Grazza

I'll have to wait until tomorrow, but it's the 3DS version for me. Lay back, plug in some headphones and listen to Jake Kaufman's music!

It wouldn't be so bad if we'd actually had some good ones. As it stands, Etrian Odyssey IV is the only one I've played on 3DS that is truly great (Untold is good as well, but as a remake I think they've somewhat unbalanced the post-game). Most of the other 3DS RPGs have just confirmed people's prejudices about the genre. Anyway, what I'm hoping for: * Shantae and the Pirate's Curse release date * Shovel Knight (specific) release date * Dragon Quest VII localisation!! I'm past expecting any genuinely new 3DS games. Bah!

OutRun and Afterburner for me, although there are loads I want that they haven't done yet.

My nostalgic "pretend I'm in an '80s arcade" nights are about be become more fleshed-out!

I believe most of them are, but maybe not Danny. We saw the villain in the first episode impaled, and the fried hand of the community support officer in The Caretaker. Danny, though, might have just been whisked away to get Clara there. I don't think was B. It was probably that he knew Clara had a psychic link to Danny and, if he was anywhere, she had a chance of finding him. There's also the option that he suspected there might be some sort of scheme going on. I've got some more thoughts but I'll put them in spoilers in case they're right.

In terms of resolution, that's true - 1080p looks great at 40". However, on a purely personal note, I didn't give enough thought to how I play console games. That is to say, I've got into the habit of kneeling in front of my television, much closer than when I'm just watching TV. For this, it's a little bit too big, but then if you like sitting back with a wireless pad it's a non-issue. If I was doing it again I'd also do more research about input lag, as @Dcubed says. I'm afraid I just saw a good deal in a supermarket and bought it there and then.

I thought it was a brilliant episode, but also agree with everything that @flameboy said. Last year's finale with Richard E Grant was good, but to me, last night's was actually the first time Steven Moffat has managed to match a Russell T Davies season finale (meant 100% as a compliment). Of course, that was only part 1. But yes, the Master reveal felt like such a cop-out when it could have been the Rani. Felt "too" clever, in that they already had an option that would have been more natural and exciting, but used a gender gimmick instead, just for the sake of it. Can't believe they didn't play the Time Lord heartbeat when the Doctor felt her heart either! Still, overall, very good.

In my opinion, 1080p is worth it, although perhaps that's just psychological. There may not be many retail games at that resolution, but there might be more on the eShop. Plus I occasionally run a BluRay through my TV and it's satisfying when "1080p" appears, just to know I'm seeing it at full rez. Now personally I would sacrifice size for resolution. I upgraded from 28" 576i (or whatever PAL was at the time) to 40" 1080p. That's a little bit too big, in my opinion. If I was doing it again I'd go for 1080p and 32".

I'm glad it's not just me. I think it depends an awful lot on how much you like playing on any particular machine - for instance, I've played a ridiculous amount of games on the 3DS, but skipped NSMB on the Wii (which I think I'd have quite liked - I just couldn't be bothered to buy it). And if someone asked me if the Wii U was worth buying, I'd say "Yes", and yet somehow I can't bring myself to play NSMB U, Pikmin 3 or Super Mario 3D World. In fact, I haven't completed a single game on the Wii U. It's not as if I don't have any gaming time either, as I've played the DS and 3DS a lot this year, sometimes even repeat run-throughs of my favourite eShop/Virtual Console games.

Hmm, it is along the lines I was thinking, but I'd be more interested if it was about dreams, rather than just "sleep". I don't feel I need any help with sleep on its own, to be honest, and I wouldn't fancy something bathing me with extra radio waves every night either.

...And it's in! IGN gives it an 8.5, taking the Metacritic score to 84 at the moment. The review is not too spoilerish, but does spoil an early puzzle: http://uk.ign.com/articles/2014/10/29/shantae-and-the-pirates-curse-review So, that's probably about all we can get for now. I'll be interested in the European scores from sites like Metro (GameCentral) and of course here! Eurogamer gave Risky's Revenge a particularly low score (60) compared to the others, so I wonder if they'll prefer this. EDIT - Oh, and Pocket Gamer (9/10): Love it. http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/3DS/Shantae+and+the+Pirate%27s+Curse/review.asp?c=62289

As much as I like most Zeldas, that one actually does have a superb pace. It's a really, really well-made game.

