In-Game Chat

Stuffed with savings.

As usual this time of year we won’t be doing a show next week.

I’m currently in the middle of looking over deals and checking reviews and patch notes to see what’s maybe worth picking up at a decent price when I remembered I had a show to post.

Seriously, I was up until 2am this morning as the last of the expected deals for today started going live (more to come tomorrow and later this week, of course). I’ve only made a few purchases here and there but overall it looks to be a nice sizable haul of games. I’m still hoping for some sort of miracle deal on Returnal, Ghost Of Tsushima Director’s Cut, & Ratchet & Clank. Their current sale price just doesn’t cut it for me. And, honestly, the more I sit on them, the more I think waiting for a PS+ freebie sounds like the better option. Still, there is a price point for those I’ll bite at and I’m eagerly awaiting to see how that may play out.

Check out our twitter and facebook page for a spreadsheet of ALL the deals currently available and those will be updated as prices change or new sales announced.

Happy deal hunting, everyone!

Meanwhile…Ubisoft, it’s been 3,014 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive).

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The new kid in town.

Every week I come away playing one game more than another. And yes, usually that game is Destiny, but not this week. And likely not for a few weeks to come until something pulls me back into Destiny (and it will). This week, that game was Forza Horizon 5. For some of the lucky few, it might have been the Elden Ring network test.

I’m not going to write a review of FH5, but I will say it’s one of the prettiest looking games I’ve seen. There’s a ton of vehicles, and the map is gigantic and you never stop progressing. Those are just some quick high spots of the game. There’s a lot more to it and it’s hard to find fault in any of it. Just…well, I hope you like driving games.

On another note, we’re less than two weeks away from the big Black Friday sales and if you’re looking to pick up a few games then just hold off a little bit longer. We hope to have a better list of things on sale come next episode (hurry it up Target & Best Buy), and we’ll run down what you can find and offer up a very well done spreadsheet so you can keep track of it all.

Meanwhile…Ubisoft, it’s been 3,007 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive).

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What goes around…

I think we all have phases of our hobbies. Or vices. Or maybe really anything. I’ll relate it to gaming but I think it works in almost any scenario.

For gaming, it can be anything from the style of game you’re interested in, the genre, the franchise, the aesthetic – all the way down to the console you prefer to play on. And that can shift over time. With the release of that trailer for the film version of Uncharted, I’ve been looking back at that series and revisiting Lost Legacy since I never finished it. And lately, I’ve been having a craving for combat in the Batman games.

When I get around to checking out Forza Horizon 5 next week on Gamepass, I’ll probably have an itch for some more arcade racing and will likely dip back into Burnout.

Just that whole cycle thing, but, of course, a circle never ends.

Speaking of things that never end…Ubisoft, it’s been 3,000 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive).

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Great expectations.

Guardians Of The Galaxy was never on my radar. The showing a few months back was long and drawn out and seemed to be combat focused. That’s fine, but what I was seeing wasn’t drawing me in. About ten minutes or less into a 30-45 minute presentation and I was done. Game was written off and I’d never think about it again except for another swing and a miss for Square and their Marvel games.

Then the game is released and the tide of opinion begins to turn and not just on the reviews side of things. Regular players who don’t review games for a living were giving high praise to the title. And yeah, by Avengers comparison the bar wasn’t that high to begin with, but it was better. I watched a few reviews on my iPad during exercising and was genuinely turned around in my expectations of the game, and really happy to hear the combat is sparse. Or more so than that 45 minute first look would have you think. Single player, story driven, no online aspect or microtransactions. These were all boxes I loved seeing ticked.

Then I watched a video comparison on the different console versions between Series X and PS5. Except not on the iPad this time, but on the 65’ OLED.

Sold.

Decision made. I need to play this game. So yeah, from this summer up until just a few days ago I was already forgetting this game. Now, I’ll scour the ads looking for a good Black Friday deal (we’ll talk about that in the next few weeks, by the way). I’m curious though, what games have done this for you?

Speaking of expectations…Ubisoft, it’s been 2,993 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive).

