Julius

Hell yeah! Happy you watched and enjoyed it Spirited Away is amazing, and probably one of the best Ghibli films to start with, given its near universal praise. I think the simplest way to put it is that it just oozes heart and charm, but is so unique in its weird and wacky ways and characters, that I think it's hard to come away not endeared to some of its elements, especially given some of the sharp contrasts in warm and cosy visuals with the serenity of the train scene. And I still think having your work scored by Joe Hisaishi is tantamount to cheating, and Spirited Away's soundtrack is no exception -- it's beautiful. It's funny, because I remember I first watched the film on holiday at this old lady's place that my aunt cared for when I was much younger (probably 6 or so?), and I just didn't get on with it. Looking back I think it was a combination of Yubaba's creepy face and transformations, as well as the Kashira (rolling head dudes). It's just such a different vibe and energy to a lot of western animation, I think I was a bit taken aback by it in hindsight! So, @drahkon...which one you watching next?

Today's system update: I've either completely missed it previously in an update or they've just failed to mention it, but didn't realise that there's now an option at the bottom when you tap 'Options' on a game on the PS5 home screen which keeps it on the home screen. Either way, that's really neat. Also like the clean-up of the UI, especially with trophies on trophy pages having a pattern and colour to denote a trophy grade. Now give us folders you monsters

Yeah, I'm right there with you, there's a timelessness to the silent skits and visual gags of the older LEGO games which I'll always be fond of, felt like a throwback to silent films. Granted, there is Mumble Mode in the cheat codes so that you don't have to play with voice acting if you don't want to, which is a fine addition, but it's pared back in the sense that it is essentially just the original scenes dubbed over with said mumbling, so it's still a step down in that regard. To compare the "No, I am your father" scene in this game to the original (first video is linked to the particular scene in the trailer): Yeah, I can totally empathise with this, I think it's a line getting harder and harder to walk with every passing week having new headlines of employees being treated like dirt. Almost the entire industry needs a shakeup, because it's had it's chance for wake-up calls and done nothing with them. Selfishly (and not?) I think it's something that shouldn't even need to be on the mind of the consumer when picking up a game, it shouldn't be a question of the wellbeing of the team behind these games because they shouldn't even be in these positions in the first place. It basically presents people searching purely for entertainment with a moral and ethical quandary, and to add some level of irony to it, it's only those who are quite into games in the first place and keep up with it who actually keep abreast of what's going on who might end up hindered by this; the average casual gamer - the ones who actually have buying power en masse - have zero idea what's going on 99 times out of 100. Personally, I avoid Ubisoft and Activision games right now, have done for a while now, but then I bought and adored Red Dead Redemption II last year, which makes me feel like a hypocrite. It's tough, but I guess similarly to my view on the whole controversy surrounding Hogwarts Legacy, there unfortunately isn't a one-size-fits-all solution, and it really just needs to come down to the choice of the individual. At the end of the day when it comes to things like this I tend to ask myself "would I feel like I'm robbing myself of a worthwhile experience which I might find joy in and/or learn more about myself from?", which I guess personally would outweigh whatever sense of guilt I'd have in the pit of my stomach. I love Star Wars, as I know many here do, but even if I take away the fact that this is a Star Wars game, the first LEGO Star Wars game was the game myself and all of my friends had growing up, and I still remember flicking through a game magazine on the floor of the tiny off-licence next to my primary school and learning about - and counting down to - the release of LEGO Star Wars II. So there's almost too much nostalgia for me not to? But then, I mean, that just brings up the poison chalice of corporations preying on the innate and uncontrollable feeling and desire for nostalgia in the first place, which is to say that we're all doomed

As previously reported by Schreier, the game has now officially been delayed to Spring 2023: To be honest, with Gotham Knights aiming to release in October I'm surprised that it took them this long to announce the delay.

