Latest / Respec: Video Game Ramblings / Reviewing Gears of War: E-Day, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, and The Witcher 3 Remastered | Respec Ramblings

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Reviewing Gears of War: E-Day, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, and The Witcher 3 Remastered | Respec Ramblings · Respec: Video Game Ramblings

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Roll up, roll up, come and get your podcast.
0:05
It's time for this week's edition of the Respec
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Ramblings podcast with me, Alex Donaldson, joined
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this week by Tom Ory, James Galizio, and Mikhail
0:15
Madnani. How are you all doing, guys? Still recovering
0:22
from Tokyo time. When did you come back, James?
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I came back on... It was... It was literally
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the night, like the day before the Ace Combat
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embargo. I think it was like the 24th or something.
0:41
You've been back as long as me then. You're not
0:42
still recovering. It's fine. That was ages ago.
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Yeah. You got no kids. I have no choice but to
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recover immediately. Speaking of the pain of
0:53
having children, how are you, Tom? Yeah, all
0:55
right. I'm not recovering from Japan, but generally
1:01
recovering from life. The big Japan problem for
1:04
me is just the amount of work that still needs
1:06
to be done from Japan, like interviews, stuff
1:09
like that. I feel like I've barely accomplished
1:12
anything. So I've walked back into all sorts
1:16
of prep for other things, for end of year stuff,
1:19
for award stuff, getting our last finishing touches
1:23
on the advertising free implementation of the
1:26
website, which will allow. our lovely patreon
1:29
backers as well as the bonus content they get
1:31
to view the website without any ads and read
1:33
all that lovely content speaking of lovely content
1:35
someone who's done some of that mikhail how's
1:37
it going it's going good i don't have kids but
1:40
i have switched two ports to cover i don't know
1:42
if those are the same things but yeah i said
1:45
to you yeah well i peeked behind the curtain
1:48
for the for the readers but i said to mikhail
1:49
before he starts like you don't have to do this
1:51
week you know if you don't want to because i
1:52
know you've got a lot on because Yeah, you are
1:55
the expert guy for the ports. And there's a lot
1:58
of ports. But we're not going to talk about ports
2:02
straight away. We are going to talk about it
2:04
in a little bit. But we've got some... It's been
2:08
a busy week on the website and for us. So I figured
2:11
we'd just sort of rattle through what we can
2:14
as quickly and as reasonably as we can. So let's
2:19
kick off with one of the big ones. Tom. You reviewed
2:25
Gears of War E -Day. So tell us about that. Well,
2:31
I've looked at just the campaign, right? So that
2:34
was all that was available pre -release. Obviously,
2:36
people have played the beta and stuff or something
2:39
like that. But I've only played the campaign
2:41
and I think it is brilliant, basically. I think
2:47
it's probably the best shooter campaign I've
2:53
played in... well i can remember basically like
2:56
it's it's a we've come to expect to think like
3:01
games like like a call of duty for example which
3:04
is predominantly played for multiplayer the campaign
3:07
is there people play it but it's like a bit throwaway
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uh not that long just a kind of thing that's
3:14
there um whereas this is like a proper big deal
3:21
campaign like it's it's long like probably about
3:24
14 15 hours or something to get through this
3:26
like it is a meaty campaign it feels like um
3:32
incredibly like high budget like i know that
3:37
isn't everything about video games but you just
3:39
look at this as you're playing it you could just
3:40
see where the time has gone making this thing
3:43
like it's the world is incredibly detailed um
3:47
just like looking around there's just stuff everywhere
3:51
you think how on earth have they made this thing
3:53
and like it's just a lot i've got into this um
3:56
but as a like a long -term gears fan i guess
4:00
um i haven't been down on gears really like i
4:04
even liked four um i know lots of people didn't
4:07
and i didn't like five i enjoyed a lot even though
4:09
again that was kind of mixed from like the fan
4:12
base in terms of if they loved it or not but
4:14
this feels very much like gears is back kind
4:18
of thing like it's it's kind of a very bad time
4:22
for any game launching on an Xbox really. Xbox
4:27
couldn't be at a lower point in terms of how
4:31
it's perceived, how it's operating and everything
4:33
else. But somehow the Coalition have made this
4:37
game that is just in many ways quite incredible.
4:41
You know what it is, right? Gears is an action
4:45
movie type shooter, right? It's not trying to
4:49
be this prestige. uh sort of like emotive uh
4:54
thinky type game right it's a it's a it's an
4:59
action game um not that it doesn't have its moments
5:02
like certainly like for me having followed the
5:05
characters in this for a long time there are
5:08
points that are really quite uh strong emotionally
5:11
like there's stuff that happens that you particularly
5:15
if you know what happens later on uh like really
5:20
quite touching in many ways and like you can't
5:22
help but feel like a bit of a gut punch at moments
5:25
because of stuff that's going to happen to these
5:29
people um i don't know how that would go if you've
5:32
never played gears before but i think you still
5:34
get you'd still get a sense of like the kind
5:38
of terrible situation that's happening to them
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and other people in the world um but it's it's
5:44
like gears but taken to to take to another level
5:49
is a bit of like a cheesy way of saying it, but
5:50
it's a slicker feeling game. Like if you go back
5:54
and play the original in particular, it's a clunky,
5:57
like the movement is a bit clunky, right? It's
6:00
heavy. It doesn't feel like smooth, particularly
6:05
as a modern game, but this still feels like Gears,
6:09
but the movement is far smoother. It feels like
6:12
a modern game. still has all the cover mechanics
6:15
everything else but you can move out of cover
6:17
you can hop over cover it's a lot easier to move
6:20
around the world um the combat is still great
6:23
like it just feels good shooting things another
6:25
odd thing to say but it does just feels great
6:29
to fire off whatever weapon you've got um enemies
6:32
have always been a bit sort of bullets but bullet
6:36
spongy i suppose but you can if you know what
6:39
you're doing like obviously It's pointless just
6:42
hammering a load of machine gun bullets into
6:44
the body of a big dude or whatever. It's going
6:47
to take you forever. But if you know what you're
6:48
doing in the world and the right weapons and
6:50
where to target things, it doesn't feel like
6:53
that. But I think part of this is knowing that
6:56
you could just plow through it on like, as a
6:59
tip, don't play it on normal. I think normal
7:01
is far too easy. That's the default. Play it
7:05
up a level at least. I think it's called hardcore,
7:08
right? The next level up. um which sounds intimidating
7:12
but i think really i was playing it on normal
7:15
initially and i'd got probably halfway through
7:18
a bit more actually and i think i'd only seen
7:21
like an actual game over restart checkpoint once
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i'm not amazing at games by any means i think
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it's just a little bit too easy on the normal
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setting um if you played any kind of shooter
7:31
before i think definitely go up a level it just
7:33
feels like a much more intense game if you if
7:36
you go up and you get a better sense of like
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the danger in the world with this locust uh horde
7:41
sort of emerging from from the ground um but
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yeah i think it's it's an excellent campaign
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like how my concern partly is like what's going
7:52
to happen to this team now they finally got out
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this game that is by all my for my point of view
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like one of the best games xbox has ever released
8:01
as a pure campaign um and it's come out at a
8:06
time when A lot of the studios that don't have
8:08
anything on the horizon of being stripped back,
8:11
moved around, etc. It'd be a massive, massive
8:16
disappointment, I think, and a shame for everyone
8:19
involved. The Coalition have always delivered,
8:22
basically. Maybe not the best games ever, but
8:25
they've always put out really good, solid...
8:27
shooters in my in my opinion yeah even like years
8:31
four like even if people don't like it as much
8:33
as like the original trilogy i've always felt
8:35
that the overall reception has been well it's
8:38
still like a solid gears game it's just not as
8:41
good as the others so yeah and i think this they
8:45
this team should stay together they should be
8:47
put on the next gears etc like it feels like
8:49
this is a good jumping off point for people to
8:52
get into the franchise obviously it's gone back
8:55
I think it's like 15 years or so before the events
8:58
of the first game around that time anyway. It
9:01
feels like a good point to enter, reboot the
9:03
series, et cetera. They've done some stuff like
9:05
it's some semi -open world moments in the city
9:08
while still being very much a Gears experience
9:11
with other parts of Mordinia. So they are building
9:14
off of some of the stuff they did in 5 then.
