Gaming Xbox Series X|S

Which of these do you prefer

  • Microsoft Game Pass

  • Xbox Game Pass


Results are only viewable after voting.

Alock1

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There's actually a game I want to play for once. ZoE 2
I'm actually interested in Chaosbane. Meant to be decent and I've loved Vermintide (I know it's completely different). Makes a change.
 

Bosws87

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I recently bought a hue light for the back of my TV and some games look incredible using it. Ori 2 really shines with it. I would recommand this to anyone.

I use the bulbs in my room, look great rarely use them now the novelty's warn off.
 

VeevaVee

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I recently bought a hue light for the back of my TV and some games look incredible using it. Ori 2 really shines with it. I would recommand this to anyone.

Have you experienced any input latency from the controller using this?
 

DixieDean

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Have you experienced any input latency from the controller using this?
No latency from the controller, but from the screen to light there is, but it's ever so slight. Maybe it would go away if I set it to the 'extreme' setting in the app, but advice online says have it one below that as that can be a bit much.

In fact, here is another video I have. It's not gaming but will give you a better idea of the latency. Like gaming, it comes from an HDMI source.
 

DixieDean

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My Series X was sent off for repair this week as, out of nowhere, it started to sound like a lawnmower. From launch, it had been fine up to that point, so be warned, people.
 

afrocentricity

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You need 3 things. The hue lights, I bought this - https://www.philips-hue.com/en-gb/p...lay-gradient-lightstrip-55-inch/8718699784751
Then you need a Hue Bridge, which you can get cheap.
And lastly, you need a Philips HDMI sync box. And this is were they feck you over. It's around £220 new. However, I got mine used off ebay for £150.

I'll be glad to answer any other questions.
If you're after a new TV a Phillips Ambilight is a good deal. Hooks up to Alexa/Assistant/Hue and all that too. All in one synced lighting...
 

DixieDean

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I forget to say that before my xbox was sent off I made sure to finish Psychonauts 2. A fantastic time that has just as much imagination as the first game. There are a couple of stand out levels, in particular.

My criticisms would be that the platforming is still not top of the class and can, at times, be frustrating. Another drawback is just how many cut scenes there are. Just when I felt in the groove in a level up would pop another cut scene. On the plus side they're well written.

And Gamepass makes it a no-brainer to try.

Overall: 8/10.
 

Alock1

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I forget to say that before my xbox was sent off I made sure to finish Psychonauts 2. A fantastic time that has just as much imagination as the first game. There are a couple of stand out levels, in particular.

My criticisms would be that the platforming is still not top of the class and can, at times, be frustrating. Another drawback is just how many cut scenes there are. Just when I felt in the groove in a level up would pop another cut scene. On the plus side they're well written.

And Gamepass makes it a no-brainer to try.

Overall: 8/10.
What I've played of Psychonauts is brilliant so far but yep.. the cut scenes were infuriating. Why the feck have they got so many?

Do you think it's because they've never had this much budget before or the luxury of spending extra time on the game?

The problem is, they're easy enough to immediately skip and get back into it (still annoying, but not so bad) but then, the story is supposedly great, especially for a 3d platformer. Shouldn't have to choose between enjoying the story and the action being disrupted constantly.

I was hoping that it dies off as the game goes on but guessing not?
 

DixieDean

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What I've played of Psychonauts is brilliant so far but yep.. the cut scenes were infuriating. Why the feck have they got so many?

Do you think it's because they've never had this much budget before or the luxury of spending extra time on the game?

The problem is, they're easy enough to immediately skip and get back into it (still annoying, but not so bad) but then, the story is supposedly great, especially for a 3d platformer. Shouldn't have to choose between enjoying the story and the action being disrupted constantly.

I was hoping that it dies off as the game goes on but guessing not?
No, the pattern is kept up throughout. They didn't bother me too much. You could be right about the budget going up when MS bought them.

One cool thing is, you can do all the side missions and collectables after you finish the main game. It's easy to jump to different levels.

One of the achievements is for reaching level 100! No way I could ever do that.
 

Balljy

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What I've played of Psychonauts is brilliant so far but yep.. the cut scenes were infuriating. Why the feck have they got so many?

Do you think it's because they've never had this much budget before or the luxury of spending extra time on the game?

The problem is, they're easy enough to immediately skip and get back into it (still annoying, but not so bad) but then, the story is supposedly great, especially for a 3d platformer. Shouldn't have to choose between enjoying the story and the action being disrupted constantly.

I was hoping that it dies off as the game goes on but guessing not?
The original had loads too. It is from Tim Schafer who is one of the people behind Monkey Island, Full Throttle, Grim Fandango etc so he loves his humour and his stories. I cared less as it went on but that might just be me getting used to them or me getting more into the story so caring less.

I'm loving how inventive it is though and it does stack up well against the original. MS have got a gem in Tim Schafer. Maybe even a new Monkey Island?
 

