#witcher is already in fortnite so no big surprise

[vince-linder]

Feelingly the only person on tumblr thats kinda happy about the (probably) upcoming Fortnite x Cyberpunk 2077 collab xD

[askagamedev]

Do you have any opinions on the Cyberpunk 2077 launch?

The writing was on the wall when they announced the delay after going gold. The warning signs were already there before then - CDPR is fairly well-known in the industry for their sweatshop working conditions and pay, the game had been in development since the PS3/X360 console generation, and there had been multiple delays - but the post-gold delay really confirmed that it was going to be a hot, buggy mess. So let’s talk about it for a moment.

First, Cyberpunk’s extremely long development cycle basically meant that the leadership couldn’t figure out what they wanted the game to be for a very long time. Nobody plans to take eight years to build a game - the video game market changes and evolves way too quickly for that to happen. When Cyberpunk was announced, League of Legends hadn’t hit its peak yet and everybody was starting to fall off of the big AAA MMOG boom. Hearthstone didn’t exist. Fortnite didn’t exist. Players were all super excited to play COD: BLOPS 2. Having a dev cycle take longer than 4 years generally means the dev team wasted a lot of time building things, discovering they didn’t work, and then throwing them out. The finished Cyberpunk isn’t the sum of eight years of work, it’s the sum of maybe three years of work and five additional years of cut systems and content. 

Second, CDPR is already known in the industry for their brutal working conditions. They’re a crunch culture studio and there have been confirmations from one of the devs on Cyberpunk that they’ve been crunching on it since at least June of 2019 despite public assurances that it wasn’t mandatory. These kind of working conditions are nothing new; they did it for the Witcher 3, they did it for the Witcher 2, and there’s no reason to think they won’t continue in the future since it clearly continues to work for them. Unfortunately, the effect of the exhausted dev team gets multiplied by the systemic effects of delaying the game as well.

Finally, Cyberpunk was also delayed several times - in January, then in June, then again in November. Delays are never planned into the schedule - they are responses to shit hitting the fan. They only occur when the producers realize that there is no way that they’ll be able to hit their target that they delay the game. There are several reasons for this, primarily budgetary - changing release dates greatly affects the marketing campaign, business deals, as well as the overall development cost of the game. Thus, delays are usually a last resort - the added time is the minimum estimated time to reach the goal by crunching super hard to get past the finish line. The fact that they had to delay three separate times meant that they blew their estimates and schedules three times and had to course-correct each time. This is why the effect of the death march crunch mentioned previously gets multiplied - the devs have already been on a year-long deathmarch crunch and are exhausted, causing their work to suffer. Delaying on top of that means that their work will continue to suffer.

Cyberpunk is the result of multiple contributing factors - years in development hell, a brutal sweatshop studio culture, and all exacerbated by pivoting due to delays changing the schedule. It is the result of bad planning multiplied by developer exhaustion, compounded by sudden scope and schedule changes. All of the warning signs were already there if you knew where to look. I actually would have been very surprised if this wasn’t the resultant state of Cyberpunk at launch.

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[aion-rsa]

Xbox Series X Games Confirmed So Far

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The Xbox Series X is Microsoft’s next-gen console that will bring all-new graphics, faster load times, and plenty of ways to enjoy all of the games you love digitally through Xbox Game Pass, the Smart Delivery system, and backward compatibility. We’ve learned quite a bit about the Xbox Series X’s impressive specs as well as what the console looks like. In fact, based on what we know so far, it looks like Microsoft’s console will be very stiff competition for Sony’s PlayStation 5.

But console wars always come down to one thing: the games. The Xbox Series X already has quite a few first-party and third-party titles in its lineup, including flagship title Halo Infinite, which will launch on the same day as the release of the new console. What else do you have to look forward to playing on the Xbox Series X?

Let’s start with some of the major upcoming Xbox Series X games that Microsoft has chosen to highlight thus far:

Halo Infinite

The next chapter in the Halo series is not Halo 6 but Halo Infinite, a sequel that is said to bring the beloved first-person shooter franchise back to its roots. The game seems to be set on a Halo ring, it features warthogs and marines, and the Master Chief’s more classic look from Halo 2. This is the first time an Xbox console has launched with a Halo game since the original Xbox, so expect Halo Infinite to be a very big event.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice was a revelation for the psychological thriller genre, its take on mental illness giving a unique spin to action-adventure gameplay. Now, Celtic warrior Senua returns in Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II for a new dive into the darkness that’s sure to be even more breathtaking than the first, thanks to the Xbox Series X’s upgraded 4K graphics.

