J4MES OX4D

I think Redfall will be DOA. £60 is an absolute joke for a game that is unlicensed and if you and your buddies wanted to buy this for co-op, it works out at spending £240! It's on the game pass but all that does is suggest that to mitigate the lost direct sales through users playing this way, they've bumped up the unit price which means real players who want to own the game get ripped off by paying an inflated premium and the game pass users who will try it out for 10 minutes or for a couple of weeks will get a free ride that brings in little revenue or success for the developers. Microsoft may have threw it on the pass because they know it would probably do worse than B4B even if they dropped it to £40. Arkane's demise is quite sad really.

Mad day of football - Leeds thought they were heading to safety after beating Forest last week only to get dicked 5-1 at home to Crystal Palace today! Arsenal blew a 2-0 lead at Anfield to draw 2-2 despite Liverpool missing a penalty and several chances. Title race is now wide open. Chelsea languishing in the bottom half after spending £600m is also fucking hilarious!

Resident Evil 4 Remake

The game just gets easier and worse the more you play. The best bit is actually the tutorial but from then on, you just repeat the same areas with the same brain-dead AI doing the same things and getting more OP as the game progresses despite the dynamics not getting any harder. Interesting idea on paper but it just doesn't work especially with just 4 areas to explore. I think I ducked out after about 10 and if I played on another 15 to complete it, it would've been the same thing just repeating each level 10 times. The tutorial is actually the best part.

Dying Light Enhanced Edition FREE on Epic until the 13th https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/dying-light Shapez FREE on Epic also until the 13th https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/shapez-0929c9 Battlestar Galactica Deadlock FREE on Steam until the 9th Save 100% on Battlestar Galactica Deadlock on Steam STORE.STEAMPOWERED.COM In Battlestar Galactica Deadlock™ you’ll take command of the Colonial Fleet in defense of the Twelve Colonies during the First Cylon War. Lead many different types of ships in this 3D tactical game. Every decision...

I'm still using Windows 98😎 People really need to upgrade especially for security reasons. This is why I wouldn't turn my nose up at a free Windows update. I was a bit apprehensive going from 7 to 10 initially but it had to be done and it being free was a bonus. Can't stay locked to obsolete operating systems forever especially from a security standpoint.

Keep forgetting this game exists. Totally free now and just had another update

Those OG PS3's were bloody noisy too and were vacuums for dust! I think my unit must have been a 40gb one - it had the grey trim, no disc backward compatibility and 2 USB slots. From what I remember, I picked that one because it had a good deal - summat like saving £30 and getting MGS4 thrown in whereas the high-end units were still full-whack everywhere and in terms of the package, would've cost me almost £100 more. Don't think it was as low as 20gb though so I'm pretty sure it must have been 40gb and even then, that was more than enough but I certainly missed out on the backward compatibility aspect. I did buy a few PS1 games from the Store though and that's something Sony have really let people down with last gen and this with their PS Now and tiered PS+ framework. I had the awful Xbox 360 arcade to start with and then got a matte black slim 360 around 2011 which was an exceptional machine and about the 50th console iteration of its kind! Both the OG PS4 and XB1 were absolutely hideous in comparison to this gen of machines IMO.

Oh and this is the unit type I had but I can't for the life of me remember what model it was. There were several first generation releases with variable HDD differences (20gb up to 160gb or something) and a different number of USB slots. The other difference between the models was some had a grey trim and other ones (larger capacity and 4 USB slots) had a chrome/shiny silver trim. Mine was just grey but it looked less tacky than the shiny ones I felt although my system was inferior in terms of disk space and slots. Thankfully we didn't have to do complete installs back then or suffer huge updates. Here is an example of the high-end first generation ones with the chrome trim and I also believe they had off-disc backwards compatibility for most PS2 games whereas other units didn't. Safe to say it was quite a messy launch just like the Xbox 360 and their Arcade units which still had memory cards, no HDMI support and no built in wi-fi capabilities. Not sure how things changed with the Slim and Super Slim iterations though. I really liked the design of the original PS3's though!

