#plus i think there's a good chance the new spider-man game will get a pc release too

[keydav]

Really feeling that Baldur's Gate 3 FOMO tonight, especially where Astarion is concerned 😩😩

I was literally looking at Gaming PCs online, even though I shouldn't get one right now. Though I didn't even think about places having a Labor Day sale! I think what I'm gonna do, is try to save up as much as I can the next few months, and then take a look on Black Friday, cause the deals might be good enough I could swing one then. I've been wanting to get a desktop computer for a while, since my laptop is over 10 years old and essentially doesn't function anymore, and this has just made that desire that much more acute lol

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #465

Top Ten Games I’d Like to See on Game Pass in 2021

After a few weeks of earnest thinking and tyring to be creative, I’ve lapsed back into a wishlist this week. I used to do a lot more of these – films I’d like to come to Prime Video, games I’d like to see on Windows Phone, that sort of thing – so regular readers should be thankful that I’ve branched out more as time’s gone on.

In a way today’s list is another chance to review my big Christmas purchase, the Xbox Series X. Through a combination of presents and canny offers I was able to get, alongside the console, a year’s subscription to Game Pass Ultimate. Game Pass has been called Microsoft’s “real next-gen console”, in that they are very clearly positioning the future of their games business around it. And it is a very, very tantalising offer: dozens if not hundreds of games available at the touch of a button, playable on console, PC, and – via streaming – mobile phones. I had Game Pass once before, last year, and it was great; I chose not to keep up the sub because £11 a month (or even £8 for the most basic service) is still quite expensive when you’ve got large games that you own outright sitting there unplayed or uncompleted. But last time around the “xCloud” streaming service was still in closed beta, so it’s nice to see it rolled out more officially now. The interface is better and it seems to run a bit better, and games that support touch controls on a phone certainly perform better. I’ve found it a great way to play Slay the Spire, for instance; a turn-based card game is quite forgiving if you momentarily lose connection or the visuals start artifacting or something. Anyway, it’s great; the whole service is great. I love the fact that you get frequent (if very slight) rewards just for using it. It’s a great incentive to come back regularly or try new games. I wouldn’t have played something like The Medium or Ori and the Will of the Wisps without Game Pass; and allows me to play something like Planet Coaster or Crackdown 3, that I enjoy dipping in and out of, but probably wouldn’t buy at the moment. And for the kids, it’s great; Disneyland Adventure is a really fun game for the nippers. Although they mostly just play Minecraft.

But of course like Alexander Hamilton I’ve never been satisfied, and in that grand old tradition of doing wish lists, this week’s list is just the games that I’d like to see on the service. That’s it! Nothing complicated about it. just ten (or, well, kinda more actually) games that I think should be on Game Pass. Now, I’ve tried to be realistic about this; so I’ve not added games that aren’t actually out on the Xbox yet, such as Fall Guys (which I really hope will be on Game Pass). Ditto games that have just come out; you’ll see Assassin’s Creed down there somewhere, but not Valhalla, as that’s, I dunno, less likely right now? Same with Hitman 3; I really want to play that, it looks excellent, but I’m not expecting it to turn up on Game Pass anytime soon, coz it’s just come out and been a really big hit. There’s a slight exception to this rule though, as you’ll see.

So there we go: if anyone from Xbox is listening, here are the ten games I’d most like to see on Game Pass, if you please. Oh, and everything is meant to be on the Xbox unless otherwise stated.

Civilization VI (2019): and its assorted expansions please! Civ is my absolute must-play always-on go-to game on PC, and from what I’ve played of the console conversion, it’s a very good adaptation. Last year I was on the xCloud beta and Civ VI was one of the games you could stream; but oddly it’s never, to my knowledge, appeared on Game Pass proper. With Quick Resume, dipping in and out of a session would be even easier (and good god damn it takes a long time to load on my PC). Bonus: this works pretty well on mobile, although it can be hard to read the text on a phone screen.

