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[Roberts]

I've been playing this the last few days, and even though I'm pretty rubbish I'm really enjoying it. Just got to the first town and was surprised by how much there is to do.

Yeah, I'm rubbish too. It is not often my decision to do something specific works on the first attempt, but that's what I like about it - the game is very fair and you just need to time your actions properly.

 

[silentstorm]

Oh, another weak GWG month, no biggie, that is usually the case and only every 6 months or so they give a good month, Metal Slug 3 is a really good game at least, Vicious Llama is...i guess it depends on whether one likes twin stick shooters but i've never heard about the game, the rest is meh too.

Can't wait until we get something like last month again.

 

[Gatox]

Yeah, I'm rubbish too. It is not often my decision to do something specific works on the first attempt, but that's what I like about it - the game is very fair and you just need to time your actions properly.

quick save is my friend on this game ha ha....

 

[Bernkastel]

 

[CatLady]

 

[Tickle My Tendies]

How many of you all are planning on hopping in the Outriders demo tomorrow on your XBones/Series' consoles?

(I swear I am not an Outriders astrotrurfer, just a big looter fan who gets excited for each new one regardless of past burns)

 

[Kagey K]

How many of you all are planning on hopping in the Outriders demo tomorrow on your XBones/Series' consoles?

(I swear I am not an Outriders astrotrurfer, just a big looter fan who gets excited for each new one regardless of past burns)

I have a friend that's super excited about it trying to convince me to give it a go. I haven't seen much from it that excites me, but he will probably talk me into giving it a go.

 

[T-Cake]

How many of you all are planning on hopping in the Outriders demo tomorrow on your XBones/Series' consoles?

(I swear I am not an Outriders astrotrurfer, just a big looter fan who gets excited for each new one regardless of past burns)

I don't really know anything about it. But your comment "looter fan" got me thinking of Borderlands so if it's anything like that, I'm in.

 

[Lone Wolf]

How many of you all are planning on hopping in the Outriders demo tomorrow on your XBones/Series' consoles?

(I swear I am not an Outriders astrotrurfer, just a big looter fan who gets excited for each new one regardless of past burns)

Game has been on my radar for a while. I’ll definitely go through the demo. I’ve built up enough reward points to get it for nothing.

 

[Roberts]

Played Dirt 5 for a while. I'm not really into racing games (FH series is an exception) so it is not really up to me to say if it is better or worse than other games of this type, but it looks and plays just fine. 60fps helps and particle effects look pretty. Other than that not a much of a current gen showcase.

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

Wow just tried Dirt 5 via GP. Had to stop it was giving me a headache. Music and sound effects stuttering every couple of seconds. Deleted.

Series X.

 

[sinnergy]

Wow just tried Dirt 5 via GP. Had to stop it was giving me a headache. Music and sound effects stuttering every couple of seconds. Deleted.

Series X.

Playing since launch Series X, no problems .

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

Playing since launch Series X, no problems .

Don’t disbelieve you mate.

 

[Night.Ninja]

How many of you all are planning on hopping in the Outriders demo tomorrow on your XBones/Series' consoles?

(I swear I am not an Outriders astrotrurfer, just a big looter fan who gets excited for each new one regardless of past burns)

Wasn't there a beta for this late last year I think, if so nah . Just felt like another covershooter

 

[Roberts]

Wow just tried Dirt 5 via GP. Had to stop it was giving me a headache. Music and sound effects stuttering every couple of seconds. Deleted.

Series X.

Do you play on wireless headphones?

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

lol no through my tv speakers then my sound bar.

Then if you pressed the guide button would make a horrid stutter / buzzing sound.

Bad install more than likely but not downloading 70 gig again for the potential same result.

 

[Rossco EZ]

How many of you all are planning on hopping in the Outriders demo tomorrow on your XBones/Series' consoles?

(I swear I am not an Outriders astrotrurfer, just a big looter fan who gets excited for each new one regardless of past burns)

is the demo just for people who have pre ordered like a beta? or can i pre download for tomorrow?

 

[nikolino840]

 

[nikolino840]

 

[Murdoch]

Christ on a bike...

Skip to 9:38 in that video; It's basically a Destiny GUI copy and pasted. I really hope the rest of the game shows a bit more originality. I'll give the demo a shot this weekend as I've fallen off the Destiny wagon a long time ago and wouldn't mind another shooter to fiddle with.

 

[Kagey K]

Christ on a bike...

Skip to 9:38 in that video; It's basically a Destiny GUI copy and pasted. I really hope the rest of the game shows a bit more originality. I'll give the demo a shot this weekend as I've fallen off the Destiny wagon a long time ago and wouldn't mind another shooter to fiddle with.

