What We Played #322 – Knack 2, PES 18 & Destiny 2

So it’s beginning. The autumnal surge of fresh software that’s hoping to find its way into Santa’s sack come December (either way, you’re paying). We’ve had the first of EA’s big hitters with Madden 18 – I can’t overstate how much fun I had with the newly added Longshot story mode – while FIFA, NHL and NBA line up in the wings.

While they’re here every year, it feels as though EA know they actually have to put in some serious effort these days. They’ve managed to shrug off much of their reputation as some kind of gaming industry bogey-man, and instead are just plugging away at being one of the largest publishers we have, with software that mostly deserves to be there. Of course, we’ll see how FIFA on Switch and NBA Live 18 fare before stowing our pitchforks firmly away, but it’s nice to see a publisher change perceptions enough that it’s judged purely on its merits, rather than just its legacy.

I’ve been trying not to spend any money on Madden’s Ultimate Team, I’ve also been ploughing through Everybody’s Golf and Knack 2, both of which have brightened up my week. Besides that, I accidentally found I’d bought Destiny 2, after failing to cancel the copy I ordered to get into the beta. I’m really enjoying the return to this world, which so far has been much better fleshed out in its opening hours than the entirety of the original game. It’s come at just the right time too, before too many more of big releases start to appear.

Someone who was meant to get Destiny 2 all along was Tef, and it’s basically been all that he’s played since it released on Wednesday, where he gave us some very early impressions. Before that, however, he was all in on the Splatfest over the weekend, though sadly backed the wrong team again (he claims he would have picked Flight, but wanted to stick with friends for team battles), and has continued to enjoy Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle.

Dave has bought an HTC Vive to finally join the VR revolution. He spent a little time with Rez Inifinite’s Area X, and came away a little queasy but enjoyed it. It’s all about building up your tolerance! Besides that he’s been catching up on Gamescom writing, and made a start on the 3DS’ Samus Returns.

TC tried to fight the pull of Destiny 2 – even his card wouldn’t let him buy it which was a sure sign it wasn’t meant to be – yet here he is, levelling up his Guardian once again. He also reviewed X-Morph: Defense which he rather enjoyed. Jake’s also been at Destiny 2, though to an extent that he’s “losing his life to it” and has had four hours sleep since launch! Other than that, he’s played some more Pokémon Go and caught the new legendary Entei this week and played a few placement matches on Overwatch, as the new season just began.

Steve has played through Tyranny: Bastard’s Wound, which apparently is good but not without its problems, Metronomicon which is ok but a bit grindy, ugly and repetitive; and Bulletstorm: Full Clip on PS4. He loved the original on 360 and enjoying the hell out of revisiting its sweary vistas. Besides that he passed a few commutes with the fun We’re All Doomed courtesy of PS+ and also began the interesting Songbringer. Finally a cheap Final Fantasy XV found on eBay may put pay to his plan to avoid epic time-sinks.

Aran played PES 18 and Yakuza Kiwami with his PES 18 review landing next week. He’s enjoying Kiwami but it hasn’t quite reached the heights of Yakuza 0. Still, he’s having fun with the sub stories and the Majima Everywhere fighting system. Miguel has been distracting himself with Rabi Ribi and Fire Emblem Heroes while he waits for his very own copy of Yakuza Kiwami to arrive. He also messed with the new Overwatch deathmatch mode and played some Absolver with his pals!

Kris has a tale of woe to share – though only for fans of food;

I have played loads of Just Cause 3. Like an amount that could be considered concerning. I played it for 10 and a half hours straight on Saturday, almost entirely forgetting to eat. It’s very, very good and loads of fun. The main story is, perhaps, a little weak, but it’s saved by strong, distinct characters and the utter chaos you can cause because you got a bit bored for 30 seconds. Raining down missiles from above in a helicopter is excellent. The only small issue is it does start to chug a bit under pressure on PS4, but it’s still great in general

While Jim has been bouncing between a few games. Absolver continues to be somewhat of a curiosity but he’s going to wait to see how the community breaks it apart instead of fumbling his way through the endgame. He’s also been playing some Monster Hunter Stories for review alongside the awful Dead Alliance, Sparc, and Baja HD. It’s Uncharted 4 that has him hooked though, as he attempts to beat it on Crushing.

Now then, what have you played?