Assassin’s Creed Origins and/or Odyssey (2017/2018): I’ve never really gotten into an Ass Creed game, so it’d be nice to experience one of the newer ones, but that’s not the real reason I want these on the service (besides, the one I really want to play is Valhalla, coz Vikings innit). Last year Ubisoft offered the “Discovery Tour” modes of both these games up for free on PC; my kids ate them up. They loved exploring ancient Egypt and Greece, and it tied into their studies at school. To free up my PC and because they’d look a lot nicer, I’d love them to be on the Xbox, too.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 (2020): I guess Skate or something is on Game Pass through EA Play, so I could scratch my board itch if I wanted, but it’s not quite the same. I want that nostalgia blast of Tony Hawk action. We used to play this on my girlfriend’s (now wife’s) computer, although I must confess I’ve utterly forgotten all the controls. Regardless, it’s a good fun party game and feels perfect for the service. This update in particular looks really worthwhile, with nice graphics but – hopefully – the same excellent gameplay. Dunno if Spider-Man is still in it, mind.

Minecraft (2011): now, yeah, I’m pretty sure Minecraft is actually on Game Pass on the Xbox; and, indeed, we own it. Whilst I feel that Minecraft is now so ubiquitous and has its own ecosystem that maybe it could become free-to-play, I definitely think that the PC version of Minecraft should fall under Game Pass for PC. Although I’m not sure that would really help my kids, as they’d need to be signed into my Game Pass account to play, wouldn’t they? See, MS needs some kind of family account thing going on.

Hades (2020): another PC games! Yeah, I quite fancy Hades. I remember playing the first Diablo, sometime very shortly after the actual fall of Satan, and liking it. Hades has got a lot of good reviews and all the nice people seem to be saying all the nice things about it. So I’d like to try it out, but I know, deep down inside, that I’ll just keep going back to playing Fallen Order and Gears 5 (or Civ on PC), so it’s not really worth buying. But if they added it to Game Pass on PC? Yes please.

Control Ultimate Edition (2021): ah, is this adding a brand new game? Depends on your definition. I really like the look of Control (2019). It looks like the sort of game I’d enjoy playing. And, yes, Control is technically on Game Pass. But with the super-shiny next-gen version imminent (with sexy ray-tracing!) then that’s the version I want to play. Not the filthy old degenerated version that can run on my old Xbox One. There’s a lot of justifiable controversy about the release structure of Control on next-gen, but given how pretty much all Xbox One games on Game Pass automatically give you their Series X/S versions through Smart Delivery, Control really stands out. As Ultimate Edition is on PlayStation Plus, I feel like a Game Pass version should come through sharpish.

Lego Marvel Super Heroes (2013): this is arguably the first of my “just being lazy” picks, and really it could stand in for a few different titles. We love the Lego games in this house, and our favourites (that is, mine and my kids’) probably remains Marvel Super Heroes and its 2017 sequel. Seeing as quite a lot of Xbox 360-era Lego games are on the service, it’d be really cool to add some of the newer ones, what with the excellent-sounding Skywalker Saga imminent. I mean, the first Marvel Super Heroes was an Xbox One launch title; they’re not exactly “new”. We own these, along with several more, but it’d be so nice to be able to hop in and out quickly without having to root around for a disc. And y’know, if they wanted to add the Lego Movie adaptations, or DC Super Villains, then why the heck not?

Cuphead (2017): I really want to play this! It looks amazing. I just want to experience that, y’know? Except here’s the problem: I know I would utterly suck at this. I’m pretty rubbish at platform games in general, and 2D shooters I’m even worse at. I’ve heard this game is quite hard. I am not good at hard games. And especially nowadays, when I only have time to breeze through stuff on super-easy (I have come to terms with playing games in “Story Mode”). So I just don’t think there’s any point in my buying it. But on Game Pass? Instant download.

Marvel’s Avengers (2020): is this “new”? I dunno anymore. Regardless, it feels like it’s had its moment, so coming to Game Pass wouldn’t be too outrageous. I’m gonna be honest, I’ve never felt like this looked particularly good, but then I hear people say how it’s a decent third-person action game where you play as Ms Marvel, and that sounds pretty cool. Maybe divorced of the hype and the unrealistic expectations there’s a fun no-frills game to be found. I’d love to discover it on Game Pass.

Star Wars: Squadrons (2020) or Cyberpunk 2077 (2020): now this is where we really get into lazy territory. I got both of these games for Christmas (and, obviously, they’re both new), and I really like them both (Cyberpunk runs really well on Series X). However, I got them both on disc; Cyberpunk specifically I wanted on disc to get the gubbins such as a map of Night City (I’m a sucker for stuff like that). And I think – yeah this sounds terrible – having to get up and get the box out and put the disc in is actually an impediment to my playing them. Sometimes I’m sat there and I think, shall I play Cyberpunk? And I realise I’d have to move, and I think, nah, I’ll just play Red Dead or Fallen Order or Witcher or Gears Tactics or Forza or Halo or Planet Coaster or Ori or Medium or Slay the Spire or Full Throttle or Crackdown or Two Point Hospital or Minecraft Dungeons or Perfect Dark or Doom or… you get the picture. I know I’m going to hell, don’t worry.

Anyway, there we are! Good games? Good games. Cheers in advance, Microsoft.

[terryblount]

Meck’s Top 5 Games Of 2018

What a good year for video games this has been. A ton of great single-player games on the AAA front to sink your time in. The more niche, indie titles also got some good hits too with the resurgence of strategy tactics and builder games on PC.

So as a person who enjoys a diverge of different game genres with a bias towards gameplay over story, I was spoilt for choice. There’s plenty of good games, some I was given opportunity to review by the publishers, though some I missed just because of budgetary reasons. (WE NEED MORE MUNNEH!)

Anyway, before moving to the Top 5, a quick shoutout to these games that I loved but did not make the cut.

Into The Breach – The followup of the developers of FTL combines rougelike and strategy tactics to perfection. I did a review here.

A Way Out – A bold co-op only adventure game that reignites my belief that one day, these narrative adventure games can be something worth my time playing through.

Tetris Effect – I want to get high on Tetris so bad.

Marvel’s Spider-Man – I only got to play it at a preview event, but I loved what I played. It’s good seeing my favourite developers still going strong.

And here’s my Top 5:

5: Spyro Reignited Trilogy

Spyro! I managed to finally play it after we crowned this game the Best Remake/Remaster for 2018. And it definitely lived up to my expectations.

Twenty years ago I discovered a magical game thanks to a demo disc from a UK magazine. So it’s a PAL disc which meant everything ran in black and white on the NTSC PS1. But, it opened my eyes to a different kind of game- a game with open-ended levels and sandbox design that you can stray away from the critical path for a while and be rewarded for your curiosity.

Spyro The Dragon is the Super Mario 64 replacement for me growing up. Spyro 2 is one of the first games I properly beat to 100% completion. Spyro Year Of The Dragon taught me piracy is wrong since I never found a working bootleg copy back in those days. It kept crashing, the progression loop was broken, some levels won’t load or unlock and then the in-game message seals the deal. That scarred me.

The faithful remake of the trilogy is what I expected bar a few nitpicks. It’s like playing the old three games through nostalgia-laden rose-tinted glasses.

Also, the original Spyro games are how I fell in love with Insomniac, in case you’re wondering.

4: God Of War

Two action game franchises that I never played back at its inception on PS2: Yakuza and God Of War. I’ve finally played Yakuza Kiwami early this year but I did not expect to give God Of War a try.

I was cynical, thinking it would be another The Last Of Us, a great game yes, but I mean it as a ‘oh, it’s that game again’. I also thought that the new dark souls style controls was a weird choice.

