8bit4Life

I've started the Metaphor demo and have enjoyed it so far. The art style and setting are more interesting than Persona ever was to me.

I wonder if the US PlayStation store has similar requirements for pre-ordering because mine went through quick and easy when signed into my PSN account.

I told myself I was NOT going to buy a PS5 Pro. Was adamant. My pre-order has been successfully placed. Also an additional $100+ for a stand and disc drive. The PS5 and Xbox Series X will soon hit eBay to cushion that blow.

No. I looked and the standard PS5 Pro was available, but at this point I have completed all of the games I am interested in already, and don’t feel that a less-blurry second play through of FF7 Rebirth is worth $700+.

That money will be much better spent on a Switch 2, gaming PC, or a down payment on a sports car. Been eyeing a Toyota GR86 for some real life fun.

As a console gamer, MacOS computer guy, I will be watching lots of reviews of the PS5 Pro. If developers update existing games and future titles truly perform that much better, I may upgrade from my PS5. Otherwise, I am considering my first gaming PC since late 2012. Either way, I have a big enough backlog to hold me over until Switch 2.

The protagonist being a female isn’t necessarily the problem with a lot of people. After all, finding out that Samus was a girl after beating Metroid on the NES was pretty cool. Over the years following we have had amazing leading ladies like Lara Croft and others.

The bigger issue is the increased focus on identity politics that studios are pushing heavily and recently have been seeing negative results for. I’m not here to condemn people for thinking one way or another, but the industry has taken a very hard-Left turn, and now gamers are becoming turned off by the results. It’s making a lot of people extra cautious about any new releases.

Initial impressions look good. I’m very wary of new games right now, so I will hold off until I see a few reviews before I get too excited. It’s set in the past, but is it made for the ‘modern audience’ like so many others that haven’t been selling well lately? It’s a genuine question.

As a kid I loved NES and SNES RPGs. When I saw Lunar Silver Star Story in the gaming magazines of the day, I wanted it so much, but I couldn’t afford a Sega Genesis and Sega CD. At the time I loved the art style, but anime wasn’t really common yet and I didn’t know that’s what the style was called, but it reminded me of a cartoon called Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs, which was a pretty fun anime of the early 90s.

This whole 30th Anniversary edition PS5 thing seems to have the ‘shiny Pokemon’ effect on people. Nothing special about it other than a different color scheme and manufactured rarity, yet people will go to extreme lengths to get it.

They weren’t completely wrong. Concord was Sony’s “Disney Star Wars” and let’s leave it at that.

This series is so far the best Star Wars that I can recommend to anyone. The story is pretty good, Cal is a likable guy, and the combat and exploration is better than most games in its genre. But there is a big warning: wait at least 6 months for the game to have bugs and stability issues fixed whenever a new title in this series is released. Survivor had a rough launch but is very stable now on PS5 / Series X. It’s also a game that goes on sale often.

@Yagami I found the tone and storytelling to be very interesting. This could in part be due to me playing FF14 for a decade and being that guy who reads all of the side quests, which FF16’s side quests felt very similar to in style. But my biggest draw to Clive and the main storyline is his character growth. Of all the FF protagonists through the years, Clive is singularly the one with the greatest reason to be dark, angry, and a brooding emo boy, but he’s the complete opposite. I really liked watching how he grew through pain and loss to become selfless and lay down his life for those he loved.

For me personally, Final Fantasy 16 was better than I expected, becoming top 3 in the series alongside FF4 and FF6. Sure, it has some technical issues, but the story and characters are what make the experience for me, and Clive is simply unmatched as far as protagonists go. FF7 Rebirth was good even with the lackluster visuals on performance mode. It’s not as good as 16 to me because I have never been a FF7 super fan, but still appreciate it.

I’m going to wait and see with the Pro. The system seems $150 overpriced as it’s being shown. Seems like the base PS5 should move to $450, Pro without disc drive to $550, and $650 with the disc dive would be much better received. Probably would look more like this if Xbox was also releasing a new console.

