dris83

@Stale-Bread
There's a lot to be said on this. The NG+100 idea applies to monster hunter in a similar way. I've played literally thousands of hours in the series so far, as far back at MH Tri, so naturally my proficiency at the games has i.proved. alongside the QoL improvements that make getting to the fun bit, killing monsters so I can wear their face while killing their mum, easier. Are the fights easier in Wilds? Subjectively, yes, but I main Lance, and did so in Rise/Sunbreak, so really clicked with the weapon making it easy to pick up in Wilds. R/SB was also very fast paced, zipping around the monsters, who also felt quicker and more aggressive. Coming back to a slower paced game in Wilds, though not drastically, does make it feel easier to me.

To a new player, there has never been a better time to get into the series, the streamlining and QoL improvements in Wilds make the games obtuse systems a lot clearer and easier to navigate. It's also a gorgeous game.

For those wanting difficulty, the TU's to come should offer harder fights, arch tempered monsters for example I can see making a come back this time round. And that's without the inevitable master rank expansion...

As a long time fan of the series (with very rose tinted glasses) i love where the game is right now, and only see it getting better and better.

Looking at this, I think it's scratch that X-Com itch, definitely will look out for it on sale.

Great list.

For those that haven't, X-Com 2 is brutal. Play it in Iron-man mode so you don't save-scum and it makes ever roll of the digital dice count. You'll have favourite operatives that last for mission after mission, only to get blasted into oblivion, leaving a hole in your squad and your heart.

Absolutely adore this game.

Lots of solid deals, definitely why my game library on ps4/5 is probably 60/40 digital to physical, and that underselling the digital part of my library.

Oh and regarding questions about solo, I do think something was said about a single player mode that allowed you to pause the game, which would suggest singleplayer

Edit: just looked on the beta info and found this:

"Online Single Player

A mode where players can explore the wilds by themselves without joining a lobby.
The pause feature is also available in the Start Menu.
You can use an SOS Flare to temporarily play in a multiplayer session" .

So Nerscylla was last in the game in MH4U, has a sleep ailment in her sting and was in the Monster Hunter movie (christ that was bad).

She's a fun fight, providing you're not arachnophobia. Really glad to see her back. Think gypsceros was last in 4U too, so another old school returning monster.

Highlight in this trailer for me was Gore Magala looking incredible. Which means potentially Chaotic Gore and Shagaru Magala in the game. I imagine we may see Velkhana back too, in the iceshard cliffs.

Really can't wait to see the roster of cool new monsters (flying centipede thing looks cool) and returning favourites.

So excited for this game, Monster Hunter is my most played series ever, and I'm practically vibrating in excitement

An artist of his craft, his voice, and the voice work of others shows how much these people imbue into characters, games, and the industry as a whole.

Without the likes of Wayne June bringing thier skill and passion to our games, our games would be bland and dull affairs.

So thank you to all the artists and creators that enrich our hobby, and go easy Wayne.

@VaultGuy415 yeah the system was very clunky.

I just made a "squad" with my son and every time one of us played we'd just jump in a squad session, if one wasn't active it made one for you.

Judging from the beta, the mp aspect will hopefully be a bit better. Not something I used massively anyway.

If I can't solo a monster, I wont burden other players with my lame ass.

@ATaco Yeah, that sounds like how they approached balancing it.

Really looking forward to see how lance feels with the changes they make, although I tend to main a different weapon each game

Yeah unfortunately a lot ok the 40k games do tend to feel subpar, but there are some absolute bangers out there as well. Space Marine is a lot of fun, and judging from the comments above, Darktide would be one to pick up to. Then you've got the SpaceHulk games, which I enjoy, and of course the Dawn of War games which I have find memories of.

Not surprised that Space Marine has boosted royalties so much, and the knock on affect of getting people back into the hobby, or picking up the hobby for the first time will also make lots of money.

Be warned though, the tabletop game is like plastic crack. You'll be spending ungodly amounts of money of little plastic figures and create a huge backlog of minis to build and paint.

