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With my only experience of 3D World being the style in Super Mario Maker 2 (it's the worst style), it's still strange and cool to see it in 3D. Looks good!

Some amazing artwork there, I love how ominous it is.

Dragon Quest XI or ban

More like a Golden Oozaru. Against Bowser's regular Oozaru.

You know what's funny? People were disappointed that 3D World didn't have online on Wii U and @Serebii kept repeating that it's because the game featured 'precise platforming' that wouldn't work online. I love how poorly that aged because we all knew it was BS. Good on Nintendo for adding online this time round - I'm definitely interested in some 4P chaos.

Indeed. I look forward to playing as Ultra Instinct Luigi.

Seems unlikely.

Ready to make my first 2021 post! It's been a long time coming, but it's finally done. After 165 hours of recorded game time (but surely 200+ hours in practice), I finally finished: Fire Emblem: Three Houses I feel so attacked right now After months and months of slow progress, I finally beat my first (and hopefully the longest) campaign in this game. I've been intentionally exploring as many aspects of the game as I could (trying to master several classes, complete every paralogue that came my way, went for a few rare beasts, read the vast majority of the dialogue, saw every single support, etc.), hence the long playtime. For future playthroughs, I'll likely be much more efficient, even if I keep focusing on the plot. As a whole, I actually liked the different pace of the game, compared to other FEs. In Garreg Mach, we can talk to our units during peace time, read up the lore at any time, interact with other characters in smaller situations that make sense, influence character growth and supports a lot easier... On one hand, it becomes easy to exploit the best paths, but on the other hand, Maddening exists. Loved playing as the Golden Deer, and I definitely enjoyed soaking the world's lore from that perspective. In fact, I love how this game possesses such a thick lore, but rarely spells it details out loud. So many reveals weren't reveals at all, but left for the player to find or figure out for themselves (or even just talked about in a different route). Also, it's fair to say Claude is now one of my favourite lords in the series, and I now want a prequel starring his parents, Blazing Blade style. Plot-wise, there's a lot to dissect, but I'm overall very pleased. It's a bold choice to do a grey conflict like this again (being able to choose any of the sides), but they actually managed to do it very well, and I enjoyed the results. The worldbuilding is fascinating, and its conveyed in a subtle way that reminds me of Elibe, which as high a praise as you get from me. Even without the lore, the characters on their own easily carry the game. The writing and voice acting are easily on the same level of Shadows of Valentia, and that helps in creating a huge lovable cast you can easily get attached to. I also want to give a shout out to Tea Time, a surprisingly good "Date Simulator", even if I think it still needs some extra polish. Shamir, why do you keep hurting me with truth? Gameplay-wise, I like all the toys we're given. The gauntlets, the gambits, the monsters, the combat arts, the utility spells, the various Rallies, the versatility of picking your dancer... Lots of good stuff, once you understand how it all mixes together. My main complaint is that the endgame jobs are so weirdly implemented (Why does Mortal Savant feel worse than Swordmaster? Why aren't Assassin, Fortress Knight, and Paladin considered Master Classes? How am I supposed to build a Great Knight? Why the fuck are fist-leaning classes barred from women? Heck, why are the Dark Magic classes male-only, when only 3 people learn dark magic, and two of those are women?!), resulting in a system that feels far more rigid than it should be. The DLC classes help in this regard, but I do think they're patching an issue that shouldn't be there in the first place. (P.S.: I don't like Divine Pulse, and that's all I'll say) Map design was unimpressive. A lot of missions had cool ideas in a vacuum, but bizarrely designed maps (like, a lategame map has a treasure chest in a far away corner, surrounded by enemies. If you risk going there, you're rewarded with... a Brave Sword that you can buy in Garreg Mach. Why even?). I thought the most impressive thing about the second half of the game is that you're implicitly encouraged to spare enemies and finish missions super quickly (something that barely any FE game has convincingly done), but I can't help but feel that this was a fortunate accident. Presentation-wise, a lot of fun has been made of jpeg oranges. Rightfully so, they're hilarious. But overall, the graphics are more than serviceable, what matters is that the anime cutscenes look great, and the art style is expressive, memorable, and bright. Music-wise it's phenomenal, with some impeccable music choices in key moments, using a soundtrack that's gorgeous on its own (I had listened to Chasing Daybreak before, but hearing it in context is to experience it properly). I'm also personally proud that I managed to avoid hearing a single note of God-Shattering Star until I reached that battle myself. There are a few other flaws scattered throughout the game, though to avoid rambling (like with the job system above), I'll just say that there are a lot of rough edges in design and/or writing through the game still. It's normal for a game of this scope, and minor in the grand scheme of things. I'm only saying that, as much as I loved this game, I'm not blind to its flaws. tl;dr Narrative..........5/5 Characters.......5/5 Mechanics........4/5 Map Design......2/5 Graphics...........3/5 Music................5/5 Game Length.................................................../5 Overall, an ambitious (but still excellent) game that accomplishes most of what it wants to do. Can't ask for more. It might be in my personal Top 3 for the series, but it's hard to say right now. In the future, I'll play the Cindered Shadows missions (I bought the DLC some time ago), followed by a Crimson Flower run. Just not right now. After finally felling this juggernaut, I can be content with 2020. As for 2021, it feels like an open book right now. I want to do more of my physical backlog, but I'm also pondering a potentially fun way to help thin out my digital backlog... Hopefully I'll put it into practice this month.

