PWB January

Happy 2019 everyone.

Play

Hitman 2 - not much to say about this that hasn't already been said already, it continues to be absolutely brilliant with every level offering something new. I'm plugging through the actual Hitman 2 levels now, leaving the H1 stuff for later, purely because all the new escalations, contracts and elusive targets seem to be (understandably) pitched towards the new levels. Still got a vast amount of stuff left to do, though.

Beat Saber - phenomenal VR rhythm action game that has you slicing cubes with lightsabers as they trundle down a track towards you. Utterly convincing, in terms of the fact you believe you're actually holding two glowing light swords, to the point where I handed the Move controllers to someone else and actually told them to be careful as they took them. Very challenging too and quite the workout. Really impressed with this.

Guacamelee 2 - technically a Metroidvania but totally the opposite end of the scale to something like Hollow Knight - it's bright, colourful and very silly, with the emphasis on combat challenges rather than careful exploration. It's great fun, and how can you not like a game that starts with "What is a luchador? A miserable little pile of secrets".

Want

I'm still tempted by Tetris Effect but that £34.99 price tag is still offputting no matter how great everyone says it is.

I really need to get back into Elite Dangerous now it's had all its QOL updates and I have a nice new monitor to run it on.

Bin

I think I've accepted that Hollow Knight isn't for me. Much like the Souls games, I like the atmosphere and the cautious exploration but hate the bosses and having to slog back through the same dozen or so screens each time you do in order to have another go is just soul-destroying. Totally get why people like it, though.

nice new monitor

What did you go for? I've been considering upgrading ours for a while but, as with all PC components, I'm somewhat bewildered by all the options.

The Acer XB271HU. 1440p 144Hz IPS screen with Nvidia Gsync. The Gsync is a complete game-changer to be honest with you, suddenly all my games are spitting out 90-100 fps with perfect vsync. Not a cheap option by any means but it's the best PC upgrade I've done in years.

Not a cheap option by any means

checks Amazon

Jesus, you're not kidding.

Play
Hitman 2 - got full Mastery and SASO on Whittleton Creek last night; just need Sniper Assassin and that's the (Professional) Classics done, though I still have a couple of Mission Stories to do. Still picking away at the season 1 levels, too. Good Christ, but there's a lot of game in this game.

God of War - only played the first hour our so yet, but I've already punched a man through a mountain. 10/10, highly recommended.

Want
AC: Odyssey, for some reason, even though I know full well I'll probably never get around to it.

Catastronauts - we're coming to the end of Overcooked! 2, and "Overcooked, but in FTL" is too good to not want.

Bin
2018. Just in the bin.

checks Amazon

Jesus, you're not kidding.

For some reason the first couple of search results are vastly more expensive than they should be. The going rate is £499 and it’s usually cheaper than that. Scroll down a bit for something less eye-watering. But yes, you pay a premium for the Gsync in particular, for any monitor.

Play

Like Gar and Ninchilla, I'm on a pretty strict Hitman 2 diet, on console at least – although I'm still working through the first game's levels at a pace bordering on glacial. I've got full mastery and SASO on Sapienza, but there are a few really easy challenges that I want to tick off before moving onto the next one.

I've signed back up to the Anime Space Khaleesi faction in Elite Dangerous and for some reason have started playing in Open again - meaning I'm fair game to the ne'er-do-wells who like to hang out in populated systems and pick on anyone who looks like they've got an objective. My ship is engineered to be kind of a tank, though - hefty shields and too much armour - so I've been interdicting out-of-faction pilots in an uncharacteristically aggressive turn. I can afford the rebuy on this ship about 200 times over though, so even if I do bite off more than I can chew I'm not going to be hurting too badly.

Want

Nothing, right now. Between Hitman, Elite and a regular Sea of Thieves game, my time is pretty well spoken for.

I would like to have the willpower to sink proper time into personal coding projects, particularly the GameMaker thing I've been toying with occasionally.

