The Hot Topic Returns

[one-armed dwarf]

PS1 is interesting cause it was this transition to 3D, I like looking back at stuff when standards weren't totally codified and controls could be used in strange ways, like the right stick usage in Ape Escape. PS2 is definitely better but PSX is as good as it gets for SquareSoft games as well where they really established a strong identity as the marquee distributor of cinematic, AAA experiences IMO.

 

I don't like the PS3 at all and PS4 is a good return to form. The current gen is getting there now I think after a few fairly disappointing years with poor genre diversity, especially from their first party. But I'm less down on it now as I was. But for first pick it's close between 1 and 2, they're both my favorite systems and 1 was my first system I owned. Before that I just regarded games as these really boring side scrolling platformers that my friends played and got mad at, honestly I still struggle with 16bit unless it's an RPG tbh.

[Nag]

I remember my time with Megadrive very fondly tbf... Road Rash, Jungle Strike and Splatterhouse 2... good times. 😁

[DANGERMAN]

the point has been made previously, that the good PlayStations are the ones you can out a Dreamcast on

[spatular]

I got ps1 and ps2 both late on when gt2 and gt4 were released, specifically to play those games, and those games were great. Some of the big ps1 games I’d have liked ( toca and cmr) I’d already played on pc, so the ps1 was never a big deal for me, there were some good games still, wip 3 out was really good. Ps2 was very good, lots of cool games on there, especially rhythm action and shmups. PS3 I got to play a game that never came out, still there were a few games liked on there but was never a big ps3 fan, ps5 has been similar so far for me, well that’s harsh on ps5, its better than ps3, i think its partially the game price increase that has soured me on it and meant ive not tried some ps5 games i might like. PS4 is the only time a PlayStation has been my main console, well alongside the switch, played a lot of destiny on there, its got lots of great games and its still getting amazing releases like dodonpachi doj quite recently.

 

ps2 makes a good Wii stand.

 

[Maf]

I’m not sure if it’s my autism or I was just very slow to grow up, but the PS1 never did anything for me. Even the PS1 start up sound everyone loves, even hearing it this week it still sounds very discordant, alienating and kind of scary to me. I do have some nostalgia for it, but only because I’m old enough to remember it. I don’t actually like it.

 

Likewise the first thing I played on a PS1 was a demo disc which from memory had Crash 1, Destruction Derby and Wipeout. Crash 1 was the only thing I played a few times and didn’t care for the other games. To this day I don’t know why people liked Destruction Derby. Maybe the demo was too limited, but you just endlessly drove in a circle until the car broke. I really don’t get it. 

 

And even Crash, I wouldn’t have been able to understand or articulate it at the time, but playing it over the years, last time 2020 during lockdown I played the remake trilogy, it still reminds me of the uncomfortable feeling I had as a kid, and that’s the jumping is bad. When Crash jumps forward it’s like there’s so much resistance. I guess with Mario and Sonic I grew up on floaty platformers so a game that was so weighty, it just doesn’t feel like it plays great to me. 

 

There were some games I liked on PS1. I generally like the Crash and Spyro games, loved the Spider-Man games, but the only true, big time killer for me is MGS1. I played that game 100 times to death and back. I can’t explain why all the other ‘mature’ games like Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, Gran Turismo, etc didn’t grab me. I think for the first 2 the controls were so terrible. But then MGS1 doesn’t have amazing controls, either (although I think top down camera with a d-pad is just Zelda so does work better). But everything else about MGS was just incredible. I think it was the first cinematic game I ever played and just seeing a game do that was so amazing. Even if half of it was sitting there watching 2 talking heads. The things they were saying were mind blowing! This is probably the nostalgia talking, but I would almost hold up MGS as a perfect game. Except for that one part where you have to wait for the key card to freeze or warm up, I love every single thing in it. 

I didn’t really get in to Playstation until the PS2 and even then it was rocky start. The first games I remember were Jack & Daxter, Smugglers Run, Soul Reaver, a wrestling game. Jak & Daxter was the game I was playing most but even then I think I liked it because it was new and looked great, not because I really loved the game.

 

Then I think within a year there was GTA3, MGS2 and Devil May Cry and it was like oh, video games

I think all of these games really took games to the next level. Graphically, design wise, newness. I still remember seeing Devil May Cry and the guy was swapping between swords and guns mid combo and I was there are swords AND guns what the fuck. You either have sword games or gun games this game has fucking both?!

