Diddums

Well, last night the penny dropped and I removed the disc and put Destiny back in. I'll still play it now and again but it's not a time sink for me. First off, after hitting level 30, I tried one of the dailies and the lag made it unplayable. I'm not talking about a little spike here or there, I'm talking about ploughing three mags (156 rounds a piece) into a bad guy, getting no damage numbers or hit markers, nothing. I'm also taking no damage however. About 20 seconds later, bam! Enemy falls to the ground, and I'm dead. The game basically just stored 20 seconds of activity and flung it all out in one shot. I tried about 6-7 times to find a new party, I stopped everything in the house from using the internet, rebooted my router, PS4, everything. It just happened over and over. I also noticed that by using match making, I was getting all sorts. People get in to a party, die once and leave, or just leave instantly, I get flung in to parties where there are just two of us, there were no other players joining, it was just an awful mess. I was playing a bit with Josh who also had a few issues but they seemed to come and go. Lee then hopped in so we ran around a bit and did some side missions, killing the same shit over and over and over in the same scenery over and over, then went to another area and did the same again and then it hit me: I'm just not enjoying this. It's boring. There were just the three of us on, which although is good, isn't the same as the six man parties we have in Destiny. There aren't enough people playing this game and the devs decision to restrict who can play with who depending on their level has ruined that aspect too. Someone on Overclockers needed a hand and was level 4. I hopped in (he was doing Madison Gardens) and the enemies were level 4 as well. Went to the next area, bam, all enemies level 25. That's fucking bullshit. So I can't help anyone who's lower than me because the bad guys increase their level and just one shot the lower guys. That was quite possibly the nail in the coffin for me, "here's this awesome team multiplayer game for you to play with your friends in co-op missions which is awesome and everything is awesome" except you must be similar levels or GTFO. No. Not happening. This happened with Lee as well, I was level 30, lee was 24 or 25 and we were rolling together when all of a sudden the guys on the streets are all level 28+. Fuck. That. I haven't even been in to the DZ yet. I then put Destiny back in and partied up with Maz, Gary, Davey Dave, Rod, Lee, Plumber Dave, and we went and had a blast in the crucible. That right there highlighted the lack of fun in the Division. yes the game is good and pretty and all that but you know what? It's fucking depressing. The setting is depressing, the lack of variety is depressing, the samey samey missions is depressing, it's just not a fun game. Destiny has a completely different art style, much broader colour palette, interesting characters, and a fuck tonne more variety. I know we're not supposed to be comparing the two as they're very different games but the fact is that I've had some of my fondest memories in gaming on Destiny and that's what I wanted from the Division, and it's probably not going to happen. Another niggling problem with the Division can be described in one word: Fluidity. The cover system, while really good, is clunky. The third person system is also clunky. Not being able to walk off ledges or fling myself off a building is clunky. Yes it works and you get shit done but when you've got a little niggly ledge or whatever messing with your stride every couple of minutes it really starts to stand out and ruins the moment. Ubisoft have demonstrated that they are listening to the players however so hopefully they'll release an update which changes the game for the better because right now, as it is, it's dull and boring. Angry Joe raised a good point with the game and that it's being restricted by the Tom Clancy licence and their obsession with making everything as realistic as possible. Ditch the licence, make some mutated monsters as bosses and we'll talk. Until then, RIP Division.

You can enter a name for this research vessel. People can vote for it, and the name currently topping the poll is Boaty McBoatface. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3500669/We-ship-Boaty-McBoatface-Jokers-make-runaway-favourite-poll-new-Royal-Research-Ship-instead-following-tradition-picking-hero-explorer.html Brilliant

Welcome to the club

Haven't watched it myself yet but I love Angry Joe and find him to be the most consistent reviewer who isn't swayed by marketing bullshit.

Cheers Dave I can think of a few peeps who will be very happy to see Supercell being flogged.

