dreamylittledream

Eh? Its very MCU but even considering the comic book history the core Avengers team tends to be Cap, Hulk, Thor and Iron Man who are all present and correct. Ms Marvel is playing the fresh faced outsider that puts the band back together. The Spider-Man thing is DLC bullshit but he's not typically an Avenger . Bah anyway I so still want this to be good, Crystal Dynamics are a great developer and this has so much potential - as a retired Destiny addict with a love of third person character action games this could really tickle most of my soft spots. Bit yeah its all looking a bit bleak and well um Anthem - this was probably my most anticipated game of the Autumn but its not convinced me to lay down 50 notes for the Steam key so far- still up for having a try of the beta mind.

Everyone needs to play Darksiders Genesis as it’s bloody excellent. Man of Medan is a win for me as I really enjoyed Until Dawn

Yeah it’s only the July games available if you sign up now, Age of Wonders, Void Bastards etc. The past games are just there to show what’s your could have won if you were a member, so it’s a marketing tool. The bundles are only available for one month each...

The games don’t change until Friday so if you subscribe today you select from the current bundle . As to whether it’s worth it, the new model is no risk; if you want the games you pay near the end of the month (or immediately if you want them now) and if you don’t want them you can pause without being charged or cancel and then rejoin when you like a new bundle. I like the monthly as a random selection of games that I may be interested in for just over a tenner but if you don’t have the legacy service (which is cheaper and more choices)then you basically can just buy the bundles you want and cancel if you don’t want the choices that month, it’s not really a subscription service with random chance like it used to be

You can send anyone you like the key if you already own it and they can redeem it. God knows about Steam gifts but that’s the simplest way.

I don't really want to ague with you because fundamentally I agree that Spidey is a hugely important Marvel character - probably the most iconic infact an making him format specific DLC is some shady shit. But even in the MCU, he is resolutely not an Avenger - his first solo movie climaxes with him deciding not to join the team much to Iron Man's chagrin. In more prosaic thoughts, Spider-Man is a character owned both in film and digitally currently by Sony so the chances of him appearing and not being a PS exclusive were always slim one suspects

Yeah @mansizerooster is right, Spider-man is about as much as an Avenger as Wolverine is - occasionally as member of the team but never a regular. He's a huge character yes but he's not really one of the Avengers

Yeah I understood that the game is set some time after the show, but it is somewhat confusing to be missing 2 of the show/books central characters; Ciri is basically not mentioned at all, apart from a couple of passing references. Is Geralt supposed to have forgotten about her? So Foltest’s daughter turned back into a monster again in the first game and that’s why she’s not available to be his heir? Well I suppose that makes sense