More reviews going up now, looking goooooood:

That's awesome Ronnie -- have a great time, and make sure to take plenty of pics! Won't lie I'm a little (read: very!) jealous, and we all know where that leads I don't think the schedule has been announced yet (?), but are there any panels you're hoping for/plan to attend in particular at SWC? Any particular merch you're going to be trying to hunt down either at SWC or at Galaxy's Edge? Are you flying (Han) solo or going with anyone/meeting anyone there? And any other places you might try to check out while in LA? Sorry to bombard you with questions, but the last two years have me foaming at the mouth to do some travelling, so I'm just excited for you

I feel like spin-offs area very slippery slope of semantics which differs from one series to another, and how each individual interprets a spin-off (which could easily be it's own discussion), but I personally wouldn't consider Mario Kart Tour to be a mainline entry in the Mario Kart series either. I also don't think it matters in the slightest, but I'm struggling to figure out how I could view it as a mainline entry, so figured I'd voice my take. For me I think the deciding factor would be that, even if there is overlap with the core Mario Kart audience, Mario Kart Tour is squarely not aiming for that audience, they're aiming at a mobile audience with a simplification of core mechanics and, as far as I am aware (happy to be corrected here as I've honestly not seen too much of the game), doesn't add much in terms of new mechanics either. It's not aiming to be the best-selling Mario Kart game on the market right now, and there's no cannibalisation of sales going on as, generally, I don't think their audience views it as the next mainline Mario Kart game. I wouldn't consider Nintendo's other mobile games based on already existing IP so far to be mainline entries either, or any of the other Mario Kart games for that matter (such as the arcade games). Glances over at Yakuza, Final Fantasy, and I'm sure plenty of other series which have gone through fundamental gameplay overhauls during their existence I wouldn't say so? Maybe it's just how I view the term originally through the lens of TV and film growing up, but I always consider a spin-off to be anything which is an expansion on a series, whether that be into a new medium, a new story which is distinct and separate to the "main story", etc. In the case of gaming, I think how a game is marketed speaks volumes, because I think the intent of the creator makes it crystal clear whether we should view a game as being a spin-off or not. And in this case, maybe I'm missing something, but, outside of Directs, I've seen zero marketing for Mario Kart Tour -- as I said before, it's just not the main sales focus of the Mario Kart series right now, even if it is still bringing in a fair bit of money. I mean, to be fair, that's only not considered a spin-off because TPCi said so when marketing the game, otherwise I do think it would be. That game is so different mechanically and in terms of its design when compared with other core series Pokémon games, not to mention the fact that it's the first and only original core series entry (as in, not a third version) to not have at least one other version release alongside it. Game Freak basically just experimented similar to how they did with Town before Sword & Shield, but this time used the IP and it gave us an idea of what they wanted to test for the series moving forwards. At this point, being a core series Pokémon game just means it was developed by Game Freak, there's not much rhyme or reason to it, and there's been some level of unpredictability to how they handle the core series ever since Black 2 & White 2 were announced. Let's also not forget that this is the same company for which fans labelled these games as "main series" titles before they eventually came out in Gen VI/VII (can't remember which) as calling them "core series" in the first place.

These have to be some of the most awful controllers I've ever laid my eyes upon. Is this the price Phil agreed to pay for the success of Game Pass? At what cost?! EDIT: sweet mother of Master Chief there's a console too. The gold ring is passable? But the promo images from the film look really tacky, they should've used the old Sonic & Knuckles logo if they wanted a console that actually looked good (which I guess they didn't). And just to be unpleasant here's a photo of people holding the controller's: Man I don't like to be hyperbolic but I've never imagined holding a controller in my hands before and feeling physically sick. Simultaneously slipping in your hands, sweat and dirt getting caught up in it...