We need to compare release Destiny to release Division. Destiny now and Division now aren't worth comparing, as Destiny has 18 months experience and content. They're two very different games, the only things they have in common are: PvPvE Lootwhoring Guns Bad guys That's about it. Destiny doesn't have crafting, Division does. Destiny is first person, Division isn't. Division is set in one area, Destiny is set all over the universe. For me they're both fantastic games for different reasons. Destiny will always hold a place for me because I've had some of my most epic gaming nights on it, similar to BO2. The Division isn't even a fortnight old so it's hard to say but apparently we're getting incursions soon which will flesh out the end game a bit. I'm gonna go out and say it: I am already getting bored of the division. I can't quite put my finger on it but it's just lacking at the moment. The setting is phenomenal, it really is. If there's one crown this game can wear, it's the ability to set the atmosphere. There are some proper goosebumps moments in this game, which really make my hairs stand on end. No game has ever done that. The weather, lighting and graphics are astonishingly good. The main mission line is excellent too although the bullet sponge bad guys are starting to wear a bit thin. Bullet sponges have their place in games but being exactly the same creature as me and being able to soak mag after mag of 7.62mm rounds just doesn't feel right. I put this aspect aside because I want the game to awesome but I can't deny that I'm turning a blind eye here. The setting, as beautiful, engaging and in-depth as it is, is still the same everywhere you go. Every corner you turn is a right angle as well. There's no variety although this is just the way the game is. Comparing this to Destiny, which has various planets of different colours and loads of different bad guys, this doesn't have long legs. How many bad guys in ballistic vests can you kill before it gets boring? The last boss on the last mission was mind bendingly good. I don't want to ruin the surprise but having spent all the prior missions killing the same sort of thing over and over, it was very refreshing to do the last mission. I'm currently level 28 and although I enjoy the game, I play for an hour and get bored. There's no call to the end game, apart from challenge missions and dailies there's literally nothing to do. The high end stuff which you can craft at 30 has apparently got a grind stuck to it which makes Destiny look like a walk in the park. I don't mind grinding but there's a point where you have to wonder if it's worth it and from reading around the net, this seems to be a question asked by most at the moment. The Dark Zone, whilst fun now, is hard at level 30. From what I've read the bad guys are all level 32 which makes lone wolfing a venture not worth starting as the difficulty gradient falls off a cliff. I dunno. I enjoy it and it's fun and all that but I don't know how long this is going to last for me. To be honest if Bungie release a monster Xpac with burn primaries, a good raid and fix their stupid light system I'll hop back on there and that'll probably be the end of the Division for me. I want to love this game, I really do. I'm probably the biggest fanboy here and I was arguably the most excited for it but I have to question where the game is headed. Where can they take the setting? Either there's another outbreak or there's a cure. One means all our work was for nothing and the other means that we're no longer needed. The setting doesn't allow for much creativity boss wise. If the virus created mutants or something we could have huge hulking beasts which could be raid bosses and stuff but sinking a billion rounds into someone with a bulletproof vest and a helmet on just doesn't sit right. We're wearing the same stuff ffs.

Sounds a bit of a mess Pat. I used it a fair amount for the main missions and it worked a treat, although my main gripe was that doing a level 28 mission as a level 26 and getting grouped up with three level 23s was annoying but leaving and searching again usually gave me a better group. Other than that I found it quite good if a bit over complicated. You should just click a mission, click matchmaking, and done. I'll try it for the side missions and whatnot and see what happens.

Thanks Steve, much appreciated! This was mentioned before but as you rarely venture up there it's a celebration well worth celebrating! Oh and it's my birthday so it's worth celebrating everywhere and anytime. Nice picture, but the Hoff is slightly past my age

Thanks all, much appreciated Been a hectic day at work, most hardcore day I've ever had so I'm chilling at home with a few beers and the Division. Tomorrow off but I've got an assignment due again so it's study time!

Cheers Christy. I suspect that Stretch is going to go all tanky as he spaffs to riot shields.

Angry Joe is my favourite reviewer. I used to like Cynical Brit but he's so full of himself nowadays. Angry Joe doesn't give a shit about publishers and stuff, he just blurts out whatever the hell he wants / thinks and does it very well. He never gets boring.