Cyberpunk 2077

What can be written about Cyberpunk 2077 that hasn’t already been said? It’s the highly-anticipated sci-fi RPG from developer CD Projeckt Red, the studio behind The Witcher series. It takes everything you love about the cyberpunk sub-genre — hacking, cybernetic implants, twisted augmented realities, and lots of guns — and jams it all into a massive open-world narrative that just happens to feature Keanu Reeves as a character! Best of all, the game is coming to Xbox Series X through the Smart Delivery system, which means that if you buy the Xbox One version, you’ll also be able to upgrade to the Xbox Series X version for free!

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

The next chapter in the Assassin’s Creed series tells a story of Viking raiders. You play as Eivor, a warrior whose faith in Odin drives him during a fierce conflict against the forces of England. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla promises battles on both land and sea as well as iconic series staples like the deadly wrist blade and the revamped RPG elements that made Origins and Odyssey such big hits.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon

The Xbox Series X will launch with a new Yakuza game, this one billed as an “underdog story about fighting for what you believe in.” It stars Ichiban Kasuga, a low-level Yakuza thug who has to work his way up the ladder while taking up different jobs around the city of Yokohama in Japan. Expect the series’ trademark zaniness and heartwrenching storytelling in this new installment.

Destiny 2

Fans hoping to continue their Guardian adventure on the Xbox Series can rest easy! Bungie’s Action MMO is making the jump to next-gen consoles. This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, considering that Destiny 2 is a free-to-play online game that will likely make an easy transition to new consoles. We don’t yet know if the next-gen of the version of the game will feature a visual overhaul or if it’ll at least have improved load times, but Bungie promised to share more in the coming weeks.

Gears 5

While the Xbox Series X will launch with a new Halo game, Gears of War fans will also be able to enjoy an upgraded version of Gears 5 at launch. The game will be optimized for the new console, featuring the same graphics you’d enjoy from the Ultra settings on PC. And if you already own the game on Xbox One, you’ll get the Xbox Series X version for free using the console’s Smart Delivery system.

Rainbow Six Quarantine

The spin-off to the online tactical shooter Rainbow Six Siege adapts that game’s Outbreak event into a full-length game. Team up with your squad to deal with strange mutants threatening humanity. This is Rainbow Six like you never expected to see it.

Outriders

Outriders is the new online loot shooter coming from People Can Fly and Square Enix. While comparisons to Destiny, Warframe, and The Division are inevitable, what sets this game apart is the gritty sci-fi world that makes up the title’s setting. And this game is being developed by the studio behind Bulletstorm, one of the great, underrated shooters of the last decade. We’re definitely excited about this one.

Fortnite

It was only a matter of time before the most popular multiplayer game in the world announced it was coming to next-gen consoles. Yes, you’ll be able to floss your way to victory on the Xbox Series X. Best of all, Fortnite will be available on next-gen consoles at launch, so you can get to the building and shooting as soon as your unbox the Series X. Epic also has plans to migrate the game to it’s brand-new and incredibly impressive Unreal Engine 5 sometime in 2021.

Bright Memory Infinite

This action-packed first-person shooter takes place in the year 2036 and stars an agent of the Supernatural Science Research Organization who is tasked with investigating a “strange phenomenon” happening all over the world. As you can see, this mystery leads to a lot of bullets flying everywhere and plenty of high-speed chases. Bright Memory Infinite is one of the more impressive titles utilizing next-gen graphics so far.

DiRT 5

Fans of the off-road racing franchise will find more to love in the series’ first next-gen installment, DiRT 5. The impressive 4K graphics and ray-tracing capabilities of the Xbox Series X makes this the must-have next-gen racing game.

Scorn

Scorn was first announced in 2014 for PC, but Ebb Software went radio silent on this H.R. Giger-inspired horror game not long after. But now it’s back and coming to the Xbox Series in all its gruesome glory. Weird structures made of bones and meat will undoubtedly make Scorn of the most visceral experiences on the new console. Horror fans should look forward to this one.

Chorus

Chorus, which comes from Deep Silver, is one of the most interesting action games coming to the Xbox Series X. You play as “ex-cultist Nara, an ace pilot with a haunted past, and Forsaken, a sentient AI starfighter and her closest ally, with a mysterious backstory of his own to unravel.” Together, the ship and pilot must vanquish the Circle, a cult that threatens to take over the galaxy. Stunning visuals, the promise of a dark storyline, and action-packed dog fights in space make this one of our most highly-anticipated next-gen releases so far.