A year or 2 ago, I would have been in the pre-order camp. Now I don’t see any must-buy games that would benefit enough over my existing PS5. It will be awhile before FF7’s final installment, and I already platinum’d FF16. The PS5 Pro won’t run GTA6 at 60 FPS, and that game will be patched up and ready to play right around the time the PS6 launches.

@NEStalgia You said everything I was thinking, but I didn’t want to type that much on my phone.

I’m a PS5 owner and it’s been my favorite console in years, and it’s my primary method for gaming. That said, this PS5 Pro is less compelling than the PSVR 2 which I also bought day 1. The price and no Blu Ray drive?

Maybe in 2 years after more games are optimized for the Pro, and if it’s on sale for $450, then I could see buying one. Otherwise I will just wait for a PS6.

The game is bringing everyone together in discussion, even if it failed to do so in game play. Those many millions of dollars spent in development and advertising were not completely wasted.

I’m sold on Ye Shu. She know how to cook, wants a family, and will give me adorable children.

A year ago I was super excited to throw my money at a PS5 Pro. That’s when I was busy getting the Platinum in FF16.

Now I’m so wary of new games being like Concord or Suicide Squad that I don’t even buy them until I see enough reviews. Everything I have been playing lately is 4 to 6 years old at the newest.

This is one of those games that I would probably not even play if it becomes available on PS Plus Essentials monthly games.

I really want to like Larian RPGs. Multiple re-starts on Divinity 2, and the demo on BG3, and it just doesn’t work for me. Something about the isometric style RPGs doesn’t click with my brain because I have never been able to enjoy Diablo either.

I’m finally playing Ni No Kuni on the PlayStation 5. It’s the perfect blend of Studio Ghibli and a Dragon Quest style RPG.

I payed a hefty sum for the Horizon Call of the Mountain bundle at launch. Barely use it, but it’s still fun when I do, especially with GT7 or Kayak mirage.

I’m playing my 3rd or 4th run of Ghost of Tsushima on PS5. Such a masterpiece.

I’m all for pretty young ladies tastefully dressed like those two, promoting a product. It gives the girls a paycheck and chance at modeling if that’s what they like to do. Plus everyone likes to look at smiling, attractive people. It’s human nature, and why for a long time Hollywood movies were so popular.
Good job, Sony!

Yuji is right, especially if you have played games like Final Fantasy 16, Red Dead Redemption 2, or Cyberpunk 2077. Having a well-voiced protagonist absolutely connects me to that character and makes them more relatable.

I watched the video and it reminds me of Red Dead Redemption 2 and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

I’m one of the returning players on PS5. So far the game feels so much better to play than in the past. Seems like I read somewhere that Hello Games changed the game engine to place more of the heavy lifting to the GPU, and this seems apparent on the PS5. Everything is smooth and the pop-in is greatly reduced.

Oddly, when I downloaded the game to my Xbox Series X, the 5.0 Worlds update is not available yet. I was going to let my son play on that system, but the 4.7x version is noticeably lesser in quality.

Surely the success of Stellar Blade has emboldened developers to be a bit more risqué than they have been over the past few years.

Between PC, PS4, and mostly PS5, I have more than 500 hours of Cyberpunk 2077 game time, and I still want to play it more. Definitely on my all-time favorite games list.

He’s right about No Man’s Sky, anyway. I just started a new game on Normal Mode and I am enjoying it quite a bit.

I’m not a fan of Star Wars since the original trilogy, but Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi: Survivor were both quite good. Those are not Ubisoft games, but perhaps this game will keep with the tradition of decent games in spite of low quality streaming shows.

A game like this has no appeal to me. My son is really into Overwatch and he probably would not even want to play it.

Open worlds and RPGs are the only things that spark my interest these days.

