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Finished Space Marine 2 last night on PS+ and it was not the worst, but I'm also glad I didn't pay for it. I would say it landed at around a 6.5/10 for myself. The 40k vibe and the horde tech was excellent but the actual campaign was completely forgettable. I found the combat mechanics pretty poor with extremely sluggish moves and the parry and dodge mechanics didn't really fit the game. I grant it would probably be better as a co-op but for a single player it was meh.

Think I'll start Cat Quest 2 next as a quick palette cleanser before something bigger.

On PC I'm still playing through Gloomhaven again. 30 missions in and still only retired one party member which is a real achievement as the others are not even close to retiring.

I was interestred in this originally but the demo swung me the other way as I didn't really enjoy the combat hacking mechanic at all. For that reason I will wait till it arrives on PS+ or give it a miss completely.

It does highlight why we need demos to become commonplace again however. Whether the demo resonates or not it should be standard practice to allow players to make more informed purchases.

I really enjoyed SM1 and SM2 was decent enough, but lacked the same energy and excitement from the original.

My major issues

• Kraven just isn't that interesting
• Venom's conclusion felt rushed
• Killing off or redeeming the old villains felt wasteful
• The side missions types being locked behind story was terrible for pacing and made them less enjoyable.

@Oram77 I don't think there is a chance that the consoles will cost the same at all. The helix is being pegged as a super powerful hybrid PC / Console that will need to be a higher spec just by the nature of the device.

I think the only reason there is speculation about the same price is because people are using the original Helix estimates pre the Ai shortages, and the new PS6 estimates post shortages. Its also ignoring that Sony have the better buying power due to greater sales, and can subsidise better due to a singular storefront.

Where ever the PS6 lands on price I think you can add another $200 - $300 minimum for the entry point of the Helix. Likely more if they want it to be as powerful as they have been suggesting.

@HRdepartment Great shield, Spear and the bleed thrust ash of war makes it much simpler.

An alternative is go an int melee build with Wrong of Astel and ***** Stars as the nebula ash wrecks most things.

Edit: lol at the swear filter, I didn't even think that the weapon name would be picked up 😅

I finished Lost Records: Bloom& Rage yesterday which I really enjoyed and hope they do a sequel for. The camera made the game for me and I think something similar could work for other games. I also liked the all girl cast and the way they where all portrayed in the two eras. An easy 8/10 and I hope they do a sequel.

Started Space Marine 2 now and am liking what I see so far. Only very early in but they have nailed the grim dark vibe perfectly with how powerful Primaris marines are compared to the Imperial Guard who get slaughtered. Heavy Bolt Pistol and Melta also makes me smile 😁

For PS5 I'm on Tape 2 of Bloom & Rage this weekend and still enjoying it.

Over on PC I'll probably keep dipping into Gloomhaven as the campaign has one again clicked with me. I played the boardgame when it came out and had the PC version always dropped it after a session. Now however it's just clicked again and I'm 23 missions in, whilst watching Stargate SG1 in the background.

It looks good but as a WH fan I hope we get lots of new attacks that match weapon types and not just reskinned VH movesets

I gave it a quick blast last night and it looks nice but I think if I was to reply it then I would stick to PC as m/kb works far better for shooters imo.

@Fiendish-Beaver Yeah I would agree with you that 57% feels a bit low, but probably does align more with your more likely to leave a negative review. Its in no way a bad game, it just wasn't the game of the generation that Todd promised unfortunately.

I just hope they can bring it back around for ES6 as thats the franchisse i really care about

Kinda prefer the old one as I class the store and plus as gaming related so they fit in the gaming tab. I do wish you could just remove the media option completely as it's pretty much redundant for myself

Its well worth a play as long as people go in expecting more Action and less deep RPG elements. Its a very good game they probably just oversold the roleplaying elements as Cyberpunk was converted from the old pen and paper RPG.

@Fiendish-Beaver The same game on Steam has a 57% rating. Steam requires you to own the game in order for you to rate it, and it has thousands of reviews, so its a pretty good metric to gauge general consensus.

I've said it before but I think Starfield suffered from the same issue as Veilguard (a game I loved for reference). The critic reviews felt fake to a lot of people and like they were reading from a spec sheet to all land at the same 90+ score while listing, but ignoring, multiple issues.

For Starfield the DLC also hinted that the initial reviews where inflated. Most reviews said it was more of the same, but then scored it much lower, with the average rating sitting at 62. This never really added up that they added more of what was "almost perfect" and now it was suddenly meh.

Im not bashing the game as I think its always been a 7/10 that may tip to an 8 if you like it, or a 6 if you don't. For me the problem was that the initial reviews were very disingenuous and long term that just leads to more gamer nonsense like XBOX TAX being cried from the rooftops when you see more genuine reviews.

@sanderson72 the PS5 layouts & button presses are counter-intuitive when the PS4 had a hold down the PS button popup menu to do all the major things

I had major issues with this when I first got my PS5 as it was annoying to retrain you brain. I did boot my PS4 up again recently however to reset it for trading in and I found the opposite where I couldn't recall how to do anything, and it never occured to me to hold the button. I don't think one is better or worse than the other, but the shift from one to the other was a pita.

