The Hot Topic Returns

[one-armed dwarf]

Oh, Deus Ex is also a 10. Can't believe I forgot that one. Yeah the individual gameplay elements of it suck but it's still the most flexible game of that type in my view. To me 10 is more about overall excellence than perfection anyway

 

Lots of stuff like TOTK, Prey and maybe even Baldur's Gate 3 give it a good challenge in that dept tho

[shinymcshine]

Super hard as some games that were clearly 10/10 once don't necessarily age that well (esp. if 10 means it can't be improved in any way) - but something like Tetris on GB still holds up so that'll do for me.

 

 

[radiofloyd]

A few retro classics I would give 10/10 to:

 

Baldur’s Gate 2

Fallout 2

The Last Express

Sam and Max Hit the Road

 

I also think Ultima 7 The Black Gate is probably a 10/10 but I’d need to play more of it to confirm.

 

I think all of these games are pretty much the pinnacle of their genres.

 

Fast forward to recently:

 

The Witcher 3

Sekiro

Hollow Knight

Hades/Transistor

Outer Wilds

 

You could argue about whether some of those games are a 9.5 or a 10 but for me they were the standout games of the last generation.

 

There’s probably about 100 more games I’ve forgotten but those are some.

 

[DANGERMAN]

 some of these wouldn't get 10/10 if I was reviewing them now, but at the time of release

 

Virtua Fighter 2

Shenmue

Quake

The World Ends With you

Advance Wars

at least 1 Football Manager

Witcher 3

Garou Mark of the Wolves

Soul Calibur

 

 

feel like I'm forgetting a bunch

[retroed]

 

Donkey Kong '94

DOOM (1993)

Fire Emblem: Awakening

Hotline Miami 
Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting 
Super Mario World

Tetris

[Metroid66]

I'm just going to go off games that seemed when I was playing them to be on another level. I might have cooled on them since but I certainly remember getting a feeling of magic when engaged with the following:

 

Mario galaxy

Final fantasy 12

Fallout 3

The last of us

God of war 2

Re 4 

Ocarina of time

Oblivion

Gears of war

Deus ex human revolution

Metroid prime

GTA San Andreas 

[mfnick]

No one mentioned Burnout 3? That one as well then. 

[Maryokutai]

True, the fact that Criterion themselves couldn't even improve on it despite trying two more times says it all.

 

I just wish it had a proper soundtrack like B2, not this licensed nonsense.

[Nag]

 

Quote

Readers discuss what new consoles and gaming hardware they’re planning to buy in the near future, including the Switch 2 and PS5 Pro.

 

The subject for this week’s Hot Topic was suggested by reader Johno, who, with Christmas on the way, wanted to know if you’re already saving up for new hardware or if rumours of new consoles next year have caused you to pause your spending.

 

Even though Nintendo still haven’t officially announced it, a lot of people were getting ready for the Switch 2, although there was also plenty of interest in new PlayStation hardware, such as the Project Q and PS5 Slim.

 

[mfnick]

I’ll no doubt get a Switch 2, not sure if it’ll be at launch but I’ll definitely get it.
 

PS5 Pro or a Series Pro I’m not sure, this gen hasn’t even started yet so talking about an upgrade makes me really annoyed TBH. But if games start running at 60 on them which are 30 on regular consoles I’ll no doubt end up getting them. Maybe I should finally bite the bullet and just get a PC seeing as though frame rates are becoming more important to me as time goes on. 
 

Speaking of PC’s, first in line before any of this stuff is a Steam Deck. I want another one of those before anything else. I had to sell mine due to financial constraints but I really liked what little I used of it. 

[OCH]

Aside from WiiU, which I missed the boat on (as I didn't have anything from that gen). I've bought a Nintendo day one since the Gamecube. So I assume "Switch 2" will be no different. That said, whereas I'd be interested in the PS6 (someday) I have zero interest in a Pro version of what I already have. Much in the same way I couldn't care less about the OLED Switch model. 

 

As for PC, I guess I will have to get a new/better one at some point. However, I still consider PC too cost prohibitive to think of in the same way as a one off console purchase. The thought of a gaming PC doesn't even enter into my mind. 

