Video Game Thread v. Series Xbox One X Series Switch S 5

[ErHaO]

Someone's getting a steam deck...........

Noice! I love mine and it's pretty much replaced my switch

You can quite literally replace it as a whole and play Switch games on the Deck, though I personally would not do that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIYvPNtWZ34

My problem is these type of RPG games are a bit stale.  They are still great and offer a lot, but between them and Bethesda games, I feel like they are all getting worn thin.  They are going to need to be really special for me to want to play these next ones. 

I honestly cannot think of that many large scifi open world games in the vein of Fallout or Cyberpunk, though your definition may vary and offcourse tastes differ. Most of these type of games are fantasy/history based I feel.

I am looking forward to Starfield, Outer Worlds 2 and Cyberpunk DLC/2. I expect these to release in different years.

[ReaperKK]

I haven't emulated the Switch on the deck yet but man it emulates other systems so well, PS1 and PS2 games run flawlessly.

[ErHaO]

I haven't emulated the Switch on the deck yet but man it emulates other systems so well, PS1 and PS2 games run flawlessly.

The thing is a beast and it's pricing is really good. I simply cannot allow myself to buy yet another expensive handheld, but it's a great machine for sure.

[Herrick]

One can hope they have learned from their mistakes.  We will see.

If they didn't, the next game will bury the company.

I don't know. I bet their next game will have a shitton of pre-orders and purchases before reviews come out.

[Stadler]

So..... I was playing Battlefront last night and was getting my ass handed to me.  Coincidentally, one of the other players opened a chat (I don't usually get invited to those and when I do, I don't usually partake).  They were ragging on this one guy that was like 45-1.  I finally wrote "How the hell does [player] drop me with a one-shot kill after popping out from behind a wall and I put half a clip in him and he dances away?"

One player sent me a note: "Cronus or Titan2".  I know what a Cronus is (I have one, don't use it, because I can't find a decent script for Battlefront I) but what's a Titan2?  I'm going to Google it, too, but I thought I'd ask people I trust.

[cramx3]

Why do you have a cronus? 

That's some cheating hardware

[Chino]

I leave for vacation tomorrow and decided to pick up Pokemon Snap for the Switch for the flight. I'm hoping it doesn't suck.

[Stadler]

Why do you have a cronus? 

That's some cheating hardware

I got it not to cheat, but to be able to emulate controllers.  In theory, it lets me use an xBox controller on Playstation and vice versa, though I haven't actually done that yet.  I'm kind of a p****; I don't have the balls to show up on a Battlefront game and get 40 kills like that.   I'd worry the FBI was coming to my door! 

[cramx3]

Yeah, I think there are some legit uses but I'm pretty sure most people who buy a cronus use it to cheat in online games.

And most people don't have the "balls" they have the cheats which ruins online gaming.  I'm VERY vocal about my hatred of people cheating in these types of games.  Ruins the experience for everyone and honestly, how is it even fun to cheat to victory? No pride in getting good. 

I have been playing PUBG quite a bit the last few months and it's very obvious when people are cheating and it's very often.  Make me rage quit the game because it's just not fun.  That was actually the main reason I stopped playing that game years ago, but it seemed like a better experience when I started playing again.  Little did I know, they use their own SBMM and I guess getting wins moved me up to play with better players and now many games have cheaters in it making the game not very fun anymore. 

[Stadler]

Yeah, I think there are some legit uses but I'm pretty sure most people who buy a cronus use it to cheat in online games.

And most people don't have the "balls" they have the cheats which ruins online gaming.  I'm VERY vocal about my hatred of people cheating in these types of games.  Ruins the experience for everyone and honestly, how is it even fun to cheat to victory? No pride in getting good. 

First, I'm with you.  It DOES suck the fun out, because there's no uniformity.  But it's kind of like the steroids question in baseball; it's wrong, but do you do it because everyone else is?  I've opted not to, for the reasons I gave and the reasons you gave.  It's SOOOOO obvious when someone is cheating and it does suck.  There's a physics, a science to the world we're playing in.  Battlefront never intended someone to be able to jump pack all the way up to the rim of the canyon and pot-shot all the players that can't get up there like fish in a barrel.  It's SO not fun.

I have been playing PUBG quite a bit the last few months and it's very obvious when people are cheating and it's very often.  Make me rage quit the game because it's just not fun.  That was actually the main reason I stopped playing that game years ago, but it seemed like a better experience when I started playing again.  Little did I know, they use their own SBMM and I guess getting wins moved me up to play with better players and now many games have cheaters in it making the game not very fun anymore.