Yep, totally agree. While it's not the sole reason for him leaving and it seems like it's been on his mind for a while, spending more time with his son in light of the chaos that's been going on the last few weeks (he mentioned in Cup of Jones this week that beyond his son's health scare that he's also lost a few close friends) is an outcome I couldn't be happier about. It took a while for me to warm up to him as host of the main podcast (I still think he was better as a co-moderator to Kyle, but to be fair, that chemistry purely from a podcast host/co-moderator perspective goes back to GT Time) but he definitely grew into it, which is hard to do considering how vastly different the roles are. Looking back, him banging on about wanting to go to The Game Awards last year in-person makes so much sense if he always had an eye on retiring on the 20th anniversary of the start of GT, and with an in-person E3 nowhere in sight: it was one last goodbye to the industry as someone working in it. Yep, they've been on the rocks for a while, and to be honest, I think the next 12 months of Easy Allies is going to decide whether this company stands a chance in the long run, and that's pretty crazy to say 6 years into a company's life. I think they've been facing a bit of an identity crisis ever since Kyle left, and with Jones now leaving, I think you've lost two of the three faces of Easy Allies which would have been the biggest draw coming from GT: Kyle was host of GT Time and Final Bosman, Brandon obviously offered his distinct voice to most of their edited content at GT, and the only one left is Huber, the poster child of reactions for E3 2015, which I think massively set the tone for and helped bring Easy Allies into being. That's not to discredit the others at all, but at the time, I'd say that these three were probably the most recognisable, through their content or appearances, at GT, as everyone else was typically in a more behind-the-scenes role. I can see them hitting $40k and staying there for a while on Patreon...but I'm not sure how long that will last. We'll have to wait and see how these changes pan out, but short of Kyle returning, I think they've got an uphill battle ahead of them. Like you, there wasn't much to get me truly excited about the changes in the EZX announcements only video -- the only thing which really made my ears perk up was Ben being made an editor alongside Blood, which is long overdue considering the quality of his writing in reviews, and just how much all of the other writers on the team respect the quality of his output. But even then, and even with them saying that they'll trial providing their own VO for reviews, I think it's clear that they're still stuck between the old and new ways of doing things. I genuinely think they put out the best traditional game reviews at the moment, but at the same time, that's a whole lot of time and effort for a 5-10 minute video in which they aren't really selling themselves and their interactions, which I think is the most appealing thing about the Allies. It might be a struggle considering how I'd say they're a bit more hardcore than Kinda Funny when it comes to gaming (in tastes and in the sheer volume and variety of what they all play), but I genuinely think a review podcast similar to what Kinda Funny has now would be a great middle ground, and while it'd be a shame to lose out on their written reviews, it would also free them up from the shackles of writing, editing, and cutting reviews, which in turn would mean more time and availability for more edited content. Not to undermine their streaming, but they don't pull in massive numbers, and so I think their focus on wanting to stream more has always been a bit at odds with their other roles. We'll see what happens. I want to be cautiously optimistic, but part of me worries that this is too little and far too late, and I'm also not a fan of the new logo (especially on a black background - if you check out their YouTube channel the profile picture looks like it's missing the 'Z'!). Fingers crossed it works out

...aaaaaaand it's being put down. Don't think it ever took off in the way Nintendo and Cygames had hoped, so not very surprising.

The only real issue I have with how they're handling things this time around is that you can't get the Groups on the home screen, so hopefully the option to do that and/or pin them to the home screen comes down the road. But still, progress is progress! See you all in 2024 for themes?

They finally did it Seems to be folders in all but name and location, which is close enough for me!

End of an era: Brandon Jones of Easy Allies is retiring from games journalism at the start of May. Says it in the clip but he's actually been thinking about retiring since last July, so this isn't a sudden reaction to his son's recent health scare which has seen him away from the Allies in recent weeks. This was announced at the start of Easy Allies' sixth anniversary stream. I've mentioned before elsewhere that I didn't really get massively into games until I left high school and got my first job, due to the lack of disposable income in my house growing up, and so I didn't get into Easy Allies until a year or so in. But the crazy part is, before that, when I would watch videos on YouTube about games, and for reviews of games that I couldn't get my own hands on, I know for a fact that I came across Brandon's voice a few times. Kind of crazy how things work out. Love or hate the direction of Easy Allies as of late, the guy has firmly put his stamp on the face of gaming journalism at Easy Allies, and before that at GameTrailers. He's probably up there as one of the best and most recognisable voices in gaming journalism, right? Sounds like he'll be reading reviews when asked to by the Allies for now too. Been a hell of a ride. Kudos, Jones! EDIT: well okay then, a whole host of changes and a new logo: Addresses a fair bit of the growing criticism I've spotted since COVID kicked off, well worth a watch.

