The Video Game Forum discussion
What have you been playing: before the forum was deleted?
Wow, before me then. I don't get to be a non working member of society until late 2026 unfortunately. Still, bearing in mind how quickly the last few years have gone (especially the last couple of years), it'll be upon me before I know it. Won't be able to buy new games at the prices they'll be then, so very happy to have a fairly large library to replay!
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Time for my first moan of the year.... the battery life of the Series S controller is shockingly bad. Got the console late on the Wednesday so it was only used for set up, yet by the Saturday morning the warning for low battery was showing, by the afternoon it was done. To begin with I thought Xbox had sent me some dud batteries but no, the next set of batteries lasted less than 3 days as well. I've said before I'd bought it solely as a secondary console, I really don't want to be handing out more for peripherals that really should be included with the package as standard IMO. I think I remember pre-launch people raising their eyebrows at them still being battery powered and Xbox insisting it was still the best way to play but to me it's an absolute joke. Replacing batteries every 3 days is not on.
Other than that, can't complain too much about it. I've enjoyed playing through Forza Horizon 5, done all the races, though think the progression is a bit weird and, like the last one, the whole clothing thing annoys me a bit. I play driving games to drive not participate in a fashion show. Played Halo Infinite as far as it becomes a bit open worldish and definitely seems like a step up from the last 2. The opening reminds me a bit of Destiny 2 for some reason.
Played a few others like Gears Tactics, The Ascent and The Gunk but to be honest I don't rate Game Pass as highly as you guys. Yes, great value and can't complain about playing Forza and Halo for next to nothing, but apart from a few exceptions (and most of them older games that I probably still have the 360 disc for) the selection of games just isn't really to my tastes. Don't know how often they are updated but don't see it keeping me and will probably just sub on and off when there's something of interest.
Mod
The battery issue doesn't sound right to me. They usually last for a long period of time - usually 30-40 hours on one battery. Unless you've gamed so much that you didn't realise you played for 30-40 hours. Not heard anything about battery life issues. Are you sure your controller is shutting off when you turn the console off? Or perhaps you have a dud controller. I prefer the replaceable batteries as prefer to be able to put rechargable batteries in (official battery pack for me), which usually have a higher MaH capacity than inbuilt batteries, and I get a good 40 hours and then if the batteries ever start to lose charge due to age I can replace the battery back rather than the whole controller.
I love games pass - a lot of new (or relatively new) stuff goes on it. Back 4 Blood, Aliens Fireteam Elite, Psyhchonauts 2, The Ascent (which I loved), Control, latest Doom, Mortal Shell, Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order, Metro Exodus to name a few, plus all the MS games. Didn't need to pay a penny (at least I didn't with MS Points) and never seem to be short of something decent to play. I guess it all depends on what you want to play.
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Navigate to Profile & system > Settings > Devices & connections > Accessories.
I had a quick search online and there does seem to be a few saying the controller really does eat the batteries. How much would it really have cost them to include a rechargeable one as standard?I do stick some ridiculous amount of hours gaming and it wouldn't be the first time I've put over 30 hours gaming in 3 days, but I was playing the PS5 a bit as well, so I'd reckon I got maybe 20-25 odd hours at most, definitely sub 30. I'll try updating the firmware but there was an update as soon I first switched the console on, so I'd assume it would be the latest version?
It's probably only an issue if you are an extremely heavy gamer (time-wise not weight ;) ). If you are just playing a couple of hours max a day then replacing them every few weeks wouldn't sound so bad. Every few days, isn't so nice
I don't want to pay a fortune in batteries so it feels like I'm being forced to buy something there is very little reason wasn't there in the first place. And that's where my issue is, I'd have no problem sticking it on to charge every few days (or even daily), I just can't get my head around how they thought AA batteries as standard was a good idea. To me, it's just a hidden cost for no good reason
Other than that, the Series S seems a decent wee machine, not seen anything quite as crisp as some on the PS5 but a good upgrade on the standard One. As a secondary console I think it'll do nicely.
Edit: I see there are wired controllers for the Series S, think that'll probably be what I go for....or maybe not, sounds like most of those give up after a few months
Mod
I think controller firmware you have to update seperately to the console firmware. Not 100% sure but last time I did it it picked up a controller update.
Spent $17 on a Panasonic charger with 2 pair AAs 3 years ago. Battery life may have dropped a tad, but still 30-40hrs. Usually a week or so between swaps. One set remains charged and ready while the other is in use. I don't know why I ever did anything else. Finished Dragon Age II and moved on to Inquisition. Starting to have flashbacks about how many rifts I've closed in my life...
...and there is the Mass Effect: Legendary Edition announcement for Game Pass. Later this week. I might be doing back-to-back Bioware trilogies.