GameXplain Good Vibes Gaming trailer analysis: Also, the fact that Mega Fury Bowser is called God Slayer Bowser in Japan is hilarious to me

I like this one.

Going to third that Dragon Quest XI recommendation by @Hero-of-Time and @drahkon, that game is nothing but an absolute delight

Either Dragon Quest XI, Alan Wake or A Plague Tale.

Wasn't planning to, but having now spent some time with the Insect Glaive I'm thinking I will! Messed about with that weapon type briefly in a previous MH game and hated it, but in Rise I'm kind of loving it. Reckon it'll take me quite some time to master (especially after spending so much time using the hammer) but combined with Wirebugs you can basically fly with this thing! It also has a very neat trick up it's sleeve that feels like it'll be particularly useful in this version of MH: Going to fire up MH World in a bit, take it for a spin on that.

Banjo Kazooie, Terry and Byleth are up on the official Nintendo site GO GO GO GO

Looks awesome to me. Have had it preordered from ages ago so can’t wait to play again.

I've just got Able Sisters to open and found out about custom designs. Someone created this AMAZING Beast costume and I love it!

Oh it’s gonna have online... but nobody said anything about it actually being functional here I expect a complete shitshow; just like with SMM2’s online multiplayer.

Thought he looked like a Mario-ised Lion-O myself!

Did Mario just turn Super Saiyan Giant Cat?!

Same for me. I got the entirety of Hitman I for free as the devs gave away each episode over time. Played it once, liked it but had other stuff to play which I liked more Think I'll wait for Hitman II to be free and then get the third installment further down the line since you can play all levels from the first two games in the third one.

Oh yeah, and I'm the one with no taste... In all seriousness, though: Fair enough. I'm actually quite happy that Destruction AllStars will be a PS+ game. It's gonna be an expensive video gaming year for me so anything that keeps money in my wallet is appreciated Aside from Hitman III I literally want every game from that list.

Still not too much I'm interested in on that list. I really want a release date for Ratchet and Clank. That's when I'll probably pull the trigger and get a PS5...providing that they have sorted out the stock issues by then.

For a Sony console that is also well supported by big third party games this is really good.

If I buy the game I'll be sticking with the LS. It's served me well all these years and I prefer rolling and dodging to blocking. I wonder what the future plans are for this game? Past entries and World all featured substantial free DLC in the form of quests and items and I'm hoping Capcom don't try to chase the dollar and start making these things paid DLC.

The comments will be furious when Bowser's Fury is shown to be like Bowser's Minions!

Game Giveaway We have acquired a European Switch eShop code for The Hong Kong Massacre from the publishers of that game, UntoldTales. This is currently running at our NECafe Twitter account, found by searching for @NECafe2. You can win yourself a copy by doing the following; Follow Us on Twitter, @NECafe2 Like and Retweet the Competition Tweet Tag a Friend that would be interested in our Giveaway, and/or Podcast We will draw the winner on the 23rd of January, and announce that lucky chosen winner on our 62nd Podcast, recorded on the 24th of January, and available from all good podcast providers on Tuesday, the 26th of January. Watch out for that Tweet at our Twitter account, and good luck.

