Currently playing...

[Deckard]

Not playing stadia then as it’s going I see - what went wrong ?

[venusian]

Not playing stadia then as it’s going I see - what went wrong ?

All the tech and marketing but no games.

[MattyP]

Not playing stadia then as it’s going I see - what went wrong ?

I considered Stadia a few times but the pricing model didn't work for me. Wasn't really convinced paying for full priced games to use over streaming. The sub bit didn't have the games on there TBH. Also I somehow knew as this was a Google project they'd can it soon as it didn't look like it was gaining traction rather than stay for the long haul. Wonder what happens to all those games that were bought now? Players left high and dry? This type of thing does concern me a bit about buying digital TBH. Why I prefer my digital content to come through a sub service like GamePass.

[Rhythm]

I considered Stadia a few times but the pricing model didn't work for me. Wasn't really convinced paying for full priced games to use over streaming. The sub bit didn't have the games on there TBH. Also I somehow knew as this was a Google project they'd can it soon as it didn't look like it was gaining traction rather than stay for the long haul. Wonder what happens to all those games that were bought now? Players left high and dry? This type of thing does concern me a bit about buying digital TBH. Why I prefer my digital content to come through a sub service like GamePass.

It was really weird that they picked a similar model that had already not worked for OnLive. Hell, it's the same model Disney tried to pull when everyone went into the first lockdown:

Dis: "Buy our film on our streaming service"

Customers: "Oh, cool, can I watch it anytime?"

Dis: "Sure, as long as you're paying for Disney+"


Some companies are better at this than others. We've seen how Microsoft are in the "we're gonna burn everything you own*" camp even if you carry on paying them but Steam have talked about having something of a dead man's switch that, publisher-allowing, releases DRM in the event that Steam ever goes under.

(*still kinda fucked off that I lost my purchases from the first version of XBL on the OG Xbox)

[MattyP]

(*still kinda fucked off that I lost my purchases from the first version of XBL on the OG Xbox)

Me too... had a bit of extra content for PGR2 that just went... oh well.

In other news decided to go back to PC gaming going forward. Steam and GamePass. Still have a 360 kicking about for some of the older games that you can't play anywhere else (and the physical disks!).

PS5 is being sold to go to the "new PC upgrade funds". Sony's model doesn't work for me anymore. I don't want to pay £70 for new games simple as that. Got GT7 out of my system for the moment hope they'll release that on the PC at some point if not well plenty of alternatives I guess.

[Rhythm]

PS5 is being sold to go to the "new PC upgrade funds". Sony's model doesn't work for me anymore. I don't want to pay £70 for new games simple as that. Got GT7 out of my system for the moment hope they'll release that on the PC at some point if not well plenty of alternatives I guess.

TBF to console makers there's absolutely a model that lets you buy the console and never pay for games ever - F2P games like Fortnite have gotten to a place where they're genuinely great products in which someone can spend all their time.

That said, people maybe overlook the fact that despite all the "MOAR POWAH" trends in the PC gaming community, there aren't that many system-pushing games out there any more. Especially if you're happy running at lower than 4k. I have a laptop with a 2060 and it's perfectly happy pushing out 1440p/60 or 1080 at higher framerates. It copes plenty well with VR too.

Step down an age-bracket or two and the most advanced thing my kids tend to run is Titanfall2 or Apex. There's a seriously long tail on big games these days.

[MattyP]

PS5 is being sold to go to the "new PC upgrade funds". Sony's model doesn't work for me anymore. I don't want to pay £70 for new games simple as that. Got GT7 out of my system for the moment hope they'll release that on the PC at some point if not well plenty of alternatives I guess.

TBF to console makers there's absolutely a model that lets you buy the console and never pay for games ever - F2P games like Fortnite have gotten to a place where they're genuinely great products in which someone can spend all their time.

That said, people maybe overlook the fact that despite all the "MOAR POWAH" trends in the PC gaming community, there aren't that many system-pushing games out there any more. Especially if you're happy running at lower than 4k. I have a laptop with a 2060 and it's perfectly happy pushing out 1440p/60 or 1080 at higher framerates. It copes plenty well with VR too.

Step down an age-bracket or two and the most advanced thing my kids tend to run is Titanfall2 or Apex. There's a seriously long tail on big games these days.

True... my PC is a Ryzen 5/GTX980Ti based system so getting on a bit but still seems to run most things I throw at it at the moment.

[zip accident]

How is SteamOS coming along? is it working for new PC games? I'm currently on Win7, don't fancy Win11 at all, is that all that new games work on now?

