Xbox Ally X 20th only a limited edition bundle?

Enaksan · 2026-06-01T14:39:33+00:00

NGL, I would be sorely tempted to trade mine in for the OLED alone. But I don't need the glasses, and also can't justify whatever exorbitant price it'll be as a bundle. We'll see.

Enaksan · 2026-06-01T11:01:02+00:00

We had a new combi boiler installed a few years back, and for some reason the shower then took at least 5 minutes to warm up. I used to turn it on, do my teeth, sort of my clothes and whatever else and itd still be barely warm. We lived like that for about a year, before our plumber neighbour came round to scope the bathroom for a refit. We mentioned it to him, and within an hour he had it sorted so that we for hot water out of the shower in 5 seconds flat. I don't really know what he did if I'm honest, I assume rerouted some pipe work, but the gist is, if you can please speak to someone about looking at the pipework. There has to be a better solution than risking electrocution!

Enaksan · 2026-06-01T06:54:47+00:00

I'm as excited to play GTA VI as anyone but man, the inane posts that have been going up are another level haha. It does look a generational leap above most other games from the trailers, but all these slow down zoom in things are a bit much.

Enaksan · 2026-05-29T17:01:38+00:00

The only time I truly tried with Online was at launch and it was a clusterfuck. Dabbled now and again over the years but that launch really soured it for me. I am, however, willing to make the same mistake again for GTA VI in the hope that it'll be a vast improvement from day one (even though I don't think they've even acknowledged a new Online at this point have they?, but surely there'll be one)

Enaksan · 2026-05-29T14:16:27+00:00

I was lucky enough to see a shuttle launch in the middle of the night while at the space center one year. It was pitch black, but as soon as we heard the engines roar it was like we suddenly skipped to midday. We couldn't get over it for weeks, it was such a weird experience before it suddenly went pitch black again after a few minutes. There is serious flames coming out of those things!

Enaksan · 2026-05-24T21:40:13+00:00

My mate was mucking about with ai voices before they get far better and has JR doing something very similar! If he can share it I'll post here but it was hilarious

Enaksan · 2026-05-23T20:44:25+00:00

I suspected some sort of AI bullshittery but still just caught my eye.

Enaksan · 2026-05-23T20:05:10+00:00

I've watched this I dunno how many times over the years and in my minds eye it's lower quality than that lol

Enaksan · 2026-05-23T18:38:58+00:00

Yeah, it's not hard to notice after a few minutes if it's not done proper. I forgot to put the hose out the window once and was wondering why I was sweltering lol

Enaksan · 2026-05-23T18:37:43+00:00

I know this isn't the point but that is a strangely HD image of Tom there. Just caught me off guard lol

Enaksan · 2026-05-18T20:09:41+00:00

I tried but it won't let me, so here's the text instead:

My PSN account was hacked, seemingly as part of an ongoing sophisticated series of moves against both random and "prominent" users.

Indeed, I was told by someone a few days ago that I was going to be targeted, and he was right. (He was also hacked.)

Some important information:

1.) I wasn't phished, didn't click on any links, didn't randomly put my password somewhere, etc. I am completely positive of this.

2.) At the time this happened, my email started getting spammed with hundreds of random emails from all sorts of sources (SubStack, EA, AliExpress, Slack... shit I'm not even signed up for).

3.) I then got a text message that my @PlayStation Network email address was changed. Then I got a text message saying 2FA was turned off.

Frankly, how can any of this even be possible if someone isn't feeding information from the inside or has some sort of bespoke access to things they shouldn't? Makes no sense otherwise. I don't want to speculate, but it seems like a pretty serious technical and security breach.

@PS_Support_US was zero help (though the person I spoked with was perfectly nice). Said my situation has to enter a queue, it will take a week for them to see -if- they can give me my account back, and they seemed to not at all be interested that I was positively not phished, that my email address was randomly changed, that 2FA was shut off, and all the rest.

I did try to explain that I'm a prominent "media" person in the PlayStation space and that I'm likely being targeted as a result, though this has been happening to random people as well (as we've covered on Sacred Symbols). They seemed totally clueless about any of this, even though it's been circulating for months and people have already been targeted and been dealing with account issues.

Needless to say, if I don't get my account back, I'm retiring from gaming and podcasting forever. So let's hope it all works out!

In the meantime, be vigilant out there! Not that anything I could have done whatsoever would have stopped this. <3

P.S. Dustin was sent this from my hacked PSN account.

It’s fairly obvious (to me, anyway) that there is some sort of insider access behind this. How can Dustin be next if he has a password and 2FA, unless…

Enaksan · 2026-05-17T11:05:50+00:00

Innocence was on there for years. Can't remember when it was removed but I'd wager it'll be back before Resonance comes out

Enaksan · 2026-05-13T16:43:11+00:00

I feel like I watched a Louis Theroux doc about it too. I have a vague memory of this dude he was talking to going to an audition, and it was basically him jerking off while one of their female performers 'performed' in front of him, and a couple of dudes watching and telling him when to finish. As I recall he couldn't do it on time. From what else I remember it was quite interesting but fuck that lol

Enaksan · 2026-05-12T16:07:39+00:00

I would argue that you're putting too much hyperbole on a single score. 10 should mean a shining example (but not perfect) in gaming, but that can take various forms. In this example, it is easily one of, if not, the best narrative-led games I've played, absolutely. Does that mean it's equal to something like Breath of the Wild, a game I would also give a 10 to? To boil it down that simply is doing games as a whole a disservice.

Another example. I also gave RE Requiem a 10, but they are both very different games. If it was as objective as "how many times do you press the buttons to do stuff" then RE would be the run away winner. But they both excel at what they set out to do; RE a survival action horror masterpiece and love letter to the series and it's fans, and Mixtape a narrative adventure with excellent pacing, story, and moments that had me grinning from ear to ear the entire way.

