I really like the direction Firaxis is going for new Leaders, including influential people throughout history who weren't necessarily political leaders or heads of state. Of the dozens revealed so far, I'm most excited to play as Machiavelli. They perfectly flavored this leader with Il Principe leader ability, which lets him do a lot of things with Diplomacy, but most importantly lets him declare a?formal war?without any relationship requirements and levy units from City-States he is not a Suzerain of. I think this is going to make for a really fun leader to play as for Domination victories, especially with his emphasis on making Gold – he's also one of the few leaders who I don't hate the design for. His little sneering grin is perfect for the Ends Justify The Means originator.

From what I can tell from the RGG direct stream a few days ago,?Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii's naval combat system looks like it could be really fun in an arcadey, video gamey kind of way. It's not trying to be realistic, in typical?Like a Dragon/Yakuza?style it's going for style and plain ol' fun points over any sense of realism, and I think it's going to benefit from it. I'm kinda over the first-person ship management pirate games, like?Sea of Thieves, and I'm ready for a more wacked-out Yakuza-style naval system.

Overall, most of them look great, in my opinion. The one for Moon Knight feels a little too simple, and Peni's feels like she missed the memo about the whole spooky/occult theme going on in Marvel Rivals Season 1. The rest are great.

The 2005 Game of the Year is almost old enough to hit the bars in the US. We got to see the iconic horror title reborn not too long ago, so it's pretty fresh in our memories (I'd like to think!). What's your favorite moment from the game?

Honestly, it would have to be Junko's Trial / the final investigation. I genuinely had never expected Junko to have been undercover all along, and that the original Junko was a Mukuro playing an imposter clone of her. I really, really enjoyed this twist and even if it may have been obvious to some, it totally took me by surprise, making the trial super intense and satisfying to watch unfold. And besides, Junko's execution to follow was not only jaw-dropping, but also hilarious as she had planned it out so meticulously to worship despair, but then died in confusion when the execution device was slower to activate than expected.

Voice lines and interactions between heroes are great for the most part, but some are just awkward. Peni is weirdly mean to Luna, and Luna is weirdly mean to Iron Man. Meanwhile, Hawkeye will wonder what Jeff is in one round, and completely forget about what he is in the other. Possibilities of multiverse variants and simple friendly banter aside, such dialogue between characters just feels off to me without context.

For me, it would have to be Hexblade Warlock. I've always wanted to but never got the chance to play one in a DND 5e campaign, and the 5e Hexblade Subclass mods for BG3 that I have been running in the past have been an absolute blast to play with, so I'd love to see how/if Larian adapt things to best suit the game in their official Hexblade addition.

I can feel Monster Hunter Wilds breathing down my neck, and I'm already afraid of all the hours that game is going to take from my life. Don't get me wrong, I love Monster Hunter, but there are so many other great games coming out this year, and I don't think I'll have enough time or the will to commit to playing just one or two.

Honestly, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Alex's power of extreme empathy and the ability to see emotions visually, and I almost preferred it in comparison to more extraordinary powers such as Max's time manipulation and Daniel's telekinesis. I think in the future I would really love to see a protagonist who has some sort of paranormal-influenced powers, such as a medium/clairvoyant. Perhaps they can see and/or communicate with the spirits of those who have passed on, and they use their power to gain insight and information to assist others in overcoming grief, or to unlock secrets about darker entities around town. There could be a lot of classic Life is Strange heavy emotional impact in a power such as this, and there could be a lot of interesting background regarding a character with this power and how it is first unlocked - perhaps through the past loss of their own loved one - a friend or family member who sticks around in spirit form to bicker and banter with the protagonis

I'm off the games this weekend, unless I can sneak in some Sunday evening?Palia?or?Hogwarts Legacy. While I might not be gaming much, what've you got on the agenda for your break?

Regardless of how the story may pan out, the recent reveal of the parkour and movement mechanics in?Assassin's Creed Shadows?has me keen to see more gameplay. Are you going to give the game a chance?

Here's mine: 1. Red lion 2. Wind 3. Boat

With Season 1 of Rivals diving deep into Marvel's vampire world, I think Morbius would make for an interesting addition to the game, possibly as another assassin-type hero like Spider-Man and Black Panther. Admittedly, I'm not too familiar with the good doctor-turned-bloodsucker, but I bet the memes will write themselves if he does get added to the roster.?

My first answer is always Rachel Amber, but for the sake of saying something different for once, I'm going to opt for a different individual. Honestly, I really liked Lyla's character. She seemed like such a genuine and laid-back person, so while it is very unlikely I'd love to see a game set in the future where she's grown up a bit, similar to Steph in True Colors. After the events of LIS 2 with Seana and Daniel, Lyla strikes me as someone who would have some really interesting perspectives and stories to share, so I'd love to pick her brain. Besides, since there are so many endings to LIS 2, a game featuring her could be placed in a timeline where one of the bad endings occurred, and she has since moved away to try and get past it all. Similar to Sean and Daniel, I'd love to see her as a protagonist who heavily supports the next character to have powers, perhaps a new best friend. These powers could even bring some parallels to the struggles Sean and Daniel faced, which could bring

I hate FOMO as much as the next guy, and I really wish more online games adopted the permanent battle pass systems used by Helldivers 2 (and to an extent, Marvel Rivals). It's so nice when you don't have to worry about a pretty cosmetic going away, and it's even nicer when a game doesn't feel like a job that you have to commit to.

Well, there are definitely some weird balance decisions in Marvel Rivals' first big balance batch. I'm glad that Hawkeye and Hela won't be as dominant in longer ranges, and I'm very happy that Jeff won't be able to eat anyone that's too high above him as he uses his ultimate. However, buffs to some heroes like Venom and Wolverine feel a bit unwarranted, as they were already pretty good before. Time will tell if any of these Season 1 changes make the game better or worse.

Even though I'm yet to try out playing Venom, I have to say that without a doubt the Winter Celebration Venom skin is undoubtedly one of the best skins I've seen in the shop so far. Other than that, the free-to-earn Jeff Cuddly Fuzzlefin skin is also an absolute highlight and a brilliant way to kick off quality for free-to-earn cosmetics to come - if all of them are that well done, then we have a lot to look forward to.

While I do plan to complete every game, I have only found the time to complete Danganronpa 1 and the anime to match - so I'll only be making my judgments based on that particular set of students, even though I've heard there are a couple of other nasty ones to see in the future! Keeping that in mind, I'd have to go with Leon's execution. Just thinking about it makes me wince, not being able to move to shield himself as the 1000 blows slowly beat and break his bones is horrible because not only would it be brutally painful torture, but he would have to just helplessly watch his classmates watch his execution as the machine ramps up, knowing he had no chance. This execution, in particular, is so memorable to me from the way his classmates are looking with horrified faces, and then the way he's left just slumped against the pole, bloody baseballs rolling away - it truly set the scene for the rest of the game and the shock factor had me hooked.

When I recently upgraded my GPU I forgot to check the power requirements, and of course, only after installing it did I realize my power supply was not up to snuff. It was not only too low-power to support the GPU, but it didn't have the correct PCIE connectors either. I had to rush out to Best Buy to get a better power supply so I could use my computer at all – don't be like me and remember to make sure your power supply is compatible with a new GPU!

While it's not specifically a 'game franchise', I've forever been holding out for a solid Avatar: The Last Airbender game, as I found Quest For Balance to be a bit disappointing, and I never got a chance to play the Korra game. The Avatar games back on PS2 offer some nostalgia, but overall I would love to see a fresh, open-world take on the universe. Perhaps something like Hogwarts Legacy or BG3 in where you can select which nation you are from and your bending style - similar to the Hogwarts houses or BG3 Origin & Durge selections, and progress through a story that takes you through iconic locations. I'm sure people would go absolutely crazy over being able to create their custom ATLA characters, but I'd also take a party of set characters featuring the Gaang, too, as they're also very beloved to fans of the show.