I was definitely wrong in all of those accounts.

God Of War is a masterstroke at balancing two extremes you did not expect. It is both a soft reboot and a hard sequel to the three numbered games before. It is a hard-on character action game but with the slower and methodical approach Soulsborne players familiar with. It blends its cinematics and its gameplay into one cohesive package polished to the brim.

God Of War deserves all the praises it gets. It’s not that high on my personal list because I don’t have much attachment to the series and story, but it’s a remarkable masterpiece you should at least give a chance.

3: Frostpunk

So the developers of This War Of Mine made a city builder this time. The city builder aspect got me interested, and the aesthetic of a frozen wasteland with makeshift steampunk technology has a cool, unique look to it.

But man, it pulled some heart strings in me.

While a competent scenario-based city builder at first (it now has a endless mode which is great), the setup and world building around Frostpunk makes it hard to just make the optimal decision. Each choice has a consequence, both good and bad. It’s a matter of choosing what you can cope with right now, even if it sounds wrong.

Making children overwork that can lead to deaths, or amputating injured workers immediately if their limbs broke sounds harsh, desperate and cruel. But times are ending and desperate times calls for desperate measures.

And the most horrific of all is the two philosophy where you can rule your city with- building up faith and become a zealous, cult-like religious fanatics or a safe, over-protective communists that requires 100% obedience to the supreme leader.

But through all of the alarming decisions, the harsh conditions you are tested, there’s always a glimpse of hope that the city will survive. A ray of optimism always shine through this gloomy game and it made such a big impression on me, and on the review for the site.

Plus, I just love city builders in general. About time we got a decent one.

2: Red Dead Redemption II

May I?

I love Red Dead, but oddly it came from the PS2 Red Dead Revolver rather than the first Red Dead Redemption, which I have yet to play to the finish. That did not stop me from enjoying every single bit of Red Dead Redemption II.

I have always wanted a long game to sink in myself in like how I lost myself in Skyrim and Red Dead Redemption II hits the spot. The numerous mechanics never felt tedious or in the way for me, just enough to make me invest in the ever-changing world and, more importantly, invest in Arthur Morgan. That man carries a lot of nuance not only to justify the need for an Honor system, but makes him such a believable character.

I have issues with the controls and it’s not as realistic or system driven as it may look, but you should check my review for that.

You can see from a mile away the story of Red Dead Redemption II will end up and it’s still a gut-wrenching ride. Let me tell you, I was shooketh to the end.

If you ever wanted to see a tragic story being unfold like FFXV but delivered better, Red Dead Redemption II is it.

Also, Arthur for best game dad 2018. The dad of all horses.

1: Hitman 2

This is an obvious pick if you have followed me enough on social media or listen to the many episodes of dia.log – The Gamer Matters Podcast or checked out my review.

There’s something I really enjoy about deadpan humour. The Yakuza series did those well. And now Hitman has upped their game with Hitman 2.

I’ve always been a fan of the series so seeing Hitman 2 realising the full potential to Hitman 2016. And that’s great! But what’s better is how the game embrace the deadpan humour. From your typical black comedy to more absurd, ludicrous references and easter eggs, Hitman 2 is not afraid to have fun.

Yeah, smuggle a fish in that briefcase. Bring it out and throw at someone. Someone else saw it? Now throw that briefcase as it it tracks and curves to reach its target. Why not dress as Knight and pretend it’s Dark Souls? Or grab a shovel instead and pretend you’re playing Shovel Knight? The developers know you want to goof off after the finishing the levels on your first run properly. So they reward you for your curiosity.

And even if you prefer a more linear experience than uncover the secrets of the levels on your own, Hitman 2 nudges you in the right way and also present to you some hilarious circumstance your targets can die from.

If you love Metal Gear Solid and prefer to play stealthily, check out Hitman 2. Skip Hitman 2016, buy Hitman 2 and the Legacy Pack DLC and trust me, it’s fun and brimmed with content now.