I love a strategy guide, kinda like a collectors piece. I've been sad they've kinda stopped coming out largely, as we move to online wiki's. Just ordered mine. Still at the start of the game so I'll hold off for now and carry on with P3R.

The optimist in me wants this to be a turn of good fortune that indicates the turn around of fortunes for the industry. The pessimist says otherwise.
I dont think we've hit the tipping point yet, that fractures off the games for profit from the games for the love of games, by lovers of games.
I don't know what that point is, how bad things have to get first, or even it it will ever turn around at all.

So far so good with the got top ten entries, not the order id place them though. Wouldn't have this above P3R and Helldivers though.

So, if you like MW Mercenaries, this iterated on it, and tells a different story. MW isn't for everyone, but if you are a fan, it's a solid installment.

Plus, it's got TimberWolf in it so my brain can shout "Madcat! Jaguar Madcat!" at the game, which it's done since Mechcommander...

So far for me this year:
Persona 3 ReLoaded (P3 is one of my all time favourite games)
Dragons Dogma 2
Metaphor Re:Fantazio

No particular order. Only games I've actually played

It's like you copied and pasted this from my childhood.

I am so in.

Qudditch seems like a solid bet. Especially for HP fans.
Little Nightmares 2 will get downloaded too.
MLB... I really don't get the sports game thing, but I guess baseball fans wills be happy???

Overall I think this is the best month we've had in a long time.

Not that any of these will drag me away from MHRS and Wukong. (Sidenote, Journey to the West was £2.99 on kindle which I snapped up, if anyone is interested in the novel as well as the game.)

MTX are here to stay, it's that simple. As another commenter stated, an entire generation have grown up with them as the norm by this point.

The same goes for the state of the game at launch. This has already become par for the course for AAA games.

I don't think Capcom have done anything here that the industry doesn't already do as standard. I'm not saying it's ok, but why the surprise?

I love the original game, so this is already on the list of games I'll be picking up at some point, and by then hopefully it'll be patched and better optimised.

Hades is great at that price, tempted with Soul Hackers too. Might have to have a look later and see what else tickles my fancy.

@tangyzesty
Absolutely right on the "convenience fee" concept. That's exactly how I see it and why a lot of my games are digital these days.

Don't get me wrong if I can get it cheaper on physical media, buy pre-owned, or want to support a Day 1 title launch (I'm a sucker for steel books) i'll buy physical, but most of the time it's cheaper and more convenient to buy digital.

Overall not bad. Kakarot, Gods Eater and Super Neptunia are maybes for me.

Nothing great, nothing awful.

Still don't think that premium is worth it for me though.

So glad to see platforms opening up and porting games across, I really hope this is the beginning of a trend.
Monster Hunter Stories and SMTV from Nintendo and the above from Xbox platforms respectively.

In this day and age I don't see how having an exclusive helps the industry. With production costs rocketing , surely selling to as big an install base as possible is a better way of recovering costs, as opposed to raising the price of the products?

@adit365 This was my thought.

I've downloaded and played the trial of Skull and Bones and enjoyed it, but from what I see Sea of Thieves is a better game. Especially when the price tag of Skull and Bones is such a bone for contention for me.

Ok so downloaded the time based trial, and ended up playing till 2:30am...

From what I've played if say this review is pretty accurate in line with my own thoughts, my biggest problem is the price tag. As much as I'm enjoying it, I'm enjoying Helldivers (the first one, fill my the hype of the sequel and my love of Starship Troopers) more, and with Helldivers II being a damn sight cheaper, I know which I'd plum for first.

This is one I'll wishlist and wait to see if it hits game catalogue, or goes on sale for a decent price before I get it.

@ShogunRok I agree, individually each could be true to an extent, however 1-9 as a collection when as the article states, we would pay 15quid each for most of them is borderline nonsense. Couple that with the idea all of this in 1 year? The same year as zodiac age, vii remake, Kingdom hearts remixes and 2.8, to name a few off the top of my head?

Really enjoying it as a whole, love the character building scenes, like with Noct and Prompto on the Motel sign etc. Combat is great once you get into it, and I love doing every quest I can find. 16 hours in, just started chaoter 3. Oh and I absolutely love the fishing

I get irritated with the way "entitled" gets bandied about. Yes, a lot of the reaction is childish, but at this stage I think it tells more of a story of frustration than anything else.

