Julius

All parts in the game collected and completed all of the missions at S-ranks for Chapters 1, 2 and 3 (that's 40/59 of them checked off). Don't think there are many particularly annoying ones left, but man, this session reminded me just how obscure some of the requirements to S-rank can be. Some missions will give an additional objective to receive bonuses, and for most S ranks you're looking for a combination of completing the missions fast, with a low repair cost (i.e. minimising damage taken) and wanting to maximise income (by completing aforementioned bonuses) or executing the main objective flawlessly (i.e. "don't let any of the shipment choppers escape" means let zero of them escape for if you want that S ranks!). That some missions, then, require you to beat Combat Log ACs/LCs/HCs or do some other weird activity...it's just odd. I'd complete what was being asked of me in a mission virtually flawlessly and only get an A, be like "oh this was probably one of the weird ones, wasn't it?' and then look it up to find that, yeah, it was. The game doesn't even tell you the time you take to beat these missions on replays, either -- so, clearer methods to S rank and a time taken after an attempt would be super helpful and a big ask for the next game. Still loving it, mind you. Plat firmly in sight

A Monster Hunter Wilds Showcase will air at 22:15 GMT following next Tuesday's (Feb 4th) Capcom Spotlight: Feel like I unfortunately need some convincing on picking this up Day 1 and playing through solo – starting World not once but twice with friends and them dropping it not that deep in has rubbed me the wrong way, which isn't really a fair reflection on MH...but Pirate Yakuza is a week before, I mean... So I'll be tuning in for sure

A 20-minute Capcom Spotlight is airing next Tuesday, 4th February, at 22:00 GMT, which will be followed by a 15-minute Monster Hunter Wilds Showcase. Really wasn't expecting to see more of Onimusha: Way of the Sword so soon!

Easy Allies GOTY Deliberations are up – clocking in at just shy of 3 hours, which is short by their standards... But then their Personal Picks video is over 4½ hours long, so it's hard to complain And the produced GOTY video: Will need to get around to giving the deliberations a listen!

Essential monthly games for February are Payday 3, High on Life, and Pac-Man World Re-Pac: Additionally, there is an update on PS4 titles as part of the service – with plans to shift towards PS5 games being the focus of Monthly Games and the Game Catalog come January 2026. Interesting...

He speaks the truth! I really want to revisit those GBA games, man... While I think save states are a good argument to further justify them being left off NSO - because they'd never support it and it could make things pretty messy and complicated - and further to that maybe even problems getting it to work with existing games on the service (such as Stadium), I still think the obvious and main reason they're absent is simply because they would be leaving a lot of money on the table if they were added to NSO. Didn't the Virtual Console re-releases on 3DS sell a few million copies? Whereas I think there are realistically only a very small selection of games on current NSO(+ Expansion Pack) which would make it to over 1 million units sold if they were sold piecemeal today, and so they provide much more value as part of a subscription model -- especially if Nintendo's aim is seemingly to get every game that they can for their pillar franchises on the Switch/Switch 2, which seems to be the case, whereas I can't see TPCi having any interest in accomplishing the same. I think realistically you at least see the original games re-release next year for the 30th anniversary, and I wouldn't be surprised if a discount or something for HOME (I can't see it being bundled in) was introduced if you're an Expansion Pack subscriber.

New in-game incentives coming to select PlayStation Studios games on PC: Curious if those come to PlayStation if they haven't already -- I'm fairly sure that Jordan's Jacket isn't in TLOU Pt II yet? Maybe when it releases on PC? Doesn't really make up for some of the region-locking weirdness they have going on on PC...

Square Enix JP have announced today that a soundtrack release for the game is on the way, with the 4-disc Deluxe version also including the 1996 original's OST, as well as special commentary from Yoko Shimomura: Awesome stuff!

A physical release of the game is on the way, from Digital Eclipse!

Weird bump, but they've added Star Wars skins and this is by far the most I've ever been tempted to check out Destiny: Feel like some prequel representation would help get me all the way over the line, though – Phase II clone armour with a bit more flare, and maybe a cape? I'd be so down

Hell yeah glad to hear it! I love how aggressively the instrumentals for those songs start off – it could so easily lean into being edgy if done wrong, but they always balance it out well with their lyrics and the flow to their songs. They're probably what I'd choose to walk down the street to if I'm on a mission to pick up some eggs and want to block out the world Duly noted, I'll be sure to avoid it as much as I can when I visit

SIE have announced that Hideaki Nishino has been appointed as president and CEO. Herman Hulst will remain the head of PlayStation Studios and report to Nishino.

28 hours in now -- all combat logs and hidden parts collected, 17/59 S-ranks got. Not a bad first day of starting to tidy things up for the Plat, collected way more hidden parts and combat logs than I thought, so didn't have too much to tidy up on those fronts! BUT GOOD LORD ARE SOME OF THESE MISSIONS A SERIOUS PAIN IN THE ASS TO S-RANK Prisoner Rescue wasn't as bad as it was in 2023 (still a bit of a pain, mind you), and the Defend the Mining Ship is all kinds of silly. Looking forward to getting back on the Plat hunt tomorrow. Just need enough credits to buy all the remaining parts available in the shop (which I'll naturally get through failing and succeeding at S-ranks) and then I just need to clean up the rest of the missions with S-ranks. Still having a blast

Nihon Falcom have released a video comparing the original game to this remake: Always love comparisons like this, and the game looks great! UPDATE: okay, well I guess this was just the gameplay trailer? The "1st"...we're going to see a lot of that in this game's marketing, aren't we?

What's funny is I was typing out that I wanted Gems III and IV on there, and despite already having Scarlet & Violet and Legends: Arceus on there, I completely felt the same way. I'm still very surprised that they uploaded the entire original Diamond & Pearl OST to YouTube back around the time the remakes and Legends: Arceus came out. As for mainline re-releases, I have to imagine the original games come to Switch and Switch 2 next year for the 30th like they came to the 3DS for the 20th, but beyond that, I honestly don't know if you see things like the GBC games which came to 3DS on there, or the GBA games beyond those. I can get them needing to be sold piecemeal (bit scared they'll be limited time releases as we've seen in the past?), having difficulties with them not being on NSO, and not being able to figure out a solution for the DS and 3DS games...but the GBA games? Come on, they've virtually been locked away for a decade and a half since the DSi was released? Re-release them already! & REMAKE EXPLORERS ALREADY YOU COWARDS!

Adventure overview trailer:

He has arrived It's funny, I was looking through the app yesterday and stuck some Breath of the Wild album for this exact same reason. That's a great soundtrack too, but it's kind of funny how many times I didn't get to hear certain parts of certain tracks simply because the moment had played out or I'd moved on to something else while playing the game. If nothing else, they were definitely looking to evoke BotW's OST, so...mission accomplished? Maybe we'll get it when they finally announce the remake I've been pushing off an Explorers replay for a little while now purely because I know the minute I start it, they'll announce the remake I'll gladly take anything from the Ranger games or Gen III or Gen IV in the meantime, though I still need to get to Scarlet at some point...

Outfits and flyby camera trailers: That music for the flyby camera trailer...

Hell yeah! Enjoy drahkon, excited for you and to hear how it was!

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is this week's addition, to commemorate the game's third anniversary! What the...Legends: Arceus is already three years old?! Say it ain't so! Joy of a game, but even if you think otherwise, there's no denying that soundtrack. The moments it hints at and lingers on nods to the original DPPt OST are simply wonderful -- Heartwood is probably my favourite example of this, as I'll always be missing Eterna

δ-2 and δ-3 Analysis completed...as well as Chapters 3, 4, and 5, all in one session tonight. That's right: after 24 hours or so, NG++ is done, and third ending complete! Loved, loved, loved replaying this game, and that third ending is probably my favourite – didn't hit quite as hard as it did the first time around, but still! This is one of my favourites of the gen for sure and easily one of my all-time favourites after this playthrough. You often hear about From fans having that one game they return to for comfort - be it Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, or any of the other Soulsborne games - and I think this is mine. Yet again on the brink of a deathless run vs bosses, only to fall at the final hurdle, this time being the actual final hurdle: the final boss. A few times, actually. Death Counter vs Bosses: NG++ I knew what I was risking with this build, and everything went smoothly until the final boss was a perfect counter to the key parts of this build, so lesson learned I guess! Shame, as I beat it on my first go during my first playthrough. I did pick up some ideas for certain missions, mind you, and completed some of the tougher ones to the point I'm confident I would've got an S-rank if you got ratings for your initial mission attempts. Anyways, we're jumping the gun a bit, so how about some choice pics from the latter half of NG++? So yeah, that's NG++ dusted off, so that about wraps up my time with– I mean, I'm so close as it is, so why not? Just got to go through and get the collectibles (parts and combat logs), definitely picked up more than I did the first blind playthrough of NG through to NG++, but I feel like there's still a bit left and I'm not above using a guide. After that? Time to S-rank every mission in the game! So, basically...I'm going to go play this like another 2.5 times now

Or, instead of playing the games, hear me out: seeing how many times you can snap the Joy-Cons in place in a four hour window (& maybe just enough time to figure out a way to steal one with the aid of fellow attendees idk)

I fully read that as you being a Gardevoir at first @Dcubed Congrats to you, @Glen-i, @Ugh first aid and the rest of the D³ family group By the way, I didn't realise until digging into the updates FAQs how long this thing is going to be, what with the time given just being the entry window they want you to arrive at the event during. It's four hours long: Because that's not confusing at all

Ah, that's rough. No email, but just checked the lottery link after seeing your post, and I got in: Guess it's time to check what the trains are looking like that day, and maybe think about booking off the Monday!

185 let go from Ubisoft, with Ubisoft Leamington closing, and Dusseldorf, Stockholm and Reflections seeing cuts. Per VGC: ...and TIL Ubisoft bought the DJ Hero guys from Activision all the way back in 2017. And that they were only an hour's drive away from me in Leamington Spa. What an unfortunate time to learn that piece of information