TheRedComet

I preordered the Deluxe Physical Edition for PS5.

It’s the sequel to my favorite PS4 game. So I wanted the steelbook with a PS5 disc inside.

@lolwhatno every other Epic franchise is dead thanks to Fortnite.

They consider it the “successor” to Unreal Tournament. Which is why we haven’t received a new UT game and never will.

@BritneyfR_ee

Amen to that. It’s what I do with my nephews. A few hours of my time and back to my sister they go lol.

It was my first PS5 game.

And it’s a great one too. I never played the original so I bought the special edition to get both games. I ran through Miles first and then played Spiderman Remastered.

Of the two, I actually prefer Miles.

@Amusei

To be fair (and believe me I hate Sony forcing this studio to change their artistic vision) there isn’t anything in the Last of Us Part 2 that comes close to this game’s depiction of grotesque violence.

Yes TLOU 2 does have some very (intentionally) disturbing scenes, but it’s violence is fairly restrained most of the time. Most of the time it involves someone being beat to death, or shot, or stabbed, or having their throats slit. It doesn’t really go for the ultra grotesque stuff. It’s more about the lack of empathy and bloodlust of the characters rather than the violent actions itself.

This game, by comparison, has a sequence where you have to cut a fetus out of a woman’s womb.

Nothing on TLOU 2 comes close to that. Even the “Joel” scene isn’t that.

With that said, I hate censorship of any kind. Sony is in the wrong here by approving the game and the demanding they make changes to their artistic vision. If you have issues with the game’s content, then don’t approve it at all. It’s still stupid, but at least it’s avoiding censorship. Sony forced this studio to make changes to their game for approval. That is going way too far.

This is really, really stupid on Sony’s part.

It’s so weird that the Switch, a system by a company that once was notorious for its American branch censoring every single thing under the sun, has a far more libertine mindset when it comes to game content than Sony.

It’s absolutely weird. Most gamers are adults. Kids shouldn’t be playing this game, but the responsibility is on the parents to ensure that they don’t. Not Sony’s.

I’ve already got it preordered for the ol Switch.

I’m so excited. This was my favorite of Square’s Golden Age RPGs.

I actually kind of wish SNK would have kept using and updating the HD Sprites from XII and XIII.

I mean I know why they didn’t. They were stupidly time consuming to make, which is why both those games had extremely small rosters compared to most KOF titles.

But man were they beautiful. Mai’s HD sprite was a work of true art.

@LiamCroft

Sir it will always and forever be a GameCube game at heart.

Launched first on GameCube and it was the superior version.

@AFCC

I say whatever floats everyone’s boat.

I’ve tried gyro aiming on a number of games over the years and I feel like I’m worse at aiming than with analog sticks.

I love all the options they’re giving us to customize the experience. I’ll definitely go through and pick and choose.

I hope they give us a boot up screen for the first playthrough that allows us to customize the options before we start.

As for gyro aiming, I’ve never liked it. I sit in a chair and I’m constantly switching positions and resting my controller at weird angles. I’m very good with stick aiming (Call of Duty multiplayer veteran here) that I don’t find it necessary.

This reeks of Duke Nukem Forever.

Just kill development. If they decide to force this through, it’ll be just like Forever.

@Titntin

Yeah I understand that some set makers aren’t applying all features.

But in the long run, by the latter part of this generation, I’m expecting all of the advanced features to be on all TVs with the exception of the bargain basement sets that sell for 400 or less.

@JJ2

I think the Series S is the odd man out.

It’s like a GTX1060 in a pool full of 2070 Supers (the PS5 twins and Series X). I like the Series S as a concept, but developers aren’t really pushing its potential at all. Even Microsoft’s own studios aren’t optimizing most of their games for it. There’s no reason Halo Infinite retail release should be capped at 30fps on the Series S when the early Betas were running at a decently smooth 60fps.

@JJ2

Performance is more important than resolution. 4K Native is a waste of resources in my opinion. TAA solutions (like Insomniac’s Temporal Injection used in Ratchet’s performance modes) and software/hardware based Super Sampling get close enough to native 4K without having the enormous performance cost.

I’m hoping that in the future, more developers utilize either their own custom TAA solutions (like Insomniac did) or if they can’t use AMD’s FSR (which both PS5 and Series consoles support) instead of pushing for Native 4K resolutions.

These consoles are actually very capable of running many games at 120fps. But they can’t do it at Native 4K or even 1440p. That’s where TAA or FSR comes into play. You can essentially go for an internal resolution of 720p or 1080p and use the super sampling and temporal anti aliasing techniques to approximate what a 4K image would look like to the end user. And they get awfully close. DLSS has the best results, but it requires nVidia’s own AI cores. By comparison, FSR and TAA work through software.

