Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain – Repeat Missions

Metal Gear Solid 5 is a great game where you can spend dozens upon dozens of hours just tinkering around with the sandbox and its many systems, but there’s little argument to the fact that the game is excessively padded out when it comes to the missions in Chapter 2. Many missions in the last chapter are rehashed missions from before, but players now have to complete those missions with brutal challenges tacked on which can quickly turn into frustration as you try to satisfy the new clear conditions. Granted these can be satisfying for some players but given that the story ends randomly, these repeat missions stick out as a sore thumb. Those familiar with the game’s turbulent development cycle might know why this otherwise great game has been padded out, but it doesn’t really soften the blow of it regardless.

Sunset Overdrive

Sunset Overdrive’s vivid art-style would look absolutely phenomenal in 4K and 60 FPS. Currently, the game runs at 900p and 30 FPS and while the Xbox Series X’s Auto HDR makes it pop, a proper optimization patch would go a long way. Given that Sony owns the rights to the IP, this may seem like a pipe-dream – at least on Xbox consoles – but we can still hope.

]]> https://gamingbolt.com/top-xbox-one-games-that-need-xbox-series-x-patches/feed 0 470052 https://gamingbolt.com/15-most-disappointing-xbox-one-games https://gamingbolt.com/15-most-disappointing-xbox-one-games#respond Wed, 15 May 2019 08:26:02 +0000 https://gamingbolt.com/?p=397860 Though Microsoft have been taking huge steps to make sure that their first party lineup is stronger next generation that it ever has been, a lack of quality exclusives is still one of the Xbox One’s biggest issues- bigger, in fact, than it ever was for the Xbox or the Xbox 360. Even the exclusives it does have aren’t all good, with many being major and high profile disappointments, and others being not that major, but disappointing nonetheless.

In this feature, we’ll be taking a look at fifteen such disappointing Xbox One exclusives- note that some of these games have been improved significantly since launch thanks to updates, and that we’re primarily talking about disappointing launches. Also note that for the purposes of these list, we’ll only be looking at Xbox One console exclusives.

With all that out of the way, let’s get into it.

RYSE: SON OF ROME

Ryse: Son of Rome took our breath away when it was first revealed, showcasing stunning visuals and looking like the kind of cinematic action adventure killer app that the Xbox family had always been desperately searching for. What we got was a disappointing mess that didn’t even come close to achieving what we had all hoped it would. Sure, it still looked good- but that’s about as far as it went with positives.

The Xbox One cult hit ReCore seems like it will remain a one off experience for a time, with Armature Studio working on two new projects aside from their continued support on Fortnite, but unfortunately confirming to a fan that a follow up to the action adventure title is not one of them.

In an email response to one fan, Reddit user Sargento_Osiris revealed to the world via a posted screenshot that confirms the current studio plans. Nothing further was announced as far as what those two original titles are, just that the potential of a ReCore 2 won’t be realized just yet.

Armature has yet to contact any media outlets to elaborate on this story, but Gamingbolt will be reporting when they do. So take this report with a grain of salt. ReCore was a Microsoft exclusive released in 2016 on Windows 10 and Xbox One, built by former Metroid Prime staff with the help of Keiji Inafune of Megaman Fame. Do you hope for a sequel? Let us know in the comments. 

Now available to download for those bathing in the light of glorious 4K power from Microsoft’s latest, ReCore has now received a patch to make use of the Xbox One X and its extra horses.

Announced on the game’s official website, the team shares that players can now enjoy the 2016 action adventure at an increased 1440p resolution, not quite the full 4K the system advertises, but a nice upscale anyways, and even those on 1080p sets should enjoy some kind of supersampling.

Releasing for both Xbox One and PC last September, the developers already did a definitive version of the game just this past August, which included enhanced visuals and additional content over the original game. Since the enhanced edition was delivered as a title update to existing owners already, would be explorers don’t have to worry about finding the right version of the game to get Xbox One X enhanced.

Note: This list is in random order.

Cuphead

The highly-praised, cup-tastic run and gun platformer Cuphead first earned notoriety for being exclusive to the Xbox One (later confirmed for Windows 10 and Steam as well). Its challenging gameplay would be another distinguishing factor but Cuphead stands out for many reasons. The Rubber hose animation style is unique and calls back to cartoons of the 40s while the boss design is great, actually leveraging the graphics to deliver compelling gameplay. If you haven’t, then Cuphead is definitely worth getting into despite its challenge.