Ah, good, hope you're right then. Anyway, I've been reading all the reviews of this and thought I'd copy some more highlights. Just waiting for IGN now (the only big site I can think of until it gets released in Europe). A nice review from Go Nintendo (do they not give scores?): http://gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=240056 Not much I like more than gorgeous sprite work. Destructoid gives it 7.5/10: http://www.destructoid.com/review-shantae-and-the-pirate-s-curse-282790.phtml And this is the company that made Mighty Switch Force 1 & 2. A 7/10 from Cubed3: http://www.cubed3.com/review/1626/1/shantae-and-the-pirates-curse-nintendo-3ds-eshop.html Hmm... Finally, a very good review (with spoilers) from Hardcore Gamer, who give it 4.5/5: http://www.hardcoregamer.com/2014/10/28/review-shantae-and-the-pirates-curse/114330/ It does sound rather difficult. Anyway, bring it on!

Yes, a few of my mates expressed their desire for a Wii U because of Bayonetta 2. I don't know whether they'll actually buy one, but it did a lot to get the machine noticed.

I quite enjoyed last night's. It was nice to just have a sci-fi idea that you can apply to real life (trees are very underappreciated, I feel) without them feeling the need to have monsters in the story just for the sake of it. I was also thrilled at the reference to the Tunguska Event - one of our biggest and most thought-provoking mysteries.

It's dawning on me that, using the last game in the series as a benchmark, we might not get this until March next year. The Mighty Switch Force games were translated quickly but, let's face it, there's a lot more dialogue in Shantae. So, being impatient, I gave myself yet another playthrough of Risky's Revenge (well, half of it anyway)! The sprite work is just gorgeous, and makes me eager to see what the 3DS can do. Sure, the screenshots look great, but it's the frames of animation that really make it. And I'm trying to be swift, but the music in certain shops and areas is so good I have to stop and listen to it! Also, Shantae's idle animation is really good - can't believe I never left her to do that before!

I'd definitely recommend Risky's Revenge first too. Everything about it is of amazing quality - graphics, music, controls. Then, if you enjoy it as much as some of us do, you can either go straight on to Pirate's Curse or go back and play the original. Just be aware that the GBC game has a large overworld and is quite hard to traverse (nothing liberal use of Restore Points can't fix though!) To put it another way, the first two games are both like Wonder Boy/Monster World (sprawling overworld, transformations used as "keys"), whereas this third one sounds more like Metroid Fusion. I'd say Risky's Revenge perfects the idea, although the original does have two animal transformations that RR doesn't. Oh, and I'd recommend playing RR with headphones, as the music is stunningly good!

Nintendo World Report gives it 9/10 (review is a little bit spoiler-ish): http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/38798/shantae-and-the-pirates-curse-review And an amazing review from US Gamer (4/5): Flipping heck, I'm not the biggest fan of the original Shantae (LOVE Risky's Revenge though), but it was massive! If this is bigger, it really must be quite a game! (On the graphics...) http://www.usgamer.net/articles/shantae-and-the-pirates-curse-3ds-review-low-on-bilge-high-on-booty Cannot wait.

A 9/10 from Nintendolife. http://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/3ds-eshop/shantae_and_the_pirates_curse I'm surprised by this. Risky's Revenge required your full attention and had a learning curve here or there, but was still quite comfortable to play. Sounds like the difficulty of this might be more like the original. Ignoring the word 'unnecessary', I'd be annoyed if there wasn't, to be honest. It's done in a really wholesome style that 100% fits the theme. Anyway, I'm really looking forward to it. My most anticipated game of the year, without a doubt.

Character Spotlight for the Ammo Baron: ...And the launch trailer: I have a couple of small reservations, but overall it looks very good. I could really do with a great game this year.

Has anyone else bought this whilst it's £17.99? I've given it a quick go and it seems like a decent RPG, with some good music. Some of the humour is a bit naff, and you certainly need a reasonable tolerance for anime/lots of story, but I've not seen anything too off-putting so far. The dating sim aspects do offer you a chance to somewhat put your personality into it, although I suspect the best decision is always to choose the most confident, reassuring and decisive option - still, always a lesson for real life! The battle system seems very interesting, and would perhaps be too complicated if this was a real-time game. Thankfully though, it's turn-based, so I have a chance. At the moment I'm thinking: seems like a solid RPG, if the dating sim elements and story don't bog it down.

Awesome. Time to get it!

That is brilliant, @Cube! Thanks very much.

Very much enjoyed Mummy on the Orient Express. A simple but mysterious episode, with another tour-de-force performance by Peter Capaldi. Good pace, all flowed nicely.

Seems WayForward is doing character profiles. First up, the rather untrustworthy zombie, Rottytops: