What have you been playing: before the forum was deleted? Showing 5,401-5,450 of 5,583

[Equinox80]

Gamepass is consistently updated with bangers but it never was sustainable and why MS are releasing games on rival platforms.

It is a lot better than PS+ Extra but it's killing the games industry more than COD ever did ;)

That said, I still think Extra is decent and I have a good selection of games via it to play. The only worry comes with how long they'll be available as the rotation on some can be quick. I'm hoping to play Hogwarts Legacy in late autumn but there's no guarantee it'll be available then.

I really like the look of FBC Firebreak and I bet its great with a regular squad. I've joined an online/coop group recently so hoping a couple of them want to play it regularly. Just need to knock a few other games out first.

[R(ob)]

I don’t disagree but personally I’m saving a small fortune as most of the games I want to play are on games pass. I literally pay nothing, not even the sub (anyone can do this), however I think that might be about to change - well, I have a free sub until January ‘28 😀. I don’t think I’ll have the patience to continue as the MS points cost per monthly ultimate subscription looks set to rise and the effort won’t be worth the return. I have played a few games on plus extra but not much for several months except the games on the monthly essential line-up.

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

Whereas I just haw half the games i see, making both gamepass and a higher ps+ sub pointless ;)

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

And I've just noticed I've enough points for a tenner on PS Stars, so that's the Death Stranding 2 version decision sorted ;)

[Equinox80]

I didn't mean to suggest you shouldn't take advantage of Gamepass. I certainly would if I wasn't so invested in the PS ecosystem. I'll just never understand the business model of giving everything away, literally for free. Even with the £40 a year original fee, I don't understand how that makes up for instead selling their first party games, day one for £60-£70 a pop.

At least with PS+, by the time games make it on there, they usually already sold multiple copies already.

Anyhoo, I've been doing more 'retro gaming' on my PS3. I'm struggling to find anyone to play FBC Firebreak with :(

[R(ob)]

Games pass has 35million subscribers and I expect a very small percentage go through the daily chore of collecting MS points. By all accounts Games Pass is doing well, MS probably want more subscribers, but I think the main reason for publishing Xbox studios games on other platforms is purely down to revenue and profits. Why miss out on a much bigger revenue especially when they’ve spent countless tens of billions on acquiring studios - they have to make their money back and as quickly as possible.

Anyways. I completed Space Marine 1 Master Crafted Edition. Still a very good game. A little dated in some aspects and some things they didn’t fix such as getting frequently stuck on scenery can be very frustrating. And the difficulty even on easy is definitely no where near easy, perhaps not even normal. I died many times. Doable though so no big issue really. 8/10 on the r-score-o-meter. Next I’m waiting for Death Stranding 2. I might give FBC Firebreak a go over the weekend but reviews aren’t the greatest especially user reviews.

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

4 days 5 hours and 13 minutes...

[R(ob)]

6 days ……. for me. Cheapo edition 😛.

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

Pre-orders tend to only let you download 48 hours in advance, often less, so was a bit surprised to see it installing already.

[R(ob)]

Yep. Same for me.

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

Played about an hour of Death Stranding 2 and yep, it's pretty much more of the same looks like. Which is fine by me, looking forward to getting stuck into it properly

[R(ob)]

I’m looking forward to playing it tomorrow. The reviews are really good.

[R(ob)]

I’ve started Death Stranding 2. About 4-5 hours in. Think I’m just about to leave Mexico. Really enjoying it so far but very early days. More of the same - at the mo - but the feeling of exploration and losing yourself in an incredible landscape is all there. The sound track so far is excellent but maybe not up to the first game but still exceptional - could get better though. And every aspect of the presentation is super polished. Safe to say I’m hooked. Whether it’s better than DS1 it’s too soon to say.

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

Yeah, I've no complaints about Death Stranding 2. It'll likely come down to how strong the story is as to whether it beats the first game.

Not much further on than you R. Decided to restart after a few hours and try and build reputation with each of the settlements....and glad I did, because I somehow managed to miss a fairly significant event on the way back the first time around.

Anyway, early days, but I can see me taking my time and sinking many, many hours into it.

[R(ob)]

Reputation. I never noticed it unless that starts in Australia. All I want are the sniper weapons so I think they’re available early in Australia. I need to watch the guide on YouTube again otherwise I’ll be restarting too.

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

Reputation is maybe not the right word. You increase the number of stars a settlement has by delivering stuff, and the more stars, the better gear you unlock. And yeah, the sniper starts in Australia

[R(ob)]

Got the sniper now but need the silenced version. Think I need maximum stars with the fella. Didn’t realise there is fast travel and you can back track to any location including Mexico. And I think you might get to take gear. Not reached the point yet where fast travel unlocks. Fast travel in DS1 I rarely used due to not being able to take cargo. I guess would make it pretty pointless if you could.

