@Ralizah totally agree but just to give you an example of what the Xbox fans ‘vibe’ is, check the top reply to the first comment on this web page that I was just on:
This kinda comment is not an isolated viewpoint within the fan base, so it is a little more understandable why MS would target certain exclusives from the competitor… even though it will probably end up a thankless task.
@colonelkilgore In fairness, that article title IS pretty inflammatory, lol.
The most hardcore fanboys will obviously defend their 'side' in the console war, no matter what, but I've seen a lot of pretty honest criticism of the company's output on sites like Pure Xbox. I think most of the fanbase is unblinkered about the questionable state of Microsoft's first-party lineup circa 2022. They really have struggled to get decent games out for more than a decade now.
There definitely seems to be a lot of managerial incompetence in Team Xbox, even when it comes to external development partners. Like, Platinum's Scalebound famously imploded early in development, and some of that might be Platinum's fault, sure, but if they're so unreliable, why do they consistently release excellent games when partnering with Nintendo?
Currently Playing: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (NS2); Corpse Factory (PC)
@Ralizah the article was from forbes in fairness… so you wouldn’t have them down as Console warriors in terms of media institutions. And while the title… and indeed the article itself may well inflame people of a certain disposition, I wouldn’t say the content was false.
@colonelkilgore Articles from Forbes contributors aren't generally highly regarded for their high standard of editorial quality, lol, and the body of the text reads worse than something I'd see on a Playstation fan forum. The writer can't even praise the Forza series without taking a meaningless dig at them being racing games, as if every worthwhile game needs to be a cinematic, third-person action-adventure game with crafting and upgrade systems.
Of course, the basic premise of the article is self-evidently true, as admitted by the writer himself. Even that Xbox fanboy you found in the wild isn't hyping up already released games for a reason.
@Ralizah I wasn’t holding it up as a quality standard, only that there is absolutely no reason for forbes to cap… poor quality writing or not. All I would say is that it was quite a shock to see the general media not running defence for Microsoft for a change.
Even that Xbox fanboy you found in the wild isn't hyping up already released games for a reason.
… and I think this is the main problem. Xbox players have been ‘playing’ unreleased games in far off years for far too long. It has allowed MS to get away with producing very little for even longer.
@colonelkilgore I mean, I've seen people praising Microsoft for stuff they absolutely should be praised for, like the great value proposition that Game Pass represents, or their efforts in terms of making improvements to backwards-compatible games, or the lack of money-grubbing behavior that Sony has been getting up to, etc.
Nobody defends the first-party game lineup, though. There's nothing to defend. I don't think they've even released anything in 2022. Fanboys will desperately cling to long lists of announced projects that never seem to materialize, but people less stuck in console war culture will acknowledge they have very little of interest to offer to date.
The Series X / S are great consoles for certain types of people, though. If you primarily want inexpensive access to a variety of games and/or primarily play Western AAA multiplats, I'd say they're more worth buying than a PS5.
I'm pretty bored with Western-developed blockbusters in general, which is why the Switch continues to be my go-to device.
Sony is pretty much the go-to option for top-tier cinematic blockbusters, and also isn't lacking in Japanese support like Microsoft, so they definitely seem to be the best one-stop-shop in terms of console purchases if you want access to as many games as possible.
My main issue with PS5 at this point is that all of their best games also seem to be going to PS4 and PC. I'm sure the PS5 runs them brilliantly, but in terms of must-have exclusives, it's also a little lacking.
@Ralizah yup, never said anything to the contrary in regards to the value proposition… I’ve always used the metaphor of HBO vs basic cable. Basic cable may be far cheaper… but I’d personally rather be watching The Sopranos and The Wire et al. Doesn’t mean that there isn’t a market for things like CSI and Real Housewives of… of course. It’s always been a personal preference and always will be… well until Microsoft buy up the whole damn industry that is 😉
@colonelkilgore Basic cable is home to the majority of the best shows of all time (including Breaking Bad, the best of the anti-hero drama series to date). Guess I'm buying an Xbox!
Wait...
Currently Playing: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (NS2); Corpse Factory (PC)
@Ralizah I’m a little late, but congrats on that Hellblade platinum and I’m glad it did end up having some contentment for you in the end. It’s definitely one of those imperfect games that has enough going for it to be worth experiencing. And a relatively achievable platinum is a nice bonus. 😄
I saw elsewhere that you’ve started Dark Souls Remastered so I’m curious how playing these two back-to-back will land. I have DS Remastered on my short list to play next, after finishing some of my current games. My master plan it to do it and DS3 prior to Elden Ring.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution Thanks! Yeah, it turned out to be a pretty good experience by the end. Oddly, one that would have been better as a shorter and overall more cinematic experience, I think.
I'll probably play Dark Souls slowly. Almost entirely in airplane mode, too, since it drives me nuts that putting the system into sleep mode boots me out to the title menu when I'm online.
Out of interest, why not play DS2 as well?
Currently Playing: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (NS2); Corpse Factory (PC)
@Ralizah I’m not fully decided, but DS2 being the consensus weak point of the series has me reluctant to prioritize it. I’m anxious to get to the high point of Elden Ring and if I’m going to take a short cut, DS2 seems to be lowest on the totem pole.