Bin

This persistent, Christmas cake-fuelled heartburn is getting old, but I have a feeling it's not going to be an issue for much longer…

Play
Mario Vs Rabbis
I was a bit worried that this would end up being a bit too simple to hold my attention but it's immediate and fun and if you make bad choices it punishes you! I just got annihilated by the mid-boss in World 2 but I went back in and annihilated them right back, so that seems about right.

My D&D game will be starting back up on Monday, I'm hoping I can keep that more regular now than I managed at the end of last year.

Want
I want to run something less combat focused than 13th Age for my son and his friends. I'm thinking maybe Coriolis or Stars Without Number, the switch to SF might make it easier for them to find other options that combat.

Bin
My holiday. The first week was taken up with catching up with the C# coursework I was behind on. The second week was Christmas chaos. The third has been me being ill. One week left to get everything done.

Mario Vs Rabbis

…

Now THAT'S a spinoff I'd like to play.

Play
Battle Chasers (Switch) - I like this. It has performance issues and is a little grindy. But the visuals are nice and it is a really clean, efficient turn based JRPG with some intelligent design choices.
Diablo 3 (Switch) - Although I'm also trying to play Diablo 3 at the same time. Which sort of does what it does a lot slicker and better.
Firewatch (Switch) - revisiting with the audio commentary. I like a nice audio commentary on a game.
Snipperclips/Mario Kart (Switch) - my partner has hardly ever played videogames. The concept of a co-operative videogame just generated a confused look. To say Snipperclips was a game changer would be an understatement. She is also now asking to play Mario Kart. Another Switch success story.
Puyo Puyo Tetris (Switch) - Life is now Endless Battle mode. The fucking fish who plays Puyo can do one. Fuck you fish.
Astro Bears (etc) - Awful. But I've played a ton of it with the kids. Can get riotously competitive.

Also flipping between Skyrim, LA Noire, Cat Quest, Into the Breach and Dead Cells.

Want
Tales of Vesperia - sooooon!

Bin
Not been too impressed by Axiom Verge so far, or Crypt of the Necrodancer. Will have to give them a longer go.
Civ 6 - if I'm going to complete my thesis this month I need to stop playing this. So good. So…. so good.

She is also now asking to play Mario Kart.

I give you three months until the separation.

Been there, got the T-shirt.

Literally just a T-shirt.

Another couple of hours of God of War under my well-worn, fur-trimmed belt, and while I have yet to punch anyone else through any mountains, I'm still enjoying it a lot. One of the things that's kind of surprising is just how God of War it is, close-third-person-camera aside; the level design is full of those little nooks and double-back areas to get all the chests & upgrades, the combat is brutal, and (on the default difficulty) it's just challenging enough to force me to actually think about what I'm doing, but not so crushing as to make me give up.

The addition of collectibles, skill trees, and crafting isn't too intrusive, either - though I've only just met my first merchant, an incredibly sweary blue dwarf named Brok, who uses "son of a bitch" as a term of endearment.

I need to go back to God of War, since I got to the bit where it branches out massively and then didn't play any further - I was borrowing someone's copy and they wanted it back, but I have it myself now. It's on the list…

PLAY
Pokemon Pinball: Ruby and Sapphire - Found in the bottom of a suitcase in a garage when I was clearing out the last of my stuff. Knew I had it, but didn't know where it had gone. Very happy, because it's awesome and gives me something to play on the Game Boy Micro I was gifted a few months ago.

Something unfinished - This year, I'm making an effort to go back and finish off stuff I started and left, but I need to decide what. Ratchet and Clank, Enter The Gungeon, the second series of Telltale's Batman and various other games are all there on my PS4, so I guess I'll take my pick.

WANT
Animal Crossing and Metroid Prime Trilogy on Switch - that's literally the extent of stuff coming out in 2019 that I'm interested in.

