Pob

Jake Zero

I quite like reading Wikipedia plot summaries for films I never intend to see. I've read the Pandorum one twice. Recommended.

Tip: switch the minimap to compass only. You get no telltale dots on the map for authored content spawning near you, which makes it feel much more organic.

Within the space of about half an hour last night I'd donated $20 towards a veteran's centre, told a Native American elder I couldn't help him as I'm not a do gooder, been kind to a Suffragette and shot someone in the face while robbing a high-stakes poker game. I still really like it, though. Like every Rockstar game since GTAIV my most memorable times have been simply travelling slowly through the world simply taking it all in and doing pointless shit just to act in-character.

One thing I don't get about this is high-end PC experiences are about high resolutions and silly frame-rates. Is streaming suitable for that?

So regressive it comes full circle and is progressive.

Yes, surely? When has a lightsaber not cleanly cut through anything other than another lightsaber? The only time I can recall seeing it being used in any other way is when Qui Gon is melting through the blast-proof door at the start of TPM.

I dunno, the generic-sounding nature of it is putting me off. Just putting Star Wars sounds and graphics over a slick yet derivative third-person game isn't enough to get me to part with my cash. Take Arkham Asylum, for example - it contains well-worn tropes for sure but the whole thing is focused around making you feel like Batman, and that gave it a totally fresh feel. This isn't really convincing me that it'll make me feel like a Jedi. I reckon if Rocksteady had made this, one of their core design principles would be that the lightsaber cuts through anything it touches, and the game design would evolve from there.

I wonder if MS and Sony will put the wifi / ethernet gubbins into their new controllers to steal the 'client device' idea from Stadia. Seems like a neat trick to reduce latency.

One of my favourite genres is the 'immersive sim', which tend to be very detailed, quite cerebral action games with lots of player agency, densely-packed levels and multiple solutions to any given problem. Deus Ex, Dishonored, Hitman (kind of) - some of my favourite games of all time. However, I find it quite hard to get round to playing and finishing those games because they're quite strenuous. Not in a difficulty sense, just in the amount of brain cells required to make progress. I guess they're the videogame equivalent of a Martin Amis novel or something - dense, slow-going but very rewarding. I'm not saying they're not fun, or that I can't do them, but they just take it out of me. I love the lack of handholding, but it makes them less relaxing than a traditional action game, and more hard work. Deus Ex took me about a year to finish, and I had a massive break halfway through Mankind Divided. Dishonored 2 and Prey are sitting virtually unplayed on my shelf, and I've still not touched half of the maps in Hitman 2, which is probably in my top 3 games of this generation. When I do get properly into them – "immersed", you might say – they are the best thing ever. I just have trouble getting over that initial hump.

Yeah I think I read on HKUD that they'll take it without box.

I got mine on Tuesday evening and it was still on and advertised in-store. My Elite 1 was complete and boxed. There was some signs off the left grip coming unstuck but luckily the guy either didn’t clock it or think it was worth making a fuss over. Relieved to get rid of it before it properly started coming away TBH.

Not sure it’s advertised online, it’s just an in-store deal.

Probably. I shouldn't have replied to your question TBH because I don't even understand the Stadia proposition let alone the revenue model!