The Backlog Check-in Vol. 211: 1/15/22: Rainbow Six Extraction Edition

[Phaseknox]

I'm getting both Dying Light 2 (because the first one was amazing & was supported by the devs for literally years) and Elden Ring, but of the two I'm most excited about Elden Ring. It looks amazing, and I've watched some previews from people who said the difficulty of the Souls games made that series never click with them but that they loved their time w/ the beta of this. Apparently the open world nature itself helps you to better self-manage the difficulty (for one thing, you can always run away ).

I think that Dying Light 2 looks really cool, but I’m sick of playing as generic dudes in games. I just like female characters in games way more, and it’s getting to the point now where I don’t even want to play a game if I have to play as a guy. There are exceptions of course, but for the most part I just don’t really like playing as male characters in games anymore.

I would probably buy Dying Light 2 on day one if the protagonist were female, or there was a female character option. But I know that I’m not going to enjoy playing the game as much as the guy that they make you play as, so I’m going to wait and get it when it’s cheap.

As for Elden Ring, it looks really cool too. But I’m worried that it’s going to be just as frustratingly difficult as every other From Software Soulsborne game. If it’s proven that it’s not, then I’ll check it out sooner rather than later.

However, after watching the story trailer for Horizon Forbidden West it’s the game that I’m most interested in next month. Aloy is my girl, and I totally want to go on another big adventure with her.

BTW, these are the first 2 games I remember really looking forward to in a while. Hope they don't disappoint (I'm looking at you, Biomutant ).

We waited how many years just for Biomutant to be a huge disappointment, easily one of the biggest in recent memory. It just wasn’t the game that I was expecting it to be in so many ways. I tried to like it and I gave it a good chance, but it just never clicked with me. It’s unlikely that I’ll ever play it again.

[crimson_tide]

Look izzy, it's sit on the train for 45 minutes with the annoying performance artists or plug away at Earthbound which I have been meaning to do for years . Also, sometimes I come around on things. I think I am just frustrated with Paula's lack of survivability and old school rpg design of talking to everyone, literally, before moving on. I still think it gets WAY too much praise, but I think that about (...argyle...bruh...I love you fam, sorry) Xenoblade but I played that for like 60 hours before bouncing off. Earthbound is not that long so hopefully I can just get into a groove .

As for Xbox and Game Pass and all that, these fools finally realized they have trillions of dollars and the pandemic only made them more flush with cash they need to spend so they should just buy video games TM. And they have been way overhauling that public image, they have been very consumer friendly. Again, it's only a matter of time before they get to something I can't do without like Sega or Square. I am banking on Game Pass being an app on my next TV too in the next couple years. I will bite on Game Pass like they want sooner rather than later. But they aren't playing the same game as Sony or Nintendo anymore. They don't want us to buy the box, they want us on Game Pass for billions of dollars a month guaranteed. I just hope Sony and Nintendo can just do what they do while MS is just this juggernaut that they cannot possibly hope to compete with. Not likely but Nintendo has been doing its thing forever.

Oh and Horizon. But I am not buying it anytime soon because I very rarely pay more than $30 for games and even that's a stretch. Besides Sony games go on sale pretty quickly .

[Phaseknox]

I still think it gets WAY too much praise

*cough* Undertale *cough*

As for Xbox and Game Pass and all that, these fools finally realized they have trillions of dollars and the pandemic only made them more flush with cash they need to spend so they should just buy video games TM. And they have been way overhauling that public image, they have been very consumer friendly. Again, it's only a matter of time before they get to something I can't do without like Sega or Square.

I couldn’t care less about them buying Activision/Blizzard, but I admit that I don’t like them having Bethesda if that means The Elder Scrolls and Fallout will be PC and Xbox exclusive going forward.

Oh and Horizon. But I am not buying it anytime soon because I very rarely pay more than $30 for games and even that's a stretch. Besides Sony games go on sale pretty quickly .

I very rarely pay more than $30 for games as well, sometimes I will pay $35-$40 depending on the game but never more than that.

[argyle]

I still think it gets WAY too much praise, but I think that about (...argyle...bruh...I love you fam, sorry) Xenoblade

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Seriously, like izzy i s always saying, to each their own & all that. But for me personally, I could write an epic post the size of one of your KH posts explaining why that is the greatest JRPG ever made & how its design is pure genius. I *LOVE* that game.

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[isthatallyougot]

Crim, it sounds like your best option is to keep playing Earthbound. I honestly wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did, in part because of all the praise it gets. (maybe that reset my expectations back to baseline. ) In addition to that, many older rps end up annoying me with their design choices, so I was unsure. But, it landed for me, for whatever reasons. But if you put it down this time, you better just forget it, and start paying those street performers!

As to the larger gaming discussion - X-box, PS, Ninty, PC, whatever. I don't care at all what label is on the device that delivers my gaming. I just care about being able to enjoy games in the way that best works for me. I do have some affinity/nostalgia for Playstation and Nintendo - and none for MS - but if it serves me best to be in that ecosystem, that's what I'd do. And I actually dislike MS, despite owning the original Xbox. (And don't get me started on Windows. Long live the Penguin!) I've not felt any draw to gamepass yet, but it's an undeniable value, for sure. But I prefer "owning" my games, even digitally, and I know I'd feel pressure to play things that might drop from the service, and I don't like the sensation that I have to play anything in particular. It messes with muh freedoms.

