R(ob)’s Comments (group member since Jun 21, 2021)

R(ob)’s comments from the The Video Game Forum group.

I watched Pig a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to like it as I thought Nicholas Cage was actually OK in it but the story was absolute garbage - there was very little point to the whole story. I did watch 8mm again a few weeks ago too - another Cage film - which I really enjoyed, did see it a long time ago but it still holds up well IMO.

Watched the 1980's Dune over the weekend. I saw the new film a few weeks ago. I've seen the 1980s Dune before but not for a very very long time. I really enjoyed it. Yea it's dated a bit - especially the hand to hand combat fights with the shields - but overall I think it's a great film. Only real complaint is the rushed final third and Sting (he really was a spare part). I'm looking forward to seeing the new Dune again for comparison.

Also watched The Power of the Dog on Netflix. Thought it was an excellent film - mainly in characters and performances. The story albeit good is fairly straighforward but well done for what it is. Just thought they got the feeling of the film nailed - the dark tone, the impending doom, the sense of dread. Benedict Cumberbatch was superb and I only think one other actor could play it better - Daniel Day Lewis. Actually very similar character to Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood. There is one other film it is a little similar to but I won't name it as it will give the story away.

Hi all. Mostly been playing multiplayer but I did complete Exo One over the weekend. Only a short less than 2 hours game but I quite enjoyed it but defo marmite. The story is a bit confusing, but I love the errie worlds and artwork. It's a bit like Flower - probably not quite as polished - but the game play loop is to get across several different planets to an exit portal by maintaining momentum through various game play mechanics. It can be a bit frustating at times but once it clicks it can be quite satisfying when you manage to fly high and break the sound barrier and stay off the ground for long periods. This week is Halo Infinite campaign so that's my next game.

Yea I take your point Glass. I certainly agree on the music industry viewpoint. I think the music industry has been fighting for more of a share of the subs (think it's ongoing) so I hope gaming doesn't go the same way (otherwise it's not working for the benefits of both parties). BTW - I don't see many AAA going to games pass on release - the vast majority don't - so the devs make their money from the release window purchases of 60/70 usd (which is the norm unless you're Rockstar) and then sometime later (usually months) some go on to games pass - that seems win-win to me. Only really MS games (Halo, Gears, Forza) go on to games pass day one and a small handful of AA games mostly. EA for example have EA play - an equivalent subscription service - so they already do it, independent of what MS do (albeit MS have now bunged a load of cash to EA to include EA Play in game pass). I honestly don't think games like Outriders (release day on Games Pass for example) wouldn't do that much better than not going on Games Pass and they wouldn't do it without it being financially viable (they can say no). It's all an experiment at the moment - and we'll see how it pans out. EA have been doing EA Play for many years so it's not new.

I've not had an issue settling on games with games pass - I create a wish list and play through the games sequentially. There is always a risk they might leave by the time I get around to them but not had that issue so far.

Yea I thought the same about games pass killing development but from what I see in gaming news articles it seems it gives games that would otherwise might stuggle a better chance to succeed and make a profit. And for the more third party AAA titles they tend to go on games pass once their release window has passed after a few months and gives a later opportunity for more revenue. I think one indie developer (think it was Double Fine before they were bought by XBox) said that games pass allows more creativity as gamers are more willing to try a more creative game if they don't have to pay for it directly. Probably too early to tell of whether it kills the industry, stifles creativity/devs but I'm not convinced either way at the moment. I know for example that Rocket League owes a lot of its success to being free on ps plus - it didn't stop it from making a lot of money being included in a sub. However, I do think the game pass sub will become more expensive - I think MS for games pass are treating it as a loss leader for now. I'm basically playing games for free (I've spent next to nothing on subs so far) but I don't think it will last. I expect MS will at some point stop the freebies, up the price a little once everyone knows the value of games pass and won't see £12ish (or whatever it ends up being) as expensive. If for example MS had 40 million subscribers paying £12 a month that's 5.6 billion in annual revenue to share between devs and MS. That's a lot of money that devs (whatever share they take) might not have received otherwise. Back in April games pass had 23 million subscribers so they're doing pretty well at the moment.

The haw is expensive. Just got two more near-free (only £1.98) months of Ultimate - this time through amazon by changing my credit card from Visa to Mastercard (got a £20 credit for changing). It's a UK thing so probably not of interest to you guys outside of the UK. And my next MS Points is up to nearly 8000 so only 4000 off another free month.

I think if Mass Effect doesn't come to Games Pass directly it will come to EA play so either way it will be on game pass eventually. Why I didn't bother buying it. I want to play the first again at least - that is one of my favourite games ever - and see after that whether I'm in the mood for the other two.

I think Cyperpunk is still scheduled for a next gen upgrade but they delayed it until next year so I wouldn't hold your breath. Not sure if I'll ever play it - it's on my wishlist but I'm in no hurry. Got plenty to play. My next game is Halo Infinite campaign - I'll play multplayer and Forza Horizon 5 until then.

Glassmoon - The Benny Hill of Plats wrote: "Mates, does anyone knows how Cyberpunk runs on the Series S?
Its on sale and im feeling like cyberhawing it but i dont trust the game at all."