9:16
It feels different to 5 in that 5 had the open
9:19
world bits, but there were more to move around
9:21
in. Like you moved around on that glider thing,
9:24
didn't you, or it was? um to get to different
9:26
areas this is more like the actual game takes
9:30
place in the open world bits a bit more um so
9:33
it's the city so you might be wandering around
9:35
and then suddenly there's some people in a building
9:38
nearby that you have to go you might go and help
9:40
for example as you kind of set up a bit of like
9:43
a fortress there and defend them whatever do
9:46
you feel the repetition in that front because
9:48
because i noticed in kirk's review um where he
9:52
reviewed it for the Guardian newspaper in the
9:54
UK. But he was pointing out like, he gave a specific
9:57
example of like, oh, there's a bridge and you
10:00
walk across that bridge. You fight your way across
10:02
that bridge in one direction or the other three
10:05
times over the course of the game. Which to be
10:07
fair, the thing is, I don't necessarily think
10:09
there's anything wrong with that. Sometimes repetition
10:11
can be really powerful. I always think of like
10:13
a game like Dead Rising when I think of that,
10:16
where you could have easily made that a linear
10:17
game, but actually the way they built it. You
10:20
learn the environment and that actually means
10:23
those later missions actually hit better in a
10:27
way. But I'm curious how you felt, how much you
10:29
noticed it, and if it was a good notice or a
10:31
bad notice. Yeah, I mean, the bridge is the only
10:34
bit that I would say I was aware that, oh, I'm
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here again. And there's a bit where you activate
10:40
this bridge so it moves around, right? And you
10:43
have to hit this button to maneuver it into place.
10:46
And you do that. a lot like this is because you
10:48
go to this control room you press the button
10:50
it's like i'm back here again but the actual
10:54
like combat and the it didn't feel repetitive
10:58
like the situations are different on the bridge
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like one point you escort a like a truck across
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and stuff it feels quite different to just moving
11:05
along it um and you do go back like you obviously
11:08
the game starts off like you're in this the city
11:12
as it everything kicks off right and then that's
11:15
sort of like it's fairly sort of linear in terms
11:17
of how you move around it and then you get thrown
11:19
into some more linear sort of closed sections
11:22
and then you're in the city and you're like oh
11:25
this is open now i can go move around and do
11:27
some bits and then you leave again and you come
11:30
back and you are in similar areas again but i
11:33
didn't feel like oh i'm just back here i'm doing
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the same stuff like it does a i think time changes
11:40
a few points so you're like it's night time rather
11:42
than daytime um some of the areas have been obviously
11:45
impacted by the um destruction going on everything
11:49
else um so it doesn't i didn't feel like i was
11:53
like i was just going over myself like treading
11:56
old ground again it always felt exciting to me
11:59
going through the game um but i can get i understand
12:03
the bit about the bridge like it is a little
12:05
bit like it's just because you activate it the
12:08
same way every time It's like at one point it's
12:11
like, oh, the controls are broken, but it still
12:12
kind of works. But yeah, it didn't bother me
12:17
at all, to be honest, the repetition stuff. What
12:19
you're doing on it changes. The kind of scenario
12:24
is different at each point. But yeah, I really
12:28
enjoyed the open world bit. There's one bit that
12:30
stood out where you're just wandering along and
12:32
suddenly the locusts, you notice they've taken
12:37
hold of this massive... uh sort of in development
12:41
maybe like a hotel or something whatever it is
12:44
but it's all full of scaffolding and they're
12:46
all over it but you're just wandering past it
12:47
and suddenly like you've got to go into this
12:49
massive huge building and take them all out and
12:53
it felt like you're just kind of like stepping
12:57
off like the open world into this bit and it
12:59
was it just felt quite seamless like normally
13:01
you'd go off and like there'd be this this building
13:04
you'd go to it was just wandering off the path
13:06
of the open world into this this scenario um
13:09
and it's like The game is not, like it's not
13:12
a massive open world you run around. It's not
13:14
GTA or anything, but it feels open in the sense
13:17
that you don't, it's far less sort of hemmed
13:20
in than what you might expect from a Gears game,
13:22
particularly like the classic put down is that
13:24
you just go into these arenas where there's these
13:26
waist to waist tie walls that you just kneel
13:29
behind or whatever. It's obviously still Gears.
13:32
You still crouch down behind stuff, but it doesn't
13:34
like. The world design is really great. Like
13:38
there's a lot of really incredible building designs
13:42
and sort of bombed out building and stuff that
13:47
feel naturally like they should have these areas
13:49
that you could get behind. And obviously they've
13:51
been put there because it works. That's how the
13:53
game works, right? It's a cover shooter. Yeah,
13:56
but selling the world is important. It felt...
13:59
It felt natural that there'd be, like, there's
14:01
a lot of cars, obviously, on the streets and
14:02
stuff that you can get behind. But it all felt
14:04
like this was the world as it would be if this
14:07
had happened, right? I just think it's a proper
14:11
good game, basically. Like, I haven't felt that
14:13
positive finishing a game in quite a while. Like,
14:17
the credits kicked in. I immediately messaged
14:20
Simon Miller, a longtime friend, former Games
14:24
Journal, now wrestler, because he's a massive
14:27
Gears of War. I was going to ask about that,
14:30
actually, but continue. And he's very keen to
14:33
play it. But when the credits kicked, I thought
14:35
I have to message him. Like, you'll see it when
14:37
you play it. But it was just the perfect end
14:39
to this game, basically. It's a small thing,
14:42
but it just summed it up perfectly. But yeah,
14:46
I really like it. Like, Xbox, whether or not
14:52
you want to play this game, buy this game, is
14:54
up to you, considering what's going on with them
14:56
at the moment and Microsoft as a whole. But as
14:58
a game from the Coalition, I think they've done
15:01
an incredible job. Certainly, they should be
15:05
just given basically a blank check to come make
15:08
the next one because it's a top, top game. I
15:12
was actually going to ask you about that because
15:13
I hadn't played Gears until I watched the Miller
15:16
Report videos, which Video Gamer used to do many
15:19
years ago. And I've only played four or five
15:22
Tactics and the remake they did. So I was going
15:26
to ask you, is E -Day a good... Like you said,
15:29
you obviously said you can play it because it's
15:31
set before the original game. But like for people
15:34
who only played like Gears 5 and Gears 1, because
15:36
I think a majority of the, like on PC, you don't
15:39
even have access to the others on Steam. It's
15:41
like Gears 4 was just on the Windows Store. So
15:44
like, is this a game you can play without having
15:46
played 2, 3, Judgment? I mean, I think you would
15:49
get more out of it if you have played all of
15:51
them. Like certainly the first three, they set
15:54
up the story between those main characters, right?
15:57
And I think... certain moments in those games
16:00
you will think of when stuff happens in this
16:03
game um but i don't know if i don't think it
16:06
would come across like you're not going to be
16:09
confused what happens in this because it's obviously
16:11
set before all those events but i think you will
16:13
get a kind of maybe a few pangs of like sadness
16:17
when you see well shit like this is going to
16:21
happen in the future and this is what they thought
16:23
was going to happen like this the opening is
16:25
quite like it's really quite devastating at one
16:29
moment because like you know exactly what's happening
16:32
to this one particular character um and their
16:35
life was going to be quite different until this
16:37
happened and you just think well these are like
16:40
massive like like dudes basically that are ridiculously
16:45
proportioned but they have lives like they've
16:48
done a good job i think over the series generally
16:50
of making it feel like there's more to it than
16:53
just right? It's not just a bro shoot. I think
16:56
there's a bit more to it than that. I think it
16:58
has some depth to the characters. I mean, even
16:59
in the title, like, Gears of War itself is supposed
17:01
to, like, focus on the fact that, like, they're
17:03
just, they're just gears in the war machine.
17:06
They're literally called cogs. Yeah. Yeah. But
17:10
I think there is more to it. If you, particularly
17:11
if you've played all the games, like, there are,
17:13
it's a bit cheesy at points, particularly some
17:15
of the moments in the first three. But I think
17:19
you will get a bigger payoff with some of the
17:21
bits in this. in e -day if you have played all
17:24
of them but i think you you would still have
17:26
a great time i think going into it without having
17:29
done that interesting yeah i'll have to like
17:33
i've played a tiny bit of it um because they
17:37
they did furnish us with a couple of copies but
17:39
unfortunately um i've been so busy with some
17:43
other stuff which is under embargo until next
17:46
week i think um but I haven't played as much
17:49
of it. So I really, I should, I might check out
17:53
how it runs. This is a Mikhail question. I might
17:55
check out how it runs on the ROG Ally X and see
17:57
if it's viable. I imagine not amazingly well.
