Elden Ring is still going strong? Give us some idea of the sorts of games you like, though, @Tallea.... & I'd have to look up which are particularly popular now
Now that I'm basically done with Kirby (still going to try the "Ultimate Cup Z" from time to time) I've pulled out my laptop and have just started up Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal.
Really only played the tutorial & mission 1 so far so not much to say on it yet, other than the fact that it has a new(?) parry system that I don't think was a part of the older games (I don't remember it in Burst or Estival Versus anyhow).
Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)
Finally bit the bullet on Tales of Arise. The opening is extremely slow and hand holdy and those anime cutscenes are weirdly cheap looking. Thankfully the game itself actually looks really nice, the combat right now is fairly easy to manage and actually quite fun. However, I remember in the demo when you had a full party and it was just a complete mess. I was hoping I could use auto battle as an answer to that, but weirdly you can only set party wide tactics, not give each person an individual role? That seems like such a basic, and glaring, omission? I understand some of the previous titles have more detailed, more CRPG like, tactics and strategy systems, so maybe I will give one of those a go instead.
There is this new 40K Warhammer game that has just come out, it has a proper name but it's so long, it is easy to just call it XCOM 40K. I tried out the opening mission on launch day and was blown away by it, but after getting to sit down and do a proper extended play session this morning, I am less impressed than I was after the first hour.
I have to be honest, I never really liked the objective based missions in XCOM but games like this remind me of why we need them. Doing nothing but 'Push high enough up on the map to lift the fog of war, kill all the enemies and then survive until extracted' for hours on end, gets pretty tiresome. Especially as I feel like you could develop really unique personalities in your squad in XCOM which could make things feel fresh, even when doing the same things.
Here, I feel like everyone plays the same. There are classes, but like other than the one who heals, I couldn't tell you what the different classes do, what their roles are or what makes them unique. Even Gears Tactics had more defined classes. It is a shame, because the enemies seem way more varied and honestly more interesting to play as.
It also has that XCOM difficulty slap that I am sure some people like, but I personally find more exhausting than entertaining. Namely missions where you need to kill like a specific enemy, but they will be right in the corner of the map and the game will keep spawning in armies upon armies of enemies and layering on various modifiers as you fight your way across, putting you through a gruelling war pf attrition, until it just feels like you may as well restart. Especially as, even if you survive, the various injury mechanics are honestly really oppressive and have a chance to completely snowball. Admittedly, your resources don't feel quite as strangled as they did in XCOM, but I am still technically early days yet.
If I'm limited to only four Marines and can never expand that number, I don't get why I am fighting enemies that far outnumber me, but yet can tank as many hits as me and kill me as fast as I can kill them - and they probably have a whole bunch of additional abilities I don't have access to, it just means you're constantly at a disadvantage and rarely get to feel like a badass team of Space Marines.
@Yoshi2
So, I own every platform. PS5, Series X, PC. Here's my take on that.
PC is exponentially more expensive. A high end rig is $2500, and while a mid tier could be bought for $1500, if you're gonna go PC, go big or go home imo. Otherwise you're better off with a console that can outperform it at way less cost.
UNLESS you seek specific PC benefits, I recommend a console. Here's the specific benefits:
gyro aiming across the board
better framerate, resolution and graphics
mods
free online
perpetual library without needing BC
multipurpose use
Hybrid gaming
The free online isn't in and of itself worth choosing PC for, since the cost is so much higher. But it can help justify cost, since it'll save you $400+ per generation.
For some, mods are a huge selling point. For me, I couldn't care less. I hate mods, I despise messing with them, they're a pain in the butt and almost never worth the hassle. But that's just me.
The perpetual library without BC is a big appeal, but Xbox now basically provides the same thing, so we can cross that one off the list as well.
As for multipurpose use, that's an easy one. If you need a powerhouse PC for other tasks, go PC. Otherwise this offers little to no additional value. I don't use my gaming PC for anything other than gaming. So for me, that's not a pro. But for you maybe it is.
Now. Let's keep it real here. Visuals and performance is so good nowadays on PS5 and Series X, that while yes, technically you can do even better on a high end PC, the difference you'll actually notice is fairly negligible. Sure, you'll notice. Monster Hunter World looks better on my PC than on my PS5 or Series X, that's for sure. But... it's like a 10% improvement at best. Is it worth 6x the cost for that? Only you can answer.
Gyro aiming, however, is the single biggest selling point for PC... at least, it was. You see, a new controller just released called XIM Nexus. It costs $150. And it makes the top 300+ AAA games playable with incredibly high quality gyro aiming on Series X. So even the gyro aiming advantage of PC no longer exists.
Hybrid gaming, however, is the last true advantage of PC that actually makes it worth the high cost of buy in. But it costs even more, since you also need a Steam Deck to accompany it. Unless you just want to use Deck for TV play, but I wouldn't recommend that. You'd be playing a lot of games in 720p 30fps on a 4ktv. I'd buy a high end desktop for $2500, a Steamdeck for $650, a 1TB microSD for the Steamdeck and an additional 4TB SSD for the desktop. Both offer gyro aiming and thanks to Steam Cloud saves, Hybrid gaming across the two of them.
