9.Division 2: Warlords of New York - 6 Hours - 10/10 - Xbox One X

Ace coming back to New York, and ace coming back to The Division 2. Great bit of DLC with tons of content that’ll keep me playing, but that’s the main story content done. Finally the Keener story comes to an end...but more of course appears afterwards. More very similar but awesome weapons and armour, the gunplay is still perfection. Best cover shooter alongside Gears. And Christ it’s beautiful. Thoroughly enjoyed the DLC, completely worth the entry fee.

Moot_Geeza wrote:

Can that be played solo? I fancy an sp real guns cover shooter soonish. And the main game is pretty cheap, right?

I played through it all solo Moot, absolutely incredible game, one of the best this gen. The Division series would easy be in my top 5 this gen, easily. Get it and thank me for it later!

If it's remotely like the first then that 25 hrs will fly by.

Final finished Dragon Quest IX last night. Although walkthrough suggest this is only the beginning.

I loved it, but I think this won't give me an idea of how a more classic DQ plays, since it's so multiplayer focused. 

The job system is just too big to max in a single playthrough. I usually try to get my characters at least 5-10 levels above the required level, and if it's fun (or easy / cheesy) enough, I'll max them. This game wants you to change vocations a lot though, and that resets your level each time. But you will keep earned skills, so if you used the thief to get agility up, you'll keep that stat if you change to priest or something else. It's a lot of fun and I can see how this keeps everything fresh if you keep playing past the credits. I don't think I've exploited that mechanic as much as I could/should have as I realized it too late.
It probably worked better if you only had your own character to worry about, and have friends jump in with theirs. It's a bit of a pain as I don't think you can see easily what possible skills are within the game.

Really appreciated the puns, the sweet little storylines for each of the villages you passed through, the infinite possibilities of clothes you're character can wear (had a lot of fun with that). I still have so many clothes to unlock, wished I used some jobs more (the boomerang and whip were a lot of fun, but I skipped them for single target weapons, as the bosses are usually on their own) and tried to play with the abilities a bit more. I don't think I've ever used the fource stuff that my armamentalist knew. The game at least tried to make you use these as some quests required them.

It does feel good that there's still a lot for me to explore, should I wish to go back. Treasure maps, plateaus I couldn't reach before, harder bosses and a new job / vocation are all and game stuff. For now, I'll leave it behind.

As are boomerangs, whips and sweet storylines.

Nina wrote:

I'm still laughing about the boomer briefs, those must have been my favourite pair of clothes. I think I managed to replace them with a pink variation later on, but had to change into something leg covering towards the end game. It's a shame it's such a pain to alchemize, I had so much fun dressing up everyone. I don't know why but it felt like you could really give your characters an identity that way, I had the best colour combinations going on, even matching the shield and weapons to the clothes. Do you (or anyone else) know if there's a big difference between XI on the PS4 or Switch? I would probably prefer handheld options, but the PS4 version is so cheap often.

I don't think there's a huge difference.

The Switch version has some extra character stuff, although it's hard to get a gauge on how much there actually is.

Switch version also has a better (orchestral) soundtrack and a 2D mode to make it look like the classic games (but it's a bit of an arse to switch, no pun intended).

Another bonus of the Switch version is that it has dual-audio, although the English-language voicework is actually pretty good so...yeah, personal preference, innit?

PS4 is deffo more impressive graphically, but it still looks nice enough on Switch.

So, verdict?

Switch version is the "better" one, but whether any of the above additions are worth the extra cost is up to you. There's not a huge difference.

10.Dead Space 2 - 7 Hours - 10/10 - Xbox One X

Man that was awesome. Again spruced up by the X it looked incredible and felt like playing a new release. Even better than the first in my opinion, just terrific. Throws everything at it but somehow it seems to all stick. Good follow up story, return to weapons and system upgrades and never lets up the pace, now...do I even attempt 3 as I can’t remember anything about it...which can’t be good.

Metro exodus. Glorious.

Music a real highlight.

The final stretch was pretty cool.

Facewon wrote:

Metro exodus. Glorious.

Music a real highlight.

The final stretch was pretty cool.

Just couldn’t get on with it - I got as far as the train and then there was some real long talky bit. Switched it off never went back

Like seriously. Anyone without a pile o shame or time off for obvious reasons, the old games are on gamepass or on special pretty well everywhere.

Dive in.

I polished off The Norwood Suite and Off-Peak (the latter being short and free and by the same guy) while I've been ill the last week. I'd definitely recommend Norwood if anyone is into particularly surreal adventure games where half the appeal is soaking up your surroundings. They also have very sticky in the brain soundtracks between them.

11.Dead Space 3 - 8 Hours - 5/10 - Xbox One X

Now I remember why I didn’t remember Dead Space 3. That was just awful, what a terrible waste of a series. I could understand somewhat the change to action IF the action was great, but it was abysmal. Closet scares aside there isn’t any scares or ‘horror’ in it, though potentially the horror of playing it is what they were getting at? I’m sure I’ll forget it all over again in no time. Worst playing, worst looking and a total waste in the series.

regmcfly wrote:

It's a fucking terrible cap on one of my favourite game series of all time. I hate hare hate it.

I’d managed to burn it from my memory...but now it’s back in there...

Moot_Geeza wrote:

I just bought Dead Space and Dead Space 2 for £7.48 delivered.  I can just pop those in the Xbox One right?  I think I'm ready.

Oh man, you should’ve just got EA Access for a month! However, you do own 2 of last gens finest. Yeah just pop them in and it’ll do the rest.

I’m not sure what to play now. Got to the point where I’ve exhausted the list of things I really want to play this gen, now looking for things I think I’ll give a go.