Recently, it was revealed that ReCore: Definitive Edition would be coming and that a new mission, enhanced visuals and much more were in store. Now it seems something will be coming of this as Microsoft teased what’s next for the game on the official Twitter account.

The news will be revealed on August 20th and at this point, it’s somewhat safe to assume that this is ReCore: Definitive Edition. If it’s not, then it remains to be seen what the announcement could exactly be.

The teaser image in the tweet indicates that the long-rumoured fifth Corebot (the game launched with four but had a fifth spot available) could be added in to the game. Apparently the bot is a tank as per the image but again, we won’t know for sure until the developer confirms it. What’s interesting is the timing of the news as it’s happening prior to Gamescom 2017 in Cologne.

https://twitter.com/ReCoreGame/status/897535676744204288

It seems like Microsoft will be giving ReCore another crack at the market soon. The long rumoured ReCore: Definitive Edition is apparently real, according to what news editor Saurabh Charde from website Indian Noob is saying. According to sources close to him, it is due to launch later this month.

These sources claim that Definitive Edition will have HDR support, as well as enhanced visuals, in addition to a brand new mission called the ‘Eye of Obsidian’. There will also be a new Corebot included with this new edition of the game.

Apparently, Microsoft will be making this version available for free for anyone who already owns the game, in addition to of course selling it on the market as well. It is due to be announced at Gamescom this month, followed by a release on Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs on August 29. It remains to be seen how much water these rumours hold- but for now, all of this seems to sound believable enough, at least.

ReCore: Definitive Edition releases on August 29. Comes with:
– HDR
– High resolution graphics
– new mission called "Eye of Obsidian" pic.twitter.com/8VNJmbRhKu

— Saurabh Charde (@SaurabhCharde) August 10, 2017

Microsoft have tried pushing out a lot of new IPs this generation so far- they started this generation by pushing Ryse: Son of Rome and D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die for the Xbox One, then pushed out Sunset Overdrive the next year. This year alone saw them try with Quantum Break and ReCore, while next year sees them release Sea of Thieves and Scalebound.

The problem, of course, has been the uncertainty surrounding all of these new games- when Sony push out a new title, chances are that it will be developed further beyond that one game, and into a series or a franchise. However, at this point, are you really expecting a Sunset Overdrive, Ryse, or Quantum Break follow up? Especially given that the developers for all three of those games are now openly working on other projects not exclusive to Xbox One? At that point, can you even hope that Microsoft’s new IP next year will get follow ups, ever?

Speaking on Twitter, Xbox boss Phil Spencer discussed Microsoft’s need to balance the push for new IPs with commercial success, noting that new IPs need sales and room to expand if Microsoft is to look into developing them further. “Sales are part, IP has to have room to expand and team to expand. I’m always learning, sometimes painful, sometimes with a smile,” Spencer said on Twitter. In response to a fan stating that not knowing whether or not they will get to return to the world makes them enjoy a game’s characters less, Spencer added, ” It’s the same with TV shows or movies. But we’ve also all seen sequels that did as much harm as good. Balance is really tough.”

I suppose I must give Spencer credit for being honest here, if nothing else- at least he hasn’t strung people along with false hopes that every single game that Microsoft put out may be something that gets revisited eventually in the future. That said, I hope some of Microsoft’s new IP next yer fare better than their efforts so far have.

But on the whole, in 2016, it didn’t matter what platform or company you are most a fan of- you got some great games for yourself no matter what. The PC had a banner year, with hits like Total War: Warhammer and XCOM 2 dominating discourse, but even on the smaller, indie game front, it did well for itself, with breakout hits like Stardew Valley. Nintendo had a remarkably eventful year, with the Wii U getting an undignified, early death, after one last slate of admittedly great games (Pokken Tournament, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD, Tokyo Mirage Sessions, and Paper Mario Color Splash were all great, and I’m sure even Star Fox Zero has its fans, somewhere), but the 3DS awoke from its slumber, delivering hit upon hit, with Fire Emblem Fates, Monster Hunter Generations, Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse, Dragon Quest 7, Bravely Second, Final Fantasy Explorers, Yokai Watch 2, and of course, Pokemon Sun/Moon. Even the Vita continued to subsist quietly in the background, though its biggest games – Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma, World of Final Fantasy, and Dragon Quest Builders – were all multiplatform titles.