I think Invisible Inc looks interesting, but this will be the first ps plus ps4 instant game collection title I have picked up in months. I do not expect to like every title, nor do I expect a AAA game each month, but I do want to see some variation. I think Sony need to take note of the growing frustration and address it, even if it is just to be transparent on how they identify the games to offer up. That might at least justify the choices to the playerbase.

The only system that I seem to remember getting a decent title recently was the vita.

I personally think it's got the potential to be horribly mishandled by Sony. If this isn't the generation where native 4k gaming is doable and affordable, then work on the tech, but use it for the next generation, don't split the fanbase up

I've always felt that the service was good value, and by the numbers (cost of the free games outside of instant game collection) it still is. Add to that the discounts too, yes they are only slight but every penny saved...

However, the last title I bothered with was Freedom Wars on the Vita, can't remember when that was. Outside of that, there hasn't been much I personally have got excited about. Not a fan of all these indies and retro style games.

And I rarely play online games. So I could do without it on the ps4 push come to shove.

Unfortunately it is the state of if play, I believe that the analysis is right on the money here.

@get2sammyb Biscuit please. I held up my end.

@FullbringIchigo Type 0 for me too, didn't get round to Lost Song, but enjoyed what I played of Hollow Fragment.

@Davs_Due agreed, hoping for a ps4/Vita cross play of God Eater 2, that would be awesome.

Unfortunately I can't say I wasn't expecting something like this again over the holiday period.

Pretty sad really, and not an awful lot Sony can do to defend against it.

@get2sammyb I'm on my very first P4 playthrough, and it's great. Lifestyle wise, it fits mine perfectly, whether I'm escaping into a quite corner for half hour on a Sunday afternoon, or playing in bed with the headphones in while the wife's asleep. I've even ranremote play destiny strikes on it while the kids watched cbeebies lol. I have the 3ds too, but this is definitely my go to machine. And the psp and ps1 classics I have now been able to play from the store on its library up even more.

Happy Birthday and Viva la Vita

I too own both handheld devices and probably would play the vita more out the two, especially if they put MH games on it. The vita is a beaut of a machine, with great games, but it almost insists you use a pc or something as an external hdd, on top of the memory cards. It is the place to be for niche titles and jrpgs, which is pretty much what I'm into. I picked up a PlayStation TV too, which works great with bother Vita and PS4.

Fire Emblem, SMT IV, Persona Q, and Monster Hunter unfortunately all live on the 3DS, which is an awesome machine for the size of its library of DS games, 3DS games and wide market support.

I will still support the Vita for a long time, so long as Nis and crew keep porting games to it.

@FullbringIchigo exactly this, my local GAME is useless, times many I have walked in on launch day and been met with blank expressions when I ask if they have x game in. So if I want it on launch day I preorder, but not from Amazon, because their local logistics choice is dire and always manages to take 3 attempts to deliver, if at all, despite being in when they "attempt".

Outside of that I try to shop around for best price, and don't mind used game's.

Put this on Vita, with PS2 games too, and in the UK, and I would consider it. Ps3 games work for me as I went from 360 to Ps4. I like the idea, just not convinced on the cost.

I already have First Light, and other than that the lineup is shocking, another poor month as far as I'm concerned. See if they have any good discounts to redeem themselves with

@chomerly while i understand completely where you are coming from, and I am in the same boat, as are we all, but the network hasn't fallen down at the first hurdle so much as its been tripped up. It is near on impossible to protect against a ddos attack, and can only be reacted to, but this take time due to the nature of the attack. Its not so much Sony Im annoyed about, its the turds that are doing this on Christmas Day, especially when kids who have just got the console today are potentially not able to use their gift. I just hope they get caught up with eventually and justice is served, but very much doubt it. Unfortunately these are the days we live in.

Tbh the sales have underwhelming, I picked up Ys and Sao Hollow Fragment and that's it. Just hoping that Ps plus picks up in the new year.