@Titntin

It’s quickly becoming a standard in TV sets.

Once HDMI 2.1 is supported on all sets, it’ll become a standardized feature.

The next TV I buy will have it. So I want my PS5 to support it by the time I get a new set.

@Flaming_Kaiser

Sometimes it’s not very noticeable. It really depends on the game and the image being rendered at the exact moment. In some games it’s very noticeable; I always go to Valhalla because it was extremely prevalent. The gameplay was almost always locked to 60. But in cutscenes it would usually drop a few; anywhere between 56 to 59 FPS on PS5. It was very noticeable. It’s also prevalent in Far Cry 6 and any other Dunia engine game.

By comparison, I only noticed screen tearing in Returnal once, despite the game dropping frames during the most hectic moments when the particle effects were on full blast.

@Rural-Bandit

Would you recommend OLED?

I’m nervous about burn in of HUD elements in games.

There’s also the huge price jump from mini-LED to OLED.

@nessisonett

I think it depends on the game.

I’ve been using the tracker to help me try to platinum Ghost of Tsushima PS5.

@3Above

VRR is a big deal for games that routinely miss their framerate target, like Valhalla. It eliminates screen tearing when the game drops one or two frames.

@BRT15

My theory is that Sony was basing that decision on the TVs the majority of the market actually owns instead of focusing on future proofing.

Most people (even myself, and I’m a hardcore gamer) still don’t have an HDMI 2.1 full feature set TV.

Even with that said, Sony was short sighted in not having VRR ready for at least the first major firmware update. Gamers tend to adopt new tv technology faster than the general market.

I’ll admit that it’s taken me longer than normal to adopt a new major shift in tv tech.

I find it ridiculous that the PS5 still doesn’t have VRR. I currently don’t own a TV that offers it, but with the prices on 2.1 TVs coming down this year, I was hoping to invest sometime later this year, like November.

I’m playing on a TV that was really optimized for the PS4 and Xbox One generation. But for the PS5 and Series X, it’s lacking a ton of feature. Yes it has 4K and HDR, but it doesn’t even support 1080P 120hz. It’s an actual 60hz panel.

@Carl-G

Longest boss fight I ever beat in a game was Yiazmat in Final Fantasy XII (the PS2 version).

It took hours. Literally hours. He’s got so much health. It was a stupid fight.

I think I’ll give it another shot. I tried it back about a year ago. I liked it but none of my friends wanted to play it.

@PlayStationGamer3919

Same here.

I’d say a new IP for the next release, and then finish (and I mean FINISH; no more after that) the Last of Us trilogy.

@Kidfunkadelic83

That was God of War for me.

I bought it near launch. This is my fourth attempt to play through it. And I’m hooked this time. Whereas before I’d get about 5 hours in and get burned out on it.

Sometimes a game just doesn’t click with you when you first get it. I think certain games are meant for a certain time or mood.

With some personal things happening in my life, God of War is actually resonating with me in a way it didn’t when I first got it.

@Don_Corleone

Eh, I take a measured view on it.

I work a lot. About 55 hours per week on average. Not a lot of free time for video games, not like I used to. Plus a ton of bills.

So I tend to try and be as efficient as possible with my spending. I eat ham sandwiches at work to avoid going to pay a bunch of money for lunch every day. I keep my phones for three to four years.

The only money waste I have currently is that I am a long term smoker; I’ve smoked for ten years. I’m trying to quit; I’ve managed to cut back significantly with the help of an electronic cig. Before I was smoking a pack and a half per day. Now I’m smoking less than half a pack. And I’m working towards my goal of quitting completely.

Now as for video games, I buy based on my personal desire and what I think is a price I would pay for the game’s content. When I’m hyped for a release, I tend to buy at or near launch at full price. When it’s a game I’m interested in, but not hyped for, I go for sales. I try to buy new games when possible, since the developer and publisher still get a cut of the sale. On used sales, they get nothing. Those secondary games are what I call “back-log” titles. I don’t play them at the time of purchase. I save them for the droughts between my hype releases.

@Flaming_Kaiser

Gamepass works the same way as services like Netflix.

1st party titles (the equivalent of Netflix produced shows) stay on the service forever. You can go back and play the Master Chief Collection if you want to. All Microsoft 1st party games are released on Gamepass on launch day and never leave the service.

3rd party titles, you compare them to shows like Agents of Shield or Star Trek on Netflix. It stays for a while, but the timeframe is dependent on the publisher. Some can stay for a year on GP. Some stay just a few months. It just depends.

