WackerJr

Hmm, nothing jumped out to me, although I did notice that Blossom Tales has been reduced again. @Ronnie’s positive comments have gotten me tempted. Worth it?

Read good things about it and so really looking forward to this.

Good luck! I had the same experience, going in with all 48 I thought I’d get through it just fine… I was so mistaken and taken aback by just how tough it was! Thank goodness for the ‘Not so Impossible Lair’ checkpoints! Keep plugging away, it’s so satisfying when you finally get through it (or was it simply relief!?!). I did spend hours on the impossible lair alone.

The original presenters were so iconic the producers will have had tough time replacing them without causing toilet much uproar. I’m happy with those choices & really looking forward to this. Ah Games World. I too have fond memories of that. I still hear Bob Mills as an occasional guest on ‘Fighting Talk’ on BBC Radio 5Live, and good to see ‘Big Boy Barry’ is still involved in the video game industry as a guest on podcasts and the like. Jet was amazing casting choice at the time too!

Wow I hadn’t fully grasped just how many WiiU games now appear on other consoles! Depending on the price of a physical copy, I rather enjoyed the Wii game Pandora’s Tower which could be downloaded. The only other game I can think of not yet covered is NES Remix 1+2. Not worth full price as you can play the full NES games on Switch Online, but some of the crossover games in it & challenges were enjoyable. Fun for a couple of hours, and the WiiU versions include more games than the 3DS version.

How horrendous that she has to experience that, and truly terrifying I imagine. Hope she gets support after this as I imagine she’s going to have increased anxiety especially when out on her own. A huge well done on her heroic actions though, from scaring off the attacker to saving the person’s life. You get minimal time to think about your actions and her quick instincts has really made her a hero.

So I got interviewed on BBC radio recently and took part in one of the games the presenter plays (guess the person’s job). If you have a spare 6 minutes and fancy a chuckle at how I suddenly had to explain that I touch people, without saying anything incriminating on breakfast radio then have a listen on this link (my club’s Facebook page where they cut just the relevant part of the show).

Fantastic topic! There are a few big games I really need to get around to playing one day: Final Fantasy VII and Metal Gear Solid 2 from PlayStation days. Bayonetta and Xenoblade Chronicles are both games I have, but for some reason have never started. Persona 5 is probably the newest game I’d really like to play, but I’m slightly worried about the number of hours I’ll need to put aside for it! Finally, a game I did play when I was much younger but I would absolutely love to find and 100% is Lemmings 2: Tribes. The Lemmings games were some of the first PC games I played and completed. To this day I still feel unfulfilled not to have finished Tribes and I don’t know how to find the game nowadays or if I would ever be able to fully complete.

I’d like to say I was cleverly referencing the strong links between the Metroid and Alien franchises and that Samus herself is deliberately heavily influenced by Ripley, the protagonist of the Alien series, but I’d be lying, I just typed the wrong letter by accident…

😂 What a difference a letter typo makes! Still, I’m not going back to edit it as you’re right, that really would be an epic battle! 😄

Going back and watching those trailers, I’m consistently impressed with their quality and variety. I prefer the ones where they build up the suspense and intrigue before the reveal, whether it be the reveal of the character themselves, or the disguise that the trailer was actually for Smash and not their own game (think Inkling or Joker for example). I also enjoyed the technique that some of the trailers used to suddenly drop in a reveal out of nowhere (e.g., Snake), taking you by surprise and making you realise that yes they really are here! In many instances Sakurai’s team use the trailers to demonstrate their knowledge of the character and the many Easter Eggs and references to the original games that the character’s are known for. From Sora’s recreating a multitude of scenes from Kingdom Hearts, to King K.Rool taking on the role of Gruntilda and replicating Banjo & Kazooie’s defeat of her. They are also never afraid to show off the epic battles between rivals: Mario vs Sonic, Samus vs Ripley, Cloud vs Sephiroth, Reggie vs Iwata(!?) and getting players hyped at the prospect of these rivalries being renewed within Smash!

A swanky complete edition you say…..?

I always get excited by Smash announcements, even if they’ve thrilled & disappointed me in equal measure! I missed the predictions at the beginning, although in hindsight I would’ve done terribly! A little worried by Sakurai’s comments that you may or may not recognise the final reveal, so it could be completely obscure. I hoping he’s trolling. My rather dull prediction is for Nintendo to somehow have successfully negotiated many legal hurdles and Sora to be revealed following a Mickey Mouse troll, with Mii costumes of Phoenix Wright, Prof Layton, Doom Guy, Crash, Master Chief and James Bond’s tuxedo… Oh, and a return of Break the Targets! Too much… yeh I thought so……

With the focus “mainly” on games being released this Winter (or Autumn 😜) I’m expecting a few details on a couple of post-March 2022 releases. My guesses are Splatoon 3 and Rabbids 2. Zelda would be nice but I don’t expect anything as expect Nintendo think it would draw too much attention away from their Winter releases (which it would!). Metroid Dread, Advance Wars, Mario Party & Pokémon to be the main games. Danganronpa, DLC for Hyrule Warriors 2 and then DLC for Monster Hunter. Plus the final Smash reveal will be here! Cue excitement followed by the inevitable disappointment… Do we think we’ll see any indie games? I was thinking Sports Story and the new tennis game, but I think they’ll save them for another indie direct. Those are my predictions (what I think anyway, not necessarily what I actually want!)

