Mister Jack

Uh oh, a remote code exploit was found in Elden Ring for the PC, as well as every Dark Souls game for the PC. This is going to mean one of three things: 1) The game is delayed to fix the problem 2) A race against the clock at From to fix the issue before the release 3) Elden Ring launches with no online functionality (probably unlikely) I obviously don't know just how complicated it will be to address this, but currently all the Dark Souls servers are down with no word on when they'll be going back up so this definitely isn't something you can just hotfix but it's gotta be done.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus Yeah I played it early. This game isn't out yet so I'm going to put all gameplay related comments in spoilers in case anyone wants to go in completely blind. I won't talk about the story much either other than to say that it's fine. I mean, it's pretty basic for an RPG story and there's still no voice acting so you shouldn't expect much but compared to the handholding insult to your intelligence that Sw/Sh was it's practically Shakespeare. The main story took me about 17 hours to beat but the postgame/true final ending grind is going to take much, much longer so I figured I'd just post about it now. Now to discuss the gameplay. All in all, this one took me by surprise, especially considering how much I hate GameFreak lately. There is definitely room for improvement and innovation but if we think of this as the first step toward the future of the franchise then I might actually find it in my heart to get excited for Pokemon games again. With some fine-tuning and polish the next Legends game has the potential to be an all-time classic.

That's a good point. I could definitely see them going that route where Playstation still gets last year's CoD but the new yearly release is only on MS platforms.

I got my hands on Pokemon Legends Arceus before the release date. I won't spoil anything here since it's so early, but I will say that so far...I'm enjoying it! Yeah, holy shit, a Pokemon game I'm actually having fun with. What a miracle. The last three Pokemon games I tried playing were so slow and tedious that I dropped them before ever beating the story, but I think I might just stick with this one to the end. It is a little rough around the edges in some respects, of course, and it's far from a 10 out of 10, but compared to Sword/Shield and the Diamond/Pearl remake? This is feeling much closer to what I want Pokemon to be in this day and age. So far it's feeling like a good first effort and I hope Legends becomes a spin-off series.

They could also do what Sony used to do where the Playstation will still get the games and the updates but Microsoft platforms get everything new first for a few months to a year. Seeing that MS owns Activision now it's not like they'll have to make any more deals to get timed exclusivity on their content or DLC. Of course, I still kind of expect them to yank CoD off of Playstation eventually. 70 billion is a lot of money to spend and then not change things dramatically.

Monster Hunter Rise So this is kind of dubious in terms of whether I "beat" it. I've not nearly finished all the game's content, but I killed this game's flagship monster and saw the credits so I'm going to consider that good enough to at least post about it here even if I still have lots left to do. I've played the game for about 25 hours so far, which isn't much time to see the credits for a Monster Hunter game but it's long enough that I know how the game works and how I feel about it. This is by far the most accessible Monster Hunter game yet, so if the others were too complex for you, including World, then this might be easier for you to swallow. Kamura Village is smaller than Astera in MHW, but that also means it's easier to navigate and most of the important NPCs you need are all right there in the same spot. Quests are divided into two types: village quests which are strictly a solo affair and hub quests, which are multiplayer focused. Solo hunting, while not a cakewalk, is still easier than it's ever been before thanks to the fact you get to take along not one but two NPC companions to help you in fights and you can mix and match between palicoes and palamutes. Speaking of which, there are four main features in this game that make it different from the others. First are the palamutes, which are giant dogs you can ride around to traverse the map faster. For better or worse, you no longer have to track monsters to know where they are on the map so you can easily hop on your palamute and ride over to the fight in just a minute or two after spawning. Palamutes also help you in fights and can be given special equipment to assist with healing, buffing, or debuffing. When you also bring along a palico or a second palamute, just having extra targets to get the monster's attention can make your life a lot easier when you need to heal or sharpen. You're only allowed to bring one companion if you are doing multiplayer, but that number used to be zero so in a full hunt you'll have four hunters and four pets all going after the same monster, which can admittedly get chaotic. I'm hoping Capcom patches in the ability to turn off the attack effects for other hunters so there's less flashy anime shit going on during a multiplayer hunt. The second new feature is the wirebug, which is pretty much a grappling hook except it's a beetle that shoots wire. What sets this apart from normal grappling hooks is that the beetle doesn't have to attach to anything to be used. You can use it like a normal hookshot too, but since beetles have wings you can also use your wirebug to swing or launch yourself no matter where you're standing, which is great for setting up aerial attacks when in previous games you'd need to find a platform to jump from in order to use them. I can't stress enough what a game changer this is, especially since aerial attacks are often the best attacks for many of the game's weapons. There's a short cooldown on the bug after shooting it twice so you can't spam it endlessly, but it's still pretty generous. Wirebugs can also be used for special weapon based attacks that do mounting damage. What is mounting damage? Well that leads into the third new feature. Monster riding! This is far from the first game where you can mount the monsters, but in previous titles mounting was mostly limited to stabbing them until they fell down or making them run headfirst into a wall for big stun damage. In this game, the wirebugs are used like reins so that when you mount a monster you can actually control its movement and its attacks, which means you can make it attack other monsters. Once you've done that, the two monsters are likely to start fighting with each other for a while which not only does a ton of damage to both monsters but it also creates lots of material drops and gives you precious time to heal, buff, or sharpen while they're distracted. It's super satisfying when you can pull it off, and as long as you remember to use attacks with mounting damage it's not too hard to do. Last but not least is the last big new feature: switch skills. In Monster Hunter World and every other MH game I tried the weapons all have their own gameplay style but for each one there's usually an optimal flowchart when it comes to which attacks and combos to use. You'll probably find an attack string that works for you and then use it for the rest of the game. In Rise, however, every weapon has three attacks that can be switched out for a different attack, which can completely change how you use the weapon. For example, I went through the game using the sword and shield. The default combo for the circle button on my controller was a series of shield bashes, which is great for stunning monsters if you hit them in the head. However, you can switch this combo out for one that does multiple stabbing attacks, and since I was using a poison sword this meant multiple hits that all stacked poison on the monster. From what I can tell, there's no universal "right" or "best" way to set up your switch skills for each weapon. It all depends on your personal preferred gameplay style and even then I could see myself switching them up again depending on the monster I'm fighting. It adds a lot of strategy without being too complicated for newbies to grasp. Rise might not be as big or as pretty as World, being a port of a Switch game and all, but it's definitely the easiest to jump into and do a few quick hunts when you have some spare time. I am totally addicted and plan on getting my rank up as high as I can so I'll be ready when the Sunbreak expansion comes out.