 

The PS4 is a weird one to me. Everyone speaks so highly of last gen, but to me it just sort of breezed by and there were games I really liked. But I’m trying to think what were THE PS4 games? I think I hit a point in my life when the last 10 years felt like it’s been about 10 minutes so it’s probably not the PS4’s fault. But it’s really not a generation I feel strongly about at all. Spider-Man 2018 was probably my favourite game on PS4. It’s hard to think of anything else that really stuck (no pun intended) it all just kind of came and went 

 

A part of that maybe is probably because those consoles were so under powered and unimpressive when they launched. Even though I said the PS1 and PS2 didn’t really have many games I liked - at least out of the gate. Each time I saw the console I was still wow’d by what I was looking at. Where I remember playing Killzone Shadowfall on PS4 launch and being just like…ok, I guess. The first game to really blow me away with the graphics was Horizon 1 and I got my first OLED at the same time. That was transformative. But I think only established my love of OLED and HDR ( again maybe the autism) more than a love for the PS4

Having such a meh time with PS4 might be why I like the PS5 more than most people do. Putting Demon’s Souls Remake on for the first time really bought back that feeling I had as a kid/younger of what the fuck am I looking at. I don’t care if it’s a 10 year old game look at that fucking shit how does it look like that 

 

The only negative for me on PS5 is how much the games cost. It’s funny that a big selling point of the PS1 was the games were cheaper than Nintendo being only £30* and now they’re the most expensive and charging out the ass for them. £70 a pop! I think the PS5 is genuinely fantastic console, I’ve even come around on the way it looks. But the game prices are straight robbery

 

*(remember my mum really trying to get me to want the PS1 over the N64 simply because of how much the games cost, but there was just nothing I liked or wanted more than Mario. And I don’t care what history says I made the right decision for me and what I like)

 

Anyway, that’s my rambling recollection/historical account of 30 years of Playstation. Even though I’m not saying all positive things, I still actually love Playstation and Playstation games. I still think it’s a quality console, platform and brand that have changed what video games are and have been time and time again, and made some of the best games in the history of games(…or at least been the platform that history changing games have been on, strangely Astro Bot is a good reminder of that)

[Maryokutai]

The PS1 was really huge back then, a bit like Sly I remember suddenly people that would never have said a word about SNES or Mega Drive talk about videogames. I think one of the most baffling moments for me as a kid was when we went to visit a friend of my dad's and he had a PS1 with Tomb Raider, Crash, Wipeout etc. under the TV despite him being child-less. It was so weird for me to see that, but in hindsight really the kind of shift PS1 brought to the industry. Today it's absolutely normal to have someone in their 30's play games but back then seeing an adult share this pastime with you just was weird, but in a cool way.

 

Meanwhile me and my friends were just fooling around with Wipeout, Destruction Derby, Tekken, Driver, a bit of Crash. On my own I played other platformers like Rayman and Croc and very late into its lifecycle got a bit into RPGs with FF8. I actually never played the more mature games like Tomb Raider, Metal Gear and such until into the PS2's lifecycle. And speaking of, that was also quite the machine. Between it and the Dreamcast that's when I got more heavily into JRPGs because the amount of high quality games from that genre on that platform is pretty much unrivalled. Big stuff like FF, niche stuff like Rogue Galaxy, weird stuff like Shadow Hearts, there really was a ton and even for a teenager with ample time it was basically unmanageable, but also very exciting. The system lost a bit of its lustre after Gamecube and Xbox came out IMO because by then it was clear as day how underpowered it was, but the JRPG train kept it rolling for me right until the end.

 

Ever since then I've fallen a bit out of the PS ecosystem. PS3 eventually became decent, but that system was a complete shitshow during its first three to four years, with exclusive games being extremely mediocre and multiplat titles usually the worst choice. Games like Valkyria Chronicles and Last of Us eventually made the purchase worthwhile, but it was a long road, and most of my friends had moved to Xbox360 during that generation as well.

 

PS4 was similar for me, even though Sony technically didn't do anything wrong that time. But I just wasn't really feeling it. Maybe because it launched during that 12 month window in which the WiiU was actually decent, maybe because Xbox One was actually better than the consensus might have made you believe (I bought that relatively early for Killer Instinct), but I only picked it up in 2016 for Street Fighter V and that was pretty much all I played on it until Last of Us 2, which single-handedly made the purchase worthwhile. But overall not a system I look back and remember fondly.

 

As for the handhelds, I really liked the PSP despite all of its issues, but never enjoyed using the Vita much. I realise for most people it's the opposite, but there was just something about the PSP library that was more to my tastes, or maybe it was just the novelty factor of having a high-end Sony handheld and Vita just being more of the same.