I've gotten all the trophies and achievements - legit - that I can get without cheating, so I'm probably moving on from Battlefront soon, too. I'm going to finish the Castlevania games - all single player - then move to Prey next.  As much as I like the multiplayer experience, I think I like the single player one better. It's just more reasonable.

[cramx3]

Nothing wrong with enjoying single player more.  I think that's the vast majority of people.  For me, I love the randomness of multiplayer.  I love the communication with random teammates.  The trolling of your enemies.

Yeah, I think there are some legit uses but I'm pretty sure most people who buy a cronus use it to cheat in online games.

And most people don't have the "balls" they have the cheats which ruins online gaming.  I'm VERY vocal about my hatred of people cheating in these types of games.  Ruins the experience for everyone and honestly, how is it even fun to cheat to victory? No pride in getting good. 

First, I'm with you.  It DOES suck the fun out, because there's no uniformity.  But it's kind of like the steroids question in baseball; it's wrong, but do you do it because everyone else is?  I've opted not to, for the reasons I gave and the reasons you gave.  It's SOOOOO obvious when someone is cheating and it does suck.  There's a physics, a science to the world we're playing in.  Battlefront never intended someone to be able to jump pack all the way up to the rim of the canyon and pot-shot all the players that can't get up there like fish in a barrel.  It's SO not fun.

This statement kind of annoys me.  I'm pretty anti steroids in baseball.  It ruined the sport for me.  There's certain aspects of life I can get behind the "well everyone else is doing it" excuse like speeding on a highway, but everyone cheating doesn't make it right or OK or something I can just let go.  I also don't think it's "everyone" in this case. It's a small % overall, but being how noticeable it can be, it just stands out more (and it varies by game).  The games are starting to get better at anti-cheat but it's a cat and mouse game.  Apparantly Fortnite has found a way to detect a cronus and will not allow you to play the game with one now.  Call of Duty is sueing one of the largest cheat providers.  The game makers are starting to get more serious about stopping it because they know it's not good for the game/community. 

THe one way I do see a lot of it in common with baseball is the money side.  If you can get away without being caught, you can make a lot of money and that money isn't taken away from you if you do get caught. 

[Stadler]

Nothing wrong with enjoying single player more.  I think that's the vast majority of people.  For me, I love the randomness of multiplayer.  I love the communication with random teammates.  The trolling of your enemies.

Yeah, I think there are some legit uses but I'm pretty sure most people who buy a cronus use it to cheat in online games.

And most people don't have the "balls" they have the cheats which ruins online gaming.  I'm VERY vocal about my hatred of people cheating in these types of games.  Ruins the experience for everyone and honestly, how is it even fun to cheat to victory? No pride in getting good. 

First, I'm with you.  It DOES suck the fun out, because there's no uniformity.  But it's kind of like the steroids question in baseball; it's wrong, but do you do it because everyone else is?  I've opted not to, for the reasons I gave and the reasons you gave.  It's SOOOOO obvious when someone is cheating and it does suck.  There's a physics, a science to the world we're playing in.  Battlefront never intended someone to be able to jump pack all the way up to the rim of the canyon and pot-shot all the players that can't get up there like fish in a barrel.  It's SO not fun.

This statement kind of annoys me.  I'm pretty anti steroids in baseball.  It ruined the sport for me.  There's certain aspects of life I can get behind the "well everyone else is doing it" excuse like speeding on a highway, but everyone cheating doesn't make it right or OK or something I can just let go.  I also don't think it's "everyone" in this case. It's a small % overall, but being how noticeable it can be, it just stands out more (and it varies by game).  The games are starting to get better at anti-cheat but it's a cat and mouse game.  Apparantly Fortnite has found a way to detect a cronus and will not allow you to play the game with one now.  Call of Duty is sueing one of the largest cheat providers.  The game makers are starting to get more serious about stopping it because they know it's not good for the game/community. 

THe one way I do see a lot of it in common with baseball is the money side.  If you can get away without being caught, you can make a lot of money and that money isn't taken away from you if you do get caught.

I'm sorry; I didn't mean to annoy you. That's not how I feel, it's just something I've heard said.  I'm with you.  If it's wrong, having everyone do it doesn't make it right.

As for detection, I don't know if it's DICE or Sony, but I understand there's an algorithm intended to pick up cheating on the new Battlefront II.  I don't know how well it works, but I'm in favor of that.