I worry that it's going to be very much like Anthem/Avengers, where it gives off a great and exciting impression at the beginning, and then you find out there's nothing to do once you reach the end. For loot games like this endgame is everything and very few have figured that out.

 

[nikolino840]

Christ on a bike...

Skip to 9:38 in that video; It's basically a Destiny GUI copy and pasted. I really hope the rest of the game shows a bit more originality. I'll give the demo a shot this weekend as I've fallen off the Destiny wagon a long time ago and wouldn't mind another shooter to fiddle with.

Yes maybe but is a single player campaign and not an mmo

 

[Tickle My Tendies]

Experience the superior way to play the award-winning Mortal Shell. Uncompromised 60fps gameplay, 4K resolution, and ultra high-quality textures.

Mortal Shell: Enhanced Edition - 4k/60 on XsX, 4k/30 on Series S

That one guy gonna fill his diapers seeing Series S hit 4k in multiple games now.

 

[DarkMage619]

Mortal Shell: Enhanced Edition - 4k/60 on XsX, 4k/30 on Series S

That one guy gonna fill his diapers seeing Series S hit 4k in multiple games now.

I want to see more 'concern' from those guys. They are CERTAIN the XSS will be the downfall of console gaming.

 

[ResilientBanana]

Mortal Shell: Enhanced Edition - 4k/60 on XsX, 4k/30 on Series S

That one guy gonna fill his diapers seeing Series S hit 4k in multiple games now.

sharpen filter = enhanced textures.

 

[Mr.ODST]

Outriders dev got the resolution wrong in their trailer and it will infact run upscaled 4k at 60fps on Series S

 

[Tickle My Tendies]

Christ on a bike...

Skip to 9:38 in that video; It's basically a Destiny GUI copy and pasted. I really hope the rest of the game shows a bit more originality. I'll give the demo a shot this weekend as I've fallen off the Destiny wagon a long time ago and wouldn't mind another shooter to fiddle with.

Valid concern.....but I still have high hopes. Demo drops in a half hour (unless I am an idiot and can't tell time) so we will find out soon

 

[DarkMage619]

Valid concern.....but I still have high hopes. Demo drops in a half hour (unless I am an idiot and can't tell time) so we will find out soon

I am going to download it ASAP. Is there multiplayer on the demo?

 

[Tickle My Tendies]

I am going to download it ASAP. Is there multiplayer on the demo?

yes, you can enable co-op and crossplay with ALL platforms (PS, Steam, Xbox can all play together if you want to)

 

[Murdoch]

yes, you can enable co-op and crossplay with ALL platforms (PS, Steam, Xbox can all play together if you want to)

Demo is up on Xbox now 18.91 Gigglebits on Series X

 

[M1chl]

Mortal Shell: Enhanced Edition - 4k/60 on XsX, 4k/30 on Series S

That one guy gonna fill his diapers seeing Series S hit 4k in multiple games now.

Kind of bad call imo, they should keep that 60FPS and lower the resolution.

 

[Night.Ninja]

Lazy imo

 

[MDSLKTR]

Wasteland 3 got a patch but doesn't seem to be X/S optimized yet

 

[Rossco EZ]

online down for anyone else? service status says ok but can’t sign in or connect to xbl. i’m in uk
[edit] nvm as soon as i clicked post i connected

 

[nikolino840]

Star wars squadron coming to ea play,so also with gamepass

EA Play – Next Up on The Play List – Spring 2021

Learn all about the new games coming soon to EA Play or EA Play Pro.

www.ea.com

 

[splattered]

Star wars squadron coming to ea play,so also with gamepass

EA Play – Next Up on The Play List – Spring 2021

Learn all about the new games coming soon to EA Play or EA Play Pro.

www.ea.com

Sweet! This is one i've been on the fence on purchasing because it's been really cheap but not sure i'd actually like it... i will give it a go on GPU Who knows, maybe i will buy it?

 

[Night.Ninja]

online down for anyone else? service status says ok but can’t sign in or connect to xbl. i’m in uk
[edit] nvm as soon as i clicked post i connected

Its down for some

 

[Rossco EZ]

how long is live usually down? can’t do anything on my console rn

 

[nikolino840]

 

[Mmnow]

Star wars squadron coming to ea play,so also with gamepass

EA Play – Next Up on The Play List – Spring 2021

Learn all about the new games coming soon to EA Play or EA Play Pro.

www.ea.com

Man, this seemed quite exciting pre-release and then just disappeared. The most attention it got was when the Series X/PS5 upgrades were announced.

I wonder whether the PC Gamepass/EA thing will be sorted by then? The last Star Wars game to be added to the service launched the partnership on console. Wouldn't surprise me if they tried that again.