 

As for the current times, I don't have a PS5, not sure if I ever will. As I had my Xbox One earlier than my PS4 and as a result spend more money on digital games on there, it was a no-brainer for me to stay in that ecosystem for the current generation. I think this time around when Naughty Dog's next game comes out I might even just borrow the system from a friend instead of buying it. I'm kind of over the whole 'having all systems' phase and Sony doesn't really do the cool stuff they used to anymore – nor are they the only bastion for JRPGs or other genres that they would have received exclusively in the early days.

[HandsomeDead]

It's strange because while more people did get into games with the Playstation it wasn't my experience.  All my family who played the Mega Drive and and SNES dropped out with the PSX.  It was too complicated they'd say.  Though there was a point my mother just liked watching me play, Resident Evil and FFVII being a few but had no interest in playing herself despite before being insistent she was better than me at Streets of Rage 2 and liked to prove it.  My uncle I used to game a lot with didn't either but that could have been timing.  He was in a serious relationship and soon to be married and dropped gaming.  So all I know is it was with the PS1 the grownups I'd previously played with now didn't.  One of my Aunts got a bit more into it I suppose but we weren't that close.

 

But I played the PS1 a lot and had a decent collection of games and borrowed and rented a lot.  I did play pretty much every heavy hitter and more than a few oddities that I learned from magazines so maybe it was the time I became what we now know as a "gamer".  But I jumped ship and didn't get a PS2 until way later.  I got an N64 alongside it and eventually a Dreamcast, then went GC and Xbox for that gen proper.  It wasn't until the '06 I think when I picked up a PS2, just before the PS3 came out.  But I had a great time going back to some games and finally playing what I missed FFX, DMCs, Ico etc.   Persona 3, Okami and GoW2 were coming out around this point so there was still fresh stuff coming as well as the older stuff, even while the 360 was out.

 

The PS3 I'm not as hot on.  It's just those oddities weren't quite there (any that were still around were on the Wii) and I suppose the shift kinda started here that leads us into what Sony is now that I'm not vibing with at all.  There's games they produce I really like but it's not as exciting as the PS1 and PS2 eras were but there's countless factors why that is that aren't all Sony.

 

But being 30 does come with the realisation you're just old and boring now.  I don't know if it's possible for new blood in this space but it would be nice if something like that happened.

[Nag]

I have to admit I get genuinely sad when I realise that I'm just not as excited for games like I used to be... and it's something you can't force either, it's either there or it isn't. I think the 360 era was the last genuinely exciting time in gaming for me.

 

I can see why there would be less chances taken nowadays but sometimes it kinda sucks.

[Sly Reflex]

I remember having fun poked at me when i pointed that out. "Look at my don't give a fuck here being all cool about not caring about new games". It gets us all eventually, you just don't realise it until you turn your rig on one day and you see a whole list of the in game being played and you just couldn't give a shit to even check what it is.

[one-armed dwarf]

I mean it's sort of like looking at the cinema listing and it's all MCU stuff, or other Disney stuff, but there's other stuff elsewhere or older stuff you've not seen/played.

 

Admittedly the older stuff thing is harder to get with consoles, maybe Xbox BC is good at it I dunno.

 

I do think the older eras of gaming seem better for creativity with high budget stuff but there's also a democratization of game making tools that opens up expression elsewhere nowadays, which admittedly has a side issue of trying to find the wheat in the chaff cause there's so much of it

[mfnick]

I didn’t have a PS1 - I went Saturn then N64. But one of my best mates lived 3 doors down and had one chipped and a bunch of copied games - which was the style at the time. Everyone at school had a chipped one & I still put part of its success down to how easy it was to pirate. I know the majority got it because you could get games for £5 in town. 
 

Anyway, thanks to my mate even though I didn’t have one I still experienced a lot of games which were released on it at the time so will have a fondness for it even though I never owned one. & tbh apart from being able to buy games cheap I was never envious of it. I was more than happy with my Saturn & later N64.

 

I jumped onto the Sony train when GTA3 was released on the PS2. I was late on in secondary school & it’s all anyone’s school talked about. That Xmas I got it & was not disappointed at all. Felt like a huge leap forward & I think the quantity, variety & quality of that library speaks for itself. For me it’s the greatest console ever. Even though I still love the Saturn more. 
 

PS3 was a huge disappointment. However they really started to get it together on the 2nd half of that consoles lifespan with some incredible exclusives which made it well worth owning by the end. 
 

PS4 was a return to form as we know. 
 

PS5 has been disappointing. Only because apart from a couple of exceptions it’s basically just a PS4 Pro+. & I do believe the SX is the overall better to use console experience. I think the fast loading times are a game changer though & under appreciated. Makes all games better to play. 