I'm not sure what I'm in the mood for at the minute. After finishing FH5 I'd went back to 4 as I'd only played 5 hours of it on the Xbone, did most of the races but not sure I could be bothered with the pointless side story stuff. Plus as far as I know GT7 and Grid Legends are out in the early part of the year so I'll be getting my driving fix soon enough. So what did I go and play instead..... Grip. More of a Wipeout type or SW Pod Racer but still a racing game. My go-to game though has been going back to play Phoenix Point again. One of those games I'll spend a ridiculous amount of hours on, only to start again thinking I could do things better. Also thinking about going back to Pathfinder: Kingmaker or Disco Elysium with The Dark Pictures Anthology an outside bet.
Just have to get through January and then it looks like an early silly season for me (provided release dates don't slip). As well as Grid Legends and Gran Turismo, Elden Ring is guaranteed, with half an eye on Bablyon's Fall, Dying Light 2, Horizon Forbidden West (though can't say the first game did that much for me), Stranger of Paradise. Sifu also looks mildly interesting and there's probably other smaller releases that'll appear. Looks like a busy first quarter
Mod
Don't think there is a huge amount for me early this year new release wise which I'm OK with as I have a wish list to work through. The only possible is Horizon Forbidden West but to be honest the first didn't float my boat - although I completed it, I got half-way through and felt burnt out by the game play. It's one of the games where the fighting seems relentless after a while, a bit like I experience with Borderlands.
Yeah Horizon 2 Forbidden West, the first one was OK at best and I'll definitely play the new one, but don't think I really want to be paying £70 for it. You don't even get the PS4 version along with the PS5 version at that price, you have buy the deluxe version for both, which is a bit of a(nother) crappy move by PS. Think it's more likely I'll pick it up at some point when it's cheaper, there's enough catching my eye that isn't stupidly priced.
I'm really looking forward to Elden Ring. Seems like it might be the Dark Souls/Dragon's Dogma hybrid I've dreamed of. Most likely my only full-price purchase of the coming year.
In my latest change of mind, I think I'm going to try and stick with AC Valhalla over the weekend to see if I can get into it. I've had 4 or 5 attempts since day one but always lose interest pretty quickly. I've a feeling that, once I get into it, I'll enjoy it well enough (can't see me enjoying it half as much as Odyssey or Origins though). If I can't get into it by Monday, I'll have to come to the conclusion me and it just aren't going to see eye to eye.
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Im still having a royal blast with Spiderman.
What an amazing game.
I love the gameplay but the story alone is making me want to play night after night,
Great stuff.
Dragon Age Inquisition is starting to annoy me. The MMO-lite combat and difficulty spikes feel very un-Dragon Age. I'm going to see if I can just speed through the story beats, since that aspect of the game is still great. Not going to be surprised if I end up starting Mass Effect: Legendary Edition instead though.
I'm starting to get into Valhalla a little. It's definitely not captured my attention like the last 2 but not going to bin it off. Stuck about 25 hours in between my last attempt to play it and this and think there'll come a point where I'll take another break of a few months, for now it's doing the job. Not really touched the story since I reached England, mostly wandering about, raiding, improving the camp etc. Think I'm power level 80 something and the quests I have are only 20, so by the time I get around to the story it should be relatively smooth sailing.To break things up, I played a little Serious Sam 4, which is a laugh. A couple of areas have had some minor frame rate issues on PS5 even on performance setting but nothing major. Enjoying it more than I thought, very Duke Nukem/Doom.
Mod
Miles Morales is much MUCH cooler than Peter Parker. But Pete is still the OG.
Mod
haha.
Miles grew on me for sure.
I burst out laughing when he asked MJ "...are you spiderman´s girlfriend???" haha.
The game is so well made.
***minor spoiler***
I fought Electro and Vulture last night at the same time. The fight had everything to be a mess and make me Benny Hill all over the place but they managed to make it work and it was a moment that made me feel like i was reading a great coming again.
I think I'm losing the will to continue with Valhalla again. Was getting a little fatigued with just exploring the points of interest, so thought I'd do a quest for one of the settlements inhabitants....of course I get transported to another decent sized area, with a load more point of interests to explore. Even worse, it's a pain in the arse to traverse. Think I'll take a break from it and come back to it in another couple of months.Think part of the reason I can't settle on Valhalla is the fun I'm having in Serious Sam 4. Definitely has it's flaws but generally a decent wee FPS. Looks fairly platable too
Mod
Some open world games do tend to test our patience for sure.
Spider Man hasnt bother me at all because the map is large enough to fell "real" but contained enough to keep the flow of the game.
I want to play AC Odyssey because i really loved Origins but i always have second thoughts exactly because of the map size.
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I dont know but i doubt that.
