What are you playing this weekend?
Turkey Day is behind us, so maybe now you have some time to play games.
With Turkey Day behind us, well, for those that celebrate it, family time is over and now it's "me" time - meaning time for plenty of videogame fun.
Personally, I didn't have time to play games. I was too busy cooking and running from one family gathering to the next like a turkey with its head missing. There were three dinners this year. Yes, three different dinners. One of my extended family members decided they were hosting this year, which meant instead of the usual two (I only host one every other year), I had to attend a third. And of course, we brought home leftovers from each, so, needless to say, I am tired of turkey at this point. Thank goodness Christmas means ham, but I am sure by the time it is over, I will also be sick of ham.
Anyway, you don't care about what I had and didn't have for dinner, so let's get to the reason you are reading this: games.
Here's what we are playing this weekend:
Connor Makar, Staff Writer - Call of Duty: Vanguard
For me, I'll be spending my entire weekend grinding out guns in Call of Duty Vanguard ahead of the release of Caldera in Warzone. Probably the most fun homework I've ever been set, but homework nonetheless.
James Billcliffe, Guides Editor - Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
In the cyclic swirl of gaming discourse, we're never far away from the ol' favourites. And one such argument - ironically given the content of the game - seems doomed to trudge towards a grisly death and be constantly reanimated and rehashed above all others: "should Dark Souls have an easy mode"?
My friends, it already exists, and it rules. It's called Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and I'll be playing more of the PS5 upgrade version this weekend.
You could argue that souls-like is now a genre itself, but in Fallen Order, the mechanics are so incongruous to the setting, the details so copy/pasta'd, that it's just funny. Why does my character feel the need to kneel and meditate by a not-bonfire every few minutes? Why do the stormtroopers respawn in the same place out of thin air? Who cares as long as their blasters go "pew-pew", my lightsaber goes "vhrooom", and everyone wears those awesome pants with the padded knees.
Stephany Nunneley, News Editor - Skyrim Anniversary Edition
I finally have time to sit down and play Skyrim for the umpteenth time. This time out, I will be playing Skyrim Anniversary Edition so I can see what the Creation Club fuss is about because I really want new items and quests to freshen things up a bit. Heck, there are around 500 pieces of Creation Club (mods) content included with this version ranging from things like weapons and spells to quests and bosses. There's also fishing, survival mode, and new Saints and Seducers quests, so there will be plenty of new content to keep me occupied I am sure.
The game I am playing now is a rather highly modded version of the Special Edition, and once I upgrade it to the Anniversary Edition, well, I can say so long to those mods because the majority (if any) will no longer work. I will probably play it safe though and just redownload the SE off Steam to the laptop and then upgrade to the AE - that way my modded game is safe on my PC.
Hopefully, since the developer of the Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE) was granted early access to the Anniversary Edition in order to update the extender, it won't be long before mod makers update their creations because some excellent mods are floating around out there.
Tom Orry, Editor-in-Chief - Battlefield 2042, Xbox Series X
I'd played the pre-release beta of Battlefield 2042 for 30 minutes, but none of my EA Play/Game Pass Ultimate 10-hour trial so I jumped back in to give it a whirl. It's fair to say I'm not that impressed, although my enjoyment varied massively between maps (and potentially game modes, but I'm not sure what I was playing in all honesty).
I kicked things off on a huge map full of towering skyscrapers. I did not enjoy this map. It was too big and open. Players were too spread out, and no one stuck around long enough for me to hitch a ride on a vehicle.
More successful was a map set at a dock. This may have been because of the game type being played, but it flowed better. There was a steady movement through the map and the encounters were more focused in smaller zones. I had a decent time with this, although my aiming is still dire. That's it really. The truth of the matter is that I'm just not good enough for multiplayer shooters these days. And maybe I never was.
Along with Thanksgiving, Black Friday occurred, and there were plenty of deals floating around over the weekend along with Cyber Monday. Did you pick up anything new? Anything older? Or did you pre-order something like, oh say, Elden Ring? Let us know!