[cramx3]

I'm not really saying you annoy me or anything so no reason to apologize.  I get REALLY worked up though when it comes to cheating in almost everything in life.  It's maybe a me thing, but people really seem to lack a sense of pride these days.  I think baseball attributed to that when I was a kid.  People growing up and seeing how cheating makes you rich and famous is not good IMO. It's become part of our society that it's OK since others do it. 

Call of Duty announced it's new game coming out soon will make you (I think it's just new PC users, so not everyone) register your account with a phone number and it can't be a prepaid phone number.  This has pissed off a lot of people, but it seems it pissed off people who like to cheat or use smurf accounts. 

[Skeever]

My Steam Deck arrived last weekend, and I couldn't help but feel like it was the coolest thing I owned as I was unboxing it. Really love it - so far, played about 3 hours on it, 2 hours of Tunic and an hour of Deep Rock Galactic. Very impressive device. The novelty of it being a "portable PC console" is only curbed a bit by some PC hangover issues, like starting up a game and having to tinker with settings. Hopefully, community profiles and things like that will factor in as the device gains traction. Really liking it a lot, though!

[Herrick]

Have many of you mangs played one of those giant Skyrim mods? I saw Living Skyrim mentioned here a while ago. Now that I  have a 1TB SSD, I want to try one of these mod lists. I'm not sure about Living Skyrim because of my PC specs. I don't want to have to fuck around with settings to get the thing to play smoothly. My specs are Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2070 Super 8G, AMD Ryzen 7 2700X,
and Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR4 3600. Plus that mod is huge and I don't want to even attempt to download it until I get an ethernet cable that can reach the modem.

I'm also looking at Serenity 2 for Skyrim. I might try that one out. I think it's only 100 gigs.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Hearing more and more about the Dead Space remake makes me really excited for the game.

Dead Space Gameplay and Impressions...

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Have many of you mangs played one of those giant Skyrim mods? I saw Living Skyrim mentioned here a while ago. Now that I  have a 1TB SSD, I want to try one of these mod lists. I'm not sure about Living Skyrim because of my PC specs. I don't want to have to fuck around with settings to get the thing to play smoothly. My specs are Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2070 Super 8G, AMD Ryzen 7 2700X,
and Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR4 3600. Plus that mod is huge and I don't want to even attempt to download it until I get an ethernet cable that can reach the modem.

I'm also looking at Serenity 2 for Skyrim. I might try that one out. I think it's only 100 gigs.

Oh yeah... those big mods and addons that are eating your FPS gradually... It is insane, I would say. Only the service https://upgrader.gg/en/ of boosting FPS helped to install couple of more mods recently. At least now I receive 250 instead of 100 FPS when there are big battles are happening.

Oh boy, where do I even begin with this..... Do not, under any circumstance, install software like this on your computer. At best, it will do nothing but eat up resources by running in the background constantly. At worst, they can ruin your computer hardware by applying overclocks that it can't handle or more likely it's just infested with malware, or key loggers, or other things to steal any info it can from you. In short, this software is most likely some kind of scam.

The claim of going from 100 to 250 fps using this is dubious at best, unless you have intentionally kneecapped your computer beforehand.

[Phoenix87x]

Downloaded a free demo version of Hitman 3 for switch

Its able to run through cloud support so Its pretty cool to see a game like that work pretty well on switch.

[ErHaO]

Downloaded a free demo version of Hitman 3 for switch

Its able to run through cloud support so Its pretty cool to see a game like that work pretty well on switch.

It is nice to have an option on the Switch, but you can stream games on almost any portable device these days.

I actually connected my Series X controller to my phone and continued my Hitman 3 gamepass saves on it when I was away from home.

Hell, I had an Xperia Z3 that came with a dualshock 4 like 7 years back and could stream my PS4 to my phone (though that was only on the same wifi network and not cloud).

I personally feel full priced streaming games on Switch are a bit iffy, there is no saying how long the servers will stay up because it is not reallly part of a big dedicated service.

[Herrick]

Have many of you mangs played one of those giant Skyrim mods? I saw Living Skyrim mentioned here a while ago. Now that I  have a 1TB SSD, I want to try one of these mod lists. I'm not sure about Living Skyrim because of my PC specs. I don't want to have to fuck around with settings to get the thing to play smoothly. My specs are Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2070 Super 8G, AMD Ryzen 7 2700X,
and Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR4 3600. Plus that mod is huge and I don't want to even attempt to download it until I get an ethernet cable that can reach the modem.

