ShreddieMercury

Looks pretty disappointing from what I've seen, but I'll hold off judgement until I can play it. The UI sucks, the pacing of the hordes and special infected seems way off, and the stats/items/cards seems needlessly complex and only included to ensure that they can monetize the game into the future.

While you can definitely play offline with bots, it's preferable to play online, especially at higher difficulties. That said, the online stuff is certainly tolerable if you're like me and mostly avoid online shooters. It's cooperative (unless you want to play the vs. mode), and most players know what they're doing. Make sure to get Left 4 Dead 2 since they ported all of the Left 4 Dead 1 maps into the game along with all of the bonus DLC and such. I still prefer the first game for some key balancing reasons (and the maps are much, much better), but the second game is the one with the largest and most active community. I consider it one of the best, most fun, simple, and tightly designed games ever made.

I don't have the hour count, but I think Left 4 Dead might be my single most played game of all time. What's surprising about it is that I continue to this day to just play the campaign mode on expert, on consoles and without mods where there's really not a whole lot of content to begin with.

Schadenfreude intensifies.

CNET with the best list since Super Mario Galaxy in HD is GOTY.

A few notes on the Series X since I played with it for a few hours yesterday: - I mentioned this in another post, but the set up was the smoothest and easiest I've experienced with almost any electronic device. It took about 5 minutes using the Xbox app, and all relevant settings/profile info were immediately transferred over flawlessly from my One S. - Download speeds are much, much faster. I was hitting a little over 200 mbps over wifi, and was able to download Halo: MCC, Skyrim, Control, Mirror's Edge Catalyst, Dead Space 3, Geometry Wars 3, Left 4 Dead 2, and Jet Set Radio within a little over an hour. - The loading times are extremely fast. I know this has been demonstrated a lot with both the Series X/S and PS5, but seeing it in action is pretty amazing. You can get into a game in about 20 seconds from the menu screen, and games that used to take minutes to load (Control for example) take about 5-10 seconds now. - Auto-HDR is maybe what's impressed me most so far. My TV isn't considered a "true" HDR display even though it supports HDR-10, but it still has made a huge difference in every game I've tried. It was flawless in the backward compatible games that I ran, and I think this has the capability to genuinely transform the experience of playing older games. - It is completely silent so far. I've not put a disc in yet, but it's almost unnervingly quiet in comparison to my PS4 Pro. All in all, it feels like much more of a substantial upgrade than I was expecting. It might be because I'm coming from a One S, but the jump to 4K with HDR and lightning speed loading times makes games (even ones I was just playing a few days ago) feel different, new, and exciting. My only complaint so far is that the controller's home button feels a little stickier than the one on my other Xbox controller. It doesn't register every click unless you really make to sure to press it firmly.

Thanks! I was luckily able to get it from the Microsoft Store on launch day, but it took until today to be delivered.

Just plugged it in, the setup was completely painless through the Xbox app. I was genuinely amazed by how easy it was.

Wow how punk!

@Keyser_Soze

My issue is the opposite! I don't think it'll fit horizontally in my entertainment center. I can probably put it either way next to the TV though. I'll have to see how large it is.

My Xbox Series X is being delivered today. Should I stand it up or lay it down?

Some great recs in this thread, thanks everyone. I have played a lot of the games referenced so far - Hades, Control, Mirrors Edge, Shadow of Mordor, Last of Us, Spider-Man. I think Ninja Gaiden Black is highest on my list now, especially because it's backwards compatible and enhanced on Xbox. Wish I could play God Hand, but I don't have a PS2.

I think @Moa might be referring to the version of Prey 2 that was cancelled, which had an unbelievably intriguing pitch and was a sequel to the Xbox 360 game Prey. But Prey (2017) is incredible, and you should play Mooncrash if you haven't!

Can someone on PC please play the alpha and report back? I'm desperate for a Left 4 Dead 3, but these videos don't look so hot to me.

I've been trying to find a game with deep action mechanics but nothing so far is scratching that itch. I'm thinking hand-to-hand combat instead of shooting. I've tried a couple of Souls games and they do not do it for me. I do really like character action games, and am working through Metal Gear Rising, which is great if somewhat shallow. I've already really enjoyed stuff like Bayonetta, God of War, Astral Chain (and most other stuff by Platinum Games), etc. What else should I hunt down and play, and do you have favorites in this genre? I'm wondering if I might need to get into fighting games, but they've never really appealed to me since I mostly play single-player stuff.

I think it's pretty obvious that it would have been hugely beneficial for both Sony and Microsoft to delay these launches into some time next year given the difficulties caused by the pandemic. But they rushed out these under cooked consoles to take advantage of the current entertainment boom, and people are snapping them up regardless of the lack of games and uneven performance.

I'm freaking out, but I'm also skeptical about whether it can recapture what makes L4D so magical. They announced this a while back so it's nice to finally see an update.

Yeah I think Turtle Rock is making it? So they know what they're doing. ADS sucks though. L4D is timeless because of how simple and satisfying it is. If they just went "bigger", they might miss how amazingly balanced those games were. Still can't wait though.

The Con Pays Off: After Years Of Feigning Interest, George R.R. Martin Has Bolted From The ‘Elden Ring’ Offices With All The Topless Elf Concept Art His Arms Can Carry OGN.THEONION.COM Sometimes playing the long game can really pay off, gamers, and we’re really seeing it this week as one fantasy legend just cashed in all his chips. That’s right! After over a year of feigning interest in helping out drafting the story to Hidetaka Miyazaki’s latest title Elden Ring, George R.R. Martin just bolted from the FromSoftware offices with all the topless elf concept art his arms could carry!

Yeah, honestly, as badly as I'd love to get lost in a videogame with Keanu Reeves, fuck this game and the culture surrounding it. We're way past the point of diminishing returns in regard to graphics, detail, and complexity in games. These AAA behemoths that are made under appalling conditions and marketed to the scum of the earth can only chase "next gen" photo realism for so long, given that actual game design has remained stagnant for at least a decade. In a medium where literally anything is possible, we seem to have settled on "looks and sounds like a movie, but it's YOU getting to do the murder!".

I believe Phil Spencer has indicated that they have no immediate plans to increase the price, but it will almost assuredly become more expensive at some point down the road a la Netflix. Still, I wouldn't fret about an increased cost anytime soon, and when it does come it'll likely be in small increments of $1 or $2 so that it doesn't drive customers away. I've gotten an absurd amount of value out of Game Pass already, and $15 feels like an absolute steal.

The Washington Post and Vice reviews are excellent reads. They make the game sound pretty excellent, but maybe not worth playing at launch. Cyberpunk 2077 early review and impressions - The Washington Post WWW.WASHINGTONPOST.COM These early impressions come with many caveats. For one, the game is boiling over with glitches. 'Cyberpunk 2077' Is a Crime Epic With Lots of Good Stories and Big Problems - VICE WWW.VICE.COM

True, but P.T. didn't really have any defining franchise characteristics, so I think it would be easy to just run with whatever that was and just not tie it into Silent Hill.

I love imagining the megaton meltdown of MS acquiring Kojima Productions and then funding the development of P.T./Silent Hills.