If you don't care about hybrid gaming, and don't want it as a multipurpose device, I'd skip the high investment and just buy a Series X with a XIM Nexus.
Psalms 22:16 (1,000 yrs before Christ)
They pierced My hands and feet
Isaiah 53:5 (700 yrs before Christ)
He was pierced for our transgressions
@Yoshi2
Oh, and forget 8k. No content is being rendered in 8k. Systems just aren't powerful enough unless it's a pixel indie and even then, the difference from 4k is so negligible I'd officially categorize that as money flushed down the toilet.
120fps is also overhyped. 4k 60fps is a sweet spot. I know some people talk up 120fps like it's soooo good but honestly I think they're full of it. I've gamed in 120fps and can barely tell a difference. It's just elitism justifying high end experiences by exaggerating their effects to be more important than they really are. 4k 60fps is the gold standard. You can always do 1080p 120fps if you want, but for me, the gap between 1080p and 4k is far more noticeable than the gap from 60fps to 120fps.
And if you do stick with the 4k 60fps gold standard you don't have to worry about expensive tvs with HDMI 2.1. You can get a cheap Hisense 4ktv for like $400-500. I got an LG C1 OLED 4ktv, and yes it has HDMI 2.1 and VRR and all that, and if you can get an OLED with VRR I do recommend it, since you won't notice any frame drops, but if you're being cognizant of cost, a basic 4k Hisense will do the trick just fine.
Psalms 22:16 (1,000 yrs before Christ)
They pierced My hands and feet
Isaiah 53:5 (700 yrs before Christ)
He was pierced for our transgressions
@Yoshi2 I always see it that consoles are for people who don't care about the faff and just want games to work for them. As a generation goes on, the console will be falling further and further behind (until a pro model comes out or something), but it is the job of the developer, not the consumer, to make sure the games work on the intended platform. So as long as someone is okay with playing games not pushed to their absolute limits, you can easily pick up the launch console and ride it through to the end of a generation.
With a PC, you might have higher up front costs, but that PC is going to last you longer, and be able to push games further and for longer, too with a far greater suite of granular options to tailor your experience for your machine, and you can upgrade it part by part, to save money that way over time. However, this is all on you, not the developer.
If this isn't of interest to you, then stick with the safety of a console, as things don't always "just work" on a PC. But if you are the kind of person who indulges in a mid gen refresh (if there will even be one this time with the chip shortages), it actually might be cheaper long term to look at getting a PC spec'd up. However, buying a prebuilt from say Currys, is going to be far more expensive than just sourcing the parts yourself and either building it yourself or getting someone to build it for you.
Yeah, getting your 1st PC is expensive, @Yoshi2 ... But I notice a lot of those are PC Specialist, so you'd get better overall prices from them direct They're ideal for people who wouldn't know where to get all the parts separately &/or be comfortable putting them together
What sort of games are you going to play on it if you got 1 ....?
You don't necessarily have to spend a fortune to get into PC gaming. Almost all the games you could run on a $4000 PC will also run on a $400 one, just with somewhat pared back visuals.
Most PC gamers don't have very expensive or particularly modern systems either. The most popular graphics card in the latest Steam survey is the mid-range and six year old GTX 1060. You've got to go down to the seventh spot before you see a 30-series GPU and it's a mobile one.
A lot of what you're paying for with pre-built gaming PCs is bling too, and they're often slapped together in ways that can hamper performance and make them prone to failure. Building your own, or at least getting someone to put one together for you, out of standard components will serve you better in the long run.
That's not to say that you're wasting your money if you drop thousands on a PC. You can get unparalleled graphics that consoles won't match for another generation yet if you're prepared to spend big. It's just not the only way to go and there are gaming PCs for pretty much any budget.
Judging by Sony's predictions it seems PC ports are ramping up this fiscal year. We already know about Uncharted Legacy of Thieves collection but it also seems we're getting Returnal soon:
We're almost at a point Switch + PC can get you 99% of 3rd party games, 100% of Nintendo exclusives, 90% of PS exclusives and 100% of Xbox exclusives, all with gyro aiming and hybrid gaming across the board.
Psalms 22:16 (1,000 yrs before Christ)
They pierced My hands and feet
Isaiah 53:5 (700 yrs before Christ)
He was pierced for our transgressions
For some reason my PS4 doesn't want to consistently want to connect to the internet, so if Sony were to release Sackboy or Ghost of Tsushima on PC I'd be very happy.
Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)
Lots of people will be happy about Spider-Man I imagine? You guys are winning big time thanks to Sony’s strategy. It’s one of the best PS4 games I’ve played, and one of the best superhero stories I’ve ever seen. It’s just such a well made game with tremendous performances and gameplay. You’re in for a ride.
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