I'm also looking at Serenity 2 for Skyrim. I might try that one out. I think it's only 100 gigs.

Oh yeah... those big mods and addons that are eating your FPS gradually... It is insane, I would say. Only the service https://upgrader.gg/en/ of boosting FPS helped to install couple of more mods recently. At least now I receive 250 instead of 100 FPS when there are big battles are happening.

Which modlists have you used? I've only been able to get one (Librum I think) installed successfully but ended up deleting it because I decided the progression system wasn't for me. The other two I tried installing had errors. That is disappointing while waiting to download allllll those gigs.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

Is anyone else excited for A Plague Tale 2? Based on what I've heard, it sounds like it's an overall excellent game with some pretty bad performance issues. Doesn't impact me too much as I can't play it for a bit, so I'm hoping the main issues are patched out by then. Looking really forward to it!

[ErHaO]

Is anyone else excited for A Plague Tale 2? Based on what I've heard, it sounds like it's an overall excellent game with some pretty bad performance issues. Doesn't impact me too much as I can't play it for a bit, so I'm hoping the main issues are patched out by then. Looking really forward to it!

I played a bit of it. But the console version is a bit scuffed compared to modern standards. If this was a PS4pro version or something, I would deem it solid but even then below the levels of AAA titles. But on a Series X/PS5 a game looking like this running at 30 fps/1440p raises my eyebrows a bit. It does look really nice, but so do most Sony AAA games on even the base PS4. Still, it felt totally playable on the Series X, just dissapointing compared to other games.

I personally would have waited before buying it, but since it is one gamepass I'll play it in this state (though I kind of doubt consoles will get a proper performance mode). Which again, is fine, as it plays and looks like PS4pro title to me. But considering the PS5/Series X are like multiple times more powerful than that, it is dissapointing.

[Dublagent66]

OMFG!!  Cant wait for this.

https://blog.playstation.com/2022/10/19/silent-hill-2-remake-revealed-first-gameplay-details-and-design-changes-announced/

[Phoenix87x]

Yeah, SH 2 looks awesome.

I will definitely be picking that up

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Looks cool! Can't wait for RE4 also.

[ErHaO]

Horror remakes are in fashion it seems. Dead Space, Silent Hill 2 and Resident Evil 4 remakes are going to be awesome (and TLOU pt1 when I get a PS5 eventually). I will say all of these games aged well in their original forms (unlike, say, Resident Evil 2 on the PS1). Good to see Konami doing something with their gaming branch, finally.



I played and finished Immortality. Great and memorable experience. The actual game is figuring out what happened by piecing it together in your own mind. The actual gameplay is not really a puzzle, more like a hidden object thing where you click on things on the screen. In the beginning it can be quite creepy due to some.... weird elements, with some unexpected jump scares (depending on how you interact with it). I never played these FMV games with real life footage, but this sold me on being open for them in the future for sure.

[Dublagent66]

Hmmm   I loved RE2 on PS1.

[ErHaO]

Hmmm   I loved RE2 on PS1.

I was talking about how the games aged, at least for me personally. Not how good they are for their time. I am sure was a great game back in the day, but the voice acting, dialouge, gameplay/tanks controls  etc. are ehm, not for me anymore. I think anyone agrees that RE2 on the ps1 and it's remake are very different experiences despite sharing mostly the same core. For the upcoming remakes the differences will probably be smaller.

Keep in mind I did not play RE2 on the ps1 originally, I was 8 then, I played it later on the ps2/3 (along with most PS1 classics). Maybe if I grew up with tank controls in my teens I would enjoy it more. Some other PS1 classics, such as the mainline FF games or MGS I did/do still enjoy in their original form when I played them much later on.

[Dublagent66]

Yeah, I see what you mean.  I was so used to those controls that going back to them was like 2nd nature.  Even RE: Code VX on PS2 was somewhat similar, but those kinds of games were so damn fun, I really didn't mind the tank controls.

[King Postwhore]

Anyone see that Atari Mania game?  My brother is going to pick it up for the Switch.

[ErHaO]

Is anyone else excited for A Plague Tale 2? Based on what I've heard, it sounds like it's an overall excellent game with some pretty bad performance issues. Doesn't impact me too much as I can't play it for a bit, so I'm hoping the main issues are patched out by then. Looking really forward to it!

I have been playing it for some hours. It is as good as the first one. Engaging atmosphere and beautiful locales, kinda clunky/stiff gameplay that I personally do enjoy.

