PUBG On Xbox One! First Impressions! 13/12/17

Hey Guys! Gizmo here with my first impressions of PLAYER UNKNOWN'S Battleground now it has come to the Xbox Preview program!

First of all, it seems obvious to point out that the game is indeed "Xbox Preview" meaning the game is unfinished, hell the game even tells you so when it loads up! So with that in mind my expectations were not as high as a full release of the game. 

So with that out of the way lets start talking about the game! 

In terms of the gameplay loop, PUBG on Xbox is the same addictive fun as the PC version. You drop out of a plane into a large open map, salvage what gear you can and try to survive in an ever shrinking map. You can do this alone, duos or, my personal favourite, with a squad of up to 4 people. The game excels in creating that tense feeling of hunting a group that passes you by from a vantage point, the rush of that pinpoint headshot and the hilarity of you and a friend flying over a hill in a sidecar to try and get into the circle before the electric dome gets you! This all works great on the Xbox and Xbox Live is the ever reliable source for grouping and chat.

The controls also surprised me, i was expecting a severely toned down system but to be honest, its all in there. The inventory and gun attachment system works great and adds so much needed depth, the vehicle movement and general player traversal feels alot more natural with a stick instead of keys and nothing has been taken out (as far as i can tell anyway). It isn't perfect however, the shooting is significantly more clunky than over console shooters. Going down sights in particular is very strange and awkward compared to what you would expect. Overall is definitely serviceable enough and hasn't thus far caused me any real anger or frustration.

The next big talking point is performance and really this is where PUBG struggles. The game looks ugly, lacks high quality textures, much customization and the game does chug noticeable in certain places (We've found the initial plane jumping to be the may area of frustration). But, to its credit, the game does just about enough in terms of server quality and generally locked fps to not cause any major issues. As a console player you tend to expect a greater level of consistent performance but because EVERYONE is in the same boat it doesn't cause as much frustration as it could.

The last aspect i want to talk about for this first impression is its impact. So far, from my own limited viewpoint, PUBG appears to be doing well. Its trending on twitter, prominent games media outlets and influencers are producing a ton of content for it and i have never seen Mixer as active as it has been the last 48 hours! Xbox needed a game like this to come out swinging and so far i think it has done that.

Is there room for improvement? YES, absolutely loads but the developers were wise to bring this to Xbox Preview before its slated Q1 Version 1.0 release. If the game can continue to build upon this early promise, i can see it being a very bright spark for Xbox's 2018 aspirations. 

So my first impressions of the game are fairly positive and realistic, its buggy, clunky and a little bit light but the most important thing is that PUBG is fun, A LOT of fun, and that is really what gaming is all about.

Xbox News: Gears of War 4 December 2017 Update! More Achievements! 07/12/17

Hey Guys, Gizmo here with a quick news update for Gears of War 4!

Over on Gears of War's official site they have announced a huge free update to the game for December!

The Notes are as follows:

• Added 10 achievements worth 500G!
• Improved Credit and XP Earn rate for Versus game modes to be more even with earn rates in Horde
• Horde Events now support Holiday Hats!
• Xbox One X: Long games of Escalation no longer cause the game to crash
• Removed multiple exploits allowing players to go out of bounds on Horde maps
• Fixed an exploit involving ledge drop downs
• Improved Versus and Horde dialogue for Bernie, Hoffman, Oscar and Sam in line with improvements made to other character dialogue

The Achievement list is as follows:

Achievements marked with [R] (Retroactive) will unlock if you have already completed the requirements when the update releases.

• [R] Momma Said I Can’t Die (50G) – Beat the campaign on Inconceivable solo
• Pick Me Up (50G) - Complete Campaign on Hardcore or higher without ever killing an enemy with a Lancer or Gnasher (includes Co-Op Partner)

• [R] I’m In The Zone (50G) - Kill 10 players without dying in Versus Multiplayer (Public only)
• Tour De Force (50G) – Finish a Versus match on all 24 post-launch Versus maps (Public only)
• [R] Veteran Gear (50G) – Play 100 hours of Versus Multiplayer
• [R] Master At Arms (100G) – Get 50 kills with every weapon in Versus, excluding grenades (Public Only)
• [R] Best Teammate (100G) – Earn 1000 damage or spotting assists in Versus (Public Only)
• [R] Mine! (10G) – Own 10 Cards from the Series 3 Collection
• [R] I Like Em Crispy (20G) – Collect 5 Flaming Weapon Skins from Versus Special Events
• [R] Better Than Bacon (20G) – Collect 5 Midnight Omen Weapon Skins from Horde Special Events

Obviously the most exciting thing here is more achievements but personally im very happy to see improved Credit and XP rates for versus modes to bring them into line with Horde mode, as this has been an issue since launch!