EDIT: Folders would be great, they were brilliant on the 4

@GirlVersusGame You don't really need to know anything about FF to enjoy the games in my opinion as the story doesn't really tie into those games at all, and got dropped in later entries.

some characters appear, but its not like you need to have played the games to grasp who they are. Think of them more like cameos in films. You might now know the reference but can still enjoy the role.

Started playing Lost Records: Bloom & Rage today. Not far enough into it too give a rating, the camera mechanic is well done soon far tho. It was in the list and I needed to get it played before it goes off plus.

Just finished Ghost of Yotei. It was a good game, but the original is the better of the two. I found the story of revenge a bit one note compared to Jin's tale. The only other negative I found was that the big fights towards the end get messy with too many enemies on screen. It kind of ruined the combat a bit for me as you can get chain spammed or hit from of screen and it just feels cheap.

If still give it an 8/10 but would recommend the original over this one.

I think it could swing either way, but the final number will be very close regardless. It also depends on when next gen lands as a year or two delay will alter the numbers when you factor in games like GTA, Wolverine etc.

I tried the original recently and bounced off it pretty fast in the intro area. It just didn't grab me at all, the combat felt slow and the shell / harden system just did nothing for me. I don't even think I reached a second shell before I dropped it.

Maybe I will give it another go in time, but a sequel does not get me excited.

The problem with Starfield is that it was a 7/10 game that was over promised (classic Todd) and fell short. For some people it will have clicked and they may swing the score to an 8, for others it missed and they would go to a 6. This is reflected in the Steam reviews where its just an average game.

In a lot of ways its similar to Veilguard where its not a bad game by any stretch, but the reviews felt like pre written glaze and didn't match the feeling players had.

I really don't understand these constant complaints about remasters. If you don't want the game, or are happy with the older version then just keep playing that. If you don't have the game then its nice to have to be able to get it in the latest best state.

Just don't see what all the drama is about for what is 100% optional

Zero interest in the gears franchise so it won't affect me either way. That aside I am not sure gears has the same draw it did 7 years ago. Whilst I am not against MS having exclusives to level the playing field, I don't think they can presently afford to with their burgeoning costs. Some people will pay for the game on Xbox but I would say GP will be the main way of playing the game on consoles which leaves the majority of sales to the PC market likely via Steam.

It sucks that gaming costs have increased but I still think you get a lot for what you spend. By comparison most of us walk around with a smartphone that costs more than a console, and we probably replace it more often also. I know I get far more varied use out of my console than my phone, I'm sure I'm not alone ithere.

@get2sammyb Not sure if you can link to any site, or only select affiliates, but Very have a decet offer. It does have the caveat of you need to set up a VeryPay credit account for the first time but then you get 20% off your first order. (you can still pay as a lump sum)

PS5 Pro: £689 should become £551
PS5 Pro and Disc: £758 should become £606

I got one a while back and its the best price around that I could find

Worth mentioning that anyone wanting a PS5 Pro in the UK can still take advantage of the Very Pay discount if you have never used it before. It will get you 20% off and they do bundles with drives.

@Sakai it's not a good luck, but it's also not mental gymnastics or defending. it's just accepting the reality that no businesses are your friend. MS, Sony, Apple, Amazon, Netflix are all the same. They make ridiculous amounts of money and not one of them is passing it back to the consumer in any way. Infinite growth is all that matters to these businesses.

This sucks but I also don't think it will make a major difference to sales either way. It's an increase but if also fails in line with everything else increasing. Anyone who still wants to get one is unlikely to be put off by the price rises or wait till November for sales.

I think it will also confirm next gen being pushed back as it's going to be a tough time releasing for anyone.

I recently played all the dark pictures games and enjoyed them all. Some resonate more than others simply because the genre of horror in each hand will appeal to different audiences. Looking forward to seeing what they do with a space horror as that should be something different.

@themightyant I'm just surprised they haven't redone Skyrim VR for the PSVR2. I would probably jump on that if they did despite having a back log.

@Frmknst How great would the gaming world be if not the souls genre but a good one got that hype.

I imagine it would be exactly the same except then we might have someone called Tsnkmrf moaning about a different genre they didn't like instead.

The game is decent enough but I felt it was a bit flat overall with no memorable bosses or areas. I also found the weapon options where kinda meh with nothing late game standing out as any better than your starting item.

Stil its a decent get for the service for those who want to give it a play.

RE4R VR was probably the highlight for me as it has the balance right between gunplay and quieter sections. I also like how it was still in the zombie era before things got a bit wacky. I enjoyed 7 and 8 for what they were but they honestly feel like spin off titles with 8 appealling to fans of other monster genres.

I would say none of the games have actually been bad, and whilst people dunk on RE6 it was still a good game. The main issue was just how they split it into 4 stories, making you repeated the areas from different perspectives. Same with RE3R it was still not a bad game. In some ways I would say RE2R was worse as they really messed up by having the A & B runs the same rather than unique runs with unique bosses.