Cross post from the 2020 completions... So staying with the cutting edge of PC gaming I turn to a game from um 2011. Funny thing I have owned/sort of rented (hello Gamepass) at least 3 copies of The Witcher 3, but somewhere along the line I decided I should play this first (boring story - I bought the original PS4 release and didn't get around to it, bought the GOTY version for PC along with this and the first game and it also turned up and indeed left Gamepass whilst I was a subscriber). Anyway back to the matter in hand, I picked up the entire Witcher trilogy shortly after getting my new PC at some point last year for largely buttons (maybe a tenner something like that) having been interested in playing them for well um sometime. So some consultation of the internet later, it would appear that the first game is these days of somewhat academic interest only, but the second game still holds up and of course the third game remains seminal. So I resolved I should play the second title first, at yeah some point in the future. And so having recently spent 10 hours in the company of Henry Cavill and Netflix and thoroughly enjoyed the dark fantasy Game of Thrones vibes, I decided it was time to play this. I was also encouraged to note that this second game was remarked upon for its brevity, which is always something I welcome as a time poor 40 something. Well that last part lied - final game clock was about 44 hours and that was a simple play through without any thoughts of going back to play the second act from the other choice which is by all accounts almost entirely different. Now some of that is probably down to the fact that The Witcher 2, and lets not beat around the bush here, bloody hard in places, particularly at the beginning where the game does it damnedest to put you off from going any further. But yeah its not really a short game. Now I must acknowledge that I am here playing the Enhanced Edition, with a prologue to the actual prologue where the game makes an attempt to explain its rather convoluted combat system to you by placing you in the shoes Geralt arriving at a village at midnight before entering an arena fight. Its all rather stilted and seemingly ridiculous complex, with a combat system that mixes real time hack and slash with slowing time down to choose magic spells and thrown weapons, oh and meditating to mix and take potions. I didn't do very well in that opening section perhaps unsurprisingly and the game suggested I play on easy, but you know I spit on such suggestions so I adjusted back to normal as the actual prologue began. And it really does begin as it means to go on. Awaking by the shapely body of a red haired girl who turns out to be your mage girlfriend, you quickly walk out onto a field of an army preparing for war. And wow did this game really come out in 2011 because it still looks stunning? That's a line that bears repeating throughout because whatever else you think of the game you can not deny that it remains a serious looker. Anyway as the prologue rolls you do come to realise that as awkward as the arena sequence was it does at least give you and idea how to play the game. Without that I don't think I'd have a bloody clue as the game manifestly refuses to explain a great deal to you during what originally was the introduction to the game. So anyway, I played the prologue linearly without too many issues (why would you play it out of order when you have only the faintest idea of what's going on, its fairly clear there is an order). Having watched the TV show my early questions were where are Yennefer and Ciri? Two questions the game largely fails to answer, having turned Geralt amnesiac at some point in advance of the point the television series is currently up to; all that became clear was that Yennefer was kidnapped by Wild Hunt (yeah dunno beyond spectral riders) at some point before Geralt lost his memory and Ciri, well fuck knows. I also never got an answer as to why Foltest is so concerned about his illegitimate children as heirs when he has a daughter (an incestuous one with his sister mind) , that I saved from being a monster at some point in the past (actually why isn't she in contention to the throne following his death?). Anyway then game rolls you through a prison break and into the first chapter and a medieval town in the middle of an elven LOTR forest. And its at this point that you finally get to grips with it. The fairly gentle pace of chapter 1 gets you used to the crafting and alchemy systems and teaches you that the combat system is built on dodging a lot. It also introduced some really neat side quests that force you to learn your abilities as a character (basically bombs are quite important against mobs of monsters), and also really trust no one. I played Geralt as a fundamentally trusting guy and lacking the prejudice humans but this on occasion blows up in his face (hello elf girl, really I should have killed you given you undoubtedly wanted to do that to me). The combat system gradually develops from being seemingly impenetrable and tricky to actually being quite rewarding, tying directly in with your character levelling up and finally becoming somewhat capable. It encourages you to throw every ability you have into the mix, mainly as leaping in just with your sword is a recipe to die swiftly. The game has a rather strange XP system where the story quests give vast amounts of experience and everything else gives somewhat less so - to the extent that by chapter 3 my magic lead Geralt became pretty much unstoppable in a very short space of time shortly afterwards the game ended, I could have done with a lot more time to play with the skills at the end of skill tree, mainly the with a separate charge bar that only became even vague relevant once I'd applied a couple more skills to charge it Its also not terribly RPG like in that there is not a huge amount of gear around - each chapter basically has a couple of pieces of equipment (mainly armour or swords, my gloves and trousers remained very pedestrian throughout) that give you big leaps that you either find at the end of a quests or craft - pretty much everything else left on the ground is junk only good for sale. I'm skipping around here, so its probably enough to say from the moment I killed the giant sea monster I was gripped and it just got better from there. The combat goes from being awkward to being empowering once you have a few more vigours and level 2 spell casting skills. There are plenty of awkward game changing decisions to make and the over arching plot gradually starts to make sense once you read around the various texts left strewn in the environment. The events of the game all race to a satisfying if perhaps a little quick conclusion although that's more a reflection of the pace of chapters one and two compared to the concluding chapter. Anyway in conclusion I thoroughly enjoyed myself and was satisfied with the spin I managed to place on events. So quibbles time. Weight limit, seriously this was just annoying - why give me lots of largely useless loot if I'm not going to be able to carry it - god knows what the game was like before you got storage. The levelling is slow, slow, slow and then occasionally massively rapid. I played all the side quests I could and it would have been nice to have some commiserate rewards - you really don't get enough time to play with late game Geralt and at least one skill tree maxed, which is a shame because those last missions where I cut a bloody path though the Nilfguardian troops and battled a dragon where pure fantasy power play. That map is fcukijng awful. Choices wise - I played it fairly simple as a good natured but impatient Witcher: Bloody great game basically and now I'm itching to play the third one. Game of Thrones / 10

