This looks pretty good. I never played BOTW, so this'll be a fresh experience. Not a fan of the humour though. Maybe I'll get it for $20, after I've played Valhalla for $30..
@kazzerscout: I wouldn't go that far. Their complaints about PS5, regarding UI and storage options, are valid concerns, I just feel like they are maybe exaggerating the importance of those issues. And I do hope Sony gets firmware updates ready ASAP to fix those issues. I don't remember if they had major complaints about Series X/S.. I zone out when they talk about it because I don't care.
@azuregale: If you're talking about PS5, it's not 500 GB, it's 667 GB. People who use gaming forums, and people who are premium GB members like us, are the enthusiasts I was speaking of. I do sympathize. It would be lovely if every console had 2 TB (but the price wouldn't be lovely). I'm just saying, I don't think it's a big issue for "normal" use, by which I mean "average" use. I consider myself in the above-average use category, and I NEVER had a problem with PS4's 400GB storage. Would the majority of console owners need to have more than 4-5 big games installed at once? In any case, once Sony gets the expansion drive support/issues sorted out, this will be a non-issue (other than the added monetary cost).
@topcyclist: Nah, pretty sure the team, and other press people, are angry/disappointed about the storage right now, because I remember several of them saying they filled up the PS5's storage on the first day, and had to figure out what to delete. But yes, I absolutely agree with your overconsumption point. I limit myself to 3 "big" games at a time. I hope that 300GB games don't become the norm, though. Both Spider-Man games are about 25% smaller on PS5, probably thanks to SSD and better compression (Cerny talked about this in his lecture, IIRC).
The storage space on PS5 doesn't bother me at all. I'm always a bit mystified when I hear game press and enthusiasts complain about it. I guess it's more of a problem when you feel obligated to get every new game on day one (or pre-release, for press) and try playing them all at the same time? I don't think it's a big issue for "normal" use.
I survived with my launch PS4's 400-ish GB space for 7 years, without ever using external drives. It currently has 5 larger games (AC Ezio Collection, FF7 Remake, Ghost of Tsushima, Injustice, Yakuza Kiwami 2), 4 mid-sized games (Cities Skylines, Last Guardian, Yakuza 7 JP Demo, Guilty Gear Xrd), and 6 other smaller games. Total storage used: 285 GB. Also, I was only actively playing 2 of those. And I ONLY play on Playstations - no other games installed on PC/Xbox/Switch.
Granted, I do not play Call of Duty or any huge GAAS games.
I feel like the only person who actually enjoyed the minigames (in the lab) and stealth sections of Spider-Man. Could never understand why people were so upset by the stealth.. they were mostly quite easy and not very long. Then again, I am probably less action-oriented than most gamers.
Anyway, I love my PS5 so far. It just needs some firmware updates to get back to where the PS4 UI was.
The boss they said was hardest was not that hard.. I beat it after a couple of tries (without watching any videos of it).. the hardest boss for me was the final boss. Mostly because it was quite long and, if you die, you have to start over from the beginning.
Anyway, loved this game, easily one of the best of the year.
I'm in agreement with Jeff regarding the PS5 hints system.. it's a good idea, but I have doubts about how well/widespread it will be implemented. Also would be shitty if Sony "forced" devs to add it for every game. I don't think they will do that, though. Historically, Sony's been very much like "hey devs, this is here if you want to use it" to the point that a lot of their unique features go unused.
The big thing about the PS5 UI that I think wasn't even mentioned in this podcast was the Activities thing. Sounded like you can select predetermined spots in the game (levels, chapters, or maybe fast travel points) to start from before you even boot the game up. Or, for multiplayer games, you can select a mode and jump right to the matchmaking lobby. Combined with super-fast loading, this is really exciting stuff (of course, if it's implemented well, and is used by 3rd parties).
Also, wow it's so nice of them to put a "recent screenshot" card there. Having to load up the Capture Gallery to see the screenshot I just took was super bad. (and I think it's really funny that GB never seemed to use Capture Gallery.. I remember watching them go all the way to Settings -> Storage to find screenshots)
Something I *hope* is there is the ability to customize what type of activity cards you see. Some people won't want to see hints, or multiplayer stuff, etc. Also would be nice if you could change the order, like "always put trophy cards first". Otherwise it could get messy really easily.
My 2 cents on the pre-order stuff. How can retailers do this more fairly? Ironically, I feel like Sony's widely panned pre-pre-order registration was a good idea, if it worked the way I think it worked. Just have people register, and do a lottery thing after. I had always assumed that when Sony said they'd "check your PSN account" they just wanted to make sure they weren't giving a PS5 to a bot/duplicate account (i.e. recently created, or zero games/hours played). Seems logical to me. Retailers really SHOULD have done this kind of thing this year to prevent lineups/crowds during a pandemic.
(As for me, I got my PS5 in like 30 seconds on Best Buy Canada because I happened to check it a few minutes after they went live. Great for me, sucks for people who found out later. I didn't try for an Xbox cuz I don't want one.)
Got my pre-order peacefully from BestBuy.ca minutes after they surprise-opened pre-orders. Digital edition, $565. The launch games all LOOK amazing, but I'm not buying any day one. I just want to replace my launch PS4 so bad.
RIP Thelma. I'm sure she had a happy life in Alex's home.
Abby has been an amazing addition to the GB team. I'm not going to blame her for this mistake. Seems like it was pretty obscure to begin with. I don't think it's realistic to expect GB to investigate the entire background of every guest.
At most, maybe it would be a good idea to add a spoken disclaimer to the beginning of that podcast, and/or edit out the part where Merritt gives out her social media stuff? (assuming it was there, I don't remember)
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