BIN
Various lifestyle things - New Year's resolutions are mostly bollocks, but I'm definitely going to make an effort on the following:

• No more buying robots (I have a few left to arrive that were bought over Christmas, but I'm not wasting more money)
• No games EXCEPT Animal Crossing and the inevitable Metroid Prime Trilogy on Switch (I have so much stuff to play on my PS4, I really don't need anything new and there's nothing I can think of outside of Metroid Prime 4 I actually want)
• As little sugar intake as possible (I'm a fiend for chocolate so saying absolutely none is silly, but I can definitely cut down considerably)
• Stop looking at Twitter all the time (what a fucking waste of my life that is… so many better things to do with my time)
• Live within my means (a job change and the sale of my rented flat will see my income cut back by about £600 a month as of March, so I really need to stop being an idiot with money and only spend what I have to)
• Get over the festering hatred for my ex that's growing inside me and just get on with things

Fun times ahead then.

"No more buying robots" is a fantastic NYR.

Play

Monster Hunter Generations: Ultimate - I made a Gauss Cannon (Heavy Bowgun if were being boring).
Spoiler - click to show
It took killing a lot of Hyper Zinogres, Hyper G Rank Zinogres, Hyper G Rank Barioths and many more. I managed to do some of it myself, I'm getting better with Valour style HBG. But eventually I needed help and the last step I had trouble with because not a lot of people play MHGU, unlike MHW, which is funny because World is harder in co-op and MHGU is way easier…as it should be, but whatever.

Monster Hunter World - Capcom have been supporting this game since release, to this day. We sorta' sneakily (it was prob leaked, I dunno') got a new update that added quests to get the gear worn by the Assassin from Origins I believe, including an entirely new 'Assassin's Mantle' (Mantles are a pretty huge part of MHW tbh) that I believe grants you a stealth attack bonus and increases running speed and stealth (in bushes, not plain sight like the Ghillie Mantle). Also, for one day only we got a quest in the arena to fight 4 big Mosswines and then one super giant Mosswine (it's surprisingly enough, a pig with moss on top) and they all one shot you. It was fun, but easy.

I'm terrible at this game now though, despite it being easier than GU. Lunastra absolutely destroyed me, I fucking hate Lunastra. Also, I feel so out of touch with the game compared to GU now, it's good it's just a little…dry compared to GU. Did I post the Witcher trailer for this last thread? I'll do it again, you're welcome.
Spoiler - click to show

Smash Bros Ultimate - Online with friends is a joyless, laggy affair honestly. Yet with randos it's pretty smooth, what's up with that. there's a certain 'poetry in motion' effect to seeing a good Smash Bros combo. And it's very easy to try out new characters from the 70+ roster and say 'I want to main this character!' since each new character has their own style. This game has probably the best version of Zelda I've ever seen, she's super cocky and stylish and for some reason she has a flying kick which is my favourite move in the game atm.
Spoiler - click to showhttps://www.geek.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/zelda-smash-ultimate-625x352.png

Want

Kingdom Hearts 3 - I beat the KH collection, I'm prepared!
Devil May Cry 5 - Finally, those shitty DMC fans get a game with a white haired Dante just like they wanted, fucking BABIES.
Bin

Kingdom Hearts 1.5 and 2.8 (lmao these titles) - The entire thing, 5 games, 3 movies (not short movies either…) and the fact that this does not exist on Xbone but KH3 will, is fucking hilarious. Hope someone's made a good Youtube summary becausethis is the most convoluted story in gaming right now.

Just lost three hours to Mario Vs Rabbids. Rabbid Mario is mental.

It reminds me a bit of the Ghost Recon game on the 3DS. It had less jokes and jumping though.

Play

AssOdyssey is good, but also strangely janky. I remember the original AC being celebrated for its animations, so god knows what happened. The horse moves like the horses from The Lego Movie, and Kassandra walks like she really needs a poo in the middle of a speed-walking race. And there's just so MUCH stuff. I haven't even worked out which icons are filler quests, and what the difference between contracts and bounties are, and whether to bother with the bulletin board. It's all peak Ubi-bloat. I am having fun, and I'm sure I'll complete it. But its position on a lot of end-of-year lists has confused me.

