible in the preview videos.

30hrs in and I'd give it a 7.5; it's one of those games where the graphics are so good that it actually elevates the game quite a bit, like I just boot it up to please my eyeballs.

The combat is far too simplistic however, and doesn't hold a candle to the depth of something like Rise of Ronin.... wish that game had these graphics instead.

I used to rent Spider-Man Maximum Carnage and The Avengers games on the Mega Drive from Blockbuster when I was little (yes, I knew of Iron Man before he was cool), and this has shades of that so I'm on board.

This bug actually makes a great case for how horrible 30fps is (on an OLED at least) as rather than toggle it in options then back out, you have an instant transition while running and it's hilarious how suddenly the game plays like doo doo.

OK yeah that's nice looking and all, but at what cost? Is this only available in a quality mode?

I mean AC: Shadows manages full RTGI in performance mode on the pro and it looks and runs incredible. Sets a nice bar I think. Not sure yet if this can match.

@Cornpop76 Yeah I'm about 7 hours in and still playing as Naoe; she's definitely the protagonist, at least so far. Feels like her story so what you say is probably right.

I'm not a very online person so haven't really seen much of this riff-raff about the game. But I've pre-ordered it because it looks really good. Simple

Wow they ain't hanging about are they. SM2 must've sold really well. Let's hope we get an evolution of the second game and not a 2.5

Yep this looks like the BF we know and love. Slower pace, smaller maps and fantastic sound design!

@Deljo There's such thing as a good Danny Dyer film?

The worst part is that, SOMEHOW, a lot of these games have platinum trophies, cheapening the reward and basically throwing the whole "gamerscore" idea out the window. You're quite literally paying a couple quid for a platinum. Needs to be stopped.

I can't say that I'm interested in yet another AC game, but I will say this... the visuals look utterly exquisite. The character animation and environmental detail is to be admired even if the game itself doesn't do anything particularly new.

I's no longer on Extra for me and asking to purchase the PS5 version?

Yep I think this will have to be a "wait till it's fixed" situation for me; even with the Pro I feel like a bit of time will iron things out (similar to DD 2)

Plus KC II is going to be my priority for the next few weeks at least.

EDIT: DF analysis is up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya17cyrfO-0

3 needs to be a huge leap for me to buy into. I was kinda hoping that was the case with 2 but it was more of the same. C'mon Insomniac, don't rest on your laurels for the trilogy closer!

It's nice they've kept Robert Patrick, but damn you can hear the age in his voice.

Hope he asks where the galleria is.

Let's see how many songs they can keep in THPS 3 cos the soundtrack is literally perfect.

I think it looks okay, but in the way I thought Stellar Blade was "okay", as in it perhaps takes a little too much inspiration from its piers without doing anything particularly exciting of its own. Case with this being DMC. I'm not loving the vague fantasy setting; also being a Brit, the voice-work is grating for me. But the combat does look fun.

Hopefully there's a demo on the horizon so I can test it out for myself.

DMC combat? I think I'm gonna enjoy this way more than Stellar Blade.

I think if they can balance the original's balls-to-the-wall action and MP3's slower paced, weightier feel (cover mechanics to boot), but with a huge dollop of Remedy's (even more) weird atmosphere and meta humour they've grown since Control and AWII, then this could be something special.

@Kraven Just a heads up though if you do pick NG+ you're kept at the difficulty you finished. So if you wanted to move up to a harder one you have to start from the beginning. A real pain as I'm having no luck on Mentor difficulty, so I might just throw the towel in

I dunno man; the upgrades feel minor to me. Significant would be a 120hz mode and implementing better AA.

@BusyOlf My thoughts exactly. I know the series is long in the tooth at this point, but they can at least try to innovate or even just perfect their formula by now; this just smacks of laziness.

I'd love it if the next "proper" instalment moves out of WWII. Still, I did love that our Danny Dyer mannequin man also sounded like a not so subtle Jason Statham rip-off.

"Ahhh long grass, itchy.... but stealthy!"

@graymamba It's closer to something like the Demon's Souls or Shadows of the Colossus remakes than RE. Gameplay wise it's going to remain largely the same (with some QoL improvements); with a "modern" style that is more close to the MGS 3 HD edition or even MGS V.

But yeah; level design, mission structure and voice acting is lifted from the original.

Mallet Island is still my fave DMC location so seeing that spruced up in RE engine would be fab! But would just as happily take a DMC 3 remake.

@JohnKasarinlan OK I did that; tried Mentor and Master Ninja and... it's just the same game, only more frustrating. Warrior was the perfect balance for me and I had fun with it, despite the shonky camera and sticky jumping. It's a great game - probably a 7.5 for me - but it does show its age quite a bit, and those last few missions where the environments become very ugly and the enemies/bosses monotonous, is a chore.

@Blauwe_Chimay Yes started all the way back with 1942 on PC. Sorry I should've clarified the best one that I can access on my PS5!