Also excited to see the Holiday Hats in Horde!

It's great to see The Coalition continue to support Gears 4 post launch and at this point its become one of the most complete experiences on the Xbox One!

For more details please check out https://gearsofwar.com/en-us/community/gears4-2017-dec7update

Super Lucky's Tale Review (Xbox One)

Super Lucky's Tale is indeed a curious tale. An early Virtual Reality title turned into an E3 stage worthy Xbox One exclusive, does this cute Fox make for a worthy adventure or is it wasted potential?

Well, first off, i was very pleasantly surprised by Lucky's overall polish. I know this is a weird thing to start off with but when an exclusive game comes out at just £19.99 RRP it can give the illusion of poor quality or lack of effort, thankfully this is not the case with Super Lucky's Tale.

Following a charming intro cut-scene where you learn, from Lucky's sister, that Lucky and the villainous Kitty Litter (The pun game is STRONG in this one) have been sucked into the Book of Ages Lucky must collect enough Clovers (he's Lucky you see...) to defeat each of these colourful kitty villains, progress to the next world and escape the book. It's pretty by the numbers but overall i really like the way the game approaches its limited story. each of the worlds have unique and very adorable inhabitants but the cats are really the stars of the show. Each providing context to the changes they've made to each world and each of them very memorable in there own ways.

The game is also beautiful. Its use of simplistic and clean textures really allow the bright colours to pop and give the Lucky a feel very reminiscent of Super Mario or Banjo-Kazooie. Lucky and the cast also ooze personality with really  vibrant animations and audio ques that again take you back to an era of games that were seemingly gone forever. I was surprised to see the game also supports 4K and is Enhanced for Xbox One X and although i haven't been able to try this out, i can imagine the game looks even more beautiful with the crispness of HDR and 4K. The music is also a highlight too, with most tracks being upbeat and very catchy.

Gameplay wise the game feels exactly how you would expect a 3D platformer to feel in 2017. Lucky can jump, double jump, burrow and spin to attack foes and progress through platforming challenges. All these work really well with the notable exception of the double jump that just feels plain off. It requires a far to precise button input that only seems to work half of the time. That aside the other moves work great and are utilized throughout the game. For example, throughout most of the levels there is clock you hit that then gives you a certain amount of time to collect coloured coins in sequence. these challenges usually have lucky switching from burrowing to jumping in quick succession and really test your platforming skills. Overall, Lucky controls are pretty good.

The level design also stands out as a real positive for me. Each of the levels are distinctly themed around a certain overarching gimmick, eg a farm that's been taken over by machines or a big maze overseen by an onion King, and this gives them all a unique quality that reminds me of early Crash Bandicoot titles. Each levels requires you to get 300 coins, Spell the word LUCKY, find a hidden challenge and Complete the level. Having these requirements the same throughout was actually a really smart move because it keeps the player moving towards a goal, they know what to look out for and as such can enjoy each level without wondering what they need to do to 100% it.

A major gripe i've seen a few other reviewers have with the game is the somewhat unusually high required amount of clovers to progress through the world. Whilst i can see why someone might complain about this i personally had absolutely no trouble getting all the clovers in each level with only 1 or 2 runs through. Coupled with the fact the levels in general are pretty short AND keep your LUCKY clover progress the difficulty of completion for Lucky is fairly easy.

In terms of Achievements the game is very straight forward. Beat the game, collect all the clovers needed to do so and perform a few tasks you will naturally perform throughout the game anyway and BOOM 1000 GamerScore.

Overall, Super Lucky's Tale is a fun game. Its simple setting and fluid controls are brilliantly mixed with beautiful graphics and upbeat humour to provide an enjoyable adventure that anyone can enjoy. Its Poor double jump and lack of replay value are really its only short comings but this is quickly balanced by its low price point.

My verdict for Super Lucky's Tale is a good game that only misses greatness by a inch.