2018 was great! Here’s to more good games in 2019!

Meck’s Top 5 Games Of 2018 published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #444

Top Ten PlayStation Games I Hope Get PC Releases

And once again I turn my steely eye to the world of gaming. This time though I’m pulling on my blue jumper and talking about PlayStation (because I guess Xbox would have a green one and Nintendo’s would be red? I dunno, I’m making this up as I go). I’ve said in the past that as much as I like Sony and would love a PlayStation, I’ve never actually owned one myself because I always tend to buy an Xbox first. As much as I love the gaming industry, gaming as a past-time, and games themselves as an art-form, I have a rapidly dwindling supply of free time and unfortunately once I factor in trying to see enough films to maintain polite conversation and staring at my phone for hours on end in order to maximise my ennui, I don’t have an awful lot of minutes left in the day to dive into a wide variety of triple-A titles. As such, because I’m used to the Xbox’s way of working, because I tend to prefer its controllers and its whole ecosystem, and because I love several of their franchises (Halo and Fable especially), it’s always Xbox I gravitate towards, and then I just don’t have enough gaming time left over to justify the expense of a second huge console. And let’s get it out of the way – the PlayStation 5 is huge.

As a result, as time has gone on, there is an ever-growing number of PlayStation exclusives that I’ve barely played. In The Olden Days this was less of a problem, as pre-kids (and, heck, pre-everything considering how old the original PlayStation is at this point) I was able to saunter over to a friend’s house and try out games on their console. In this fashion I sampled a good many PS1 and PS2 titles such as Metal Gear Solid, WipeOut, Resident Evil, Time Splitters, Ico, and my absolute favourite, the original PS2 Transformers game. By the time PS3 rolled around this happened more rarely, but I’d argue it was fairly late in the generation when they showed off any games that really interested me (specifically those from Naughty Dog); and with the PS4, I’ve barely played on one at all, more’s the pity. And I really do mean more’s the pity, because this time around there have been loads of games I wanted; they really have had a better generation than Xbox, even if I couldn’t give up my Halo or Gears, to say nothing of the huge collection of backwards compatible games that get played to death by my kids.

That’s why I’m overjoyed that Sony have finally taken a leaf out of Microsoft’s book and are starting to release some of their bigger games on PC. I’ve been largely laptop-only for about a decade now, but it is a very powerful laptop, even if it’s not dedicated gaming hardware, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised how well it manages to run even quite demanding 3D games such as Assassin’s Creed Odyssey or Gears Tactics (I really must try out Flight Simulator sometime soon). The first big Sony exclusives to drop on Steam are Death Stranding (which looks bonkers but not my cup of tea) and the intriguing Horizon: Zero Dawn, which I’d probably really like. But those were never the Sony games that totally floated my boat; no, there are others, and I would absolutely love it if Sony saw fit to unleash them on Steam in the near future. Hey, I’m not picky; you don’t need to day-and-date it. I don’t mind enjoying a “Part I” whilst PS5 gamers are playing the hot new “Part II”. But I increasingly think be-all-and-end-all exclusives are rather old-fashioned, and whilst I get that there should probably be games tied to specific boxes, the services those box-companies provide should be more universal. That’s why I like Microsoft’s Play Anywhere initiative and the mobile game streaming via xCloud. But this is a Sony list, and these are some very, very good Sony games. I assume. By and large, I haven’t played them.

Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018): I love Rocksteady’s Arkham series of Batman games, but I do find them a bit relentlessly dark and miserable with an oh-so-gritty art style. What could be better, then, than a game that seems to play broadly similar but is nice, bright, funny, and sunny? Spider-Man is the perfect hero for that sort of game, and this looks absolutely like everything I’d ever want from a superhero game. I really, really, hope it comes to PC at some point, but I’ll be honest, I doubt it.