Smash Bros. Why did no-one tell me these are brilliant?! I hate fighting games and I bloody love this. Which I suppose is the point of Smash Bros. It's one game where too much content is a good thing, because every little detail is a joyous celebration of all things gamey. I like how the battles are about 30 seconds long, too, so you never feel too frustrated if you lose.

Pokemon Let's Go is lovely, but it's literally unplayable docked. The motion controls are just broken, and it's impossible to catch anything. Throw dead centre and your pokeballs will fly hilariously off screen. I gave it ten minutes, wasted 100 great balls and went back to handheld.

Pokemon Let's Go is lovely, but it's literally unplayable docked. The motion controls are just broken, and it's impossible to catch anything. Throw dead centre and your pokeballs will fly hilariously off screen. I gave it ten minutes, wasted 100 great balls and went back to handheld.

I don't really agree with this - I've been playing it 90% docked with the Pokeball controller and it's fine. The thing with catching is putting your hand into a 'neutral' state (that is to say, central and relaxed in a point that you consider to be the middle), THEN pressing the Ready option. At this point, the game detects what position the Joy-Con or ball is in and calibrates the throw accordingly. If you don't do that, then you won't be able to aim the throw at all.

Each to their own though, I can totally understand why it's not everyone's cup of tea. But saying it's literally unplayable is one of those internet overreactions that you just read and then sigh over. :)

Yeah, my wife and son have been playing Let's Go almost exclusively docked and the motion controls are fine. They've completed the whole thing in that mode so "literally unplayable" is more than a little exaggerated. It's more fun than the "press button to win" approach you get in handheld, too, and a second player can join in if they want.

Ass Odyssey: gold exclamation marks are the "proper" side quests, so concentrate on those. Other icons are filler quests, useful if you need XP but generally safe to ignore. For the bulletin boards, check them regularly and take everything marked as a Contract, as they are kind of background tasks (kill 6 Spartans, sink 4 boats) that you'll complete naturally as you play for big rewards. The Bounties are more filler quests, often timed (though the ones with a blue swirl reward you with Orichalcum, which you can trade in for rare items a bit later in the game, but again you can safely ignore these for now).

My joycon must be broken then. I meant literally unplayable, because I can't make a pokeball go anywhere near a Pokemon. I had 100 attempts. (I know the exact number because I bought, and used, 100 pokeballs.) It's not my wonky hands either, because m'wife couldn't make head or tail of it either. They fly completely off screen – there's certainly no chance of me getting anywhere near the decreasing circle.

Thanks for the AC tips! Contracts is what I was looking for. I assumed some of the quests would be 'passive' like that, I just couldn't work out which were which!

See, now I just want to watch you throwing Pokeballs purely for the comedy of it. :)

Actual footage of my living room last night.

You’re holding the joycons vertically, right? Just hold it vertically, press Ready then make a throwing motion straight forward.

A video might actually help here because of course the occasional shot goes wonky but you should throw straight most of the time. A friend came over on NYE and picked it up almost immediately.

Not to turn this into a GIF thread, but my technique is akin to a politician's thumb point. Except slightly more vigorous.

I'll have another go tonight.

WHO IS YOUR MAIN ON SMASH BROS?!?!?

I don't have one yet, still unlocking people. I like fighters who have a clear up special (like Mario's) and down special (like Kirby's). Falco seems fun. I've found Kirby to be the easiest to play, although I supposed that was the point of Kirby?

WHO IS YOUR MAIN ON SMASH BROS?!?!?

I've not played since Wii, but there can only be one.

Marth!

Marth!

…

…

Oh, wait, there's an H on the end. Never mind.

I re-read my post just to be sure!

