Luseth

It goes hand in hand though doesn't it? Public transport and it's reliability issues. If more people used public transport rather than individual cars, it would mean less traffic on the roads allowing buses for example to run more on schedule and to also run quicker because they are not sat in traffic. More people using buses means that more buses required and with more regularity. It is easy to blame it on poor public transport but it does require a shift in attitudes from the populace as well does it not? I am not sure how it works in the US but here if they put on more buses right away to try and improve the system all that would do is put more traffic on the roads and make things worse, people won't suddenly one day go oh there are more buses I will start using them, they will likely carry on as they are and those additional buses would take up more space on the road and likely be empty. It requires a mentality shift as well as investment and improvement in the services.

I have comitted to getting a new car this weekend and it's going to result in monthly payments so I decided to work out way's I can save money elsewhere in my life. One of my biggest expenditures is my gaming hobby as I often buy games new or buy games when I have loads still to play 😄 So this weekend I started noting down my gaming backlog with the intention that each time I complete a game then I will delve into that list first for my next game rather than buying a new one to help save a few quid. Turns out I have a big backlog, I only noted down physical games as if I include diigital it includes the subscription services and steam and get's rather big. So my intention for the next 6 months is to focus on playing just games I already own, I think I have 2 additional games pre-ordered in the next 6 months but I am going to try and not buy another game between now and August 🙂 So how big is your backlog? Do you actually play games from it or do you frequently say you are going to and never get round to it?

Agreed @techno we should really just be looking to move away from everyone owning their own vehicle. Public transport should be good enough that it's not needed, there shouldn't be a need to commute to an office for work when you can do it from home. I mean there are cities now trying to move away from cars altogether (just thinking of Oslo in Norway here).

We had some good games but I was reminded last night why I moved toward battlefield from COD. The crossbow kills, akimbo pistols and shotguns are ridiculous in COD at times. The number of times I got 1 shotted by crossbows at ridiculous distances (and when looking at the killcams whilst the player is jumping and hopping all over the place) is just absurd. Same with shotguns managing to take me out at range against my assault rifles and the such. I appreciate for a lot of people this is what appeals to them about COD but if it continues down this path again I imagine I will be drifting away from the game before too long ^_^ Such a shame as I felt it had such a strong start (with the exception of new content, more like the COD's of old). And I won't get into the cheating by those French guys / lasses ^_^ Annoyingly I am not really enjoying the other shooters at the moment as I feel a lot of them have lost their way so I don't feel like I have many options at the moment for that war zone / battlefield esque shooter (especially with Dice screwing up the latest battlefield).

EV is only part of a real solution, not everyone can own one in large part to infrastructure as said above. What I think we will see if there is a real effort to curb emissions and the damage to the planet (which I am not convinced there will be, least not in time before lots of people suffer and die) is it will be a combination of better public transport (if it was good, conveniant and affordable who wouldn't sit on public transport watching tv or playing their switch on the way to work), hydrogen and EV cars. There will not be a single solution.

I like them but unfortunately for me I have dodgy ears so had to stop using ear buds. Not sure if anyone remembers but back on the ps3 I used to have one of these bad boys - Like I don't mind headsets and such but when it's just gaming with people online I am quite happy with something just for game chat and then the game audio to still come out the tv or something ^_^

@GazzaGarratt hope you don't mind, you can delete this thread. Thought I would post and see how it looks on the website ^_^ Basically just set up a top stats page, top 5 for each of the mains. I just need to work out how to remove the scroll bar ^_^

Would be a shame if so, first COD I have bought in years and if there is a lack of support / content I may not bother getting the next one until a substantial price drop. I am the sort that if I get burnt with a game when buying it, it leaves a sour taste for any future games. I have played Battlefield for years but the way this latest one was handled means I won't buy one on launch again, if this is how they handle COD it might be another 10 years before I try the series again.

The Peugeot's have come a long way recent years, they look quite smart and seem to be well kitted out for the most part. I have had a few cars over the years (both good and bad), my favourite car to date was this little gem. Had it a few years and unfortunately had to let it go as it had a power issue that the garages I took it too could not figure out. Currently driving a White Mazda 6 much like the photo below (this one is not mine but is the same make / model), and it's fine but I am finding that because it's an older car it creaks an awful lot. I want something new at the moment, something with a bit more comfort and better build quality (like my bmw was) so maybe another bmw or audi or something but I am having to wait until work picks up as I don't want to spend my savings on one to then lose my job or something. I'm not one for buying on finance either hence I tend to get older cars ^_^

Nah, i cant recall the date but old gen and switch are like June I think? Considering performance issues on pc im not sure i would want to play on last gen consoles

This turned up a day early for me yesterday so I managed to get a few hours on it so just giving my initial thoughts on it and I will begin with the negatives, the introduction section seemed a bit all over the place if I am being honest, it was trying to set up the story but did so badly I felt. The combat did not really feel too taxing, in fact I was carrying out the combat with one hand at one point just pressing the same buttons repeatedly and switching between a couple. The voice acting is very mixed in terms of quality, some of it is brilliant and you can tell have been done by some great actors / actresses, some of the students however have not been and it is really noticeable. The visuals are as you would expect, it all looks brilliant and the way they have done Hogwarts, Hogsmeade etc look brilliant. I think they have nailed it. Once the introduction is out of the way and you reach Hogwarts then the game blossoms. That said the game itself is exactly what it needed to be, it's a magical world where you can explore Hogwarts. It is all about the setting, little things like a watering can watering plants all on it's own or owls flying ahead or the way you might come across some magical creature. It is just brilliant and genuinely I have a big grin on my face playing it. Just like living out a part of my childhood again. I can see why it has reviewed well and it is down to it being Harry Potter, if it wasn't it would have scored around 7's out of 10 I reckon at first glance ^_^

The only issues I have had with the camera is if there is a roof on a structure, you can't see your character then which is a pain in a couple of instances where you have to go inside somewhere with a roof and speak to someone (because you can't see either of you). The two games, there is a single player story mode, in the first game it is broken up into chapters and you have objectives in each. The second game is just more of the same but developed somewhat, the co op comes in two forms I think, the first is an open sandbox mode, the second is that you can invite people into your story world once you get to a certain point (but I think it is limited for them so they can't make or destroy what you have already built but I am not certain on that as I have only a brief forray into it so far). If you have ps plus premium it is on there for free (not sure if you do Lee).

@GazzaGarrattthe two stores i visit frequently are below. There are 1 or 2 more not too far as well but I have not been to them, will dig out store names and locations when I get a moment though Vintage gamer - Log in to Facebook WWW.FACEBOOK.COM Log in to Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family and people you know. Old skool gaming - Log in to Facebook WWW.FACEBOOK.COM Log in to Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family and people you know.

The trans community is really up in arms about this game, the other forum I visit they won't stop going on and personally I see the issues they have but just because someone buy's the game does not instantly make them an enemy. It seem's like they want to make enemies for themselves so it's them against the world type of thing which is a bit saft. The game is reviewing well and I am quite excited for it, finding it difficult to avoid some of the spoilers on social media though, I want to go into the game completely fresh and you have posts, videos etc saying this, that or the other or there is this easter egg if you go here and such. Social media is really crap. Anyway's, I am excited and I don't think the missus will be able to drag me away from the console when the game turns up 😄

Everything I have seen suggests there is a game and it's a game I would quite enjoy. It has however been managed and promoted by amateurs (which tbf they are new to this). I think a lot of the issues have been around a small studio trying to do something far grander than their size or budget will allow, if they are managing it and creating the game there are going to be a lot of mess ups and I think that is showing. I do think we will see something at some point but definately would recommend no one pre-orders just in case 😄

So whilst waiting for Hogwarts to come out I have sort of put my big games on the backburner as I don't want to get too deep into them only to stop halfway through as I know I will never return. What I have done is find this little gem on the PS subscription and I am currently playing chapter 2. So for anyone that does not know, Dragon Quest is a brilliant JRPG series (with it's last game being their best by far) and they have created a few spin offs recently. This one is essentially minecraft but with a bit of story and direction to it. The game is incredibly colourful and chirpy (despite the story being a little dark and drab) and the idea is that monsters took over years and years ago and now humanity is struggling to survive as they have all forgotten how to build, the ability was taken from them. Humans being social creatures that need to work together they are dwindling and there aren't many left. As you go through you learn recipes and plans, build little towns and bring people together all whilst working through a bigger story where I imagine down the road we will take on the final boss and kick his ass 😄 So for anyone after a small, quite relaxing game to play that has the elements of minecraft I would definately recommend this 🙂 There is also a second game which is multiplayer that I will look at playing at some point 😄

Have you tried changing the appearance back? I think I read somewhere that you can switch between the 2?

