DisturbedSwan

Only had one experience with the series and that was with the truly excellent Ys 8. Not played any others as yet but I definitely will because 8 left such a lasting impression on me. The next one I’ll be getting is Memories of Celceta I think (just pre-ordered on Amazon) and then Ys 9 Monstrum Nox whenever that comes out. I’ve had a quick google of Origin and I’m not sure it’s my bag. The other two I’ll definitely pickup though.

Spiderverse is alright.

Played a bit more over the last couple of days and am still really enjoying it, I’m now about 21 hours in. I haven’t really got an awful lot done though as I think I’ve spent most of that time grinding. ? After Guadosalam I spent quite a bit of time in the Thunder Valley and Macalania Woods which were both cool places. Thunder Valley was a really atmospheric little area that felt like being trapped in a never ending thunder storm, Macalania woods was a nice tranquil wondrous place, like something out of a Zelda game or something really. So yeah, a lot of time was spent in both of these areas just having a whale of a time with the combat system really, I was just grinding away and continually attempting to get all my level spheres equal so I can level up everyone to the same level at the same time (I never quite manage it). I did have some trouble here though, there's a little mini-challenge where you have to collect 7 blue butterflies in 30 seconds or so, if you run into the red ones a random encounter pops up. I just got a bit overconfident, forgot when I had last saved and managed to get my party wiped by some enemies - whilst thinking about levelling rather than just staying alive - so that was 40 minutes progress lost. Once I finally got to Macalania shit really kicked off! Really enjoyed the puzzle here afterwards, similar to the others I’ve experienced in the temples but they’re getting more elaborate as the game goes on. I stupidly must’ve stepped on the floor square on the way out of the tunnel 2 or 3 times (resetting the puzzle in the process) on my way out though which was rather annoying ?. So yeah, still really enjoying it, still feels like I’ve barely made a dent in it though. More pics:

PS5 Reveal Event on June 4th to feature ‘An entire slate of games. A lot.’

I kind of agree @Maryokutai but I want it in my hands as soon a possible, despite the games not being there at launch (possibly, we don’t know yet this time around) I wanna experience all the 3rd party games running on new systems and whatever launch exclusives Sony have up their sleeve. As Sony will have exclusives at launch whereas Microsoft is putting everything out cross-gen for at least the other two years there is - for me at least - more compelling reasons there (in games that are otherwise in accessible) to get one at launch if you’re as inpatient for new tech as I am ?. We’ve not seen the launch games yet, the PS2 had a rather good launch lineup if I remember rightly, the PS3 and PS4 not so much. I’m not willing to write anything off before they’ve been announced. Sony haven’t even announced a 1P AAA title since 2017 so they could have a stacked deck, we won’t know until they let us. I just hope the Demon’s Souls Remake rumour is true most of all, I don’t think a new Ratchet and Clank at launch is out of the realms of possibility either.

Even though I do love Indie games and they’re definitely more innovative than some AAA titles they just don’t really hit the same spot for me. I’m buying a PS5 Day 1 (as long as I can get one) for Sony’s 1P next-gen output. I wanna play Horizon 2, God of War 2, Uncharted 5 and Spider-Man 2 amongst others possibly in the pipeline and there’s only 1 place I’ll be able to play ‘em. It’s an investment in the future of games for me, especially as my PC is getting long in the tooth at this point.

Yeah that’s true @Nag I do think this time around the consoles will be more innovative and powerful out the gate. They’re both like high end PCs this time round rather than low-mid at the start of last gen.

PS4 was no slouch at launch, was the most powerful console out there until Pro then One X came out. But, yeah, both current gen launch iterations weren’t up to much compared to even mid range PCs of the time. Similar to 2013 @Nag we didn’t see the form factor of the PS4 until June 2013 at E3, just the controller before then. We admittedly did see quite a few of the launch lineup before June though that time around. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they just tweet out a picture of the PS5 one random Tuesday and it breaks the internet like the DualSense reveal did in all honesty but hope for something more elaborate.

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Never played a PM game (the art style has always put me off) but think this’ll be my first.

Tim Sweeney: PS5 is so impressive it’s ‘going to help drive future PCs’

I get ya, can’t say I noticed a single graphical anomaly in FF7 though @one-armed dwarf. I do get where you’re coming from and the 2018 gameplay did indeed look better, have to assume that that was a cutscene type deal so more details in that scene or wasn’t final at the time or something like that. I don’t think it’s too far off but definitely a difference there. I’ve forgotten what Witcher 3 looks like its been so long but this definitely isn’t no TLOUP2 that’s for sure, still looks great though but against stiff competition it doesn’t stand out as much as I thought it would. Definitely agree that animations are nowhere near Sekiro, From are indeed peerless when it comes to combat and animations.

Did you watch the YT stream @one-armed dwarf? It was terrible quality for me and didn’t properly highlight the game. I ended up rewatching the 4K YT upload they put up just now and it was so much better. Saying that you did think FF7R didn’t look great ? For me, I was maybe a little disappointed with it. It kind of looked like AC Japan (which is fine, I love AC after all) but I was just expecting a little more I guess. Combat looked a bit shoddy too but hopefully better in practice. I thought the graphics and soundtrack were incredible though. I think I’ll dig the exploration too hopefully. Still in Day 1 but with tempered expectations.

Stream is live

Mega Sale now on between now and June 11th Link here £10 coupon if you spend over £14.99

Epic Games Store has GTA V Premium Edition for Free until May 21st.

Yeah it’s definitely a stunner @mfnick

Yeah PS2 and PC @mmmark, absolutely adored that game back in the day. Out of the 3 M1 is probably my most anticipated to go back to. I really hope they keep the racing bit in it and make sure it’s just as hard as it was back in the day ? Some screens of Mafia 1:

Very nice @retroed ?

I’m not finding it difficult so far at all. It’s difficult to gauge levels in this (one of the small annoyances I find about it) so I just end up getting everyone’s sphere levels to 5 or 10 then levelling everyone up all together. It has definitely got a little harder as it’s gone on as status effects and ailments are coming into play. I died for the first time today to the Machina boss you encounter whilst riding the Shoopuf, didn’t have any thunder spells/equipment on Wakka and Tidus so just got battered the first time around, the second I managed it reasonably easily but had to use a few potions, along with haste and cheer. The cheapness of some of those latter bosses does worry me a bit but I’m just gonna try and grind my way out of trouble. I’ve read you can only grind up to a certain point in the game though so will have to be mindful of that. I grinded quite a bit in Kilika, a little on the Mi’Hen Highroad and a little more in the dungeon before the Mi’Hen Command Centre but that’s pretty much it really. I’ve never ducked out of any fights either. I reached Guadosalam today and have loved every minute of it. Even though the graphics are old now a lot of the pre-rendered scenes really pop with colour and character. Such a charming place. I’ve gone from thinking Seymour is alright to thinking he’s a creepy cunt by asking Rikku joining your party felt really rushed though, she just washes up out the lake then a weird cutscene ensues where she gets undressed and everyone just accepts her into the party. It’s funny when Tidus goes she’s an Al Bhe....ha..ha....haa though and Wakka doesn’t realise it. Few pics and stream links: