Julius

Yeahhhhh I know it's not really the relevant thread for it, but @Aneres11, I think emails have started going out from Amazon saying that more stock will be made available at 12:00 on Thursday for the other console

In terms of AAA game pricing, at RRP, it's a £15 bump (I think they were generally aiming for £54.99 previously). The reason it hasn't gone down £5 or so yet is because, seeing as we're at the start of a new gen, I think we're going to see retailers aiming for their new RRP mark for at least the next 6 months. A shame, I agree (hey, I'd much rather that £15 be saved and go towards another game!), but it is what it is, different strokes and all that plus, Bluepoint really do insane work with their remakes. For me, having not played the original (and now not having to experience it on PS3) and looking at how great the game looks, and how the audio and music sounds, I think it's justified, especially listening to interviews with Bluepoint and the great work they do. I'm still very surprised (in a positive way) when Shadow of the Colossus was released at a budget price in 2018, to be honest. The biggest surprise for me is seeing Miles Morales and Sackboy coming in at the same price or thereabouts (at least in terms of RRP) on PS4 as they do PS5. I get that it's because it comes with a free upgrade to the PS5 version, etc., but to be honest, if you're buying it for the purpose of playing it as a PS4 game, there's a mark-up there which doesn't make much sense to me, considering you'll end up playing the objectively worse off version. I mean, how is Sackboy on PS4 at £59.99 on Amazon at the moment, when I think The Last of Us Part II earlier this year was only £54.99? That's really weird to me. Yeah, next gen exclusive being available at launch and being a Souls game could both give it a sizeable boost; I'd rather it not be that way, but you're right. Again, one of those games which is way too long and gruelling an experience to rush out a review for in my opinion, they should have given reviewers more time. I've lost track of the number of times I've zoomed through a game, instinctively thought I loved it, and a few days later started questioning my experience a bit more and seeing a few more flaws, which I might not have noticed when first playing it. Just one of those things that comes with the territory for reviews I guess

Early review scores looking really good right now, though I think it's a shame I think that Sony left it so late to send out copies for reviewers (1 or 2 days prior to release). Especially when you consider that it's a remake. Really looking forward to this, I'm expecting a lot of frustration and confusion, which I can't wait for! Think I'm planning on starting as a Knight, I know there are maybe some classes which might make it a bit easier...but I'm here to get my ass kicked

It hasn't launched yet, and those are only physical sales made a week early, but...yeah, of course, and ditto for Xbox. And Nintendo's next console. It goes without saying still, glad it seems like both have got off on the right foot and are doing well! Hopefully we'll hear some promising figures for both in the coming weeks. Has gone quiet in here the last few days, though I don't think there's much to say while we watch our cousins in the US enjoy it all and we're still waiting. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm awfully tense about whether or not the console will show up on Thursday, and of course about the issues some have been having with it - hopefully they get patched soon though (before Thursday would be ideal, but we haven't heard anything official from PlayStation yet). Excited but very nervous to see how this all shakes out. Finally heard back from GAME on Twitter and in an email, just saying they've had issues with their previous arrangements (DPD no longer an option, so they've split them between DHL, Yodel, and Royal Mail) which is the reason for the change. As someone who was with Royal Mail before I don't understand why mine ended up changing, but seems that the earliest pre-orders they processed ended up with Yodel (go figure). I know Royal Mail are solid around my area so they would have been my first choice, I haven't had any issues with DHL the few times I've used them before...so of course I ended up with Yodel, who I haven't used in a long time (I think I received a pretty beat up order of clothes or something from them once?). Anyways, all fingers crossed everything goes smoothly. Definitely never using GAME again for a big item after this, the fact that they blocked responses on their tweets and didn't respond to anyone for a week doesn't give me much faith in them moving forwards, and then there's the matter of them still not confirming that they'll refund other customers who paid for Royal Mail/DPD but have since been downgraded. But, yeah. It is what it is, quite grateful people are still in work and we still have the option for delivery given everything going on. I hope it turns up on Thursday without any problems, and all of my fretting will have been for nothing.