August 13. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings(Enhanced Edition) (PC) So staying with the cutting edge of PC gaming I turn to a game from um 2011. Funny thing I have owned/sort of rented (hello Gamepass) at least 3 copies of The Witcher 3, but somewhere along the line I decided I should play this first (boring story - I bought the original PS4 release and didn't get around to it, bought the GOTY version for PC along with this and the first game and it also turned up and indeed left Gamepass whilst I was a subscriber). Anyway back to the matter in hand, I picked up the entire Witcher trilogy shortly after getting my new PC at some point last year for largely buttons (maybe a tenner something like that) having been interested in playing them for well um sometime. So some consultation of the internet later, it would appear that the first game is these days of somewhat academic interest only, but the second game still holds up and of course the third game remains seminal. So I resolved I should play the second title first, at yeah some point in the future. And so having recently spent 10 hours in the company of Henry Cavill and Netflix and thoroughly enjoyed the dark fantasy Game of Thrones vibes, I decided it was time to play this. I was also encouraged to note that this second game was remarked upon for its brevity, which is always something I welcome as a time poor 40 something. Well that last part lied - final game clock was about 44 hours and that was a simple play through without any thoughts of going back to play the second act from the other choice which is by all accounts almost entirely different. Now some of that is probably down to the fact that The Witcher 2, and lets not beat around the bush here, bloody hard in places, particularly at the beginning where the game does it damnedest to put you off from going any further. But yeah its not really a short game. Now I must acknowledge that I am here playing the Enhanced Edition, with a prologue to the actual prologue where the game makes an attempt to explain its rather convoluted combat system to you by placing you in the shoes Geralt arriving at a village at midnight before entering an arena fight. Its all rather stilted and seemingly ridiculous complex, with a combat system that mixes real time hack and slash with slowing time down to choose magic spells and thrown weapons, oh and meditating to mix and take potions. I didn't do very well in that opening section perhaps unsurprisingly and the game suggested I play on easy, but you know I spit on such suggestions so I adjusted back to normal as the actual prologue began. And it really does begin as it means to go on. Awaking by the shapely body of a red haired girl who turns out to be your mage girlfriend, you quickly walk out onto a field of an army preparing for war. And wow did this game really come out in 2011 because it still looks stunning? That's a line that bears repeating throughout because whatever else you think of the game you can not deny that it remains a serious looker. Anyway as the prologue rolls you do come to realise that as awkward as the arena sequence was it does at least give you and idea how to play the game. Without that I don't think I'd have a bloody clue as the game manifestly refuses to explain a great deal to you during what originally was the introduction to the game. So anyway, I played the prologue linearly without too many issues (why would you play it out of order when you have only the faintest idea of what's going on, its fairly clear there is an order). Having watched the TV show my early questions were where are Yennefer and Ciri? Two questions the game largely fails to answer, having turned Geralt amnesiac at some point in advance of the point the television series is currently up to; all that became clear was that Yennefer was kidnapped by Wild Hunt (yeah dunno beyond spectral riders) at some point before Geralt lost his memory and Ciri, well fuck knows. I also never got an answer as to why Foltest is so concerned about his illegitimate children as heirs when he has a daughter (an incestuous one with his sister mind) , that I saved from being a monster at some point in the past (actually why isn't she in contention to the throne following his death?). Anyway then game rolls you through a prison break and into the first chapter and a medieval town in the middle of an elven LOTR forest. And its at this point that you finally get to grips with it. The fairly gentle pace of chapter 1 gets you used to the crafting and alchemy systems and teaches you that the combat system is built on dodging a lot. It also introduced some really neat side quests that force you to learn your abilities as a character (basically bombs are quite important against mobs of monsters), and also really trust no one. I played Geralt as a fundamentally trusting guy and lacking the prejudice humans but this on occasion blows up in his face (hello elf girl, really I should have killed you given you undoubtedly wanted to do that to me). The combat system gradually develops from being seemingly impenetrable and tricky to actually being quite rewarding, tying directly in with your character levelling up and finally becoming somewhat capable. It encourages you to throw every ability you have into the mix, mainly as leaping in just with your sword is a recipe to die swiftly. The game has a rather strange XP system where the story quests give vast amounts of experience and everything else gives somewhat less so - to the extent that by chapter 3 my magic lead Geralt became pretty much unstoppable in a very short space of time shortly afterwards the game ended, I could have done with a lot more time to play with the skills at the end of skill tree, mainly the with a separate charge bar that only became even vague relevant once I'd applied a couple more skills to charge it Its also not terribly RPG like in that there is not a huge amount of gear around - each chapter basically has a couple of pieces of equipment (mainly armour or swords, my gloves and trousers remained very pedestrian throughout) that give you big leaps that you either find at the end of a quests or craft - pretty much everything else left on the ground is junk only good for sale. I'm skipping around here, so its probably enough to say from the moment I killed the giant sea monster I was gripped and it just got better from there. The combat goes from being awkward to being empowering once you have a few more vigours and level 2 spell casting skills. There are plenty of awkward game changing decisions to make and the over arching plot gradually starts to make sense once you read around the various texts left strewn in the environment. The events of the game all race to a satisfying if perhaps a little quick conclusion although that's more a reflection of the pace of chapters one and two compared to the concluding chapter. Anyway in conclusion I thoroughly enjoyed myself and was satisfied with the spin I managed to place on events. So quibbles time. Weight limit, seriously this was just annoying - why give me lots of largely useless loot if I'm not going to be able to carry it - god knows what the game was like before you got storage. The levelling is slow, slow, slow and then occasionally massively rapid. I played all the side quests I could and it would have been nice to have some commiserate rewards - you really don't get enough time to play with late game Geralt and at least one skill tree maxed, which is a shame because those last missions where I cut a bloody path though the Nilfguardian troops and battled a dragon where pure fantasy power play. Choices wise - I played it fairly simple as a good natured but impatient Witcher: Bloody great game basically and now I'm itching to play the third one. Game of Thrones / 10