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Giving it the ol’ in-and-out.

Yeah, probably not the best starter I’ve ever come up with, but it’s in relation to those moments in gaming when we turn the game on and something about it just makes us turn it right back off again. It isn’t out of something like forgetting you had something else to do and couldn’t play at that moment or anything like that – it’s specifically a design choice, or a gameplay mechanic, or something else about the game that makes you give up before you even started.

This happened recently while trying to play Doom Eternal on Gamepass. The download of the game took forever (we couldn’t find where to download JUST the single player portion so it pulled down the whole thing), then when we finally started it up, it asked us to sign into a Bethesda account and if we didn’t have one we needed to make one. I couldn’t find any option to skip this part so we could just play the game. So we turned it off.

I rarely “nope” out of games on a superficial level. I hate underwater sections where air is crucial. It’s not a trigger or anything like that, but it’s anxiety on a level I do not want. I love the Burnout games but I absolutely cannot stand and dread, in fact, their time trials. Then there’s this whole thing where to play a game you have to have an account with the developer/publisher. Not a fan. And most, I believe, give you the option to play without signing in/up and you’ll miss out on some stupid extras or something, but when they completely close the door to the game until you do, that’s bad design. It’s corporate design, and it’s bad design.

One quick note…in regards to the counter below that I’ve been doing for a while now. That will continue until they release the game. We’ve gotten word that a new Splinter Cell is probably in development, but it’s a rumor right now and nothing official from Ubisoft. So until it’s released, we’re still counting the days.

With that said…Ubisoft, it’s been 2,986 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive).

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Dread and loving it.

I haven’t spent much time with Metroid Dread since its release but what little time I have spent with the game has been enjoyable. It also happens to look amazing on the OLED Switch. In handheld mode this game shines and even when docked it still looks and plays great.

I’m currently not a fan of the EMMI rooms. It’s the “dread” part of the title. And while I’m not a fan of them because of the stress and anxiety they bring about, I understand and accept their place in the game. And it’s essential.

Then there’s Destiny. It’s a game that I can notice myself running out of patience with at times. Some of their decisions on things are so odd and feel more like a punishment than anything else. I don’t like that feeling. I don’t like feeling that way about a game I’ve put so much time into. I want it to keep me coming back. I want that drive to play, and when they release updates as they did which, again, feels like a punishment then it really puts a damper on my desire to fire up the game at all.

But as soon as this is posted, there I’ll be.

Meanwhile…Ubisoft, it’s been 2,979 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive).

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That thing you do.

You know the thing. Where you say you won’t do something but you end up doing it. Almost every single time.

I was able to sell my launch Switch System and, with all that GameStop credit I had from last week, also picked up a new Switch OLED version. Something I’d said probably as early as 2 weeks ago was something I wouldn’t do. But here we are.

I’m not at all unhappy with the system, by the way. Screen is gorgeous. The build feels better and it really feels like Nintendo will probably continue going in this direction with further iterations of the system.

A quick note about this episode, the audio isn’t at the quality you’ve come to expect from us. It wasn’t noticeable as we were recording. However, I’m now aware of what the issue was caused by and we’ll have this corrected come next episode. Really sorry about that.

Meanwhile…Ubisoft, it’s been 2,972 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive).

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Let’s make a deal.

And boy did we ever. Rarely will I ever shill for a store. For one, on the air, I can’t really do that. Not unless they pay for it. BUT, I love deals. And this was more of a PSA for folks than anything else. We know how hard it can be to sell off old systems when the new stuff is flying off the shelf. You’re competing with brand new and better stuff for what was essentially the price you paid for the older stuff when it was new. Currently, however, that new stuff is hard to come by for folks so they’re buying up pre-owned systems from last gen to hold over with.

GameStop is pretty low on stock of both the new stuff and the last gen stuff. They’re running a promotion now until the 9th where you get a pretty big chunk of store credit for what you have. For example, if you’re a Pro Member ($15 a year), you’ll get a percentage bonus on any Xbox One or PS4 system along with a straight up $50 bonus on top of it. A PS4 Pro retailed for like $400 when it was new and they’re giving you $325 for it. Now, if you can find a buyer to give you more cash than you would get store credit, by all means. But most of us can’t or don’t want to deal with the hassle of eBay and the like, and this is a really decent alternative. You can then use the credit for a new system or games or even buy OTHER gift cards with it for the Xbox Store or…well, anything. You can then also FLIP that and sell the cards to someone who’ll pay the cash for them. It’s up to you.

I felt like a criminal walking out of that store Friday with over a grand in store credit. Then I turned around the next day and offloaded 15 older games (Days Gone, Watch Dogs 2, Dark Souls 3) for $250 in credit.

By the way, if you have any questions about this deal, find us on Twitter or Facebook or hit us up on Discord or something. Happy to help you make sense of this and figure out what to do. Again, I’m all about the deals and I love passing them on to folks so I can help them save money or get a better return on the initial investment. The trade-in system for most stores, GameStop included, usually never falls into the customers favor. But every now and then it does. And right now is that time!

Speaking of time…Ubisoft, it’s been 2,965 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive).

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I don’t need no game to tell me what to do.

But I sorta miss instruction manuals. Back before I could drive they were quality reading on the way home to play the game. I can remember for some game I got I hadn’t finished reading the manual, so I sat on the couch and finished it before I put the game in the system. Almost as if there would be some sort of quiz making sure I’d read it before playing. I dunno, but it just seemed like it was almost criminal to play a game without reading about how to play it first.

I also didn’t realize how long they were still being produced. We talked about it on the show, but I came home afterwards and grabbed the nearest PS3 game (happened to be Uncharted 1), and there was the instruction booklet. Even though by then the games came with tutorials. Speaking of, was Halo the first? Half-Life, perhaps? What game is considered to have the first tutorial built within it? There’s some trivia to hunt down.

Also, outside of writing down save codes, did anyone actually use the notes in the back of an instruction manual? I took notes for games, but rarely did I write them in the booklet.

Speaking of needing instructions on how to do something…Ubisoft, it’s been 2,958 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive).

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You could hear the complete change in tone I had in my voice as soon as RJ said he’d fired up Destiny on the PS4.

And it isn’t like it was his first time, but I think he’d all but given up on the game in my mind until I had heard this. Not that I’m looking to convert and especially not him – he’s been here before. We both have. But it was a long time ago, somewhere around the release of the PC version of the game where I’d abandoned my console brethren. I was going to try and keep going on both platforms but it was too much trouble. And once I’d really put in the work on the PC side of things, it was hard to go back. Both with controls, looks of the game, and the people I was playing with.

Now that both cross-save and cross-play have been enabled, this was the reason for the excitement you could hear. But not only that, I had a chance to get a look at the game from a former heavy player of it and what it was like to return after…basically years, pretty much.

I’d experienced it before with myself and other games. I even mentioned one such example during the show. Even then, I can’t remember why I stopped playing, especially given it was in the Uncharted series. By the way, Lost Legacy still holds up on PS5. So that remaster coming next year is going to look phenomenal, I imagine.

What was your experience coming back to an old game? Did it still hold the interest you remember? Was it more confusing coming back in the middle or did muscle memory kick in after a while? Did it still hold the same weight for you or was something lacking? How hard was it to come back?

Speaking of games you haven’t gone back to in a long time…Ubisoft, it’s been 2,951 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive).

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Push the button. Get a reward. Push button. Get reward. Button. Reward.

This is every video game, ever, when you get down to the fundamentals of it. And that’s not a negative. Most games find a way to make that whole operation fun and rewarding. So much so that you may not even realize it’s happening, or even how long you’re doing it.

I’ve often referred to that as the “one more turn” technique. You tell yourself you’ll just do one more thing and then you’ll step away for a while. Except one more thing became one more thing and 5 minutes have now become an hour or more. Like seeing a movie and never checking your watch. Like sitting down for one episode of Deadwood, but watching 5. Of course we call that binge watching, but I’m not sure the same applies here since a game can be ongoing. Still, the effect is the same.