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

Fast travel?..Sacrilege! a true porter delivers to the neighbour despite the recipient being in all day waiting...;)

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

Getting the sniper guy up to 5 stars is a bit of a grind. If you aren't already, check the share with other porters menu at the other camps. Delivering other people's stuff for them will get you to 5* quick enough

[R(ob)]

I thought you had to be five stars with the sniper guy? So you can deliver for other camps and it will increase the stars level with sniper guy?

Edit
Just watched a video. I understand what you mean now.Hopefully I can you fast travel for this one 😉.

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

Stuck a load of hours into Death Stranding 2 over the weekend...but only made a little progress. Got a bit too distracted by rebuilding road, monorail and mines, as well as delivering other people's cargo for very little reason.

[R(ob)]

I’ve played quite a bit of DS2 over the weekend but nothing today. It’s been too hot to do anything, even gaming. I’ve done mainly story missions and a handful of sub and standard orders. I’ve not built a huge deal except a couple of bridges, a time fall shelter, watch towers that kinda thing. I’ve got just beyond the point of the “fireworks” mission, and did the monorail mission prior to that. Still loving it - there aren’t enough games with this level of creativity.

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

Still enjoying Death Stranding 2...if you think there's a "but" coming, it's probably because there's a but coming....but, it really is more of the same. Frequent feelings of deja-vu. I still rate it highly, but think all it can do is equal the first game rather than surpass it.

[R(ob)]

Yea I’m feeling the same. It’s more of the same equally as good as the first but with more options for traversal and combat. I’m loving it but I loved the first game too but the difference is the first game was so new and fresh to me that it wowed me at the time. More of the same means that wow feeling is kinda gone. Nothing to complain about it’s still an equally cracking game. I’ve just got beyond the Hartman mission but the one before it with Elle Fanning at least in the cut-scenes was superb.

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

Think i might take a break from Death Stranding 2 over the weekend, for a few hours at least. Still enjoying it, but 80 hours in, it still looks like I've still got a long way to go. I think even messing about in something else for a few hours would refresh me for the rest of the game

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

And don't ask why, because I've no idea myself, but I'm tempted to start a new game. Sounds crazy but I wouldn't put it past me

[R(ob)]

I did the same when playing Metal Gear Solid 5. Took a break in the middle and played another game to completion and returned to complete MGS5. Worked for me. It was a really long game and I mainline most games. I’m about 20 hours into DS2, still really enjoying it.

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

Yeah, even the first game, which for me is one of the best of recent years, I needed a second wind midway through to get to the finish. Mostly my fault as well, it's one I intend to plat, so doing a lot of the groundwork early is both worthwhile and a little draining, so taking a breath is probably needed.

....20 hours in and you aren't really that far behind me R,...you must be playing it wrong ;)

I think I've got that second wind though, ive a lot of the miscellaneous trophies out of the way and reckon a fair few of the latter chapters will be relatively short. I think i can probably ignore the need to upgrade all the roads to lvl2...for now...;)

[R(ob)]

I’m not chasing trophies that maybe is the difference 😝. Saying that I’d probably be on my final warning as a courier. I have contributed a ladder or two, and some small donations to some road projects.

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

Trophies aside, it probably doesn't help that I refuse to fast travel and only use vehicles when I've no other choice ; )

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

Made quite a bit of progress over the weekend in Death Stranding 2. Only a few episodes left. But the quest I'm on is probably the first time I've felt a bit of frustration creeping in. Then again, it'd not be the first game that's cranked up the difficulty towards the end. Nothing too bad, but bit of a spike

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

Turned out to be just a minor spike, finished off the story there. Yes, enjoyed it and probably does equal the first game. Not sure if I'll attempt the plat right now, might leave it and replay from the start at some point in the future. Thumbs up from me

[R(ob)]

I’m on order 32 so I’ve got a week or two probably. Got to my first mountain missions yesterday which I loved and managed to add a couple of zip lines for other players. BTs are definitely nerfed in this game compared to the first. Barely ever see them except for a big BT fight yesterday. So far cracking game but I enjoyed the first more.

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

Yeah, it could do with a few more areas of having to sneak past BTs like the first game. Having weapons pretty much from the off takes away a lot of the tension as it is, but the spacing of the BT areas and frequency they appear, you can go many, many hours without seeing them. You'd think they'd play a key part in the game given its setting, but it definitely feels like they've taken a step back

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

I've only a few trophies left now, but not sure i fancy getting all facilities connection levels to 5 stars at the minute. Then again, nothing else is catching the eye, so will likely chip away at it for now

[Equinox80]

Hi both

Glad to see you're enjoying DS2. You're making me think I should play the first game. I kind of come round to it but then think it looks maybe a bit too weird. Maybe one day.

As it is, I've been back on my PS3 pretty much all the time. Its been like a cooker with 4 pans simmering away on the hobs in the four games I've been playing/trophy mopping up. I decided to bring one to the boil on my birthday in the form of...