I believe it runs fine. It will be the backwards compatible Xbox one version (without any One X enhancements) but apparently it has a pretty stable 30 fps and 1080p output. It's not 'next gen' in any respect however but more stable than running it on an xbox one.

Sony offered me a guaranteed PS5 purchase but I didn't bother. Gonna wait for PS5 slim.

Yea I'm the same when I went back to my Pro to play TLOU2 it was a great experience except for the load times and 30 FPS. I'm so used to 60FPS now going back to 30FPS seems like a stutter fest. I've still got my Pro set-up for any sony games I might play - I think the next one is the cat game. Not gonna buy a PS5 just for one game.

Played some more Halo multiplayer today. Tried big team battle and finally i can play it normally. Even got a 2 k/d in one match with 14 kills 7 deaths and holding my own generally. And actually big team battle is really very good. Perhaps the twitchy 4v4 mode is no longer for me and I always like big map mp hence why I like battlefield (normally). Talking of battlefield 2042 it’s really disappointing. Probably the worst battlefield I’ve played and I actually prefer cod vanguard and halo Infinite so that surprises me, never expected that.

I’ve been rock bottom every Infinite multiplayer game I’ve played. I play a lot of multiplayer and generally I do ok, hold my own, mostly mid table, sometimes near or at the top but generally with a K/D above 1. In this it must be 0.1 lol. For previous Halos I was probably under 1 but no where near as bad as this. See how I get on. It might click as it does seem really good.

I played both state of decays in solo - enjoyed them both. They are just like error said with base building, AI buddies to protect and recruit, and general survival in scavenging, killing zombies, building and taking out nests. And it’s got a good day night cycle with night if I remember rightly being more challenging. Easily doable in solo. Not much of a story but it’s about making your own.

Just tried the Halo multiplayer beta. I suck really bad at it, so much so I find it embarrassing lol. It’s good, actually very good, but if I can’t get kills it doesn’t make it much fun. I’ll persevere but if I don’t improve I’m not taking a hiding every game like I am. I’ve played Halo multiplayer before, most of them, and although I’ve never been good I’ve never been this bad.

For me State of Decay 2 is better than one and both in terms of the experience are very similar. I enjoyed both but if play one you've largely experienced both. If you get my thinking :-). Of course there are differences but nothing major in my opinion - 2nd is more polished, and is the one I'd go to first.

BTW. The only downside to the Series S, other than the lack of storage, is that the S can only play Xbox One S games and not the Xbox One X games. So no Xbox One X visual upgrades to 4k unfortunately.

Glad you're enjoying your S Glass. If I were to recommend any games on games pass they would be The Outer Worlds (by the same people who made Fallout NV), Control, The Ascent and Psychonauts 2. Maneater is worth a look for the shallow fun factor. I enjoyed them all, assuming you haven't played them already. Of course there are loads of good games on games pass but thought I'd avoid recommending the obvious big hitters like Forza Horizon 5, Gears 5 etc - depends on whether you like driving games, and Gears.

I'll add you Glass - mine is: Chips R Up. Enjoy your S - seems like you've got off to a good start.

I've been playing Battlefield 2042 most of this weekend. I know we don't have many multiplayer gamers here except for probably me. Anyway, I've been into Battlefield since Bad Company 1 and every one since - it's basically my favourite and go to multiplayer. I'm really struggling to like it, and it may be the first Battlefield I might not play as much as the previous. I can't get into the gun play - it's changed, assault rifles are useless, the maps are way too big and so I seem to spend a lot of time running, they've ruined the class system, vehicles are way too over powered, the maps are bland, I don't like playing against PC players as mouse and keyboard means they have quicker aiming to quicker kills, the list goes on. I prefer smaller themed maps like Battlefield 1 and V. I did give the Xbox One version a go which seems more to my taste - smaller maps - but the graphics are't as good. No doubt I'll give it more of a chance.

I’m not even going to attempt it. Took me 15 attempts to complete the final mission on noob difficulty.

Finished the COD Vanguard campaign. Yea defo not one of COD's best. There were some really poor sections in it - destroy three tanks in a square - literally in a square where you go around the perimeter with zero resistance and blow them up with an RPG in about 30 seconds. Snipe three flame thrower troops that pose no threat, they move at a snail's pace and you snipe without even trying. And then several sections were there was next to no ammo and you spend your time picking up weapons (mostly SMGs) with 10 bullets in them each. And then other sections where there are ammo crates every 10 feet. Other levels were better but on the whole it was a half ass attempt at what is normally at least a well paced and varied campaign with blockbuster actions sequences. I mean the flying level was very poor and there was a tank section and you don't even get to drive a tank. All a tick box exercise with no effort put into it. There have been some decent COD campaigns - not this time. 6/10 on the r-score-o-meter.

Error wrote: "R(ob) - I've played many of those as well. I think I just have a bit of an Xcom hangover and am having trouble moving on, lol.

Dark Souls 3 DLC, Sekiro replay, Evil Within 2, Scarlet Nexus, Desti..."

I guess you really enjoyed Xcom? I played the first, think it was on PS3, and although I actually quite enjoyed it - not usually a game I would play, think it was on ps plus - however I perma died after several hours unless I started it all over again.

Yea you’ll save a load Glass on game purchases with games pass. Practically paying for itself.

Why wait till christmas ;-). Especially if it's a present to yourself.