18:00
Like this game looks incredible. Like it's the,
18:04
I think probably the best I've ever seen running
18:06
on a console. Part of me is quite sad. They obviously
18:10
canned the PS5 version because I'd have liked
18:12
to see it on a PS5 Pro probably on a console.
18:15
It runs well. Like I played. I played it partly
18:20
on balance, which is 40 FPS, chugs at times,
18:23
particularly in some of the bigger battles and
18:25
then switch to 60, which is a lot smoother and
18:27
generally holds up pretty well visually. Like
18:30
it's, I think you probably have to be digital
18:33
foundry to be like, these are the bits that are
18:35
different, but it ran much better. Like it still
18:37
has issues at points. Like there's a lot going
18:39
on. But I think I'd have liked to see it, maybe
18:43
just that extra bit of them from a PS5 Pro, but
18:45
that's not going to happen. obviously on pc you
18:48
could probably crank it up and it might look
18:49
at a league ahead i don't know um but on xbox
18:52
it looks great i mean i've seen the series s
18:55
version on the digital factory and that looks
18:57
pretty good too like um considering what they're
19:00
doing with this like it isn't incredible i think
19:02
if that had been still 200 200 quid and you could
19:06
play this on it that would be a great thing obviously
19:08
400 pounds over is now less so um but yeah it's
19:12
an amazing it's a great game like If you like
19:15
action games, I really can't see why you wouldn't
19:17
get a lot of fun out of this. I think Xbox did,
19:20
like, they managed to do their whole Halo, Gears,
19:24
Forza thing, right? Because Forza Horizon 6 came
19:27
out, almost everyone loves it, even though it's
19:29
pretty similar to 5. I like it a lot more. Halo,
19:32
I know some people didn't like it, like, it's
19:34
just a campaign. It still has some tech issues,
19:36
but I enjoyed playing it, and now you're seeing
19:39
Gears is also good, so, like, they got the trifecta
19:41
done then, essentially. yeah i mean they've had
19:43
i think the gears that that that trio is that
19:46
they've they've pushed that before right it's
19:48
like the best year of xbox ever i think they've
19:49
done previously like these are they are three
19:52
great games i think this is the best one like
19:54
from a pure like how much i've enjoyed it this
19:57
is ahead of the others like i like to horizon
19:59
but i found it slightly dull compared to like
20:03
what i wanted out of it whereas this is like
20:06
just like i like i literally like i had chills
20:09
when the credits rolled like i'm i guess i'm
20:11
fairly easily pleased when it comes to Gears
20:14
games. But I just like, it was just a great game.
20:17
Like, honestly, like I've seen, I saw one of
20:21
you compare it to Space Marine very negatively.
20:24
And I was like, I literally can't believe what
20:27
I was reading. Like it's a completely different
20:29
game. And that felt, that Space Marine feels
20:33
a bit like multiplayer scenario, like areas thrown
20:37
into a campaign, right? This is a fully from
20:40
the ground up campaign built as a campaign. It's
20:44
just a great game. I think it's just a real shame
20:49
that Xbox is the way it is at the moment because
20:51
I think it would be getting a lot more attention
20:54
and probably it would do very well. But I think
20:59
it's just, who knows what's going to happen with
21:01
the game and the studio, which is a concern.
21:06
Yeah, so we went back to Gears of War. The review
21:11
is on the site. Obviously, you can tell Tom liked
21:14
it a great deal. Obviously, there is also the
21:16
multiplayer component, which we haven't touched
21:17
on at all. But it's very, very difficult to review
21:20
that, even when they lay on special sessions
21:22
so you can play with the media and people from
21:24
the studio. It's not a natural experience, really.
21:27
I never liked reviewing multiplayer before launch,
21:30
unless you give out code very widely. You know
21:34
which dev did it well with Street Fighter 6?
21:37
I think Capcom did the best thing. Yeah, that
21:40
is the one that jumps to my mind as well, where
21:42
they did a really good job of like... really
21:45
populating those servers up. I remember Capcom,
21:49
when Monster Hunter Rise was a thing, had a pretty
21:51
good, well, actually, honestly, whenever they
21:53
do Monster Hunter, they've been pretty good at
21:57
sending out enough codes and making sure there's
21:59
discords for folks to get multiplayer going.
22:03
Or you get really hands -on. So what Nintendo
22:06
does is Nintendo will, so like Star Fox, for
22:10
instance, they had set times. Well, they were
22:14
like, oh, on Tuesday, between the hours of 10
22:18
and three, we're going to host a multiplayer
22:22
session. It's like the servers were on 24 seven,
22:24
but they designated those hours and they obviously
22:27
got loads of their people to go online during
22:28
that period. And also because they'd encourage
22:30
everyone else who was reviewing, it meant you
22:32
got really good matchmaking and stuff in those
22:34
hours. So you can do that sort of thing, but
22:36
it's anyway. So, but the campaign. Excellent.
22:40
I'm sure, I don't know how much we'll talk about
22:42
it, but I'm sure there'll be over the next week
22:44
some really great multiplayer in -depth impressions
22:47
as well. Sorry to make you talk more, Tom, but
22:54
by the time this goes out, there will also be
22:57
a review of Star Wars Galactic Racer on the site.
23:01
So that one, obviously, I've read the review,
23:05
but James McHale won't have. This is obviously
23:08
a Star Wars racing game coming from a brand new
23:12
development studio, but a brand new development
23:14
studio that is made up of guys who essentially
23:18
worked at Criterion on Burnout back in the day.
23:20
So there's a really strong racing pedigree there.
23:23
And there is definitely that pitch of, what if
23:27
we got the guys at Burnout who did Burnout to
23:29
make a Star Wars racing game? And then you think
23:31
about the pod racing sequence in episode one
23:34
and how most of the pod... you know what 10 races
23:38
start in that race and only like two or three
23:39
finish because everyone gets smashed a bit seems
23:41
like a natural fit so how's it worked out but
23:45
it is a natural fit and the racing is great like
23:48
the actual when you're on a track whizzing around
23:51
it's excellent like i've had some like it it's
23:55
a real kind of like intense blink and you're
23:59
screwed kind of racing game right like i think
24:02
some of the best racing games are like you're
24:05
locked in and you've got like, it feels like
24:08
one slight twitch the wrong way and it's all
24:10
over kind of thing. This does that really well.
24:13
And you've got like four different types of sort
24:18
of craft. You've got like the land speeder, the
24:22
bikes, the other one I forgot the name of, and
24:25
then also the pod racing. And like, if you just
24:30
look at like a race on its own, like it can be
24:34
really great. But then it's kind of, I wouldn't,
24:39
I'm not sure calling this indie is right because
24:41
it's a Star Wars game and it's coming from Secret
24:46
Mode who published quite a lot of cool games.
24:50
I think it's like 50 quid on the PlayStation
24:52
store I looked earlier. So I'm not sure indie
24:56
is right, but it feels stripped back at least
24:57
compared to what you might think of like from
25:00
a modern day racer. Like it feels like. a bit
25:05
simplistic in terms of what it presents to you
25:07
um it has a lot here like the campaign is it's
25:11
like this um i call it runs right so you go on
25:15
a run in this like league um and you have to
25:19
complete a series of races uh without losing
25:24
all the tokens you have which let you carry on
25:26
racing right so if you fail or crash out of a
25:29
particular event you lose a token and then If
25:32
you lose all your tokens, you're gone. You have
25:33
to start the whole thing again, right? But you
25:35
carry forward some of the things you've earned
25:38
in each run, such as overall credits and some
25:42
of the upgrade stuff and like the, I can't remember,
25:46
there's quite a few different bits of currency
25:48
in it. So some of that stuff carries forward,
25:50
some of it doesn't. The way you've built up your
25:52
own, like a racing, racer classes and each of
25:55
those racers have, like it's kind of like a style,
25:58
I guess, and they have their own. perks attached
26:00
to it and those can be leveled up and it carries
26:01
forward that kind of stuff so it's kind of like
26:03
a rogue light i guess without the it's no there's
26:07
no randomized generation of anything but you
26:09
do get stuff carried forward in each run um which
26:13
is interesting but i found it really frustrating
26:16
as a way to play through a campaign like multiple
26:20
times i'd be like on the final bit and i just
26:23
like because it's so twitch and you're gone kind
26:26
of stuff Like I'd be right near the end and I'd
26:28
be like smashed to oblivion by someone like coming
26:31
up on the side and then, oh, it's game over,
26:33
start again kind of thing. So I found it frustrating
26:36
to play through the campaign. The arcade mode
26:40
is a lot less frustrating and I think brings
26:43
out the best of the game in that it's more pure
26:46
racing and combat without the stress of like,
26:50
if I fail this, I'm done for kind of thing. But
26:54
it's still quite restrictive with that. Like
26:56
what you're given is like essentially a series
26:58
of scenario races, sort of that. So you're like,
27:04
this is a race on this particular track and you're
27:06
using this vehicle. And maybe it's like, this
27:09
one's a eliminate X number of cars or vehicles.
