Xbox Series X – impressions

Posted on July 14, 2021 by Craig M

So the other week I finally got my hands on the elusive Xbox Series X, Microsoft’s ultra-powerful flagship next-gen console. Now having spent a couple of weeks with it, I can firmly say I’m impressed. The most notable improvement over last gen, and I’m coming off the technically capable Xbox One X, is the new ‘quick resume’ feature which basically acts as a save state for games, meaning you can switch from one game to another without quitting the previous game and quickly resume where you left off. This is a great quality-of-life improvement that I never knew I wanted until now. It makes dipping in and out of multiple games a breeze and with the super-fast loading of the console’s NVME SSD drive, it’s only seconds before you’re back in the action. It’s not currently available on all games, but that list of games that use the feature is constantly growing.

Like the PS5 this machine benefits greatly from the super-fast SSD, whilst technically not quite as speedy as the PS5’s, in practice games load up almost as quickly (Red Dead Redemption 2 falls from over 2 minutes to just over 30 seconds!). There’s also the inclusion of Ray-tracing for far more realistic lighting and reflections, and many games benefit from silky smooth 60fps, some even offering 120fps. The other notable advancement is the ‘smart-delivery’ feature which automatically upgrades any game in your collection to the Series X version, depending if an upgrade has been made available. Yes, this leads to some mammoth downloadable patches, but the system does everything for you including moving said games from an external HDD to the internal storage to ensure it takes full advantage of the SSD.

The only obvious negative of the Series X and Series S so far has been the lack of a flagship exclusive, like PS5 had with Demons Souls, and more recently Ratchet & Clank. Timed exclusive The Medium doesn’t exactly fill those shoes, despite being a suitably atmospheric horror adventure but not exactly a showcase for the machine. Yet it’s with Gamepass where the Xbox brand shines, with over 300 games to pick from, including big names like Gears of War, Doom and Halo. Yet outside of Gamepass the machine is no slouch with its third party support either, and all the big games like Call of Duty, Tomb Raider etc. are on the machine, mostly running better than ever with much faster loading times included.

The future is bright for Xbox, with Microsoft having invested highly in development studios, meaning those exclusives will grow in number in time to come. Also with highly anticipated games like Perfect Dark, Bethesda’s Starfield and let’s not forget Halo Infinite among many more … there’s much to be excited about.

Gaming in 2018

Posted on December 30, 2018 by Craig M

This was the year that I embraced the Nintendo Switch further and also upgraded my Xbox One to the Xbox One X. It’s also been fairly packed as far as actual games are concerned, and although I haven’t finished that many games, I have experienced a rather wide variety of gaming than I have for a while.

I dipped my toe into the narrative-lead genre with Life Is Strange and enjoyed following a story primarily rather than shooting or hitting things. It was refreshing. The award winning Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice took a similar narrative focus but also brought with it intelligent examinations of mental illness mixed with nors mythology. Both are games I intend to go back to and finish at some stage.

Finishing (at least as far as their stories are concerned) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Dishonoured 2 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider this year were also some of my fondest gaming memories in the last twelve months, and especially Zelda being now one of the best games I’ve ever played. It feels a good time to be a gamer.

Sony’s PlayStation 4 I confess has taken a significant back seat this year with even titles like God of War not really holding my interest. I think it’s just the fact it’s the most talked about and most popular games consoles on the market that leaves me cold and I often find myself shunning that which is treated as such and well, who doesn’t like to back the under-dog? So yes, Xbox has got far more of my attention and although I’ve only slightly dipped my toe into the consoles admittedly lacking exclusives (Sea of Thieves seemed cool at first ‘till I realised it had nothing to offer the single player, and Forza Horizon 4 is superb but racing games don’t hold my interest. However I did really like State of Decay 2 and should get back into it at some stage). Yet I admit it hasn’t been a great year for Xbox despite their Gamepass service being terrific and a great way to play lots of different games I may otherwise pass up. I have my hopes for 2019, but Crackdown 3 or possibly the next Halo isn’t going to win them a console war they’ve already lost. Roll on next gen I say.

Recently I’ve been getting into Pokémon. In the run up to Nintendo Switch exclusive Pokémon Let’s Go, I’ve been playing the mobile game Pokémon Go. I really like the concept and can see it being a new thing for me and am really enjoying the Switch game since having it for Christmas. In addition to this I’ve been playing Super Smash Bros Ultimate (I’m a complete novice to the series but am certainly impressed with what this version offers as far as modes and gameplay not to mention the graphical detail on show). Also I’ve been playing the much hyped Red Dead Redemption 2 which is THE showcase for the Xbox One X, with native 4K resolution and the most detailed and impressive gaming world I have ever experienced.

There’s been a fair few games I’ve had to leave on the back burner, and whether or not I return to them I can’t say but games such as Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and Assassin’s Creed Origins are two I hope to dip back into as I was enjoying them a great deal but with so many gaming distractions throughout the year, it’s easy to get side tracked.

So there you have it, my thoughts on gaming for me in 2018. I’m excited for what 2019 will have to offer and am sure I’ll get to play many more great games. For now I’ve got my work cut out with the games I have got.

Least Favourite movies of 2018

Posted on December 28, 2018 by Craig M

Count down of the movies I enjoyed the least in 2018. List is based personal anticipation or hype and eventual disappointment.

Some good movies here, but I wasn’t personally that taken with them. Some movies may be older than 2018.

Atomic Blonde

The Disaster Artist

Mary and the Witches Flower

The Open House

Black Panther

Happy Death Day

Veronica

My Friend Dahmer

Tomb Raider

Venom

Update

Posted on April 22, 2018 by Craig M

Well it’s been a bit of a quiet week as far as this website’s concerned and I’ve had a few distractions what with life and work etc that has meant I haven’t had the interest to really watch any movies.

On the other hand, I have been playing games and trying to get as much out of my shiny new Xbox One X as I can. One game I’ve played at length so far is Far Cry 5 – a real showcase for the system, with high quality texture detail, fantastic lighting, bright, sunny vistas, lush forests and quality NPC animation as well as a huge world to explore. The only real puzzling aspect is the rather bland water (games like Witcher 3 and Sea of Thieves do water so much better). The gameplay is fairly par of the course for open world games, but is quite engaging, helped by some movie quality shoot-outs and plenty of atmosphere with the ability to approach most tasks however you see fit. The backdrop of a religious cult taking over a southern community is both topical and intriguing, and something not that explored in other games. I’ve also dipped in and out of older games in my possession like Gears of War 4 (which looks stunning), Mafia 3 (finally the game runs smoothly!) and Rise of the Tomb Raider (probably the best looking game I’ve played on the X so far). In addition to these I’ve recently got hold of the five times Bafta award winning Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice which is a different kind of hack and slash game, where the focus is less on combat and instead that of the fragile psyche of the lead character and her journey into a hellish underworld to free her lover’s soul (I think), and explores aspects of mental health quite unlike any game I’ve played. It’s also gorgeous. This former PlayStation 4 exclusive looks fantastic on Xbox One X and is another showcase for the system, especially once you start getting further into the game.

Hellblade on Xbox One X

I’d like to blog more about games and am thinking of doing a post on favourite games of all time, although it won’t be a top ten. I also have much interest in game-graphics and with such boundless power these consoles have now it seems, why do we still see games like Far Cry not have mirrors in bathrooms (usually they’re broken and therefore non-reflective…really?) it’s a pet peeve but I’ve seen them done perfectly in much older games (Max Payne 2 comes to mind) without a hitch. Mafia 3 attempts them but they are all messed up (even still after the X patch). Do game developers really struggle with this seemingly simple thing?? By now things like mirrors, realistic weather and convincing water effects should be a given … some games pull it off great (check out the still industry leading rain effects in Watchdogs). The snow and blizzard effects in The Division are also great, but most games never seem to cover all things to the same level, excelling in some areas but letting themselves down in others. It’s rarely the complete package. So are we still a little ways off fully impressive looking games that just simply nail everything as far as realistic effects creating convincing real-world representations? It’s clearly more about development shortcomings and less about the graphical power at hand.