Huh. I'm really curious to see how this turns out, it's one thing working together and then acquiring a studio as has been the case for a fair few of PlayStation's big acquisitions over recent years (Insomniac, Bluepoint, Housemarque), but acquiring a studio before it's even got a game out is massively risky. So, it's probably for one of, or a combination of, these reasons: • the team's vision is something PlayStation thinks is genuinely great and they may have just clicked and work really well with PlayStation Studios as is. I'm imagining a Rian Johnson with Lucasfilm situation where they announced his trilogy before TLJ came out (hopefully this pans out a bit better). • they saw $$$$$ signs in their eyes and were foaming at the mouth of the microtransaction possibilities of whatever game they're working on. • someone else was sniffing around and PlayStation felt pressured to buy them up. I'd love to say it was for a combination of the first and third reason, but what we've seen with GT7's microtransactions has tainted my perspective on the direction is going in, so while I think it could be a combination of all three...I'm leaning to the second reason probably being a big factor in this. Just a hunch, and probably not what I would have said a few weeks ago before GT7, but they want 10+ live service games out by 2025, and buying a studio in the process of making one outright just means they see more of the money. I'm also really curious to see if Jade Raymond sticks around. She's been a great studio builder over the last however many years with Ubisoft Montreal, EA Motive, and, well, for better or worse, the disillusioned Google's Stadia Games & Entertainment corner of Google Studios, but, probably through no fault of her own, has constantly been moving on. Looking into her past more, it's interesting to note that she's pretty much come full circle, as she programmed at Sony and then helped create Sony Online Entertainment (now Daybreak, who are independent), who were in charge of R&D and maintaining, creating, and adding to online games like EverQuest back in the day.

Previews are up and it looks glorious Really excited for this. I'm caught between wanting to play it on release, or waiting until Star Wars Celebration and just having a Star Wars filled week. Decisions, decisions...

Yeah, I'm like you @Sheikah, 2 is my favourite (in my opinion it's got the best pacing, characters, writing, story, music) and the rest that I've played (all except Lost Legacy) I just thought were fine, even if they had great moments or set-pieces. They're all still worth playing I think, and visually 4 is spectacular (as is what I've seen of LL), but, for me, I think it's a series which I would view as generally being overhyped, so maybe that had some impact on my time with them as I didn't get around to playing them until some time later. Even though I really liked 2, I genuinely didn't at all understand the modern Naughty Dog hype until I played The Last of Us, but that's just me @bob it sounds like you're having a good time with it at least, so I'm looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts!

Going by the logic we saw behind Days Gone not getting a sequel, based on the game's current Metacritic user score, I guess we're never seeing a Gran Turismo 8...

I mean, respectfully, by the same logic, I have to ask: should we never protest or boycott anything, because those being targeted - in power or of wealth - aren't going to be as impacted as others in their chain? This isn't me trying to corner you or anything, but I can imagine others having the same thought process spring to mind. And, at the same time, the developers will be getting paid for their work regardless. Now, how that work is viewed moving forwards by where they work next, and how it impacts their motivation to continue working on the project, in spite of the conversation surrounding this game - and more widely this IP and it's creator - remains to be seen, but at this point those developers will be fully aware of that. Yeah, that's totally fair, at the end of the day I think it is up to the individual as to where they draw the line. I hate what we hear and see of many of EA's and Ubisoft's practices, and now go out of my way where I can to avoid supporting them, but will I be buying their Star Wars games? On Day One. I love Star Wars too much already. Now, Star Wars Eclipse by Quantic Dream? That might be a step too far for me, and I think I know the reason why: what David Cage says and does just doesn't align with what I see as the purpose of Star Wars as a story. It's a story about equality, hope, feminism (what I call the good kind of feminism, and the only kind I give a damn about, which is presenting women as women, as individuals unto themselves, nothing more or less than that), dreams, standing up for what you believe in as you stare down the face of adversity, etc. I could go on for paragraphs, but point is, there's already some contradiction - for me - between the world of Star Wars, in terms of the stories it is trying to tell, and David Cage's previous words and actions that I don't think makes him an individual who should be telling a story in that universe. I also think - again, just for me - that there's a big difference between being into something and loving it already, then finding out that it's a creator is a tool, than finding out someone is a tool and then diving into their work. If the attachment is not already there your entire lens through which you view their work is going to be different (for me), and so while I can understand some Harry Potter fans being totally onboard for this game because it's everything they've wanted - and again, which they're totally entitled to do! - I can also appreciate @Glen-i's perspective as someone who clearly loved that work enough to such an extent that he's lining up at midnight for a book launch, but I imagine might struggle to reconcile the world of the creator with the creator itself, because - as someone not into Harry Potter - I have to imagine there is some misalignment there, and maybe to some extent even feels guilty about supporting someone like J.K. Rowling, with the thoughts and opinions that she has. Not trying to put words into his mouth or thoughts into his head, but I can definitely understand where he's coming from. @Ronnie out of curiosity, were you already a Harry Potter fan before this was announced? To be clear, again, not trying to call you out (I'm sure you already know that but tone and intention is virtually impossible to put across with typed words), I'm just curious. For me I think it's the context of knowing what J.K. Rowling has said in the past and not already being invested which means this doesn't do anything for me personally, so I'm wondering if you were already a fan but you're just excited by the possibilities (which is completely fine and understandable), or if like me you're coming from a background of no real interest in the franchise, but are generally intrigued just from what we've seen of the game (which is also completely fine and understandable). As an aside, I can already see why a place like ResetEra wouldn't want a discussion of this game, just due to the sheer volume of users and how deep the discussion can easily go with a game like this, outside of the game itself. I think there's few enough of us here that it can be kept civil, though.

