@Dan12836666 Nonsense. I buy Nintendo consoles almost exclusively to play mario games. Would be much handier if they were available on PlayStation, which has been my main format since 1997.
Anyways, of the three I played - Yotei was a boring sequel. Could've saved myself the entry fee and played Tsushima again.
Expedition 33 for me is The Emperor's New Clothes and wholly overrated. Great battle mechanics, but that's it. The stages were little more than pretty but empty boxes to run around.
Death Stranding 2 is my top game of the year, albeit I've only played 16 hours so far.
@JDINCINERATOR At the same time, it's not really more Elden Ring. Like if I'm playing ER as a newcomer to Fromsoft and want more of that sauce, I'd be looking to maybe Dark Souls 3 because Nightreign sure as fudge ain't it.
And it's a spin off game. Far Cry Primal was a spin off to Far Cry 4, as it certainly wasn't an expansion.
After sacking Sonic Racing Crossworlds off after an hour (there's far too much RNG chaos for this to ever be enjoyable), I've been getting stuck into Death Stranding 2. Have pumped 14 hours into it so far this week (about 8 of them on my "me" day yesterday) and am absolutely loving it.
Debating something in the sale - both the new Shinobi and Ninja Gaiden Ragebound have my attention. As does Absolum. Will pick up one of them over the weekend for sure.
@4st7lb Indeed. Did similar in 2017. Sat in my undies all day by myself watching Breaking Bad and playing South Park The Fractured But Whole. Ate pizza, drank beer. I had a good day.
@Krlozgod Strange take. Not everyone celebrates Christmas the same way - or not at all. There's definitely going to be people connecting with each other over online games.
I'd also imagine that a lot of people who will play this will slot it in at some point over the day and won't be on it for 15 hours. Like I'll be playing Death Stranding 2 today (so I hope the servers for that are okay), but that'll be tonight at 10pm after a day of food prep, cooking, hosting, visiting, and before I sit down at the console I'll be walking at least 10km.
And even if you are on it 15 hours, so what? As a former retail worker I can safely say a lot of people will only get today (and maybe tomorrow) off if they're lucky, and just want to veg out and not engage with anyone. Christmas 2009 saw me mostly sitting on my bum playing Uncharted 2, (as I was working retail and also had university exams in January). I caught up properly with family and friends when my job hit the January lull and my exams were done.
@Korgon Reading a bit about him on Wikipedia, EA moved development of Medal of Honour in-house, Activision took Infinity Ward on and got Zampella and Co. working on a game codenamed "MOH Killer". And that game turned into Call of Duty.
@Korgon Titanfall 2 is the perfect distillation of everything great about videogames. Easily one of the best I've ever played, and I've been gaming regularly since 1992. Also the only game on my 16 year old PSN account to have more than 1,000 hours played (plus about 350 on Xbox).
I don't think it's "indie", but it's clearly miles away from big budget. The areas of the game, while pretty to look at, are empty bar the usual collectibles and combat encounters.
@Balaam_ You're still not grasping that games aren't designed exclusively to cater to your OCD (said with respect as someone else with OCD, that just doesn't manifest like this).
@SMJ That'd be an amazing entry point for sure. But good luck sticking an SSD in there, and slightly upgraded internals. Sure a Dualshock 4 would set you back half the price just to begin with.
Plus the redesign wouldn't drop from the sky. Small amount of R&D, plus a dedicated fab process
@SMJ Who would it sell to, exactly? The PS4 is effectively at the end of its lifespan, this device wouldn't appeal much to current owners. If you don't own one by this point, you either don't have interest in it, or can't afford it. And if you can't afford it, then a second-hand standard PS4 would be a much cheaper option.
PS5 owners sure as heck aren't coughing over the few hundred quid for one either.
They let you buy the various soundtracks and new stages with the Drive Tickets, so hopefully this is the same.
Funny how people bemoan that fighting games don't reward you with extra content these days for playing them, when this is precisely what Drive Tickets do.
Enjoyed what I played of Wo Long on Xbox, so that's a nice get.
AC Mirage is my least favourite game in the series. They stripped out the melee for a "back to basics" stealth game, but the stealth is both jank and not at all fun.
Soul Calibur is the highlight there. While it's a step back from SC2, it's still one of the best games in the series (and miles ahead of 4).
@LifeGirl @DennisReynolds Tekken 1 was pretty ass? Funny, reading the magazines back in 1994/5 (yeah I'm old) said otherwise. See LifeGirl's comments. And my own subjective experience of it. I played the arse out of Tekken 1, and that was after I got Tekken 2.