I don't have one yet, still unlocking people. I like fighters who have a clear up special (like Mario's) and down special (like Kirby's). Falco seems fun. I've found Kirby to be the easiest to play, although I supposed that was the point of Kirby?

He is definitely on the simpler end, yeah, also he is impossibly cute and I keep almost buying Kirby Star Allies on Switch because of it. His down B will get you killed by anyone who can block though, so be careful!

Speaking of Fire Emblem characters, I chose our boy Roy to learn the game, he is so fun, I caught an Ike using his Up B to get back on the stage with my own down B counter for a kill and I dunno how characters with similar Up B's can do to escape this.

Other that I'm having a blast playing as secret JoJo character, QUEEN Zelda c:.

Similarly, Palutena's side B and neutral aerial are too fun.

I've mostly been playing Zero Suit Samus but I've only just unlocked Cloud who was my pick in Smash 4 so looking forward to giving him a try out in this. My boy plays Bowser as an unstoppable killing machine and also uses an annoyingly spammy Mr Game & Watch. It's amazing how everyone gravitates towards different characters, it's the sign of a really great fighting game.

I don't have one yet, still unlocking people. I like fighters who have a clear up special (like Mario's) and down special (like Kirby's). Falco seems fun. I've found Kirby to be the easiest to play, although I supposed that was the point of Kirby?

He is definitely on the simpler end, yeah, also he is impossibly cute and I keep almost buying Kirby Star Allies on Switch because of it. His down B will get you killed by anyone who can block though, so be careful!

Speaking of Fire Emblem characters, I chose our boy Roy to learn the game, he is so fun, I caught an Ike using his Up B to get back on the stage with my own down B counter for a kill and I dunno how characters with similar Up B's can do to escape this.

Other that I'm having a blast playing as secret JoJo character, QUEEN Zelda c:.

Similarly, Palutena's side B and neutral aerial are too fun.

From what I remember of Smash, Marth and Roy are all about the sword dance. I never tried Roy, but with Marth I liked to launch my opponent, then juggle them with sword dance and catch them with the charge attack as they fell. Which is a very Tekken Tag way of playing now that I think about it. The biggest trick was (which I think is the case for Smash in general) is being unpredictable

Speaking of Samus, I always try to main Power Suit Samus since of the big three that is Mario, Link and her she is by far my favourite character, but she isn't as good as I'd like, from what I see people only really use her Power Shot, but it's neat that she has Missiles and Super Missiles too, even her morph ball bombing, which iirc in Melee on the Gamecube at least, could even be timed to use her sequence breaking technique from Super Metroid where she gradually blows herself up higher and higher to places where she shouldn't be. (I could be wrong and it's just that it lets her move horizontally crazy far, physics are slightly different since her Down B is a bomb and the Morph at the same-ish time)

I don't really like Cloud, doesn't feel as immediately 'satisfying in that 'slam someone into the Horizon with big sword' in the way I expected, thankfully we have that monster, Ike, again from Fire Emblem for that.

Also tried Bayonetta, who is also fun but IMO really hard to use, she's way too light as well and my friend's Ganondorf was slapping her into the Blast Zone at low percentages. Finally, since I never got the Smash 4 DLC (Which Clould and Bayonetta were part of) I also got to use Ryu for the first time. The joy of using Ryu in a Smash Bros game, against Mega Man/Bayonetta/Cloud/Snake no less is amazing enough but you can even use Street fighter inputs to get better versions of his moves. Alas, not my type of character.

I will finish the story mode….eventually. D:

Not to turn this into a GIF thread, but my technique is akin to a politician's thumb point. Except slightly more vigorous.

I'll have another go tonight.

My friend who's also playing this mentioned something to me that made me think… where's your Switch compared to where you're standing? She said that she's experienced some difficulties with it picking up her movements if she sits on the far end of her sofa (roughly 10-12 feet from where her Switch is), though there's nothing especially blocking her direct line of sight with the console. If you've got it in a cabinet or behind something, that could also be an issue (when I was with her over Christmas, there was a photo in front of her Switch and I had a few issues with my Joy-Con responding properly).