Yeah, definitely agree there. Seems especially tone deaf considering PlayStation is where the series started and has come into its own in the last few years, but I guess it's a business first and foremost, and money (unfortunately) talks. Can't wait to check it out when the PS5 upgrade is available, personally it gives me plenty of time to get through 5 and 6 first (and then maybe Judgment too) so I don't mind too much it's a difficult one to judge I think, because if they were aiming for next gen launch and I were them, purely from a business sense, I think I'd do the same. There's very little in the way of new games released on the Xbox Series X | S so far, giving the game more of an opportunity to take centre stage, and I feel like it would have been drowned out by Demon's Souls, Miles Morales, and even Astro's Playroom, had the PS5 version been made available this week. Then again, Yakuza, despite its surge in popularity in recent years, is still kind of a niche series, and I unfortunately don't see many swarming to play what is mainly a turn-based JRPG at the start of a new gen, either. It's just a weird one either way for me, I think being ready for launch and the delayed upgrade are both pretty viable options for them then again, like you said, there'd undoubtedly be a spike here as everyone's after new games at the start of a new gen, and they've done a spectacular job of basically doing everything but selling this game as a JRPG; the trailers certainly look much more like your standard Yakuza affair. Either way, glad those who have the game are enjoying it! Now to just hope that a PS4 physical version without the steelbook gets released...