A side note that I've been thinking about is the fact that I think if MS gets too much sway/power, it could be a net-negative for the industry. And that might be a reason I would avoid them/their hardware/services, as a matter of principle. I'd like to see a competitive balance remain, and that seems to be under a bit of threat, given the way things have been unfolding.

[jfissel]

Ha, yeah, I was pretty sure what your answer would be, and my guess is jfissel would say Horizon. Not sure about anyone else.

I asked because I was thinking about grabbing one of them next month, but now that I think about it, I might just wait to play them on PS5 whenever I get one. I still have plenty to play on PS4/Switch.

Horizon: Forbidden West! (you got it correct)

I thought the first game was amazing, so here I am ready for the next one. I don't think I've even played a From software game, so it's not on my radar. But I know people love those games.

[isthatallyougot]

I don't think I've even played a From software game, so it's not on my radar. But I know people love those games.

[canedaddy]

OK, so I'm just now getting to check back with this thread this week and...I have stuff to say.


Nick_Fireplace.gif

So...the Xbox Series X. Where to begin? Well...I think it's pretty well known around here that I've been a staunch Sony supporter for...forever now. I've owned MS consoles, yes, but they were always secondary for me at best. But here's the thing - this gen, Microsoft has been making some VERY consumer-friendly decisions while Sony, has not. So some examples. Microsoft has been giving free next-gen updates for its games. They have been releasing upgraded/optimized/whatever versions of many of its games and these are free patches. You'll notice that they don't even have distinct last gen/next gen versions for the games they put out even though there are differences. You put the game in your system, it sees what system you're running it on, and it loads the appropriate version. It's seamless, it's EASY, it just works, and it doesn't cost you anything extra. Sony has done a few free updates, but they have also put out several "remasters" of last-gen games that they have made you re-buy if you want the upgrades. Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut and next week's Unharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection come to mind, but there are others. And unless they've changed something in an update since launch (which is possible), obtaining those free upgrades that are offered is not nearly as seamless - you have to manually go in & download the correct patch or else you'll find yourself still playing the last-gen version on your shiny new next-gen hardware.

Not only that, but Sony now charges $70 for first-party games at release. That is ridiculous. That also brings us to GamePass. Put simply, GamePass is the absolute best value in gaming today. It's impossible to overstate this. And I'm talking BEFORE they roll Activision's back catalog into it. Most of what I play these days is from GamePass. There is a huge selection of AAAs, indies, backwards compatibles, and everything in between. First party for Microsoft is no longer just Halo and Forza (but let me say, the latest Forza Horizon is an awesome game ). Bethesda (which keep in mind is also Id, Arkane, Tango Gameworks, and others), DoubleFine, Ninja Theory, Rare (they haven't done much of note in a bit, but their upcoming game Everwild looks very promising), InExile, etc., etc. And keep in mind, all first-party games go to GamePass the day they're released. So do many others that they cut deals with (the new Rainbow Six game did this week) and there are indie day-1 releases popping up on the service ALL the time. Then there's the EA streaming service which is included. They don't put their stuff up day-1, of course, but then again there isn't much they put out these days that any of us probably care about. But their back catalog is there, and there is quite a bit there that's of higher quality than their more recent stuff. There's also a rumor that they're about to roll UbiSoft's streaming service in, which would add their back catalog games as well - I'd say Rainbow Six popping up lends a lot of credibility to that rumor.

Yes, it looks like Sony is about to announce a competing service, but I honestly think they've waited too long. The only way they could hope to even start to compete at this point is if they went back on what they swore they would never do - put their first party games on their service day 1. Will they, especially after this week's bombshell? Guess we'll see.

I really could go on - the interface is so much cleaner, quicker, more intuitive and much more customizable than Sony's. They have the awesome Rewards system that actually pays you for playing games (I spend *maybe* 5 mins a day clicking a few links, and otherwise just play some games & earn a few 'cheevos & I get $10 a month w/ points to spare). The system is quieter and, personal opinion here to some extent, but looks much better too (it's definitely MUCH smaller, the PS5 is surprisingly huge the first time you see it).

I'm still going to end up with a PS5. Heck, I'm about to sell my Spidy PS4 because it's going for so much right now and go ahead & upgrade, because the PS4's interface is starting to feel pretty laggy. But there's no doubt that it will be for exclusives only, and everything I can play on the Xbox I will. That's a 180 from last gen.

Thank you for taking the time to share that breakdown! I don't think I disagree with a single thing you said.

Sony's actions in the PS5 gen have seemed to come from a place of entitlement as the last-gen king, while Xbox is pulling out all the stops to win people over. Some of them are great (all the things you mentioned with "smart delivery" and GamePass etc.), but some of them are off-putting to me (buying up studios left and right).

I definitely think the Xbox console would look better on my shelf than the ridiculous PS5.

Having a big library of games I haven't played would be nice, but as I said, I don't know of a single one that grabs me in the same way as, say, God of War and Ghost of Tsushima. On the flip side, Sony isn't what it was. The elimination of Japan Studio is a big blow. I loved so many of those games... sigh.

Anyway, a lot to think about there. I appreciate the input.