27:13
And this one is set the fastest time. And this
27:15
one is just win the race or don't get eliminated
27:18
or whatever. There's no... if this is there but
27:23
i've looked many times i don't think it is there's
27:25
no way for to say i want to play this course
27:27
with this car and this type of race kind of thing
27:31
there's no just pure like time trialing there's
27:34
no just the kind of stuff you might expect from
27:36
an arcade mode in a classic sense um which is
27:41
odd i think well that's not there um but it's
27:46
you balance that with the fact that when you're
27:48
actually racing is great like the actual it's
27:51
great fun the pod racing unfortunately is way
27:53
better than the other three classes like it's
27:56
faster it feels more exciting um and it just
28:00
it has that nostalgic factor that the others
28:03
don't as much because if you're of a certain
28:05
age you've seen the pod racing stuff in the film
28:07
and like it's great you want to do that again
28:10
in the game and it looks amazing this game when
28:12
you're when you're whizzing along it looks great
28:14
um and it that when you're there doing it this
28:17
is cool But it feels kind of like they've relegated
28:20
that to this side bit where the main game is
28:23
more these other three types of craft. In the
28:25
campaign, you're doing this racing league business
28:29
and you're taking part in all the races there.
28:32
But then if you, between, like when you land
28:36
on a new planet to take on the next set of races,
28:38
you can, at the start, you can wander around
28:40
a bit, very small area, talk to a few people.
28:43
And one of those people is... I'm going to get
28:46
his name wrong. Sabula, what's his name? He's
28:50
like the pod racing guy who's like the legendary
28:52
pod racer from the film. You talk to him and
28:57
he kind of gives you a, goes back through the
29:00
history of some of his races and you take part
29:02
in those memories basically. And they're great.
29:06
There's great moments in the game, but they're
29:08
like this bit off the side of the main campaign.
29:12
And I can't help but think, right, if they just
29:14
made a pure pod racing game and gone full on
29:17
with that, it'd have been amazing. Like, and
29:20
maybe just made it simpler in terms of like,
29:22
it's a pod racing game. Here's all the courses,
29:25
here's all the characters, whatever, and made
29:28
it a simpler game. It'd have been better for
29:31
it. Like, it feels like it's almost, putting
29:35
all these other bits in, particularly the main
29:37
campaign, the rogue, like run mode, feels like
29:40
it's. taking away like you you're fighting against
29:43
the game somewhat trying to get fun out of it
29:45
because it's a bit tedious a bit stressful whereas
29:48
the arcade mode is great but not quite as flexible
29:51
as you might want it to be in terms of what you
29:52
can choose to do um same for the multiplayer
29:55
like it's got 12 player online and one of those
29:58
modes is uh similar to the main campaign in that
30:01
it's a multiple races you can do upgrades in
30:02
between each race and stuff and you have to eventually
30:05
take part in the main race at the end to win
30:07
or there's like quick racing and it's like you're
30:12
there's this lack of ability to make it how i
30:15
want to play it basically um which is like that's
30:19
not the game they made fair enough but i think
30:22
people might be like well it's like i've already
30:25
seen the interest online when they put their
30:27
trailer out a couple of days ago it was all about
30:29
the pod racing and it had by far the most excitement
30:33
around it than the rest of the game did like
30:35
all of the vehicles control really well they
30:38
have their own quirks and stuff But once you've
30:40
done the pod racing and then go to do something
30:42
else, you're like, well, I'd rather just be doing
30:44
more pod racing, to be honest, because that's
30:46
the most exciting part of this game. Which is
30:49
a shame because the other stuff is fun, but they
30:51
put the pod racing in and you can't help but
30:54
compare it because it's there. But yeah, I don't
30:59
dislike this game. I like it. I like playing
31:01
it a lot in the racing, but it's just the rest
31:05
of it feels like... like slightly like the wrong
31:09
path to have taken for this kind of game um and
31:12
maybe other people really enjoy it but i just
31:14
found it it rubbed me the wrong way essentially
31:16
some of it which is a shame because i really
31:18
like the actual like bits when you're not doing
31:21
the actual stuff outside of the racing even at
31:25
some games first when i played it hands -on they
31:27
gave us an hour and they basically dropped us
31:29
in pretty much at the start of the game and yet
31:33
even playing it for an hour It's a bit deflating
31:37
every time you are dumped back to this Mass Effect
31:45
-ian walk around and talk to people. It's a funny
31:49
thing with Star Wars games because obviously
31:51
Zero Company also does this. But I think Zero
31:55
Company is much more successful at it. But even
31:58
then, sometimes in Zero Company, when I'm put
32:01
back to that base, I'm like, ugh. you know um
32:05
there's a beauty to x -com the base is just a
32:08
big screen like a board game um and i guess the
32:13
the campaign mode element for a racing game is
32:17
always difficult um i don't think anyone's ever
32:19
done it better than diddy kong racing which was
32:21
30 years ago now nearly um but uh yeah it's it's
32:27
it's tough but the racing i'm glad the racing
32:29
works and it's good um i did again in my hands
32:33
on I got the distinct impression that it was
32:35
like the pod racing was the A game. Yeah, it's
32:39
weird because I like that the most because of
32:42
the pure speed. Like it's so much faster than
32:45
the other ones. The other ones can be fast, but
32:48
the pod racing is just that kind of, even the
32:51
very first race in the pod racing bit, it's the
32:53
bit from the film and you're flying through the
32:56
narrow canyon passage and stuff. And it's just
32:59
like proper. like if you do it well you get that
33:03
thrill of like you how on earth have i made it
33:06
through there without crashing kind of thing
33:07
it's incredibly like the sense of like achievement
33:09
and speed is just great um but then you then
33:13
go off and do the other bits and they have their
33:15
moments certainly and if you just do those for
33:17
without thinking about the pod racing it's fun
33:19
but part of you is like i just want to do more
33:22
pod racing um which is a shame because like maybe
33:26
they've been better off without it at all you
33:27
wouldn't have compared it and then possibly my
33:29
overall feeling for the rest of it would have
33:30
been stronger um well then people would ask why
33:33
did you make a new star wars racing game with
33:35
no pod racing yeah yeah um but it's yeah i mean
33:39
they've they've done those other vehicles they've
33:41
really done well and they all handle differently
33:43
and you learn the way they should corner everything
33:46
and some of them have better better turning sort
33:50
of uh abilities and others and some of boosts
33:53
attached to how you come out of corners and stuff
33:54
and it feels good to to race but then you're
33:58
like You don't get the same thrill you do as
34:00
you do with a pod racing. And that's just unfortunately
34:03
how it is, I think. Having not played any of
34:07
it yet, the way you're describing the different
34:09
like vehicle classes and how there's like specific
34:11
races designed for specific vehicles. Obviously,
34:14
there's a lot of burnout here, like a lot of
34:17
the same devs, but it sounds almost like Motorstorm.
34:22
Where you had like bespoke races where it's like
34:24
you have to use like motorcycles or you have
34:27
to use like monster trucks or you have to use
34:30
a rally car. Is it kind of like that? Yeah, I
34:34
think you could compare it to Motorstorm. I mean,
34:39
that was also a game. I think this, I never liked
34:43
the way Motorstorm felt to play. To be honest,
34:45
I liked the package more than what it was like.
34:48
I didn't like the way the vehicles handled, particularly
34:50
Motorstorm games. resist feels much better to
34:54
play i think like um but it does have that similar
34:58
like you're on the edge of crashing out at any
35:00
moment feel um yeah like i think that's a fair
35:03
comparison i just think i mean the last motor
35:07
storm was god knows how many years ago that was
35:09
now things i just the spin -off for the ps3 and
35:14
vita that was like a isometric rc car one yeah
35:18
that was a great game but i think this I don't
35:22
know, like I kind of, maybe my expectations are
35:25
wrong, but I just wanted a slightly different
35:27
game to what this is, I guess, which maybe is
35:32
slightly unfair. But I think particularly if
35:34
you've played previous Star Wars racing games,
35:37
it doesn't quite have that same sort of setup
35:42
to it. I don't want to be too down on it. Like
35:46
I do enjoy playing it as a racing game. I just
35:49
wish there was. That main campaign I just felt
35:52
was a bit too frustrating for me to really get
35:55
behind and be like, yeah, you must play this.