The Last of Us (2013): I like a good third-person action-adventure, whether it’s Gears, Tomb Raider, or Jedi: Fallen Order. TLOU looks most up my street, however, for its story, and its seemingly moving depiction of a family unit forming amidst the end of the world. By all accounts it’s a tear-jerker; I’ve tried to steer clear of the plot. Porting it over to PC whilst the well-received sequel is getting an inevitable PS5 upgrade seems like a good idea.

Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection (2015): I’ve very briefly played one of the Uncharteds, but not really; I hear they’re like the Tomb Raider reboot, but better, which seems nice. A rollicking third-person action-adventure with an Indiana Jones spirit? Count me in. With the long-mooted film adaptation finally underway, COVID notwithstanding, it seems like a good time to let PC gamers have a go at the classic saga. I’d add part 4 to the existing trilogy collection before shunting it to Steam.

Shadow of the Colossus (2018): I’ve played Ico a bit so I’m broadly familiar with the tone of these games, but Colossus seems like an even cooler idea. Scaling moving monsters, killing them but feeling guilty, sounds like both a great gameplay mechanic and a moving and evocative theme for a game. Port the recent remake to PC please, Mr. Sony.

Ratchet and Clank (2016): full disclosure: the new PS5 Ratchet game is the only title I’ve seen demoed that really looks next-gen, with its fancy ray-tracing, excessive particle effects, and funky portal-based gameplay. How’s about, then, giving PC gamers a chance to enjoy the relatively-recent remake of the very first game? A bit of cross-promotion works wonders, Sony.

God of War (2018): the old PS3-era God of War games never really appealed, I guess because I’m not always a huge fan of hack-and-slash and they gave off a kind of crazy excessive, almost laddish vibe that I found off-putting (having not played them, I may be being incredibly unfair). The new one, though, sounds like it’s all about being a dad and being sad and remorseful, so count me in.

Wipeout Omega Collection (2017): I’ve always enjoyed arcade racers, but one sub-genre that I don’t think gets enough love is a futuristic racer, especially where you’ve got hover cars (they seemed to be quite popular twenty-odd years ago). I played the original Wipeout on my mate’s OG PlayStation, but I’d love it if us PC gamers could play the whole series. Could it possibly be even better than Star Wars Episode I Racer?

LittleBigPlanet 3 (2014): chances are, if I’d done this list back around the time the first two LittleBigPlanet games were released, they’d have topped the chart. They looked like cool, fun platform games, with a fantastic creative aspect; I bet my kids would love them. With that in mind, I’d be over the moon to see Sackboy take a bow on Steam. I’d have put Dreams on this list, incidentally, except I can’t see myself getting a VR set anytime soon.

The Last Guardian (2016): feels a bit of a cheat having both this and Colossus on the list, but I do want to see what the fuss is about. One of those games infamous for its time in development, it seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it affair, and I am intrigued. Plus I want to know who dies at the end, the boy or the monster.

Killzone Shadow Fall (2013): gaming cliché has it that Nintendo does cutesy platformers, Microsoft does shooters, and Sony does third-person action-adventures; so whilst I’m well-versed in Halo and Gears, I’ve never sampled PlayStation’s key FPS franchise. Famous for its genuinely wowing showcase when the PS4 was announced, I’m not sure how good Shadow Fall actually is (or any of its predecessors for that matter) but I’d be very interested in finding out. Alternatively, give us one of the Resistance games and let me tear around an alternative Manchester or something.

So, there we are; ten games that I think are probably quite good – or even, y’know, masterpieces – but I’ve not had the chance to really sample them yet. And short of me picking up a PlayStation on the cheap, I don’t know when I really can. I mean, I told myself I’d buy a second-hand PS3 and a copy of TLOU once this current generation was in full swing, but that never happened. So throw me a bone, Sony! I still want to buy your stuff! Just sell it somewhere else! Somewhere I already am! Like Steam! Please?!