Madden NFL 21

No surprise here: Madden is coming to Xbox Series X. Expect the football simulator you already love but with enhanced graphics and perhaps a gameplay improvement or two. Plus, Madden NFL 21 might be the only way you’ll be able to enjoy the sport in 2020.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2

This bloody and violent sequel to the cult classic RPG full of vampires takes us to a version of Seattle plagued with creatures of the night. Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 thrusts you into a conflict between several factions who are vying for control of the city. No matter who wins, the poor humans lose.

Call of the Sea

This ocean-themed puzzle-adventure game is set in the 1930s on a mysterious island in the South Pacific. You play as Norah, a woman in search of her husband. The trail leads to this strange tropical setting that seems to take full advantage of the next-gen consoles advanced lighting effects.

The Ascent

If Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t enough cyberpunk for you, there’s also The Ascent, a solo and co-op action RPG that takes place in a metropolis where the collapse of a mega-corporation has left its people in disarray and stuck in the middle of a power vacuum. You’ll fight rival gangs and evil corporations with your team in this isometric sci-fi game.

The Medium

For a second there, we thought this new horror game from Layers of Fear developer Bloober Team was a new Silent Hill game. Even the moody score sounds like it belongs to the classic Japanese survival horror series. That’s no accident. The Medium, which stars a woman named Marianne who can interact with both the real world and spirit world, takes a lot of inspiration from Konami’s horror series and even has famed Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka collaborating on the soundtrack. We’re in!

Scarlet Nexus

In Bandai Namco’s Scarlet Nexus, you play as Yuito Sumeragi, “a new recruit to the OSF aiming to become an elite psionic like the one who saved him as a child.” Yuito will explore the city of New Himuka, which is on the verge of a future where technology is about to fuse with psychic powers. Expect plenty of anime-inspired action.

Second Extinction

Turok and Dino Crisis fans are probably already obsessed with Second Extinction, which pits you and two of your friends in 3v1 battle against mutant dinosaurs. What the hell else do you need to know? If you miss the dinosaur shooters of old, now is your time!

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum

A new Lord of the Rings adventure game is on the way from Daedalic Entertainment. It’s an adventure game about Gollum before the events of the books. What was the miserable, ring-obsessed creature up to before he started chasing after Frodo and Sam on their way to Mordor? This game is going to tell you.

Far Cry 6

Far Cry 6 casts players into the role of a revolutionist on the fictional island of Yara. It’s the player’s job to help lead the battle against a violent dictator named Anton Castillo (notably played by Breaking Bad‘s Giancarlo Esposito).In many ways, Far Cry 6 looks like it will stick fairly close to the formula that the franchise has established in recent years. Whether or not that’s a bad thing depends on your perspective, but we’re curious to discover whether this series has any surprises up its sleeve.

Grand Theft Auto 5

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that Grand Theft Auto 5 will make the leap to the next generation. GTA Online has proven to be one of Rockstar’s biggest successes ever, and we can think of several hundred million reasons why the company would want to keep it alive. While we still believe we’ll play GTA 6 one day, it’s clear that Grand Theft Auto 5 isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Hitman 3

The recently revived Hitman series has proven to be one of the greatest joys in modern gaming. Hitman 3 will look to advance the series recent success by offering more open-ended levels filled with creative objectives that emphasize replays and multiple paths to victory. If the brilliant mission design of Hitman 2 is any indication, then Hitman 3 may just prove to be the best entry in franchise history.

Resident Evil Village

Resident Evil Village (also commonly referred to as Resident Evil 8) looks to advance the story of the game-changing Resident Evil 7 by once again putting players in the shoes of Ethan Winters. This time, though, things are a little different as Ethan must navigate a mysterious village inhabited by some of the series most intimidating foes yet. We’re curious to see what the next chapter of Ethan’s adventures brings, but we’re really interested in uncovering how Resident Evil Village furthers the series recently re-imagined mythology.

Xbox Series X Smart Delivery Games

Microsoft’s Smart Delivery program allows you to purchase a single copy of a game on Xbox One or Xbox Series X and play it on either console. These are the confirmed Smart Delivery Games revealed thus far, but Microsoft has said that more games will be added to the program (and that developers can choose to independently utilize a similar system):

Halo Infinite Cyberpunk 2077 Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Destiny 2 DiRT 5 Scarlet Nexus Chorus Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 Yakuza: Like a Dragon The Ascent Call of the Sea Gears 5 Second Extinction Metal: Hellslinger