Only Sony and Microsoft know how long Sony's deal with Activision lasts regarding early or exclusive content. Five years? Ten years? However long it is, Microsoft seems to have every intention of honoring it. After that, who knows.

This sure would be a great time to do a full unveiling of the PSVR 2, Sony. Or to announce the PS Now successor we all know you're working on.

To add insult to injury they're not even going to fire Bobby Kotick. What the fuck, MS.

I was actually looking at CDkeys to see how much Monster Hunter World + Iceborne cost on the PC, but this was on the homepage for less than two dollars. I couldn't resist a sale like that.

This is starting to become a thing with websites and especially shopping apps but I hate it when a place makes you play some little time-wasting game to get a discount. First of all, these games are never fun, just tedious. Second, I play games because I want to have fun, not because someone else is holding my money hostage. Just stop making me jump through hoops and give me the fucking coupons already!

Having a great time with the PC port of Monster Hunter Rise. I'm so glad I waited because with so much action going on, sometimes with four hunters AND four NPC companions all attacking the same monster at the same time, I can't imagine trying to run this on a Switch. I also like that this game feels different enough from World to be its own thing and not make World obsolete. At the same time there are some things World does better and some things Rise does better, which makes both games worth playing in their own right. World has better graphics, bigger environments, and better multiplayer while Rise has better combat, more mobility, and cooler weapons and armor. I can't really definitively say one is better than the other. Not yet, anyway.

Mine isn't the exact same but I've been quite happy with my Asus monitor so far.

Steam version. Can't wait.

I don't know how I forgot Elden Ring. I already have it preordered on Amazon and I literally never preorder games anymore.

Definitely PSVR 2 for me. I actually have some VR games sitting unplayed right now because I want to wait and experience them the right way with proper controllers and a better headset. I'm also really crossing my fingers that VR modes on PS5 games will become a lot more common. I was playing Far Cry 6 with a buddy of mine last night and we were both talking about how the series is pretty formulaic but even if nothing else changed a Far Cry 7 with a VR mode would make it feel like a whole new game.

Ghostbusters Afterlife This is definitely a movie made for the fans, which both helps and hurts it. This one is a direct continuation of the original two films (although I don't remember them referencing 2 at all) so it calls back to the first film quite a bit. While it's not a total retread of the original story beats like the reboot was, you'll still be seeing a lot of familiar characters that are sometimes used in familiar ways. The climax is fanservice overload, which is kind of a mixed bag. It's fun to watch, but sometimes it also distracts from the story they're trying to tell. I'd still recommend it, though. Obviously it won't be as good as the original film but I'd put it above the second one.

What is it with time loops in games lately? Seems to be a trend.

I would love it if it was easy to make this work on the PC as well. Index is too expensive and cumbersome and I am not making a Facebook for the Quest so if someone got this running on Windows I could easily see it becoming my go-to VR on both platforms.

PSVR2 specs and features conference.

I don't know why anyone who remembers Evolve would have any faith in Back 4 Blood.

I've played every Yakuza so my answer is definitive: You don't HAVE to play the other Yakuza games to follow Like a Dragon if you don't want to, but if you have any intention of playing the previous games you'd better do that first because Like a Dragon spoils the hell out of what happens in the Kiryu saga. There are also references and characters you will appreciate more if you are already familiar with the setting.

I haven't gotten around to playing it yet but I can't imagine a game about marriage that requires you to play with a second person and encourages playing with your spouse would end up with them deciding it's better to get divorced.

@danielpholt If it makes you feel any better I heard Back 4 Blood kinda sucks anyway. As for me, I never got around to playing Monster Hunter Rise but that's because I'm waiting on the PC port.

If you absolutely have to put out a remaster in 30 FPS then so be it, but fifty dollars for a twenty year old game that's still in 30 FPS? You can't have it both ways, Atlus. I myself paid around 30 for it, which is as high as I was willing to go.