They’ve got the name which is a start. So far they’ve managed to keep the host & Gamesmaster themselves a secret (or simply that they haven’t found anyone yet!), but it’ll be interesting to see who they get, as I remember Patrick and Dominic being a huge part of the original series.

A solid demonstration of the DS’s key features and how useful stylus control and a second screen can be, and so how to make a game that could only really be experienced on a DS. I don’t think I was as much of a fan as others though. I found the basic controls simple enough, with drawing my lines and tapping Kirby being responsive. The only aspect of control I wasn’t good with was tapping the corner to remove a power-up (so Kirby could collect a different power). I rarely saw the need to actually use the power-ups though. Despite this being one of Kirby’s key abilities, it felt as though they were included for that reason, without really adding to the game. The game was one of the early DS titles and it shows. Graphically I thought it looked like a GBA title, with Kirby and enemies looking unremarkable, but at least obvious. The rainbow effect of your lines stood out which was good. By the nature of having to use the stylus to tap both Kirby and the enemies meant that the screen was quite zoomed in to ensure everything was large enough to be tapped. The downside to this is that it was often difficult to see upcoming enemies and obstacles, especially as you started to actually build Kirby’s momentum. As such I endured a lot of ‘Sonic frustration’ where my momentum was often abruptly halted by the sudden appearance of an enemy or wall. This meant glancing at the map, permanently located on the top screen, was a must. In typical Kirby fashion, completing the levels were, for the most part, fairly simple. The challenge was in locating the three medals hidden within each. I often find I’d notice them after passing them, or just as transferring from one area to the next, so if I wanted to go back and collect it I’d need to start the level again, which I found a little frustrating. I foolishly hadn’t really paid attention to what the medallions did. Thanks to our forum users I discovered that they could, importantly, be used to buy extra health. Sadly I found this out AFTER completing the game… Still, it provided me with an extra challenge trying to complete the final levels with minimal health… (in other words I’m a fool!) Ultimately I think it was a good title for early DS adopters. I feel time has hurt it, as playing it now feels a little short and basic. It’s technically solid and controls well, but was it ‘fun’? I came away with the impression of it being distinctly average. Nothing terrible, but little particularly memorable for me. Sorry pink puffball!

Yeah, I think you’ll be right with that. I know they’ll have heard the lukewarm reception to their last State of Play. I expect them to respond and use this to really hype the games for late-Nov / early Dec (plus early next year) to encourage Christmas console sales.

Do we still have a couple of days leeway to write down some thoughts on the game?

Niantic made a lot of positive changes as a result of the pandemic. I’m with the majority that it’s too soon to lose most of these positive changes with the number of cases across all countries still high. It’s good to see them listening to feedback and backtracking on this change, although it doesn't affect me too much either, as the restrictions don’t prevent me from heading outside!

The credits have just rolled for me & ONLY NOW do I discover this!?!! 🤦🏻‍♂️🤪 Those health boosts would’ve been useful...

Once again, another week with so many wonderful stories. The only thing I struggled to watch were those really unfortunate Modern Pentathlon athletes who were given a horse who just refused to do anything & cost them any medal opportunities. Seeing those athletes in tears of frustration while riding was a real tough watch & really felt for them. I’ve read today that the German coach has been sent home for striking the horse afterwards! On a personal note, I am delighted for Bryony Page winning bronze for GB in the Trampolining. As a Trampoline Coach, that success is huge for me & the sport. The governing body, British Gymnastics, has had a lot of understandable negative press in the last year for some horrendous stories about how gymnasts had been treated. As they try to turn things around, this will secure funding for the sport I’m heavily involved in & really could make a huge difference.

Oh good choices! I love Ghost Trick, but only played it again last year so I’ve gone for Kirby. A game I’ve never played but always wanted to. Seems like a good excuse to go to eBay...

I have absolutely loved the Olympics so far! Ok, so the timing of most events happening during the night here in the UK is unfortunate, and the TV deal made by the IOC means that the BBC haven’t been able to show everything (but they’ve done a fine job of trying!), but it’s been great viewing. So many events have had drama, excitement, heartache & triumph. I know I’m biased towards Team GB, but just some of the memorable moments include: • Nice guy Tom Daley finally winning Olympic Diving Gold & the sheer emotion he showed. • GB Rugby 7s remarkable Quarter Final comeback followed by Argentina stunning South Africa after having a man sent off after 1 minute. • Bianca Walkden losing in dramatic fashion in the final second of the Taekwondo Semi-Final. • 46 year-old Uzbekistan gymnast Oksana Chusovitina receiving a standing ovation after competing in her 8th and final Olympic Games. There have been so many other remarkable moments I won’t bore people any more, and we’re less than a week in! I understand the controversy about whether they should be even happening, but now they are it’s addictive to watch.

I thought that too! Shame the BBC commentator didn’t recognise it... “1970s easy listening videogame”??? [emoji23]

That sounds interesting and no doubt he’s had a variety of interesting experiences. Will look out for that next year.