S.C.G

I played the demo last night, I was plaing each of the missions on and off for a while, starting the the basics tutorial, which went just as expected, getting used to what has been changed and what remains the same in this latest entry in the Monster Hunter series. It seems like a perfect pairing of old Monster Hunter and the new style shown in World, but with its own unique elements, which work well within the game world. It took a little while, just to customise the HUD, as I prefer it when there's a minimum of information on the screen, I couldn't work out how to get it so that the HUD moreorless disappears, like in Monster Hunter Generations, until you toggle it while running, but I got rid of a few superfluous notifications and 'features' like the quick select wheel which comes up, as the old style item selection works just fine for me. Both training missions were fine, they outline what to expect from the game pretty well, as for the main missions... Beginner Quest: Great Izuchi - Standard entry-level Monster Hunter quest, easy enough to get into the combat, use your surroundings, take out some smaller enemies which appear, and generally get a feel for the flow of the game, when the monster reaches a certain amount of damage taken, it seems to use the system from world where it will automatically run to a certain location on the map, this seems to happen two or three times for more standard monsters; defeated it without too much trouble. Intermediate Quest: Mizutsune - This quest proved to be a bit more of a challenge, despite having faced Mizutsune many times over in Monster Hunter games before, this new version seems to take a few few more hits, it might be that because it's a demo and that you can't pick anything about your character, plus the weapons seems to be quite low-grade, coupled with the more World-focused combat/damage system. Anyway... I got taken out twice, chased the monster all the way around the map, came into contact with another Izuchi and a Rathian which I got to ride, then decided to run from the Rathian and managed to take out Mizutsune with around seven minutes left on the clock. It's a great demo, the game seems to be the perfect balance of everything which I'd want from a Monster Hunter game, it's a shame to hear about the online issues, though I'd have thought these would be ironed out before the game comes out, will I be buying the game when it comes out? Quite possible, but it's only the start of January, and the game isn't out until the end of March, so we'll see what happens, I want to say that I'll be getting it, in all likelihood I will, as there isn't really any other game coming out on any other platform which I'm interested in. Monster Hunter Rise certainly seems to be, at first glance, another solid entry in the Monster Hunter series, and while Generations is the ideal entry point if you want a representation of what the series has mostly been about from the start, with World being a clear intention of where Capcom want to take the series, Rise seems to take the middle path between the two, not going toward either of the previously well-worn paths, but instead forging a new one, which could be just what the series needs.

N-E Café Episode 59 now available! Now up on the main page. - - - - - I enjoyed listening to your 2021 predictions for Nintendo, and great choice for the title "Nintendo to Shut Down on March 31st" because what with all of the games which may well be going off-sale again on that day, and the lack of many other titles coming out aside from Monster Hunter Rise (I know there are more, I just can't think of any right now) then you could well believe it... though I suspect it's probably a financial year thing, and Nintendo are probably playing it cautiously. I've updated this episode and the previous two with the YouTube links, so everything is up to date again, and I look forward to next weeks episode.

Monster Hunter Digital Event January 2021 Roundup Up on the main page. N-Europe's roundup of the event, full press release and video embed. - - - - - A demo then? Excellent news, I'll likely be trying that out later. They certainly got a lot of mileage out of that short video clip though.

I might as well change my vote to What Remains of Edith Finch there you go, enjoy the game, it's a great walking/talking simulator.

Steamworld Dig 2 because I still haven't played it.

N-E Café Episode 58 now available! Now up on the main page. - - - - - Nice choice of games for the 2020 Awards, it was a lot more enjoyable than The Game Awards, and significantly less ad-ridden. If you'd like a listener question for next week, this may or may not already tie into next weeks main topic but... What game are you most looking forward to in 2021? For me, it would have to be Monster Hunter Rise, aside from that, I don't see myself buying any other games, at this point in time. Anyway, looking forward to the next episode, and I'll update this weeks episode with the YouTube embed, as soon as it's available.

A great episode to round off the year. I'll promote it properly on the main page tomorrow, as I've only had time to listen to it while uploading the Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity review. I'm pretty certain on the transition tunes though...

