Chorus (PS5): First Impressions!

Lake (Xbox) First Impressions!

DIRT 5 Review Xbox One

 

I've never been a big fan of driving games, with only a few clicking with me be it RalliSport Challenge 2 or the Forza Horizon series with their off-road antics. 

Which is why Dirt 5 was on my radar from the trailers we have seen, with its outlandish feel to it with the use of pink and purple smoke along with speakers around the tracks blaring out music.

And how its career mode is told in a rather simple way of picking an event which could be racing around an ice circuit drifting around every corner or racing against 12 classic rally cars like the Ford RS200 to get the finish first, whilst the guess you'll call it story is told via a Podcast with some enthusiastic characters talking of your progress over the game's 5 chapters.

 

You'll find 120+ events to do in the career mode, along with some special one on ones to unlock some neat decals for the 60+ cars, you don't have to do all these to see out the career mode and myself I've done about 40%  of them but I plan to come back to do the rest when my Xbox Series X arrives as Dirt 5 uses Smart Delivery and one of a few games that has a 120fps mode if you have the right setup.

Outside of career mode you have online and playground which is a tad like Tony Hawk create-a-park or the stuff you find in Trials Rising where you build or play playgrounds created by the community. I'm hopeless at building but from what I've seen from the few playgrounds I've played a lot can be done in the mode and can see this keeping people busy for a while.

 

Overall Dirt 5 is a fun arcade racer which come along at the right time as the racer to check out at the start of a new console generation and you won't be left behind on current gen either, just maybe single player is a tad lacking as maybe some simple time trail modes or basic cups could have added a bit more to the overall package. 

 

10 Most Anticipated Current Gen Only Multi-Format Games (October 2020)

 

In my last post I brought up my ten most anticipated multi-format games that will be on either Microsoft's and Sony's next gen systems, those games that will take advantage of the new consoles in some way. I did mention however that there are still a few games that I'm excited for which won't be on the new systems.

Now these will still be playable on PS5 or Xbox Series X|S via backwards compatibility but just won't have things like ray tracing or other next gen features.

Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX

Digimon Survive

 

The Good Life

 

Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory

 

Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139...

 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake

 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game - Complete Edition

 

She Dreams Elsewhere

 

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster

 

Twin Mirror

 

10 Most Anticipated Next Gen Multi-Format Games (October 2020)

 

The last two days I've listed ten games that are PlayStation Console Exclusive and same with Xbox, which will be coming to PS5 and Series X|S respectively.

Now it's the turn of the Multi-Format which I'm looking forward to play regardless of the system I will be playing them on. Some of these will still be arriving on PS4 or Xbox One but will take advantage of the next gen features the new consoles will have.

I will also point out that I'm excited to play likes of Nier: Replicant ver. 1.22474487139... which isn't coming to PS5 or Series X|S but that is a list for another time.

BALAN WONDERWORLD

 

 

 

Cyberpunk 2077

 

DIRT 5

 

Gotham Knights

 

Immortals Fenyx Rising

 

 LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

 

Pragmata 

 

Resident Evil Village

 

 

Scarlet Nexus

 

 

 

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2

10 Most Anticipated Xbox Series X|S Games (October 2020)

 

 

We continue on from yesterday, with a look at what I'm looking forward to on  Microsoft's next gen offerings with the Series X|S consoles.

 

12 Minutes

 

As Dusk Falls

 Avowed

Call of the Sea

Everwild

 

Fable

 

Halo Infinite

Last Stop

The Medium

Senua's Saga: Hellblade II

 

10 Most Anticipated Xbox Series X Games (May 2020)

This past week we got our first look at some Xbox Series X games, now some of these are coming to Xbox One and PlayStation's that you might be excited about them coming to your PS4.

I do also want to point out that 13 games were shown on the Inside Xbox but actually over 30 games have been confirmed to becoming to Series X and from those 30+ games I've picked the games I'm excited about.

Ubisoft will be bringing Assassin's Creed to Series X in what looks to be a great Action Adventure game set in Britain with Vikings.

The first game shown during Inside Xbox was this time travelling FPS from a one man dev team. A previous entry is on PC if you want a taste of what is to come.

Call of the Sea is adventure game which from the trailer to have Firewatch vibes which continues as Cissy Jones will be voicing the lead in this Game Pass title.

Cyberpunk 2077 was a one of the few games confirmed for Series X awhile ago and to use the Smart Delivery system meaning you can buy on Xbox One and when the game becomes available on Series X you can upgrade for free.

Dirt 5 from the trailer looks a lot like Forza Horizon which is never a bad thing and always good to have a racer on a new system.

Now Xbox list would be complete without Halo which will be launching alongside the Series X and in Game Pass.