35:58
I need to find time for this one too, but it's
36:01
definitely lower on my priority list. I mean,
36:04
I haven't even finished really with Forza. So
36:07
if I'm going to play a racing game this year,
36:09
I'm going back to that. Yeah, Star Wars is a
36:14
funny franchise, man. It definitely doesn't have
36:18
that. I'm going to play this because it's Star
36:20
Wars that it used to have for me, which is a
36:25
big damage. We're going to keep rolling because
36:27
there's so much on this week. Very briefly, Witcher
36:31
3 Remastered came out this week, so a graphical
36:35
overhaul. Mikhail, I know you took a good look
36:38
at it. I think the big headline, really, most
36:40
of this was on RPG site rather than Respec, but
36:42
the big headline was how incredible the Switch
36:44
2 version is. which oh my god what a glow up
36:47
I looked at them side by side the Switch 1 and
36:50
Switch 2 versions and was like holy crap yeah
36:54
yeah it's it was funny because when they announced
36:58
this at Gamescom I believe that it was coming
37:00
out in like a month I said that CD Projekt Red
37:04
is like dropping a remaster of The Witcher 3
37:07
for free for everyone giving everyone the DLC
37:09
free also even if you just own the base game
37:12
and meanwhile Square Enix is out here charging
37:14
you full price giving you jack shit upgrade path
37:17
you have to your save doesn't transfer over it's
37:20
not even getting a foot proper physical and all
37:22
that like it's just embarrassing to see what
37:24
Square Enix is doing but yeah like I take their
37:27
case every single time they announce a Switch
37:29
2 port because we have this long article on RPG
37:31
site which just covers how like incredibly awful
37:34
Square Enix is to Switch 2 but yeah Witcher 3
37:37
I was very excited for the Switch 2 version because
37:40
the Switch 1 was how I finished the game in the
37:43
first place Like I know it's the worst version,
37:45
I've said this multiple times, but it was pretty
37:47
impressive what they did on like that tablet
37:49
back then. So when I downloaded this and I launched
37:53
it, I was like, I loaded my blood and wine save
37:55
and I was like, holy shit, there's actually grass
37:57
over here. It looks like a lawnmower. It looks
37:59
like, it looks like No More Heroes 3 where like
38:02
Travis has used the lawnmower minigame and that's
38:04
how you get the Switch 1 port. Like it was that
38:07
like ugly in ways. So I, what happened is it
38:10
was, it was kind of a tight deadline because...
38:13
I essentially got Code, I believe, on Thursday
38:15
and the remaster was out on Tuesday. So the embargo
38:19
was Monday. And I don't like working on weekends,
38:22
but because this was like one of the games I
38:24
was most excited for, I was like, you know, I
38:25
have to do this. So I spent like Sunday on it
38:28
and I had access to it on PC, PlayStation 5 and
38:32
Switch 2. And the reason I chose these platforms
38:35
is because... The remaster is like a big overhaul
38:39
visually. Like they've upgraded the graphics.
38:41
They've upgraded the foliage. They've changed
38:43
the lighting. So I was curious if the Steam Deck
38:45
could like keep up with it because it was a great
38:47
experience there before. So that was the reason
38:49
I took the PC version. And it can. Like it runs
38:52
worse than it did before, but you can still get
38:54
like a 30 or 40 FPS experience and it looks good.
38:58
The reason I took the PS5 version specifically
39:00
is because this was the first time Witcher 3
39:02
had PS5 Pro support. It has not had it before
39:05
this. So I wanted to do that as well. So what
39:07
I did for that is because I had this, like, you
39:11
know how PlayStation handles regions, right?
39:13
Like it's not like Xbox where it's one region
39:15
and you have like, you don't have regions essentially
39:17
on Xbox for your game, but on PlayStation you
39:20
do. So I actually was able to install my PS5
39:24
non -remaster version from Europe, my remaster
39:27
version from US PSN and access the PlayStation
39:30
4 version, which I also own. So like I had literally
39:33
three different generations of Witcher 3. on
39:36
my PS5 and PS5 Pro to compare. So it was interesting
39:39
seeing that because they use PSSR, which is Sony's
39:43
upscaling. And what that lets you do is you can
39:45
use ray tracing and get 60 FPS. On base PS5,
39:48
you have to like choose either uncapped 60 FPS
39:51
or ray tracing. So that was good to see. Just
39:54
quickly going over the Switch 2 version. It's
39:57
no longer like it doesn't look like a port to
40:00
Switch 2. It just looks like you're getting the
40:01
Witcher 3 remastered. It's just releasing on
40:04
Switch 2 now. It's not like a miraculous port
40:07
or whatever. So that was good to see. My only
40:09
complaint with the Switch 2 version essentially
40:11
is it looks a bit soft. So I don't know if the
40:13
DLSS is getting pushed or whatever, but it generally
40:17
just looks a bit soft. It doesn't look as crisp
40:19
as it should be. I think they can fix this by
40:21
just upgrading the UI resolution because it kind
40:24
of looks bad if your Quest text looks a bit janky
40:26
or whatever. It's basically like I urge you to
40:31
read the big comparisons I did on RPG side. I
40:33
put up like three articles that day. But besides
40:35
the actual visuals and technical upgrade, I was
40:39
surprised at how different it feels to play because
40:41
even the camera angles out of the box are different.
40:44
It's like they've changed where the third person
40:47
exploration camera is. They've changed where
40:49
the horseback camera is. Combat is also different.
40:53
There's like a whole new skill UI stuff which
40:55
they've done and all. I honestly was so overwhelmed
40:57
by like all the new stuff they did. I said, I
41:00
cannot cover this for like this weekend. So I
41:02
was like, I'll get to it eventually. But like
41:04
right out of the box, I was like, okay, this
41:06
looks and feels quite different. It's not just
41:08
like upgrading the resolution or whatever. Like
41:10
they've done a lot to add it. And one last thing
41:14
about the Switch 2 port is they actually went
41:16
like all the way. They added mouse controls.
41:19
They added motion controls. They added touchscreen
41:20
support. They added like rumble for like everything
41:23
and all. I love that shit when you like take
41:25
advantage of all this stuff. I kind of hope they
41:27
add gyro controls on PC and PS5 because like
41:30
it's dumb when devs just ignore that. But yeah,
41:33
otherwise it's a fantastic remaster. It has some
41:35
bugs here and there like crashing and all. But
41:38
I believe they've already pushed out two patches.
41:39
So this feels like one of those releases where
41:42
it got such a big upgrade and such a big patch.
41:44
You should just wait like two weeks for them
41:46
to iron out like. stability and then you can
41:49
play it but i'll say one thing though it was
41:51
super good that i could get my saves directly
41:54
like cross save i just immediately had access
41:57
to like all five of my main saves like i synced
42:00
them and it made it very easy to actually compare
42:02
and test like just fast travel to novigrad see
42:04
how it runs fast travel to crookback bob go over
42:07
here fight this boss or whatever just very nice
42:09
and convenient so i'm very happy with it like
42:12
it's uh like i i said it before but dynasty warriors
42:15
origins not the shit dynasty warriors 3 remastered
42:19
switch to port origins is the good one that and
42:21
witcher 3 are like gold standard for switch to
42:24
ports of the year like incredible proud nordics
42:27
well that was last year though so i mean yeah
42:29
yeah yeah yeah so so yeah that's where i'm at
42:32
with it did you have any time to try it alex
42:34
i know i tried it yeah i tried it a little bit
42:36
again i've been distracted by other stuff but
42:38
um It's, it's Alex and I've been distracted by
42:42
the same thing. One of the same thing. Yeah.