The Xbox Live infrastructure was significantly better especially in terms of social features and the interface plus the exclusivity on content was quite important back then too. I used to play on both systems and Playstation was by no means all that inferior though and being free was pretty astonishing really. Also the PS3 offered a better resolution and cleaner image which was very noticeable chopping between both. PSN is absolutely horseshit value now though and although players will get their monies worth to play online, I think Sony have done a really poor job going forward for users. Failure to lay the groundwork during the PS3 era was pretty pivotal because going into the PS4 gen a decade ago, it was a culture shock having to suddenly stump up £50 for something you were getting for free a few weeks previous and there was very little benefit in comparison. The PS Now debacle, a lack of backward compatibility and now this convoluted tier system as they look to compete with game pass just persistently frustrates me personally. If Sony made their units exclusively backward compatible and had a clear single tier of PS+ then it would be so much better. No matter how many games they giveaway each month, it's not good enough and them being very passive during the early days of PS+'s inception was the catalyst for the mess ever since.

A new handheld device to rival the Steam Deck They originally revealed this as an April fool but it was clear it wasn't and is the real deal

Yeah basically when the PS4 dropped, PS+ was required to play online games against other players on that system. You could still connect to the internet and access features designed for the single player without it, but for anything PvP or co-op you then needed a PS+ subscription. PS3 you could access any online title without an attached subscription or restrictions. I was actually able to play the original Destiny without needing a PS+ subscription on PS4 but I couldn't access PvE/P events - if I tried to join one, it would bring up the Store Homepage. PS+ on the PS3 from what I remember was very limited and different to what it is now - it was more surrounding exclusivity bonus discounts, free trials of paid games and access to some PS1 classics. I'm not sure if there was any additional features bundled in since the PS4 launched and prior to the PS3 support getting pulled about 4 years ago but it was a very barebones service back in the day from what I remember. I've managed to dig up an old article with their reasoning for the charge Sony explains why PS Plus is required for PS4 online play - GameSpot WWW.GAMESPOT.COM Shuhei Yoshida says due to "large investment of resources" for online play, keeping service free would have been "absurd."

Xbox Live servers were far better in terms of stability, lower latency and capacity. COD games ran strictly peer-to-peer in those days so things like this were key. This is what Xbox customers were paying for with their monthly/annual live subscription. The difference between Black Ops on the 360 and PS3 was night and day for example. The platform itself was far more fleshed out and polished compared to PSN's clunky, slow and rather bland interface. There was also the infamous PSN hack which caused a 6 week outage back in 2011. Can't complain though as getting all these services for free was brilliant value so compromises and a lack of quality had to be expected. PS+ on the PS4 was absolute dire value for money though but it's something Sony had to do to remain sustainable.

Chelsea sacked Potter too which means they'll try and scupper Tottenham's approach for Nangelsmann.

You could play any PS3 multiplayer game without PS+. Only since the PS4 was PS+ a requirement to play games online against other users. I didn't have to pay Sony a penny from COD4 to MW3 and every other online game in between.

Interesting watch this - after being laughably listed towards the end of 2021 at a value of $725,000,000, the organisation seems to be in real financial trouble and last week posted a loss of just over $50m as their shares declined by over 95%. What began as a bunch of bedroom trickshotters across the globe during the MW2 days, turned into a high profile gaming group which eventually expanded into major content creation, merchandise and eSports. Despite many members being embroiled in online scams, drugs and generally shitty vlog content aimed at kids, the group were ambitiously listed, but a huge drive towards farming out robot members for competitive gaming tournaments and milking income revenue from brutal contracts of its own team, it seems that the whole thing is in a right mess. There's probably only one or two genuine gamers left in the group which is a shame for them because they are tied down to some horrible deals whilst having to keep up what's left of the the brand image.

It's a miracle that Ubisoft haven't cancelled this one as they are culling at least one big project every 6 weeks these days! I hope it provides a decent alternative but I fear it's going to be DOA in this ultra-competitive space. Even Valorant is on the ropes after CS2's announcement and I can't see this one shaking up the sector too much especially rolling on such a dated engine. Still interested to see what they will present but with nearly 6 years of development under the hood, it's probably gonna release feeling fairly dated and lacking the wow factor.

