This game was nothing like it looked. Seemed like it would be an outrun style game, but that's just a surprisingly small part of it and you wind up doing some map screen navigation mini-game half the time. That and the politics need to be addressed, normally I don't try to make an issue out of that sort of thing but this game was very heavy handed with the political narratives to the point where I was cringing a lot.
@Batesy125s MGS2 and 3 are very grounded compared to what he did later. They were honestly the last time I really liked his work, and that was what, 20 years ago?
@SwitchedOn_Games Sadly that sort of astroturfing has become common today. It's why I never turn on comments for Steam reviews I might write, no point.
The PSP Go was so far ahead of it's time, one of the first digital-only handheld game consoles from a major brand that I can think of. I remember how back when it released it was hated on for it's lack of physical game support but I absolutely loved the form factor and replaced my original PSP with it, digital games just made so much sense for me as a portable since I hated having to carry a collection of games around with me. Still love the design.
I bought this on Switch years ago and it was always a cool idea but somewhat poorly executed. It can be fun for a while but not the type of game that could hold my interest for long.
@Mu5hr00m_K1ngd0m Yeah I could never understand all the hate F1 24 got from the racing influencer scene for it's handling and physics, I thought they were much better than what I experienced in F1 23. It always came off as people simply not liking change even if it was for the better.
For me the value of this was always the $5 discounts I could cash in. It's just always been nice to get a little back after spending so much on video games.
Doesn't surprise me to see this go though with Nintendo dropping gold coins and Xbox reducing it's rewards program. Seems like giving back just isn't a popular concept anymore. These companies just keep trying to take more and more.
Blaming Trump and tariffs seems like a blame game when inflation has been a major issue over the past 5 years. If anything prices for most things have gone down lately from where they were just a year ago. I think what's really happening is the cost of electronics is going up due to all the threats and instability where all the chips are being made.
@Zeldorf Probably not. Comments sections for gaming sites are basically like posting on Reddit gaming these days. Whole scene is atroturfed and full of people patting each other on the back for having the same politics and opinions that they approve of, with anything contrary being aggressively demonized, gaslit, and shut down. Then these people later wonder why the general public doesn't echo their comments and feelings when something is out.
I think it's a nice product, the most powerful console this gen and likely for the rest of this gen. It's also a product of our times, by that I mean it isn't going to blow you away with better graphics, but it does take the PS5's already great capabilities and make it that much more capable so better frame rates are standard as well as more genuine 4K gaming ability.
I wouldn't call it a must-have for it's price, but I think it serves a purpose for someone like me who wanted something better without investing in a serious gaming PC.
Microsoft doomed themselves with their recent price hike. I used to be an Xbox fan this and last gen, but honestly they really lost me this year. So many bad moves, so many lame games, and it's like they're not even trying to have a real platform anymore with their whole "everything is an Xbox" campaign. Gamepass really took over the whole platform.
After the price hike I bought a PS5 Pro and I am just going to stick with that as my main console for the rest of this gen and probably move over to PC after, but at least Sony seems to still take their consoles seriously.
The first Mafia was sort of pseudo open world. Like it had a big open map that you could drive through and explore, but it was mostly just there as backdrop and you never really did any free roaming. Mafia 2 was pretty similar in this sense but it did have some moments during the story when it would open up more as open world. The Getaway was also like these games, probably one of my favorite PS2 games.
@B0udoir I'd say take the money you'd spend on a PS5 Pro or Series X 2TB and spend that on a PC instead. There's no shortage of things that you can use a PC for that doesn't involve gaming, and if you get into gaming on it the games tend to be a lot cheaper with no online subscriptions needed.
Seems pretty obvious how Sony has shifted over to Astrobot for their mascot this gen. Sackboy harks back to the PS3 gen, that's when they tried to establish him as a mascot originally. They had that Sackboy game this gen but I don't think it was that popular, I played it briefly and didn't think much of it. Little Big Planet always felt kinda overrated IMO, I can understand why it really fell off. Astrobot hit much harder.