That should give you an idea

You won't find a headset with what you want. I spend forever looking for exactly that when I bought my Trittons, and it simply doesn't exist. You can do it yourself, using one of these and one of these however. As for the headset itself, I absolutely love my A50s and can't see myself using anything else again. It took a lot for me to spend that much on a headset but in hindsight they're really worth it. My only gripe is the battery life. It lasts for about four to eight hours, depending on volume and whatnot, but once it's done I have to plug it in. I don't mind having a little USB cable plugged in to them but I do think that for £250 they could've put a better battery in them. That said it may have compromised the comfort as batteries are heavy. I don't always plug them in after a session so the next session I have to have them plugged in which isn't a biggie but do keep in mind that if you go for the A50s, to buy a nice long Micro-USB lead to keep them topped up with juice. Nothing worse than constantly pulling the mixamp off your desk because the cable is too short. Can't really tell you much about the sound that I haven't already said, the quality is the best I've experienced and they make a massive difference when soundwhoring in CoD, I can usually hear exactly where the bad guys are. To finish, I haven't had a go with the Sony Golds myself but everybody loves them so they must be good. The question you need to ask yourself is whether the Astros enough to justify the price premium, a question I have often wondered about myself, and to be honest I have my doubts. That said, if you just want to have the best and be done with it, the Astros will make a very good purchase.

That vid is Jackfrags though. Him and Frankie have been using controversy to get views for years. They're both idiots, both have been caught cheating, bribing server admins for goodies, and being absolute bell ends to people on DayZ.

As Bart says, it's definitely not a gaming platform ("yet" - this card is as old as Linux itself). That said, if you want to learn coding or web design / development, it's ridiculously good. I know you've got your retirement coming up Dave, if you're interested in learning any of this stuff (which is great fun, make no mistake) then let me know, I'll paste some link for good resources and whatnot.

Fantastic news Dave! Linux is awesome. Once you've used it for a bit you soon realise how bogged down Windows is. As for starting, last time I fiddled with Linux was the days when Redhat was king, no idea where that stands now. You'll find that the answer depends on who you ask, everyone has their preferences but Pinguy seems to be the most prevalent. Make sure that whatever one you choose, it's the 64bit version. This is a good read: http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/which-is-the-best-distro-for-beginners--1213490 If you use an Android phone, be prepared to be amazed at the similarities, because under all it's fancypants evolved apps and pretty icons, lies a Linux kernel. Of course later on you can always buy a Raspberry Pi and install Linux on that, you can do almost anything with it. A combination made in heaven really.

Awesome dude. There are already tons of good stories coming out of the DZ. I love it. I just wish I got regular XP there.

The A50s have every input possible, and will work with anything. Crikey, I'm sure I could plug my wang in and hear Scarlett Johanssen have a sex wee.

Wtf. Loads of differences between the two. The Hyper212 EVO is a great cooler, I hit 4.6ghz on my 2500k with it no problem. Dunno about that Cryorig thing, never heard of it. What's with the two different GPUS? EVGA is definitely the better one, their after market service is the best around. The card will be built better using better components too, the VRMs on 980ti cards were known to throw a wobbly after a while and EVGA replaced all of them no problem, they also upgraded the ones they installed to stop it happening. Go for the 850w psu, the 650 will be fine but you never know where you'll be in five years time and having that headroom is always good for peace of mind. A few SSD's will put that 650 over the limit. Good call on EVGA though, excellent kit. I'll have to get back to you on the motherboards but don't go for the i7, it's wasted on you. If you start heavily editing videos and stuff it's great but for the odd video here or there the i5 is more than adequate. Case wise as long as it's from a good brand it'll be fine. I have a thing for Cooler Master CM690 cases and will always recommend them as the build quality is untouchable by anything in its price range. Excellent airflow, loads of room for cable management, removable HDD caddy, easy removable clips, good front panel and it looks very slick. Of course this is purely my opinion but have a look anyway. Good call, but if you even think about becoming a full time PC peasant we will hunt you down

That's pretty good Bobski! I felt like something a bit harder today (oooo errrrr)... cue Korsakoff! Honestly, I think I single handedly upheld the ecstacy trade in Holland during these years.

Don't be a hero Gary. No hero has sniffles.

All my gaming takes place on a Samsung32D850T 32" 1440p monitor which, quite frankly, is the best thing I've ever bought together with my Astro A50s. One thing PC gaming taught me is that you can have a billionty pound PC, but if you're staring at a shit screen all day it still ruins the experience, same with the A50s. All three points of contact are good for me now, my eyes, my ears, and my hands. This monitor is my baby, with PC use it's 1440p as well, so I can have a few windows open and still see what I'm doing.

Fucking brilliant Bill

Looks great Rob! What size are the monitors? I'll come to this eventually. Got a wee bit of cable management to do beforehand.

I want a scarf with dalmations on it.