All Xbox Series X Games Confirmed So Far

Finally, here’s a complete list of known Xbox Series X titles. Not all of these games have release dates available, but all of them are currently set to appear on Xbox Series X at some point.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Battlefield 6 Bright Memory Infinite Call of the Sea Chivalry 2 Chorus Control Cris Tales Cyberpunk 2077 Cygni: All Guns Blazing Demon Turf Destiny 2 DiRT 5 Dying Light 2 Far Cry 6 FIFA 21 Fortnite Gears 5 Gods and Monsters Gothic Remake Grand Theft Auto 5 Halo Infinite Hitman 3 Hyper Scape In Sound Mind Madden NFL 21 Marvel’s Avengers Metal Hellsinger MicroMan Moonray NBA 2K21 Nth^0 Infinity Reborn Observer (System Redux) Outriders Party Crasher Simulator Planet Coaster Pragmata Psyhotel Rainbow Six Quarantine Rainbow Six Siege Recompile Resident Evil: Village Scarlet Nexus Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 Scorn Soulborn The Ascent The Lord of the Rings: Gollum The Medium The Second Extinction Ultimate Fishing Simulator 2 Vampire the Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 Vampire the Masquerade – Swansong Warframe Digital Extremes Watch Dogs Legion Ubisoft Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood WRC 9 Yakuza: Like a Dragon

The post Xbox Series X Games Confirmed So Far appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[wolfgabe]

Nintendo E3 2019 Thoughts  Part 1The Direct

ce Okay so with yesterday behind us I felt I might as well offer my own opinions on the main event of the day the Nintendo Direct.

To start off I like how rapid fire a lot of Nintendo’s Directs have become. While it’s not as flashy as a full blown conference it pretty much cuts out most of the padding and helps make things arguably more focused. I wasn’t expecting them to cram so much in within 40 minutes and I admit I thought at times they would do a Smash Ultimate and spend a bunch of time on one title which of course never happened now then onto the games themselves

Dragon Quest Hero or should I say Dragon Quest Gang for Smash. Pretty much something most of us expected. Personally I have nothing against Erdrick and Pals and it was inevtiable really that we got Dragon Quest representation in Smash considering how in Japan DQ is pretty much on the same level as Call of Duty, Fortnite, and Minecraft here in the States. As easy as it is to complain about more anime sword boys when you look at it DQ was pretty much one of our only options for an additional SE rep considering how stingy SE is with Final Fantasy as well as the fact that Sora is pretty much a massive legal minefield for obvious reasons. I kinda find it clever really that rather than just represent 1 game they instead use the Hero as a means to represent the entire Dragon Quest series as whole.

Following that up fittingly is another trailer for Dragon Quest 11

Doug Bowser makes his E3/Direct debut and already the memes are out in full force

H̶o̶t̶e̶l̶ ̶M̶a̶r̶i̶o̶ ̶2̶/Luigis Mansion 3 is looking great. Seriously I just love how clean everything looks. It’s almost like the Luigis Mansion Dark Moon Artwork come to life/ Too bad we didn’t an actual release date but really for a game like this I would be surprised if they don’t go for  an October release.

A Dark Crystal Game That was unexpected

Link’s Awakening now with Dungeon Maker. Seriously I can’t help but keep imagining a Zelda spinoff that’s basically a Zelda themed Dungeon Keeper

Trials of Mana and Collection of Mana Not exactly my cup of tea but it’s cool seeing The Mana Collection available on Switch right away

Witcher III for Switch. Another rumor that  turned out true. Bring on all the oerformance jokes and PC master race trolls. Panic Button doesn’t appear to be handling this one but I can’t help but wonder what sorcery they used to get this game running on Switch

Fire Emblem Three Houses Not really big on FE myself. I get why some people are complaining they basically spoiled the big twist but I figure that Nintendo may have did it on purpose to show fans that it’s not just Harry Potter with a Fire Emblem Skin

More Resident Evil love for Switch which is nice although I can’t help but wonder why they chose a port of RE6 over the remake of RE2

No More Heroes III another bit of a surprise. I admit for a second I thought I was looking at some new Power Rangers mech game. Great to see after Travis Strikes Again

That new Contra game looks eggghhhh but its cool we are getting the Contra collection too

Daemon x Machina. I actually did get some enjoyment out of the demo and what I saw with the mech customization looks interesting but I seriously hope they fixed the framerate in the final release.

Panzer Dragoon Another one that came out of nowhere. Switch has been seeing quite the amount of Sega love. Now if only we could get a Sega Ages port of Daytona USA

Pokemon Sword and Shield get a brief shoutout. Figured they wouldn’t spend too much time on it considering how it just got a direct last week. And like that the R34 crowd has already abandoned Sonia for Nessa go figure.

Astral Chain got a new trailer. Pretty interesting game and no doubt it will probably have an insanely over the top final boss as with fine Platinum tradition

Empire of Sin pretty interesting management/strategy game looks like it might be worth a shot when it comes out.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 Not a big Marvel person but personally I think its a bit funny really that UA3 has better models than the SE Avengers game.