This is the first line of my last post in this thread, and well...it's safe to say this didn't go to plan it's been a crazy year for pretty much everyone, and as the months went on, I felt increasingly overwhelmed by both the pandemic and what's been going on in my work and personal life. I would sit down, start typing an update, and then quickly lose steam, which would only frustrate me further, because I love talking about games. Almost as much as I do playing them. Catching up on this thread has been on my to-do list for the last few months, and not bringing it up-to-date has pretty actively dissuaded me from playing games and, in some cases, wanting to talk about those games. It's been weird. But, all being well, I will have started my next-gen journey by this time next weekend, and I know that once that happens, there will be absolutely no way I'll bring this up-to-date. In a lot of cases I've been pretty active in the threads for the games I'm going to talk about, and seeing as there's a whole lot to get through, I'm probably not going to get into them as much as I might have normally liked to, but that's okay. I'm going to go through probably a month at a time, though that depends on how much I have to say. Either way, I want to be finished by Wednesday evening, for obvious reasons! Let's get started with what I played in the remainder of May. MAY VALKYRIA CHRONICLES | 2008 Valkyria Chronicles tells the story of Squad 7 as they fight in defence of their home nation of Gallia, a neutral country in the Second Europan War (basically this alternate world's version of World War II) which is abundant in stores of precious Ragnite ore (basically this world's main energy source and healing method), against The Autocratic East Europan Imperial Alliance. Along the way, it portrays the budding and innocent romance between Alicia Melchiott and Welkin Gunther in the midst of a war which sees the game deal with heavy topics such as racism, perspective, and death, as well as shedding light on scheming politicians, the casualties of innocents, and even the history of an ancient near-genocide. It all sounds very heavy, but what grounds this game is a gorgeous, watercolour-like visual style, a solid soundtrack, and the diversely opinionated - and oftentimes amusing - cast of Squad 7. What makes this game unique is that, while like most strategy games it is turn-based, it makes use of a system dubbed BLiTZ: Battle of Live Tactical Zones. During your turn you start in Command Mode, and have an overhead map of the battlefield from which you can select a unit. Once selected, the battle zooms in on the selected unit, giving you control of them from the perspective of a third-person shooter in Action Mode, from which you can control their movement and take actions such as healing your allies and attacking the enemy, and you can control a number of classes and even a number of vehicles throughout the journey. This is all balanced by the Action Points available to units, which determines how far they can move before needing to take a rest, and you can't just freely use the same character over and over again during your turn, as their available energy greatly diminishes the more they are used in a single turn, forcing you to approach things with other units in mind, and having to be careful about where your units end up - because, at the end of your turn, if they're in a spot with poor cover, the enemy stand a good chance of taking them out. A number of objectives make up the story, from routing out the enemy, to securing camps over the map, to protecting certain characters as they make their way from A to B, and objectives can often change halfway through a mission (though, in my opinion, the first few times this happens leads to a pretty big spike in difficulty). The better you perform in missions - entirely determined, unfortunately, by the fewer turns you take - the more money and experience you take home and can use to upgrade your weapons, vehicles, or even your classes through training regimens. Once back at base you can even buy newspapers, which can unlock new missions which provide more backstory to certain characters, and you can also visit the graves of your fallen comrades, or even be awarded in medal ceremonies. There are pages upon pages of character details to read through, as well as about the history of the world and the war, and these can also provide some insights into which characters might provide boosts to one another, or what their weaknesses might be (for example, you don't want to send someone into a battlefield knowing full well that they're you're putting them up against their allergies!). All of this is presented in a wonderful book, which neatly ties together the visual style of the game. Valkyria Chronicles is a game which is solid in almost every department, has heaps of charm, and is bound to bring a tear to even the most steely-eyed of players (those who have played the game no doubt know what I'm talking about, one of the most heart-wrenching moments in video games). It's well worth the price of admission, and I look forward to one day giving Valkyria Chronicles 4 a shot. A WAY OUT | 2018 Developed by Hazelight Studios and directed by Josef Fares (AKA the 'F**k the Oscars!' guy), A Way Out is a rare example of a meticulously crafted, split-screen cooperative multiplayer game: it must be played by two players, whether they're next to you on the sofa or on the other side of the world kicking it up on Bondi (and only one of you need to own the game to do so!). You play as Leo and Vincent, two prisoners who must first escape their new jumpsuits and then elude the authorities as they make their way back to their families, with set pieces gradually ramping up throughout the game to a climactic finish which would make Kojima proud. No, seriously. It takes a lot of what you'd expect to see in a Naughty Dog game - basic third-person shooter mechanics, ducking for cover, light puzzles and a hole lot of button mashing in order to lift things up - except, you know, it's co-op. And not developed by Naughty Dog. But still, it's very good. The split-screen aspect is especially interesting, as while at one moment you can both be playing at the same time and have one player distracting guards while the other sneaks around the corner, there are also many instances where a cutscene might be playing out for one character while it's not for the other. It makes for a very interesting balance in its storytelling. I sat down with my younger brother one Saturday morning and we blasted through this game, finishing about five or six hours later the same day. There isn't much else to say, to be honest: I don't think Naughty Dog-lite is a disservice to the game, and actually gives you a pretty good idea of what you're in for. But I had a blast, and so did my brother. I wish there were more games like this, and while I am absolutely up for more from Fares and Hazelight, I really think he overshadowed the game with his little display at The Game Awards a few years back, which is a real shame. This game had plenty of twists and turns from beginning to end, and while it doesn't do much new, what it does it does brilliantly. And