Yup, I am not really surprised and not sure why there has been such an uproar on the internet. They were put in place to entice people to next gen while content was still being produced. It has definately fulfilled its purpose by now, anyone choosing to get a ps5 going forwards will not be doing so for these games.

set yourself aside an evening a week as retro game night 🙂 one of the best thing I started doing and even get the little un to have a go sometime ^_^

Personal experiences - cex is fine if you go in store, buying online can be very hit and miss with quality Ebay can be good if you know exactly what you are after but priced a little high Charity shops are much more difficult to find a bargain these days, a lot of them have cottoned onto the value and put them on ebay these days My best experiences have been smaller independant stores and retro game fayres. There are 2 or 3 local to me and they have recently been revamped so they tend to be my first port of call.

I just completed this quiz. My Score 33/100 My Time 221 seconds  

Having spent a good few hours on it today I found that I enjoyed it more than the reviews would suggest I should have. I have also just realised it is a bigger review than I had intended so apologies and dont worry if you dont fancy reading it all 🙂 To respond to James’ last post first, watching a demo is never going to be the same experience as playing the demo or full game experience. I have never understood how anyone can really appreciate a game by watching someone else’s playthrough :S I will agree there are a few flew expletives but when you play through the actual story you begin to see why as it stems from the characters background growing up. It’s not as clear cut as being edgy for the sake of it but trying to create a character. My thoughts on the game so far (will break down into categories) - Characters - The main protagonist is not going to be memorable. She does a job but she is never going to be a Cloud or a Sora. She just fills a role. 5/10 for the lead character, there are some side characters though that I think are better. Gameplay - For me this is seemingly more of a let down than I thought it would be. The world traversal is great, the combat seems a little clunky though. You can see the souls like game influence on this with some of the bosses which is quite cool and some of the monsters are pretty creative. 6.5/10 Plot - When I said there are souls like elements this does apply to some of the lore as well, there are a lot of items to pick up that then give you a bit of info to read on the world. I have never been keen on that sort of thing as I like to just get on and play the game. The storyline I think I can already fathom where its going, I hope there are some twists, there are some elements that have been done before but I do think the storyline has potential so a 7/10 there with the potential for it to finish higher. Reading a couple of reviews earlier today the storyline does not get rated highly but considering the review keys came out so late I don’t know how anyone would have completed the game to really say for certain. Sound - I picked up a new headset the other day and I am glad I did because the audio is pretty great 🙂 They seem to hit the right notes and it feels a bit Final Fantasy esque for it. So would give it 8/10 Visuals - This for me was always my main focus for this game, I wanted to see what the ps5 could be capable graphically. On this I think it delivers, the game looks fantastic, the beasts look great and one thing I had noticed is the draw distance seems to be huge (and may be one of the reasons there is so much demand on the machine with the pc version. I would give it a 9/10 (I feel like there is a bit more in the ps5 yet to come. The world - This again seems to have reviewed badly by a lot of reviewers. But this strikes me as a reviewer not paying attention to the game and story as they race through the opening few hours (which is a bit slow mind). The world is lifeless in that there are not towns or cities or people walking about but when you pay attention to the story there is a reason for it. The world itself has a main central hub (populated city) and the world itself is then full of enemies of various varieties. It has a feeling of emptiness but as I say, I feel like its intended rather than they did not complete the game for example. Overall my first impressions are more positive than negative and the game certainly does not deserve the flak it has been receiving (especially from people who have not played it or never intend to, though that seems to be commonplace today which I don’t quite understand. For me its a solid enough game, does it justify the high price tag? Not quite from first experiences. It’s a solid game and I would give it a 7.5/10 thus far. As I say though I am only a handful of hours in (I feel like I am at the point where a lot of reviewers felt they knew enough about the game without really paying attention to what was happening within the game. I.e it has taken me 4 hours but took them 2). Will I enjoy it enough to play through? I suspect so.