Cadence of Hyrule Finally have a release date and its right at the end of E3 which is cool

Mario and Sonic at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Figured they would give a shoutout to this game.  Eggman looks surprisingly hot in shorts.  Why is nobody talking about the majesty of Barefoot Wario?

Animal Crossing New Horizons Finally the game pretty much everybody was waiting for. So it would appear Animal Crossing has now transformed into Minecraft. Jokes aside I can’t help but love the idea that you are pretty much now building the town yourself and populating the island from scratch. Okay actual path creation tools and the ability to place furniture outside this is too much. It’s kind of a bummer the game won’t be out till next March but its understandable really considering how packed Switches release schedule looks for the rest of 2019.  Also Tom Nook being a greedy little shit as usual and where is Isabelle please don’t tell me Nintendo you forgot our precious doggo girl.

The obligatory switch game/port sizzle reel. Nice recap of things to come. Another MS game confirmed with Super Lucky’s Tale. Also the Spyro Reignited Trilogy has finally been confirmed for Switch and PC which is great.  Alien Isolation? didn’t expect to see that game get ported. Still no release date for A Hat in Time Switch though

Now for what is arguably the two biggest bombshells to come out of this presentation

First off, Banjo Kazooie in Smash. I cannot freaking believe it a character where the Grinch Leak actually ended up turning out to be right!!! I admit even I had my doubts that we would actually see this come to fruition since I never thought MS would be that chill about letting Banjo show up in a game hosted by one of their own competitors. Of course competitor may not be the right word here considering how surprisingly chummy MS and Nintendo have gotten with each other as of late. I can’t help but find a sense of inner happiness and satisfaction when my own theories and hunches end up being proven correct. I just knew there had to be a reason why Blast Corps and Jet Force Gemini spirits were found in the game files for Smash Ultimate never mind the fact that MS in their E3 schedule clearly suggested we should watch Nintendo’s own E3 presentation. I admit when I first saw that Jiggy bounce by I kinda started to lose my collective shit. The whole reveal was just so brilliant from the way they basically parodied their own trailer to how happy the DK crew was to see Banjo again. Its almost like Sakurai and Nintendo were reading everyone’s mind. I am really liking Banjo’s Smash design and how they basically went for more updated version of his classic look rather than just settle for the Nuts and Bolts design. A perfect way really to drive home the point that Banjo has pretty much come home. And I cannot believe it they actually got Grant Kirkhope himself on board to compose new music for Smash. I admit I am loving that Spiral Mountain remix and you can even make out bits and pieces from other Banjo levels too. I can’t wait to hear what else there is with Banjo. While I am mainly a Nintendo person I would just like to give thanks to Phil Spencer for helping make so many Nintendo and Smash fans wildest dreams finally come true. Now perhaps see if you get the original Banjo games as well as maybe a Nintendofied version of Rare Replay perhaps on Switch

And finally capping off the direct was the reveal that an actual follow up to The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild is now in development. When we will see this title in full I am not sure but the brief teaser looks like they are hinting that Ganondorf himself could be back from the grave. Now I am hearing how the devs say they were inspired by Red Dead Redemption 2 does that mean more detailed horse mechanics?

All in all I would rate Nintendo’s E3 Direct an 8/out of 10. A few points were docked from the Animal Crossing delay but there was still a lot of games that I am interested in due out in the near future as well as some wonderful surprises to boot. I would personally say Nintendo was probably the best part of E3 this year and they made me a very happy gamer

[r3pl4ycom]

PS4 Round Up

It is now only 4 month until PS5 and I'm really trying to finish all the games I wanted to play in current generation. Sadly it’s a list of over 50 games and estimated to be finished by 2022. 🤔 Anyway, it's just a matter of priorities.

Meanwhile VG247 came out with a list of PS4 must plays.

https://www.vg247.com/2020/07/22/best-ps4-games/

Thought I would go through it and see what I've missed

Alien Isolation 👻 Not that into horror games tbh.

Apex Legends 😒 Battle royal is a big no from me. Also not a big e-sports fan.

Assassins Creed Odyssey 🤺 Not been a fan of the series. Tried the first game but it didn’t impress.

Battlefield 1 🔫 This franchise is so tired. Let’s move on.

Bloodborne ✅ Played it, loved it.

Control ✅ Played it, loved it.

Crash Team Racing 🚗 Might need to look into this one

Dark Souls 3 ✅ Played it, enjoyed it.

Dauntless 🪁 Free to play is seldom my thing, but I’ve heard good things about thi. Might consider trying it out

Days Gone 🧟‍♀️ Nah, doesn’t interest me at all.

