RunRickyRun

Disco Elysium comes out today on PS4 (around 6pm UK time). I bookmarked this when it first came out on PC in 2019 but alas, I did not have the specs at the time to run it. From what I gather you are a cop waking up from a hangover with a murder to solve. It's meant to have one of the deepest RPG systems where every action you take can impact the story and your character in meaningful ways and it's for this promise that I will probably buy later tonight. Here's the Steam blurb for those interested:

RIP Marvin. One of my favourite boxers of all time. This is a fantastic video covering his boxing career:

and it's not even close.

If you have a VR headset, Dirt Rally is exceptional. I can only imagine how much better it would be with a wheel set up though!

There's a really good interview with Steve Bannon on the PBS frontline youtube channel where he goes into great depth on how he helped cultivate the image of Trump as a popularist (sic - Trump's own definition). This is obviously not an endorsement of Bannon or Trump but it's rare to have such a candid first-hand interview with someone who had such a decisive hand in a president's election so definitely worth watching if you are interested.

Just completed "Return of the Obra Dinn". The second commercial release from the maker of Papers Please, Lucas Pope. It's a detective game where you have to deduce what happened to the crew of an empty ship after it unexpectedly returns 5 years after being lost at sea. It's one of the best games I've ever played and an astonishing feat from the solo developer.

Charles Woodson should be elected into the Hall of Fame tomorrow. As great a career he had in college and in the NFL, I'll always think of this first whenever I hear his name:

Dead Cells is amazing - Just picked it up myself. It's a joy to play because of the controls and once the game has it's hooks into you, you start refining your playstyle and paying attention to your builds. The skill ceiling is extremely high but it's so fun from your first run onwards. I've done the first "round" by cheesing my way through the game and the final boss with turrets. Instead of moving on (there are 6 difficulty levels) I'm going to go back and refine my parrying and dodging.

Amazon are definitely the ones you need to go after. According to the Sale of Goods act, you are entitled to a refund or replacement Martin Lewis has a decent guide https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/consumer-rights-refunds-exchange/

This one was a must for me - A spaceship dog fighting game with full VR support selling for £30 at launch. All I needed to know after hearing about it was that it was functional! The modes are pretty barebones, offering only a dogfighting and a grand scale fleet battle at the moment, but there are four different spaceships for each faction which are customisable by unlocking different components through grinding . The gameplay though is excellent and in VR it's even better. For the first time I'm craning my neck to see Tie fighters which have flown past my cockpit and once a few salvos have been fired you do become totally immersed. I think it's worth checking out for anyone with a compatible VR headset, maybe even waiting until xmas when it will likely be on sale. I think those without that aren't particularly into spaceship dogfighting can probably give this a miss for now.

I honestly think Madden peaked with 2004. I think it has got incrementally worse since.

Started a new game of Crusader Kings 2. I'm playing a Dwarf Viking and prioritising abducting the few dwarf nobles around the world so I can create a lineage of dwarven norsemen. My current ruler has lost so many duels he currently only has 1 arm, 1 leg and 1 eye but is still going strong at 48. He's had to arrange a few accidents for his children who do not share his stout genetics to ensure the bloodline remains pure. In short I'm having a blast in what could be my last run before switching to Crusader Kings 3.

James Burke's Connections is on YouTube. This is the pick of the bunch:

Still holds 72 NBA records.

As you improve and play against better players, you'll find they will resign a lot earlier. It's common for beginners to play to the very end, even multiple pieces down. As a rule of thumb, if you are ahead materially (ie up by at least two pawns), rather than look for a checkmate, you should look to exchange as many pieces as possible to force an endgame then use your material advantage to advance your remaining pawns to turn them into queens . This is where practising the endgame helps a lot.

My tips for learning chess 1) Lean how to checkmate - Play King, Queen, Rook verses King. Queen King verses King all the way down to Pawn King verses King (ignore bishops and Knights). Until you master this keep practising 2) Learn the endgame. Start with 8 pawns verses 8 pawns and mix it up by adding in a knight or rook or reducing the starting pawns. 3) Learn a simple white opening that will teach you how to develop pieces. Ruy Lopez (exchange variation) is a good one to start with. Don't get too bogged down with opening theory as it's only relevant once you get to a club standard. Once you have picked up the concepts, play as black and try the same concepts. Don't try anything too fancy - e4-e5 is where you want to start and will feature in the majority of your games once you get past the beginner stage. 4) Try and play in person. Online is full of cheats as it's pretty much the easiest game to cheat at. 5) GNU Chess is a good free programme to practice against. It's rated above international masters so will absolutely kick your ass.

Mount and Blade Warband on the PS4. Never knew this existed on the platform and it is a very good port. Very sketchy looking but it's tonnes of fun.

Check out T90Official who casts AoE games on Twitch and Youtube. He features a mix of pro tournaments and community games on his channel, which is perfect background material while I am "working from home". The regicide games are often very entertaining with 8 players allying then stabbing each other in the back.

Is that a Norm MacDonald joke?

Reminds me of a taller Ricky Williams. I love a back who is dominant between the tackles.

Game of the Year : Outer Worlds Game of the Decade : Crusader Kings 2

The Outer Worlds is out now and is the spiritual successor to Fallout New Vegas but in a futuristic Sci-Fi setting. If you've followed coverage of the game, then you probably have heard every outlet and game review mention this but it's still worth emphasising because since New Vegas, there haven't been a lot of RPGs like it and New Vegas is almost ten years old. I've had a ton of fun playing it so far. Its refreshing to play a game that is clearly made to be the best game possible and not a vehicle to entice you to spend extra money on cosmetics and upgrades. In fact, at the time of posting there are no micro-transactions. There are also very few bugs. I've had one game crash and one incident of very slow "pop-in" and that's about it (ps4 pro for reference). It certainly puts other bigger studios to shame in this regard. The game is at it's best when you are exploring every nook and cranny to uncover the true narrative of what is happening in the world. It also has tonnes of NPCs with interesting dialogue options and side quests. Choices I've had to make so far have been tough ones and they do seem to have an impact on the world. It isn't, however, a looter-shooter. I'm 15 hours in and combat has been brief and simple. It's still satisfying to craft an overpowered weapon and make short work of enemies, but it lacks the horror element of say Fallout 3, where, at the start of the game you felt very vulnerable and each encounter was tense. I've already thinking of a genocide run on the hardest setting for my next playthough to alleviate this. Overall I would say it's very much worth your time and I really hope it's a commercial success. Single player games of this type are few and far between if you're not into Souls-like games and if it does well, it may encourage other smaller studios to follow suit.

As a long time player, I would avoid Overwatch at the moment. If you want to play as the "fun" class (DPS), there are 10 minute queue times to get into a game. It's basically become a bit bloated and was far better on release. The Outer Worlds may be a good game to go for - I'm downloading it now. You may also like Kingdom Come Deliverance but check out gameplay videos first as the combat system is a bit marmite.

Jeff Minter's latest release is out on PS4 : Minotaur Arcade Volume 1. It has a VR mode so I'll be picking it up shortly. Oh, and an obligatory reminder that if you have a PSVR you must try Polybius!

Bob Hayes may have been faster than Usain Bolt. He ran a wind assisted 9.91s 100m on a cinder track which took 20 years (long into the era of synthetic tracks and fully professional sprinters) to beat. His hand-timed anchor leg at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, again running on a cinder track, is credited to be between 8.5 and 8.9s which is possibly the fastest a human being has run. I think with modern equipment, training and money (Hayes switched to Gridiron at 22) he certainly would have been comparable to Bolt and perhaps could have beaten him.