At this point i have zero trust in what developers say their games will have and how good they will be.
I really loved Dying Light but i have a gut feeling the sequel will be garbish but i cant explain why.
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Even if it's somewhere close still too long for me.
I remember really enjoying Dead Island but it was definitely a bit janky and marmite.
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Given the type of game Dying Light was i really dont see how they can pull of a 100 hrs main quest without feeling repetitive.
I played DL extensively, completed pretty much everything on the map and, if i recall, it took me 50 hrs aprox. That includes main, side, misc quests and collectibles.
Adding another 50 hrs it had to be something like Skyrim, which woud be very risky, imo.
Dead Island was a blast to me. Im probably one of the very few who actually prefer DI to DL. I think it was the setting in DI that made the game so special.
Plus...i hated the nights in DL due to how chicken i am.
Mod
I was playing Dishonoured Def Ed when I came across a weird glitch (at least I think it's a glitch). I was wandering over the bridge to whatshisface's house, not exactly doing a stealth play, when every time I got hit the screen would just turn red, with a weird impression of the last thing I looked at in the background. Did all the usual "turn off, turn on" stuff but it still kept happening. Then it did it after I took over a rat, except this time the screen was green and then went all fish eyed. I was getting bored with the game anyway, but this was a final straw.Moved on to Death of the Outsider and, so far, so good.
Mod
You should try DL mate.
Its a hell of a game and can be completed and explored in 30 or so hrs easily. From a technical side its a better game then DI. It has better gameplay, its more polished and it has so many updates that the game is 200% more fine tuned then when it came out.
The only flaw for me, but can be the oposite to you, is the day/night cycle.
At night, the zombies become more dangerous, some new species apear and the overall atmosphere is beyond creepy. I usuallty took my character to sleep at 5pm so that i woulnd get caught in night time in the middle of a mission. That´s how scary it was.
But its a 9/10 game to me.
Parkour-ing in and out of buildings while being chased by super-agile zombie variants will definitely get your blood pumping. Dying Light is a very interesting and unique zombie game. I couldn't even believe it was made by the same people who did Dead Island (which I hated). The game seems tuned for co-op, so I'd recommend the Glass method of not going out at night if you solo. I am now juggling both Dragon Age and Mass Effect. We'll see how that goes long-term. I'm enjoying both for now. Playing a renegade Shepard, which I've never done. It's actually hard to choose some of those dialog options, lol.
Mod
Hey mate, i was so glad when they added ME Trilogy to gamepass.
I wanted to replay the 3 games but i didnt want to spend a lot of money on the trilogy. This was perfect!!
Im very curious for ME 1, which has always been my favourite.
Mod
Yea probably me too. Daytime only. I do get spooked by games sometimes. Probably one for the wish list if I ever get around to it.
Yea Mass Effect 1 is my favourite too and so plan to replay it soon - maybe after FC6. Not sure about ME2 and ME3 - I'll see how hungry I am after ME1 for more ME. I've played them all before but I have very fond memories of the first.
Hey, Mass Effect 1 was always my favorite too. Nice to see like-minded folks. For those curious, the game now allows you to favor frame rate, which eliminates a bunch of the jank from the original. I'm sticking with this mode because I honestly couldn't tell the difference from the visual fidelity mode (yes playing on 4k TV). Everything looks sharper, but they didn't really do much to overhaul visuals anyway. Some of the HDR treatments yield weird results. Basically, it's a very minimally spruced up version of the game we remember. I'll be back exploring the galaxy and ignoring Kaidan this evening : )Oh, and the Mako controls are much more intuitive, not that they ever bothered me that much.
Serious Sam 4 gets my game of the week award (yep that's sure to catch on…). Finished the story off last night and at times the amount of enemies they throw at you is pretty crazy, I've a feeling if I'd been playing it on a harder difficulty it may have been a nightmare and I'd not have enjoyed it half as much. Pretty rough around the edges but generally a laugh. Only the one trophy left to get and it shouldn't be too difficult so it should be my first plat of the year.And as I'm not sure what I want to move on to next, I may just struggle through Valhalla for a while and hope something else catches my eye.
Edit: And early morning Ping! Serious Sam 4
I'm now thinking I might try and get back into Elex. Had a look at the PS Store and saw Elex 2 was available to preorder, so I'm thinking it's time I gave the first game another chance. I'd only got as far as the first town last time I played. At the time, I think I was in the mood for something a little more linear, so when they basically left me to it I couldn't decide what to do, so went and played something else instead.
Mod
Hey Deck
Hope you enjoy Elex. I really liked it.
Its a hard game so dont go wandering like a fool to the open world. My advise is to stick to the initial area and main quest until you feel you´re a bit stronger.