Just out of curiosity James have you played the game? Or if not where did you get the idea that the dialogue is as bad as you are suggesting? I.e. were we able to see the script pre-release? The fact the keys were not issued to pc gamers is telling of the performance issues that are going to be there, though I do know a couple of people who are playing on pc and said so far they have not really had many major issues. I have this game to play actually so once I have got started with it will put in some views but the signs do suggest that the game is decent but somewhat incomplete may be a better way to put it. I.e. similar to no mans sky and fallout 76 when they first launched? The couple of people I know playing it said that the actual gameplay, traversing of the map and combat etc is actually quite good fun but didn't give much away about the story knowing that I will be playing it. I tend to ignore reviews these day's because they can be such a mixed bag and I can tend to enjoy games that they do not or find that games that reviewers tend to love, I just do not get on with. Couple of recent examples include elden ring (reviewed well and I did not enjoy), days gone (reviewed badly and I enjoyed), dying light (did not review well but was one of my most enjoyable games the past ten years. The NFT decision was a terrible move by square and I think I read something recently that they are still backing their decision? I may be wrong though. Final Fantasy saved them once but as much as I love that series it has mostly gone down the toilet in recent years (the exception being FF14 but it's not one I play). I think a lot of their problems come from poor management. Just as a note, a lot of their "crappy fringe brands" as you point out James are some of the best games they have created in years and tends to be where you find the best that Square has to offer, it is the big games that tend to do much worse and that's because they are trying to make Western style games with a Japanese touch to them, people don't want that from Square (we already have good Western games that then make these look bad). A lot of their greatest games in recent years are the smaller budget one's, I would love any of these to get the same sort of budget that FF or Forspoken has, they could easily be mind blowing games. Dragon Quest (Their last game rated incredibly high and was old school FF) The builders games were great fun too Nier (This has quite the cult following now) Kingdom Hearts certainly isn't going anywhere anytime soon (I thiunk this does get a big budget anyway?) Star Ocean - Yes the game before was bad but this latest one was heading back in the right direction Octopath Traveller is getting it's second game and is building into something and I suspect Triangle Strategy will go the same way Bravely Default is looking more and more likely to get it's next game too. The plus as well is that they do keep trying to bring new IP's to the market, whilst a lot of the Western studios we will just be playing call of duty, ffa (EA Sports FC), dark souls 27 in 20-30 years time. Even Sony's games are much of the same these days and often based on IP's they have had in the brand for quite some time and with Microsoft, have they released anything new since the og xbox? Don't get me wrong Square have made some bad decisions but they have made some good one's too.

Fair enough it states some people at the developers but 60 people out of 450, that does not paint a clear picture in that are they all people working on the game itself? Are they writers that are no longer required or the cleaners to the offices? Also 60 out of 10,000 people is a very small fraction. It is not quite an obliteration as you stated and its also not the ‘hundreds’ you said in your first post. I feel like you are giving Microsoft a hard time there for something most of the big companies in the tech sector are currently doing. I agree Halo did not do well but you only have to consider that halo has been released now. What are the odds that all 450 employees are currently required whilst the next game is decided on? The other factor to this, Halo is not a series that appeals to younger audiences anymore. The majority of games that grew up with Halo now have families and such so wouldn't be able to give it the time and the younger generations prefer your fortnites, warzones etc. It is a much tougher and more competitive market than it was back on the og xbox and 360 xbox and that is out of the managements control. Where I would say they have fallen down is not trying to innovate and continuing to stick with the og halo formula. As with everything in an economy on the downturn people lose jobs, efficiencies are made (rightly or wrongly) and that is going to be the case across every industry. The job losses are not solely down to poor management and I would also argue these days the halo studio is no longer their flagship. Most of their recent displays have been based aroung Bethesda or based around Starfield, it doesnt really feel like Halo is their flagship game anymore (I would argue they don’t have one)

I feel like you guys have misread whats going on, everything suggests this has very little to do with xbox. A lot of those job losses are due to rapid expansion during the pandemic, a few of the tech companies did the same and they all benefitted from the pandemic. Now things have returned to normal and costs going up there is less of a need for a lot of those employed at the time. Imagine how many new windows laptops were bought so workers could work from home, servers upgraded or companies moving everything to the cloud during the pandemic. In fact the xbox is the only major console to have increased its sales on the year before last year i.e 2022 sales higher than 2021 and in October just gone Phil Spencer did state that game pass was profitable (he did not say by how much though).