gossi the dog

I thought it was excellent. My game of the year.

11/01 - Yakuza 3 (PS4) - this is a pretty bare bones remaster (higher frame rate and resolution) with the added bonus of all the content that was cut from the English PS3 release being reinstated. I remember finding the beginning really slow when I played it on the PS3, but I really enjoyed getting to know the orphans by doing a pile of fetch quests for them this time around. Okinawa is a great location too, and it was nice to get away from Kamurocho for a bit. In terms of pacing it’s all over the place, there’s a ridiculous number of side quests (I completed 97 out of 119!) and a lot of the battles are drawn out due to the enemies constantly crabbing. Later entries refined a lot of these issues and are far better in this regard. Anyhow very good. It took me 38 hours and I ended up with a 66% completion (mainly due to eating every item in every restaurant). Roll on Yakuza 5 next month. 11/01 - Dead or Alive 5 Last Round (PS4) - how do you complete a fighting game? Play through arcade mode once? With every character? Unlock all the unlockables? I played through the story mode which triggered the games credits, so I think it counts, but to be honest I was in two minds as to whether to include this here. This is the final revision of Dead or Alive 5; which means loads of characters to choose from and loads of unlockables. An enjoyable diversion, and I really enjoyed tag mode as well as the four characters from Virtua Fighter making guest appearances, but compared to Dead or Alive 6 it's lacking in single player modes and graphically it doesn't come close. I'll be returning to the newer game. 12/01 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan (PS4) - I played through all of this in a day. It’s not very good. I quickly dropped the difficulty to easy and played it as a mission based button masher. It’s short enough in length (9 missions, total play time of around 5 hours) to not completely outstay it’s welcome, but I’m glad it’s over. Had this been developed by one of Activision's in house teams then I wouldn't be overly disappointed, but seeing as this comes from Platinum, who have made some of the very best action games of the last 10 years this is disappointing. A huge wasted opportunity.

I’ve spent a large chunk of today playing through this on the PS4. It’s not very good. I quickly dropped the difficulty to easy and played it as a mission based button masher. It’s short enough in length to not completely outstay it’s welcome, but I’m glad it’s over. A huge wasted opportunity.

I completed the PS4 remaster of Yakuza 3 earlier today and it’s still very good. I remember finding the beginning really slow when I played it on the PS3, but I really enjoyed getting to know the orphans by doing a pile of fetch quests for them this time around. Okinawa is a great location too, and it was nice to get away from Kamurocho for a bit. In terms of pacing it’s all over the place, there’s a ridiculous number of side quests (I completed 97 out of 119!) and a lot of the battles are drawn out due to the enemies constantly crabbing. Later entries refined a lot of these issues and are far better in this regard. Anyhow very good. It took me 38 hours and I ended up with a 66% completion (mainly due to eating every item in every restaurant). Roll on Yakuza 5 next month.

Debt

Does it though? If empty the landlord has to pay the business rates. Probably better to let at a low/peppercorn rent on a rolling short term rental than leave empty? GAME this time last year weren't paying any rent on a handful of stores. I can't see them going under any time soon.

I wonder how many of the landlords are local councils? They've been paying way over the odds for shopping centres these past few years...

Yes and/or House of Fraser

I played the original and preferred it to the second. Having said that I played both of them nearly 20 years ago (I bought both on their UK release date), when being able to see monsters on screen was quite unique. I also played Grandia III but abandoned that around 20 hours in. They put too much emphasis on the battle system and reached a point where each battle would go on for a couple of minutes, which is way too long.

Yeah it does. I’m playing Yakuza 3 at the moment (up to chapter 7) and you do have to mix things up by using the grab command, then throw or kick the turtle.

03/01 - Sayonara Wild Hearts (PS4) - I think I might be in the minority here, but I thought this was rubbish. It’s incredibly stylish, with a great graphical style and an excellent soundtrack. The only problem is that there’s little in the way of actual gameplay. Most levels involve hurtling at speed down a linear path, whilst collecting hearts and avoiding obstacles, with the odd QTE. It reminded me of the chase levels in Sonic Adventure 1 & 2 where it’s quite a spectacle but in reality you only really have to move left and right. The odd level mixes things up - there’s a level near the end which is a homage to Rez which was great (and the only level where I got a gold medal) but all in all this is rubbish. I was delighted when it was all over. Avoid.

I thought it was pretty mediocre compared to Yakuza. I enjoyed it but it lacked something.

Not really. In Europe (excluding the UK) the PS3 outsold the 360. Similarly, back in the day the Mega Drive was outsold by the SNES.

Press forward, jump when prompted, interspersed with the occasional gun fight.

Both 2007 and 2008 seem very mediocre. So yes maybe 2020 will also be mediocre.