I guess there’s some elements of personal taste in here but I’d certainly contend the choruses of Exile, Last American Dynasty and Mirrorball sink their hooks in very quickly. The first two particularly have got terribly stuck in my head. Some of the other tracks do take more time to settle in and would probably benefit from a setting with a little more light to add the autumnal shade vibe the album has a whole

So yes maybe it is and this record really deserves a thread in here - so yeah here it is. Shadow drop in our post/current lockdown world (delete as appropriate if you are currently on holiday in Spain or not). Here's what Ms Swift did instead of headlining stadium shows worldwide this Spring/Summer - wrote an indie tinged chamber pop album with the lead guitarist from The National. Not a series of words you probably would have associated with one of the biggest 'pop' acts in the world. Of course pigeonholing Swift has always probably been a mistake - regardless of your prejudices it is hard to give anything other than a certain degree of respect for a girl who has effortlessly tripped between genres over the past decade; emerging from the Nashville scene with a raw talent for song writing before leading the charge to resurrect the 80s pop scene, before dabbling with R&B and then sweeping it all into the technicolour pop sound which was last years 'Lover'. Even if you don't like the music its hard not to admire her. But of course I'm not biased so I'll lay my cards on the table and acknowledge I'm a fan - but this is quite something else. A lazy comparison might be this is her dabble with Lana Del Ray's sound - although truth be told Taylor has been there before (Wildest Dreams which was squint and you'd believe it was an outtake from Born to Die) and yes 'Cardigan' could indeed have wandered off Norman Fucking Roswell but actually the sonic pallet is a lot deeper. We get nods to the Cranberries Aimee Mann Sixpence None the Richer/The Sundays And that's just to scratch the surface - we get snippets of Tori Amos, Mazzy Star, and a whole host of 90s esoteric female fronted 4ADesque sounds. Swift even lilts back to her country roots on occasion ('Betty' being the most obvious example). All whilst tying everything together with wry, inciteful lyrics and big infectious hooks, deprived of the usual kitchen sink production job. To be fair it is perhaps a little too one note in pace, there's only so much you can do with a record made up entirely of 'sad bangers', but for me this is the twin of Soccer Mommy's Colour Theory and its definitely most infectious but vaguely tragic thing you will hear this year. And who would have ever predicted a Taylor Swift/Bon Iver collaboration - well you should because its magnificent

Quantum Break is great - and its only about 8 hours long (minus the TV bits anyway)- so yeah complete it first Control is significantly better mind

The empathy is genuine by the way not a concealed neg as I genuinely love this game and feel bad I was leading the cheerleading in your what to play next thread as you clearly haven't been feeling it. In reply to your comments: Well yes it is a a shooter at heart - and the key mechanic is juggling your abilities and keeping moving to cause maximum carnage. The structure is a little obtuse and it really helps to follow the side quests as you find them as several of the key abilities are hidden behind them, the game changes a lot once you unlock the dodge and shield abilities but neither are actually on the main story path. A lot of the games appeal is within the tension between the frantic action sequences and the discovery of the various notation left lying around - I suppose a lot of it rests on how much you buy into the X files vibe the game generates - and yes a lot of the point is its set in a 1960s US bureaucratic office but with all this weird shit going on. I think Jessie is really well written and acted so I cant really relate to this but her story does really open up once you find her brother if you reached that point? Also can't emphasise enough how good the side quests are in this game - the Anchor, the mirror, the mould. These are all more compelling and interesting narratives than the main Hiss plotline. I'd probably still suggest you maybe give it another go, but if you aren't feeling it after 7 hours I'd be lying if I suggested it changes that much beyond that point. Although you did unlock Levitation didn't you? - because the combat once you have Levitation...

The second game was more Borderlands than Destiny, but with procedurally generated levels and lots of filler content. The guns It was still fun mind but agreed no where near as good as the first reboot. Hopefully this return to the originals formula with added parkour