@Tomato_Goose Well think about it, under-cutting the competition by keeping cheaper prices would be a good incentive for the masses to support their platform over others. It's just good business. Why charge more when everyone else is trying to just because when you can get all the sales by being the cheaper option?
@Cornpop76 Tariffs keep being brought up because much of the MSM network news loves to blame every economic issue and price increase on that, even if it's all regarding countries and business that has nothing to do with the US. That and it's just another excuse for some people to shout about their favorite person to hate.
@ItsBritneyB_tch Yeah I agree it's like they can't just have fun female characters anymore, they have to be making a statement. This TV series seemed doomed by that sort of mentality.
Honestly the whole concept of what the Switch 2 is going after just isn't very appealing to me right now. Biggest problem is the simple fact of how the handheld gaming scene has changed significantly since the original Switch was introduced. Back then it was basically the most sophisticated handheld gaming option, but over the years we have seen the rise of the Steam Deck and many PC gaming handhelds and now the Switch 2 honestly struggles to look in any way impressive when compared to what's already out there. That and I simply don't play games on the go like I used to. It's exclusives are the only thing that could get me to buy one right now and the few it's got just aren't the type of thing I feel like I just have to play right away.
So as I've had a Steam Deck for many years I've got it loaded up with lots of games, many well beyond what the Switch was capable of playing, and the prospect of buying games I already got on consoles or PC just to play them on Nintendo's latest handheld simply isn't appealing to me, especially if they're going to be charging full price for them or worse yet the crazy prices Nintendo is trying to charge for games like the new Mario Kart. As a home console it's simply got nothing to offer over the Series X and PS5 I already got.
Uhh seems like high performance is literally the selling point for the Switch 2. It's battery life is taking a big hit and the price is going way up all in the name of better performance.
Seems like the quality of games keeps declining while they keep trying to charge more for them. It's a bad trend that's been turning me off supporting consoles in the future.
Western devs lost their way, that's how I'd summarize their issues lately. Like they always seem to be far too wrapped up in the wrong things and don't even seem to care about delivering the best gaming experience anymore. Meanwhile eastern devs are simply delivering good games that appeal to what the people want.
@DennisReynolds Lol it's going to take a lot more than that to convince me to actually spend money on this. I have lost a great deal of respect for "professional" critics for a good reason, most of the time I simply can't relate to their views and all too often I find them predictably praising the latest products from AAA publishers who advertise on their sites. That and I don't think any of these attempts at gaslighting anyone critical of the game will win me over either.
They keep trying to sell me on one of these and it's never going to happen lol, I have zero interest in a dedicated device for streaming. I have a phone with 5G that can do that.
Comments 519
Re: 'Good Luck with That' - The Outer Worlds 2 $80 Price Has Gone Down Horribly with PS5 Players
I liked the original but I have some strong doubts about the sequel and at $80 there's no way I am going to rush into buying it.
Re: Heading Out, a Super Stylish Narrative Driving Game, Is Coming to PS5
This game was nothing like it looked. Seemed like it would be an outrun style game, but that's just a surprisingly small part of it and you wind up doing some map screen navigation mini-game half the time. That and the politics need to be addressed, normally I don't try to make an issue out of that sort of thing but this game was very heavy handed with the political narratives to the point where I was cringing a lot.
Re: Days Gone Dev Hit with Layoffs, Loses 30% of Staff
@S1ayeR74 Yup they were chasing after that Fortnite money, every big publishers seems to want their own.
Re: Days Gone Dev Hit with Layoffs, Loses 30% of Staff
Well at least they got the remaster out.
Re: PS5's Death Stranding 2 Gets Another New Trailer, But It's Not Like the Others
@Batesy125s MGS2 and 3 are very grounded compared to what he did later. They were honestly the last time I really liked his work, and that was what, 20 years ago?
Re: Mini Review: Hypercharge: Unboxed (PS5) - Aesthetically Pleasing, Disappointingly Thin
@SwitchedOn_Games Sadly that sort of astroturfing has become common today. It's why I never turn on comments for Steam reviews I might write, no point.
