Titntin

@Professor_Niggle Lol 😁

The portal is excellent. Been very pleased with mine. Quite often my wife will use it whilst sitting on the sofa next to me as we both jump into Helldivers 2 with some friends. Of course you need 2 ps5s to do that, but thats exactly why we bought it, we have two..

Its nice to see the haters proved wrong, including the high levels of skepticism from this very site 😊

So FF rebirth manages to be 4th best selling game of 2024 BASED ON ONE DAYS SALES?
Yet this site continues to spread the fud that its sales are poor?
I have a lot of time for this site, but there are more than one staff writer here who has shown clearly they have lost perspective and push unproven biased narritives regularly. In contrast Ive read several contributions from newer writers here who have a much healthier love for gaming and should definitely be the future of articles here.

Helldivers 2 is a well deserved winner in sales, and its a delight to see a game doing so well from word of mouth, with sales rising in succesive weeks..

@jt887
'how can you not see it? I don't understand.'

Me neither, hence my post!
Thank you for a balanced and reasoned post, appreciated.
Im literally looking at the game right now and cannot see that characters are 'low res and like from a switch version'. I can of course see that texel density is clearly not consistent across all assets, but as this is such a common issue across so many titles, its not the issue I thought was being called out here.

I should mention, although I did work as a AAA dev for two decades, my last game was 15 years ago - I gave up that career to try and help the homeless here in Torbay.
Its possible my eyesight is not what it was of course, but even through the filters and upscaling I can count pixel edges on characters and compare these with the surrounding assets and Im genuinely not seeing the mismatch you describe (Im counting under Junon in front of the silly frog jump game, just gone back to try and get the max on that to complete the area having forged ahead earlier in the game.)

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts. Its hard to ascertain why I dont see the scale of the issue the way others do, but I do accept there is a divergence of opinion, and maybe I should not be so quick to dimiss others concerns.

Edit. Incidentally, I also use a C1 for my second ps5 and pc, but Ive mainly played this on a larger brighter lcd.

No idea why Push continue to beat that drum,as the game looks decent to me in both modes, on monitors, OLED TV, or LCD TV.
I've been given jobs by all the top publishers and format holders to ensure great looking titles for 20 years, so it's not as if I don't know what I'm looking for...

Is it native 4K? Not at all, and I'll accept any improvement offered of course, but it looks fine and a damn site better than those who bleat on about it suggest....smh

@LikelySatan
"don't look now, but you are getting your news from "this site."'

So what part of ' But I value Push for current news and the odd good banter' do you not understand? Or if you do understand, then why are simply repeating what someone has said? Your post is a complete waste of space

I pay to support these sites and I'm happy to do so - why have you commented just 6 times in 3 years and wasted 2 of those comments trying to get a rise from people who share their honest thoughts?
As I will repeat, for those that didnt bother reading before replying, I may not agree with the reviewers here like I do elsewhere, but I value these sites and still take their views onboard even whilst recognising they are not likely to align with my own views.... nothing negative about that attitude.

@Northern_munkey Lol... takes one to know one! 😊
I completely agree with you of course, as with all media, my tastes are rarely mainstream and many of my most treasured games and films are trashed by critics.
You do get to know those whos opinions you trust after a while, and for me, they are elsewhere and not in Push. But I value Push for current news and the odd good banter, and I still read their reviews even if I suspect I wont share their conclussions. We all live in too much of an echo chamber these days, its healthy to listen to views you dont agree with and recognise they are as valid as your own...

Ive been reading Famitsu for over 35 years. It started me on my unsuccessful road to learning Japanese, as back then the west barely gave gaming any attention at all.
I may not have played this game yet, but I'd trust their scores over anything this site says every day of the week.

Im interested in this game precisely because it has some difficulty adjustment. Im nearly 60 now and I cant help the slowing reflexes that make a lot of team ninja titles sadly unplayable for me. It will be a pleasure to play this and have a chance!

Glad others get to play it, but I never went back after chapter 3 myself, I didnt find the writting or characters good at all.