I still have not played BG3, but it’s a game that I want to play eventually. Most of my backlog of high priority games are now completed or done for now. Also, since FF14 Dawntrail was not to my liking, I may have to fill that void with something.

This is a game that I bought day 1 on PS4, and I have never gotten too far into it, but always enjoy the brief moments when I do play it. It’s a game that is very interesting for a short period, until a feeling of sameness kicks in due to the way it’s generated. That may sound like a negative comment, but it’s not intended to be. I highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoys sci-fi and space exploration. There’s nothing like No Man’s Sky. I intend to update my PS5 version and jump in again soon. It’s really fun with PSVR2.

The reviews for the Kaneda Castle Ruins on Tsushima Island are quite entertaining. Check it out next time you are on Google Earth. Actually it might have been Google Maps that I was viewing. Not sure if reviews are on Earth.

I have played FFXIV on and off since ARR beta. Prior to that I played a ton of MMOs going back to EverQuest in 2001. FFXIV has definitely been my favorite. I think a lot of people are coming back to see graphics improvements, which on PS5 are very improved when you look at the textures, though subtle enough that they don’t stand out too much. With that said, I don’t really care for the story of Dawntrail. This is particularly bad for me because the MSQ is my biggest draw to the game. For people who don’t care about the story, or skip the dialogue (like I did in WoW) this probably won’t be an issue. I would give Dawntrail’s story a 5.5/10. Your mileage may vary.

I was one of the elementary school kids who watched the Challenger live on television that day. It’s one of those memories that sticks with you for a lifetime.

I loved FF16. Not perfect in performance, but the story and characters, especially Clive, were near top in the series for me. I place Clive as the best protagonist in Final Fantasy, and I have been there from the start on NES. As I have seen the series evolve constantly with almost every release, I don't have objections to the change from turn-based combat, or even party mechanics.

I bought the PSVR2 at launch and while I barely touch it, it’s still a pretty impressive bit of tech. The standout experience is GT7, making driving feel more realistic. Resident Evil Village is great on it, and No Man’s Sky feels right at home.

The problem isn’t necessarily with the system itself, but with VR headsets in general. Wearing something on your face gets really uncomfortable pretty quickly. Even Apple found this out with their $3500 ski mask.

A game that would work well in VR would be a mech suit piloting sim, but at this point, I don’t think any studio will risk it.

I have finished the last 2 expansions with NPCs for the required dungeons and don’t do group content unless it’s absolutely required to finish the MSQ.

In the early days I played healer and did a lot of group content, but now I play FFXIV mostly like a mainline offline Final Fantasy that happens to have other players in it.

I was never really a fan of GW2 style, but a lot of people like it. FFXIV is the only MMO that has been able to keep me coming back, at least for short bursts to catch up on the story.

Looks great! I will definitely be picking it up (actually downloading it) right away. Dragon Quest games are always day one purchases for me.

This is a game that I'll wait for reviews from multiple sources on. The trailer did nothing positive for me, but that doesn't mean the finished game will be bad. I am a bit weary of Western developed games in the past couple years. Looking at you, Suicide Squad.

I re-installed Astro’s Playroom and have been enjoying the soundtrack quite a bit. Astro Bot looks to be something special.

While a full 60 fps experience would have been preferable, I still enjoyed FF16 enough to get the platinum trophy and finish the DLCs on Final Fantasy mode. This entry ranks as one of my favorite in the series.

@InsaneWade One of my favorite gaming friends who I knew for 20 years passed away at 39 years old, just a year ago. It’s odd seeing his name on my PSN friends list, and our final chats in Discord. Those digital artifacts of his life will likely linger on as long as the servers remain.

This article came only hours after I noticed a tab in my iCloud settings where I can set a person to receive my account in the event of my death.

A bit morbid, but at least Apple seems to view things differently than gaming companies.

I used to be a PC-only guy. That was in my EverQuest and WoW years. Around 2018 I started playing console games again and got hooked on Sony’s single player games. Now I don’t even have a gaming PC anymore.