[Nag]

 

Quote

Nag says... "With the Game Awards done and dusted how do you think it did in regards announcements and the actual awards themselves?... and given other announcements (Xbox Showcase, State of Plays and others) are we in a good gaming space?

 

I've got to admit apart from knowing Astro-bot winning GotTY and the woman from Senua winning best performance I have no idea who or what won anything else.

[one-armed dwarf]

I think Clovers is low key the biggest and coolest announcement, altho over the weekend it looks like it's been accompanied by news that Platinum games is tearing itself apart and isn't long for this world. 

 

I'll admit I was sipping a little on the copium for HL3 getting a sneaky announcement so it would be a lie to not say there was some minor disappointment there, but between Okami, new Ueda and Onimusha it was probably the best TGA I can remember for announcements. 

 

For awards, I'd hoped Balatro would nab a sneaky GOTY win. Partly cause it would upset people tbh, I like when people get mad. Astro Bot seems like it deserved it tho

[Maf]

I think it shows how little people care about the awards part of the Game Awards that I went 2 days without even seeing who won and only knew because I googled it

 

Astrobot is a very good game, and deserves to win when I think about the other games I’ve played this year. But I think that speaks to my year in gaming which has been very 8/10. So Astrobot winning wouldn’t be my choice, but I also don’t have a strong choice, either. So it will do 

 

I thought the announcements were very cool. New Ueda game, new Elden Ring (which from previews is a more condensed, co-op version of Elden Ring which sounds brilliant to me) and of course Turok. I predict 100% of people will like this game 100%. 

[DANGERMAN]

Yeah, no complaints from me about Astro Bot winning, it's not my goty but it's up there. Same for Senua, good performance that I'd kind of forgotten about. That said, and this likely isn't on her, the voices felt more like narration rather than mental illness this time, so I wasn't as sold on her as a character in the sequel 

 

I'd have probably given best performance to the guy who played James Sunderland in Silent Hill 2, he's outstanding towards the end of that game 

 

Balatro winning everything else, I like that he refused to engage with it all 

 

In terms of the releases, new Okami and Ueda games are good news, new Virtua Fighter is cool. Naughty Dog was disappointing. The dark Pac-man game could be cool. A new Yakuza style game to replace Judgment is no bad thing 

 

Aside from that, was there anything else of note? There was a lot of Souls and weeb shite for the people that like those, but nothing of interest 

 

[Maf]

10 minutes ago, DANGERMAN said:

 

 

Aside from that, was there anything else of note?

 

 

[mfnick]

I thought it was pretty good. Most of the winners I agreed with. Astro Bot as GOTY is the correct choice. Some of the speeches were really good - check out the BG3 guy for GOTY read if nothing else. I liked the little skits, the 2 puppets were actually funny. Lots of great game announcements too - far better than any showcase, direct etc. 

 

Clovers should have been a bigger deal, it was only a footnote after the Okami trailer. Still, the important thing is that it’s happened. 
 

I did have 1 “holy shit” moment with the Onimusha reveal. Tempered somewhat by the 2026 release date. Really hope we get a 2 & 3 port in the meantime. 
 

The new Naughty Dog game looks really cool even though it’s more of a vibes trailer. Don’t know what it is yet. I’m all for the style it’s going for though. 
 

Overall I thought it was really damn good. Far better than I expected. 

[DANGERMAN]

Oh, unless there's a Quake remake on the way, I'd rather Trent leave off the soundtracks and get a couple of NiN albums out 

[HandsomeDead]

I fell asleep so missed the last hour.  Thankfully there were no total gaffs at least and I don't have any problems with anything that won.  Maybe I had a slight chuckle at them talking about the problems of the industry then got Randy Pitchford on stage.  I suppose it'll never avoid that kinda hypocrisy.  Oh and when Harrison Ford waved past some bullshit on the teleprompter was a little bit of honesty of the night too.

 

The reveals were decent and genuinely surprising from Capcom.  It was a solid effort.  New Uada game too.  And after Starfield it was nice to see a sci-fi game that may have some sauce, or maybe that was just the music having a halo effect, I dunno.

[Sly Reflex]

Honestly I couldn't give a fuck about the awards themselves. I am glad Balatro won some stuff, but whatever really.

 

Big take aways for me. New Okami. New Ico game. New Onimusha. Borderlands showing. Witcher. Mafia. That novel game with the superhero call centre game. New Josef Fares game. And some games making their way from console land to PC.

 

I think you would have to be dumb to consider this show poor. I don't really care for these sorts of things before, but even I got hype for Okami!