42:44
Um, but, um, it's very good. Um, but, uh, they,
42:49
yeah, it's, it's, they're just the Kings of,
42:52
of, of touching up games and, and, and, and keeping
42:55
games alive. Like I really, really do hope that
42:58
they do this same thing with cyberpunk as we
43:01
sort of get closer to cyberpunk too. I think
43:03
it'd just be so smart. Um, they must do for particularly
43:06
with like Watson. I know no one wants a new console
43:09
at the moment, but presumably if they reworked
43:13
it for the PS6 and next Xbox, you'd get some
43:16
more of the high -end PC features. It'd be a
43:18
fairly worthwhile upgrade. And even just doing
43:20
a new expansion, right? I think the concept of
43:23
doing a new expansion to lead into your new game,
43:25
a new expansion for your old game to lead into
43:27
your new game is so clever because it re -engages
43:30
your family. I'm sure we'll get an update for
43:33
Cyberpunk. within the next like month and a half
43:37
for like a tie -in stuff for like edge runners
43:39
yeah probably but that'll probably just be a
43:41
very small quest a bit like they did for edge
43:43
runners one but um i forgot that's next month
43:46
anyway keep it on my own because this month it's
43:49
like this month it's in like yeah it's like it's
43:50
like in three weeks yeah i'm gonna have to re
43:53
-watch the original i need to like take six hours
43:56
off that day and just binge it before anyone
43:58
spoils it online it's gonna be special i saw
44:00
the first episode uh yes at the uh at a uh at
44:05
anime expel yes yes uh wrote about it for kotaku
44:08
um and it's like oh man this is it's so different
44:13
in terms of tone compared to uh yes i mean similarly
44:17
that this just wrote about it on rpg um so you
44:20
can look those write -ups up but yeah i need
44:22
to re -watch the first one before that uh keep
44:25
enrolling sorry but there's just quite a lot
44:27
i want to touch on this week very very quickly
44:29
i just thought it was an amusing story a guy
44:31
created And also, I think it's an interesting
44:34
story because it shows that this is possible
44:37
and maybe it will happen officially. A guy created
44:40
a switch port of GTA 5. He used the leaked source
44:44
code to do it. Not a good idea. He was being
44:49
very belligerent and he actually said, and I
44:52
quote, try me, Rockstar, unquote. The guy has
44:57
now been legally screwed. To be fair, Rockstar
45:01
sort of let him off. He sort of got him, yeah,
45:04
what are you going to do, stab me? Yeah. The
45:07
guy has actually now put out a statement going,
45:10
thank you to Rockstar for being so kind. I think
45:12
because Rockstar just said, if you take it down,
45:14
we won't destroy your life. And so he's taken
45:17
it down. So that's funny, but also it does sort
45:20
of, obviously GTA 6 is another question, but
45:23
it is sort of crazy to me that GTA 5 hasn't been
45:28
ported. to Switch 2, and I have to imagine...
45:31
It's the online stuff, right? Maybe, but I have
45:36
to imagine that once they are a little... Once
45:40
GTA 6 is sort of, and GTA 6, perhaps even GTA
45:43
6 Online is sort of a little bit more out of
45:45
the way, maybe they'll look at that. Because
45:47
my understanding is the Switch is one of the
45:50
best platforms, sales -wise, for the trilogy.
45:55
Like that wasn't officially announced thing.
45:57
Yeah. Millions and millions and millions of units.
45:59
You have to imagine. Um, anyway. Yeah. So, so
46:03
yeah. Max pain three on it as well. That'd be
46:05
good game. I was playing that last night. They
46:09
such a random thing too, that you've just been
46:12
anyway. Another quick little news bite that I
46:16
just think is interesting in a broader industry
46:18
context. So Suda51's grasshopper manufacturer
46:21
has gone independent. This is Suda's independent
46:24
studio. It was originally bought by NetEase in
46:28
2021. And now they're splitting with NetEase
46:32
and going back to be independent, which good
46:34
on them for actually being able to do that. I
46:36
just think this story is interesting because
46:38
I think if you're looking for trends and narratives
46:41
in the industry. Just watch, you know, that is
46:44
a yet another case of a Chinese company on the
46:47
retreat from investment in development outside
46:53
of Japan. We saw a lot of this where over the
46:56
course of five, six years, an enormous amount
47:00
of Chinese investment rushed into the West and
47:05
rushed into Japan. And you're just seeing a great
47:10
big... um a great big pullback um and i wonder
47:17
what that's about you know it's i mean obviously
47:20
the chinese development community is obviously
47:22
with with games like um well with all the with
47:26
all the the the with all the traditional chinese
47:31
rpgs and action games that are coming out right
47:33
um they're obviously getting their feet under
47:38
the table internally and within china and maybe
47:41
that's why But yeah, you've seen like Uka Studios
47:44
got closed and like some Western studios got
47:48
closed. You know. It's as simple as they were
47:54
working with these studios outside of China because
47:57
they felt they needed to. But then you look at
47:59
the success of stuff like Black Muff Wukong,
48:02
Where Winds Meet, every Holyoverse games because
48:05
they're Chinese too. It's like you look at that
48:08
and it's like, oh, maybe we don't actually need
48:10
to expand. like by getting ever studios like
48:16
outside of china we can just focus on like domestic
48:19
yeah it's definitely a theme which is why i wanted
48:24
to point it out like whether you've got you know
48:26
jar of sparks when that was obviously an early
48:28
act they were working early on a triple -a action
48:30
adventure game in seattle um they closed uka
48:35
studio who did um uh Outsourcing on the Mana
48:41
remakes for Square Enix. Obviously, they've now
48:43
divested Grasshopper. Worlds Untold over in Canada
48:47
and Team E over in Canada, they both went. Shark
48:50
Mob here in the UK got massively downsized. There's
48:53
definitely a pullback and this is part of that
48:56
theme. But good on Suda and crew for making it
49:00
out of that without the company being damaged.
49:03
There will be a bit more info on the Suda thing
49:06
in the log. the podcast we record after this
49:09
i'll just say that for now okay um yeah okay
49:13
that's that is our news beats for this week um
49:17
which puts us in time to just talk about briefly
49:21
what's on the site so there are the previously
49:23
mentioned reviews so gears star wars um james
49:28
you took a look at the resident evil trilogy
49:30
trilogy i mean two three and four on Switch 2
49:34
at TGS. So did I, to be fair. Did you play them
49:38
docked or in handheld? I played them in handheld.
49:40
I played them docked. And I imagine you probably
49:44
had a better time than I did because I was a
49:46
little bit like, ugh. Okay. I couldn't believe
49:50
how well it was running on Switch 2. But this
49:52
I was like, uh, yeah. Are you specifically talking
49:57
about Resident Evil 4 or was like 2 and 3 also
50:00
kind of shaky? I tried all three. Um, okay. But
50:05
four was the one that I actually really played,
50:07
you know? Okay. So that's what I was thinking.
50:11
Cause like two and three in handheld are like
50:13
incredible. Looks like native 10 AP feels like
50:16
at least a smooth 60 might be uncapped. I don't
50:19
know, but it's smooth. It looks good. I would
50:22
easily recommend playing those. If that like
50:25
shakes out for the whole game, Resident Evil
50:28
four in handheld, I wouldn't say is bad. It's
50:32
definitely using some upscaling, but the image
50:35
quality is fine, at least in handheld. But there
50:38
was some like weird micro stuttering that I noticed
50:41
like in the lead up, like in the opening. And
50:44
I would imagine that that would be even more
50:47
like jarring docked unless they like patch it
50:50
to support like docked VRR. Like I wouldn't say
50:53
it's like a game breaker. in handheld mode but
50:59
I was curious about how that would feel in docked
51:01
I'm getting the vibe that it's not very well
51:04
I just wonder if they've ported the PS4 versions
51:08
over or like done a hybrid thing like PS4 and
51:10
PS5 stuff because the SE4 did have that PS4 version
51:14
right like I don't think anyone remembers or
51:16
cares about it but they did have that and so
51:18
far they've been doing like like Street Fighter
51:20
6 is this weird thing where it's like lower resolution
51:23
than PS4 also it's upscale to like 1080p and
51:27
stuff so I don't, I'm probably going to be like,
51:29
whenever code comes in, I'm going to like prioritize
51:31
this because I've played, I've played Resi 2
51:33
on like how many freaking platforms. I've played
51:35
it on iPhone, iPad, PS4, PS5. Yeah. Xbox, Steam
51:40
Deck, Rog, Ally. Like, it's like a shitload of
51:43
things. So like, I want to see. If you need me
51:44
to, if you need me to boot it up on my fucking
51:47
MSI handhelds, like just to put even more in
51:50
that pie. Yeah, so what I was curious about,
51:54
Resi, is based on what Alex said, it feels like
51:57
it's probably just going to be uncapped, docked,
51:59
and it just feels like it's not running smooth
52:01
because of that, maybe. Yeah, I mean, pre -release
52:04
as well, so we will see. Yeah, of course. Pre
52:07
-release, but you would imagine it's a pretty
52:09
final build. Yeah, yeah. But there's a write
52:12
-up on that on the site. There's lots of Dynasty
52:15
Warriors content on the site from the DW3 remaster.
