General gaming discussion

MikeRyan87 · 29-03-2026 12:46PM

Pulled the trigger on a PS Portal with the increase coming next week. Got it like new for 140e. Its absolutely awesome, having very good internet and the PS5 hardwired makes all the difference I'd say.

Can use in any room in the house. New increased bit rate and better quality 1080p made a massive difference too probably. Glad I stacked 2 years of cheap Premium for the Game Streaming.

So impressed so far.

Grumpypants · 29-03-2026 05:31PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124348758#Comment_124348758

140 euro is an absolute steal. It's honestly the best bit of kit you can pick up. I love mine. The screen is amazing. All the recent updates have made it so much better too. Cloud streaming from the PS+ catalogue , but also stream the games you own, or stream from your ps5.

I've found the cloud to be as good as direct streaming 99% of the time. But it doesn't suit every game. Older FPS that have floaty controls are not great. But stuff like red dead are brilliant.

Penn · 29-03-2026 06:32PM

Yeah the only issue I'd have with it in general is if you have to use what would be the touchpad, which can be awkward to use on the Portal.

McFly85 · 30-03-2026 11:48AM

Played MGS3 Delta and had a blast with it - the modern controls do make certain things easier(bosses are trivial now) but as a stealth sandbox it’s still brilliant. It looks great for the most part, definitely see some UE5 issues particularly when it comes to water, but nothing major.

Made me want to play the others, so I went through MGS1 and 2 again too. 1 is still pretty playable even if the radar makes stealth incredibly easy. Shadow Moses is my favourite setting, but I had forgotten that it basically ditches stealth about halfway through(the tower is shockingly bad).

2 is interesting - the soldiers are much more intelligent. They can see you from places you wouldn’t expect looking at your radar, there’s regular status checks so you can’t just kill everyone and go. It really encourages you to understand the area and the patrols and does feel great when you get through a particularly crowded area unseen. The story isn’t as convoluted as I remember either. The Big Shell is a dull location though and the boss fights are awful. And again - stealth is largely ditched by the time you leave to retrieve E.E.

Thinking about going onto the only game in the series I haven’t finished - 5. I remember it being so bloody long and having way too many systems(50 hours on my last playthrough before getting burned out). But it leaves you alone and the stealth is great. Dunno if it’s worth going back to though.

Penn · 30-03-2026 12:14PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124350578#Comment_124350578

The story in 2 isn't so much convoluted as it is just poorly told; and that's the issue with it - it's "told". Instead of "show, don't tell", it's just codec call after codec call after codec call. Usually between two people standing right in front of each other, who decide to have a codec call to avoid people overhearing, but really to avoid having to animate a full cutscene, which unfortunately then meant there were fewer limitiations on cutting down dialogue, so people end up repeating the same stuff over and over again.

At its core, it's a great story and has ended up being far more prescient of the digital age and the modern era than anything else. Also the core story of Raiden trying to emulate Snake and failing, and succeeding most when he stops trying to be Snake and instead is himself is great.

The boss fights as well are designed to emulate and subvert boss fights from MGS1. Some of them work, but yeah most aren't a patch on the MGS1 boss fights.

5 is great and I've often been tempted to replay it myself, having only played it once (think I had about 70 hours playtime when I stopped, having completed the main story and done a few more side things after). The staff/resource/base management stuff becomes fairly routine after a while, just occasionally checking in and approving things or researching new weapons. The gameplay is top notch though. The biggest disappointments are just the lack of boss fights and having to go through a lot of the same enemy checkpoints/bases as part of different missions.

It's hard to know if it's recommended giving another go if you'd previously put 50 hours in and got burned out, though having that foreknowledge, you might get through the game a lot quicker this time and sail past that.

Retr0gamer · 30-03-2026 12:34PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124350578#Comment_124350578

Don't ignore Ghost Babel. Secretly one of the best games in the series... Once you get over the cardboard box puzzle.

MikeRyan87 · 30-03-2026 01:06PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124350658#Comment_124350658

5 is great its just a pity it released so unfinished and Kojima didnt get to finish his story properly.

I still have MGS Ghost Babel physical. Box is a bit faded. Tempted to try and sell it. Might go down in value once the Master Collection Vol 2 is released?

Retr0gamer · 30-03-2026 01:18PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124350732#Comment_124350732

I've found selling my own games that digital releases don't really affect the value of a game.

MikeRyan87 · 30-03-2026 01:40PM

Maybe. I sold GC version of Paper Mario and TTYD to CEX before the Switch version was released for 110e plus. Its now 48e if you were to trade it in. But thats a bit different i guess.

Ghost Babel trade in is 89e cash for manual/box and 151e cash for mint. Mine is somewhere in between.

McFly85 · 30-03-2026 01:57PM

Loved Ghost Babel, should definitely be included in these new collections, I assume it’s not as it’s not a Kojima game?

Going to give MGS5 another go anyway, it plays brilliantly on the steam deck so won’t need the TV for it!

Zero-Cool · 30-03-2026 01:58PM

Went back to Spiderman 2, was only 4% complete when i gave up on it originally so went back to give it a proper go..... I really really really don't like it. It's so preachy. The writing is awful and I can't skip conversations and cutscenes quick enough. I had to do a 'walk around listening to this character' mission and had to uninstall the game. I'm raging as i love venom but can't bring myself to get through these boring missions and super generic combat.

johnny_ultimate · 30-03-2026 02:02PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124350868#Comment_124350868

Ghost Babel is included in the upcoming vol 2 collection I believe

dulpit · 30-03-2026 02:18PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124350872#Comment_124350872

Oh I really enjoyed Spider Man 2, I liked being able to switch between Peter Parker & Miles Morales and how both characters feel different. It does have a bit of a righteous tone alright, but no harm like.