But for many, 2016 was the year when the PS4 and Xbox One war, which had begun to heat up last year, took some rather interesting turns. Oh, sure, the war was fought on a lot of traditional fronts, with new, slimline console revisions, price cuts, bundles, exclusive games, and aggressive advertising- but on the whole, Sony and Microsoft traded blows in battlefields that had never been contested before.

"2016 was the year when the PS4 and Xbox One war, which had begun to heat up last year, took some rather interesting turns."

At E3 2016, Microsoft made a rather shocking announcement- going forward, all Xbox first party games would also be available on PC day and date, as part of what is the most ambitious Cross Buy program ever attempted. The larger implications of a move like this are clear – Microsoft are attempting to build a gaming ecosystem across platforms, with Xbox itself becoming a hardware agnostic brand more than a line of fixed hardware consoles – and not too far in the future, we may see Microsoft in a dominant position in the industry because of this move. But in the here and now, it meant, and it means, that Microsoft no longer have any exclusives for the Xbox One at all- all games are available on at least the PC.

However, Microsoft were banking on something else, they were banking on there being little overlap between the PC and console gaming market, they were banking on the halo effect around their gaming efforts, with success on either Xbox or Windows feeding into the success of the other, and reinforcing it in the process, and they were just counting on regaining goodwill. Their gambit appears to have worked- because as much as the Xbox One now lacks ‘true exclusives,’ its sales saw a spike in the months following E3, with the Xbox One even managing to beat out the PS4 in several key territories for several consecutive months.

The sales spike can be attributed primarily to the Xbox One S, which was the mid cycle slim line revision that Microsoft introduced for their console, and which transformed their system from the ugly duckling to the beautiful swan- the Xbox One S is a slim, svelte and sexy machine, that is shockingly smaller than the original, with all around improvements on the original design, while adding several new features, such as HDR compatibility, 4K output, and a UDH Blu Ray drive for media playback. It was a complete and total win, and it gave Microsoft, finally, an appealing machine on the market that consumers were actually excited to buy. The Xbox One S is probably going to be the benchmark by which we measure all mid cycle revisions for consoles going forward.

The release of the Xbox One S coincided with several key exclusives for the Xbox One releasing, too- while Quantum Break was a mix bag earlier in the year, the twin launches of Gears of War 4 and especially Forza Horizon 3 propelled interest in the Xbox One to probably the highest it has ever been, finally giving would be buyers an exclusive that looked to be an absolute must have, and that simply wasn’t available on competing platforms.

"The Xbox One S is probably going to be the benchmark by which we measure all mid cycle revisions for consoles going forward."

It also helped that Microsoft continued with their push to be as gamer friendly as possible- they allowed mods to be available on the Xbox One with little to no restrictions, they continued improving their backwards compatibility offerings on Xbox One in quality and quantity, with several key Xbox 360 titles now being playable on Xbox One, and playable far better than they were on their native console. But perhaps, most importantly, Microsoft finally opened up Xbox Live earlier this year, allowing for full cross platform play between Xbox, and any other gaming service on the market.

In contrast, Sony is dropping the ball in a few areas such as their questionable policy towards the availability of mods on the PS4, ultimately allowing them to be available in a vastly truncated, stripped down form on the system. They raised the price of PSN without explanation, they delayed several major games into next year, they offered a Slim console revision that ultimately looked cheap and highly unappealing, and they continued not offering any form of backwards compatibility or digital continuity to their customers.

But all was not bad on the Sony front, no matter what first appearances might indicate- for instance, on the games front, arguably the most important one, Sony dominated this year, with the release of Rachet and Clank earlier in the year, followed by the release of the incredible Uncharted 4, capping the year off with the surprisingly poignant The Last Guardian. You buy a console to play games, and Sony were certainly firing on all cylinders on that front this year.

But Sony’s true focus this year was not on games, or even on competing with Microsoft- it was squarely on the future, as Sony forged on ahead with several forward thinking ideas, and a whole lot of new technology. Chief among these was the PlayStation VR, Sony’s throw of the gauntlet into the VR arena. The PlayStation VR looks to be a highly impressive piece of kit, especially for the price that it is available at, although it currently lacks any compelling software to justify a purchase.

"Sony’s true focus this year was not on games, or even on competing with Microsoft- it was squarely on the future, as Sony forged on ahead with several forward thinking ideas, and a whole lot of new technology."

Another bit of new technology from Sony was something that no one had expected, not so soon after the launch of the PS4- a brand new console. The PS4 Pro is a new console that iterates on the hardware in the PS4, offering a more powerful console that is capable of better graphics and 4K resolutions, while also maintaining full intercompatibility with the existing PS4. It is currently the most powerful home console ever, and if you want a PS4, you should look into spending the extra money and just picking up a PS4 Pro.

Amazingly enough, however, Sony managed to botch even the PS4 Pro- their messaging for the new console was all over the place, with Sony failing to communicate why owners of the standard PS4 should even bother upgrading to the PS4 Pro at all, and they had a misguided focus on pushing 4K with the new system- misguided, because the PS4 Pro is not powerful enough to push native 4K resolution for most games, having to resort instead to an admittedly ingenious upscaling technique called checkerboard rendering, and also because the PS4 Pro lacks compatibility with UHD Blu Ray drives, meaning it can’t play physical 4K media either- which comes off as a bit surprise, to be honest.

Even all that aside, the simple fact that the PS4 Pro plays all PS4 games better should have been a simple enough pitch- and yet, that doesn’t work either, since so many games that get PS4 Pro patches somehow end up performing worse on the more powerful console than they do on standard PS4 systems. It has just been a mess all around- and this is without getting to the elephant in the room.

You see, while the PS4 Pro is the first iterative home console ever released, it was not the first one ever announced. That honor goes to the Xbox One Scorpio, which Microsoft announced at E3 this year. The Xbox One Scorpio looks to be an update to the standard Xbox One in the same way as the PS4 Pro is an update to the PS4, at least conceptually- and conceptually is as far as the similarities go. While the PS4 Pro is a highly conservative and modest update, Microsoft went ham with the Scorpio, offering as much as 6TFLOPs of GPU processing power. Which is absolutely crazy and insane, and which gives Microsoft the most powerful console ever made when the Scorpio launches next year, ending the PS4’s power advantage over Xbox once and for all.

"The Scorpio doesn’t exist yet, and we don’t even know what its specs will be beyond the 6TFLOP target for the GPU, but the fact that the possibility of a far more powerful system existing has been raised means that the PS4 Pro was, to many developers and gaming enthusiasts, obsolete before it was even announced."

Discourse around iterative consoles has been dominated by the Xbox One Scorpio, and all discourse around the PS4 Pro has been overshadowed by the impending new machine- which is an ingenious trick by Microsoft. The Scorpio doesn’t exist yet, and we don’t even know what its specs will be beyond the 6TFLOP target for the GPU, but the fact that the possibility of a far more powerful system existing has been raised means that the PS4 Pro was, to many developers and gaming enthusiasts, obsolete before it was even announced- Microsoft have managed to win the war for mindshare for iterative consoles before their iterative console ever released.

And really, that perhaps is Microsoft’s greatest victory this year- Sony ended up launching three new key pieces of hardware, with PlayStation VR, PlayStation 4 Slim, and PlayStation 4 Pro, as well as two of their most acclaimed games ever with The Last Guardian and Uncharted 4, and yet somehow, Microsoft ended up dominating the news cycle anyway. Whether it was because of their continued backwards compatibility initiative, or their ambitious Xbox Anywhere program, or the Xbox One S, or their push for cross platform play, or the impending Xbox One Scorpio, or whether it was because of so many consumer friendly moves by Microsoft, such as some great games on Games with Gold, free games being offered to everyone as a goodwill gesture, the inclusion of the UHD drive in the Xbox One S, or the lax restrictions placed on the availability of mods on the system, Microsoft generally ended up winning a lot of brownie points this year.

Did they win 2016? I want to argue that they won in terms of simply doing more and having more of an impact. But if, in the end, you were simply looking for better games – and really, the games is what we’re all in this for, the games are really all that matter – then, yet again, PlayStation 4 was the winner in 2016. Yes, Forza Horizon 3 is amazing, and Gears 4 turned out surprisingly good, but neither came close to matching the trio of Ratchet and Clank, Uncharted 4, and The Last Guardian, not to mention the PS4’s continued dominance in the quantity of third party games, and quality (in terms of it playing them better).

But even if Sony won 2016 in terms of games, the ground is shrinking rapidly beneath them. Going forward, the hope is that Sony get their act together again, and not be so complacent, because as things stand right now, Microsoft is on the cusp of actually roundly beating Sony in all categories come 2017.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.