Interesting to read elsewhere how much duelsense functionality adds to the game, as I always thought that level of feedback would suit this gameplay. I dont agree with the review score myself, but I dont come to push for reviews as I rarely agree with them and they are far too short and usually miss important information that their peers actually cover.

@nomither6
I envy you! I'd love to play that game for the first time again.

Im all over the place atm and have several things on the go, which is not like me..
Helldivers 2 and FF rebirth are both hugely enjoyable and Im still playing both.
..... but I took chance to play F1 2023 and love it. I've only finished the 'story' section, so I intend to start a career now.
....... and I played 'Sherlock Holmes Chapter One' with my wife last night (dont judge me! 🤣). I think its fantastic once you understand the systems, with good acting and a decent script. We had a great evening sleuthing and Ive just bought about 5 dlcs for less than £10 in the current sale. I picked the game up for very little in a pack with 'Sinking City 1', what a bargain! If you ever thought you might like to try it, nows the time. It could do with a more thorough tutorial so you know what does what, but stick with it and its really engrossing if like such stuff 😊

Whatever your playing have fun!

Jedi survivor is well worth, and If you like a good game of golf, I can recommend PGA - I wish I got it at this price 😁

@Axelay71
Appreciate your take. Ive see some excellent real time graphics in UE5 and created a few decent things myself to evaluate the tech (Im an old dev still interested in modern toolsets), so I like what I see.
As for the trailer doing its job, it was designed to be watched in conjunction with the press releases and information it was released with, rather than in isolation on a site like this. Its still not very good at selling the game, but it makes a little more sense with the rest of the info...
No idea if this will be good or not, but Im interested enough to be looking for gameplay in the future! 😊 Have a great one!

@Axelay71 Its a fully in engine trailer. Its not pre rendered, its in UE5. Yes modern engines can be very impressive😊 Especially if they dont need to run game systems....

Urgh! You can understand with lego why they have to use blocks - it goes with the territory. Why with this though - it looks as ugly as sin!
What a shame. I love cutesy games and anything with fishing is normally a sure fire winner for me (for some unknown reason I cant figure out).
But this... No way I could look at this.

It still feels disingenuous to release a game for review and then add microtransactions later in the way this title has. But I guess this in not unusual with modern games. I dont have to like it though!

To be fair, you could buy all the above for less than £12, so its not extortionate, but charging for things like emotes which should be in the game feels crass to me...

This looks great and is a good trailer.
I'm not seeing anything that looks 'too good to be true' and I think its suspect journalism to say as much. It's an in-engine trailer which clearly shows they are using high res assets and have a decent particle system working etc.
Of course when all the game systems are working in the background they will need to turn down some of the effects, rendering modes etc to achieve good FPS, but that's completely normal with any in-engine trailer.
So it has a decent engine, its clearly been developed for some time, but there's little here to suggest if we will like the actual gameplay loop and I'd suspect more trailers will help establish if the game will be worth. Its certainly got the basics in place to be a great looking title.

*Edit. There is considerably more information on this game on the games page on the PS store. Its also confirmed its using UE5, which is quite obvious from the trailer and stated in this piece, but nice to confirm. A futuristic 'Detective noir game' is right up my street, so its on my wishlist and I hope we see some gameplay soon.

This game absolutely rocks. If you like open world racing as in Forza Horizon, then this is truly excellent and myself and my wife have had an absolute blast with it.
It's more fun than horizon 5, and as we are huge horizon fans I really do not say that lightly.
The races are excellently designed and there's a ton going on on the island that makes it fun. I still want to shoot the annoying AI voice over, but hey, nothings perfect.....

@The_Pixel_King

ESP Ra.De. Psi is released on PS4. Jap only of course, but you can find it on Ebay - or indeed wherever you get your stuff for the emulators...

Would love to see a western release too, but if you love this genre, working out how to play jap versions is all part of the fun

Love the game myself despite others rants.
It's in a jrpg and I've never lost a jrpg either, but that doesnt invalidate the fun I had playing?
It will be interesting to see if they can spice the game up with some additions, currently its an enjoyable time, but I don't think I can see the potential I saw in gwent? Maybe I've just no imagination

O happy day!
I'm a huge shoot Em up fan and remember playing Macross games very well - my first was on the PC engine, but later there were titles on PS1 and PS3.