Alock1

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No, the pattern is kept up throughout. They didn't bother me too much. You could be right about the budget going up when MS bought them.

One cool thing is, you can do all the side missions and collectables after you finish the main game. It's easy to jump to different levels.

One of the achievements is for reaching level 100! No way I could ever do that.
The budget absolutely went up. They were going to release a few years ago as they were running out of money, and had to cut even the boss fights. It's pretty clear it's in a much better state as a result of the acquisition.

I just wondered if this might have been one area that got much budget and attention than needed and it's overkill.
 

Alock1

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The original had loads too. It is from Tim Schafer who is one of the people behind Monkey Island, Full Throttle, Grim Fandango etc so he loves his humour and his stories. I cared less as it went on but that might just be me getting used to them or me getting more into the story so caring less.

I'm loving how inventive it is though and it does stack up well against the original. MS have got a gem in Tim Schafer. Maybe even a new Monkey Island?
Yeah but those games aren't exactly action platformers are they, so it makes more sense. I don't remember the original having so much but maybe I just wouldn't have cared or noticed that sort of thing.

I'm hoping they do something new. I think they've already said that it'll be something new, and perhaps something smaller. Definitely a great studio to have part of the setup, and gamepass is the perfect place for Double Fine, since they aren't the type of studio to really drive sales from the masses.
 

Balljy

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Yeah but those games aren't exactly action platformers are they, so it makes more sense. I don't remember the original having so much but maybe I just wouldn't have cared or noticed that sort of thing.

I'm hoping they do something new. I think they've already said that it'll be something new, and perhaps something smaller. Definitely a great studio to have part of the setup, and gamepass is the perfect place for Double Fine, since they aren't the type of studio to really drive sales from the masses.
Agree with that. Psychonauts 2 only happened originally due to crowd funding, so a place where he can just do his stuff without worrying massively about sales for the moment is good for everyone.

An article I read said that he isn't limited to MS and still has a choice of what platforms to release on which is why he agreed to the buyout. I'm not sure if that's changed now though.
 

VeevaVee

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No latency from the controller, but from the screen to light there is, but it's ever so slight. Maybe it would go away if I set it to the 'extreme' setting in the app, but advice online says have it one below that as that can be a bit much.

In fact, here is another video I have. It's not gaming but will give you a better idea of the latency. Like gaming, it comes from an HDMI source.
Thanks. Doesn't seem too bad. Where it's noticeable it kinda works well there, as if it's continuing off the screen. Can you set it to just glow in a normal yellow light permanently too?
 

Alock1

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Thanks. Doesn't seem too bad. Where it's noticeable it kinda works well there, as if it's continuing off the screen. Can you set it to just glow in a normal yellow light permanently too?
Why would you want that?

Just buy a lamp mate
 

VeevaVee

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Why would you want that?

Just buy a lamp mate
The wall my tv is on is a bit gloomy and there's no viable space for a lamp. The other option I was looking at was getting another Philips mood lamp and putting it on the floor but this might work better.
 

afrocentricity

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No latency from the controller, but from the screen to light there is, but it's ever so slight. Maybe it would go away if I set it to the 'extreme' setting in the app, but advice online says have it one below that as that can be a bit much.

In fact, here is another video I have. It's not gaming but will give you a better idea of the latency. Like gaming, it comes from an HDMI source.
What video are you playing on your TV? I want to try it out.
 

DixieDean

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Thanks. Doesn't seem too bad. Where it's noticeable it kinda works well there, as if it's continuing off the screen. Can you set it to just glow in a normal yellow light permanently too?
Oh yeah, there are many colours you can permanently set it to in the app. It does not have to sync. You can also set it to come on at certain times in the day.

What video are you playing on your TV? I want to try it out.
Here is the link. For some reason the video doesn't show when I embed it - www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeQFX9fE7Xc&list=WL&index=27
 

Massive Spanner

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I'm enjoying Psychonauts 2 a lot but it feels a level below It Takes Two and R&C: Rift Apart, both of which really perfected the platforming genre in my eyes. It's a clunkier, older feeling game with more simplistic elements. I'm not really getting why it got reviewed so well, it's good, not great. It also suffers from annoying FPS drops on PC at times.

That said I'm only half way in and the story does seem good so maybe I'd rate it higher if I'd played the first? As it stands it feels like there's a good bit of it that goes over my head at times.
 

Balljy

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I'm enjoying Psychonauts 2 a lot but it feels a level below It Takes Two and R&C: Rift Apart, both of which really perfected the platforming genre in my eyes. It's a clunkier, older feeling game with more simplistic elements. I'm not really getting why it got reviewed so well, it's good, not great. It also suffers from annoying FPS drops on PC at times.

