General gaming discussion

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121297235#Comment_121297235

https://twitter.com/jasonxbergman/status/1718588126937932288?t=cWr2O7EUFDZJ_DuEWI_9-g&s=19

Rip

johnny_ultimate

Konami: We're finally bringing back Silent Hill!

Everyone: Huzzah!

*the monkey's paw curls*

https://www.eurogamer.net/silent-hill-ascension-fails-to-impress-with-greedy-monetisation-and-cluttered-ui

(and this is even before a Bloober Team Silent Hill 2 😂)

Grumpypants

Immortals is getting an update with new game + and also a free trial min November.

If anyone is on the fence it's actually pretty good. It's more an old school shooter. Like Doom but with magic guns and much more progression.

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2023/11/huge-ps5-update-makes-immortals-of-aveum-better-than-ever

Grumpypants

Broke out the old dusty PSVR2 to play the RE VII VR mode. Spent half and hour in the tutorial just shooting guns. They have done an amazing job.

Every time I come back to vr I'm impressed. I wonder why I don't play more. Then I scare myself silly in resident evil worlds and remember why 😭

PixelPlayer

For anyone else frustrated with the PC Xbox app download speeds, the speeds are in MB (Megabytes) instead of Mb (Megabits). So your speed is 8 times greater than the Xbox app is reporting. The MS store (where you can also download game pass games) is in Megabits, as is the XSX.

It's still not as good as the XSX download speeds, but good enough not to complain. I wonder why they do this?

Jordan 199

I was going through my collection of Xbox One games, and found these two games still in their wrapping. I don't even remember when I got them.

Vicxas

Three new Warcraft expansions announced today. Wish I still knew people who played…. Or had time to play MMOs

CastorTroy

Was in my local Sports Direct and saw it now included Game. So had a look and it was literally just a small corner on the top floor. Had maybe 10 games for each console, which says the top 10 but no Mario Wonder or other recent games. Other than that, just console placeholders saying to ask staff as well as accessories for things like Quest and chargers.

PixelPlayer

Started playing Fallout 4. There's a argument that studios should focus on new games and not be looking to remasters as money earners.

But boy if a game ever needed a remaster it's Fallout 4. I know it's coming but cynically I think they are going to wait until close to next April when the TV series comes out to maximise hype and thus profits and I wanted to play it well ahead of any hype.

With.one of the main attractions of game pass being the back catalog of Xbox games I would be in strong favour of remasters. I've tried to play 2 games now that I've had to abandon due to them being too dated, Janky and clanky. Dishonoured 2 and Fallout 4. I recently completed Wolfenstein New Order and although it is looking dated it actually played very well and is still a fantastic game. Oddly enough, Dishonoured 1 plays better than the sequel, with it having auto hdr and fps boost on xbox.

I think Sony have the best approach. Concentrate on console first and take the time to come out with a remastered version for PC.

Retr0gamer

60 fps or even steady 30 fps does so much for how a game plays. It's why the PS360 generation feels so old but it's easy to go back to a PS2 or Wii game.

There's no saving fallout 4 though, it's just boring.

PixelPlayer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121324490#Comment_121324490

Yes even just fps boost on rhe xbox would improve things. It's a pity they didn't continue with it. I think they really do have a problem. What is the.point in acquiring studios and putting their back catalog on game pass when they ate just so dated and janky.

I agree if you go back further the games actually play better. I've played some N64 emulators and honestly apart from some jagged edges they still hold up. The retro games are always more playable too, but more recently retro games from ps360 era are just modern games that look and play like ****.

johnny_ultimate

There’s no saving Fallout 4. Credit to Bethesda for bringing the Fallout series into first person and giving it fresh life, but their writing and design ideas for the series post Fallout 3 have been dire. They just don’t have the creative chops anymore to create interesting situations for the world, whereas it’s why a lot of people flock to New Vegas still as the fan favourite of the modern Fallout games. Fallout 4 began the Bethesda trend of base building and ‘eh, make your own fun’ design philosophy because their actual authored design and writing isn’t up to scratch. Even with Starfield, you see the boring, vanilla writing there is immediately off putting compared to the spark and character you get in something like Baldur’s Gate 3.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121323913#Comment_121323913

Yeah I was in one a few weeks ago. F*ck all games, was mostly some peripherals (a lot of it off-brand) and funko pops or other game-related merch.

Grumpypants

The Xbox boost is amazing technology. I had kinda forgotten about it as I thought it was just doing some kind of sneaky trick to show 30fps at 60fps but it would still look dated.

But I was playing Gears 2&3 recently (that didn't get the remake 1 did) and it was painful on the cloud using the original 360 versions. I downloaded and installed them on the console and the boost really gave them a second life. Not just FPS but the graphics all looked much better I'd say on par with gen 4 stuff.