I currently have a schmup folder on my PS5 with over 40 titles and love to break out the Nacom fighting stick to play them properly as per the arcade originals.

Needless to say, this title goes straight to my wish list and I'm certain I will enjoy it.
Thanks @Sammy, I might well have missed this one

Jeff Minter has been a stalwart of game development since the very early days and I've spent many an hour playing his surreal and fascinating titles.
Although many of these will now be past their sell by date, just the inclusion of the amazing Tempest 2000 is enough to see me pick this up for another round.

Thanks for this review - I'm glad this one didnt slip by me.

time to add another title to my wish list...

I'm looking forward to this one. Team Ninja games are usually just a little too tough for me (old man reaction times), so its nice to find there's some options to tailor this.
Having read previews elsewhere too (I don't trust most reviewers on this site), I also like that the mood is not so 'dry' and the characters are a little more bombastic and fun.
Many previews have expressed they had a lot of fun with the preview and I hope that translates well to the full game and all the systems, I guess we will see.
Another game I've got to try and fit in! Nice problem to have

Still fond memories of SNES contra
This one looks like a return to form and I'm sure I'd enjoy trying this!
Thanks for the review

10. No objectivity here, Im loving the game for what it is AND what it means to me.
For a gamer who looks in every corner and isnt in a rush, pacing simply wont bother me, its almost traditional for most jrpgs and Im all for it 😅

I'm no prude, but the objectification of the female form in a game that is not remotely about anything erotic, seems a throwback to less enlightened days.
Theres a time and place for overly sexual outfits, but I cant see that this game required it.

It certainly isnt the first to try and appeal to players in this way and Im sure it wont be the last.
Normally this blatent over sexualisation would ensure I wouldnt buy the game, but this game looks excellent in all other respects, and as I will have a choice of outfit, I wont need to play it in this way, so Im still excited. Just not THAT excited 😁

It terms of art design it looks great, but it looked very PS4 to me.

Mind you, I watched it in the show streaming, maybe the video will be better?

Edit, not really any better. All the geometry is in the characters, the world is very low res and there are huge texture resolution mismatches.

It might be a good time for souls like fans though...

Nice review, thanks. I'm now very interested in trying this!

Whilst they would clearly be a target for acquisition if Sony were making such investments, it's quite clear that this is not the time for such investments.
They are likely to remain a strong partner, and may be a target in the future, but clearly won't be right now..

@KillerBoy
'have you heard of the day before'

Of course. I can't see any relevance of that sorry state of affairs with this news or development program, unless somehow you are inferring there's no development and they are simply taking funds. I can assure that this is not how development works and there will be 'producer' from sony who will be visiting these studios and checking progress.'
I worked in this field for two decades and was often showing the publishers the latest build and developments in the game throughout development.
'the day before' was not financed by a production house and has no parallel with this program at all.

Lets face it, its not these arrogant suits who lose their livleyhood over these rediculous fantasies...

@KillerBoy Who is getting scammed? Your not making sense, could you explain?

These partnerships are great, and I like the wealth of original ideas we might see as a result..

My poor wallet.....

This was absolutely expected from me. Ive never had any issue with streaming on PS since PSNow, but I've had issues with xbox cloud.
I wasnt aware that if you stream your Series X game, you get the series S version! Thats awful imo..
Nothing beats a local host for me, but I rarely leave home and appreciate many others appreciate access away from your machine.
I only tend to use it to check out a game on the services that Im not sure about, before I commit to the download 👍

Between Helldivers 2 and FF Im completely sorted, and likely to be for months. Both are fantastic titles with a lot of game time in them. So much for making a dent in my backlog!

Whatever your playing, I hope you have fun!

Every day. Its some of the most fun Ive had multiplayer gaming.
I imagine Ill split my time between FF and Hell Divers 2 for some time, both, so compelling!