Just a thought, in case that's the problem.

It's not obstructed, but it is probably 12 feet away. I'll try moving closer and see if that helps.

In other news, Lavender Town is still incredibly creepy for a kids' game, and Gigabowser can go feck.

Ah yes, I had to move a WiFi access point several feet away from my Switch because it was interfering with joycon connectivity. Took me a while to notice too as I tend to use the Pro Controller in most games but Mario Party was “literally unplayable” until I rearranged things.

The range and shielding on the joycons is piss-poor. Maybe try it in tabletop mode just to narrow down if it’s a range or interference problem.

Additional Play: Batman: Arkham Knight. I was quite surprised to find that this - one of the worst PC conversions of all time - is now finally playable, with the benefit of several years of patching and significantly better hardware than is supposedly required, and actually runs well. So I'm playing this. Batman is still the most ridiculous of all the superheroes, I can't take the gurning growler in the gimp suit at all seriously, but it's a fun game - if a little overwhelming with all the side missions, gadgets and upgrades. I have only the most basic of handles on the controls or how to access all the stuff that's crammed into this game but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it in the end and in the meantime roaring around Gotham in the Batmobile is pretty satisfying.

Additional PLAY:

Enter The Gungeon - Back into this in a big way, since it's a relatively small game (only five floors to complete to reach the 'end') with an insane amount of content to find and unlock. I've only actually 'won' the game once, since you have to collect a bunch of items and deliver them to a person on the last floor first before you can properly finish it, but even then there are still five other characters to complete it as. Plus, loads more guns, secret things, enemies, shortcuts, etc etc. So much still to do. Last night though, I completed the hardest trophy in the game (killing a boss without getting hit gets you a Master Round, and you need to collect all five Master Rounds by doing this against five different bosses in a single run to get it), so I feel happy about that. It's almost like it's all free-wheeling downhill from here…

Been in bad the last few days with food poisoning. However finally felt well enough today for gaming and started both Star Link and Yooka Laylee finally. Enjoying both. Due to work and my missus becoming addicted to Stardew Valley I can't see progress with them being quick however.

PLAY

Red Dead Redemption 2 - this is a very large game, apparently. It may never end. While I do like it (with the usual Rockstar 'amazing world, so-so gameplay' caveats both present and dialled up to 12), I really hope it does, before I stop enjoying it, especially as it's completely dominating my PS4 gaming time.

Chrono Trigger - I figured it was time to get one off the backlog, and seeing as a fair bit of the backlog is now JRPG-flavoured, this seemed like a good start. I'm not too far in, and so it's not desperately involved yet, but it's lovely.

Kirby Triple Deluxe - also lovely. The 3D is great, it has bags of character (I adore the animation), and while it's not exactly challenging (at all), it's a nice way to pass the time.

Mario Golf World Tour - I have always loved Mario Golf. The GBA (or was it GBC?) version was one of my favourite games, and I love this too.

My 3DS - this may have already become apparent. I've also had a little dabble with a couple of other games besides the ones listed above, too.

It's all basically because I was trying I was alternately trying to talk myself into/out of getting a Switch at some point, and convinced myself, yet again, that I can't justify it, and half the games I want for it I have on at least one other platform…

Of course, this somehow lead to my (finally) getting a new 3DS SD card instead, and (re)downloading a lot of the many, many 3DS games I've been wanting to play on that instead. Seeing as there's a lot more games on that that I want to play (easily more than anything other than the PS4), including ones from other Nintendo consoles, I'm having a whale of a time with it again. Hopefully this time it will last.

WANT

Pretty much just Sekiro at this point, although there's a fair few other games which will tempt me if they get reduced at the right time (Nier Automata, Monster Boy, Hitman 2, and so on…).