I was ready to skip DS1 and just go to DS3 but I’ve been convinced to try DSR (well, “retry”, given years ago I played it’s opening hours back on PS3 and gave up on it) But I figure it’s probably important to get a feel for the original setting and mechanics (although playing Demon’s Souls earlier this year has me warmed up to the mechanics, I hope). I’ll see how it goes. There’s a rare advocate for DS2 out there, but given my limited time I’m going to save it for last. DS3 sounds like the Souls game I’ll like the best since it’s combat is frequently compared to Bloodborne and is apparently less clunky.
The series, if you include Elden Ring, Bloodborne, and Demon’s Souls, is a really large time commitment. Reminds me of Yakuza in the sense that the sheer quantity of gaming hours contained is intimidating, so acts as a deterrent for those of us with less free time and a boat load of other games we’d like to play.
And both of the FromSoft games I’ve played have a huge amount of replayability. I assume they all do. If Bloodborne gets a remaster then I’m going to be tempted to play it again too.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution Half the time, the consensus weak point games turn out to be my favorites. Can't speak to DS2 specifically, though.
The games are probably a big time commitment if you play through them all, yeah, but the same is true of any long-running series, honestly. My issue with series like Yakuza is that it pays to play in order, since they have connected, long-running narratives, whereas most of the Soulsborne games are connected in more of a spiritual sense. Of course, it can also be fun playing through a series in order and seeing how it evolves over time. I did that with DOOM, and it was quite illuminating.
The Dark Souls games are non-linear and feature a huge amount of built variety, so yeah, they'd definitely be games you might want to replay.
@render yeah Deliver Us the Moon was a really great indie game and I enjoyed it alot, the story was very intriguing even if a bit simple but it was a really good gaming experience, I'm looking forward to the 2nd installment and I believe it is January next year when it releases, I think I saw somewhere the ps plus users can pre order for a 20% discount as well.
@Ralizah congrats on the Hellblade plat. I actually enjoyed my time with the game, I played after my first ever GoW run and was still very much in the norse mythology mood. Its not the greatest in any shape or form theres much better action games but I felt it did a good job in achieving what it set out to do and tell a story and show you inside the mind on Senua. Glad you managed to finish it even if it didn't click at first.
I would recommend not skipping Dark Souls 2. I know the fandom rags on it, but the Dark Souls fandom can be quite grim, and since it's got a different director they shun it. Like it's terrible. It ain't. It's just a little different. And I do think it's got some banging bosses in it.
I would recommend playing all three Souls games before doing Elden Ring, because they're all worth playing and even if you space them out and get to Elden Ring late, at least the DLC will be out by then so you can play a more complete package.
If you're going for trophies the Dark Souls 3 platinum sucks beyond measure. I gave up on it.
Anyway, I got platinums in both Life Is Strange remastered games. Then I got the platinum in PS4 version of Life Is Strange True Colors. I didn't play Life Is Strange 2 again though. Even for a platinum I don't think I would bother. Dreadful game.
@RogerRoger I think True Colors is about as good as the first one. The first one has a special place for me, and I have a bias towards it, purely because it was the first one I played I think. It's also got much higher stakes. But True Colors has the best love interest in the series, I think, and the quiet small town with a perhaps sinister secret thing works for me. It just perhaps feels slightly... slight after the "oh no am I destroying the world" potential calamity in 1.
Shout out to Before The Storm too which I think is the saddest game in the series, and the one that hits hardest because the Chloe / Rachel friendship / relationship is so good.
I genuinely hate 2. It's like they intentionally took everything that made Life Is Strange special and removed it and all you're left with is the sketchy writing and slightly hideous graphics. The worst decision by far is to make the game a road trip because it means that one of the best things about Life Is Strange - getting to know the town, meet the people, learn their problems, try to help them, make friends etc. - is almost entirely removed and you never get a chance to know anybody.
Also all the lol racist white people stuff is atrocious in 2.
@RogerRoger I also think, regarding 2, how much of a tolerance for annoying children you have helps. A lot of people generally really don't like kids in games, movies, etc. I'm generally not a fan so that doesn't help.
You can currently get True Colors for £24.99 on the store I think. And you get the PS4 and the PS5 version so you can Platinum it twice if you feel so inclined. I would say that how much you will like True Colors will depend on what you like the games for. You can probably have it beaten enough for a platinum and the best ending in around ten hours.
I'm personally in love with it because I think the characters are really charming, and the central romantic relationship is I think easily the strongest in the series. There's two love options but one of them is clearly the better option, I think, and makes far more sense narratively for the main character. It's a really nicely done relationship, even if they just remain friends and you don't pull the trigger on the love story.
It's quite sad in parts but never feels as cruel as the the Before The Storm / Life Is Strange combo, and the lower stakes of the story mean that you're never really faced with a give up everything or give up mostly everything choice. It's a more personal thing, finding yourself, etc. typa deal. There's also some really fun moments like the D&D bit in Before The Storm but much expanded.
I think, all things considered, it's probably the best Life Is Strange game and if I was reviewing it I'd probably have given it an 8.
@johncalmc congrats on the Life is Strange Remastered plats, I played the original earlier this year… and as someone who doesn’t generally go for narrative-driven games I was pleasantly surprised.
Also, couldn’t agree more about Dark Souls 2… it’s awesome. I do get the shade cast on it as if I had to pick a worst Souls game it would probably be it. Doesn’t mean that I didn’t love my time with it though… and like you alluded to, it’s probably freshest take of the trilogy as it’s so unique.
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