Re: Retro Handheld Manufacturer Anbernic Pays Tribute to One of Sony's Best Form Factors
The PSP Go was so far ahead of it's time, one of the first digital-only handheld game consoles from a major brand that I can think of. I remember how back when it released it was hated on for it's lack of physical game support but I absolutely loved the form factor and replaced my original PSP with it, digital games just made so much sense for me as a portable since I hated having to carry a collection of games around with me. Still love the design.
Re: Random: Commemorative Launch Plaque of PS5 Catastrophe Concord Donated to Thrift Store
She probably just wants to put the whole thing behind her. Don't blame her.
Re: Mini Review: Hypercharge: Unboxed (PS5) - Aesthetically Pleasing, Disappointingly Thin
I bought this on Switch years ago and it was always a cool idea but somewhat poorly executed. It can be fun for a while but not the type of game that could hold my interest for long.
Re: EA Sports F1 25 (PS5) - Another Fine Racer That Mostly Sticks to the Formula
@Mu5hr00m_K1ngd0m Yeah I could never understand all the hate F1 24 got from the racing influencer scene for it's handling and physics, I thought they were much better than what I experienced in F1 23. It always came off as people simply not liking change even if it was for the better.
Re: Poll: Do You Care About the Death of PlayStation Stars?
For me the value of this was always the $5 discounts I could cash in. It's just always been nice to get a little back after spending so much on video games.
Doesn't surprise me to see this go though with Nintendo dropping gold coins and Xbox reducing it's rewards program. Seems like giving back just isn't a popular concept anymore. These companies just keep trying to take more and more.
Re: Rumour: Bungie Targeting a Top Five 2025 Title with Marathon
Been hearing a lot of people calling this Concord 2.0
Re: Even More PS5 Price Increases Being Considered by Sony
Blaming Trump and tariffs seems like a blame game when inflation has been a major issue over the past 5 years. If anything prices for most things have gone down lately from where they were just a year ago. I think what's really happening is the cost of electronics is going up due to all the threats and instability where all the chips are being made.
Re: Intergalactic PS5 Star 'Bootcamp-ing' with Neil Druckmann to Ignore the Haters
@Zeldorf Probably not. Comments sections for gaming sites are basically like posting on Reddit gaming these days. Whole scene is atroturfed and full of people patting each other on the back for having the same politics and opinions that they approve of, with anything contrary being aggressively demonized, gaslit, and shut down. Then these people later wonder why the general public doesn't echo their comments and feelings when something is out.
Re: Intergalactic PS5 Star 'Bootcamp-ing' with Neil Druckmann to Ignore the Haters
Oh yeah because ignoring "the haters" has worked out so well for season 2 of the TLOU TV show.
Turns out it might be a good idea to listen to the audience once in a while.
Re: Talking Point: What Do You Think of the PS5 Pro, Six Months Later?
I actually just bought one last week lol.
I think it's a nice product, the most powerful console this gen and likely for the rest of this gen. It's also a product of our times, by that I mean it isn't going to blow you away with better graphics, but it does take the PS5's already great capabilities and make it that much more capable so better frame rates are standard as well as more genuine 4K gaming ability.
I wouldn't call it a must-have for it's price, but I think it serves a purpose for someone like me who wanted something better without investing in a serious gaming PC.
Re: Diablo 4's Berserk Crossover DLC Costs an Insane $150
I don't see the point of this stuff. It reminds me of people spending money on all sorts of stuff like virtual card packs for sports games.
Re: PS5's Share of Active US Players Is Slowly Beginning to Pummel Xbox
Microsoft doomed themselves with their recent price hike. I used to be an Xbox fan this and last gen, but honestly they really lost me this year. So many bad moves, so many lame games, and it's like they're not even trying to have a real platform anymore with their whole "everything is an Xbox" campaign. Gamepass really took over the whole platform.