[Misfit]

Working my way through Tinykin on PC Gamepass. It like a slice of Dreamcast 3D platforming but at 4K60. It's not particularly challenging, or particularly long (guide says 4-5 hours to complete the story, I'm on 7 about to start the last level), but it's lovely.

Had pretty much ignored this pretty much due to box art. Too much to try and it put me off.

Will go back and have a look.

[MattyP]

How is SteamOS coming along? is it working for new PC games? I'm currently on Win7, don't fancy Win11 at all, is that all that new games work on now?

Well on Win 10 here and everything still good... so not sure. I can't upgrade my current system to 11 because my chipset isn't supported apparently...

Depending on what you are doing with your system though its probably worth moving off Win 7 as it became end of life a couple of years back which means it'll have all sorts of unpatched issues.

[MattyP]

Picked up Kameo today. Only ever played the demo back in the day... Wanted to play something fun with some platforming and just something different to shooty games. 360 games are insane value for money these days and well have games really moved on that much?!

Scary thing is this is now 17 years old

Enjoying exploring the 360 all over again.

[MattyP]

Still working through Kameo.

Its not a bad game at all feels very Nintendo. Main central hub and then lots of areas with bosses etc. Like the morphing dynamic and the different creatures you control with different abilities.

In other news decided to treat myself to a Series S console to play my 360 games on and GP things. Lovely little console. Well built and so dinky - much like well consoles used to be. So quiet. Really nice piece of kit and a great addition to my setup. Storage is limited however but finding that is making it easier for me to focus on what to play. Nice to have access to all my Xbox console digital content I've accumulated over the years... loving Dangerous Driving and R-Type Final 2. Only downside is that it doesn't of course have a drive.. not that I have many discs anymore TBH and it was got as primarily a GP playing machine.

Nice that it has the same architecture as its big brother (AMD Zen 2) just clocked a bit lower and obviously the GPU is targeted at 1080p over 4K so should be good to run newer things for a while. Feels very much like an old school console.

Also plays 360 games really well MS work their magic on 360 games and they look really nice on the new console.. improved framerates, added HDR etc. Kameo for example plays smoother and looks much cleaner.

[Rhythm]

Currently playing at getting annoyed that the Xbox app suddenly got so spammy. I keep getting popups telling me to sign up for a dodgy-looking rewards program and it all looks sketchy AF.

[MattyP]

Still on with Kameo... progressing few but hit a spike a few days back.You know where you just need to put the pad down and walk away! (Its the water temple boss for those who have played this!)

This.. my victorious moment in time!

https://www.xbox.com/play/media/WKKY5RFD
(think that is the first time I've used the share button on the updated pad!)

Had another session tonight. Just focused on working on the controls of the octopus.

Really enjoying this despite the frustration at times (there always seems to be a certain bit in every game TBH!)

The game still looks lovely even more so with HDR updates and is nice and smooth as it's got a frame rate boost too! (all courtesy of the new hardware its running on!). Nice that MS gave taken time to do this to older games further back than last gen. Although do think the lines are getting muddled with respect to what a "gen" is these days what with the Nintendo with the Switch and MS rapidly making its offering a gaming platform.

You can definitely feel the Nintendo vibe running through this game which is probably why I'm enjoying it - the general feel and structure to it and I expect had it actually got onto a Nintendo platform there would have had a z-lock targeting system which makes for targeting in 3D games much less frustrating, One thing Nintendo are really good at is working out the interface things so most of the time their games are exceptional (OK I know ferris wheel in Super Mario Sunshine!!!).

Also seem to be playing through Gears Of War again.. put the Ultimate Edition on just to "give it a test" see what updates they had done.... and ended up playing it! This game just gets lots of things right, Love the weighty feel to it - the big noisy guns etc. Think I just enjoy the simplicity of it. Move forward. Shoot some critters rinse and repeat with critters of different sizes etc. No complexity to it in that you can just pick up and play. Might have another look at 5 after this however love the purity of the first one.

Lastly the other game I've been picking up between the above is Prodeus which has been great. It's an upgraded Doom essentially with a modern day gloss brushed over its visuals. In much the same way as Gears I think its just not complicated and a faff to play. No complex things to learn proper old school shooter. The sound is lovely too - nice squelchy sounds and bassy thuds when you down enemies. I've been playing this mostly on the PC though as well it needs WSAD keys... Old school shooter needs the right gear, I think it does support keyboard and mouse on the consoles too. Apparently the PS5 version has really good haptics too! It does also play well enough on a pad.

[Jonesey]

You really should try Outlriders. Free with Gamepass. Has the run-and-gun cover mechanics of Gears combined with a "magic"/weapons/armour/attributes system like Destiny!

I've played through the campaign several times experimenting with character class builds, and I'm on my second play through with my mates. It's brilliant.