52:19
Kite has done some... great stuff interview review
52:22
uh ace combat 8 review which we we haven't um
52:28
had anyone who read the big the person who you
52:31
know did the review review is not is not here
52:33
but i hear it's it absolutely slaps and i'm really
52:36
excited to play it myself i did the review oh
52:39
you did the review oh sorry yeah for some reason
52:42
in my head it wasn't you oh there we go Well,
52:47
it really slaps, does it not? It's incredible.
52:49
It's probably the best soundtrack in the series,
52:53
and that's saying something. It's just really
52:59
damn good. There was a little bit of a hiccup.
53:02
Well, there's a couple of hiccups technically
53:05
I'm seeing. I was lucky. My desktop, I didn't
53:08
have any issues, and my laptop, which is running
53:11
Linux, I didn't have any issues. But it seems
53:14
like... especially on pc that hasn't been the
53:19
case it feels like a lot of people run into either
53:21
performance related issues or like stability
53:23
issues uh mikhail and i did a comparison for
53:29
like platform stuff and like whether it could
53:31
run on steam deck rog ally or like intel based
53:35
handhelds and like performance wise the intel
53:38
stuff was promising but there was like a nasty
53:41
little bug where whenever you would fire a missile
53:43
there was like a coin flip chance on whether
53:45
or not it would just crash the game uh a few
53:48
hours ago until released a game ready driver
53:52
for it since it's now officially out and uh it
53:55
runs fine now so great i don't know if mikhail
53:57
has updated that by the time this is up i imagine
54:00
it will be but i'm looking forward to checking
54:03
that out um yeah i'll probably have some stuff
54:06
to say about that next week There's an article
54:09
up on the site about me revisiting the Nintendo
54:12
Museum when I was in Japan and how the museum
54:17
has changed in the two years since I first visited
54:19
right after it opened and what those changes
54:22
say about Nintendo, which is it's more interesting
54:25
about what now feels like it's absent from the
54:27
museum that doesn't. When two years ago, the
54:31
museum felt like a pretty comprehensive history
54:33
of Nintendo, but things are changing and representation
54:36
of what Nintendo is now. But things are changing
54:39
so rapidly for Nintendo that the museum actually
54:42
in just two years no longer feels like it represents
54:44
all of Nintendo. And you can read more about
54:47
that thesis in the article on Respec .net. And
54:49
there's also some Gundam Rogue Orbit stuff too
54:53
from you, James, right? So was that you or was
54:56
that Kite? No, the Gundam Rogue Orbit stuff was
54:58
Kite. Yeah, that was Kite. You actually didn't
55:00
mention this in the preview as far as I can tell,
55:03
but you demoed it in the like, fake gundam cockpits
55:10
it was it was it was literally a thing where
55:14
um uh up on an rpg site i put up a preview for
55:18
tales of eternia remastered and like the whole
55:21
there's a whole story i'll save it for the after
55:24
hours because it's actually a whole like story
55:26
that's interesting but uh basically uh after
55:32
that uh the head of pr for bamco north america
55:37
literally texted me and said hey do you want
55:40
to do gundam in the cockpit and i said i will
55:43
see if kite wants to because he's a bigger gundam
55:45
head so that's cool um yeah so check out the
55:50
website respect .net um there's some great articles
55:53
there's also some new stories which haven't been
55:55
mentioned it's hard to mention everything because
55:57
it's really busy time right now um and next week's
56:01
going to be exciting there's some there's some
56:02
good there's some good previews there's some
56:04
good reviews um so keep an eye on the site next
56:07
week uh which leaves us as ever just um as we
56:11
come towards the close uh to do the retro respective
56:15
on this day um on this week indeed um couple
56:22
this week uh pokemon diamond and pearl turned
56:24
20 a couple of days ago which feels crazy if
56:28
you ask me red and blue 20 years old and the
56:30
uh bliss you hit with a focus punch is still
56:33
calculating losing its hp i've still got dialga
56:38
like a whole box of dialga uh uh ds styluses
56:44
that i think were pre -order bonuses and my friend
56:48
worked at game they were they i remember I was
56:52
actually going to say that I remember when I
56:54
was literally in fucking elementary school when
56:57
this game came out, which, God. But I remember
57:00
getting the big fuck -off stylus that had a Deolga
57:05
on it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what I mean.
57:06
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I've got maybe 20 of
57:11
those somewhere. It's hard to believe how that
57:15
time goes. Binding of Isaac was 15 years ago
57:17
today. Real breakout, you know. i think probably
57:20
still has a crazy number of concurrence on steam
57:22
man that that game is getting a new version like
57:25
next month as well they're bringing it with like
57:27
online multiplayer and stuff i'm gonna be playing
57:30
yeah it's coming to switch to ps5 xbox and they
57:33
apparently have been teasing you can bring your
57:36
steam save over so like my antenna automatically
57:38
like pick that up and i'm definitely gonna be
57:40
playing that but yeah isaac is like massive it's
57:43
it's crazy i used to play that shit when it was
57:46
a flash game and like now it's Like, I remember
57:48
when it was, like, one of the few games you could
57:50
buy on Switch. Like, they did a retail release
57:52
and stuff. That was, like, when there was nothing
57:55
else to play that shit on Switch. You had, like,
57:57
Mario Kart, Zelda, and, like, Isaac. That's it
57:59
for, like, a few months. I remember. First year
58:01
of Switch 1, like, two of the games I put the
58:04
most time into were Nicholas games. So, like,
58:06
Binding of Isaac, because that was the latest
58:08
version at the time, and it was, like, a really
58:09
nice physical, like, release with a really nice,
58:12
like, Zelda 1 style, like, manual. And then,
58:15
like, Cave Story, you had, like, the, what was
58:18
it, the Famitrack OST. Like, the new, like, arrangements
58:22
are really good. And, like, I think that's still
58:24
the best version of Cave Story, isn't it? Because
58:27
I don't think the PC version ever got the update.
58:30
Those, like, they did a lot on Switch. And, like,
58:33
yeah, like, they just did Mugenics. Like, obviously,
58:35
we're not talking about that, but yeah. It's
58:37
just crazy how much they're doing suddenly. But
58:40
yeah, Isaac is getting another version next month
58:42
with all the DLC included and stuff. So yeah,
58:45
it's still going. Yeah, that's crazy. We obviously
58:50
talked last week about the N64 30th anniversary.
58:55
And I wanted to briefly bring that up again this
58:59
week because it's a funny thing that used to
59:00
happen back in the day. So we spoke last week
59:03
about the N64 officially going on sale. but actually
59:09
this week was actually the official release date
59:12
and it's just that finger back in those days
59:15
toys r us would just get them and put them on
59:17
the shelves um which is why i would say that
59:20
uh certain game stores still do that so well
59:24
yeah well yes but you know that doesn't really
59:26
that doesn't really count what i will say is
59:28
like um uh i don't know i always that you that
59:33
always i used to always find that to be a really
59:35
cool thing I've got really fond memories, as
59:38
weird as it sounds, of I remember Sonic Adventure
59:42
2 Battle on the GameCube came out in the UK a
59:45
week before the GameCube. So I remember buying
59:48
this game and having this disc. In fact, it's
59:52
probably here. It's not there. It's probably
59:56
on the back shelf. But I remember having this
1:00:01
game and... not having the console to play it
1:00:04
because the console wasn't out yet but just like
1:00:06
getting this copy of sonic adventure 2 battle
1:00:08
and opening it up and marveling at the little
1:00:10
disc and going wow look how small the disc is
1:00:13
um that was me with a couple of vita games because
1:00:16
i remember when the vita came out i got like
1:00:18
a bunch of the launch games like i got wipe out
1:00:21
i got hot shots got rayman origins i got like
1:00:23
blaze blue continuum shift extends and i remember
1:00:27
like a bunch a couple of those came like came
1:00:30
in the mail like a few days before even the early
1:00:33
like release because there was like that weird
1:00:35
like bundle you could get for the Vita to get
1:00:39
a week early but even like a few days before
1:00:40
that like the games came in I was like god damn
1:00:43
it and it's like but it was also really cool
1:00:45
because like even now I think like the Vita cartridges
1:00:48
and boxes are like quaint but in like a very
1:00:51
like in a very neat sort of way I remember the
1:00:57
Dreamcast peripherals were on sale before the
1:01:00
console I remember getting a VMU I was sitting
1:01:02
in the back of my mum's car just with this little
1:01:06
mini handheld thing that seemed cool at the time.
1:01:11
But yeah, it just didn't do much then. But yeah,
1:01:14
it was cool to get that stuff just before you
1:01:17
had it all ready before the console arrived.
1:01:20
Yeah. The VMU. I'd love something like that now.
