NEXT GEN CONSOLES

[windy_miller]

titanfall isnt coming to the ps4, if thats what you are thinking?

No my point was you could buy a PS4, and still play Titanfall on your 360.

[t8yman]

Ahh, didn't spot that. Anyway, xbox one - wow, it's stunning. I really wasn't expecting it to be that much better, 60fps makes so much difference, and the gfx difference is amazing, shooting buildings with tanks is stunning, you actually get the rubble exploding all over the place, which you didn't get on the 360, it's the little details you notice, but the silky smooth running is amazing.

The console itself is really nice, runs very quietly, and feels like a quality piece of kit. The kinect is surprisingly responsive, and what it adds to BF4 is very useful, being able to say "need a medic" instead of the slightly cumbersome way of communicating it on the 360 is really useful, it also detects lean, so you can lean from behind cover, and tracks head movement for looking whilst driving helicopters.

Games boot up almost immediately, and "xbox on" and "xbox turn off" are handy. Killer Instinct is impressive looking, but I'm really not a button mashing fighter fan.

Might pick up another game today to see something else running on it, possibly nfs or forza - although forza is a bit too simmy for me.

I'll be interested to see what ms do with the first system update, there are some functions lacking that were on the 360 from early days.

Edited January 16, 2014 by t8yman

[t8yman]

Double post, sorry.

Edited January 15, 2014 by t8yman

[LondonTom]

oooo sounds good! Good to see a more first hand positive review of it.

I think i am going hold out for next Christmas, maybe even next year considering atm I mostly playing Fifa/Madden/Rocksmith. (Though the new FIFA engine is actually only in the next gen consoles I believe so maybe Christmas!).

[viberunner]

Current Xbox Gold Live free game is Lara Croft and the Guardians of Light.

Never really hit my radar before, but a £12 arcade mash-up of Gauntlet/Diablo but with a Tomb Raider theme more than the vanilla AD&D.

Not started it yet - still finishing my Sleeping Dogs + DLC replay - but a massive critical hit.

[Uncle Liam]

You know, I've NEVER played a Tomb Raider game.

Any good?

Will get it anyway just out of pure spite. In much the same way I downloaded Sleeping Dogs even though I own it on Disc.

[jammy2211]

Current Xbox Gold Live free game is Lara Croft and the Guardians of Light.

Never really hit my radar before, but a £12 arcade mash-up of Gauntlet/Diablo but with a Tomb Raider theme more than the vanilla AD&D.

Not started it yet - still finishing my Sleeping Dogs + DLC replay - but a massive critical hit.

While it's view point is like that of Gauntlet/Diablo, it is very much a coop puzzle game and really has little combat - it appears in splatters but really you spend most your time solving puzzles.

It's a fun little game but you really are going to want a friend to play it with, and it did get tiresome.

[windy_miller]

You know, I've NEVER played a Tomb Raider game.

Any good?

Will get it anyway just out of pure spite. In much the same way I downloaded Sleeping Dogs even though I own it on Disc.

I played the first one, and absolutely hated it, I just found it incredibly boring. I never bothered with any of the rest of them.

[t8yman]

The latest Tomb Raider is really good apparently, my mate loved it. I got it free in a bundle with the lads xbox 360, but sold it on eBay unopened. I've played a couple of them in my time, it was quite groundbreaking in the early days.

XBOX ONE, most impressive hidden gem I have found is the fitness thing, its brilliant. My missus set up a profile last night, did 5 minutes just to see what it was like (she was nearing the end of preparing dinner) my daughter walked in and said "I want to do that - now!" so she set one up and did a 20 minute Kickboxing cardio workout, its very slick, utilises the Kinect really well, and its free if you are a Live Gold member.

I downloaded a few demos, mainly to see something other than battlefield running on it, FIFA looks incredible, even though I dont play it, and so did Lego Marvel, the lighting effects are lovely.I'm intrigued by Dead Rising, but the demo is nearly 8Gb, and I'm not sure I wanna splash ~£50 on the full game, I might pick up AC:Black Flag today, it seems to be the pick of the launch titles, even though I have previously found AC to be quite dull I have warmed to the open world genre this year, really enjoying FC3 and GTA, so I might well enjoy this one.

[Purple Monkey]

The latest Tomb Raider is very good.

It's more like Uncharted with a Metroidvania design template - backtracking and revisiting with newer equipment much like the Batman games, which I love.