There are two aspects of Gamepass that make it an excellent service. First, it lets you try games you wouldn’t otherwise spend money on. If you like it and it’s leaving the service soon, you get a 18-24% discount (depends on publisher) on the title if you buy it BEFORE it leaves the service.

Second, it consolidates Microsoft’s entire First Party catalog across four generations of Xbox into one service. You can play games dating back to 2004 on the OG Xbox, all the way up through Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5. All for a yearly price that’s very reasonable; if you cancel one video streaming service you’ve paid for a year of Game Pass Ultimate. The vast majority of Microsoft’s 1st party library is on Gamepass. And once they are released on the service, they never leave.

That’s why I’m pretty dead set on getting a Series S this year. I’ve considered the Series X, but the Xbox will be my secondary game system in my bedroom and will be a Gamepass machine.

Assuming it’s not absolutely broken at launch I’ll pick up Modern Warfare 2019 Part 2.

Call of Duty is my dirty pleasure. My honey buns or mint flavored ice cream. I’m not proud of it. I don’t openly wear it on my sleeves. But I do love some good COD multiplayer.

I skipped Vanguard. Because it was trash. I played it on the first free weekend and didn’t like it at all.

But I though MW2019 was pretty good. So I’ll give this a shot.

@GreatAuk

I agree with most of that. I remember paying MORE for N64 games back in the late 90s. Rogue Squadron was about the same price as a PS5 game. And that was in 1999 dollars.

And I vividly remember Chrono Trigger on SNES retailing for 99.99. Which is why I couldn’t get it. Game was to long to rent and beat over a weekend (I had a crap ton of chores when I was a kid; my granddad kept both of us busy on his days off) and the price was just out of reach.

I didn’t get to play it until the PlayStation version released years later.

I’m really shocked myself that games stuck at 60 dollars for so long. I remember everyone panicking (just like today) when Oblivion released on 360 at 59.99. That was one of the first price jump games I remember vividly. But we all got over it.

I personally only buy games I’m really hyped for at full price. 90% of games I wait for sales; I’ve got enough backlog to tide me over in between those hyped games. The only three games I will be buying at release this year are Horizon Forbidden West, Breath of the Wild 2 (I will admit that I just pay the Nintendo tax; their games don’t go on sale till they are four years old), and Advance Wars Remake. Everything else will be bought on sales, including God of War 2.

I’ll wait for a big sale.

The first half of 2022 is stacked. By the second half things will calm down a bit (assuming Breath of the Wild 2 gets delayed) so this game should be selling for 30 bucks by then and I’ll actually have time for it.

@AdamNovice

100% correct.

There was a YouTuber who did a two hour special on its story breakdown. And he spent an hour of it giving a very detailed plot that he would have went with had he been Neil Druckman.

Funnily enough, it was far better than what Naughty Dog came up with.

And I say this as a fan of the game overall. For me, the amazing gameplay loop (a massive upgrade over the original), beautiful animation work, and insane attention to detail in the environment makes up for the game’s numerous story problems.

Which is the exact opposite of how I felt about the first game. I felt like the story in the original was perfect. With one of the most powerful endings ever written into a video game. But the gameplay loop, while good, had a lot of basic problems. Especially the human enemy battles.

@Perturbator

It is.

As much as I would love to see the first game’s story married to the gameplay enhancements and beautiful animations of the second game, I don’t really see the point. The PS4 version plays just fine. It’s a little aged in areas, but it isn’t like the game is 35 years old. It still feels modern.

I respect the Show. But man baseball is boring.

The only two sports I’ve ever gotten hardcore into is Basketball and what you old worlders call “football.” I love playing soccer and I enjoy watching it.

American football isn’t half bad either even though I feel the sport has been watered down over the past twenty years.

@NEStalgia

As a Switch owner and big fan of the console, you’re wrong on that bud.

The Joycon sticks are acceptable for short game play sessions or slow paced RPGs and point and click games.

For shooters or any game requiring complex analog motions, they’re trash. Very limited travel, poor feedback on the click in functions, and the location of the stick on the right joycon is suboptimal for comfortable play in long sessions.

Now the Pro controller is a different story. Outside of being overpriced and a so-so D-Pad that controller is a masterpiece and I’d argue it’s Nintendo’s greatest controller of all time.

Hmm. I’m hoping it’s set in a redesigned Vice City.

Include some more of the Florida country side too. The Everglades would be great.

I wanted the PS5 version in a steelbook case on the disc.

