radiofloyd

Heh I'm being serious. Is that really you? That's impressive.

I assume you got that video from somewhere, that accent sounds way too natural for you to be faking it the whole time...

That car looked like a bush, to be fair.

I have to laugh when I hear Xenoblade Chronicles described as an inventive or forward-thinking rpg when really everything in it is as old as the hills. But that's not even relevant, it's a beautiful game. From the moment I held the box in my hands I knew Xenoblade was the real deal. The title screen confimed it. http://youtu.be/gfhom1H77Vo If that doesn't encapsulate the heart of a jrpg then such a thing doesn't exist. For me the highlight of the game was the affinity system where you talked to people and learned about their changing relationships with other people, building up a sort of information web. And the dialogue had that effortless warmth and charm to it like the dialogue from games like Pokemon, Dragon Quest and the Mother series. I suppose the real selling point of the game is the expansive evironments, and the frankly infinite number of things the game gives you to do at any one time. So I should mention those.

Yeah good session there, a good laugh. It was my first time playing the game properly and I could see myself putting a lot of hours into the multiplayer. I'm really good at it too, honestly I felt like I was carrying Sly and Hendo at times.

I really want to play Gitaroo Man, I'm sure I'll love it.

Coming to Steam Early Access next month: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/08/16/audiosurf-air-coming-to-steam-early-access-next-month/ Will be interesting to re-visit Audiosurf. It feels like one of the pioneers of the indie revolution.

Added two more 9.5 reviews from IGN and Gamespot. This game now has a metacritic score of 90. I really want to play it to see what side of the fence I stand on.

Reviews: Polygon - 10 Gamespot - 9.5 IGN - 9.5 Edge - 9 Gamestm - 9 Game Informer - 8.5 Eurogamer - 6 RPS - Wot I Think Kotaku Can't wait to play it! For now I'll assume that Eurogamer reviewer just has poor taste.

http://youtu.be/3wSrjYdEgQg

http://youtu.be/K2uN1gwxM8o http://gematsu.com/2013/08/call-of-duty-ghosts-multiplayer-revealed Tons of details on multiplayer in the link.

Here are the links to reviews in case you don't trust Craymen Edge: Destructoid - 9.5 Polygon - 9 Game Informer - 8.5 Eurogamer - 8 Edge - 8 CVG - 8 Nowgamer - 7.5 IGN - 7.3 US Gamer - 4.5/5

Right now I'm listening to the steam of King Krule's upcoming debut album, 6 Feet Beneath the Moon. It's phenomenal. http://pitchfork.com/news/51909-stream-king-krules-album-6-feet-beneath-the-moon/ This guy is just on another planet.

So realistically the number of missing cards you need to craft a badge (for one game, not to mention all your games) will always outnumber the spares you have to trade (since you will accumulate spares so slowly). Lame.

It got decent reviews. I think Gamestm gave it 8/10. I've a question about cards. If a game has 4 card drops. Does this mean the game will give you 4 individual cards, or is there the possibility that you will get 4 of the same card? And if it's 4 individual cards, does the game drop them repeatedly so you can have spares to trade for the cards you're missing?

Booted up a bunch of Steam games I own and here are some first impressions: Analogue: A Hate Story - So far I've been skim reading a bunch of letters about an old Korean family while interacting with a female AI - so far, so Christine Love. Although I have no idea what this game is about, and it hasn't engaged me in the early stages. Avadon: The Black Fortress - Now this I like. It's a deliciously old-school crpg which immediately makes you feel like you've been dropped into in the world of a fantasy novel. Crusader Kings II - The loading time from desktop to main menu in this game is hilariously long (possibly my creaky old computer). That aside, I love it. The music is beautiful. The interface is lovely. I played the introduction tutorial which goes through the information icons on the screen - in total there are three tiers of tutorials from beginner to advanced, each divided into individual sections covering the various aspects of gameplay (e.g. economy). I'm gonna play the hell out of this when my exams are over. Monaco - When I booted this game up it informed me I was in online play and before I knew it I was teamed up with a bunch of strangers to take on the game's first level. Expectations: embarrassment. Luckily my internet connection dropped when I was in the lobby. Although there was nothing to worry about because the first level is just you running through a few doors. I played through the first level on my own then was joined by more players for the second level, however again this ran into problems because two of the players didn't move from their starting position. (Idling for cards maybe? You'd think they would just idle on the main menu.) Everything about the game seems very impressive though and I can see the potential. Looking forward to getting stuck into it with you lot! X3: Reunion - I tried to play this before and got completely lost trying to follow the instructions for my first mission. Seeing the trailer for X-Rebirth made me give it another go, and again I got lost trying to follow the instructions for my first mission. I'm going to have to do the unthinkable and study the manual in the Steam folder. I'm sure it's just one of those games where the first few hours are the biggest hurdle. Ys: The Oath in Felghana - The opening cinematic to this game is hilariously bombastic. It feels like someone's life was on the line in the making of that cinematic. It really is great though. Felghana is a complete modern remake of Ys III from 1989. The first game it immediately reminded me was FFIX. It seems like a wonderful jrpg. I'm glad XCEED have commited to porting more games to PC. So basically all of those games are ace except for Analogue which I'm sure will pick up and X3 which is just ever so slightly bewildering.

The Sims was an instant obsession in our house. I must have been around 12 when I borrowed The Sims Deluxe Edition, not knowing what to expect. It's one of those games that's aesthetically perfect. Who could forget that plant, that bookcase, that toilet, that sink? It's the simple pleasure of the game's daily routines that keeps you playing. We bought a new computer in 2004 for The Sims 2 and that sparked another few years of obsession. I suppose gaming had changed pretty dramatically between 2004 and 2009, when the third game came out. I played it for an hour and never touched it again. But I think these things are cyclical, I feel like I'd welcome a game of The Sims now... Good job The Sims 4 is out next year.

http://www.vg247.com/2013/08/12/gta-online-reveal-confirmed-for-august-15/ Hmm what's this then?

Ah to be fair I was just moaning because I was bored...Bubble Bobble is as good a game as any (or at least, whichever clone of it I played).

Ok, time for an edit. I've taken out the following 17 games Metacritic scores in brackets. No clangers really apart from Deadpool and Dust 514. If I'd started the list in January it would have included (at least) these games as well: And some notable games that weren't on my list: That takes care of 2013 to date. So to replace the games I took out, the following games have been added: And now the list of future releases is all up to date! Let me know if I've left anything out.

Also just one minor thing - since the 3DS is region locked - the European release date for Etrian Odyssey IV is 30 August.

Jaysus Sly can't you pick something else.

http://kotaku.com/xbox-live-family-subscriptions-convert-to-individual-ac-1099325395