cavalcade

Do we need another arcade racer with infinite restarts and rewind features though? The jeopardy in Forza is non-existent. I think this is a great idea that should be taken into a lot of racing games going forwards - some sort of mode that makes decisions matter.

The Xbox "disc to digital" programme is now active - stick a disc in your Series X and if it's supported (most are) you can unlock the digital licence for that game which will remain yours until that disc is used in another console.

I mean it's obviously a way of preparing people for the fact that the next-gen consoles will be digital only but on the face of it, it's quite a useful thing. I ran through my small collection of Series X physical games and they were all recognised. I can now put the discs away and play those games as if I'd downloaded them. It means you can take advantage of cheaper prices for physical games, or second hand sales, without any of the disadvantages, and I think it's a pretty good scheme.

Does it work for Xbox titles? Like the original Xbox? Or the older Xbox One and stuff? Because if I could digitise a load of disks this would indeed be very cool.

Play
I have been dabbling in Witcher 3: Remastered - I think it's safe to say the Switch 2 port, while a vast improvement and a technical marvel at 10 watts, isn't the way any sane person should be playing it if they have a choice. I don't think the changes are really all that pronounced. As others have said, I think it looks brighter, but perhaps not better. The controls and responsiveness are better, but it's still got that slight mid 2010s jank to it. And everyone's face still looks a bit basic (showing that while graphical progress has stalled, it hasn't stopped entirely). But when the sun it setting and the wind is whipping through trees, Witcher 3 really does a good sense of place very, very well. I still think I'll grind on with Cyberpunk though - if I'm going to finish one of these two CPDR monsters it'll be Cyberpunk.

Starfield I'd finally got around to rebuilding my main PC, lifting into the AM5 era, and I'd been going back through games just checking everything was fine (and pushing up the shinies). And I ended up playing a fair bit of Starfield. Which, I just don't think is as shit as everyone says. It is sort of shit, and absolutely a terrible engine trying its best to so space stuff, but it really is quite respectful of your time. You can wander, but also if you want to go somewhere, you can just click on it. A lot of people hate it, as it seems to make the universe feel small, but if you can control yourself, I've found it quite refreshing. Also, the planets are all quite barren and boring with little settlements that aren't that exciting either - but the bleakness is also quite interesting. I find No Man's Sky is now so desperate to please that the HUD is covered in fucking icons. Here, you can trudge across a stone strewed landscape for 5 minutes, find a small shipping container and then find a chocolate bar left on a table after going through 2 airlocks and a loading screen. It's quite refreshingly bland.

Ball X Pitt I have, it has to be said, slowly become obsessed with this on Switch 2. As I've said, I originally on PC got stuck with a bug that meant I couldn't progress. On Switch I got over that hump and I'm now all in. BOING.

Also continuing with Zero Company (which I like, but needs more enemy variety and less American accents), and the usual dabbling with Crossworlds, MK World and bits and bobs.

I also picked up Last of Us 2, to try to finish that on PC (as my PS5 is back in Wales, and I'm in Ireland). Can confirm Last of Us 2 does not run on PC handhelds at anything approaching a decent frame rate. Such a good looking game though, good lord.

Want
I guess Galaxy Racer - I do REALLY like the sound of the more roguelight structure to a racing league. A bit of jeopardy is always welcome.

Bin
Vets. We had to have a stray cat put down (we'd been feeding it for a year, but it was not healthy) and now another cat is ill, and we're already 500 euros down at a vet. Absolute fucking racket. I appreciate it's the hardest job to train for, but vets fees in the UK and Ireland are now an absolute scandal.

This cat is 17 - so there comes a point where you have to make brutal economic decisions. My partner has two other cats that are older. One 24 and the other 29. The oldest living cat on the planet is 30. This 29 year old cat is healthier than I am. So the only potential way of recouping these costs is hanging in for another year or two and trying to get on This Morning.

Witcher 3 on the Switch 2 is a bit of a mixed bag. On the plus side, the device is whisper quiet and pumping this out at 10 Watts, which is impressive. It also looks HUGELY better than the native Switch 1 version, which was a technical triumph, but also looked terrible. But, it's hard not to be a bit disappointed - in portable mode the rez is very low, with ailiasing all over the shop. With motion blur off it is quite choppy and with it on, it looks very smeary, So, a technical marvel, but I don't think it'll be the place to play it unless you have absolutely no other choice. Patches, I'm sure will tighten it up a bit.

I can't even imagine what your job must be. Air traffic controller? Its got to be something that requires hyper concentration and dexterity for hours on end.

I returned to Ball X Pit as I felt it must be a game I'd like and the bug that stopped me last time shouldn't mean I'd dump the game forever. So a quick restart on the Switch 2, and I'm now very much enjoying it. I don't think there's quite enough powerups and the progression seems a bit weird (if you keep going long enough it runs out of stuff to give you to assist in the run you're on and just gives you stuff to help in the other, village building bit of the game) but when the screen is full of balls (matron!) and you're mowing your way through piles of gribblies it is very satisfying.