And like Uncharted not quite as unforgiving or as dangerous as old school Tomb Raider which may or may not be good depending on your taste. Control wise it's a bit too hand-holdy and forgiving while trying it's best to sell itself as a perilous quest. It may help people plough through the game, but it removes that ponderous "oh shit, I might die now" feeling from the jumping and climbing bits. But for what it aims to do, it does it very well.

And the characters aren't quite as B-Movie boring like Uncharted either.

[WS_Jack_III]

Got the new Splinter Cell on psn sale. Really enjoyed it, gameplay was very much like the classic trilogy.

By the way, how great a service is PSN plus! I've had Jak and Daxter trilogy, Grid 2, Farcry 3, DMC,LBP karting and Spec Ops the Line.

[minute5072]

I'm sure I read that the new Tomb Raider will be free on ps+ this year if anyone is interested in playing it

[viberunner]

Sale on Xbox Live, got Witcher 2 and Ghost Recon Future Soldier for a fiver a piece.

I know GRFS will be pants compared to W2, but I've always liked the Tom Clancy games. FS won't be as hardcore as I want, but anything tactical is better than nothing (I hope).

[minute5072]

DARK SOULS is cheap as well

[Uncle Liam]

There's a Final Fantasy game on there for just under a fiver.

I've never, ever played a Final Fantasy game.

[Paul ™]

Playing through COD: Ghosts campaign and the graphics on the PS4 are bloody gorgeous at times (on 50" LED TV) and the 5.1 DD Surround effects are amazing!

[t8yman]

Sale on Xbox Live, got Witcher 2 and Ghost Recon Future Soldier for a fiver a piece.

I know GRFS will be pants compared to W2, but I've always liked the Tom Clancy games. FS won't be as hardcore as I want, but anything tactical is better than nothing (I hope).

GRFS is great, never finished it due to other things going on, but its a very satisfying experience, and certainly worth a fiver.

[minute5072]

There's a Final Fantasy game on there for just under a fiver.

I've never, ever played a Final Fantasy game.

You don't want to start with that one. Arguably one of the worst

[windy_miller]

DARK SOULS is cheap as well

I've been meaning to play this for a while. £3.74 is an absolute bargain!

Still having loads of fun with Sleeping Dogs. Should I finish that first or dive straight into Dark Souls?

[minute5072]

I've been meaning to play this for a while. £3.74 is an absolute bargain!

Still having loads of fun with Sleeping Dogs. Should I finish that first or dive straight into Dark Souls?

I would finish sleeping dogs first. Dark Souls can be a bit all consuming

In other news pretty much all the final fantasy games up to 9 are only 4 quid on psn at the moment, or £3.60 if you have PS+. I got 6-9 which will all work on PS3 and vita!

[WS_Jack_III]

Did anybody ever play Jak 2? It's the most frustrating game ever!

[windy_miller]

I would finish sleeping dogs first. Dark Souls can be a bit all consuming

In other news pretty much all the final fantasy games up to 9 are only 4 quid on psn at the moment, or £3.60 if you have PS+. I got 6-9 which will all work on PS3 and vita!

I gave Dark Souls a bash last night. I have no clue what I am doing, and the game doesn't seem to tell you much either. What is the point of the Humanity stat? It seems central to the game but it doesn't tell you why you should use it, or what the benefit of being "unhollow" is.

I'm not sure about the game yet, I may have to spend a bit longer with it to see if it clicks.

[Paul ™]

Leaving PS Plus:

29th January: DmC Devil May Cry
29th January: Remember Me
29th January: Sonic and Allstars Racing Transformed
29th January: Blazblue Continuum Shift Extend
29th January: GTA Liberty City Stories PSP
5th February: Don’t Starve
5th February: RESOGUN

Entering PS Plus:

29th January: Metro Last Light
29th January: BioShock Infinite
29th January: Dynasty Warriors Next
29th January: ModNation Racers: Road Trip
5th February: Outlast

[minute5072]

I gave Dark Souls a bash last night. I have no clue what I am doing, and the game doesn't seem to tell you much either. What is the point of the Humanity stat? It seems central to the game but it doesn't tell you why you should use it, or what the benefit of being "unhollow" is.

I'm not sure about the game yet, I may have to spend a bit longer with it to see if it clicks.

It's really bad at explaining what you have to do, or its mechanics. Here's a beginners guide that may help

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2011/10/04/dark-souls-for-beginners.aspx

[jump]

I've just decided to get a Wii U, there's a very good chance it'll end up like the Gamecube or Dreamcast but fuck it those consoles had some amazing games.

For £260 I'm getting the console with Super Mario 3D World, New Super Mario Bros U, Pikmin 3, ZombiU and Wondeful 101.

Edited January 24, 2014 by jump