1:01:26
I'd love Nintendo to do something like that.
1:01:28
Like a Joy -Con. A left or a right Joy -Con.
1:01:32
that does something with you when you take it.
1:01:34
I don't know. I don't know. That's what I'm saying.
1:01:36
The return of WeConnect24 where you stuff your
1:01:39
Mii into your, like, Wii remote so when you bring
1:01:42
it with you to your friend's place, you automatically
1:01:44
have your Mii. Hey, that was a clever, yeah,
1:01:47
that was a clever little thing. Also, finishing
1:01:52
up, Rage was out in 2011. That was obviously
1:01:55
a Professor joint. My memory of that is that
1:02:02
it was massively over shipped in the uk and the
1:02:07
thing that i was told was that it was massively
1:02:09
over shipped because uh bethesda were like um
1:02:14
were like if you want our next big game which
1:02:20
happened to be a little big game called a little
1:02:22
game called skyrim they were like your allocation
1:02:26
of Skyrim will in part be determined by how excited
1:02:28
you get about Rage. So a lot of stores bought
1:02:31
a lot of copies of Rage in order to ensure they
1:02:34
got a lot of copies of Skyrim, which don't get
1:02:38
me wrong, it's a good game. It was the last game
1:02:41
it released where John Carmack was like overseeing
1:02:46
it. And it had the cool... racing segments and
1:02:50
stuff like that. It was an impressive looking
1:02:53
game for that generation of consoles. It looked
1:02:55
great. It wasn't quite as good as I think people
1:03:01
wanted it to be, but it looked amazing for the
1:03:03
console. I found out recently that the current
1:03:05
version of Id Tech doesn't even support mega
1:03:07
textures anymore. I mean, probably it was the
1:03:10
right decision, but it's like, kind of like,
1:03:13
just feels odd. It's like... It was such a big
1:03:16
deal about how this is what makes it tech different.
1:03:19
And it's like, it no longer exists. It was that
1:03:23
whole thing of like, was Mad Max first or? No,
1:03:28
Rage 2 was way after, wasn't it? I remember Rage
1:03:32
2 sort of went deep on that Borderlands. Ooh,
1:03:35
we're crazy apocalypse sort of thing. And I liked
1:03:39
it less as a result than the more Mad Max -y.
1:03:43
Style of Rage. But yeah, I enjoyed that game.
1:03:46
So that is 15 years old. What the hell? And finally,
1:03:53
Super Ghouls and Ghosts is 35 years old. Game
1:03:59
names you can hear. I can hear that music when
1:04:02
I say the name of the game, that first level
1:04:09
music. I had the Mega Drive version, which I'm
1:04:11
pretty sure was considered an inferior shit version.
1:04:18
which was just called Ghouls and Ghosts, but
1:04:19
it was effectively the same as Super Ghouls and
1:04:21
Ghosts. But yeah, I've got a lot of time for
1:04:26
that. I sort of, I was going to say I sort of
1:04:28
wish Capcom would bring it back, but they have
1:04:29
relatively recently, haven't they? When was the
1:04:31
last one? Yeah, they made a new Ghosts and Goblins.
1:04:34
Resurrection. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was like a
1:04:37
brand new one, not a remake or anything. Yeah,
1:04:39
it started out with a remake, but it was really
1:04:41
good. Jesus. I feel like I played it last year.
1:04:45
Was that only on Switch or was that? No, it's
1:04:47
on everything. It was everything. It might have
1:04:52
been like first on Switch or something, but it's
1:04:54
on everything now. Yeah, it's Steam version,
1:04:59
deck verified. I don't own it on Steam. I'm going
1:05:03
to buy that. There we go. This podcast has just
1:05:05
cost me money. Which brings us on to... It's
1:05:11
been a... People might have seen if you follow
1:05:14
other games, websites, stuff like that. It's
1:05:16
been a pretty rough week for games media. There's
1:05:18
been a bunch more layoffs and some outlets completely
1:05:21
closing their game sections. Literally, while
1:05:24
we've been on this podcast, I've been getting
1:05:26
texts about another company laying people off.
1:05:29
It's a pretty rough time. So we appreciate your
1:05:31
support by listening. We also appreciate especially
1:05:35
those who support us directly, which the most
1:05:39
direct way you can do that is, of course, to
1:05:41
sign up for our Patreon. That's Patreon. dot
1:05:44
com forward slash RespecNet, R -E -S -P -E -C
1:05:48
-N -E -T. You can sign up there. That'll get
1:05:52
you bonus podcasts, of which there will be one
1:05:54
this week. There is one every week. Bonus articles,
1:05:56
of which there will also be one this weekend.
1:05:59
And just generally, you know, a little bit of
1:06:01
a peek behind the curtain with us. And you get
1:06:05
the warm, fuzzy feeling of knowing you're supporting
1:06:07
independent games media at a time when it's really
1:06:09
difficult, even for the big companies, leave
1:06:11
alone for the indies. So, yeah, it's been a rough
1:06:16
week. So thank you for your support. And if you
1:06:18
can't afford to back, the main content on the
1:06:21
site is free. And as far as I'm concerned, always
1:06:23
will be. And we, you know, I encourage you. There
1:06:27
are other ways you can support, by which I mean
1:06:30
you can turn your ad block off, for instance.
1:06:33
That's really helpful. So give that some thought,
1:06:37
whitenist us or whatever. Or back us on Patreon
1:06:39
and you can continue to hear from us when we're
1:06:42
going to talk a little longer. now. So that's
1:06:46
it from us this week. Busy week. I'm really looking
1:06:48
forward to next week's podcast. I can't wait
1:06:50
to talk about some of the stuff that I've been
1:06:52
doing and playing. Any last thoughts from you,
1:06:55
Tom? No, I'm just having a little break from
1:07:02
plowing through games. I know you're in the background
1:07:05
plowing through probably an even bigger game
1:07:07
than what I've been playing in terms of the scope
1:07:10
and the time and stuff. But yeah, it's quite
1:07:12
a lot. No one talks about it, but when you review
1:07:14
games, It takes up your entire life for a while.
1:07:18
I've been looking at my copy of Fire Emblem on
1:07:22
the shelf that I picked up in Japan. It's like,
1:07:24
I need to start that. But I'm sure Alex and I
1:07:28
have the same thought where it's like, we're
1:07:30
looking and it's like, we got to start it. But
1:07:32
it's like, that game is so fucking long. I don't
1:07:34
want to yet. There's another game that I really
1:07:36
want to play where we had Review Code come in.
1:07:40
and there's been quite a few people playing it
1:07:42
on rpg so you will know what game i'm talking
1:07:44
about but i'm not sure if i can publicly say
1:07:45
and yeah and and i like started that and played
1:07:49
like the first hour and then i was like i can't
1:07:52
do this right now until i finish until i'm done
1:07:54
with this other big game um so yeah there's prioritization
1:07:58
going on for sure um yeah yeah this is why i
1:08:01
just do my tech articles and like just bounce
1:08:03
between like five thousand games a month that's
1:08:07
easier but harder right that's the thing yeah
1:08:09
for me like One game I can talk about, because
1:08:11
even though like review code hasn't gone out
1:08:14
yet, like it came out in Japan, like literally
1:08:16
a few months ago, and they're just doing an update
1:08:17
for it. It's like, part of me is like, I'm gonna
1:08:20
go through like Village in the Shade. I'm like
1:08:22
halfway through, I'm gonna finish it up. And
1:08:24
that's like a 60 plus hour game. And it's like,
1:08:26
I need to finish this because I'm like, so many
1:08:29
people at RPG site are going to finish Fire Emblem.
1:08:32
So I will get to it, but it doesn't have to be
1:08:34
the priority. I don't know how many people are
1:08:36
going to play Village in the Shades. So I need
1:08:38
to at least make sure there's one person that
1:08:40
does. And that's like sort of the metagame you
1:08:43
have to end up at sometimes. Yes, for sure. Yeah,
1:08:49
it's, there's too many games. And there's like
1:08:55
a ticking clock on whenever we get GTA, whether
1:08:59
we get it early, whether we get it on release
1:09:01
day. You know, there's a ticking clock where
1:09:05
when that comes in, probably all our lives. Get
1:09:07
sucked into that whether we like it or not, which
1:09:09
I'm quite looking forward to. Anyway, that'll
1:09:12
do it for us for this week. Thank you so much
1:09:14
for listening. And we'll see you next week, apart
1:09:16
from patrons, where we will see you in just a
1:09:19
minute. Till next time, everyone. See ya.