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Mafia 2 is one of my favourite games of last gen. Just superb. It is the gaming Goodfellas, and just as perfect. The story is the main selling point, and is a classic rags to riches to downfall gangster story. But the 50s atmosphere and setting, with the cars, music, shops...just stunning. I loved that game so much.

I am now playing Lego Jurassic World, and for a series that really doesn't change much between releases, how does it keep getting better. After a few levels, this could quite possibly be the best Lego game ever. However, could that be more the subject matter? The game is the same Lego game we have already played 20 odd times, and if anything is a little stripped back compared to recent releases. Less characters, less open world, more story based levels. But the use of Jurassic Park music, images and designs is brilliant. The new selling point of this game is the dinosaurs, of course. If you love the films, you really should play this game.

And my copy of Resident Evil Revelations 2 arrived today, and as I had some spare time this evening, I gave that a go as well, completing the first level. The episodic structure is done much better than in Rev 1, but it is still a bit pointless. So far, it seems so-so. Typical exploration, key finding, shooting and knifing of Resi games. But it seems to lack the focus of the first game. I liked that it was set on a boat, and you had to start exploring this yacht, but here, I'm not yet sure of this game's direction. The coop is again well implemented, but it really is about time it was made online coop.

Introduced the wife to Rocket League yesterday. Looks like this will be our co-op game for a while

Inazuma Eleven for the DS.

Started this a while back but couldn't get used to using the stylus for the matches so gave up. Picked it up again the other day and finally starting to get the hang of it which has resulted in some enjoyment.

Is certainly an interesting game.

Made a start on Blood Bowl II last night and I'm enjoying it. I'm still in the tutorial stages of the campaign which can be a bit frustrating if you know the rules already. The first few games start with a basic ruleset and introduce the key aspects of Blood Bowl over time. The end result being a few longer and more drawn out games to start with because the Turn Over rules are not in play!

Still it gave me time to experiment a bit and marvel at the overall stellar presentation of the game. Seriously this is a HUGE step up from the previous Blood Bowl video games. There is a great attention to detail and Cyanide have taken the sports broadcast presentation framing of the game to the next level. 

They have also gone to painstaking lengths to make sure the player has all the information they need at their fingertips at any given moment. Probabilities displayed for Go For It rolls, clearly shown stat comparisons and a greater understanding of what stats and abilities do. 

I haven't jumped into League or Online play yet but I should hopefully be doing that in the next few days.

Mad Max - Xbox One.

Been hearing good things about this so I took the plunge, and I'm happy to say it is indeed very good. In terms of the way it's structured it's actually very similar to Batman: Arkham Knight but instead of Gotham City you're travelling the barren, post apocalyptic world of Mad Max, and it's much more interesting in my opinion.

There is a set of core story mission, but also lots of optional Wasteland missions, vehicular combat - but much more fun than Arkham Knight  - Batman style hand to hand combat, an in depth character, weapon and vehicle upgrade system, collectibles and races to compete in. There are also friendly strongholds which you can develop and enhance by carrying out "projects", collecting parts out in the wilderness and returning them to build the stronghold upgrade. The benefit to you is that you get things like your ammo and water flask automatically refilled every time you enter the stronghold if you complete certain projects, the water flask lets you regain lost health. You can also commandeer most vehicles you come across, and if you return them to a stronghold you can then use them any time you want by selecting them in the garage.

I'm enjoying it a lot, much more than I did Arkham Knight, and this is one of the surprises of the year for me, it wasn't even on my radar until recently.

Goat Simulator is reduced to £3.60 at the moment, and I've been so intrigued to try this game, that I decided to plump for it. I've played it for a few moments, and it is clearly what it set out to be - a very basic game, but one with exploration and silly tricks to keep you playing. It's just an open world playground. Its vaguely humorous - at least enough to keep me hooked for the time being, and I seem to be getting trophies just for playing and exploring the world. It might lose its novelty factor quite quickly, but at that price, I've been happy to give it a little try.

Flower, Sun and Rain on the DS.