Yeah, I've thought about starting a thread several times for this game since it was first announced, and then after the State of Play was announced too. It's just such a sticky wicket, and I'm one of those who personally finds it hard to care about the game - and, well, the franchise - because of it, as someone not already with some form of attachment to that universe (the extent of me caring goes so far as the music in the films, because John Williams). It's a shame because naturally it's going to affect the developers involved in making the game, either in terms of their job security or even just in their desire to work, and for that I do feel for them, because I'm sure they just wanted to make a game set in a cool universe which has kind of been sidetracked by a discussion which they have very little to do with. That totally sucks. At the same time, I'm not going to put down other people's hype, and for those interested in the game and wanting to check it out when it releases, I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say – I think that there should still be some healthy discussion about the game, as for all intentions it might be good. But as someone not already attached to the franchise and with J.K. Rowling just being a tool (to put it kindly), this isn't going to be the thing which pulls me in. Separating the art from the artist is one thing, but for me personally, it's a bit different when it's an expansion of that art into a medium it's barely touched in any serious capacity, and will likely be making more money for said artist. I did check out a bit of the footage, purely out of sheer curiosity, and for those willing to look past the conversations outside of the game's development, this looks like it could be a bit of a dream game. Kind of got a Persona vibe with going to classes (I wonder if there's any time management involved?), making friends and starting rivalries, as well as with some dungeons, so yeah, I'll be curious to read and hear thoughts from others as we get more information and when it's released, even if it's not something I'm personally going to be getting excited for.