Ping! Sonic and SEGA All Star Racing.

A great kart racer from 2010. I loved it years ago when I played it on Xbox 360 and still love it now. Even if some of the AAA missions were rage inducing.

I've also been playing Tomb Raider. I just seem to have finished the story and not thought about trophies in 2013. Having done the MP stuff a month or so ago, I've now mopped up all collectibles and challenges. I just need to replay the sp again to get 4 missable trophies.

Bodycount - just need to complete the campaign on hard difficulty and get two other combat related trophies. This game was a real GOTY contender back in the day ;)

Grid Autosport - the online still works and on and off, I've been chipping away at this since March. I'd made a good start back in 2016 but still had about two thirds of the grind left. I found others online with the same mental health issues I must have and finally got this 200+ hour grind finished. Thankfully I'd made a decent go of the sp content in 2016 too so finishing this off isn't taking too long. As is the case with Tomb Raider, I'm not sure why I left this where I did back in the day.

[R(ob)]

Welcome back. You’ve not been around here for a while. I think DS1 is on ps plus extra so worth giving a go. You’ll either love it or hate it but need to give it 5-6 hours. It could be my favourite game of all time or up there at least.

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

I should probably start thinking about what's up next. Still got at least another 20-30 hours to go for the Death Stranding 2 plat i reckon though.

[Equinox80]

The next lot of PS+ Extra games look like a decent offering. Cyberpunk 2077 and Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden being the highlights.

[R(ob)]

I’ve already beat cyberpunk and although most people like it I wasn’t a big fan. And I played it after all the bugs were fixed.

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

Just the one trophy left in Death Stranding 2, and I've 36/42 done of that. Still take quite a few hours to polish those off, they're either deliveries to awkward places, or each delivery only adds a tiny bit of progress,...or both of those.

Cyberpunk took me quite a few attempts before it clicked, enjoyed it when it did though

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

In fact, maybe I'll reinstall the PS4 version of Cyberpunk and try and plat it next

[Equinox80]

I think with Cyberpunk, I'll add it to my library but if it gets removed from the PS+ Extra catalogue before I get to it, I won't exactly be too upset.

[Equinox80]

I took a walk up to the CEX near where I work at lunchtime for a bit of a mooch and to enjoy their aircon. I came away having invested in a dark blue PS3 controller. Its a thing of beauty and hasn't been mistreated or overly used as far as I can see. I had been toying with the idea of buying a red one I'd seen a week or so earlier but had to have this blue one.

Will take it for a test drive tonight.

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

One thing I will say about Cyberpunk is that it's better with the Phantom Liberty dlc. Not that the dlc was great (was OK, decent enough, not the worst in the world), but it cleaned up the skill tree a lot. I'd briefly stuck on the PS4 version after the PS5 plat (too much, too soon, gave up in no time ) and it looked more of a mess in terms of what was needed for skills, trophy wise. Maybe if I'd did it the other way around, it'd have made more sense.

I do feel like Cyberpunk (PS4) could fill the void between Death Stranding 2 and upcoming games in August, September, and October, but it'll depend on how much squinting and headscratching there is

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

And I don't think I'll get the Death Stranding 2 plat over the line today. 40/42 now but those Mr Impossible twats have a sub delivery that looks a bit of a pain.

[R(ob)]

I’m on order 44 and close to the end of the campaign. The orders are getting epic now. Most of the way across the map across the mountains or taking the long way around. Just getting to order 44 took me 45 minutes and then I had to abandon one section of the route as it was so steep, outside of the chiral network and nothing would get me anywhere close to the mountain top. Loved it though - felt like a proper expedition.

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

Definitely one thing I like about it, and the first game... you feel like you've come a long way from the start, but don't really feel it until you get there.

Will say one thing though, having the chance to collect my thoughts while grinding towards the plat, I definitely prefer the first game in most aspects.

Definitely one of the better/best games this gen, but there are things story wise that could have been done a bit better.

I'll wait till R's done before moaning more ;) but there's some that's cinematically great, but some that's an excuse to squeeze music in, and some that doesn't really fit in/do anything/or does as well as the first.

I do like it more than an awful lot of the big games this gen (and last), and there's some good stuff in there, but yeah, could have been as good as the first, if....

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

And Ping! Death Stranding 2. Just short of the 150 hour mark.

Think i need a quick palette cleanser before seeing if a replay of Cyberpunk is on the cards

[DeckardCain's Sandals]

Did make a start on a Cyberpunk PS4 playthrough but not sure if I'll stick with it at the minute. Do still fancy a replay at some point, but going straight from one open world to another might be too much. And I think i was talking through my rear end (shocking!) about the skill trees, they aren't anywhere near as bad as i remember, to the point I'm questioning my sanity ;)