again: that ending. A hearty recommendation for anyone who wants a game designed for two players, because this is a real gem. THE LAST OF US | 2013 It's really hard for me to take horror films seriously. Ever since I was young, having a vested interest in the filmmaking process has kept me mostly on top of it: "hey, that blood is a bit too dark, I wonder if their fake blood was drying out?", "okay, but why would you go up the stairs? Someone is clearly about to jump out [someone jumps out]", "everyone's scared of this thing? The CGI looks terrible!" Jump scares can catch me out, sure, but even when I would try my hardest to invest myself in the film's world and story, it just wouldn't click for me. But there's something about the interactivity of video games which flips that on its head, completely. I remember booting up the Resident Evil 2 Demo a year or two ago, walking around for about thirty seconds, and giving up. Leon, pal, want my advice? If there's a zombie breakout you turn around and walk away. And I'm sure seeing snippets of Resident Evil 4 at a friend's house, and my early childhood trauma of Dino Crisis when in pre-school/reception, had something to do with that, too. I haven't played much of anything that I'd call a horror game before. As you might know from seeing me post here and elsewhere on these forums, though, there's one thing I'm a sucker for, and that's a good story. Of course I'd heard of this game before playing it. A lot. Though, incredibly, I hadn't seen much gameplay of it, and hadn't had anything spoiled for me. Look up any list of Top 10 games and this probably appears in half of them. And of course I've heard of Naughty Dog, especially their modern efforts and transition to third-person action-adventure games. I mean, really: at this point, who hasn't heard of them? They're an awards darling of a studio putting out cutting edge games which are incredibly popular and critically acclaimed. A couple of years ago, wanting to get to grips with Naughty Dog's offerings, I played through Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, and while those games have their highlights (with 2 being my favourite by quite some margin), I really didn't understand what the fuss was all about. These games were solid, but they were far from blowing me away. But I was always curious about their next game, and with the sequel just over a month away, it was time to make a decision. And so I decided that it was time to finally give The Last of Us a chance. This game starts with a bang, and within those opening fifteen minutes, you'll know whether this game is for you. The tone is set for this brutally harsh reality where only the hardened survive. It's hard watching the early hours of a world crumbling under the pressure of a pandemic (especially this year, for reasons that go without saying) which sees those infected become, for all intents and purposes, human-slaying zombies, and harder to watch is how the world reacts. Early on, Joel meets Ellie, and finds himself with the task of smuggling her across the post-apocalyptic that the United States has become some twenty years or so after the initial outbreak. The Infected have taken on all shapes and sizes, and so has the malice of the remnants of man. You'll find yourself stealthily trying to sneaking around, and sometimes through, rooms filled with Infected, the tension of which is further heightened by some great survival mechanics, such as how long it takes to heal yourself, reload your gun, or craft some make-shift bomb. I often found myself promptly checking, and then double-checking, my equipment after adrenaline-pumping confrontations, or when things had been quite for just a little too long that it made me uncomfortable. But there's also this puzzling, melancholic beauty to this world, the calm of which can often lull you into forgetting about the dangers which might be surrounding you. The world is so diverse, with interiors being this flat kind of drab - mostly made up of muted greys, spoiled browns, and murky greens - which only serves to amplify the bright colours of nature which have pierced through - and in many cases, overwhelmed - the manmade landscapes of these crumbling cities. The writing, as well as the gameplay, world, and level design, all weave together to produce this amazing pacing which is consistent throughout the course of the game. Joel and Ellie start out indifferent to each other, but gradually become accustomed to and then more trusting in the other, and it's a wonderful sight to behold, which all unfolds so naturally. Their conversation and banter throughout the game does such an excellent job of fleshing them out, and Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson did such an amazing job of carrying the brunt of it all. This runs parallel to an enticing upgrade system which sees Joel's capabilities grow throughout the course of the game, and I found myself heavily investing in Weapon Sway, Shiv Master, and Maximum Health, which had me increasingly confident in my abilities the deeper I got into the game, but it never felt easy, just easier to handle. The world itself, as I mentioned before, can almost lull you into a false sense of security, and there are some areas in particular where the tension certainly ratchets way up, such as in a certain hotel basement. Screw that hotel basement. I got out pretty much unscathed and was fully prepared and I still found myself petrified. Seriously, screw that hotel basement. Though, while there are times where it certainly offers a false sense of security, there are other times where just a returning feature of the world immediately gets you grabbing your shotgun and slowly treading through a room, such as when entering a dark hallway and wondering about how it would suck to run into some Stalkers at that very moment. Areas are never too large to fully explore, and so exploring every single area's nooks and crannies doesn't feel like I'm going out of the way and losing track of the main objective. Not only that, but because this is a survival horror game, by design it knows that you're going to be checking everything out, and so finding notes, recorders, etc., feels like a totally natural way to explore the world's history. It really reminds me of items and Mini Medals in Dragon Quest in this way: practically everything you find feels useful. I read and listened to everything I found, which I very rarely do outside of JRPGs that I'm adoring, and although I didn't find everything - there's one particular door which comes to mind which I didn't have the materials to make a shiv to break into back near Bill's place, and I remember early on feeling the game was pushing back hard enough to discourage this somewhat at the very beginning - I still felt completely satisfied with my discoveries. Piecing together the history of some of these places is heartbreaking. And then there's the change of pace exhibited at Silver Lake, where things are turned on their head, and suddenly what was manageable before isn't again. It's perfectly timed, flawlessly executed, and might just be one of my favourite "levels" in any video game. It convinced me to pre-order Part II without even having