Zero-Cool · 30-03-2026 02:22PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124350937#Comment_124350937

I love the open world mechanics, spiderman has always been my favorite superhero but the writing, in my short time playing, makes it all like "hey kids, being responsible is actually really cool". Made me miss og Spider-Man 2 game, the comics and the 90's cartoon.

Penn · 30-03-2026 02:52PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124350949#Comment_124350949

Well when it comes to the OG Spider-Man 2, if returning kids balloons and delivering pizzas doesn't teach kids that being responsible is really cool, then I don't know what does…

Nah in truth the new Spider-Man 2 can be a bit preachy, but admittedly I never felt it in any way got in the way of the game. Made for some decent side missions and starts to affect the story more later. But if the gameplay itself isn't enough to help you get past it, probably not going to change your opinion on it too much.

Potential-Monke · 30-03-2026 03:21PM

I'm with Zero here. I did power through and eventually plat the game, but those missions, and plenty of side missions are like that, annoyed me. It's why 1 is far better.

Zero-Cool · 30-03-2026 03:21PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124351035#Comment_124351035

It's just one of those things that feels by the numbers but i honestly don't know what else it could do to make me engaged other than Skip to main missions and let me get into the venom stuff. As for og Spider-Man 2, man those were simpler times alright, i remember how engaged i was trying to catch those balloons and how rewarding it felt. Where as, I'm finding it so hard to be impressed by this and i don't really know why.

Unearthly · 30-03-2026 03:26PM

I didn’t like Metal Gear Solid 5. Appreciated they tried to evolve the series but my god it was very long and repetitive. The story gets lost with the pace. It’s better when it’s a structured 8-14 hour game with a clear path and story.

Penn · 30-03-2026 03:32PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124351131#Comment_124351131

The mission structure in general was poor, especially when a) you have to do certain side missions (or a number of them) which will then trigger the next main story mission (but which side missions and how many isn't made clear), and b) in the second act you have to do more difficult versions of earlier story missions to unlock the next story missions. A lot of which is just all padding to justify the resource and base-building side of the game.

The open world in general was used well as it did allow for more experimentation, approaching bases from a different direction, enemies changing up their armour or patrols depending on how you've been attacking them previously. There were a lot of benefits to not just being a linear game. It just ended up being overused and becoming more of an annoyance as time went on.

MikeRyan87 · 30-03-2026 03:37PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124351119#Comment_124351119

Agreed i enjoyed it at the time but it was nowhere near as good as 1 or even MM.

I would never go back and replay it outside of swinging around the city.

Zero-Cool · 30-03-2026 03:41PM

MGS 5 has an amazing loop. Story is batshit as usual Ava the lack of ending didn't affect me too much until i watched the cut content and thought wtf did konami do, so glad kojima was able to get the f outta there.

Penn · 30-03-2026 03:43PM

Have to say I didn't mind SM2. The MJ bits were awful (as they were in the first game), and the game didn't feel like it had that special sauce that the first game did, but at the same time I thought the traversal felt better than ever (the web-gliding was glorious), the combat was improved as it was far easier to use gadgets mid-combo and they were more useful, better enemy variety, and I enjoyed the differences in Peter and Miles' abilities.

Zero-Cool · 01-04-2026 02:33PM

Booted up the PS5 and my welcome hub popped up with one of my screenshots from cyberpunk and that's all it took, reinstalled it and ready to go back to Night City. Just don't know if i continue my end game save and try for the platinum or go brand new save file with a different build and all different choices.

Corvo · 01-04-2026 03:22PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124351131#Comment_124351131

I absolutely hated it. I won't even start because I'll end up in a Hitler in Downfall style rant.

McFly85 · 01-04-2026 04:09PM

I’ve just restarted MGSV it and after playing 1-3 it’s an absolute joy. Stealth is just on the right side of challenging and there’s just so many ways to tackle a mission. And while I do love a Kojima narrative, after playing 3 games back to back it’s great to be basically left to your own devices for the most part.

I don’t know if I’ll last the whole game as it’s incredibly long and repetitive, and I don’t really care that much about the Mother Base stuff, but in terms of stealth gameplay its absolutely the best metal gear.

Potential-Monke · 01-04-2026 04:16PM

Was MGSV the one with end credits after every mission?

Penn · 01-04-2026 04:27PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124356252#Comment_124356252

Yeah, and some opening credits too, saying which characters were in the mission as your helicopter is preparing to land. Kojima wanted it all to feel like a TV show.

dulpit · 01-04-2026 04:55PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124355926#Comment_124355926

I have owned this game on Stadia (remember that?), Xbox and PC. I have yet to play it more than a short bit in.

Should I dive in sometime?

Anois_ · 01-04-2026 05:02PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124356368#Comment_124356368

Definitely. I only played it a few months ago. I still have the DLC to play but I said I'd give myself a break and play something else before tackling it not because I didn't like it. I played the Witcher 3 dlc straight after playing the game and rushed through them. So didn't get the full experience.

Penn · 01-04-2026 05:05PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124356368#Comment_124356368

Absolutely. It took me a few tries to get into, but they've improved the game so much that it's in a great place now. Takes a while to really get going, but it's worth sticking with.

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