What are you playing this weekend?
Whatcha plan on doing?
With the weekend finally here, we've decided to play some games. What about you?
Of course, we are always playing games, because, you know, that's what we do for a living. Well, we also report the news and give you important information as well, but it all comes back to one thing: games. And games are what we are passionate about.
This weekend alongside firing up our consoles or PCs, we're participating in Celtic Throwdown, doing some wedding shopping, going through boxes, prepping the yard for winter, and the usual. But, we are also going to play games. Some new, some old - but all fun.
Alex Donaldson, Assistant Editor - Forza Horizon 5, Final Fantasy 5
It's all about the fives for me this week as I dig down into two new releases - one big, and one not-so-big.
First off - Forza Horizon 5. Just, wow. What a game. The Horizon series has always been good, and it's been getting better with each subsequent entry - so it perhaps shouldn't be surprising that the fifth isn't just a great game - it's a stone-cold classic, and one of the best games of the year. It's the sort of exclusive Xbox sorely needs more of. I've played a bunch of it as part of the process of reviewing the game - but I'm going back in for more, in part because these are rich, dense games with loads to do without becoming a bore. I bloody love it.
Also in the world of fives, I'm going to be spending a little more time with the Final Fantasy 5 Pixel Remaster, which quietly hit Steam this week. I've got my magnifying glass to deal with the font... or, at least until I mod it as I have with the other four so far. FF5 is a brilliant entry in the series and one of the most mechanically rich RPGs of the era - and I'm sure it still holds up. But this weekend, I shall put that to the test...
Connor Makar, Staff Writer - Guilty Gear: Strive, more
This weekend, I'll be in Ireland for Celtic Throwdown where I'll be playing a bunch of fighting games. Guilty Gear: Strive, Street Fighter 4, Tekken 7, and more. Will I even win a game? Not likely! But it'll be cool to meet up with other fighting game folks again.
James Billcliffe, Guides Editor - GTA: San Andreas
Ah s**t, here we go for the first time ever. 10-year-old me was categorically NOT allowed GTA of any kind, GTA: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition is my first chance to have a bash with some of the best games of all time.
Generally, the early 3D era is in that strange retro hinterland where it's not quite old enough to be considered a real relic, but it’s just ancient enough to look and play awfully. So I'm really interested to see how Rockstar's best-in-class mechanics have aged when so many feel clunkier than a dial-up modem.
I've got a pretty big tolerance for nostalgic jank - I even liked the original Witcher - but will that stretch to the minimum estimated completion time of 31 hours? This weekend is when I'll find out!
Sherif Saed, Staff Writer - Battlefield 2042 (PC)
Today marks the early access launch of Battlefield 2042. As a big fan of Battlefield, and with the recent beta having left me a bit worried about the game, I can’t wait to get my hands on the final build later today.
With three distinct modes, there’s definitely a lot going on in Battlefield 2042 that it’s going to be hard to stick with one thing.
I am also curious to see how well/unwell it’s going to run on my PC. The beta was rough, but I am hoping launch optimisations, and the gift of DLSS, will make things much better.
Tom Orry, Editor-in-Chief - Call of Duty: Vanguard
I'm not sure what it is about the CoD games in particular, but as soon as I'm tasked with using stealth I find them the hardest games in the world. For my money, no Call of Duty game should have stealth in it - the closest to it being the use of night vision goggles and walking instead of running.
Please don't make me crouch or… I can barely bring myself to say it… go prone. I guarantee that these are the worst moments in every Call of Duty game and will continue to be unless they rework the whole thing to be Hitman or something.
So, if anyone reading this makes Call of Duty games, drop the stealth, yeah?
Other than the stealth, I'm enjoying Call of Duty: Vanguard, mainly for the spectacle. We're still in cross-gen territory, but it's a mighty impressive looking campaign at points, that's for sure.