BIN

Azure Striker Gunvolt was fun, but I found it got a bit repetitive before I'd even finished it, which was a problematic when the game's longevity seemed to be based on replaying levels and doing all the challenges. A such, when I got a bit stuck I just decided to cut my losses, rather than go back and start the level in question again with a different loadout.

Oh, and Hearthstone. Again.

The first time I quit it didn't stick. The second time I ended up playing again because of a combination of a new expansion, a set of nerfs, and Marit sitting next to me and playing it over Christmas. This time I sank into total indifference, quit without any kind of inclination to continue at all, and am spending the time playing on my 3DS instead. Much better.

play

Yakuza 0 - this is as awesome as I'd heard and hoped it was. I'm liking that there's always something to do and that it swings heavily between taking itself seriously then being downright hilarious. I think I'm on Chapter 6 (it's been a few nights since I played it) and am back with Kiryu and it's not long introduced its property management sim.

Yooka-Laylee - a nice distraction from above and the kids love watching it. It couldn't half do with a bit of signposting though, or a map.

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age - doing the odd grind session in order to take on the final dungeon, but it's definetly reached that point where I'm looking forward to it being over. I've not a fucking clue what's been going on.

want Thursday to go well. Charly has her mastectomy and to say I'm worried about her going under General Anaesthesia would be a massive understatement.

bin - the fear that we're going to lose her. This isn't helped by the surgeon spelling out that there's a fairly large risk involved, due to her weight, her "short neck", her HB levels aren't stable and her chemo appears to have brought on mild heart failure. I keep telling myself that they wouldn't go ahead with it if they weren't confident it would be successful and that she has the most senior surgeon and anaesthetist at the hospital (perks of her previously being employed there) but all that "what if" and "what am I gonna do" thoughts keep creeping back in.

Oh man. All the very best to you both. I hope things go well.

Keeping everything crossed for you guys.

I also have all the things crossed. Good luck guys.

Additional Play: Batman: Arkham Knight.

I'm a few years late to this one but it's really good, isn't it? Though it shows its age slightly in terms of its open-world design, which is based firmly on the GTA model rather than the more modern Ubisoft-style design that everyone's adopted these days. So you get three islands to open up over the course of the game, there's a surprising amount of vehicle stuff in there and all the missions apart from the main story involve repeated iterations of the same thing (take down 10 APCs, clear 8 militia checkpoints, rescue 7 firefighters and so on).

It also has a terrible learning curve - Batman starts the game with most of the gadgets and combat moves he ended the last game with, so it kind of expects you to know how to do all that stuff, but it's been nearly 5 years since I played Arkham City so a few tutorials would have been pretty damn helpful. Plus it gives you the Batmobile within minutes of starting the game, so you've barely worked out how to control the main character before you get a vehicle with two new control styles to deal with too. And there are loads of menu screens, again with no real tutorial on what sits where. It all makes sense eventually, but I still find myself dipping into the moves list to work out how to deal with the bigger enemies or those bastards with the stun guns.

But it looks spectacular, the main story by the halfway mark has already thrown a number of big surprises at me and I like the way that you don't need to refer to the map the whole time, everything's clearly highlighted within the game world itself. Voice acting is top notch and it's all really atmospheric. Great game. It doesn't get talked about much these days, maybe because it was one of the earlier big games this gen, but it holds up really well in a lot of ways.

Clearly you've not reached the Batmobile stealth sections yet.

Are they the bits where you need to take out the Cobra tanks by sneaking behind them? They're not toooo bad.

I managed to complete AC4 which had stealth sections for a fucking pirate ship so I'm pretty immune to this stuff.

Not sure where to put this but as it's been brought up recently.

As you all know Charlys mastectomy was today, she's made it out of theatre okay, I've only spoken to her briefly on the phone and am just waiting for her mum to come over to sit with the kids (2 out of 3 are in bed and asleep) so I can go and see her and take her bag of stuff in. I'm incredibly relieved she's made it through this stage of her treatment.