finished the game, that's how much faith I had in Naughty Dog by that point. And the game triumphantly charges towards the end from there, with all its card laid bare. That ending is what video game stories should aspire to be, putting us in the position where a choice is made and overwhelmingly fighting for and relishing in the choice the character makes. It's about empathy, and putting you in the shoes of Joel in that moment, and it is all so, so well done. As my first survival horror game, while very intense at times - almost too intense in that hotel basement - I absolutely fell in love with this game. The DLC, Left Behind, is of course excellent too. It does nothing to take away from the main game's ending, but does such a good job in the two hours or so it takes to complete of fleshing out Ellie and her past, giving us a little bit more context for the main game, and also some insight into the origins of her love for puns. The past moments which play out mirror the point in the present in that it portrays the two moments where Ellie is about to be left alone - it could not be better named. But there's basically Hotel Basement 2.0 here, so screw that. Something that has to be mentioned when talking about The Last of Us is Gustavo Santaolalla's magnificent score. It's so restrained and refined, yet emotionally charged and visceral, so naturally tuned to the world and the interactions playing out on screen. There's the main theme, The Last of Us, which is so memorable for playing over the opening credits. with this steady rhythm of these powerful plucks of guitar strings; Vanishing Grace, which relies on the same melody as the main theme, but is slowed and much more melancholic in how it is subdued; All Gone (No Escape), with the swell of the straining strings of violins after this deep and steady cello really does a stellar job of setting the scene up to be as emotionally resonant as it is. From Left Behind, All Gone (Reunion) and its main theme, Left Behind, are the standouts. The latter in particular I feel is perfectly suited for what the DLC entails, this quiet strumming on the guitar before slowly builds and explodes into life with this Western-like part, I love it. I'm a sucker for hard cuts when it comes to endings, though, so The Path (A New Beginning) was always going to be a very difficult one for me to not find my favourite! The Last of Us is a testament to excellent moment-to-moment gameplay, coupled with an emotionally resonant story, a stellar voice cast, unforgettable story beats, which screams the importance of empathy. This is what storytelling in games is about, and still remains the standard by which other stories in this medium are told to this day. This game is a masterpiece, and very quickly became one of my favourites. YAKUZA 3 | 2009 During this pandemic I have found that there is no better escape than the Yakuza series, and specifically none greater than Yakuza 3, which I will lovingly refer to as the beach/summer special episode of the series. Continuing on not too longer after the events of 2/Kiwami 2, Yakuza 3 sees Kiryu hanging out at an orphanage he's set up on Okinawa called Morning Glory, becoming the legal guardian of a number of children there. Everything is peaceful, and it is incredibly cosy, with a beach just across the street. His biggest worries are arguments between the kids, and it's hilarious seeing how he disciplines them, choosing to sit everyone down for debates when things get heated. He even plays hide-and-seek with them. Haruka is a big sister to everyone there, often working to find peace, and going to do daily chores. Kiryu is living a good, well-earned life of early retirement. Not too long after, though, he butts heads with a smaller local Yakuza family, and from there on finds himself embroiled in a plot to save the orphanage from being built on by a massive seaside resort, which is mysteriously somehow tied to the Yakuza and plans for a military base expansion. Yakuza 3 remains similar to other Yakuza stories in that it is host to endearing characters, you'll find yourself back on the streets of Kamurocho and familiarising yourself once again with the area and getting used to its changes, but Okinawa provides a welcome change in that it just feels so much more relaxed. Problems are generally on a smaller scale around Morning Glory, and is a great change of pace from what we've become so typically accustomed to in these games. Substories remain these tiny nuggets which can be hilarious, charming, or full of emotional depth, and helping strangers in these games with their problems continues to be great fun. That all being said, I do think this game has some issues which I have to mention, though it's worth remembering that I'm playing a remaster of a game which is over a decade old. I think the main thing would be that quality of life improvements from newer entries, such as pausing in cutscenes, aren't present here, which is a shame because it seems like that would have been something relatively easy to add in here (and would've been a wise decision due to the length of some cutscenes). There's also the weird pacing of some cutscenes, which I imagine at the time of release were down to budget constraints? Sometimes a cutscene would begin with a short cinematic, before cutting away to the more typical in-engine cutscene, with text boxes and no voice acting to boot, which would then end by returning to yet another cinematic. Again, it seems like something they might have been better off updating for this remaster. To be honest, I also think that the main villain was rather forgettable, and that the Yakuza stuff going down in Kamurocho oftentimes felt more like a distraction which returned to the tropes of the series rather than the fun and refreshing time we had on Okinawa. It might have been a bit better paced if we didn't find ourselves going back and forth, or rather, just dealt with smaller issues throughout, because a large part of why the main villain seems so forgettable is because it feels like we're treading over things we've already covered in previous games. The biggest flaw of the game by far, though, is just how clunky it feels: the horizontal axis on the camera is quite sensitive and takes a bit of getting used to (with no option to adjust in the settings), and fights feel incredibly sluggish. To make matters worse, though, enemies block in this game far more than they do in any other - and yes, this is even the case for bosses, who were already notorious for having fights which went on maybe a bit too long in other games already - which narrows your options in battles considerably, and I often found myself waiting for the enemy to swing before sidestepping, unleashing a single chain of attacks, before they're blocking again and you must wait for them to hit you so that you can sidestep them - again. I think it's held back by it's age, with dated, slower, and somewhat clunky controls, and doesn't have the most interesting Yakuza storyline, but it still has a great cast, a fun world, and plenty of hilarious substories to experience, all of which still manage to make this game a great time. The best escape from this pandemic by a long shot.