Street Fighter 1 - now that was ass. Tekken 2 and 3 were perfect sequels, but the series arrived fully formed with Tekken 1.
@DennisReynolds I mean, Tekken 1 is obviously jank by virtue of being a 30+ year old game and the birth of the series, but it was a much better game and coherent experience back then vs. what T8 is offering today.
Comments 1,533
Re: Fans Can't Believe How Much Sword and Fairy 4's Remake Looks Like Clair Obscur
@doctommaso Nah, I play games for the gameplay, not the story. Doesn't matter how good it is.
Re: Fans Can't Believe How Much Sword and Fairy 4's Remake Looks Like Clair Obscur
@Oram77 Yeah it's so bizarre.
I enjoyed the 20 hours I played of E33, but I never felt it's the second coming as some people seem to be touting it as.
Re: Fans Can't Believe How Much Sword and Fairy 4's Remake Looks Like Clair Obscur
@clvr Ah yes, because artistic direction didn't exist on PS2 or Xbox 360...
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 613
@Northern_munkey Shinobi has been bought and installed! As has The Crew Motorfest for some brain-dead arcade racing.
I might boot them up, but there's so many packages to deliver 😂
Re: Game of the Year: #4 - Ghost of Yotei
If Tsushima never existed this would have been a 10/10 experience. But it does, and this is just a tweaked version of that game.
7/10.
Re: Silent Hill Producer Aims to Release One New Game Per Year
Ah quality control, we hardly knew ye.
Re: Game of the Year: #5 - Dispatch
@Stevemalkpus Yes. Hollow Knight is overrated in the extreme.
(Oooh, that's that, a personal opinion? See how this works now?)
Re: Game of the Year: Best PS5 Story Game of 2025
Found this to be a meh story. Really don't understand the hype for this game at all.
Re: Ex-PlayStation Boss Believes Exclusives Make Consoles 'Sing'
@Dan12836666 Using the same logic then all third party/multiformat developers are lazy by default.
Re: Ex-PlayStation Boss Believes Exclusives Make Consoles 'Sing'
@Dan12836666 Nonsense. I buy Nintendo consoles almost exclusively to play mario games. Would be much handier if they were available on PlayStation, which has been my main format since 1997.
Re: Game of the Year: Liam's Top 5 PS5 Games of 2025
Anyways, of the three I played - Yotei was a boring sequel. Could've saved myself the entry fee and played Tsushima again.
Expedition 33 for me is The Emperor's New Clothes and wholly overrated. Great battle mechanics, but that's it. The stages were little more than pretty but empty boxes to run around.
Death Stranding 2 is my top game of the year, albeit I've only played 16 hours so far.
Re: Game of the Year: Liam's Top 5 PS5 Games of 2025
@JDINCINERATOR At the same time, it's not really more Elden Ring. Like if I'm playing ER as a newcomer to Fromsoft and want more of that sauce, I'd be looking to maybe Dark Souls 3 because Nightreign sure as fudge ain't it.
And it's a spin off game. Far Cry Primal was a spin off to Far Cry 4, as it certainly wasn't an expansion.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 613
@Northern_munkey Hot sauce, think I'll pick up Shinobi so, cheers! 🍻
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 613
After sacking Sonic Racing Crossworlds off after an hour (there's far too much RNG chaos for this to ever be enjoyable), I've been getting stuck into Death Stranding 2. Have pumped 14 hours into it so far this week (about 8 of them on my "me" day yesterday) and am absolutely loving it.
Debating something in the sale - both the new Shinobi and Ninja Gaiden Ragebound have my attention. As does Absolum. Will pick up one of them over the weekend for sure.
Re: PSN, Fortnite Down as Servers Melt on Christmas Day
@4st7lb Indeed. Did similar in 2017. Sat in my undies all day by myself watching Breaking Bad and playing South Park The Fractured But Whole. Ate pizza, drank beer. I had a good day.
As long as you're happy, that's all that matters.
Re: PSN, Fortnite Down as Servers Melt on Christmas Day
@Krlozgod Strange take. Not everyone celebrates Christmas the same way - or not at all. There's definitely going to be people connecting with each other over online games.
I'd also imagine that a lot of people who will play this will slot it in at some point over the day and won't be on it for 15 hours. Like I'll be playing Death Stranding 2 today (so I hope the servers for that are okay), but that'll be tonight at 10pm after a day of food prep, cooking, hosting, visiting, and before I sit down at the console I'll be walking at least 10km.