The Xbox One's biggest misstep for me has been the so-so Japanese support that to see a game like this shown is a positive.

My favourite game from the Inside Xbox this new horror title from the team behind the recent Blair Witch game along with the composer of Silent Hill working on the score for this Game Pass title.

The trailer was a tad rough that was shown for this but the overall look has me excited to play this Vampire RPG.

I was very pleased to this as for the longest time the Yakuza series has been on associated with PlayStation that the seventh entry to come to Xbox at the same time is great for gamers as more people get to play right away.

That's my 10 games, the one I was tempted most to include was Hellblade 2 but till we see more I decide to leave of this list which I will comeback to update every so often.

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Most Anticipated Games of 2020 + Giveaway

Best Games of 2019 + Honourable Mentions

Cloud Gaming - My First Impressions

My title is a bit of a lie as I have played some Onlive (Anyone remember that?) and PlayStation Now but not since it was in BETA as I've not really had any need to use it. What I'm really talking about regards to first impressions is XCloud from Microsoft and Stadia from Google.

A few weeks ago I got an invite into the XCloud BETA programme, which allows me on an Android device play around 50 games via the cloud all linked to my Xbox Account.

Meaning I can continue where I left off with Forza Horizon 4 and earn achievements, play with friends like I would using my Xbox One X.

First time using XCloud was on my phone, which to be honest was not the best as I found the screen to be just too small with only really Bloodstained giving me a decent experience.

To improve this I bought a Samsung 10" Tablet and got one of those cases that double as a stand, this was a game-changer as I could see what was going on.

Which is all well and good but how do the games run on it, you ask. Well, that's a mixed bag as I've played Bloodstained, Yoku's Island and even Killer Instinct a game with any lag makes a difference perfectly.

Those are all single-player, multiplayer is a different story as I found Halo 5 borderline unplayable, Gears 5 just playable and Sea of Thieves whilst playing as part of a two-man crew to be fine with a tad hit to the resolution. I'm thinking this may improve over time when out of BETA along with servers closer to home as when you go on the Xbox Dashboard via XCloud the time is Pacific Standard Time.

XCloud isn't the only new cloud-based gaming in town as Stadia recently launched and I have to say I've heard mixed things on it. If you go by social media it's rubbish then my mate EoFGiz who's bought a premiere pack (his thoughts here) be rather positive on the service.

I've not bought anything to use Stadia, I managed to get a Buddy Pass from someone who had a spare code on Twitter. This gives me access to the service on mobile (I think it's just Pixels, which I have) or via Google Chrome and currently four games.

As my experience hasn't been great on mobile with XCloud, I've only used Stadia via the browser option. At the moment I can play four games with my buddy pass or buy more if I wish but at the moment I'm sticking with what I've got available to me.

 The first game I played was Samurai Shodown as a fighter, any lag could be a real issue but nope was flawless. I then tried Tomb Raider which I was really impressed with, then came Destiny 2 which has sort been the marque title for Stadia with the community on the service gathering around the game.

Destiny 2 even though much better than Halo 5 and Gears 5 in terms of playability, was still not the best experience. Which leaves me to believe Single Player is fine on these services and Multiplayer isn't, of course, there are caveats like XCloud is in BETA and the centre is likely in the states, is it my internet speed (Stadia test I should be able to get 4K HDR though), would Stadia work better via a Chromcast (people do tell me this is the best way to play) and more.

Then there are other issues like prices of games on Stadia but that's whole different subject to can I play a game via the cloud from either of these services, yeah sort of.

Car Mechanic Simulator Impressions

 
A few years ago I played Tour de France for review and it was an odd experience, now in 2019, I've just had similar with Car Mechanic Simulator.

This is more of an impression than a review, as to be honest, I did only really spend a good 4hrs one day playing and my thoughts are based on that and a few other plays here & there.





You might think that's not enough time or I've not seen everything, that's part of the problem with a game like this.

As I got my car to fix which needed the oil changing, simple enough. After that, I got another car to fix which needed new brake pads.

Which means you have to unscrew the wheels,  in almost mini-game fashion, take off brake calipers and so on.

Then once you have done that the next car will need new brake discs, and that seems to be how the game progress, this does make a lot of sense as you seem to be a new mechanic starting out doing simple jobs.

Just after 4hrs of changing brake pads, I wanted to buy my own car from the junkyard to do up.

If the progression was faster or I could go buy a car almost right away, then I may have had more fun, yet after a while of doing the same thing, I just found myself becoming bored.

CMS is a hard game to recommend, as it's been made for a certain audience who will see past any of the games flaws to find eventually a rewarding experience.

Games of July 2019 - Final Fantasy - Fire Emblem - Marvel and more

E3 2019 Xbox Predictions - Halo - Gears - Forza and more to come

                    

Games of June - Persona - Crash Team Racing - Super Mario - The Elder Sc...