Was far too tired after I finished playing games last night to watch Chapter 11, so watched it this morning instead. Solid episode all around, I really enjoyed it, and despite only coming in at some 35 minutes or something like that, felt just as long as last week's 40 minute episode, which is pretty amazing considering about two minutes are spent on the recap this time around (which I swear is the longest one we've had so far?). Solid episode, not my favourite this season, but far from the worst overall. Really excited to see how things play out over the next couple of weeks!

Not much of a surprise here, best launch in Xbox history: Solid job by Xbox!

Just watched it. The Photo Mode in this game looks gorgeous, but it commits the sin of doing something I'm going to find it very hard to go back to after Ghost of Tsushima: having to pause the game to then open Photo Mode. Just having to hit right on the D-Pad to instantly pause the game and jump into Photo Mode should be standard, in my opinion, for Sony's first party offerings (in instances where it isn't used in the game). It's much faster, which means you're more likely to capture the moment. It's the main reason I captured so many photos in Ghost of Tsushima (hundreds, even!): because it was just so easily accessible. I replayed Spider-Man recently and I don't remember any particular use for right on the D-Pad in that game, so it's a shame if it's not being used again here that it's not being utilised like how Tsushima managed it. I would take a lot more photos if this was more generally utilised, or if we could assign certain buttons to be used for Photo Mode if not, but otherwise, I'll probably top out at 50, at a push, in Miles Morales, when I would probably want to take way more.

Watched it last night and it's made me want to track down the Shadow of the Colossus one over the weekend, I really enjoyed watching it. And damn, I always somehow forget how crazy beautiful Shadow of the Colossus was. Mind you, I did play it on a standard PS4 with a HD TV... ...I think I need to play it again on PS5

I don't believe so, only upgrade paths seem to be for Nioh 2 Complete Edition (free upgrade to 2 Complete Edition Remastered) and Nioh 2 (paid upgrade to Remastered, access to DLC by those paid for on PS4). I guess this is a Spider-Man Remastered situation where they feel the original is justified being sold as a new item because of the 4K textures and boosted framerate, though of course that's only available with the Deluxe Edition at the moment, so I'm kind of surprised Nioh Remastered will be available by itself and not limited to being bundled with the Nioh Collection.

Yeah, if I'm remembering right, haven't they taken collision and hit box detection up to a pretty absurd degree? I know it's turn-based in battles now, but still, imagine that has to be pretty taxing on the hardware even in those battles and elsewhere, like in the mini games. Also I saw an animation of bread being eaten and holy cow, that's a solid animation and some good physics work. Someone taking a vest off on TLOU2 earlier this year, and their rope physics, and now this? Been a great year to see some strides in the animations and physics being used, I love it!

Mine arrived earlier today, I like the packaging and that's about all I can say about it, because same here, I really doubt I'm ever going to use it! Might just open it to feel what the controller is like, oh and to extract the Chromecast though. Maybe. going to cancel the subscription now it's here, because I nearly forgot, and doubt I'll remember if I leave it for later!

Launching 21st May 2021. More of a delay than I had expected, honestly.