And even if you are on it 15 hours, so what? As a former retail worker I can safely say a lot of people will only get today (and maybe tomorrow) off if they're lucky, and just want to veg out and not engage with anyone. Christmas 2009 saw me mostly sitting on my bum playing Uncharted 2, (as I was working retail and also had university exams in January). I caught up properly with family and friends when my job hit the January lull and my exams were done.
Re: Game of the Year: Robert's Top 5 PS5 Games of 2025
Agree with the one. Gonna get further stuck in over the break (which is to say, I'll probably get an hour in front of it).
Re: Game of the Year: Best PS5 Indie Game of 2025
@Oram77 It was on my "might buy over Christmas" list, but with that info it's a definite sale now
Re: Vince Zampella, Call of Duty Co-Creator and Respawn Boss, Tragically Dies Aged 55
@Korgon Reading a bit about him on Wikipedia, EA moved development of Medal of Honour in-house, Activision took Infinity Ward on and got Zampella and Co. working on a game codenamed "MOH Killer". And that game turned into Call of Duty.
Mission accomplished, and then some.
Re: Vince Zampella, Call of Duty Co-Creator and Respawn Boss, Tragically Dies Aged 55
@StitchJones I think you mean "the arcade years of Street Fighter 2".
Re: Vince Zampella, Call of Duty Co-Creator and Respawn Boss, Tragically Dies Aged 55
@Korgon Titanfall 2 is the perfect distillation of everything great about videogames. Easily one of the best I've ever played, and I've been gaming regularly since 1992. Also the only game on my 16 year old PSN account to have more than 1,000 hours played (plus about 350 on Xbox).
RIP to the chap.
Re: Game of the Year: #10 - Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
Nope, too chaotic. RNG BS AI isn't fun to play against.
Re: Over 6,000 PS5, PS4 Games Discounted in Gigantic PS Store January Sale
@4st7lb Wooo, Boys For Pele.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 612
Very tempted to pop into my local Smyths this evening on the way home. They have Sonic Crossworlds and Death Stranding 2 for €40 a pop.
Re: PS Plus Members Can Save Big on These 20 PS5, PS4 Games in PS Store's January Sale
I was thinking of picking up Forza Horizon 5, and you reminded me how utterly frustrating the AI is.
Re: PS Plus Members Can Save Big on These 20 PS5, PS4 Games in PS Store's January Sale
@DogPark Because some people want to play these things before/during Christmas at the discounted price?
I think it's BS that access is hated behind the Plus sub, but that doesn't mean that people won't take advantage of the offers right now.
Re: PS5 Wins a Nightmarish November for All Console Hardware in the US
@nomither6 I'm full convinced you're 14 years old because your use the dollar sign for an S almost every single time.
Re: The FIFA Video Game Will Return, on Netflix of All Places
Aside from it sounding horrible in general, the various latencies with this (streaming gameplay, mobile to TV controller) would be borderline comical.
Re: PS5 Wins a Nightmarish November for All Console Hardware in the US
That and the fact that the US is a failed state not even trying to hide their descent into full-on Christo-fascism.
Re: Talking Point: With Expedition 33 Winning Best Indie Game, What Does 'Indie' Mean to You?
I don't think it's "indie", but it's clearly miles away from big budget. The areas of the game, while pretty to look at, are empty bar the usual collectibles and combat encounters.
Looks like a PS1 game with much shinier graphics.
Re: Disappointment as PS2 All-Timer SoulCalibur 3 Launches on PS5, PS4 without Trophies
@RadioHedgeFund I can still hear the music from Cervantes stage in my head!
Re: Disappointment as PS2 All-Timer SoulCalibur 3 Launches on PS5, PS4 without Trophies
@Balaam_ You're still not grasping that games aren't designed exclusively to cater to your OCD (said with respect as someone else with OCD, that just doesn't manifest like this).
Re: Disappointment as PS2 All-Timer SoulCalibur 3 Launches on PS5, PS4 without Trophies
No disappointment here. In fact, joy. Trophies are a pox on gaming.
Re: Baldur's Gate 3 Dev's Divinity: Original Sin 2 Out Now on PS5, Offers Free Upgrade
What's actually improved in this version? Might pick it up at the current sale price (had it on disc but moved it on eventually) if its 60fps.