N-E Café [060] On the Hunt is now available at all good podcast providers. Recorded on the 10th of January, 2020. Episode 60 of the N-E Café has hosts Lee Davies and Nick Lone taking you through the most noteworthy Nintendo news, with a Big Topic filled full of the delights of tracking down majestic beasts, and slaying them. Join us on the hunt! This is episode 60 of the N-E Café Podcast, an N-Europe Podcast. Enjoy! ⦁ Intro Music: NiGHTS into Dreams - Spring Valley ⦁ Introductions: 0:00:29 ⦁ Nintendo News: 0:03:50 ⦁ Sales Data: 0:22:12 ⦁ Download Delights: 0:25:22 ⦁ PodPals Vote: 0:34:40 ⦁ Animal Crossing, 2K21 PGA, Nights Into Dreams: 0:37:25 ⦁ The Hong Kong Massacre: 0:47:49 ⦁ GAME GIVEAWAY: 1:03:07 ⦁ On the Hunt: 1:05:37 ⦁ Closing: 1:26:30 Can you guess what game the Transition Tunes come from? If they ring a bell, get in touch with us, or if you have a Listener's Question you’d like us to discuss, contact us right here. https://soundcloud.com/user-424245610/n-e-cafe-060-on-the-hunt Had to display as a link as the new upload is not displaying properly, weird.

New trailer dropping tomorrow at 14:00 GMT: Pretty crazy that this game went quiet for so long. I know it's a port + additional content kind of deal, but still! Got to imagine that's part of the reason they announced the time that the trailer drops this time around, as opposed to just dropping it out of the blue.

Standard tactics, really.

Would be a weird choice, to be sure. But the fans are clambering for more sword users aren't they.

Right, since I'm not into Monster Hunter, I only have a couple of things to say: Poor diplomatic language aside, the Microsoft execs had a point about Nintendo's hardware, if they were thinking about the N64 (and in 2000, they probably were). But the Gamecube ran games much better than the PS2 (the loading times in particular were noticeably faster on the Cube, with no discernible loss of texture quality, if any). Plus, the poster games for the GCN during launch period were stuff like Fox McCloud's fur, or Pikmin's tiny armies, which looked plenty impressive on their own. It's ironic the MS executives said that on the cusp of that generation, the one where Xbox and Gamecube ended pretty much on the same sales tier, despite the obvious power difference; Wrestling Empire sounds great! It'll go on my wishlist for sure, but what will decide it for me is if the Wrestler Creation is robust or not. I'd love to go bonkers with it, add anybody from Kurt Angle to Spider-Man.

My first completed games of 2021: Tetris Effect: Connected Doom Eternal Tetris Effect was cool, I really liked how well it blends your gameplay with the visuals and audio. Lots of variation with all of the different themes as well, although a few of the vocal ones were slightly too cheesy for me. The co-op multiplayer mode is genius though, that moment when each player's individual screens connect and you can then momentarily work together across the entire puzzle... epic stuff! As for Doom Eternal, well I was definitely impressed with the presentation (something I wasn't really expecting, coming off Cyberpunk 2077), it looks amazing! Super well crafted and everything is so crisp, not a single dodgy texture in sight. But as for the game itself, while it was enjoyable at first, the longer it went on, the less fun it became. I think I just got tired of the extreme and relentless pace of it, there's basically no downtime at all. It was exhilarating initially, but the later levels started to take the piss, they basically throw multiples of every enemy type at you all at once, at which point it just becomes a complete and utter clusterfuck! I get that it's supposed to be overwhelming so that you feel like a badass after finally defeating all the demons, but it's absolutely ridiculous at times. Also, I wasn't a fan of the "platforming" at all. Lost count of how many times I fell to my DOOM (sorry ) as a result of the flaky climbing/jumping mechanics. Oh, and the online multiplayer isn't my cup of tea either. Was expecting it to be like the 2016 version, but instead it's this weird 2 demons vs 1 slayer malarkey. Anyway, still glad I finally got to check it out, but yeah, also happy that it was via Game Pass and I certainly never want to play it again!

The only hard thing in post game is the true final dungeon. Everything else is pretty standard. Chapter 12 is the sticking point for a lot of people because the game increases the enemy levels dramatically compared the the last chapter you were on. If you had not been grinding or getting your equipment in order it can be troublesome. I had to stop and grind at that point in order to get past it.

Yup. Loved that chapter. I was like.......

What a game...

If you've never played 3D World, you need this DAY ONE, Dennis.

GT3 was an amazing game. I bought my PS2 for that and Onimusha. It was the last GT game that I actually enjoyed. After that they became too realistic for my liking and it seemed like you had to micro manage everything. I think the Forza series found a better balance between simulation and arcade. I've recently been toying with the idea of trying to get into this series but I've got far too many other games to play at the moment.