To clarify, they only said that they would be producing more multiplayer focused GAAS titles through saying that they would have 10+ live service games released by the end of 2026, and there hasn't been any signs or anything said that would make me think that we would see less traditional single player experiences at this current point in time. From the IGN piece covering their earnings call where that was stated: Now, whether they internally plan to transition towards that and whether we think that's where they might be going, considering how Japan Studio and the like were so unceremoniously shuttered, is another conversation entirely. But what we can try to infer from their actions and what has so far actually been stated are two separate things. But, personally, I do agree with you in that it's concerning. I feel like that's been the only rhetoric since Shawn Layden left, and it seems to be getting more and more concerning with each passing year. Yeah, agree with a lot of what you said here. There's a rock hard ceiling we've seen with even the best-selling first party PlayStation games - which do sell well, to be clear - when it comes to sales potential which are time and again naturally going to be beat away by third party games on multiple consoles and with a much wider reach (be it demographically or, as I suspect will be the case with Game Pass once Xbox finally gets thing going consistently, just in sheer size of the audience with immediate access to a game, which, as an aside, I think is going to be very alluring to creatives like Kojima). As we've seen with games like Days Gone too, it's clearly not about the creatives telling their stories any more, unless you are a brand name like Kojima, which is maybe the most concerning thing now, in how they gauge success: purely on sales and aggregate scoring. That's a very slippery slope. Personally, I think there's a lot of space for more variety in their approach to games – as much as I love storytelling in games and many PlayStation first party games, Astro's Playroom was an absolute breath of fresh air compared to the rest of Sony's slate from the last 5 years. The problem with that is that they just cut Japan off like it was a tumour, when that's where I believe the most creativity was being shown from them in the first place. It's funny that you mention Twitch and YouTube, because with Sony's acquisition of Crunchyroll last year and ongoing consolidation of Crunchyroll and Funimation, I think they already have an answer to people watching things: they now, for all intents and purposes, practically own anime streaming in the west and have a pure monopoly. How exactly they leverage that moving forwards I'm not so sure (I know they've done offers previously with Funimation alongside PS Plus, but I think there has to be a more effective approach), but that's an industry which is booming right now and has been catching fire like a Charmander drowning in lighter fluid over the last 5 years in particular, so I'm really curious to see how that's handled. The hardware shortages is something that's tough to do but react to, and as I think I've mentioned before, I think it's why so many games initially announced in a way that would make you believe they were PS5 exclusive have ended up being cross-gen releases: they need those software sales to compensate for limited hardware sales which are, again, out of their control, otherwise I think we'd be looking at a console which would have crushed every early gen sales record for a new console. I still think there's a chance that Final Fantasy XVI ends up cross-gen and on PS4 for this reason, as otherwise if we say the game comes out March 2023, there'll be some 25 million PS5's out in the wild (or whatever number) compared to what could have easily been 50+ million without the shortages (I always come back to their earliest shared projections for the PS5 which were insane - and as always, would have been modest to be outdone in reality to impress shareholders). If that does happen, COVID impacts on development itself aside, I could see that being a key reason for what was likely an internal delay. It's sad, because their hand is being forced to some extent by the shortage, but at the same time, there are much easier and more cost effective ways to shore up your revenues than going all-in on what I can only view and describe as a disgusting revenue stream in microtransactions, at least in how they've utilised them so far in GT7. Agreed, and it sucks. PlayStation definitely aren't the only ones guilty of this, but it's the aggressive turn in which they've done this which I think has caught everyone a bit by surprise in the case of GT7. Them being quiet to a fault about their handling of microtransactions in that game also definitely makes it look much, much worse. As for subscriptions, I'm both excited and very, very concerned about the possibilities there. We've talked about Project Spartacus before but while I want to hold off and see the available games...man, just let me buy the games and get some real backwards compatibility beyond the PS4 in. I know it would take a while lot of work and wizardry, but it seems more a case of them deciding not to offer that, more than it being a case of it not being achievable. It's absolutely insane to me that the PS4 isn't going to pass the 120 million mark when it should have been a certainty that it did. I enjoy PS5 games when we get them, but man, the PS4 catalogue is just immense in terms of its sheer scale and diversity that 90% of the time, they're what I'm playing on my PS5. It's funny just how well the Series S has worked out for Xbox – while there will always be a market for a less powerful, but still able, console, I think it would have died a fairly swift death in more privileged markets (such as across Europe) had it not been for the chip shortages. Agree with you wholeheartedly when it comes to supporting PS4 releases with their exclusive software - first and third party - for the next few years, genuinely think it could be until 2024 at this rate with what little we know about their current slate outside of pure remasters (such as Demon's Souls and The Last of Us Remake, if and when that arrives, and even then I wouldn't be surprised to see either land on PS4 down the line) and titles which are smaller in scope or require the DualSense (ahem, that fully fledged Astro's Playroom sequel which is an absolute certainty). I also think that whatever Square Enix's plans were for the entire Final Fantasy VII Remake project will have been bent sideways too at this point, as I reckon they would have been hoping for a PS5 console exclusive release with a good number of them out in the wild, but now, say this is a trilogy, how do the next two games both not come to PS4? And then you've got Atlus playing coy with Persona 6 (can't think of any reason why that wouldn't also be on PS4), we haven't seen Dragon Quest XII in action yet (but I have to imagine that could be targeting PS4 too, what with it likely being a multiplatform release and hopefully getting its Switch version at launch), Granblue Fantasy Relink hopefully arriving this year, etc. Basically, if you're a JRPG not doing anything too wild, cross-gen confirmed Then you also just get the bizarre sense that PSVR2 is going to drop by the end of the year (if not the end of the next financial year) with how they're ramping things up in terms of press releases and updates, so what I can only describe still as the privileged few with PS5's (due to the console shortage), is now going to see an even more privileged group enjoying PSVR2, all the while PS5's are still a nightmare to get a hold of. Sigh

