J4MES OX4D

Fallout game giveaway on Epic Fallout, Fallout 2, and Fallout Tactics are free on the Epic Store | PC Gamer WWW.PCGAMER.COM It's time for some serious post-nuclear fun.

I was thinking the other day how many controllers I've used over the years for each system. Picking a fave is not easy as most have done their job based on the device and games it was intended for. Thought I'd pick out a few that I've used over the years but tough to choose which is best overall. PS1 pad was amazing for its time and influential for many years to come. Loved the D-pad and buttons. Start and select were a bit weird to press but it did the job perfectly. N64 was very advanced at the time especially with the 3D stick, a solid D-pad, shoulder buttons, Z-trigger along with the two standard plus yellow directional ones. Didn't use the d-pad much from what I remember but the 8-direction stick was really ideal for the likes of Goldeneye and the array of platformers. Dreamcast controller was pretty awesome - fit nicely in the hands and much smaller than it appeared in pictures. Full 360 degree stick with solid grips too. D-pad was a bit too tight and raised for my liking though but was fairly under-used in most games plus the coloured buttons also felt a bit cheap. The VMU/memory card aspect was also pretty interesting but devs didn't make much use out of it in the end sadly. Microsoft Sidewinder - got this for Christmas around the early 2000's. Bit weird on the face of it but it worked surprisingly well. Had a strange 3D-type D-pad that was slanted slightly which was fairly unique even to this day. My only gripe was the lack of coloured or clearly marked buttons. Very comfrotable though. Playstation 2 pad was just amazing - expanded upon the original with pressure-sensitive buttons and twin sticks - these didn't have much grip and were perhaps a bit large but they worked pretty well. The first Xbox pad was way too heavy for my linking - I didn't really like the white and black buttons as they were too small and dug into your finger. The vibration also made a buzzing sound and the coloured buttons felt a little elevated and cheap. Can't remember how the D-pad was but the sticks were solid enough. Seemed a little over-engineered but with tweaks, future Xbox ones were spot-on. Gamecube controller was very strange - every button was bizarre and the D-pad and right stick was just so oddly placed. It didn't really have a detrimental effect on the games and the main 3D stick was fine but it just seemed a bit of a mess. I don't quite consider the Wii, 360 or DS3 pads retro as of yet - all excellent and highly reliable controllers. The Wii was really unique in what was a bit of a fad of the era despite monumental success. The 360 and PS3 controllers were both excellent and remain the key foundations for pads today.

I watched Tinker Taiilor Solider Spy last night for the first time. I remember this being advertised extensively just over a decade ago but I just never got round to seeing it. Interesting Cold War espionage film with a very strong and recongisable cast. Pacing and tone was a bit wayward at times but it looked fantastic and was a good watch indeed. Can't believe Kathy Burke went from this to this🤣

That's the other thing, the store and platform as a whole was missing so much key functionality - literally only started supporting cloud saving two years after launch and despite a few other staple features being drip-fed, it's still missing a lot including basic game forums. Epic also got a $500m fine the other day so it really isn't looking all that rosy in terms of reputation. Tim Sweeney is also not being so cocky now after he's played all his cards and has failed to put any dent into Steam or provide any confidence or key benefits for developers.

They are losing $200m a year on average with the current business model and aren't expecting to post a profit until 2027 and even that sounds rather optimistic because it's based on a complete shift in their model of stopping free games and only accounting for paid revenue. If it does post a profit then it will likely be minimal - they wont be burning money on giveaways but they certainly wont be delivering much money to cover the annual losses since it was formed. Their only selling point is freebies and I bet 95% of those users don't have an established transaction history on record. The Fortnite crowd also don't seem to be branching out to support the platform and they cannot maintain this business as it is forever, even in the short term because it's not viable. If it wasn't for Fornite and Unreal propping them up, EGS would be defunct already. Game Pass is a better option especially when it comes to newer titles - most of the giveaways are titles that are passed their peak income or are old. They certainly haven't managed to attract much in the way of game exclusives and now Ubisoft have returned to Steam so there goes that partnership too! I deleted my Epic account years ago and have not ever grabbed one of their freebies. The interesting thing is they only have to pay if the end-user installs the game - imagine the black financial hole if they paid for every title that was added to an account! I can't see it ever turning around.

Game has just gone down to £11.50 on Battlenet, XBL and PSN. Not a bad price actually

Lego Builders Journey FREE on Epic https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/lego-builders-journey

I've seen a few of his videos and he seems like a decent guy who produces honest content. Probably doesn't even have much association with the brand now especially after its listing and their focus on eSports and scams.

Bot lobby + Aim Assist + Modded Controller = EZ🤣 He must be one of the only OG Faze Clan members left who actually still play COD rather than making dogshit vlogs or scamming their subscriber base with fake crypto investments.