Every time I get furloughed I seem to rearrange my room out of boredom. Just finished dismantling my desk, shifting everything around and getting ready to order a smaller desk. Didn't help that this time because I've barely done anything over Christmas with my muscles in my side being fucked I basically had no strength and am now knackered 😆

The 2021 AGDQ has now been and gone, and yet again raised a ridiculous amount of money (well over £2m)! I only caught a little this year, and pleased to see some of my very first games get a showing (e.g., Donald Duck Lucky Dime Caper). The videos are all up as usual, and already my mind was blown by the blindfolded Super Mario 64 run! Not only with the memorisation but the back-up strats to recognise when Mario had missed something, and I’m learning new things about that game all the time, such as the different sound effects where walls join. I’m beginning to change my opinion on the no-crowds too. While some games lose energy due to lack of reaction, at least you don’t get those late-night games where only a handful of people are left in the auditorium watching. The tech team for these events do a fantastic job!

In regards to your edit @Julius, I think part of the problem is a lot of people with YouTube channels are wanting to make a quick buck and instead of putting out meaningful content they sell their soul and start making click bait videos with stupid thumbnails. Its a weird one because on the one hand I don't blame people who are playing the algorithm game and churning out streams of content and top 10 videos left and right in order to get clicks. On the other hand I have for more respect and I'm more likely to watch something that isn't click bait but instead made with passion. I always go back to something like My Life In Gaming as an example of this. Truly passionate gamers who don't seem to put out videos for clicks but instead because they just enjoy talking about gaming. These are the kind of people I give my time to. I think Andre seems to have lost sight of what made GX so appealing to a lot of people and instead starting chasing the money. I think he can still salvage GX if he takes it back to what made them popular in the first place, as well as treating his staff with respect and paying them what they deserve, obviously.

Thanks for noticing that, I made a late edit and forgot to shift it along. I'll get it fixed and re-uploaded.

I doubt I'll be moving away from the Sword & Shield, especially with adept style dodging being left in Generations. But with this game supporting Gyro controlled aiming, I'll probably be dabbling with the Light Bowgun more often. Good gyro controls will be an insane buff to those ranged weapons!

Januray January - Hitman III February - Destruction AllStars March - Returnal, Kena May - Deathloop June - Solar Ash July - Little Devil Inside October - Ghostwire Tokyo, Stray And somewhere in-between we can expect Ratchet & Clank and Horizon Forbidden West. Already an insane line-up for 2021.

As if they've given the real codes to Trump anyway...

He said, right before taking a nap. Woke up craving the grind and that's what I did Got all jobs for my 4 main party members up to level 15 for some stat bonuses. I ended up at level 63 for the party Anyways, had to stop for a minute to digest the awesomeness that is Chapter 12 Well...still not done with the chapter so...see ya'll later Edit: It's done...ooooohhhhh boooyyyyyy.

juliusshotfirst.gif Yep, for sure. Not counting mobile and expansions to The Old Republic, what we got with Battlefront, Battlefront II, Jedi: Fallen Order and Squadrons is a very poor turnaround, and with only 2 years left on their deal, I kind of doubt EA are working on much besides sequels to all three of their current Star Wars output: Battlefront III, Jedi: Fallen Order II, Squadrons II. And I'll be honest with you: what we've ended up with in Battlefront has been nothing but disappointing - yes, even with the progress made with Battlefront II after launch - when compared with the ambition of Free Radical's cancelled Battlefront III game from the late 2000's. For me, the games have ended up all style, and very little substance, though looking back at EA's last few years, that seems bang on. I know we've talked about the possibility of Lucasfilm having their own licensing arm for games before Ronnie, do you think they might be preparing for that? And just to indulge in some speculation of my own here: while EA maintain exclusive rights to publish Star Wars games until 2023, there's little else that we know about the agreement, which makes me wonder if we might end up with games being developed elsewhere in preparation of the floodgates crashing open come 2023 or thereabouts. I think that's the most interesting possibility out of all of this, because when you think about it, why else would you announce this now? Because you've already started talking to folks elsewhere - and perhaps even development has broken ground to some extent - about what you want after the EA deal is over. Otherwise, the EA deal is basically going to end up running until 2025/2026 on a normal AAA development schedule if development can't start elsewhere until then. Guess we'll have to wait and see. Time for me to start dreaming about post-EA Star Wars games, which feels really good.