Microtransactions I can do my best to ignore – I've talked about it before, I can't say I disagree with any of the opinions here, and if this is how PlayStation is planning to manage their often mentioned slate of upcoming live service games, I think both players and PlayStation are going to be in for a very rude wake-up call. It's implementation in the game in that it's always in your face is disgusting and predatory, the absolute lack of detailing their plans for microtransactions prior to launch is probably one of the more stupid moves from PlayStation over the last 5 years (how the hell do you not learn from Battlefront II?), and it's the fact that it makes the game pay-to-win which makes it a massive struggle for me to defend the game, made even worse by the fact that it's the case for both single player and multiplayer performance. It's fine with cosmetic changeups from my perspective, whatever (your liveries, paints, and so on), but it just feels so gross. To somehow make matters even worse (?!), the game has been down for the last 24 hours due to the latest update being rolled out, meaning you can't even play the damn game you've dropped £70 on and potentially been foolish enough to invest in the microtransactions of, because it needs to always be online. You can't touch the campaign, the missions, the license tests, etc. - the only thing you can do is a few exhibition races with an extremely limited pool of cars. It's such a shame, because I've greatly enjoyed this game from a gameplay perspective for the most part, and I haven't felt about this way in a racing game for a long time. The DualSense is damn near transformative here in how the haptics make the car and every surface it comes into contact with feel, and the adaptive triggers offering resistance makes it so much easier to lock into a certain speed, or to feel how and when to brake and accelerate. And it looks freaking gorgeous. This was meant to be my FIFA replacement, but I'm already sick of the conversation around its microtransactions. Every time I buy a car or some parts, I feel like I need to take a shower, and I almost feel guilty for playing the game at times. I think I'm just going to have to say sod off to the grind for new cars and just focus on the Missions and License Tests I have left to Gold, and then the Platinum – the absolute bare minimum of what I actually wanted to do in the game, and I'll get my money's worth at least. I wanted to build a garage of some of my favourite cars, which I now won't be doing, yet this is the same game has finally been the push to get me back into a subject I loved so much growing up but fell away from! It's one huge step forwards as a simulation racing game, because it's fantastic in that regard, but it's ultimately been sullied by the two steps it's taken back through some heinous decision making – and while I know this was the case to some extent with GT Sport too, which also had microtransactions, I struggle to see the blame falling on Polyphony. This has to be a decision made by the big wigs at Sony, the guys who are doing fine in selling the console and games, but have also been making some very questionable decisions over the last few years. Gran Turismo was, for me, growing up always the premier racing game series. But then the games got delayed for longer and longer periods of time between every newly announced entry, and the consistent releases and quality of Forza took the crown. This was the return to form the game needed to be for the series – but it just wasn't meant to be. See you all late this year, or sometime next, to see how atrocious the microtransactions turn out in The Last of Us Factions

Moss: Book II is releasing in just two weeks, on March 31st. Pretty crazy that it wasn't mentioned during the State of Play! Some previews:

New update available, and at a glance, there are some pretty big changes, including NPC markers on the map, new quest phases (for what I swear were quests that people thought were bugged, so that's a weird one), and a new NPC. Number one priority next time I load up is finding Jar-Bairn

Light Crusader, Alien Soldier and Super Fantasy Zone are all being added today to the SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis NSO library.

As someone who also loves getting games physically still, I think I'm probably only a step removed from wanting to get everything I can factory sealed myself still shudder when I think about the variety of conditions the PS3 games I got from CeX were in when I picked up my PS3 a couple of years back: PlayStation Hits, dented steelbooks, and a very concentrated scent of smoke My preference is definitely to buy new, and the only thing that gets in the way for me a lot of the time is when getting the factory sealed version seems like an obstacle in and of itself, which has been the case for a lot of the DS games I've hunted down in recent years: I either couldn't find the game sealed at all and so easy out of luck from the outset, or if I could, as you could probably imagine, those prices hurt my eyes to look at! Thankfully the games I picked up were basically in a pocket where you'd almost expect fans to keep them in good condition anyways, and I made some lucky bets with those considering their apparent value these days: Dragon Quest V for £70, Dragon Quest IV for £40, Pokémon White 2 for £35. For me, it's when it gets to the point that a sealed copy of a game is costing me an additional 25% or more than an opened copy in good condition is typically where I draw the line, because I just start to think of what other games I could pick up with that money instead. The only things I really hold out for with my collection is avoiding promotional packaging (PS Hits/Nintendo Selects), minimising steelbooks, and going for launch editions, because I'm never a fan of a GOTY banner or awards on a case. Which probably sounds a bit crazy too, but I'm also one of those who has a blu-ray collection of films, so that's probably par for the course with me. Goodness knows what I'll do if I ever need to cut down on clutter...but I'll cross that bridge and burn it down if that day ever comes