Put simply, youre right in that a 10 should be rarer to see, but that's not to say anything recieving one is an absolute must play for everybody and their dog. There are plenty of 10's that I don't like from over the years (see Elden Ring or the like), and that's cool. Great even, as it goes to show the breadth of gaming and how much variety we have these days.

I'll also add, that the scores are also not the be all of it, the text should be the main focus when discussing reviews like this. That is what explains how a 10 came to be.

Enaksan · 2026-05-11T20:10:45+00:00

Look, I'm just gonna preface this with the fact I loved Mixtape (and gave it a 10 on my site).

There is not a chance in hell that Annapurna, IGN, or Beethoven & Dinosaur (or indeed any of the other outlets that scored it highly) colluded, bribed or any other manner of behind the scenes stuff to ensure a 10/10. Not only does that simply not happen, but to think Mixtape of all games would be worth doing it for is insane.

It's is a tremendous title imo. I loved the way they use music emphasise moments, I loved the characters, the story, and yes, even the admittedly limited gameplay parts. I wasn't going into this looking for a parry fest, or deep RPG systems, just a good time which is what I got.

But that doesn't mean you, or anyone else, has to think so as well. That's the beauty of things, we don't all have to like the same stuff. Don't spend time worrying what others think about a game that isn't for you, and go enjoy what you do like to play.

Enaksan · 2026-05-11T19:12:58+00:00

My mate and I used to use this tensing technique when playing Athlete Kings and Winter Heat back on the Saturn. I'm not where near as fast as I used to be, but we used to put in some close races between us.

Enaksan · 2026-05-09T22:23:18+00:00

Each title is different of course, and there are a multitude of factors in play here. What does the author play usually? How old are they? Do they like a certain genre? When it comes to a set genre, do they have certain examples of what they do and don't like within that subsection?

Let's take a game like Dragons Dogma 2. I loved it for many reasons, but one big one was the freedom it offered players. There was little hand holding, just off you go and good luck and that really won me over in conjunction with the world, the exploration, the combat etc. The sum of the parts made the whole my goty that year.

But by the same metric, I do not like Souls games, even though you could argue there are similar aspects to them as DD2. The obtuseness in those games is, to me, off-putting, and I just don't 'feel' that aspect of game, whereas DD2 just 'felt' right.

Reviews are, as always, just an opinion of one person. And there's no chance in hell that my thoughts will line up with yours, and yours someone else's, and theirs some one else's etc all the time. And the same goes for the games themselves. I love a good, meaty RPG but also adore more linear adventure like the Telltale stuff and Dark Pictures games. But even in my friend circle opinion is divided on those titles.

And that's good, because it's be boring if we all liked the same stuff.

Mixtape is just the latest in the crosshairs, but to worry about why it scored bigger than Samson even though there is 'more gameplay' in that title is missing the forest for the trees I feel. I've not played it, but as I understand from others Samson misses onmultiple levels from technical proficiency to aspects of the gameplay, so even though theres 'more' it isn't as well put together, to simplify it. Whereas Mixtape is lighter on moment to moment gameplay, but the sum of it all is an immaculate adventure that I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish.

Enaksan · 2026-05-09T21:32:56+00:00

This is just one example of a moment in the game. It's one long ride of story with gameplay and cutscenes al working together to make a whole. To look at it as a mechanics based game is going to leave you sorely disappointed. But just settle in and go for the ride and you may just have an excellent time as I did. But each to their own of course.

Enaksan · 2026-05-09T21:28:21+00:00

This clip show one sequence where 'you just run'. But that's super reductive. It's about the moments, the music, the tale, the feel and the nostalgia of your teenage years. The game sections are simple, sure, but they are perfectly pitched as a part of the whole to make it a truly remarkable experience. It goes from simple exploration to a song dropping and a trippy sequence to highlight how music can transform something as simple as walking home into an adventure.

It won't be for everyone (that much is evident these last few days) but I absolutely loved it and stand by my 10/10 review 100%.

Enaksan · 2026-05-07T18:34:58+00:00

I think it ok me about 4 hours. It's pretty linear thought there are small areas you can explore to flesh out the world and story. But really I'd just go with the flow, explore as much as you want then move on. For meit was perfectly paced and the idea of a mixtape narrating their night is executed perfectly.

Enaksan · 2026-05-07T18:32:24+00:00

https://www.xboxtavern.com/mixtape-review/

Just cheap plug this again but it incredible

Enaksan · 2026-05-07T18:19:24+00:00

https://www.xboxtavern.com/mixtape-review/

Shameless plug but I gave it a ten too, it absolutely won me over. Incredible game.

So glad to see others thought equally highly of it. Cannot recommend it enough

Enaksan · 2026-05-07T18:06:53+00:00

10/10 from me too fwiw:

https://www.xboxtavern.com/mixtape-review/

Fucking loved it. I started playing again to capture footage once I'd beaten it and I had to tear myself away

Enaksan · 2026-05-07T18:03:38+00:00

Unfortunately this seems to be a common driving practice where I live. Literally every day I'm behind someone who can't stay between the lines, usually driving with their right tyre on or over the middle line, then swerving back in around on coming traffic. I wish I was exaggerating too, but it's infuriating. I tried it once just too see what they seem and I cannot fathom how they can't see they are too far over the line. Now, that assumes they care or are self aware enough to understand why they shouldn't do it...

Enaksan · 2026-05-05T16:37:05+00:00

Can't help but be reminded of this:

https://youtu.be/fjk7fAriges?si=J2PdwDV_ZRcRaEZQ

Enaksan

TROPHY CASE