Below are two examples of great looking graphics,

captured directly from the Xbox One X

With Gaming PCs, PS4 Pro and Xbox One X now available, and hints of next-gen around the corner … when will such graphics reach a standard where nothing, and I mean nothing seems out of place and the overall impact is jaw-dropping. We’re close I know it. Just not quite there yet.

Craig.

Update

Posted on September 25, 2016 by Craig M

I feel I’ve been neglecting my readers of late and not posting as much as I should. What can I say, life get’s in the way and yes I have a life. But apart from that I really do like posting on this blog even if only a handful of people ever read it…those handful are important though! Anyway I digress. What I wanted was to give you the heads up about a few things I’ve been doing of late. There’s been an emphasis on gaming and well, I got myself some games I need to get around to finishing before the big slew of releases leading up the Christmas. There are too many good games coming out to actually manage to play them all let alone complete – but I have my beady eyes on a few.

For now though two games are on regular rotation, that being Uncharted 4: A Thieves End on PS4, arguably the best looking PS4 game and a rather polished adventure with that as expected Naughty Dog mastery of detail and game design. I won’t say for such a game it’s grabbed me as much as Rise of the Tomb Raider did, but then that game was more about survival and this game’s more a summer blockbuster. But I’m enjoying it. The other game I took a gamble with and downloaded is the much underrated Recore for XB1, like Uncharted an exclusive but nowhere near as well received, which is understandable – Uncharted is clearly a flagship title for PS4 and Sony whereas Recore was under-marketed and isn’t really meant to be a system seller as much as the forthcoming Gears of War 4 will be. However what it is is a rather classic throwback to platform shooter / exploration games like Metroid and I’m enjoying it a lot. I love exploration, puzzle solving and platforming and this does those three things brilliantly. The surrounding game, it’s story and it’s character design isn’t anything to write home about and it suffers from a few technical issues here and there … but it’s nowhere near as bad as the media will have you believe. I’d say If you like the sound of it, give it a chance.

I also have Mafia 3 pre-ordered on the XB1 and have asked for Watchdogs 2 on PS4 for my birthday (note for your diaries readers, it’s 14 November lol). I also would like to dive into the latest expansion that’s been released for Destiny namely ‘Rise of Iron’. I really like Destiny and it’s world and the upgrading of my character and weapons and exploring etc. keeps pulling me back far more than The Division seems it ever will. But to save money and give me a chance of completing those two games above, I’m holding off on taking the leap as of yet. I can also see even Dishonoured 2, a game I’m particularly excited for being put on the back burner until there are not so many games to play.

TV is taking up some of my time too and I’m trying to finish off current seasons of certain shows that I like, such as having just finished Daredevil season 2 (it was great, sometimes amazing, started a little slow but really delivered half way through. I think I still favour season 1 more though). Also nearing the end of the current season of Orange is The New Black which I feel has failed to really hit it’s stride this season apart from a strong opening and the return of a favourite character…I just wonder where it’s going. I’m also watching House of Cards season 2 … yes I’m waaay behind but love it. Its been pretty strong this season too. Also enjoying British police drama Luthor…I think I’m on series 3…but I lose track. Suitably violent and disturbing and well, Idris Elba is fantastic. I’ve also lined up two more Netflix Marvel shows to get into, Jessica Jones which I keep hearing good things about and the imminent Luke Cage which looks a lot of fun. I may focus on Jones first as the two shows seems to connect with one another by looks of it.

Now back on topic … for movies I have a few in the pipeline you’ll be seeing reviews of. I need to get around to watching Everybody Wants Some! Richard Linklater’s spiritual sequel to one of my all time favourite movies, Dazed & Confused. Also I’m hoping to see The Magnificent Seven with friends from work next week sometime. Did I also mention that I have a special edition of Donnie Darko coming? Look out for an in-depth review of that and how it stacks up on Blu-ray. Also there’s that final Studio Ghibli movie When Marnie Was There that‘s out soon so I can’t wait to get my paws on that.

I’ve not forgotten about my continuing series My Gaming History which will have a new post in the coming days so look out for that. But for now that’s what’s going on with me as far as a few of my hobbies, interests and this blog is concerned.

Craig.