I’ve spent the day climbing up hills, slipping and barely avoiding large drops while exploring some nearby woods. I’m bloody knackered. I’m 27. I’m not old, but by Odin’s hairy beard that was some hard work! BUT LETS DO THIS!
This week I pushed out my review of Crackdown 3, a game I think got some harsher reviews than it truly deserved. Is it a great game? Absolutely not, but it can be a lot of fun and for the price of one month of Games Pass it’s definitely worth playing. And if nothing else, you get to very briefly see Terry Crews being Terry Crews and that’s always fun.
I also got a review for Bannermen done. I’m a big RTS fan and especially a lover of RTS games from the 90’s. Hell, Total Annihilation is still one of my favorite games of all time, and I still play it to this day. But Bannermen is an RTS from the 90’s in all the wrong ways.
So, the next review that’s going to be coming is for Trials: Rising. I’m a freaking huge fan of the series, but I do have some mixed feelings on this latest iteration thanks to the inclusion of grinding to unlock new tracks and freaking loot boxes.
I’ve also started playing Anthem. I know I’m a bit late to the party and the review probably won’t be out for a while since I want to get to the end game before I spout my opinions for all the world to hear and ignore. It’s a beautiful game and flying around in your mechanized suit is just so cool, but man, it has a lot of issues from a basic design standpoint and I’m worried they’re not easily fixable.
But I do recommend checking out this video from the amazing Skill Up where he spends a lot of time reviewing Anthem in detail.
Oh, and here’s another video revisiting BioWare’s previous game, Mass Effect: Andromeda. It’s a long video but an interesting one that explores what went wrong with the game, and how it’s still worth playing anyway.
Onto the news that has been catching my attention this week. Now, Microsoft have already announced their plans to put Xbox Live onto other platforms, including the Nintendo Switch. It’s a bold move that seems to indicate a desire to make Xbox more of a digital platform than a physical thing, a potential hint toward the future. However, rumours abound that Microsoft and Nintendo may be working together to put Xbox Games Pass onto the Switch as well, which if true could be massive!
This does seem to indicate Microsoft’s desire to become the Netflix of gaming, and like Netflix they want their product to be available in as many places as possible, from PC to mobile devices.
Of course, this would mean a vast library of games being made available to Nintendo Switch users with rumours also suggesting a streaming service courtesy of the xCloud Project to get around the Switch’s lack of raw power. With a big new customer base Microsoft could see a substantial increase in Games Pass subscribers. And if they expand even further onto mobile devices etc. then…world domination! Maybe. Kind of. Probably not, but still….
The thought of Nintendo and Microsoft teaming up is one that just a year or two ago would have been crazy, yet here we are. What does this mean for Sony, though? As a whole Sony have been dominating the last few years with a surge of exclusive titles crushing Microsoft’s slow stream of mediocre first-party titles. Does Games Pass coming to Switch perhaps indicate that Microsoft aren’t planning on competing with Sony directly via exclusives? There’s also rumours that Microsoft will unveil their next-gen consoles at E3 this year, the same E3 that Sony have opted out of.
Whatever does happen, the xCloud Project for streaming and Microsoft’s desire to get Xbox everywhere means that Microsoft is switching up its strategy to stay competitive. I mean, imagine being able to play Halo and a Zelda game on the same console? What a time to be alive.
The only potentially sad thing about this is that it could be another step toward consoles dying out. If this works out for Microsoft could this upcoming console be their last? Do they really need to continue pumping money into hardware development if they already have a bunch of platforms to put their games onto?
That’s me for now folks. As always a big thank you for reading, and if you fancy support this site click on the button below to donate via Paypal!
So, what have you been playing this week?