It's OK so far, little slow but I've only done 8% so far.

Have now started Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Remastered. It's a great game, and I'm very much looking forward to it. Unlike the demo, I can clearly see the graphical improvements on the original game. Even the controls are better. I've played the first game twice already (the others only once each) so its the game I know most. I bought my PS3 for this game. Very happy to be replaying this.

Last day off after my honeymoon so am going to make a start on Uncharted Collection too I think.

I do want to finish off my hard playthrough of Golden Abyss first though ideally...

Getting towards the end of Uncharted 2.  Having played all the games before but never finished any of them.  It has been lovely playing the games all the way to the end and they are excellent.  The upgrade is of the highest standard too.

Now playing Everybody's Gone to The Rapture. I've been intrigued by this game, due to its novely, and as its currently reduced on PSN decided to plump for it. First of all it looks gorgeous. It's also a stunning recreation of UK country. It's really a marvel, and to be honest, one of the best reasons to play this game. It's a shame that this world though is not very interactive. There really is literally nothing to do in this game. I was aware that it is simply a walking game, but other than listening in to the story, and interacting with a few radios, phones and TVs, there really isn't much to do. You could simply rush through to the end, I guess, but that's not really the point of the game, and I've been enjoying exploring this very faithful recreation of England, and trying to see as much as possible. Therefore it has actually been a very leisurely game to play, particularly at midnight - I think I dozed off at one point!

After I finished Uncharted 2 Remastered I decided to boot up Bloodborne for the first time in months.... I'm back in! I sunk a good chunk of time into it on Satruday/Sunday taking down 3 bosses and a bunch of the mini boss style hunter encounters. 

I took down Rom on the third go and really don't get why people hate that encounter so much. I found it an intriguing mix of learning his patterns and being patient with taking down the spiders he summons. After that the game has decided to ramp up the difficulty in the next main area so I decided to make a detour to the Nightmare Frontier with its giant Cathulu-esque boss which is currently annoying the shit out of me.

Now playing Until Dawn and its awesome. I liked Beyond and Heavy Rain, but this is the same game done so much better. It really IS a movie. David Cage's games were very interactive narrative and had ambitions, but also delved into the weird, and gamey stuff. Until Dawn is a real throwback to late 90s horror movies like I Know What You Did Last Summer, and its really good fun to be able to control this horror movie, and decide actions. Yes, some of the characters do annoying stuff, but it does kind of fit the genre. A ouija board scene early on was gripping stuff, especially with the knowledge you had from an earlier chapter. I'm really enjoying this, and can't wait to see how its going to play out.

Until Dawn is an excellent game.  Really excellent.  The use of actual directors and producers who are experiences in horror fives the film a real authentic vibe.  It embraces everything wonderful about horror and flows from sub genre to sub genre very well.  I would also say it is the only horror film or game were the use of jump shocks never lost impact-nearly every single one got me big time.

Currently playing Uncharted 2 Remastered and obviously still playing Destiny! 

I've also been playing the shit out of Fallout Shelter on iOS as well. It's quite addictive and feeding my Fallout hype train!!

Dishonored: Definitive Edition (PS4)


Loved this when it originally came out in 2012 and although I always planned another playthrough I never got round to it and ended up trading it in. Anyway borrowed a copy of the Definitive Edition from a friend and started it today. It's not a particularly spectacular remaster graphically but still a great game and this current gen version also includes The Knife Of Dunwall, The Brigmore Witches and Dunwall City Trials DLC, which I've never played.

Uncharted 2 (old skool PS3 edition). I'm up to Chapter 20 something, The Monestary. What. A. Game.

Now playing Call of Duty: Black Ops III, multiplayer at least. I intend to play the campaign in coop, so waiting on a good time for everyone to start that, so thought I would dip my toe back into the waters of COD multiplayer for the first time since Modern Warfare 3...and it wasn't as bad as I thought I was! It does seem to have changed a fair bit - its a lot slower than I remember, but its still quite frantic, with players at all angles and gadgets being deployed everywhere. Only played a few games, but might head back for some more, especially if it will be with friends. Also very much looking forward to the campaign coop too. I havn't been this excited about a COD game since Modern Warfare 3. I still haven't missed a title yet, but MW3 was the last one I actually bought myself, the others were borrowed. (BTW, I would love them to release Modern Warfare in a trilogy boxset like Uncharted.)

