Something For The Weekend – 12/11/16

I imagine that there’s a fair few of you out there who have picked up a PlayStation 4 Pro, eager to jump onto the 4K and HDR gaming bandwagon. How have you found the experience so far? Let us know in the comments below.

But first, it’s time to check on some of the biggest headlines from this week.

In the News This Week

• Xbox One has outsold PlayStation 4 for four months running
  An impressive achievement, given how imbalanced the first couple years were, but how long can Microsoft keep this up?
• You can currently grab original model Xbox One consoles for £180
  Which will aboslutely help their November stats!
• The Xbox One Holiday Update adds Clubs, Looking For Group and Emoji
  ???
• It’s official: Nintendo are shutting down Wii U production
  Switching gears, perhaps?
• Dishonored 2 has a 9GB day one patch
  But hey, at least customers, reviewers and video creators got to experience it at the same time.
• Firewatch has been updated for PS4 Pro and has a new Free Roam mode for all
  A nice addition, if you ask me, but sadly for tactical20, “you can’t go back and get missed trophies. In fact in freeroam you don’t have an axe or rope, so loads of areas are inaccessible. This is particularly stupid, as freeroam only unlocks on completion of the game.”
• Tap your PS Vita screen 10,000 times for a platinum trophy
  My Name is Mayo has a rather silly platinum trophy, and while some are baffled, JR. said, “I’d buy that for a dollar.” Good thing that’s exactly what it costs!
• The Dvision’s Survival DLC makes you fight against the cold and illness
• Fallout 4’s modding tools have been updated with PS4 support
• Trackmania Turbo has had VR support added in a free update

Games in Review

This week was all about the PlayStation 4 Pro. We weren’t quite prepared to give our verdict as the embargo lifted on Monday, but followed up on launch day with our final thoughts.

• PlayStation 4 Pro – Hardware (no score)
• Reus – PS4, XBO, Windows – 7/10
• Transport Fever – Windows, Mac, Linux – 7/10
• Exile’s End – PS4, Wii U, PS Vita, PC – 5/10
• Weeping Doll – PSVR – 2/10
• King’s Quest – Chapter 5 – PS4, XBO, PS3, X360, PC – Episodic (no score)
• Tritton Ark 100 Headset – Hardware (no score)

This Week’s Features

Though our reviews are still in the works, Dishonored 2 and Tyranny were two pretty big games that came out last week. Aran shared his first impressions on Arkane’s stealthy sequel, while Steve has enjoyed his time with a rather traditional computer RPG that explores evil and morality in a quite interesting new light.

Of course, PS4 Pro is a pretty big deal for Sony, but if you’re thinking of getting one, it’s important to have a TV that’s able to get the best out of the system. We looked at how to navigate the tricky waters of buying a TV. Oh, and if you want to keep your game data, here’s how to replace the HDD and transfer data across.

With all the excitement around Mass Effect: Andromeda’s new trailer (scroll down a smidgeon to see it in Trailer Park), Jim revisited Jade Empire, which has been ported to iOS.

I went hands on with Ubisoft’s upcoming extreme winter sports game, Steep, as well as stepping back to my youth with the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the latest expansion for which has included reprints of those original cards.

Finally, we had a competition yesterday to give away Weeping Doll for PSVR – the winners have just been announced in that post – and What We Played featured Watch Dogs 2, Phoenix Wright and the PS4 Pro.

Trailer Park

Check out the new Mass Effect Andromeda trailer
Happy N7 Day!

Get your FBI training done in Lethal VR
Out now on HTC Vive, it’s coming to PSVR by the end of the year.

Time for the Watch Dogs 2 launch trailer
The DedSec crew are eager to give a big F and U to the powers that be in Watch Dogs 2… but there’s no reason why they can’t have a little fun on the way.

The Ezio Collection is really rather brown
Imagine how many shades of brown you’ll get on PS4 Pro and in HDR?

Sony deconstruct a PlayStation 4 Pro
For your amusement and pleasure.

Your Achievements

MrYd has blazed a trail to the ending of World of Final Fantasy – or “an” ending, he says – but is looking at another 40-odd hours before he’s finished all of the side content.

Crazy_Del has had plenty on multiplayer on his plate this week, savouring Gears of War 4 for the series’ 10th anniversary event, as well as polishing off all the multiplayer trophies for Battlefield 1. He’s now gunning for a Gold ranking in FIFA 17’s FUT Championship.

Speaking of Battlefield, hornet1990 got back to BF4 to finish the single player campaign. We can disagree on the pacing and gameplay, but he’s bang on about how disappointing the story and ending were.

Andrewww’s had a week of horror and VR, with two completions of Here They Lie and playing through Until Dawn. The true horror is in how DividSmythe spent that dollar and grabbed the platinum for tapping away ceaselessly to earn the My Name is Mayo platinum. Shameless!

Finally, Gaffers101 completed Rise of the Tomb Raider, with a view to do the same with Uncharted 4 this weekend.

The Week Ahead

The release rush of October has slowed significanltly as we approach the middle of November.

• Watch Dogs 2 – PS4, XBO, PC – 15/11
• Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection – PS4, XBO – 15/11
• Mekazoo – PS4, XBO, PC – 15/11 (EU PS4 soon after)
• RollerCoaster Tycoon World – Windows – 16/111
• Planet Coaster – Windows – 17/11
• Killing Floor 2 – PS4, XBO, PC – 18/11
• Pokémon Sun and Moon – 3DS – 18/11 Worldwide, 23/11 in EU

With that, I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.