N-E Café Episode 57 now available! Now up on the main page. - - - - - Another excellent listen this week, it was nice to hear about what you've all been playing this week, I know some weeks there will be a lot to talk about, while other weeks might seem empty, but an hour here and there spent gaming, it does add up... I was surprised that I managed ten hours of gaming this week, all online as well, which leads nicely onto... This weeks Listener Question about Local versus Online Gaming, it was good to get everyones perspective on the topic, especially as arranging gaming sessions can be trying, if you're busy anyway, so online can be easier in that respect, I can remember many a fond local multiplayer session, though that doesn't happen much these days, and hasn't for a while, which is probably why I'm drawn to online gaming, it's definitely the community aspect which makes it for me. Well played on the tunes this week, I don't want to spoil it but it's nice and festive, and wanting to carry on the theme, I went for images from ice levels in games which featured on Nintendo platforms, rather than making a banner based on this weeks talked about games, as none of the images I could find, would have really worked that well in a banner. Anyway, looking forward to the next episode, and I'll update this weeks episode with the YouTube embed, as soon as it's available.

I've unlocked Sephiroth, though it's likely I'll be playing some Mario Kart online at around 8pm. (especially as I missed playing it this week in the league) But I'll likely join a bit later, if that's the case, probably around 9pm or so, but either way, I'm sure it'll be a great session.

Super Nintendo World Direct 18/12/2020 Roundup All up on the main page. A brief summary, and entire video presentation embed. - - - - - It does look good, clearly a lot of time, energy and resources went into making Super Nintendo World a reality, it's just not something I can get that excited over, but it was nice to see Shigeru Miyamoto giving a brief tour around the place, and you can see that he's happy to see all of this being brought to life, it must be a big moment for him. If anyone is planning on going to visit Super Nintendo World, whenever that's possible, then I'm sure they'll have a great time there, personally, I've never been that bothered about theme parks in general, though I can see that this is a significant venture for Nintendo. I'm sure the place will print money, so long as people actually have the money to spend... and if not, at least the place is now a reality, though it would be good to see people actually get to enjoy the place, otherwise... it's one heck of an expensive statement by Nintendo and Universal.

Mr. Sakurai presents Sephiroth in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Roundup All up on the main page. Full press release, and entire video presentation embed. - - - - - Right, time to unlock Sephiroth a few days early through the in-game challenge.

I completely forgot that it was Thursday, 8pm just passed me by without a second-thought. I won't join part-way through, my place on the leaderboard is all but finalised in any case. All the best though, and thanks for all the GP's and Battle mode runs we've had this year, it has been fun.

N-E Café Episode 56 now available! Now up on the main page. - - - - - I think its been a good week for the podcast on the news front, which made for some really decent discussion, what with Sephiroth being announced for Smash, and The Game Awards in general, especially as a new Perfect Dark game was announced, also, I know there hasn't been a lot to talk about on the Nintendo front with games, but it is interesting hearing about some Nintendo games, plus games from other platforms, obviously it depends on what you've all been playing each week, it definitely adds a good bit of contrast though. Thanks for answering my Listener Question as well, I thought it was a standard question, but one which didn't seem to have been asked before, plus it's always interesting to hear about how everyone plays their games, and what their favourite ways to play are as well, especially with games that you're familiar with. The next edition should be interesting, as I'm assuming that the main topic could well be the Nintendo Indie World Presentation which aired today, I can almost hear Greg's response to a lot of the Indie games... it's likely the same for me, as although a lot of titles with a great deal of variety were shown, only a couple of games genuinely interest me on a 'I can see myself playing that' level. Anyway, looking forward to next weeks episode, and I'll update this weeks episode with the YouTube embed, as soon as it's available.

Nintendo Indie World 15/12/2020 Presentation Roundup All up on the main site, N-Europe's Roundup of the presentation. Full press release and video embed. I had no expectations for this, games were shown, plenty that I probably won't be purchasing, though there's clearly a lot of variety on offer. Cyber Shadow looks decent.

Zarude code just came through from GameStop Ireland.

Indie World Showcase to be broadcast on Tuesday 15th December at 5PM UK time Up on the main page. We'll have the full roundup article with the press release etc up on the main page shortly after the event airs tomorrow. Zero expectation for this, we'll just see what happens.

