J4MES OX4D

A very long time surprisingly. The first console title that really reached these heights was Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare back in 2007 which was very impressive back then and has been a staple of the COD series since. That's when Activision actually cared about their games and In retrospective; Halo 3 around the same time was running at around 30fps and that is a build of the engine that Destiny is currently using and that's why people are pretty frustrated. Framerate wasn't a as much of a prominent issue on the old gen but now it's heavily scrutinised as technology grows and performance becomes a very important factor for gamers who are heavily invested in their machines. Sadly, publishers like Activision hold games back to save money and farm out games and DLC. EA and Ubisoft are hated but at least they are trying to build sustainable platforms for future games even if their developers are garbage. If someone said to me ten years ago when I was playing COD4 on my white Xbox 360 that the next gen of consoles would still be using technology from then; I would have been shocked. COD got away with it for years but Destiny 1 was already running on a seven year old engine when that was released which is why it's painful to see now. Destiny 2 still looks great thanks to texture and video based overlays but the core of the engine is very restricted in terms of scale and performance and that means gamers are going to get very short-changed in terms of an experience which is a shame.

Nicely priced bundle here https://www.bundlestars.com/en/bundle/indie-legends-6-bundle

New desert map

That would still be a tragic excuse for them to use still because the whole point of the brand of Destiny in the ten year strategy is surely the games are to get bigger and better rather than remain stagnant and restricted because of farcical software limitations regarding the engine. There is no point in having next gen consoles if the developers are still using old gen builds and it's games like this that could be harming Sony and Microsoft in people not investing in new machines because there is no point. Perhaps if Activision comissioned Bungie to develop a brand new engine in the first instance with a view that it would last for the planned 10 years and compliment the current and future gens; that would have been the best course of action. Instead; we get a billion dollar brand from a multi-billion dollar company running on an extended engine build from 2007 that may have to last until 2024 and if the XB1X can't get 31 frames stable; it's going to be painful still having 1080p 30fps framerate debates in six years time when 4K 60 will be comfortably mainstream. This situation just stinks of Activision greed and a lack of forwarding investment for the benefit of their products and the gamers. Kinda reminds me of when EA showcased Frostbite 2 in BF4 when the skyscraper collapsed which looked spectacular. In comparison; Call of Duty Ghosts had a lamppost collapse which was pushing the 'engine dynamics to the limit' as Infinity Ward quoted. I don't blame Bungie as much as they are no doubt wrapped around Activision but it's frustrating to see the same PR waffle like this which sounds eerily similar to what the COD devs used to say back in the day.. ''First and foremost, we’re trying to make an incredible action game. We don’t feel we’ve been held back by the choices we’ve made about world simulation versus frame rate; in fact, we think we’re offering a player experience you can’t have elsewhere because of the choices we’re making''

30fps in 2017 - there is no excuse. The fact this wont even be 60fps in 1080p on an Xbox One X is quite frankly pathetic really. It's tiresome seeing developers coming out with the usual PR. I'd love to see a bit of industry honesty for once - either the hardware is shit or their software is. It's one or the other. With the PS4 Pro and XBO X; it's going to make it harder for developers to come out with such flimsy excuses. If they actually invested in a better engine instead of a recycled Halo one that's beyond a decade old; the brand and games would be in a far stronger place with much more room for features and performance optimisation. Destiny is being held back just like Call of Duty was so this is Activision all over. Even the current Frostbite engine can get at least 50fps with 64 players within an environment along with planes, trains, blimps and a host of scenery destruction yet Destiny 2 not being able to handle more than a few monsters and a space ship on-screen is laughable. No 60fps downscaling or resolution downsampling so I don't buy this excuse on that basis either. EA and Ubisoft are loathed but at least unlike Activision; they have invested in some high-end software with the evolving Frostbite and Snowdrop engines respectively. 30fps should be satisfactory especially if you are used of it but by today's standards it really isn't good enough and when developers feel the need to justify their shitty software with cringeworthy excuses; it's just depressing to see but unaware people especially the majority of Destiny's fanbase will buy and accept it anything Bungie say. 60fps also is such a step up and in performance terms; it makes all the difference. I feel sorry for anyone that has a PRO or XBX as their investment in hardware is wasted. Activision are to blame as usual.

AOE II will always be my most favourite RTS ever. I was excited to see this one announced until I saw it was a Windows Store Exclusive and if that isn't bad enough; it's being made by Relic Entertainment who murdered the COH series and Dawn of War. They'll probably turn AOE IV into some fucking card game or MOBA.

I think it'll be a solid port and with Nvidia working side by side with Bungie and Blizzard hot on Bungies heels too; it should be a solid package from the off. If this was a half arsed Activision/Bungie release on Steam to grab the $BILLION they missed out on not releasing the original on PC; then I'd be worried but Blizzard ensure their prodcuts are of the highest quality before release and throughout the duration on Battle.net. That's the difference between the Activision Blizzard and cash-grab COD cockends Activision. With the specs as low as they are; people should be able to run this at 60fps on a frigging typewriter.

Passed away aged 89 after nearly 80 years in showbiz. A great entertainer and some fantastic shows.

The tragedy is, this game will be very different a month after release. We'll probably see lime green, orange and pink guns with boxing gloves as melee weapons. If I do get it, I may just play the campaign and just play against bots in MP. Activision ruined MW:R within a month and I fear the same thing will happen here. The base game does look very good though.

The guns will come no matter what if the last few games are anything to go by along with the sheer greed of Activision regardless. They couldn't care what impact the guns or coloured camos have on the brand as they know they can mitigate any criticisms with a miniority spending reasonable money on supply drops that makes more money than any of the old CoD's made from base game sales. If cosmetics do well, the guns will come and if cosmetics do badly; guns will be introduced regardless for sure. Yeah, I mean Sledgehammer seemed to have put in a monumental effort in trying to create a respectful and serious tone for the whole product but pink and weed camos would just destroy everything they worked so hard in creating. It will no doubt happen but only once the post-release sales have peaked. It will probably be mid-December like when supply drops were added to MW:R which ruined that game. They buttered everyone up with a free map pack but then dropped the drop bombshell which changed and game completely and drove the majority away. I'd give it until mid-December for WWII also before Activision do the same here as they have nothing to lose and supply drops make more money than the loss from alienating some season fans from buying the game.

I still think Blackburn will turn it around - Sheff Utd were bottom after 4 games last season with 3 defeats (until they beat Oxford) and then went on a 16 match unbeaten run as they went on to win the league with ease. They also got dicked 3-0 to Southend in the first month too! It's a really tight league this year with many reasonable teams looking to go up like Wigan, Peterborough, Fleetwood and Bradford. The first few games don't mean too much though - Bury were unbeaten after 6 last season in second and then went on a 12 game losing streak

Even Wolfenstein: The New Colossus is a more realistic WW2 game Tweet from 3 weeks ago Completely contradictory quote from Sledgehammer the other day: “At least at launch they are going to be cosmetic only. We don’t know about after that. There was a lot of framing like, you know, during the launch window, we’re gonna keep it cosmetic only. All these emotes and loot are period-specific. Even for that, they also said for launch window, it’s going to be period-specific. But you know, it might get whacky.”

Went to watch Oxford v Portsmouth today and it's great to be back. 3-0 and top of the league Probably wont last but considering we've lost our manager and some great players yet still improved the team aint half bad. We've also brought in some big names plus a few with Champions League/Europa League experience on top of an already decent side. Still early days but a pretty encouraging start. Gino Van Kessel looks quality from Slavia Prague

Don't get Dawn of War III as it's god damn awful! They've turned it into a MOBA-hybrid that looks like Starcraft II and plays like DOTA 2 which has pissed off the longtime fans of the game and the risk has failed to capture any of the e-sport crowd the game is intended for. It's an absolute calamity and the player counts are between 500-1000 which is embarrassing for a brand like this. I cannot believe the devs did it and even as a MOBA; it's garbage. The campaign is just lane-pushing missions which is more of a warmup for the MP that barely anybody plays and all shreds of a strategic RTS are missing.

