What You've Been Playing This Week

[hudson]

Ok, Beastie Boys may or may not be in new Mario game (Im under strict NDA).

[wakka]

Nah. Not really for me.

I prefer a proper 3D Mario and Bowser's Fury just isn't one. It's a cynical afterthought at best.

People on here trying to dismiss Odyssey is crazy. At very least, it's the third or even second best 3D Mario ever (destroys 64 and Sunshine, and Galaxy 2 is an expansion pack if we're honest). A sequel with similar quality would be amazing and I don't see how it could possibly be argued otherwise.

I reckon they could go one better though. They've got it in them. I want them to Breath of the Wild it, by which I don't mean 'make Mario literally like Breath of the Wild', but take the series in a new direction like they did between Twilight Princess and Breath.

One of the best things about Mario for me is that is that the series is always reinventing itself. Odyssey 2 would no doubt be a 10/10 game, but something different and new would be really exciting.

That's personal though, which I get. I just prefer new wild **** over straight sequels. Which is why I've long slogged in the Switch 2 thread as the sole unpopular individual who thought Nintendo would be better off with something other than a straightforward sequel to the 2016 hardware!

[Neon Ignition]

That's why Bowser's Fury is quite interesting, it's a solid tease at the possibility of an open world Mario and suggests it could be great. Feels like a natural direction too and one I'd be happy to see attempted compared to BOTW where for me it took away swathes more from Zelda than it added.

[Nu-Eclipse]

That's why Bowser's Fury is quite interesting, it's a solid tease at the possibility of an open world Mario and suggests it could be great.

I have no complaints with that.

They should've done it properly from the off though, not just tack one together with used SM3DW assets and pretend that its an original game in its own right when it was quite clearly an attempt to justify the classic WiiU rehash/reheat/reserve mantra of this era and nothing more than that.

[wakka]

To be fair with every other WiiU rerelease they didn't even bother to provide any additional content. I think 3D World was the only one that included something substantially new packed in.

Fair enough that you don't like it tho.

[Nu-Eclipse]

To be fair with every other WiiU rerelease they didn't even bother to provide any additional content. I think 3D World was the only one that included something substantially new packed in.

I take that point you're making, but that's just it though: There is nothing new about Bowser's Fury at all. I'm sorry, there's just not. Reused assets in a different setting don't constitute a new game, and people would slate Sony or MS studios for doing similar so I fail to see why Nintendo yet again get a pass.

But hey, f--k my scepticism. I'll be delighted with an Odyssey 2 if that is the route that Nintendo go for the next 3D Mario. Odyssey showed light years more creativity that Bowser's Fury ever did.

[QualityChimp]

Ok, Beastie Boys may or may not be in new Mario game (Im under strict NDA).

I can't stand it. I know you planned it. I'm gonna get it straight, this M-Kart 8.

[Golgo]

Octopath Traveller 2 on Switch. Obviously it's a very beautiful game, but I've been especially struck by the quality of the mini-stories, characterization, writing and voice acting. Great stuff, really getting a lot of richness, impact and nuance from each character and scenario. I would like more inter-character party interaction, a flaw that was pointed out by reviewers, but even without this I'm really enjoying it. This is rare for me as I tend not to get on with random battle RPGs. Battle system and job system is very fun to tinker with too. Only found 3 main characters so far, about 6 hours in.

[Neon Ignition]

Currently being nuzzled by a pair of Sonic Team titles

-Sonic Adventure 2
-Burning Rangers

[QualityChimp]

Still playing Skyrim. I'm pretty sure I'm in some DLC mission as it's set on an island you have to travel to by boat and the enemies have spiked in difficulty.
I got killed by a grasshopper.

Love Bethesda for all their DLC. Every bit of Elder Scrolls and Fallout DLC has been brilliant and a departure from the main game.

EDIT: My son has still got the rhythm game bug. Not only was he playing some more Guitar Hero II last night, but we get Alexa to play 2 minutes of music whilst they brush their teeth and he asked for the Alice Cooper track he played last night!

[Dogg Thang]

I’ve been playing the Soul Reaver rerelease. There has only been a very light touch on the remastering, just improved textures and character models really. Even the lighting is pretty much identical and, after losing the intention of the look in the Tomb Raider remaster, it’s probably best that way. So they are the original games pretty much as you remember them only a little prettier.

The first one is sparse with lots of long tunnels of nothingness but the atmosphere is pretty great and it actually plays generally okay. It sucked me in after a while and I enjoyed replaying it after all this time. I did encounter a game breaking bug though - a platform detached from what it was stuck to, meaning there was an impossible jump and there was no other way to progress. Thankfully I had an earlier save. Save often in different slots if you play this. From what I can tell, once something glitches, it stays that way.

So I finished that game and I’m in the early sections of the sequel. My issue with the sequel is that it is frustratingly dark. I can’t see a thing in some areas and there is no way to adjust the game brightness settings. Aside from that, it’s not bad.

[randombs]

Monkey Island

We bought MI2 on PC back in the 90s and I only got around to playing the first game last month.

I actually bought the SE on iPhone but I didn’t get fat before it stopped working on 64-bit iPhones.

So last Xmas I bought MI, MI2 and CoMI on GOG for 10 GBP before running out of abbreviations



The voice overs are great but there’s a certain charm in using the subtitles, and not just for nostalgia’s sake. It seems written in a way that doesn’t need the voices. And it’s bloody hilarious, too! However, I did find myself being compelled to switch the voices on and off pretty regularly. It was similar to how I’d zoom incessantly during cutscenes in the MGS games.

It was great fun. I did resort to gamefaqs on a few occasions but I don’t care.

Bring on MI2!

[Atticus]

I picked up a PS5 Pro and I’ve been playing nothing but The Last of Us. Must be my 4th play through (PS3, PS4, PS5 + Pro). It’s a masterpiece that deserves all the polish and refinement it’s had. Very nice on the Pro it must be said… I’m loving it all over again.

[hudson]

Playing Monster Hunter Rise on PS5. Great to duff up a monster, then ride it to your actual target monster, beat that up into submission with your monster mount, then jump on the target monster and ride that to 3rd monster, then mount monster number 3, beat up target monster with it...

[Neon Ignition]

After several hours I bounced off Mass Effect 2. It's my fourth or fifth playthrough and I think it's just overfamiliar at this point and couldn't hold my focus anymore.

So, at the moment it's:

-Burning Rangers
-Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake
-Dead Island 2
-Nikodoriko