Fun fact: the dualshock was not the first analogue controller for PS1. There was the dual analogue controller, the precursor, which came out in 97 and had an ever so slightly different design, but with no rumble (outside of Japan anyway).

The most interesting design difference imo is it had concave sticks, which we wouldn't see again until the DS4.

Some of the more dedicated retro historians here may know this already but I only learned of this recently and found it super interesting.

@MrGawain yes, and much like this game, I'm sure most ps6 games will be 2d side-scrollers. 🙄

@NintendoFanman could have fooled me, you sound like a child. Sad.

Wouldn't be interested even if it eventually came to PS5.

Port Gears Tactics though and now we're talking, that's an underappreciated gem. It might even do quite well in light of Zero Company's success 🤔

I've got the Thursday, Friday and Monday booked off. I feel for those who are excited but couldn't get any time off... I predict a sharp spike in the flu/suddenly dead nans on 19th Nov

@Nepp67 my countless hours spent faffing about in photo mode beg to differ. Oh yeah, and I ride bikes everywhere.

This is the best problem to have, but problem it is, because every time the smallest thing is added to this game I go 'welp, looks like I'm downloading Cyberpunk again'. Even if it's just to boot up for a couple of hours and muck about, I seem to take any excuse to play this game.

It's an all-timer.

Ah balls, I hope my ps5 never breaks or that 4k Blade Runner blu-ray was a waste of money.

@Mr-Cage to be fair i never got a console brand new because of money when I was a kid, although I rarely missed out because my dad was a gamer so I'd play his stuff.

I don't have kids but if I did, tbh in today's climate they'd have to make do with sharing my console, no way I could justify buying an extra one when for the first time in history, they're going up rather than down in price. And I felt perfectly privileged to have any access to games at all, so I think it would do kids some good.

Tough break for those kids without gamer parents though...

@ShadowRJ got an immaculate ps1 from CEX with a copy of MGS in very good condition, including manual, for about 30 all told.

It's great for certain things but yeah if the market is responding to a shortage then they will scalp like anyone else.

@tameshiyaku Outlaws is criminally (heh) underrated.

This was an adolescent fav of mine and I tried the demo, but christ, even with the new tweaks I found this hard work to go back to. This will have to stay a cherished memory for me personally.

I would have liked some more content a bit faster ideally, although obviously I get that it's better to let them cook. If it's just a few more more tacsim scenarios (I'm guessing so) not sure I'll reinstall until they've rolled out a few more, or maybe wait to see if they decide to do a story dlc.

Coming back to Hitman every like 18 months or so usually yeilds a decent amount of new stuff to do so perhaps that approach will have similar results here?

Well I'm with Asia here because I hated DD2. It's not even that I hate friction or difficulty in all forms, I'm a big FromSoft head, but everything about DD2 rubbed me up the wrong way. It was just... straight up belligerent and spiteful in its design imo.

@glennthefrog i think people might equate a poor adoption rate of PS6 with a lack of consumer goodwill, but realistically it'd be mostly down to the price, if the reports end up being true.

A vocal minority can grouse about things like physical media all they like and it makes little difference for the prospects of a product bought in the main by casual players who either don't care or were unaware of the controversy to begin with.

But if the thing is just too expensive to be affordable for those people then that's that.

@nessisonett I don't understand why it should take effort to run in a game. There are myriad ways in which a game can create engagement which is fulfilling for players... mashing a button to make a character run is not one. Basic traversal should be streamlined to facilitate more interesting mechanics elsewhere.

It's puddlegate all over again. Even if it is downgraded who actually cares? Even games that don't look cutting edge look nice enough these days and most of the time you won't be zooming into this lady's face.

If they have lowered detail it will be for a reason. Everyone would moan like hell if the game ran poorly and literally nobody would say 'but at least her face is detailed' 🤦

People seem to forget that the vast majority of users are not enthusiasts like us, who keep up with news and have strong opinions regarding decisions which don't have apparent relevance or consequence to the layman. They or their kids play their Fortnite, COD or Fifa and have absolutely no idea about the end of physical media or the furore surrounding it.

I'm not saying it isn't a worthy cause but realistically, there's very little that can be done when most of their user base is oblivious. So it comes down to whether you protest out of principle knowing it's futile or just throw your hands up and move on.

This game is a banger. Can't remember the last time I laughed so much playing with a group.

@Deadlyblack mate you do yourself a disservice by holding off. If you liked the first one, II is even better in just about every conceivable way.

Nice one, just come back from the pub on my day off hoping for a flick a bit of battlefield and then this. I suppose I'll bust the switch 2 out then.

@Balaam_ get real, why would they give the slightest toss?

@NoPhysicalNoBuy123 it's kinda pathetic to justify acting like a nob just because other people act like nobs. Grow up and be better maybe? Otherwise nobody will be willing to listen to whatever points you make, however legitimate they may be.