SuperBowserWorld

Beautiful art direction and colour use is essential for me to spend 50+ hours in an open world game. Fallout 4 is ugly and depressing. Breath of the wild is gorgeous. RDR2, AC Origins,... too. You need something beautiful to wander around in. Even the underground areas in Skyrim are fantastic.

Otherwise you might as well wander around some dreary, depressing landscape in the real world.

Jordan 199

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121323913#Comment_121323913

Knowing me, I would go in looking for a game and go out with a new pair of sneakers instead.

Grumpypants

In fairness, it is supposed to be a post apocalyptic wasteland 😀

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121324539#Comment_121324539

Oof, N64 is kind of like the ps360 for me. Some a lot of games not holding up due to woeful framerates. There's exceptions like Mario 64 and Starfox 64 but even classics like the Zelda games are rough, the steady 30 fps on the 3DS remasters are transformative.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121324675#Comment_121324675

It still doesn't have to be so damn ugly. Look at the last of us.

Cordell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121324694#Comment_121324694

Or Days Gone

PixelPlayer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121324694#Comment_121324694

And on that note, I think I'll ditch Fallout 4 and play TLOU on PC instead 😄 Or maybe I'll try Dishonored 2 aga8n but this time on PC with some ini tweaks to unlock the fps if it is even possible.

The biggest disappointment when playing old games is that the time mechanics (for lack of a better term) speed up when you increase the fps. So a lot of them can only be played at their original fps. This is a problem in the >60fps era we're in now.

I really do like what Sony are doing with the PC ports. I'm being cynical again, but I know they are doing it to maximize profits.by selling you the same game twice (and at full price). But it really does give a game a new burst of life. I've thoroughly enjoyed GoW and the Spider-man remasters. A friend of mine has a super ultra wide for work. He doesn't play PC games but we hooked it up to my PC to give it a try. Oh my god, Web slinging around Manhattan in 60fps+ and super ultra wide is unreal.

But aside from that (as barely anyone has a super ultrawide momitor) the remastered touch they give the games is imo worth waiting a few years rather than have the xbox studios approach of day one console and PC. It has almost always been better to play the games on console due to console development being prioritized and I would say even the Series S taking priority.over PC. It is their top selling console after all.

But then you have Remedy come along and make a masterpiece, day one without patches and remasters. A true work of art on all platforms, console and PC and you wonder why aren't they all like that?

SuperBowserWorld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121324675#Comment_121324675

Yes, it captures that devastation alright. But ... it's the colours, texture quality, poor lighting ... yuck.

Skyrim is an older game, from the same company, that looks better on Series X. Granted it's now 4K and 60 FPS. Also, you need to install mods to even make that pop more. The defaults are drab.

Even Starfield looked drab, the bits I played.

johntune

Can anyone recommend a handheld device as an introduction to gaming for a 6 year old?

Something like a switch but cheaper with some games built in. Can upgrade to a switch in a couple of years if he likes it.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121324837#Comment_121324837

I'll give you that one.

jj880

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121325711#Comment_121325711

For a 6 year old maybe a Nintendo DS Lite.

Cheap device and games all round. Can play local multiplayer with friends. I had 1 for my son around that age as I didn't want him online that early.

Can get from Cex for 60 euro or throw up a post in your local Facebook buy n sell to get a better deal and probably some games with it.

TitianGerm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121325711#Comment_121325711

Keep an eye on Amazon on Black Friday for a Switch in the Warehouse Deals. A few picked them up for €110 on Black Friday and the consoles were perfect.

PixelPlayer

Ratchet and Clank A Rift Apart on the PC is another masterclass. I believe it is the first game I've played that uses direct storage. Sometimes a game comes along that just fits your mood perfectly. I am loving the light heartedness, charm and fast pace. It looks glorious too and that's without RT (doesn't appear to be available on AMD and to be honest I'd pick higher fps and HDR over it anyway).

Retr0gamer

For anyone that was worried that Bloober Team weren't talented enough to take on a silent hill 2 remake and probably wouldn't even get what silent hill 2 was about, the game will have a pyramid head original story.

https://www.eurogamer.net/silent-hill-2-remake-pre-order-suggests-an-origin-story-for-pyramid-head

Anyone that knows the original game will know how absolutely pants on head stupid this is.

recyclops

ah thank christ I have the original ps2 version in the house still. Why cant they just have jazzed it up graphically and thats it, if it goes down the playstation formula of yellow paint to guide the way and internal monologues for days on end to " enhance the lore". I am out.

It really seems Sony are stagnating this generation the exclusives are all fairly formulaic and bland, I dont know a single person who has the PSVR and I cant think of a must play game on the machine, I know this isnt a Sony exclusive buts its the only console it will be playable on, its a remake of one of the best games from that era or all time so its reflective of them in my eyes.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121332762#Comment_121332762

Wouldn't put this one on Sony. Sure they paid for exclusivity but this one is squarely on Konami as well as Bloober Team.