I'm a simple man, I see that someone mentions Phantasy Star Online on a forum, and I instantly like that post, then proceed to talk about it. PSO is a fantastic game, there is no other title quite like it, and that is thanks to its unique type of cooperative gameplay, which can't be found anywhere else. It is a title which you can also play in solo, which is good for testing out the general limits of your character, but the game really comes alive when you play it online. Up to four players can go off to one of twelve different locations, (adding up the original four from Ragol in episode one and each area of Gal Da Val island from episode two, not counting episode four from Blue Burst) where you will do battle with various creatures, using a robust, combo-based battle system, which rewards timing and patience, more than your average button-mashing, action RPG. There are plenty of weapons to use, tweleve different character classes, lots of item management, and that great feeling of getting a red box rare item. Four difficulty modes are available to you over time, Normal is for lvl 1-20, Hard is 20-40, then 40-80 for Very Hard, with Ultimate being available for level 80 all the way up to the cap of 200, but you won't really be holding your own on Ultimate until around level 130 - 155 depending on various factors. But the whole fun of it is getting there, it's a fantastic shared experience, and one which I've continued to this very day, thanks to the Schthack server and people on there who I play online with on at the very least a weekly basis, I've got a FOnewearl called NiGHTS who I've gotten from low level up to around 127(?) I think it is now, currently working my way through the levels so that I can equip a high level armour which was kindly gifted to me by a player on there, there's also an event on there now where you can hunt rare rappies and the lobbies and Pioneer 2 has seasonal decorations applied to it, which makes it all the more fun to come back to, as a shared online game, just as it was always intended. I don't really play many other games these days, but PSO will always keep me coming back to it.

I'll be Default Sephiroth and Friday or Saturday should be fine. Oh yeah, and thanks for the games the other night @Glen-i and @BowserBasher I really enjoyed our battles, there were some really close matches there. And some of the match-ups we got were really good, I don't remember the random character selection picking a character that I didn't really want to play as.

The Game Awards 2020 Roundup N-Europe's general roundup of the The Game Awards 2020 with a Nintendo focus is up on the main page now. A brief write-up, all of the awards, the official Nintendo Press Release relating to all Switch announcements, and all the trailers plus the main embed. Same time next year then? All going well... who knows, that new Perfect Dark game might be out by then. Anyway, Sephiroth in Smash, what an opening to the main event.

A brand new Perfect Dark title, released over twenty years after the original, and more than fifteen years after the prequel, in the hands of a new developer? We'll see what they do with it, the trailer already gives an idea of the direction that they're taking, and there's definitely potential here. The logo is somewhere inbetween the original and the prequel, I almost want it to change completely back to the original logo before it releases but, it's a compromise, and they have kept it recognisable at least, which is good, as it's a great logo. Everything else is potential, until we see some gameplay, which I reckon won't be for a while. I'm still not buying an Xbox Series X console... yet. If any game has the potential to sell me on the idea though, then it's this, and it is good to see someone finally doing something with the license again. Afterall, this is too perfect a chance to waste, just don't keep fans of the original games in the dark for too much longer.

I'm going to keep putting this out there, until Lloyd Irving from Tales of Symphonia is announced as coming to Smash. Also, let's not forget Rick the Hamster from Kirby who is long overdue as a playable character.

N-E Café Episode 55 now available! Now up on the main page. - - - - - A really enjoyable podcast, it was good to hear about what you've all been playing, even if it isn't that much in one particular week, it's still interesting to hear about, for instance, it was nice just to hear that Nick has purchased and started Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition as that is such a great RPG, especially when you just start playing in that first area, I started playing Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age Definitve Edition this week, and it was good to just finally start playing an RPG which I'd wanted to try out for a while. (I know, I've got other games to play, and reviews to finish, but sometimes all you want to do is just play an RPG and grind for a bit) In fact, that might as well be a listener question, because I think it's a great topic... What is your favourite game to grind experience in (if it's an RPG) or just play for a bit, even though you've probably played the game many times before? For me, it would be Phantasy Star Online Episodes I & II on the Nintendo GameCube, but you probably knew that already I'd like to know what your favourite 'Gaming Grinds' are. Also, thanks for highlighting Freedom Planet at 50% on the eShop, that's another title I'll likely buy as I enjoyed it on the Wii U and the PC, but it would be nice to have on the Switch. Anyway, looking forward to next weeks episode, and I'll update this weeks episode with the YouTube embed, as soon as it's available.

An excellent episode, from what I've listened to so far, I'm an hour in and I'm enjoying the talk about the update and online services. I'll promote the latest episode dreckly (soon) but for now, I just wanted to have a 'guess' at this weeks music...

The visuals were actually downgraded in the Definitive Version? Or do you mean the difference between the 3D visuals and 2D mode visuals? Either way, I finally just started playing Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age Definitive Edition on the Switch and I've found it to be great so far. I still have a copy of the original release on the PS4 as well, good to know that it might be worth holding onto afterall, though I'd imagine that if I were to play that version on the PS4, wouldn't it just be automatically updated to the definitive version, soon after it's installed? Anyway, I'm about three hours or so in and I've only made it just outside of the starting village, already up to level 9, seeing as the game seems to actively encourage grinding.

system update... be right there... damn that Nintendo Switch Online Icon is ugly...