After the price hike I bought a PS5 Pro and I am just going to stick with that as my main console for the rest of this gen and probably move over to PC after, but at least Sony seems to still take their consoles seriously.
Re: Mafia: The Old Country Ditches Open World for Linear, Story-Based Gameplay on PS5
So it's sort of like the first Mafia I take it?
Re: 64% of PS5 Players Are Glad Mafia: The Old Country Isn't Open World
The first Mafia was sort of pseudo open world. Like it had a big open map that you could drive through and explore, but it was mostly just there as backdrop and you never really did any free roaming. Mafia 2 was pretty similar in this sense but it did have some moments during the story when it would open up more as open world. The Getaway was also like these games, probably one of my favorite PS2 games.
Re: 60+ PS5, PS4 Games You Should Buy in PS Store's Next Level Savings Sale
@Robocod I think it's online as in it's a live service game but I played it on gamepass a while back and I was able to play it solo no problem.
Re: Layoffs at Codemasters Confirmed as Developer Halts All Work on Rally Racing Games
I was always disappointed with this game. Preferred the old Dirt games. Now a days WRC10 is my go-to.
Re: Poll: Are You Happy with Your PS Plus Essential Games for May 2025?
This is one of those months that has very little for me. I already own Balatro and Boltgun and have no interest in Ark.
Re: Opinion: If You're on the Fence, Consider Buying a PS5 Now Before the Prices Inevitably Rise
@B0udoir I'd say take the money you'd spend on a PS5 Pro or Series X 2TB and spend that on a PC instead. There's no shortage of things that you can use a PC for that doesn't involve gaming, and if you get into gaming on it the games tend to be a lot cheaper with no online subscriptions needed.
Re: LittleBigPlanet Erasure Continues as Sackboy Removed from PlayStation Productions Logo
Seems pretty obvious how Sony has shifted over to Astrobot for their mascot this gen. Sackboy harks back to the PS3 gen, that's when they tried to establish him as a mascot originally. They had that Sackboy game this gen but I don't think it was that popular, I played it briefly and didn't think much of it. Little Big Planet always felt kinda overrated IMO, I can understand why it really fell off. Astrobot hit much harder.
Re: Opinion: If You're on the Fence, Consider Buying a PS5 Now Before the Prices Inevitably Rise
I find it laughable at people suggesting I should rush out and spend $800 on a new game console out of FOMO because it might get more expensive.
How about no lol, I'll be saving that for a new gaming PC if anything.
Re: Poll: Are You Disappointed by the GTA 6 Delay?
Well they've only had the past 12 years to work on it, makes sense how they would feel rushed.
Re: Poll: Are You Sold on Borderlands 4?
Totally burned out on this franchise, got zero interest in any new entries.
Re: Xbox Now Selling PS5 Games for $80, Joins Switch 2 in Price Increase
@Tomato_Goose Well think about it, under-cutting the competition by keeping cheaper prices would be a good incentive for the masses to support their platform over others. It's just good business. Why charge more when everyone else is trying to just because when you can get all the sales by being the cheaper option?
Re: PS5 Pro Is No Longer the Most Expensive Console You Can Buy
@Cornpop76 Tariffs keep being brought up because much of the MSM network news loves to blame every economic issue and price increase on that, even if it's all regarding countries and business that has nothing to do with the US. That and it's just another excuse for some people to shout about their favorite person to hate.
Re: PS5 Price Increases Announced by Sony, Immediately Affects UK, Europe, and More
So how exactly would US tariffs make a Japanese console manufactured in China more expensive for Europe?
Re: Sounds Like Amazon's Tomb Raider TV Show in Jeopardy as It's Reported 'Dead'
@ItsBritneyB_tch Yeah I agree it's like they can't just have fun female characters anymore, they have to be making a statement. This TV series seemed doomed by that sort of mentality.
Re: Feature: PS5's Not Perfect, But Here Are 5 Ways It's More Consumer Friendly Than Switch 2
Honestly the whole concept of what the Switch 2 is going after just isn't very appealing to me right now. Biggest problem is the simple fact of how the handheld gaming scene has changed significantly since the original Switch was introduced. Back then it was basically the most sophisticated handheld gaming option, but over the years we have seen the rise of the Steam Deck and many PC gaming handhelds and now the Switch 2 honestly struggles to look in any way impressive when compared to what's already out there. That and I simply don't play games on the go like I used to. It's exclusives are the only thing that could get me to buy one right now and the few it's got just aren't the type of thing I feel like I just have to play right away.
So as I've had a Steam Deck for many years I've got it loaded up with lots of games, many well beyond what the Switch was capable of playing, and the prospect of buying games I already got on consoles or PC just to play them on Nintendo's latest handheld simply isn't appealing to me, especially if they're going to be charging full price for them or worse yet the crazy prices Nintendo is trying to charge for games like the new Mario Kart. As a home console it's simply got nothing to offer over the Series X and PS5 I already got.
Re: Almost All PS5 Fans Are Against $80 Games
Right now feels like the worst timing for the industry to try and up the price of video games.
Re: Switch 2 Isn't Targeting People Who Want 'High-Performance Hardware', Like PS5 Pro
Uhh seems like high performance is literally the selling point for the Switch 2. It's battery life is taking a big hit and the price is going way up all in the name of better performance.
Re: PS5, PS4 Arcade Racer Wreckreation Teasing a Return After Lengthy Period of Silence
We already have Wreckfest
Re: Round Up: A 'Cavern of Stupidity' - The Minecraft Movie Reviews Are Live
Well I am shocked, shocked at how this isn't a cinematic masterpiece!
Re: Talking Point: What Are Your Thoughts on Potential $80 PS5 Games?
Seems like the quality of games keeps declining while they keep trying to charge more for them. It's a bad trend that's been turning me off supporting consoles in the future.
Re: Ubisoft Spins Off Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, Rainbow Six into New Subsidiary with Tencent
@DennisReynolds I'm pressing X for doubt.
Re: Ubisoft Spins Off Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, Rainbow Six into New Subsidiary with Tencent
Removed
Re: Japan's Game Industry on Impressive Rise as Western AAA Development Struggles
Western devs lost their way, that's how I'd summarize their issues lately. Like they always seem to be far too wrapped up in the wrong things and don't even seem to care about delivering the best gaming experience anymore. Meanwhile eastern devs are simply delivering good games that appeal to what the people want.
Re: Assassin's Creed Shadows Broke PS Store Sales Records for Ubisoft
They're pumping out positive articles about this game like they're being paid to do it!
Re: Assassin's Creed Shadows Now Surpasses 2 Million Players in Two Days
Removed
Re: Assassin's Creed Shadows (PS5) - Striking Open World RPG Is a Real Cut Above
Removed
Re: Assassin's Creed Shadows (PS5) - Striking Open World RPG Is a Real Cut Above
@DennisReynolds Lol it's going to take a lot more than that to convince me to actually spend money on this. I have lost a great deal of respect for "professional" critics for a good reason, most of the time I simply can't relate to their views and all too often I find them predictably praising the latest products from AAA publishers who advertise on their sites. That and I don't think any of these attempts at gaslighting anyone critical of the game will win me over either.
Re: Assassin's Creed Shadows (PS5) - Striking Open World RPG Is a Real Cut Above
Removed
Re: PS Plus Members Can Now Use Their PS Portal Like a Legit Retro Handheld
They keep trying to sell me on one of these and it's never going to happen lol, I have zero interest in a dedicated device for streaming. I have a phone with 5G that can do that.
Re: Mini Review: Age of Mythology: Retold (PS5) - Series' Best Stands the Test of Time
Been playing this on Xbox I think it's the best RTS on consoles right now.
Re: PS5 Pro's Graphics Will Get Even Better in 2026
PS5 Pro seems like such a stop-gap now with all the recent talk about next gen already.
Re: Intergalactic PS5 Game All About Faith, Religion, and 'Being Lonely'
I remember when Naughty Dog was making games that really appealed to me. It was a long time ago.