Im willing to spend the extra money. It saves me a ton of bandwidth.

I’ll throw out three guesses.

1. Factions
2. Last of Us Remake
3. New IP

@JuggaloRazzam

It is a fascinating story.

Another interesting story is how Tom Kalinske, then CEO of Sega of America, basically helped create the N64 and before that attempted to broker a hardware deal with Sony.

In the second case, he became really close friends with Olaf Ollason, who would be one of the key guys that launched the PlayStation. SOA and Sony Music (to keep Sony’s board from interfering with development, the PlayStation was ironically developed in Sony Music since the board didn’t pay too much attention to the Music division) wanted to develop the hardware together and launch it as a joint system. However, SOJ violently refused to consider it and Sony Corporate was also reluctant, although they were a little more open minded than Sega of Japan was.

In the first case, following that deal falling through, Kalinske saw the Saturn prototype and hated it. As did most of Sega of America. So he went to SGI and asked about one of their smaller team’s new project that was making waves in the tech world. He liked the hardware demo and then got SOJ’s hardware team to come over to the states and see it for themselves. They acted interested, but then after getting back to Japan threw a fit about minor issues that could be corrected. That deal then fell through.

So Kalinske did something rather interesting. SGI was still wanting to sell their new RISC processor and new graphics unit to someone. So he gave them Howard Lincoln’s (Nintendo of America’s second in command) number, since the two knew each other (it was a rather difficult relationship, since Lincoln blamed Kalinske personally for the US government getting involved with the video game violence situation at the time in 1993.

Lincoln and Nintendo loved the SGI hardware. With further development, it became Project Reality that birthed the Nintendo 64.

It’s really interesting how all these companies end up tying together in unexpected ways.

I figure this is a fairly standard thing in the modern game industry.

The numbers just seem huge because Bungie is a huge studio with a metric crap ton of employees.

This game is trash. They need to let it die and start back over.

It was the only time in my life that I bought a game and returned it after just a few hours of play.

This is not a Battlefield game. No matter what they add to it, it will never be a Battlefield game.

@Rural-Bandit

I guess Sony could mortgage their company for the next 300 years to the Chinese to get the money to buy Microsoft.

I really really just want Factions and a new Killzone. But I want Killzone to have its classic traditional multiplayer modes. They can monetize it (I mean they have to) but it shouldn’t be a battle royale or any of that nonsense.

@Col_McCafferty

There’s way more than just kids games on Switch.

Shin Megami Tensei V is FANTASTIC. And it’s definitely not for kids.

@sanderson72

The DS was right behind the PS2. I think the PS2 hit 155 million even and the DS was at 154.4 million. So they are super close to each other.

I’m not surprised. Nintendo hit a niche sweet spot initially with the hybrid concept. Then the good games started dropping constantly which drew in new players. I love my Switch; it’s an awesome little system I would recommend to anyone.

I think there is a chance it’ll catch the Nintendo DS and PS2. But it’s just that. A chance.

@FOXHOUND_MGS5

It depends. Polyphony could easily patch out the online requirement once the game reaches the end of its lifecycle. A few online only games that offered single player play have done this on PC.

I think what ends up happening to GT Sport will give us a heads up on what will happen to 7. While Sport doesn’t require an online connection just to play the game (arcade mode is available offline) the main meat of the game is online only. Looking at the age of the game it’s likely it’ll enter end of service about 6 or 7 years earlier than GT7.

@Nem

That would be the ideal solution. But Gran Turismo is a live service game technically. They have years of content planned out.

I think what they should do is offer the career campaign offline, but it make it a separate save file that is stored locally and can never be played online. That would satisfy everyone.

@CrushALL

Some people prefer to play on computer monitors.

4K is a waste of money for someone playing on a 27 inch monitor. At that size, you save half the money getting a high refresh 1440P monitor over an equivalent 4K monitor. And being such a small screen means that you won’t be able to tell the difference.

Plus a lot of people share their monitor between a gaming PC and a PS5/PS4. And gaming PCs are pretty much optimized for 1440p at very high frame rates today. Not many people build rigs to play in 4K.

@Tharsman

SIE gets some stuff out of this deal, too. They get access to Bungie’s in house engine as well as access to 800 talented employees who can assist the multiplayer PlayStation teams in building multiplayer live service games.

Something that needs to be thought about is that Sony hasn’t released a AAA multiplayer focused title since the end of the PS3/early PS4 era. A lot of that talent has moved on to other endeavors.

Bungie was a good buy. I was apprehensive about it at first and felt like Sony overpaid, but having had time to think on it I feel like it was a good call.