J4MES OX4D

It's not often you see multi-billionaire's having to cut costs😎

I didn't bother with MW3 this year and with COD games of late struggling to hold my interest even going into December, I ended up playing stacks of other games instead which were so much more beneficial to my time and enjoyment. Unless Black Ops 14 or whatever number we're at is a radical improvement in terms of quality and consumer ethics then I can't see me ever returning to the franchise. As predicted, Microsoft's acquisition has had absolutely no benefit whatsoever to the gamer just like with Bethesda and if anything, things are even worse than before. Such a shame because there was real hope after MW2019 but once again the franchise feels absolutely exhausted and way off where it should be morally and in quality.

$80 gloves Nice to see Microsoft making a positive difference to the franchise🤣

Some more AC Odyssey

This sorta thing has been around for many years yet yet publishers keep adopting it yet it surely doesn't benefit sales in the long run. Some games have had such convoluted pre-release/puchase aspects in play which just alienate players so much, rather than spending even the base game rate, they wait for a sale as you say. Who could forget EA's epic fail charts.. The thing that pisses me off with this $70/$110/$130 garbage is that the people that are paying the standard base game rate are actually getting the game 3 days late and are missing out on content as well as risking spoilers. Those that are getting ripped off paying $110 get to essentially play the game on time (even though it says 'early access' and are paying $40 extra for one shitty mission and a low-effort .pdf. I think Ubisoft are slyly trying to push people to their garbage subscription service where you can play the entire thing for $15. Might not be a bad one-off shout especially for a one and done Ubisoft single player title. Games like Baldurs Gate 3 keep it simple - £50 and the entire game is yours with no bullshit or having to miss out on stuff because you didn't pay £30-40 more.

Star Wars Outlaws' $110 and $130 editions prompt a collective sigh from potential players tired of season passes and ill-advised early access periods | PC Gamer WWW.PCGAMER.COM I've got a bad feeling about this.

This classic

Lara Croft is definitely iconic especially of the era - she's basically the Spice Girls of videogames. Back in the mid-90's it was all cartoony characters but she represented some authenticity and she appealed to males for obvious reasons😎

Assassin's Creed Odyssey (2018)

A good choice for anyone who doesn't own a PS5 but wants one in the near future. Other than that, it's definitely not worth upgrading from a standard PS5 especially if the few current gen games available play the same essentially. These mid-gen console releases are nothing more than a marketing refresh rather than an extra step to build on existing hardware.

Outer Wilds FREE on Epic until the 11th along with Thief.

Mine come from Steam Akami where no upload is required so I hope mine aren't responsible for any high bills😎

6 months on and still nothing. Seems people on social media have given Rubin and co a long overdue poke but this is just getting silly now. Generic promises and just a load of 'soon' and 'we hope' lines.

That's exactly the problem with the industry - they are more concerned about money than delivering a piece of content they can be proud of. Publishers have them over a barrel - why produce expansive DLC when you can sell a skin that makes one hundred times as much. Precisely why microtransactions have ruined ethics and standards in games - sure they seem an innocent addition but actually they have a devastating wider effect overall. Thankfully there are still a few developers and publishers out there who take pride in their products rather than using them as annual cash cows to keep the money men happy.

PS5 had some bad performance issues too with the game running at sub-30fps and barely averaging above 35. It doesn't suffer from crashing issues but that's still piss poor for a current gen console in 2024. The PC issues are quite frankly unacceptable and a dreadful middle finger to the platform which actually popularised the game in recent years which allowed for a sequel to be commissioned. The microtransaction saga is more of a principle thing so it doesn't really matter whether players need them or not. The first game was also significantly smaller so fast travelling wasn't really required but this one has lots of barren lands on an expansive landscape so to charge for something that should just be included in the game as a free option is just ridiculous. There are already a few games inching towards the £100 mark too and they are loaded with microtransactions and after-launch passes and expansions. GTA 6 will probably be the first base-game that costs post-£100 but that will still have £hundreds more on top. If Dragon's Dogma 2 released in a good state and had no microtransactions then it would be a great game in the vein of the original. Nickel and dime greed and a lousy release has severely ruined it and games like Payday 3 have paid a devastating and irredeemable price for such a thing.

It's pure greed and nothing else and this is reflected in publishers balance sheets. A game like Dragon's Dogshit 2 does not need any microtransactions especially ones where users have to pay £1.99 to create a new character or start a new game. If they deleted the save file locally then they got banned by Denuvo for 'system tampering'. This is an utterly despicable practice. Games like COD and FIFA also have pay to win elements which are reflected in longstanding concept patents in place to drive people to buying the latest bundles and then shadow-nerfing them before a new one is released to move users to the next. Videogame prices have gone up and the quality has gone down. Some games are even built around post-launch monetisation which is why they release in such a shit show. The likes of Activision and EA don't need to recoup costs when they surpass their development costs within a week and then go on to post revenues in the billions per quarter alone. EA just posted a $5.8bn profit for 2023 and most of that was down to microtransactions. Baldurs Gate 3 doesn't have microtransactions and it isn't a pile of broken diarrhoea either - one of the most successful games this century. Multi-billionaires Capcom did not need to sink this low especially when they have worked so hard to become re-established in the last 7years.

Some more Binary Domain

Apparently if you try and start a new game with a new character after deleting your local save file then Denuvo will ban you for system tampering lmao! What an absolute shit show.

Binary Domain (2012)

Another promising game that's had a miserable launch which will sour it permanently. This time a disgusting amount of microtransactions along with aggressive Denuvo implementation and performance issues. Literally charging $2 just to edit your character! Never got the original despite it's cult success but it just defies belief how companies literally ruin their new game for the sake of greed. It's not like Capcom need the money either and it's a full price bloody game too!

More drama about the England shirts and this time with the flag on the collar. Really not sure why we need an American company to not only produce, but also design our shirts. Surely there is a UK sports manufacturer that could do this? Umbro are surely still in the game. Nike should stick to basketball and selling 40000% marked-up clothing and footwear.

Horrible shirt ruined by the overly-big collar plus the price is £100-125 apparently which is beyond disgusting. Probably cost £3 to make in a Nike sweatshop. These shirts should be £40-50 max.

1,000,000 sales now Top-tier deckbuilder Balatro hits 1 million sales in less than a month, which hopefully justifies all the hours we've collectively lost to it | PC Gamer WWW.PCGAMER.COM Upping the ante.

FA Cup Quarter Finals were pretty insane this weekend - Wolves 2-3 Coventry, Man City 2-0 Newcastle (yawn) Jammy Chelsea 4-2 Leicester and Man Utd 4-3 Liverpool. Really enjoyed watching all those games minus the City one which I comfortably ignored.