Thanks for this review which seemed balanced and covered most of things I wanted to know. Loved the previous titles, so Im all on on this and Im pleased its mostly hit the mark.
Opinions on graphical design will always differ of course, but from what Ive seen so far, I'd concur with your observations on the gui.
It used to be standard practice to put in a placeholder menu early in development, and in this case Id suggest they stuck with it. Hardly a huge issue mind you, if they were pushed for time, its better if they spent on gameplay elements! 😊

@CD456 Then imo you've seriously missed out. I'm 60 this year myself and have played all of them since the original releases in the west. I count myself lucky to have enjoyed them.

I'll admit jrpgs are not for everyone of course, but even without the nostalgia, this is world class story telling media that Id suggest is worth a try if you ever get a chance for cheap. Meantime, have fun with whatever you do enjoy! 😁

Really loving it so far. I can see that this game will make me tear up, it has already. Having played the original ff7 and having been inspired by it, you feel so connected to some of these characters your immediately invested. Add to that some trully excellent sound tracks and best in class direction and its likey to be my goty.

Another great month for me. Sifu has been on my 'to do' list for a while, Im an F1 and racing fan with no ea sub, and Ive been interested in trying 'Hello Neighbour' without investment since release.
Good stuff!

I have to say though, between Helldivers 2 taking all my current time, and just 6 hours till I can play the new FF, its hard to see how I'll make the time! 1st world problems, eh? 😁

Another facinating insight into a games culture I hardly know of.
Thanks for another genuinely interesting piece!
Though its not an area of software that interests me, its clear there is a strong demand for erotic games and its good to see that this sector of development has a place it can be discussed and shown.

No problems with matchmaking at all.
I, and most of my friends dont normally play multiplayer, but we are all playing and enjoying this.
I got my wife started on it today, we have two ps5s and two tellies in the front room, so we can multiplay together and its a blast. We were trying a level that was too hard for us, and we were failing miserably, when an old friend Id not seen for a while jumped in and pretty much soloed the level. Hes level 20 and it was nice to see someone who knows how to play!
Forgive my waffle, Im pretty wrecked and Im enjoying this game like a child 😊

@HammerKirby3 Do you have a source to corroborate this?
Goldeneye 007 sold over 8 million units, last steam figures I saw for SOT were 5 million and Im doubting consoles sales make the difference?
Obviously MS make a big deal about player counts, but when you give your games away, thats not engagement or sales. Thats like U2 claiming they have a no1 album because they gave it away free. 😁
Id be grateful if you could provide the source of the sales information if you would, thanks! 👍

No1 or not, its been a big hit for them. Personally I would have preferred it if Rare had been able to develop anything else at all apart from SOT since they were purchased, its a studio whos stock has fallen far imo.

Helldivers 2. Its addictive and so much fun 😊

Whatever your playing have a great weekend.

@Kidfunkadelic83 @Northern_munkey
Love it! So glad friendly fire is always on - might make me think for a change, though I doubt it!
Look out for a req from 'Duffster D' which is my PSN for some reason

I'm hoping that these reported changes mean there's a good hope of getting on.........

@Northern_munkey
Cheers dude, I'll hit you guys up if I pick it up this weekend for sure - I assume your user name is your PSN id?
You might find I'm baggage though, it takes me a while to get good a shooter game and even then, I'm not good. I'm fresh fodder for the bugs though

@get2sammyb
'It’ll be interesting to see if the PlayStation version retains pace with its PC and Xbox counterparts, as Rare regularly updates this release with new content and features.'

I understood that crossplay was going to be across all platforms? Surely that mandates that all platforms will have feature parity and remain on the same build? My experience with cross platform releases would suggest that not keeping all platforms on the same build is a recipe for disaster..

@DrClayman
It's unlike Sammy to miss such a classic subtitle!

The award is yours mate

@Voltan
'Also, some players seem to be stuck on easy difficulty'
I'll take that My reaction times slow as I'm getting older, sometimes easy is all I can manage, lol.
Nice to see wait times coming down. I'm gonna pick this up this weekend as a result..