Death Stranding 🤬 Considering I hate Metal Gear Solid, I give this a hard pass.

Devil May Cry 5 😖 I’m very bad at these combo smashers. That’s a no.

Diablo 3 ✅ Played it 3 times, hated it each time.

Dirt Rally 2.0 🚙 Looks like something my son would enjoy. I might take a look at this one.

Dishonored 2 😾 Couldn’t finish the first game. It was not for me.

Divinity Original Sin ✅ Played it, hated it. Doom ✅ Yeah, it was okay. Dying Light 💀 Not my jam. Skyrim ✅ Played it. It was okay.

Fallout 4 ✅ Played it, hated it.

Fifa 20 ⚽️ Not a soccer fan.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake 🧚 Everyone is going on about how amazing it is, but japanese rpgs gives me a bad taste in my mouth. I’m very skeptical. Might need to try it .. sometime.

Final Fantasy 14 🧚‍♀️ Yeah,.. no. Final Fantasy 15 🧚‍♂️ Stop it! Fortnite 🤢 Battle royale.

Ghost of Tsushima 🥢 I’ve heard it has a very weak story. I might play it if it drops into my lap. God of War 🔜 It’s on my backlog.

GTA5 ✅ Heh, played it on PS3. That’s how old that game is.

Hellblade Senuas Sacrifice ✅ Hellyeah! So good!

Hitman 2 🔜 On my backlog.

Horizon Zero Dawn ✅ Played it! Yeah, very good.

Inside ✅ Incredible game.

Kingdom Hearts 3 💩 Japanese RPG, no I pass.

The Last Guardian ✅ Played it, hated it. Thought it was a PS3 game?

The Last Of Us ✅ Yeah, hated this one too.

Life is Strange ✅ Really enjoyed this one!

Metal Gear Solid 5 🤢 Tried to play it. After 30 minutes I wanted to rip out my spine. Something about the sneaking, shooting, mechanic that I really hated.

Metro Exodus 🔫 Hm, I’ve been curious about the Metro series. Might try this one.

Middle Earth Shadow of War 😫 I tried the predecessor but didn’t like it. Something about the open world bugged me. Giving this a pass.

Monster Hunter World 🔜 Yep, on my backlog. Nier Automata 🤖 I’m pretty sure this is not my thing.

Nioh ⚔️ I’m curious enough to try it out even if Sekiro burned me on Samurai games.

Outlast 🧟‍♀️ No, I hate dark mechanics in games.

Overwatch 🔫 e-sport FPS, not my jam.

Persona 5 👹 Quirky JRPG. Hm. I should give it a try but something is telling me I won’t like it.

Rage 2 👺 Never interested me.

Red Dead Redemption 2 🏇 I had a love/hate relationship with the first game. Should try the second but I’m afraid it’s just more GTA on horseback.

Resident Evil 2 Remake 🧟‍♂️ I’m certain this is one of those remakes where you need to played the original to appreciate it.

Resident Evil 7 🔜 In my backlog!

Rez Infinite ✅ Awesome in VR.

Rise of the Tomb Raider ✅ Good lord I hated this game.

Rocket League ✅ Most fun playing couch coop

Sekiro ✅ My relationship with Sekiro is difficult. I like the game but it is too hard for me.

Marvel’s Spiderman 🔜 Already on my backlog.

Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order 🤺 Might’ve overlooked this. It is supposed to be good.

Street Fighter 5 😼 I played Street Fighter 2 so much when I was young. But the fighting genre has lost my interest.

Streets of Rage 4 👿 See my answer for Street Fighter 5.

The Last of Us Part 2 💩 No, I hated the first game. I wasn’t that happy about the DLC either. I will not play this one unless someone pays me to do it.

Titanfall 2 ✅ Excellent FPS. Didn’t think I could get surprised by a good FPS anymore.

Thumper ✅ Yes! Loved it! So good!

Uncharted Lost Legacy 💩 Played the first and second Uncharted on PS3. When I got to the third the whole concept was so tired. Not playing this one.

The Witcher 3 ✅ Yaas! Wonderful. The DLC’s are on my backlog.

The Witness ✅ It was ok. A bit too pretentious as always with Jonathan Blow.

Wolfenstein 2 🇩🇪 I think I could enjoy this. Will consider adding it to the backlog.

XCOM 2 ✅ Much better than the first one. Might consider going for the DLC as I’ve heard that’s even better.

Yakuza 0 😷 Definetly not my thing.

That doesn’t look so bad. Out of the 66 “best” games on PS4 I’ve played  24. Some of them I don’t think belongs on this list and others are definitely missing. I’ve found a couple that I will add to my backlog.

Cheers!