Wolfenstein The New Order FREE on Epic - deal expires later today so be quick https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/wolfenstein-the-new-order

Sony's solution to poor DualSense Edge wireless battery life: Plug it in | PC Gamer WWW.PCGAMER.COM You couldn't make this stuff up... So the DSE has about 12 hours battery life which reduces to about 6 with 'wear' when compared to the Elite Series 2 which is up to 40 hours. The original DS5 wasn't great - topping at about 15 hours but to only get a piddly 12 hours for a device that costs almost half the price of a console is insane. Would've been better off going old school and having 2AA batteries🤣

I love the new Mission Impossible films and Tom Cruise is a legit badass. The fact he does all his stunts and doesn't rely on special effects is just remarkable - broke his leg doing one thing and then learned how to fly a helicopter in a matter of weeks. Bloody entertaining films especially with Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg making up a oddball team that doesn't take itself too seriously. I do miss the espionage seriousness of the first but from the second onward, its identity was a bit all over the place. Really has found its feet now. Got fed up of the James Bond films - very reliant on OTT special effects and they've really skewed the timeline. Now we have all this woke bullshittery plaguing the franchise yet MI is just going from strength to strength. Kitteridge also making a return from the original so it's gonna be very interesting to see how he fits in. I think Daniel Craig did do a good job on Bond and a couple of the films were good but it's really lost its way.

Broken Sword Directors Cut FREE on GOG Broken Sword: Director's Cut on GOG.com WWW.GOG.COM Uncover the identity of a jester assassin. Unlock the legend of the Knights Templar. Un

They need as much money as possible after their NFT business plan went tits up🤣

I urge everyone to try this immediately at their desk - it's exhilarating stuff

Sable FREE on Epic but only a few hours left https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/sable

Cosmetic skins aren't a problem but the purchasable ones in COD are because they are MORE than skins - they have altered back-end stats to inflate performance to make them an attractive purchase, which then get subsequently nerfed before the next bundle is released. Players then see their gun isn't as effective post-nerf and simply move onto the next bundle. They wouldn't even sell a tenth of these skins if there weren't performance boosters in place especially when the core game has almost 200 skins already available which can be comfortably earned by playing. If these skins were just cosmetics then they wouldn't need to be nerfed on queue regular as clockwork. Skins in games like Overwatch 2016 were fine as they were outright cosmetics paid or earned but this is not how Activision operates this aspect - they literally have patents in place for monetised matchmaking purposes placing users against premium gun owners in a bid to entice a purchase and this has been in place and enforced for a few years now as well as the shills that further push this concept. If you buy a bundle for whatever reason, you are paying for an advantage whether intentional or not and also irrespective of ability. This is the same way people were buying the LA Thieves skin to gain a visible advantage. Once sales peaked, Activision then nerfed the appearance of the skin despite plenty of warnings prior and having had the same charade during Warzone 1 with a very similar skin. This wasn't a mistake - this was a deliberate and calculated money-grab from Activision in selling something that provided a clear advantage and then appeasing the complaints after the money was banked. Same applies to skins basically. If Activision opened up a store selling 1000 cosmetic-only skins for £100 each tomorrow then it wouldn't be an issue but just one skin that has vastly improved stats (mined, not in-game) then that puts the game in the P2W category.

Argentina 3-3 France (4-2 pens) Hands-down the best international game of football I have ever seen! France looked dead and buried for 80 minutes and only got their first shot on goal on 70mins being 2-0 down. 2 goals in one minute changed everything and Argentina clung on. 3-2 up and another penalty out of nowhere and after the equaliser with seconds left, France miss a one-on-one and then Argentina head wide. Absolutely insane finale! Martinez once again incredible during the penalties. Easily the best World Cup final and possibly the greatest tie ever in the competition. Argentina were perhaps too comfortable and a bit cocky second half and taking Di Maria off was a mistake in hindsight but France's comeback in normal time was just nuts and to do it again in ET was equally remarkable under the circumstances. And to think I almost didn't bother watching it😂 Gonna be a lot of salty CR7 fans online tonight - Messi now as the World Cup to cement himself as the greatest ever and Ronaldo doesn't even have a club. Mbappe has been a total prick and largely anonymous in the tournament but a player like that is a game changer and he still has a bright future at 23 with back to back World Cup Finals. Mac Allister was MOTM for me though although his efforts will get drowned out by Messi I bet.

Deserved GOTY really and can't believe it was so overlooked - it's one of the biggest success stories this year and the cheap price is just nuts really!

The publishers really hyped it up and it looked an interesting concept but the execution looks fairly dated and uninspired. I can definitely see it a few people having a go if it was around the £12-15 mark but £44 on Steam is pretty outlandish. There's been quite a few mechanically similar games in recent years so for many it just wont feel new even with a drastically different setting and backdrop. By the time it drops in price though, I will probably have moved onto other games.

Probably a magnifying light for the original Gameboy same as this Required 2AA batteries but they lasted ages and you could comfortably play in bed at night.

I've seen so many Shipment nuke world records this week and they are all done in bot lobbies. Getting really embarrassing now - do they think the audience are blind or stupid? One incredibly proud dude managed it without anyone else on the opposite team even shooting their gun once - he was literally falling off his chair with fake sweat yet most of the time the enemy team was just standing still facing the wall🤣

King of Seas FREE on GOG King of Seas on GOG.com WWW.GOG.COM “Cannon shots echo on the seven seas as on the horizon the sun rises on a new daw

Looks awesome and also FREE to existing base-game owners on console and PC!