Ronnie

I think the fact that Nintendo keep their prices stable means they wouldn't need to increase prices for the same reasons as the big publishers. A lot of people will have bought Shadow of the Tomb Raider for £15 or £20 but everyone will be buying Paper Mario at £40-50.

They seem pretty set on the two tone white/black look, it might seem a bit weak if they immediately cave and offer a fully black option from the start.

And to counter-act that, there's 100x more games now than back in the 90s to make up for it. They can and should increase prices, the model is unsustainable long term, especially as now devs are going to have to start designing 4K games.

I kind of wish combat was more actiony like Super Paper Mario with regular enemies, and it only goes turn-based for more scripted encounters + obviously boss battles. Then again people often avoid combat in top down Zelda or 2D Mario at times, so maybe you could make the argument this isn't much different. But yeah, weird one and I'm sure it'll be the main criticism review wise.

If anyone spots it up for sale, could you add a link here please. Definitely getting that

WOW

Or, a lot of AAA releases will just be sequels to previous properties because it's too risky to launch a new IP. It's what's happening in the film industry where everything nowadays is a sequel, a reboot, a live action remake, or a book/comic book adaptation.

Great post. To keep it simple, I'm fine with the price increase as long as there's a decrease in MTXs to go along with it. Gaming is cheaper than it's ever been these days, yet development costs have sky-rocketed. Something had to give as the status quo is unsustainable. And it's not just games being bargain basement prices after a couple of months, the RRP has stayed the same for generations, even though with inflation we should be at $75+ games by now. Nintendo are in a strong position with their games not going on sale till years later. That plays a big part in why they sell such huge numbers software wise.

It's times like this where I 100% understand Nintendo giving fewer media outlets review copies. Leaks are ruining the industry

Best openworld city game Doubt I'll get many people agreeing with this choice but I'm going for Watch_Dogs. Sure the protagonist is a bit bland but when it comes to the overall game, I had a great time. It was actually my first ever openworld game, so maybe that helps my fondness for it. I loved the different areas of the city, all the activities and collectibles and hacking your way around was great fun. Dropped the sequel after a couple of hours, a very different game and not one I was enjoying at all.

Re: character voices, I think they wanted people to know the game takes place in London. It looks interesting, a bit OTT goofy imo but still fun.

A couple of hours into Rime, I want to love it so much but it's making it so hard. The concept, puzzles, visuals, music are all there but the gameplay is so janky. The performance is pretty unacceptable, especially given I'm on the Xbox One X. It'll stutter constantly, the camera movements make me feel nauseous and the whole thing just feels really unpolished. Really frustrating because if this game were in the hands of a more technically competent developer it could maybe stand alongside things like Journey and The Witness. I'll press on though, enjoying everything else...

Oh I bring my own food in too, but £7.50 for a London Vue is a pretty good price I think. Most other cinemas here are £14-£24

Cinema prices are pretty ridiculous but my local Vue is actually only £7.50 which seems like a bargain these days, for London anyway. Trouble is popcorn starts at £6 . There's nothing I'm desperate to see on the horizon anyway, whenever there's a new Star Wars film I'll certainly go and watch but things like Top Gun 2 I'll just wait till they release it on bluray or whatever. (I usually roll my eyes at pointless cash grabs like that and the new Bill and Ted, but I loved the original so much lol)

Few hated things do these days. It's pretty ridiculous. A lot of people seem to thrive on demolishing something.

Favourite Awful Game I think I must have played a different game to everyone else because all I hear online about Paper Mario: Sticker Star is how it's one of the worst games Nintendo have ever put out, but from my point of view I really enjoyed my time with it. Maybe objectively it was poor compared to past entries, and I certainly enjoyed Super Paper Mario and Colour Splash a lot more but still, I had a great time with Sticker Star. The Paper Mario series has always been haunted by TTYD though so maybe having not played that I just don't mind how each subsequent game is different to it and just enjoy them for what they are.

Really clever idea, the town itself was pretty handy to stock up on supplies too, I used it all the time, gliding down from a nearby hill

Tough one sorry about that. Think the neurologist I saw ruled out auto-immune disease for me. Still in the dark and frustrating

Sorry to hear your trouble with face masks. Funnily enough I think I suffer from something similar even though I've never been diagnosed as that by doctors I've been to.

That'd be great if you don't mind? Whenever is best for you let me know

Another vote for Clock Town for Favourite Town/Village. It basically felt like a game all to itself, more fleshed out than even modern towns in games are. It played a big part in making sure Majora's Mask felt really different to Ocarina. Tons of sidequests and secrets, both weird and tragic, and a brilliant main hub for a brilliant game.

Got one already though, eventually, but thank you! Does anyone have turnip prices over 100? I need to SELL SELL SELL!!

Played, finished and LOVED Guacamelee! 2. Gorgeous visuals, witty writing, great platforming, satisfying combat. Even better than the first game. Went as far as getting all but 1 achievement on Xbox (skipping the beat the game on hard mode ). While Metroidvanias are everywhere these days, it's refreshing to see one with a completely different vibe and world. Playing a big Mexican luchador trying to stop the bad guy from getting sacred guacamole isn't something you see every day Really really hope we see a third instalment.

That's a good one. Love the bit in the middle with Midna and the triumphant return home for Link at the end with the great music.

My choice for Credit sequence is never going to win any awards, but it's basically all the charm, polish and fun of a Nintendo game distilled into a short animation. Mine goes to Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. It's an on-rails (literally) trip through previous environments, with enemies in the background and the Captain + Toadette reacting to everything around them. Cute and fun. PLUS the post-credits addition of the 3D World connection, fantastic. That finish with the sunset was glorious. The music made it seem so epic, either the good or bad ending.