[one-armed dwarf]

PS5 pro depends on exclusives I guess. I thought FFXVI played and looked like absolute shit on PS5, and usually I'm forgiving of framerates but you couldn't see shit half the time in that game due to how it looked and ran. I wonder how it would have played on a 'Pro'

 

I'd like a Switch 2, if it has backwards compatibility. Even just to play more Bayonetta 3, probably one of the most underrated games in that genre with how overlooked it was imo

 

PC is ridiculous nowadays. So expensive now and the gulf between mid and high end when it comes to running the next gen stuff is disheartening in a way it's never been. I use mine for everything and it has 99 percent of my library, so I justify it like that. At least you can turn ray tracing off though, and get a really good CPU (AMD or Intel) and pair it with an AMD GPU cause they don't skimp on VRAM like Nvidia do. That's what I might start recommending at this stage, fuck nvidia. Maybe Intel's GPUs might start getting good soon as well

[DANGERMAN]

PC I'm not planning in touching for a few years, but then I'm never planning on buying new parts, usually it's just a quiet gnawing need borrowing away in the back of my mind. As it stands though, I'm not likely to have the money spare for a new card any time soon, so while mine supposedly doesn't have enough VRAM, it's just going to have to be fine for a few years

 

In terms of hardware, there's a world where I buy an OLED Switch. I got mine fairly close to launch, I'm sure the battery is shite now, so a refresh would be good. Given that I exclusively play it handheld the OLED wouldn't be wasted, except that it's on the Switch. I suspect at this point, unless they clear them out, I'm just waiting on a Switch 2, which I'd buy. I think the only thing stopping me would be in Nintendo get all Nintendo about it and do something like make it so Switch games dont work on it, or make them run EXACTLY the same as on the original

 

PS5 Pro, never say never, but I'm not sure I really see the point in it existing in the next 12 months. I'm not against one in another couple of years, but realistically, what games have people played on PS5/Xbox that have ran bad and you feel it's actually down to a lack of power on the consoles? I can't think of much. Better RT and higher clocks to get higher frame rates, great, but if we're looking at another £500+ I think I'd rather just get a stupid graphics card

 

I would still like an analogue pocket. And some sort of Neo Geo. So in terms of hardware, it will be something stupid like that or one of those Chinese table top arcade machines for my new flat

[Sly Reflex]

Maybe some PC parts. I don't know really. Depends if I see anything that takes my fancy.

[spatular]

Yeah would definitely get a switch 2.

 

would like a new VR headset but theres oculus and psvr2 exclusives etc dont know which one to get.

 

pc could do with a graphics upgrade in the next year or so but with the way prices have gone there not sure ill bother.

[Maryokutai]

I could see myself trying to get a Playdate shipped to me. Dangerman's impressions and a general curiosity towards the games lineup and the development tools have turned this into something I'd like to play around with after all.

 

That's also pretty much it. While I could certainly see me being interested in Nintendo's next system, I can already see it being as impossible to get your hands on as a 2020 PS5 for a couple of months so I most likely aren't going to bother. On the Xbox front I'm satisfied with the Series X and I have neither interest nor space for another machine of that size so I'm most likely going to skip any kind of Playstation for this generation.

 

 

[DisturbedSwan]

Yeah would happily get a Switch 2 day 1, the OG Switch is a bit long in the tooth now graphics-wise so I'd love something that is at least a little comparable graphically with the current gen Sony/Microsoft systems or even a Nintendo device that matches what last gen systems were capable of really.

 

Assuming I can get a good price for my OG PS5 when/if the Pro comes out I'll likely upgrade, I did the PS4 > PS4 Pro upgrade and in 2021 did the OG Switch > OLED Switch upgrade, both only cost me about £100-£150 a time, net, as I sold the older console, meaning the outlay wasn't too bad. So if I could get £400 for my PS5 and the PS5 Pro is possibly £500 or £550 then I'd likely bite. Anymore than a £100-£150 outlay I wouldn't get one at launch and wait further down the line.

 

At the moment my whole gaming/console future looks a bit cloudy right now in general, I just don't get enough time to play and need to rectify that somehow. Whether that's getting a new GPU for my 2014 Gaming PC and hope all the parts on it aren't too long in the tooth to run modern games, getting a Gaming Laptop so I can play stuff in bed or on the couch, or possibly a Steam Deck and/or the new Sony Q thing (but latency in remote play means this won't be a goer unless they've somehow implemented some kind of solution to this when it comes out).

 

But yeah, PS5 Pro and Switch 2 will be Day 1 if funds allow really, I wouldn't get a Series X Elite or anything though as I've not used my Series X enough.

[one-armed dwarf]

With a 2014 PC you'd be better served starting with CPU and mobo I think. Even less visually intensive stuff now can put a CPU through its cycles these days, I'm mad bottlenecked on Baldur's Gate 3

[DisturbedSwan]

Yeah, that's what makes me lean more towards Gaming Laptop than anything I think, if I was going to go that route.

[radiofloyd]

My backlog has ballooned to enormous so I’m in no rush to buy anything. But realistically the next console I’ll buy will be a PS5 to play FF7 Rebirth. I’ll probably still end up playing it hooked up to my computer monitor though.