A PS VR2 price cut 'will be needed to avoid a complete disaster' after reportedly slow launch | PC Gamer WWW.PCGAMER.COM Market research firm IDC has crunched the sales numbers and is suggesting a price cut is vital to the success of Sony's VR headset.

A real shame because this year was the chance for smaller companies to take the big stage after many of the AAA ones declined an invite to maintain their own shows. It would’ve been the first E3 since the pandemic but it seems the wider interest wasn’t quite there. Ubisoft had centre stage but they backed out last week to attend Summer Game Fest along with Devolver Digtial. There was also apparently a huge lack of information with some publishers unsure it was even going ahead and too apprehensive to commit. All this just two months before the event and no confirmed developers set in stone. Looks like SGF will take the reigns from now on as E3 was out of touch and completely disorganised. A real shame because it was an iconic event that never recovered in recent years

Tunche and The Silent Age FREE on Epic until the 6th https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/tunche https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/the-silent-age-eb6972

And Spurs won the League Cup too - what a time to be alive😎

Not sure if I'd quite class this is retro yet but it certainly was of a very different generation where we were still using discs, pre-orders meant something and midnight launches existed and were huge! This was an insane year for gaming in terms of quantity and quality and I can't believe many of these games will be turning 15 throughout this year:- - Grand Theft Auto 4 - Metal Gear Solid 4 - Gears of War 2 - Fallout 3 - Burnout Paradise - Dead Space - Far Cry 2 - Fable 2 - Spore - FIFA 09 - Mario Kart Wii - Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 - God of War - Mirrors Edge - Crysis Warhead - Battlefield: Bad Company - Need For Speed: Undercover - Call of Duty: World at War - Left 4 Dead - Little Big Planet - Saints Row 2 - Silent Hill Homecoming - Tomb Raider Underworld - C&C Red Alert 3 - Devil May Cry 4 - Valkyria Chronicles - Persona 4 GTA IV's launch was absolutely massive from what I remember and MGS4 was a huge system seller 10 years from the original's release. Fallout 3 took the RPG into 3D and Gears of War 2 continued to build on the Xbox's important exclusive. FIFA was really turning a corner as PES was fumbling its generation transition and Burnout Paradise was great fun on all systems. I probably only picked up a quarter of the list but even that was a huge amount. The PSP and Nintendo DS were really popular although I didn't have neither but the Wii was also selling masses of units and offered something different in terms of audience and interactivity. Spore didn't really live up to its ambitions but was still decent and Mirrors Edge pushed visual and mechanical boundaries. WAW to finish the year off was also nice but many at the time felt the series played itself safe after IW made huge strides after their Modern Warfare gamble with COD 4. Gamers were also spoiled with many having plenty of games from 2007 on the back-burner or still being played such as Halo 3, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Portal, Crysis, Uncharted, Super Mario Galaxy and The Orange Box plus many more. I honestly don't know how I managed to squeeze so many in during this era!

Doesn't matter who Spurs appoint really - the archaic and out of touch owners need to sell up to make way for someone who can inject proper funding into the club to get with the times. In the past 5 years they've failed to sign players in two transfer windows and when funding has been available, it's been wasted on utter garbage. Some of these players will be very hard to get off books and incredibly expensive to pay off as it is, and then there's probably about 5-9 new faces required. Tottenham are really in a false position in the league and it's a damning reflection of how weak and inconsistent the Prem has been this year. Any other season in the past few and they would be struggling to get a top 7 finish. When I used to go to the lane back in the early to mid 2000's, I saw some god awful managers and players in that time and very little to build around but with players like Kane, Son and Romero, the foundation is being wasted. There's no depth either and I can't see how one manager can turn things around especially when they wouldn't be responsible for half the signings.

Antonio Conte: Tottenham manager leaves after 16 months in charge - BBC Sport WWW.BBC.CO.UK Manager Antonio Conte leaves Tottenham after 16 months in charge and his dismissal comes after he called...

That's quite silly of Sony really. I could understand if they didn't want to burden their content servers when users have purchased on Steam/Xbox but Destiny 2 has players download the entire game with DLC ownership merely acting as an authentication element for content. So even if the user doesn't have DLC on that system, the content is still installed anyway.