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

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

Yea initially it wasn’t the greatest but lately I’m really appreciating the sharper resolutions at 60 fps. I just hope PS6 is launched 2028 so I get more time out of my Pro. And next gen not sure I can go multi-console. With the cost of consoles sky rocketing, Trump f’ing up the world economy and my soon to be new employment status gonna have to stick to just one console. I just hope streaming is a more viable option for games pass. At the moment still a bit laggy.

Ordered myself a blu ray drive for my PS5 Pro. Now they're back in stock (with Sony) and reduced in price (£70) it gives me a few more options buying games (and receiving games as presents) and playing my PS4 and PS5 disc games I already own.

Depressing for some Deckard but not for me. 😀

No real plans for lots of travel. My missus will still be working but I’ll do my usual holiday abroad each year and maybe even expand it to two. I’m just glad to be rid of the stress and the last nearly six years I’ve been working from home most days so really want to get out of the house more. My job requires some long hours so it’s not always been easy to get out and about as much as I’d like. No doubt I’ll do a little more gaming but I don’t want to game like Deckard 😉. Oh and we’re getting a dog.

No gaming for me recently - over a week. I've been ill too with a stinking cold but I plan to resume Atomfall at the weekend. Feeling better today but it's a work day :-(. Soon however I'll have more time to game - although I don't plan to game every day or even that much more in terms of hours - as I'm retiring in just over a month. I'm retiring young - mid 50s. To think i first started on the Amazon UK forum in my mid-late 30s and all that time has passed - must be like 17-18 years. Not quite the Amazon days on the Goodreads forum - so few of us remain from those crazy days on Amazon UK - but happy to have lasted this long :-).

I put off Death Stranding for years thinking it looked dull and tedious. I’m not a Kojima fan but I liked MGS4 and loved MGS5 but I do love how left field Kojima is with his characters and stories - if you can understand them. And I did understand the Death Stranding story. Death Stranding though up there with my all time favourite games. Had a little wobble half way through when a mission sent me back over the same long difficult route but in a different direction but after that and with the fast traversal unlocking more it changed the game. And the ending was superb. Hope you enjoy it Error as much as I did.

I’ve been playing Atomfall, about 5 hours in. Kinda like it but I’ve found it engrossing and frustrating in equal measure. I’ve knocked down the difficulty as you can die easily in this game. And even now I have to be careful when taking on groups of enemy but better weapons have helped. The robots take some taking down with the weapons I have but I’ve managed one. The world though I love. English villages and countryside with well voice acted NPCs and the way the story unfolds is not handed to you on a plate so requires a bit more reading than your usual open world game. I like the mysterious feel of the story and world but it’s defo AA with pretty nice graphics but also lacks a bit of polish. The combat is a bit ‘survival’ being slow and clunky. Also like the nods to British movies such as the wickerman.

Think I’ll give Atomfall a go for my next game. Seems to be getting good reviews. Not a big fan of survival games but the comparisons to Fallout and Bioshock have me interested plus the British Lake District location. Won’t cost me anything if I don’t like it except wasted time.

Lawn mower simulator 7.7 ? ;)

Completed Dragon Age TVG. Loved it. End game was excellent. Up there for me as one of my favourite games ever. Got all but 3 of the trophies for the plat but that’s it done now. 9/10 on the r-score-o-meter. No idea what to play next. Think I’ll wait for South of Midnight in a couple of weeks. It might not be my thing but I’ll give it a go. Otherwise it’s one from the backlog, such as Callisto Protocol or a replay of HZD but the remaster. Tempted by Shadows but the comparisons to the campaign structure of Valhalla really put me off.

I’ve not looked up any trophies, I’ve just enjoyed the game. Dragons!

Some of the companion missions start off slow but end in some new areas with epic battles. Initially I wasn’t that interested in the companion quests but after a while most got good.

I’ve done all companion quests now and seemingly all faction and region quests as I have maximum allegiance with all regions so next for me is completing the main story. I think I’m probably going to be 4-5 trophies short of the plat but I’m not going to artificially extend the game searching for collectibles. Maybe if they were trackable but the collectibles I need are not.

Robocop Rogue City ps+ April game. I think most of us have played it here but a good game.

I’ve nearly done every quest available in Dragon Age in the time you’ve been playing one little game Error. 😉. 34 hours and counting. I really enjoyed Avowed but I’m enjoying Dragon Age so much I want to see everything. Not even going for the plat, just want to 100% all regions because the game has its hooks in me. Probably still got a good 10+ hours to go if not more.

I’m at the point of no return in the Dragon Age campaign. I’m going to do a few more side quests first - still a fair few exclamation marks dotted around on various maps - but all companion quests are done and no faction quest currently available. Combat wise I love the variety as I can get my companions to do a lot of the work and I like to use my special abilities which are recharging quite quickly with a bit of throwing my shield in between and of course a bit of sword play. Playing as warrior.

It’s not a perfect game but i find the world very atmospheric and immersive. Not had much need to spend money, seems a bit pointless.

Probably needs a good 10 hours plus to fully open up but I’m doing so many varied missions in very different areas that it never gets boring. The necromancer companion missions are good. The puzzles and areas you open up to fight more and bigger bosses is good too so not everything is mission based, some really good stuff is hidden behind exploration and solving how you get access. There is so much enticing you to investigate to experience even more. The ‘crime investigation’ missions are a bit sheet but it is the only boring mission type and it mostly associated with one of the companions. It’s one of the best graphical games I’ve seen but it’s not head shoulders the best but it’s up there.

Gaming wise I’m totally hooked by Dragon Age TVG. I’m even doing all of the faction and companion quests. The world they’ve created is so big, varied, gorgeous, atmospheric, absorbing and I love exploring it. I think it could be one of my favourite games of all time. It reminds me a little of God of War but with the big RPG elements and otherwise better. The graphics alone are perhaps the best I’ve seen on console (PS5 Pro). It even beats Avowed for enjoyment for me at least. Happy to play it until I’ve exhausted all quests and I’m usually a stick to the main campaign kinda gamer.

On Apple TV I’ve really enjoyed.

TV Series;
Severance
Silo
Slow Horses
Invasion
Dark Matter
The Morning Show

And it has other popular shows I haven’t watched; Ted Lasso, Foundation, Shrinking, Servant.

Movies wise I’ve enjoyed:
The Gorge
Wolfs
Killers of the flower moon
Napoleon
Finch
Tetris
CODA
Palmer
Sharper
Causeway
Swan Song
The Instigators

I really rate Apple TV plus but new stuff is more of a trickle - it’s got a good back catalogue - so only worth subbing a month or so at a time.

If you have Disney Plus I recommend the movie ‘No One Will Save You’ if you haven’t seen it already. Plus Alien Romulus is on there now too - wasn’t bad. The Menu is good too, and Poor Things (just don’t watch it with your family lol).

I subscribe to Disney plus but only because I get it for free. It’s my least watched subscription - I’m not into superhero or the modern Star Wars stuff. It does have a few decent movies depending on what you like. Best quality exclusive TV/Movies - for me - is Apple TV+. And I’ve never paid a penny for that either, yet.

Lawn mowing simulator. You’ll be playing Scraping the Barrel next ;p.

I’ve not played any other Dragon Age games so cannot compare. I’ve not noticed any woke stuff but perhaps I’m numb to it what with how my employer insists on pronouns. The music though does remind sometimes of Mass Effect - which is a little out of place but at the same time I like it.

As for ps plus extra. I’m thinking of lowering to essential when my sub expires. Seems to me most games on essential are better than on extra. Games pass on the other hand has been excellent consistently especially in the last 6 months.