Re: PS4 Will Still Get New Games in 2027
@SMJ That'd be an amazing entry point for sure. But good luck sticking an SSD in there, and slightly upgraded internals. Sure a Dualshock 4 would set you back half the price just to begin with.
Plus the redesign wouldn't drop from the sky. Small amount of R&D, plus a dedicated fab process
Re: Poll: How Would You Rate Cyberpunk 2077, 5 Years Later?
@RoomWithaMoose Sorry it took a while to reply, but that's a great answer and I appreciate you taking the time to go into the detail.
I'm actually going to go and watch his review next chance I get.
Re: PS4 Will Still Get New Games in 2027
@SMJ Who would it sell to, exactly? The PS4 is effectively at the end of its lifespan, this device wouldn't appeal much to current owners. If you don't own one by this point, you either don't have interest in it, or can't afford it. And if you can't afford it, then a second-hand standard PS4 would be a much cheaper option.
PS5 owners sure as heck aren't coughing over the few hundred quid for one either.
Re: Star Wars Racing Games Are Back in Galactic Racer, Out for PS5 in 2026
@charbtronic WipEout fans, F-Zero fans, Star Wars fans?
I hear there's quite a few of the latter.
Re: Street Fighter 6's New Battle HUD Setting on PS5, PS4 Is So Simple Yet So Fun
@AnthonySam What are we asking that they're not doing, exactly?
Re: Street Fighter 6's New Battle HUD Setting on PS5, PS4 Is So Simple Yet So Fun
@PuppetMaster Right on the money, good sir/ma'am.
Nothing like dropping a few thousand Drive Tickets on challenger images to make me stick with a character online for a bit lol.
Re: 30+ PS5, PS4 Games to Buy in PS Store's The Game Awards Sale
@Leetware1 Pound Sterling is UK money, not European.
Re: Street Fighter 6's New Battle HUD Setting on PS5, PS4 Is So Simple Yet So Fun
They let you buy the various soundtracks and new stages with the Drive Tickets, so hopefully this is the same.
Funny how people bemoan that fighting games don't reward you with extra content these days for playing them, when this is precisely what Drive Tickets do.
Could be time for me to buy Season 3.
Re: Poll: How Would You Rate Cyberpunk 2077, 5 Years Later?
@4fold That's certainly a choice...
Re: Poll: How Would You Rate Cyberpunk 2077, 5 Years Later?
@RoomWithaMoose What's so "perfect" about that? What exactly makes the game stupid? And what makes videogames stupid?
A lot of people would opine that Rogers' opinions and style of writing is far more stupid.
Re: 9 PS Plus Extra, Premium Games for December 2025 Announced
Enjoyed what I played of Wo Long on Xbox, so that's a nice get.
AC Mirage is my least favourite game in the series. They stripped out the melee for a "back to basics" stealth game, but the stealth is both jank and not at all fun.
Soul Calibur is the highlight there. While it's a step back from SC2, it's still one of the best games in the series (and miles ahead of 4).
Re: PlayStation Wrap-Up 2025 Live Now, Get Your Gaming Stats for the Year
I had about 1,200 hours last year and that felt like a step back for me.
351 this year. Been long suspecting it, but gaming feels kinda dead for me personally.
Re: Mini Review: Skate Story (PS5) - The Most Unique, Most Stylish Skateboarding Game to Date
Just a heads up that it runs so poorly on PS5 that John Linnemann from Digital Foundry is trying for a refund...
https://bsky.app/profile/dark1x.bsky.social/post/3m7il3oi2ok25
Re: Tekken Director Katsuhiro Harada Announces Departure After 30 Years at Bandai Namco
@LifeGirl @DennisReynolds Tekken 1 was pretty ass? Funny, reading the magazines back in 1994/5 (yeah I'm old) said otherwise. See LifeGirl's comments. And my own subjective experience of it. I played the arse out of Tekken 1, and that was after I got Tekken 2.
Street Fighter 1 - now that was ass. Tekken 2 and 3 were perfect sequels, but the series arrived fully formed with Tekken 1.
Re: Tekken Director Katsuhiro Harada Announces Departure After 30 Years at Bandai Namco
@Oram77 Agree completely. The Heat system is straight up doggy doo doo.
Re: Tekken Director Katsuhiro Harada Announces Departure After 30 Years at Bandai Namco
@DennisReynolds I mean, Tekken 1 is obviously jank by virtue of being a 30+ year old game and the birth of the series, but it was a much better game and coherent experience back then vs. what T8 is offering today.