Currently sitting at 9/100 on Metacritic http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-emoji-movie?ref=hp

Bloody hell the PC specs are so low I could probably run this on my old work laptop from 2010 Looks like I wont even have to upgrade my PC either. Christ, there's been more demanding indie games released of late If it's a great port like Overwatch; it should run outstandingly well on PC though. I could probably get 90fps at high on an old 770 with this hopefully. No way I pre-ordering though just for one extra day and after some of the negative feedback I've read read but I'm intrigued to check out the open beta.

The camera for shooting elements is the standard 3rd person one but the game also mixes in multiple views for when scaling the environment. The game is more inspired by Indiana Jones rather than Tomb Raider although Rise of the Tomb Raider was ironically more based on Uncharted 2! The stories are a bit repetitive and predictable in places but the script is pretty fanatastic as are the cut scenes. You could probably move on to 4 without finishing the third game as it's a brand new story albeit with returning characters.

Yep that's a classic and the remastered game is currently on sale http://store.steampowered.com/app/228360/Full_Throttle_Remastered/ along with Day of the Tentacle Remastered http://store.steampowered.com/app/388210/Day_of_the_Tentacle_Remastered/

Nice LucasArts discounted bundle here https://www.bundlestars.com/en/game/lucasarts-adventure-pack

I've been playing the Uncharted Collection of late and just completed the trilogy and found them to be utterly incredible games. I've already finished The Last of Us Remastered from Naughty Dog which was excellent but never got round to playing Uncharted until recently. The trilogy is remastered superbly - they were great looking games back on the old gen but even now; all look stunning; even the original which must be nearly a decade old. The sheer effort that has gone into producing the games from the beautiful and artistic backdrops to the character animations and audio just puts so many modern games to shame. Out of the three, I think I liked Uncharted 2 the most. The original is still excellent today considering its age and the third game was highly enjoyable albeit a bit shorter than the second and having more scripted events along with cumbersome melee combat. I picked up the package for £18 on eBay which is a complete steal. I've just started working my way through 4 which is jaw-dropping in places and a massive step from from even the gorgeous remastered titles. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy releases next month too and unless I become extremely burned and sick of the series by then; that's another title that I cannot wait to sift through. Anyone else have these on the old gen or have played the collection on PS4?

Dying Light is a truly amazing game and it's great to see the game being supported and still thriving. It's been probably two and a half years since I finished it and haven't touched it since but it's nice to see people still enjoying it and that's down to fantastic co-op and content. Techland could probably finish Dying Light 2 before Dead Island 2 is completed too!

One of the great FPS games of modern times. Pulsating fun throughout the entire campaign with epic gun mechanics and general gameplay. Brilliant soundtrack too!

They should probably just remove TKing altogether and get rid of that headache for players and their report feature. Having to sift through thousands of reports of this is not really viable and the hassle of users being killed deliberately for no reason just harms the experience for those who just want to squad up but can concoct a team at that time.

I bloody love these types of games! WadjetEye Games are the developers to check out for titles like these now http://store.steampowered.com/search/?term=WadjetEye Gemini Rue, Technobabylon, Resonance, Shardlight, A Golden Wake and the Blackwell Collection are fantastic. The Monkey Island games are also worth a look if you haven't played them already along with the Broken Sword collection.

Played a couple of matches today and the last patch really seems to have boosted performance which is great stuff! Also 382,000 were online earlier playing which is huge especially when you had 500,000+ in CSGO, DOTA 2 and a shitload in the likes of Overwatch, LoL and all the other popular games. Not bad for an early access title that costs a fair bit and requires a beefy PC to run.