Also, leveling up is not quite the same as in most games. You have to spend an x amount of points to upgrade a certain skill which allows you to use specific perks. So, before you spend those points, look carefully what you really want and wait until you have the needed amount if necessary.
Mod
Absolutely amazing game.
The story was worthy of being a movie. The charactes were all very well written and performed and the game was mature enough for it to be taken seriously.
The ending almost made me cry a bit. So well done.
The gameplay was super fun. The combat was great, swinging the city was very satisfying, the collectibles were interesting (apart from the pigeons) so i have no complains here.
I think the whole package was very balanced and good.
I give it a very solind 8,5/10.
I will definitly play a sequel if there´s one.
Not sure what to play now but i´ll probably go with Arkham Knight just to keep the flow.
Glassmoon - The Benny Hill of Plats wrote: "Finished Spider Man.Absolutely amazing game.
The story was worthy of being a movie. The charactes were all very well written and performed and the game was mature enough for it to be taken serious..."
I'm 75% through Miles Morales having completed Spider-Man some time ago and it's great to be back in NYC, especially with ray-tracing etc. Looks amazing. Insomniac really have an amazing job. Probably too many collectible sides missions again but at least this time there's a little bit of a story with most of them.
Mod
Absolutely amazing game.
The story was worthy of being a movie. The charactes were all very well written and performed and the game ..."
Awesome.
I stopped reading marvel comics many many years ago so i was not famliar with Miles Morales tbh. I believe he´s in the comics now right?
I new there was a game with him but i didnt know in what way so it was a nice revelation yesterday.
When i see it on sale i´ll surely haw it.
I'd rate the Miles Morales Spidey game higher than the one before (probably because I got 2 plats out it rather than just the one from the first ;))Changed my mind for the 356785th time this year - not sure if I could be bothered starting Elex again at the minute, would rather find something shorter I think
Mod
Changed my mind for the 356785th time this year..."
Haha Deck.
I feel you.
I´ve changed my mind 4 or 5 times this morning on what i should start tonight.
Here´s my choices:
Cyberpunk 2077
Resi 8
Watch Dogs
ArKham Knight
God of War (for the 256511478658th time)
I cant decide...
Mod
So i started Watch Dogs lsat night.
It looks interesting so far.
One question for someone who has played it:
The game seems filled with those random activities Ubisoft likes so much but i really dont feel like wasting too much of my time.
But every game that has exp points and leveling up makes me scared to miss the side stuff.
Can i skip the side content and still complete the main quest with no problems?
Mod
So i started Watch Dogs lsat night.
It looks interesting so far.
One question for someone who has played it:
The game seems filled with those random activities Ubisoft likes so much ..."
From what I can remember - it was some time ago - I didn’t pay much attention to the side quests.
Skipping side content....should be ashamed of yourselves ;) I still don't know what I'm in the mood for. Played a little Children of Morta, Cris Tales and Taxi Chaos and although I enjoyed them all, don't think they're what I'm after at the minute. Thought about playing Vanquish again or the PS5 versions of Metro Exodus or The Sinking City but don't think any of them are going to quite scratch the itch. It's so bad I've even reinstalled the cure for insomnia that is A Plague Tale
Mod
To be honest the only thing that I do remember from Watch Dogs was the horrible final mission. I hated it. I never played the sequel. I enjoyed Watch Dogs but one of those games (say like Horizon ZD) I don't feel compelled to play a sequel.
Mod
I usually like side content. I just dont like those missions where you notice they are constantly recycled.
In Spider Man i did most of them but there was this guy who keep sending me to random points in the city to find missing students.
I did 3 of them until i realized they would probably be like those "radiant" quests in Skyrim and i stopped.
In Watch Dogs, i did one where i hacked some random person and had to tail her and prevent a crime.
After that i noticed many of those while was walking around so i guess they are all probably "randomized" and i really dont feel like doing this type of thing.
I rate this stuff below side quests, if you know what i mean. Like misc quests.
A lot of the time I find the side content is more entertaining than the main quests in games. Then again, there are also times I wish I could ignore them, but just can't seem to do it. In every game that it's possible, I automatically avoid the main story, it's not a conscious choice, it just happens lol. Any time I've tried to stick to main quests it always leaves me feeling deeply unsatisfied. And that is probably why it will take me a couple of years to finally get to the end of Valhalla.In AC Valhalla I'm currently power level 110 and the main quest is still sitting at level 20 and have no intention of going near it for a long while yet
Mod
Im like you mate.
I never have a hard time in most games because by the time i reach the end game im usually beyond overpowered due to how much time i spent outside the main quest.
I just dont like randomized... not side quests...more like side activities that are there only to inflate content of the game, if you know what i mean.
Yea I’m planning it too. Hopefully only got 3-5 years all going well. The earlier the better with 3 years being the earliest possible.