It is amazing that a smaller team can make a full sized game that looks AAA-adjacent. That bodes well for these type of games. In many ways these Plague Tale games are lower budget Medieval The Last of Us with simpler gameplay.

Apparently my Series X was set to 60 hz, no idea why. But setting the console to 120 hz kicked in the 40 fps mode and I gotta say, it feels pretty good (with motion blur turned off). I know Sony has recently been doing 40 fps games for 120 hz screens and it makes a bigger difference than the number suggests (vs 30).

Anyways, the game does not feel like a technical mess on consoles. It is running below expectations, but 1440p and 40 fps is completely fine to me.

[krands85]

Apparently my Series X was set to 60 hz, no idea why. But setting the console to 120 hz kicked in the 40 fps mode and I gotta say, it feels pretty good (with motion blur turned off). I know Sony has recently been doing 40 fps games for 120 hz screens and it makes a bigger difference than the number suggests (vs 30).

Those 40fps modes seem like a nice innovation and good compromise between smoothness/responsiveness and picture quality. Unfortunately I don't have a TV to take advantage of it, though I've only got a Series S at the moment anyway!

It sits perfectly in the middle between 30fps and 60fps, which seems counter-intuitive as you alluded to. Thinking about it in terms of how long each frame lasts instead, it makes more sense. Each frame at 30fps will last 33.33 milliseconds (1000/30) and at 60fps will last 16.67ms. Split the difference and you get 25fps, which is how long each frame lasts at 40fps.

30fps can feel quite rough to me now and I'll always pick the 60fps option if it's available. I switched Forza Horizon 5 over to 30fps to see how it looked, but it felt horrible after being used to it at 60. I'd love to see how a 40fps mode would feel on that and hopefully it gets added to more games as time goes on.

[ErHaO]

Apparently my Series X was set to 60 hz, no idea why. But setting the console to 120 hz kicked in the 40 fps mode and I gotta say, it feels pretty good (with motion blur turned off). I know Sony has recently been doing 40 fps games for 120 hz screens and it makes a bigger difference than the number suggests (vs 30).

Those 40fps modes seem like a nice innovation and good compromise between smoothness/responsiveness and picture quality. Unfortunately I don't have a TV to take advantage of it, though I've only got a Series S at the moment anyway!

It sits perfectly in the middle between 30fps and 60fps, which seems counter-intuitive as you alluded to. Thinking about it in terms of how long each frame lasts instead, it makes more sense. Each frame at 30fps will last 33.33 milliseconds (1000/30) and at 60fps will last 16.67ms. Split the difference and you get 25fps, which is how long each frame lasts at 40fps.

30fps can feel quite rough to me now and I'll always pick the 60fps option if it's available. I switched Forza Horizon 5 over to 30fps to see how it looked, but it felt horrible after being used to it at 60. I'd love to see how a 40fps mode would feel on that and hopefully it gets added to more games as time goes on.

I can deal with 30 fps, but it is not ideal. Do keep in mind that instantly switching is not really representative of the 30 fps experience. At least, my brain does get used to it after a while, making it completely fine to play. The instant 60 to 30 switch always is super jarring. For 30 fps I do need to sit further away from the screen a bit.

The only modern game I went with 30 fps on the Series X was Control, as the lightning without ray tracing wasn't very good (no window reflections or anything). For pretty much anything else it has been performance mode. I find high Resolutions a bit overrated anyways (given a game has good image quality and AA).

But 40 fps is surprisingly great. Sony has added 40 fps modes to Horizon FW, The Last of Us remake, Ratchet and Clank, and Spider-Man. God of War Ragnarok will also have it.

Anyways, I am glad I went for an HDMI 2.1 tv, as quite some games on next gen have used it one way or another.

[cramx3]

Started played the COD MW2 campaign since you can play it  a week early before the full release of the game if you pre-purchased. I haven't played a COD campaign in many many years, but it's amazing how it's basically the same as I remember them  Granted, it actually looks really great. I'm pretty excited for the full game release next week.

[krands85]

I can deal with 30 fps, but it is not ideal. Do keep in mind that instantly switching is not really representative of the 30 fps experience. At least, my brain does get used to it after a while, making it completely fine to play.

Yeah, I would as well in most games and I was fine with 30fps on last gen for the most part as long as it was stable. Guess I've been spoiled a bit by the new gen  I was a bit bothered by 30fps games with sluggish controls though, like Red Dead Redemption 2 - I'd love to see how much more responsive that would feel at a higher frame rate.