Games of March - Dead or Alive - Devil May Cry - Kirby - Sekiro - Yoshi and more

Games with Gold February 2019

 

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon February 1 to 28 on Xbox One

Jump into retro-style gaming with Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon. With the involvement of the legendary Koji Igarashi, this action-adventure title harkens back to some of the classic side-scrolling games of the past. Switch your play among several different characters, each with their own unique abilities, as you travel perilous lands to defeat the evil demon lurking in the forbidden castle.


Super Bomberman R February 16 to March 15 on Xbox One

Step into the fun, because Super Bomberman R is back and better than ever! Eight Bomberman heroes journey to space to fight the Evil Emperor Buggler, but now with the help of the Master Chief — exclusive to the Xbox One version — use your state-of-the-art combat armour to help win the day. Play alone or with a friend because this is the biggest Bomberman game ever.


Assassin’s Creed Rogue February 1 to 15 on Xbox One and Xbox 360

Continue the adventures of your ancestors in Assassin’s Creed Rogue. Set in the chaotic moments of the French and Indian War, relive the days of Shay Patrick Cormac, a fearless young outcast assassin who slowly morphs into a deadly assassin hunter due to tragedy. The dark transformation your character goes through will shape the future of the Brotherhood forever.


Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy February 16 to 28 on Xbox One and Xbox 360

Learn the ways of the Force from Jedi Master Luke Skywalker in Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy. In this classic title from the original Xbox, begin your journey as a student eager to learn as you interact with famous Star Wars characters and locations. In the end, you’ll face the ultimate choice: the good and freedom of the light or the tantalizing power of the dark side.

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Pod of War: Dreamcast 20th Anniversary Edition

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Games of December 2018 - Just Cause 4, Super Smash Bros, Persona

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Best Games on Xbox Game Pass

To be honest, I don't have the most original of ideas, someone will talk about their favourite RPG's which will get me thinking what are my favourites and I'll go write a blog post or do a video on them.

This past week, a friend on twitter brought up that she was looking at getting an Xbox One S which led to replies from a few people, including myself, bringing up the great value you can get from an Xbox One S due to its price and the services on offer such as Backwards Compatibility and Game Pass.

I've done a few videos on Backwards Compatibility which you can find on the blog but never on Game Pass.

Game Pass has some great games on it but as I know my friend has never owned an Xbox console, which got me thinking what are the best games on the service and is this good for someone new to the ecosystem.

With rumours of a fourth entry, using Game Pass you can go back to Albion to play the three main games including the Xbox 360 HD Anniversary version of the first which might still be the best Fable out of the three.

FH4 shows the incredible value of Game Pass, it's one of the best games of the year and is available just to play with a sub to the service. I'm not even the biggest racing fan but FH4 gameplay just rewards you for playing, that you can come 6th in a race and still feel you've progressed.

Much like Fable, with a fifth mainline game upcoming Game Pass allows someone to go back and experience this great series, also both the 360 and Remaster of the first are playable through Game Pass.

With the recent addition of Halo Master Chief Collection to Game Pass, and Halo 5 on it as well this brings all five mainline games to the service and not only that but the excellent Halo Wars and its sequel are also playable.

I only played this one recently due to it being on Game Pass, I don't know if I ever would have if it wasn't on service. And it's decent 3rd person action game with a neat idea due to the blend of gameplay and live action. 

Yep I mean the studio Rare as if you're new to Xbox you might want to check out some familiar faces with Banjo-Kazooie and what Rare has been up to after becoming an Xbox First Party Studio, not everything has been good or on Game Pass but with likes of the three Banjo-Kazooie games, Perfect Dark Zero, Kameo, Sea of Thieves and Viva Pinata there's bound to be something for someone.

All the games on here are Xbox games and shows what Xbox is all about but like I said at the start, Game Pass does have some big third party games on service and Rise of the Tomb Raider is one of the best plus if you've got an Xbox One X then you're in for a real treat.

RotTR also showed me some great things about Xbox One as I played RotTR on release and since sold it. One day I decide to download it via Game Pass and my game save from my old Xbox One S was right there on my One X due to the automatic cloud saves and being in Game Pass I get a discount on DLC, that I decided to continue Lara's adventure.

This is the most criminally overlooked game on Xbox One, it's just a fantastic action platformer, which you should be playing.

A great 3D platformer which would have felt right at home during the late 90s / early 2000's, that is well worth a look.

Game Pass might allow us to play Xbox One first party games on the day of release, go back to some classic games and big 3rd party games but it also allows us to checkout some great indies which we may have never played if it wasn't for the service.

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Games of October: Call of Duty Black Ops - Red Dead Redemption 2 - Assassins Creed Odyssey and more