[frozendoorgaming]

Morning Mist #90

Announcements, Releases, Trailers

Final Fantasy 7 Remake's full 5 minute intro movie is revealed

Half-Life: Alyx release date is March 23

Watch 12 minutes of Doom Eternal's 'Battlemode' multiplayer combat

Previews of Riot’s Project A bring up comparisons to CounterStrike: Global Offensive

SWAT-themed tactics game Hot Brass begins open beta testing next week

House Flipper, the HGTV game of my dreams, comes to PS4 and Xbox One this month

The sublime-looking Paper Beast reveals creative sandbox mode

Ruin a perfectly good Valentine's date with Table Manners today

Love – A Puzzle Box Filled With Stories looks like a bittersweet treat

Have You Played… Kitty Powers' Love Life

Remedy confirms it has three games in the works, alongside this year's Control DLC

Stardew Valley creator details two new projects

Street Fighter V: Championship Edition is out today along with Seth

Witcher-inspired card-battler Gwent is finally heading to Android in March

Ynglet is a laid-back 'floating platformer' from the creator of Knytt

Knuckle Sandwich looks like bizarre RPG bliss

30XX is a stylish roguelike take on Mega Man X and Zero

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Information

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[superfreakinlonely]

This is our very first GPU review of 2020, and it’s going to be an interesting one. Back at CES AMD announced the RX 5600 XT, which is priced at $280 USD, and it’s supposed to sort of slot in between the RX 5500 XT 8GB and the RX 5700 in their lineup. They showed some specs and had a few performance lines that showed it beating the NVIDIA GTX 1660 Ti by a pretty convincing margin. That means it could also goes toe-to-toe against the RTX 2060. So guess what happened? NVIDIA decided to lower the price of their RTX 2060 to $300 USD, but good luck finding one for that price.

Things took a little bit of an interesting turn because last week AMD pulled a last minute trick on everyone who knew the specs of the RX 5600 XT by rolling out an official BIOS that increased board power, core frequencies, and memory speeds, and the effect on performance is pretty drastic. So we needed to scramble since our RX 5600 XT testing was already done, and I’m pretty sure NVIDIA is scrambling too since they have nothing that can compete.

A Last Minute Update

All right, so let’s start things off with the specs since even without the new BIOS the RX 5600 XT was a pretty interesting card. It uses the same 7nm Navi 10 RDNA-based GPU core, which is also found on the RX 5700, and it even has the same number of stream processors, texture units, and ROPs. The real differences were lower clock speeds and a 192-bit memory interface instead of the 256-bit one on the RX 5700. Some people thought that pricing was a little bit too high at $280 USD, since even though the 5700 XT officially costs $350 USD you could pick it up for between $320 and $340. However, then the new BIOS happened. And what did that do? Well the power limit was increased by about 10 watts, the Game Clock, which is where the GPU will spend most of its time, jumped up by almost 200MHz. The Boost Clock got a nice bump as well, but the biggest surprise was the memory that shot up from 12Gbps to 14Gbps.

Not only that, but AMD’s board partners like Sapphire, XFX, and PowerColor are taking things even further with their overclocked versions. Let’s take a look at this Sapphire Pulse 5600 XT for example. It’s Game Clock goes even further to 1615MHz, and for those of you keeping track that’s 240MHz higher than the RX 5600 XT was supposed to hit. The boost clock hits up to 1750MHz, and those specs get really close to the stock RX 5700. There is also a Silent BIOS, which is pretty pointless since the card is whisper quiet with its Performance BIOS setting.

Performance Boost

So how much did this new BIOS affect performance? Let’s take a look at the Pulse 5600 XT from Sapphire, remember this is a pre-overclocked GPU, but right now it is running at those speeds that I just showed. You can see that in these games there’s a pretty significant boost in frame rates, but right across every title we tested the performance increase was somewhere between 12% all the way up to 20% depending on how well the game reacted to those clock speeds. That really changed the RX 5600 XT’s outlook.

However, there is one little issue. The new BIOS was rolled out at the very last moment, and so the first batch of shipments to retailers won’t have them installed. And that’s messed up because buyers will have to find the new BIOS, the updating tool from their respective manufacturer’s website, and flash it themselves. So if you have an RX 5600 XT it’s out-of-the-box performance won’t be anywhere close to what you’re going to be seeing in the benchmarks. That kind of sucks, but it’s great to see what a BIOS update can do to the performance. However, this almost feels like a bit of a bait-and-switch by AMD. I mean it’s great to show awesome results and reviews, but you guys won’t be able to get those numbers without jumping through a few hoops first. Not only that, but it’s impossible to figure out if a card has an updated BIOS until you get it home and run AMD’s update tool. This could be a huge mess, and I’m hoping AMD and their partners make this process very clear.