I'm in no way endorsing or condoning their decision but I'm already so bored of this discourse.

They need to stop.

I'm enjoying it.

Wait, so you're telling me that gaming discourse is full of interminable bores who are allegergic to fun?! Surely not...

Ehhhh. The weird thing about this game is that I enjoyed it a lot at the time, there's a lot it does well even though I recognised its flaws even at the time. But over time I've cooled on it massively and have no desire to return to it or try the sequel. Weird how that can happen sometimes.

Translation: we were actually provided time to put some effort in.

Rockstar can market however they please at this point because regardless of when they deign to release a new trailer, they know it will break the internet.

They could even not bother to market at all from this point and it will probably still make more money on launch day than the GDP of a small country.

@PeteW appreciate it, I'll check these out, thank you 😁

@carlos82 nice one mate, cheers!

@PeteW speaking as someone who has played a few shooters in VR but is unaware of many games that evoke these old light gun shooters, if anything like that exists could you recommend any please?

@Mythologue I'm a bit like that. Don't actually own any but I have considered trying the series multiple times. I just have a feeling I'll either hate it and resent myself for paying money for it, or I'll get horribly addicted to it in an unhealthy way. There's no logic behind that theory, just my intuition 😅

I'm so ready for this.

As a podcaster I like put it perfectly (paraphrasing): even if it doesn't quite have Naughty Dog levels of polish in the set-pieces, if it's 80% there it will be plenty good enough, because we just don't get many of these sorts of games nowadays.

@get2sammyb I seem to remember hearing about the car spawning thing way, way back. Not exactly sure where, could well have read it in a magazine. Those were the days...

I'm always interested in any turn-based tactics game, but I find that very few of them really scratch the xcom itch.

I do have a soft spot for Mutant year zero, gears tactics and even the first Mario + Rabbids (it's breezy fun and gets extra points for having co-op). All three I felt had a strong identity and played to their unique wrinkles rather well.

I'd imagine a Worms tactics game to lean more towards the casual end like M+R, which would probably make the most sense and seems to bear out looking at those screenshots.

Still, the one I'm really looking forward to is the Star Wars one.

I must admit I'm quite surprised this has done so well. That isn't to say it's not deserved, you simply can't argue with Capcom's consistent level of quality. But it's a kinda quirky game and a new IP.

It's good to have something like this come along and prove that taking a risk on a new property can pay off if you do it right.

I'm sure they knew that it was something of a niche proposition. But I think what people are missing is that if this was budgeted appropriately, it doesn't necessarily need to set the world on fire to be a success relative to that. I don't think it's for me... but I hope it pans out for them and they get to keep doing their thing.

Told you

Nah I was looking forward to this after the previous article and pretty much agree with most of your points, although I didn't last as long as you.

@Radekbejbl1 sure, because building a remake from the ground up which includes some entirely new content and then giving it away for free is a sound business strategy.🤦

@AlanWoke you have no taste.

@Dogbreath I'm sure I read somewhere that this one lets you save mid-run, so that might mitigate those issues. I bounced off Returnal pretty hard and that was one feature that, had it been included, may have persuaded me to have stuck with it a bit longer.

@themightyant except
a) it hasn't been shown to work in the slightest with myriad ways around it, and
b) you're now more at risk than ever when you have biometric data mixed in with data leaks.

Yeah, good one keeping everyone 'safe', don't be so naive.

How on earth can you have a 'slim complexion'?

Meanwhile I hear they're looking for someone with a long voice and hard-coloured eyes. Nonsense.

@lordzand ahhh, the classic 'it's not affecting me so it mustn't be a major issue' take. You know that's never washed right? Ridiculous stance.

Err, so what exactly qualifies someone as an 'analyst' anyway? It can't be their whole job, surely, because it appears to me that all they do is emerge from the woodwork once in a blue moon to spout absolute tosh before sodding off again.

Who's paying this clown? Because someone should tell them they bought a dud.

Crikey Liam, who pissed in your cornflakes? If its free for those who own it makes sense to provide a native PS5 version surely.

Not that I have a horse in this race personally. But companies want to keep their catalogue of titles relevant where possible and this is a bit of a cult favourite is it not?

The negativity for it IS a bit overblown. But put it this way - I'm a Bethesda fan too, I was excited for it, and it's the first of their games I couldn't finish.

It's not terrible, but ultimately it is a bit boring, to the point I wouldn't recommend it to anyone at full price. When it's in a sale, sure.

There are plenty of people who would have you believe it's worthless and of course they should be ignored, but equally don't listen to people who dismiss any criticism of it out of hand.

Be interested to know what you make of it in the end.

I'd wager that much of PlayStation's core user base are 30+, this is a generalisation but I was under the impression that those of us who are getting on a bit prefer more traditional, story based, probably single player games.

The kids or even those in their 20s by and large have grown/are growing up with things like Minecraft, Roblox and Fortnite as their major gaming touchstones.