So...is this the MH I finally change my main weapon? Any other series stalwarts thinking of doing the same to freshen things up? I've always been a disciple of the Lance, sine my first foray in 3U, save for a brief go as a switch axe'er in Generations on the 3DS. Can't decide whether to stick or twist, smash my way quickly through the opening parts and be useful to others online by already being proficient...or throw it all away for the bow? I've been desperate to play as an archer since 4U where I started making armour sets etc but never got to the level I wanted on Lance to then switch over. Haven't got the hang of the wire bug stuff yet but I've really, really noticed a dip in the visuals compared to World on my Xbox. Which is strange for me as I usually couldn't care less about that sort of thing, but it's really struck me how poor it looks in comparison and how World felt like a living, breathing...world! Perhaps it's just the level being a bit grey and green compared to sunsets, lucious water effects and whatever else World had to offer. Still, 90% certain I'll be picking it up and once again sinking hundreds of hours into it. My main MH accomplice (a real life friend) is expecting his second child when this comes out, and doesn't have a Switch either, so I'll be hoping to be an active N-E Hunter as much as possible, like the glory days of 3U 😎

I played the demo last night, I was plaing each of the missions on and off for a while, starting the the basics tutorial, which went just as expected, getting used to what has been changed and what remains the same in this latest entry in the Monster Hunter series. It seems like a perfect pairing of old Monster Hunter and the new style shown in World, but with its own unique elements, which work well within the game world. It took a little while, just to customise the HUD, as I prefer it when there's a minimum of information on the screen, I couldn't work out how to get it so that the HUD moreorless disappears, like in Monster Hunter Generations, until you toggle it while running, but I got rid of a few superfluous notifications and 'features' like the quick select wheel which comes up, as the old style item selection works just fine for me. Both training missions were fine, they outline what to expect from the game pretty well, as for the main missions... Beginner Quest: Great Izuchi - Standard entry-level Monster Hunter quest, easy enough to get into the combat, use your surroundings, take out some smaller enemies which appear, and generally get a feel for the flow of the game, when the monster reaches a certain amount of damage taken, it seems to use the system from world where it will automatically run to a certain location on the map, this seems to happen two or three times for more standard monsters; defeated it without too much trouble. Intermediate Quest: Mizutsune - This quest proved to be a bit more of a challenge, despite having faced Mizutsune many times over in Monster Hunter games before, this new version seems to take a few few more hits, it might be that because it's a demo and that you can't pick anything about your character, plus the weapons seems to be quite low-grade, coupled with the more World-focused combat/damage system. Anyway... I got taken out twice, chased the monster all the way around the map, came into contact with another Izuchi and a Rathian which I got to ride, then decided to run from the Rathian and managed to take out Mizutsune with around seven minutes left on the clock. It's a great demo, the game seems to be the perfect balance of everything which I'd want from a Monster Hunter game, it's a shame to hear about the online issues, though I'd have thought these would be ironed out before the game comes out, will I be buying the game when it comes out? Quite possible, but it's only the start of January, and the game isn't out until the end of March, so we'll see what happens, I want to say that I'll be getting it, in all likelihood I will, as there isn't really any other game coming out on any other platform which I'm interested in. Monster Hunter Rise certainly seems to be, at first glance, another solid entry in the Monster Hunter series, and while Generations is the ideal entry point if you want a representation of what the series has mostly been about from the start, with World being a clear intention of where Capcom want to take the series, Rise seems to take the middle path between the two, not going toward either of the previously well-worn paths, but instead forging a new one, which could be just what the series needs.

*furiously Googles what a shield parry is*

Sold my PS4 Pro this morning. I put it up on "ebay Kleinanzeigen" (Gumtree might be the UK equivalent?) for 270€ and got a message from someone asking if he could take a look at the console. Didn't know that that person was a 13 year old kid. His dad accompanied him but he let the kid do the talking/negotiating While he was trying out and inspecting the console I talked to his dad and he said that his son wanted a PS4 for Christmas. He also told me that he'd just be there so his son wouldn't be taken advantage off regarding the price. He wanted his son to handle the transaction because it's his own money. Gotta take matters into his own hands. Kid was happy with the console. He tried Tearaway and it was pretty clear that he never played a console game before I asked him and he said he only had a Game Boy Advance and an old PC up to this point. He asked me if I'd be willing to sell for 200€. I told him that's a little too low, but I'd go for 230€. After a quick look to his dad (and him nodding in approval) he said: "It's a deal!", smiling from ear to ear I packed up the console, told him to let his dad carry it to the car and gave him Tearaway, Dragon Quest Heroes and Rachet and Clank. He asked "how much?" and I told him it's a gift. Seemed to have made his day Looks like somebody has entered the console playground