 

[MDSLKTR]

Star wars squadron coming to ea play,so also with gamepass

EA Play – Next Up on The Play List – Spring 2021

Learn all about the new games coming soon to EA Play or EA Play Pro.

www.ea.com

Nice, what this also tells me is to not buy any EA game ever since they'll be on GP within a year. BF6 being the exception obviously.

 

[meech]

My Xbox live is down too. So I am not the only one.

 

[MDSLKTR]

Paging snoop dogg, did Sony hack xbl servers so we all watch state of play lol

 

[Sealord of Braavos]

Star wars squadron coming to ea play,so also with gamepass

EA Play – Next Up on The Play List – Spring 2021

Learn all about the new games coming soon to EA Play or EA Play Pro.

www.ea.com

I’m going to admit something.

I’ve not paid for a game since I got my Series X at launch. My intent was to get Valhalla and Cyberpunk..but issues with both have caused me to wait for patches. I was tempted by Dirt 5 too. And now it’s on Game Pass and I just finished downloading it. Star Wars Squadrons looked cool. And volia, coming to Game Pass via EA Play.

I’m learning that by having a bit of patience Game Pass will continue to serve up gaming goodness. Not that I can’t afford to pay full retail for games, but I’m more happy to continue to reap the value that Game Pass presents.

Was just about to fire up Dirt 5 only to find that Xbox Live is down. Can’t honestly remember the last time that happened.

Just saw that the Sony Faithful are not happy with the State of Play presentation. So much salt.

 

[Mr.ODST]

INSIDE INFINITE – FEBRUARY 2021

<p>Welcome to the latest Inside Infinite! In this monthly series, we aim to bring you closer to our development process by sharing our vision for Halo Infinite and speaking to key areas of the game. Our last two posts featured the Art, Graphics, and Live Teams in December and the Sandbox Team in...

www.halowaypoint.com

Monthly Halo Infinite update!

Seems to include an In-game screenshot aswell, looks closer to the trailer!

 

[Sealord of Braavos]

INSIDE INFINITE – FEBRUARY 2021

<p>Welcome to the latest Inside Infinite! In this monthly series, we aim to bring you closer to our development process by sharing our vision for Halo Infinite and speaking to key areas of the game. Our last two posts featured the Art, Graphics, and Live Teams in December and the Sandbox Team in...

www.halowaypoint.com

Monthly Halo Infinite update!

Seems to include an In-game screenshot aswell, looks closer to the trailer!

That looks REALLY good.

 

[Dr. Samuel Hayden]

 

[NullZ3r0]

If you need an Xbox Series console, Walmart has them now available for All Access.

 

[MDSLKTR]

Shit is getting real when they start moving hud elements around, the polishing stage will be legendary.

 

[3liteDragon]

By Jez Cordan.

Bethesda is great, but Xbox Game Studios — you're not off the hook​

Bethesda is great, but Xbox Game Studios — you're not off the hook

Microsoft is building a huge platform for its gaming future, and that includes home-grown games from teams within Xbox Game Studios. A question of quality and consistency has hung over Xbox in recent years as it pertains to games. Can Microsoft change? Does it even need to change?

www.windowscentral.com

As Microsoft dives ever deeper into subscription-oriented gaming with Xbox Game Pass, there's no question that the gaming giant has boatloads of content. With dozens of teams under Xbox Game Studios and soon Bethesda / ZeniMax, Xbox Game Pass content is set to swell by the truckload. One of the biggest narratives that plague Xbox on social media, and potentially beyond into the common perception of Xbox, is that Microsoft doesn't match Sony on franchise quality. Halo hasn't had the same prestige it once enjoyed, and Minecraft is wholly multi-platform and scarcely associated with the Xbox or Microsoft brand.

With Bethesda, id Software, Machine Games, Arkane, and other big-name ZeniMax Studios joining the roster, the question of quality could evaporate. But what about Microsoft's core studios, under Xbox Game Studios lead Matt Booty? Will they get the budgets they need to match Sony on quality? Or will we see more of the same "AA" rough-state launches that we've had with games like ReCore, Crackdown 3, State of Decay 2, and others?

A history of "AA" games




One of the things that really really bugs me about Microsoft's games marketing, is their over-use of big-budget CGI trailers that totally betray expectations. All the way back to the canceled Phantom Dust, Scalebound, and titles that did launch like ReCore and Crackdown 3, Microsoft presented these games with high-quality CGI pre-rendered trailers with tons of detail and cinematic flair. Microsoft's marketing budget simply doesn't seem to match many of these games' reality.

Throughout the past generation, Microsoft became known as a company that canceled previously-announced titles, mismanaged expectations, and ultimately under-delivered, with games often scoring in the 70s or below on review aggregation sites like Metacritic. If indeed, they launched at all.