@rjejr I also fell foul to a veronica moment at the end due to the shared inventory chest. Chris only had a knife and basic handgun to fight the final boss with one first aid spray. It was painful, but I got there eventually.

Safe to say I am not a trophy hunter as My PSN account has been active since they cam out and in all that time I think I have achieved a grand total of 8 platinums. I will sometimes look how close I got but anything that forces you to play a game multiple times just to get the platinum doesn't respect a players time imo. I personally think all trophies should be availble in 1 play through on any difficulty setting rather than stupid ones like you must complete mega hard difficulty with no healing and no saves in under 3 hours.

Ghost of Yotei here which I am enjoying. If say it's not quite as engaging as the original but I think that's mainly due to the style off story. It is however still a very good game

Looks great and it comes out on my Birthday so it a nice present and saves me having to think of something to do

Sounds like it has landed as a good game, no more, no less. Some will enjoy it, whilst some willl bounce off it and whilst I agree that calling it a major dissapointment is a big stretch, I can kind of understand the sentiment as it was built up to be the second coming.

Pearl Abyss never revealed much but bigged up the size and scope. Whilst fans were equally at fault for assuming it would be a an 11/10 game. People just need to remember to keep expectations in check rather than running away with the hype.

@ElectricWizard I still have mine set up with the IDE HDD cracked to allow roms for older games. Great for tinkerers if you can get your hands on one.

If the game had an auto hacking toggle then I would probably give it a shot as the world and shooting seemed fine. I just really didn't enjoy the hacking mechanic when in combat as it took away from the game. Instead of focussing on the game play I found I was spending more time just watching a small area and ignoring that rest of the game.

As it stands I would only play it when / if it comes to PS+ as its not something I would want to pay for.

In fairness I imagine Bethesda would have always released the game on day one if it had been left up to them to decide. It will have been the higher ups at MS who made the exclusivity gamble.

@Marquez American prices never track exactly to UK prices as UK prices all include a 20% tax. Whereas US prices are shown without sales tax as the tax varies from 0 - 10% depending what state, city or Zip code you are in. The prices are basically the same, we just pay more in taxes.

@4fold Hopefully they do carry on with PSVR as the devices may not be mass market, but they are still good to have around. I use mine far less then I should, but I also don't regret the purchase at all.

In a generation where people complain about innovation I find it crazy that they ignore PSVR, Dualsense, Portal and now PSSR as they just don't class them as proper innovation. Personally I feel like they have all elevated the brand a lot this gen.

After finishing RE8 I decided to give Cat Quest a go as it has been on my radar for a while but I never got around to it.

It was a really nice short game that you can pay between bigger titles. Utterly brilliant and another platinum on the list. I'm not a trophy hunter by any means but I do like when you can get the trophies on one simple play through without gimmicky trophies.

Might start Ghost of a Yotei next

I need an option for "I still have no idea what the game is even about". They have made loads of statements but I still don't really know what the game is aiming to be.

I'll wait for actual reviews but at the moment I worry it's trying to do everything well, and will end up being mediocre at everything instead

Just finished Resident Evil 8 and have almost finished the DLC. Enjoyed 8 overall but felt that the factory let it down. The enemies there just felt annoying and tedious. Same with the Chris section where missing down multiple waves was not difficult, just tedious.

Miranda was a bit meh as a master villain as she had zero moments to make me care about the character. Heisenburg was probably my favourite as he was played brilliantly.

DLC is enjoyable but the twist couldn't be any less of a surprise at all.

8/10 overall I would say.

Honestly it's all fine as these titles are not exactly lighting the world on fire. If it was a main stream title like FF17 or FF7-3 then it would be a story. This is just manufactured outrage.

Would be Nioh 3 for me as the game was just brilliant from start to end

Space Marine 2 and Blasphemous 2 are the big draws for me. A decent month after the last two has little I cared about

They are making a PC device so it was always going to be steep. At current pricing the GPU and Ram alone would be $1500 so its going to be pricy but I suspect its their only option. They have tried premium console, budget console and remain in 3rd place. A mid range PCBox might be something where they gain traction and have a stand out differance.

Finished Spiderman 2 earlier which was great. Some of the side collections were a bit annoying, but overall it was very good and the darkness to the story was done well. When they get round to number 3 it should be excellent with the villains they have set up for it.

Also killed False King Allant in Demon souls as for some reason I stopped at that point a while back. Not sure why I stopped but a quick 30m meant I got the completion there also.

Now on to Resident Evil Village as I'm that far behind on game releases. Gonna do a standard play through them return for a go on VR at a later date.

Spider Man 2 fort me this weekend. It's maybe not quite as good as the original, but it's still very good. I think the only part that tipped them original was that the villain roster was excellent. Kraven is good but he was always a bit B tier for me personally.

UK BASED with PS+
£3.74 on store not logged in
£3.74 on app logged in

Could this be something weird depending on country? Like showing the lowest price non regional when not logged in, then showing the regional price when logged in.