7.8/10

Xbox News: Games for Gold December 2017

Hey guys, Gizmo here with December's Games for Gold update! 

Frighteningly the year of 2017 is coming to end so lets take a look at Xbox Live's offerings for the final month of the year!

Xbox One

Warhammer End Times: Verminitide (Dec 1st - Dec 31st)

Warhammer Verminitide is a first person action Co Op game set in the Warhammer Fantasy universe. Gameplay wise it is very reminiscent of titles like Left 4 Dead but obviously fighting giant Skaven Rats instead of the zombie horde! 

From what i have played of Verminitide on PC its a very fun and addicting Co Op experience that will certainly be worth your time if you have a couple of friends or an Xbox Club to play with. Achievement wise its also fairly straight forward with a number of the achievements coming from simply playing through the game but as with most co op games quite a bit of time spent playing the game with friends is required to get the full GamerScore

Back to the Future: The Game - 30th Anniversary Edition (Dec 16th - Jan 15th)

Back to the future: The game is, rather shockingly, an adventure game based of the Back to the future series of films! It comes from the acclaimed team over at Telltale Games and is very much a classic point and click adventure!

So last month we go the brilliant Tales From the Borderlands and this month we get another of Telltales signature titles! If you enjoyed the TFTB last month then you will likely enjoy this too. I will say however that this game is a remaster of game made BEFORE telltale hit mass success with The Walking Dead and as such is a lot more classic adventure game than the newer games. What does this mean? Well it means a lot more specific interactions and much less linear progression.

This is one i have played quite extensively and to be honest i really enjoyed it. It has voice acting from a lot of the main cast and is considered a canonical sequel to the film franchise so if you are a fan of the films its a great game to get this month!

In terms of Achievements it is a fairly straight forward title but not as easy at the newer telltale games, you will have to actually do some skill based challenges to get the full GamerScore! It should still be a fairly quick effort though for most experienced achievement hunters!

Xbox 360\Xbox One Backwards Compatibility
Child of Eden (Dec 1st - Dec 15th)

Child of Eden is very unique music title from Ubisoft. On its initial release it was lauded for its breathtaking visual effects and its great use of the original Kinect and even today it still holds up great. Its a very unique title and is certainly worth a play this month of Xbox 360 and Xbox One!

Marlow Briggs and The Mask of Death (Dec 16th - Dec 31st)

Marlow Briggs is a 3rd person action beat 'em up similar in vein to Matt Hazard: Eat lead and pays homage to action movies of the last 30 years. Its simple hack and slash gameplay mixed with a relatively interesting Mayan Jungle aesthetic make it a bit of a dark horse this month.

Now this is the title i knew the least about going into this post but i am now actually fairly interested to give it a shot this month on games for gold. It looks fairly generic and its review scores reflect that but i have a feeling it will be a fun game played over a short burst!

So that's the games for gold offerings for this month, personally i think the 2 Xbox one titles are both really good choices for the month, giving you two very different types of games to play over the holiday season. The 360 titles are a bit more niche but if you own an Xbox One then 2 bonus games is never a bad thing!

Xbox News: 26/11/17: Sea of Thieves: Last Call For the Alpha!

Hey Everyone! Gizmo here with a quick news update on the Sea Of Thieves insider program. As reported by Emma Bridle over on the Xbox.com blog, Rare's online pirate adventure Sea of Thieves is heading into its last round of alpha tests and it looks like this is the BIG stress test they've been leading up to!

Rare have said throughout the year that EVERYONE who signs up for the insider program will receive an invite to play the early version of the game and provide feedback to the developers during the game development process.



Emma confirms that "Everyone who joins the Insider Programme by the cut-off date of Dec. 1 will be invited to the next play session – our biggest and best yet – with the latest brace of brand new features to test. Yes, as promised, all eligible Insiders are now getting their chance to jump in and play Sea of Thieves before its release next year."



Personally, i have really enjoyed the time i have spent inside Sea of thieves world, the exploration, team work and art style in particular have taken it to a must buy for me. i will say, however, it is certainly a game that is better played than it looks at presentations or press conferences. So if you've been interested in the ever developing world of Sea of Thieves now looks like the time to sign up and give it a go.


Check out www.seaofthieves.com/insider to sign up and join the pirate crews!




Orignal story at https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2017/11/22/last-call-sea-thieves-technical-alpha/