This isn't for lack of passion or skill on the developer's side. I believe it's quite possible Microsoft failed to give their partners and teams the resources they needed to see those games deliver at their full potential. Certainly, we're seeing Sea of Thieves truly hit its stride a few years after launch, which you could argue was bare-bones (pun intended) in terms of content. Now? Sea of Thieves is one of the biggest service games under Microsoft's purview, and by all accounts, is continuing to grow. Imagine if Microsoft had taken a bigger risk and invested more in Rare to help it grow and deliver a bigger content slate for the game's launch.

Many have laid blame on stricter budgets in the Xbox One era, with too little of an emphasis on quality. Before Phil Spencer took the reins at Xbox, the entire division sat under Windows in the organizational chart. Now, Xbox is elevated to its own position as part of Microsoft's broader efforts to court developers into Azure services, such as PlayFab and Game Stack. Xbox Game Pass has also seen Microsoft's gaming coffers swell on the consumer side too, with hardware sales of the Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X unable to meet demand.

"AA" isn't bad, but we want more

There's certainly nothing bad about any of the games Microsoft launched in a "lower budget" state. I played the hell out of State of Decay 2, which launched at a lower price point. I also enjoyed my time with Recore, which was also priced appropriately. Yet, I have higher expectations of a trillion-dollar company, especially given that many of the games they launched at cost were very obviously missing their full potential capabilities.

I certainly don't speak for every Xbox fan, nor the legions of people who just buy a console for fun and don't really invest too much in the platform's direction. But for me, I don't want Microsoft to rely entirely on Bethesda to deliver its high-quality exclusives if indeed those games even are exclusive. There's certainly a (slim) possibility Microsoft could allow ZeniMax's studios to continue to launch games on PlayStation and other competing platforms.

Perhaps it's unfair to place higher expectations on Xbox Game Studios simply because Microsoft at large is such a vast, wealthy company. I also think it's unfair, though, to show off sleek CGI trailers for games that are years out, like State of Decay 3, and then deliver visuals and animation qualities that don't even approach the concepts in the pre-rendered cut. Thankfully, there's overwhelming evidence that Microsoft and Xbox Game Studios is investing heavily in their own teams. Most of Microsoft's partner studios have seen their headcount swell in recent months and years, with many positions open on Microsoft's Careers website. But will it be enough to match Sony? And honestly, does it even matter?

Can Microsoft meet Sony for consistent quality?

Sony is bringing more of its games right to Microsoft's home turf, on Windows 10. Horizon Zero Dawn already dominated the Steam charts when it dropped last year, and now Sony has revealed Days Gone and more PlayStation exclusives are headed to Windows. Sony's games tend to dominate headlines and Metacritic rankings and are often the subject of envy from Xbox owners. The tide could turn if ZeniMax's games like Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, and DOOM go exclusive, but that possibility is still unknown.

The question remains over Matt Booty's teams under Xbox Game Studios. Can they meet Sony in terms of sheer quality? Does Microsoft allocate enough budget to meet Sony on quality? Does Microsoft even want to meet Sony on photorealism and depth? Do they even need to? Or is the entire argument based on console wars and FOMO from the social media vocal minority?

I feel like this meme about Xbox not being able to deliver critically-acclaimed games has become a barrier to some degree. Although, it's certainly not the case that Xbox Series S and Series X consoles are staying unsold on store shelves. The opposite is quite true, Microsoft cannot manufacture consoles fast enough to meet demand. But how much of that is due to the pandemic? And will it last?

At the end of the day, I can only speak for myself. Microsoft has made a ton of great games I enjoyed. I have fond memories of playing Sea of Thieves with friends on Mixer, and I'm enjoying Grounded and Minecraft Dungeons immensely. I'm confident that Microsoft will nail its multiplayer-oriented games like Age of Empires IV, too.

But there have been too many disappointments over the years, especially in the single-player arena. The backlash towards Halo Infinite's gameplay reveal, which showcased sub-par models and textures, says to me that there is a significant amount of people who want to see Microsoft dig deeper on this stuff. I want to see State of Decay 3 hit the photorealism hinted at in its CGI trailer. I want to see it dig deep and find the depth and potential in the game's unique intersecting systems. I want to see Perfect Dark and Hellblade II take risks, and create memorable, emotional moments that I'll cherish — which is something I fear Microsoft's campaign-driven games haven't been able to do consistently for a long time. I want to see risks taken, both narratively, and in terms of investment. And you know what? I think Microsoft will.

What do you think about Xbox Game Studios games in recent years? Do you think Microsoft is being ambitious enough? Hit the comments below, and let's talk.