The Sapphire Pulse 5600 XT

Speaking of their partners, let’s quickly take a look at the Sapphire Pulse 5600 XT. It looks like all of their previous Pulse GPUs, and that means it has two large fans and a super compact heat sink. It’s only 10 inches long and takes up two slots, so nothing extreme here. I love the fact that Sapphire doesn’t feel like they need the biggest GPU on the block to look cool. This thing is clean, good looking, and it should fit into most compact cases without any problems. There’s even a back plate to complete the overall look, and cut into that is a small bios switch. For those of you wondering, the position closest to the I/O connectors has the Performance BIOS, which is what we use for testing. While the position towards the power input holds a silent profile, that one has lower clock speeds, reduced fan speeds, and runs at a lower power envelope. As for power input, there’s an 8-pin connector and that’s about it.

Gaming Benchmarks

Let’s move onto the results. For this test, I’ll be using the above benchmarking setup, and the following graphic cards: The RTX 2060 Founders Edition, the ASUS GTX 1660 Ti OC, the EVGA GTX 1660 Super Black Gaming, the Sapphire Pulse RX 5700 OC, and finally the Pulse RX 5600 XT. As for the results, let’s kick things off with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and right away the RX 5600 XT is absolutely dominating the RTX 2060 and almost comes close to the RX 5700. In CS:GO, the NVIDIA cards do come out on top, especially with their 1% lows, but it should be noted we were experiencing some CPU bottlenecking here. Even though the AMD GPUs have better overall averages, I would actually choose an NVIDIA card for Fortnite since they deliver a much smoother experience. Jedi: Fallen Order shows what’s really amazing about the RX 5600 XT, which is that it can almost match the RX 5700 in many cases. The Outer Worlds really seems to favor NVIDIA cards when it comes to averages, but the RX 5600 XT delivers a much more playable experience without constant stuttering, especially when compared to the GTX 1660 cards.

In Overwatch we’re back again to RX 5600 XT domination, where it clearly beats the RTX 2060 and leaves the GTX 1660 Super in the dust. Rainbow 6: Siege is one game that benefits from the RX 5700’s 8GB of memory, especially with the HD texture pack. However, the RX 5600 XT is still super competitive against the RTX 2060. The fact that we got Red Dead Redemption running at all is a miracle, but here the RX 5600 XT is right where we would expect it to be. As for Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the RX 5600 XT is leading the RTX 2060 again, but moving onto Warhammer 2 and it’s pretty evident that this is a tough game on any system. The RX 5600 XT really struggles to compete on 1% lows, but overall frame rates are pretty good. And guess what, we brought back Witcher 3, it’s here mostly as a reminder to check out the awesome TV series and to go back and enjoy this amazing game. You can also be confident that the RX 5600 XT is more than good enough to play the game as well.

Power Consumption

And finally we’re onto power consumption, and even with the higher clock speeds the 5600 XT manages to be a pretty efficient GPU when compared to the RTX 2060. The problem with that card is all the extra die space used for ray tracing and AI capabilities that end up having a negative impact on efficiency. But honestly it looks like we might have a low leakage core on our 5600 XT, but we will only be able to confirm that with more samples. Either way, I think this is a huge win for AMD since they have struggled to compete with NVIDIA from a performance per watt standpoint, but now they have won big in almost every way.

Conclusion

Well AMD did it again with the Radeon RX 5600 XT. Now the last minute change didn’t allow us to run all the benchmarks that we wanted to, and I’m sure it’s going to cause a lot of issues for buyers who will have to go through the process of updating the BIOS to get expected performance. However, I have to say that at $280 USD this GPU is really good, because even at the performance setting it runs super quiet, it’s super efficient, and it offers tons of performance at 1080P. Now NVIDIA did try to compete by lowering the price of the RTX 2060 to $300, but keep in mind that is the Founders Edition and it is suspiciously sold out. Even if you were to find one at that price point, it’s really difficult for me to recommend that GPU over something like the RX 5600 XT.

Here’s the deal, plain and simple, if you want an awesome card for 1080p gaming and you can afford it the RX 5600 XT is a massive improvement over the GTX 1660 Super. In some cases it almost hits RX 5700 performance levels. Although that causes some problems for the RX 5700, that cards extra memory can come in handy for some games. Sure, AMD took a while to release this mainstream model, but right now I feel like they did a really good job of creating really affordable and high performance for gamers. I can’t wait to see what they have planned out for the rest of 2020.

The post AMD Tricked Everyone! Radeon RX 5600 XT Review appeared first on Hardware Canucks.

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