That said I'm only half way in and the story does seem good so maybe I'd rate it higher if I'd played the first? As it stands it feels like there's a good bit of it that goes over my head at times.
It's a weird thing to say, but I don't think it is the platforming that makes it good. The platforming is really clunky and hasn't improved that much since the original. I think the reviews are based on what it does differently with it being a story led game with platforming elements rather than a straight platformer.

I see it (and the original) as being an adventure game with open world elements and platforming sections which are clunky. I've probably spent 50% of my time in the open world rather than the levels and love the story and humour. I am not really a fan of platformers generally though and love adventure games so it's definitely more orientated towards the genres I like. I can see that it would look bad if you compared it against R&C for pure gameplay.

The FPS drops on PC are annoying. Apparently it's a common issue with Unreal 4 on PC when I googled why I was getting them on a 3080.
 

Alock1

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I'm enjoying Psychonauts 2 a lot but it feels a level below It Takes Two and R&C: Rift Apart, both of which really perfected the platforming genre in my eyes. It's a clunkier, older feeling game with more simplistic elements. I'm not really getting why it got reviewed so well, it's good, not great. It also suffers from annoying FPS drops on PC at times.

That said I'm only half way in and the story does seem good so maybe I'd rate it higher if I'd played the first? As it stands it feels like there's a good bit of it that goes over my head at times.
I strongly disagree, most reviews and people who've played it disagree to and say it feels like a truly magical experience because of the story, level design, and gameplay variety. I think I'll take my experience and their word for it over the most biased Sony fanboy I've ever come across! I'm sure you'll get a fun experience some day, when Sony realize not every game has to follow a formula.

white text for afro and elvis
 

Massive Spanner

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I strongly disagree, most reviews and people who've played it disagree to and say it feels like a truly magical experience because of the story, level design, and gameplay variety. I think I'll take my experience and their word for it over the most biased Sony fanboy I've ever come across! I'm sure you'll get a fun experience some day, when Sony realize not every game has to follow a formula.

white text for afro and elvis
Seriously though have you played It Takes Two? It's a better game than both.

EDIT: Oh wait, you need two people to play it and nobody likes you.
 

Alock1

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Seriously though have you played It Takes Two? It's a better game than both.

EDIT: Oh wait, you need two people to play it and nobody likes you.
I'm half way through, at the castle - not long after you do the isometric bit which was very cool. I've got multiple run throughs going on with different people, but you're right, none of them like me!

It's a brilliant game. I'm not far enough into Psychonauts or Ratchet to say, but just for the co-op element and variety of levels it'd be hard to beat. Up there with any 3d platformer including Mario.
 

DixieDean

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I've got to give credit to MS customer service. I sent my Xbox for repair on Tuesday and got a replacement today. Different console, of course but that's whatever.
 

Vidyoyo

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Massive Spanner

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Just came into stock for home delivery on Smyths and I ordered one (Ireland)

I still hate you all especially @Alock1 but looking forward to playing remasters of 30 year olds games.
 

b82REZ

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Just came into stock for home delivery on Smyths and I ordered one (Ireland)

I still hate you all especially @Alock1 but looking forward to playing remasters of 30 year olds games.
I'm sure I'll be joining you in a year or two, but right now you have a very expensive paper weight.

Who pays £450 to stop papers flying away?
 

Massive Spanner

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I'm sure I'll be joining you in a year or two, but right now you have a very expensive paper weight.

Who pays £450 to stop papers flying away?
I was going to wait but it'll still be £450 in a year or two and by then i could be dead or homeless so feck it. Plus I wanna play Psychonauts 2 on my big tv on the couch and shit.
 

Redlambs

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Just came into stock for home delivery on Smyths and I ordered one (Ireland)

I still hate you all especially @Alock1 but looking forward to playing remasters of 30 year olds games.
It'll be cool at first, then you'll be very underwhelmed.

(Unless you actually play the good games and not just the pew pews like the tools in here)


Edit: Whoops wrong thread. Right sentiment.
 

Mr Anderson

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It'll be cool at first, then you'll be very underwhelmed.

(Unless you actually play the good games and not just the pew pews like the tools in here)


Edit: Whoops wrong thread. Right sentiment.
you sound like my wife…. :nervous:
 

DavelinaJolie

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Finished Twelve Minutes yesterday and on reflection I think it's a terrible game.
Terrible is maybe harsh, but that pre-ending beat... Woof. What a load of tosh (and predictable tbh).

I like the time loop mechanic, but hell that got tedious when I had to do the same loop three times because I didn't quite get the timing right on something. Oh and not being able to progress something even though you found an item but didn't trigger the right bit of dialogue, so the game wouldn't bring up the conversation prompt.

Yeah, it's pretty bad. In those old point and click games it was frustrating not knowing the obscure thing you needed to do to drive a game forward, I think it may be more frustrating not know the thing, but having to keep replaying the thing to get to the point.

What a disappointment.