Until you find yourself sitting in front of a screen clicking a giant cookie to make more cookies.

In the meantime…Ubisoft, it’s been 2,944 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive).

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First things first: No show next weekend.

Secondly, the video for this episode might seem a little different since we’ve switched studios. This room has windows!

So, Gamescom was like a little mini-E3 there for a bit. I still wish they’d stop with all the interview segments or, at the very least, just put the voice over on top of video of the game. If you’re trying to sell me on something in a visual medium, well…visuals help.

Then again, sometimes they don’t. He says with a slight glance over to Saint’s Row.

Speaking of the 3rd Street Saints, I’m ambivalent about what was shown. Or, more accurately, I’ll wait to see a lot more before I pass judgement. Currently, again from what’s shown, I’m perfectly fine with it, but I’ll wait for more. The studio has already said they aren’t backing down from the direction they are going with the title, so I’ll trust them to that and see where it goes.

In the meantime…Ubisoft, it’s been 2,930 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive).

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I really want to play Humankind. And I can actually play it right now with my Gamepass subscription. It isn’t on the console versions but it is on the PC versions. But…I can’t play it.

Actually, I can, but there’s a risk involved because of Gamepass on PC and something Microsoft has done. There’s a chance, and seemingly a high one, that wherever that game gets installed, a number of issues could crop up. Mostly, it’s that you can’t fully delete a game from your system when you are done with it. Something stays behind. Sometimes it reinstalls the game later. Sometimes other bugs occur. And the thing is, it isn’t because of the game, it’s “Gamepass On PC” that has the issue. So any number of those games available could cause problems.

The other problem about this issue is that Microsoft doesn’t seem at all concerned with it. Not from the numerous threads I’ve read about this and tweets which show no sign of any sort of update coming that could fix it. I mean, there’s not even acknowledgement of it.

Speaking of things that game companies aren’t talking about…Ubisoft, it’s been 2,923 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive).

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We had something brought up in this episode that I haven’t given thought of in more than 25 years or so. Probably longer. And I probably only thought about it for the span of maybe a day or so when I did all those years ago.

Made me wonder about the other things in gaming that weren’t really given much thought, but you still remember it. And I don’t mean moments in a game or even items like the VirtuaBoy or whatever. The specific thing I’m speaking of is the Sega Channel. That’s what started the thought process. Cause…I only gave that channel attention up to the point that I realized I’d never see it (cable companies and what not) – and that was pretty quick.

But I remember it. And now I’m left wondering of those other things that stuck with us for a brief moment and then just went away. Except, gaming related, of course.

Speaking of things that went away and never came back…Ubisoft, it’s been 2,916 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive).

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If the same thing that’s happened at Activision took place at another company that you support by playing their game, would you continue playing it?

I asked that question at the tail end of this episode so there weren’t any responses. It is a question I tried asking myself, and couldn’t easily answer. The reason being is that until you are put in that situation, you can’t really say for sure. I’d like to think I know what I’d do and that I’d actually follow through, but that’s not always the case. A lot of the time your mind likes to work it’s way around things if it inconveniences you or might put you out. You can stand outside of a situation and look at it play out and say you’d do it differently if it were you, but then, when that time comes, you may or may not actually do it. Context matters, of course, but really, until you’re in the middle of it you don’t know. If the same exact thing were to happen at Bungie, then yes, I say I would stop playing their games. But, it would have to be the same exact thing.

But it’s almost never the exact same thing, is it? So, how far does it have to go? What has to happen to get you to stop playing your favorite game because of things like this?

I give an example on the show of a situation I went through where, before it happened, I was pretty sure of how I’d react and handle the situation. That wasn’t the case. And it’s one of the reasons that I can’t tell you with certainty of how I would handle it.

And to be clear, this whole thing I’ve put forth is pretty trivial in comparison to what is actually going on. And a person can be far more proactive than simply not supporting the company with playing or purchasing their games. But what does it take for you? Where is your stopping point, even at the lowest level? And how do you know for sure?

In the meantime…Ubisoft (insert irony here), it’s been 2,909 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive).

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