Now playing The Walking Dead Season 2. I'm not a Walking Dead fan - I've never watched or read it. But I do enjoy Telltale games, so pleased to get the chance to play this from PS+. It is so far very similar to The Wolf Among Us, which I loved. It's got the same elements - good storyline with a nice art style, however still jerky as fuck. When are they really gonna sort that out? As I've not played Season 1, the game has randomised my choices, however I have not yet felt that not playing the original has impacted much - it does feel like it can be the start of a story here, and not the continuation of one, so that does help.

Now playing Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Remastered. What a game. It's got such a good opening. The cliffhanger opening, the smoothness of adding in some cut scenes to set it all up, and then the flashback...it's just expertly paced, and exciting and interesting. And the characters are just great - the quips between Drake and the team are genuinely funny. I have to confess to forgetting how good this game really is. It is a huge step up from Uncharted 1 in terms of its cinematic storytelling mixed with action gameplay. I'm very much looking forward to playing all of this. I also picked up the strategy guide book for £2 off Amazon second hand. It's a lovely crafted book. My copy is a little bent in one corner, but otherwise fine, but inside the content is just fantastic. So many pictures, and easily split up into digestible chunks of writing, always accompanied by a screenshot. The extra details are good too - if you pick up a weapon for the first time, there's an info box out, or a character bio box out, and even history box outs, so its an interesting read as you go along, let alone a real guide. I don't really need the guide, as I have already played the game, but thought it might be fun to use it and make sure I experience everything possible this time round.

Wolvieware wrote:Now playing The Walking Dead Season 2. I'm not a Walking Dead fan - I've never watched or read it. But I do enjoy Telltale games, so pleased to get the chance to play this from PS+. It is so far very similar to The Wolf Among Us, which I loved. It's got the same elements - good storyline with a nice art style, however still jerky as fuck. When are they really gonna sort that out? As I've not played Season 1, the game has randomised my choices, however I have not yet felt that not playing the original has impacted much - it does feel like it can be the start of a story here, and not the continuation of one, so that does help.

I have noticed that the engine is significantly better on both Game of Thrones and Tales from the Borderlands but it is still very shoddy.  It is interesting to hear your thoughts on the links between season 1 and 2.  The only thing I would say is that the character you control in Season 2 begins as she is due to the events and characterisation of Season 1.  Comparing Clementine at the start of both games shows how good a job they did with her character.

Pro Evo 6 on the DS.

Didn't even know that this existed until the weekend. Love the 360 version so thought I would give it a shot. It's good enough though the addition of the gatcha go is kind of odd. For each match you win you get a coin which allows for you to use the capsule machine which gives you a random player to add to your team.

Mostly Fallout 4 but bits and bobs of other things like Deception 4.

Now playing Call of Duty: Black Ops III, in four player coop, and it's totally brilliant! I actually can't believe I'm saying this, but COD has really come up trumps this year. I understand the story didn't get much praise in reviews, but its trying something different. It's more of a sci-fi shooter than ever now, but that's no bad thing, and it's much better than Battlefield 4's campaign. But the real standout? That coop! Could not believe I was playing a typical COD campaign, with all those set pieces, with three mates. It worked so well. There was a bit of teleporting to make sure we never strayed too far from each other, but otherwise it's been done really well, and is really good fun.

The multiplayer for COD must be good to have so many fans and be played so much. It's never been my favourite online game, but it's always fun to give it a go. It's too twitchy and jumpy for my liking, as I prefer the realistic tones of Ghost Recon or Battlefield, but for a quick, zippy blast with friends, the online was actually quite good too. And to round out a good package, there is then the zombies, which I haven't even tried yet, to make this a very complete package, and the best in the series since Black Ops 1 I think.