Yep, basically. Similarly, most banks offer gambling blocks, and the only thing in the way of you removing the block? A 24 hour cooldown. Oh, and the block doesn't even stop all gambling transactions, just some. Where there's money to be made, I guess Customers who spend more than is healthy to, and maintainable, on anything really need more support. It's just not taken seriously enough when it comes to games, I feel. Not only is there for the issue of age restrictions being easy to bypass, but from what I've read/seen, they can find it harder to open up than those recovering from other addictions, like drugs or alcohol. I don't know, I just hope people get the support they need. A block available on cards aimed at those with microtransaction spending addictions more like those seen with GamCare and GamAware for gambling - which are much harder to remove, and generally better integrated, than the ones banks offer directly - would be the way to go I think. Or maybe they could just work closer with the virtual storefronts, because spending habits could highlight vulnerable players who are overspending quite easily. Fingers crossed things only improve.

About as useless as a gambling limit you can set yourself, but still, it's something of a step in the right direction.

Sucker Punch crushing it, reportedly over 5 million sold. Well deserved in my opinion, probably my favourite "traditional" open world (read: open world not called Breath of the Wild, I have issues with that game in a few places, but I loved the exploration aspect and just how open the world felt!), it's of my favourite games of the year so far. Awesome seeing it get a new lease of life with Legends too, though unfortunately I personally haven't put any time into it as I don't really have anyone to check it out with, but it looks like people have been having a lot of fun with it!

And so it begins... Still waiting on the Media Remote and Charging Station, but I don't mind waiting for those. Couldn't resist opening and getting a feel for the DualSense, and it feels really good. Much more natural fit in the hands, feels like the R2 and L2 triggers flair out a bit more which feels nicer, L1 and R1 look substantially bigger to me too. And I like the additional grip to the controller and sticks. Looking forward to seeing how the triggers feels with the motors! Does feel like it comes together a bit abruptly at the end of the grips, the parts don't sit completely flush. Probably the only thing I'd say isn't absolutely ideal from just a feel perspective? But it's not like it's a problem, either. It's going to be a looooooooong 7 days.

Have tracking info now for everything arriving tomorrow, so that's nice. On the other hand, still haven't heard back from GAME about delivery for the console changing from Royal Mail to Yodel, and looking on Twitter/ResetEra, I genuinely don't expect to. Hundreds of instances I've read now where people have paid for DPD/Royal Mail and been charged for it but it's been changed to Yodel without any confirmation, and GAME seemingly haven't got back to anyone. You would think that someone over there would have cottoned on by now. I raised a ticket yesterday morning and DM'd them on Twitter, but looking at their site for contact details, there's seemingly no other way to contact them: in their infinite wisdom, they no longer have a customer service number you can call as they have transitioned to working from home, and their support page points you to the live chat on their website, which is absolutely nowhere to be seen. Part of me remains hopeful that it's an error across the board, especially seeing as all accessories and games are still being shipped by DPD and Royal Mail, as was originally the case. The other part of me is designed to figuring out whether my PS5 turns up in pieces, or if it even turns up at all. And then there's the optimist in me, too, somewhere back there, hoping I get one of the few Yodel drivers who actually does their job. Going to be an unnecessarily stressful next 7 days or so waiting to find out what's actually going on. UPDATE: check Twitter for the 40th time today for an update on this, and of course there's a page hidden on the GAME site somewhere about this, which someone had to do some digging for. Seems like all of those charged now, from what I can tell, are the first wave of pre-orders from 23:00 on the night of the September event...and we're the ones who have had Yodel dumped on us. A 1 in 3 chance and I end up with by far the worst option. Don't even have the option for DPD anymore. Woo. Well, I at least hope everyone else enjoys their PS5 next week

Digital Foundry deep dive. It's long. Very long

Nominees coming next week:

Same thing with me, having not played up until the more recent Yakuza entries I'm going to have to force myself to be patient. And yeah, even though I'll be waiting for that next gen upgrade in March, I'm after that PS4 version so I've got them all in a similar case. I don't understand why SEGA insist on putting out Yakuza in steelbooks at launch, but I guess it's a great way to teach me patience

Cries in Europe while waiting for the PS5