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So I've never played Monster Hunter before, I've always been intrigued by it, but I never got around to trying it. However with Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate coming out soon, I've decided to go all-in and get both versions of the game. Is anyone else in a similar scenario? It'd be cool to have a group of duders all learning about this game together.

I very much enjoyed the first act and can't wait for the next four. Regarding player choice shaping the story, I had the same feelings towards the start of the game but then, after the cave in, when I was asked if I was alright, I was given a choice between saying I was fine or that my leg was caught. I chose to say that I was fine but my leg was pinned anyway.

The thing that gets me is that, at least in the beta, there doesn't seem to be a lot of stuff happening outside the core fighting mechanics. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of diversity in play styles between different characters save for different combos, for example in Smash Bros. they do a lot of interesting stuff to make characters that play very differently from each other: Captain Olimar pulls Pikmin out of the ground to fight with, the Pokemon Trainer can switch his active Pokemon, etc.

That same variety extends to stage design, there's tons of stages that have interesting mechanics like scrolling, deformation throughout the fight and so on that I haven't seen All-Stars do nearly as well. Then on top of that you have unlockable characters, a level editor and countless collectables that really add to the longevity of the game, not to mention a fully fleshed out single player / co-op mode.

So sure, All-Stars may be a very solid fighting game, but I feel it lacks the variety and sense progression that'll keep me coming back to it. I'll pick up the full game later this week though, I'm more than happy to be proven wrong.

Played with one last night. I was actually pretty impressed with the controller, it's light enough that I can hold it in one hand and the screen on it's pretty good, better than I expected. I only got to play New Super Mario Bros. U, NintendoLand and Darksiders II on it, I also saw a little bit of ZombiU, but there was a massive crowd around that demo unit at all times so I didn't bother lining up to play it. Overall I really like the new controller and all the games I played were tons of fun, the Luigi's Mansion part of NintendoLand being a highlight.

I checked out Darksiders II because it's a game I've poured a lot of time into and therefore a good way to get a feel for how comparably powerful the Wii U's hardware was. Notably, it was running at 1080p according to the Nintendo rep there and the textures did look a little sharper than the PS3 version, also the framerate felt like a solid 60fps throughout the whole demo. Pretty impressive.

New Super Mario Bros. U was also pretty great, I had a fun time griefing other players by blocking off their jumps with the gamepad. I've seen reviews complain about the gamepad's limited role in multiplayer, but I feel it's a great way for less experienced players to play along with everyone else and still feel useful.

Overall I liked what I saw and I'll probably pick up the premium pack within a month or two of the launch. Probably going to grab Scribblenauts, Rayman Legends, New Super Mario Bros. U and ZombiU for it, maybe Assassin's Creed III too seeing as I haven't picked that up yet.

I say we bring back the GameCube controller's button arrangement, form factor and octagonal gate around the analog sticks. By far the most comfortable controller I've ever used, even if it does look like garbage.

Yeah the NFS games have always felt kind of serious and sterile compared to the more laid back hooliganism of Burnout.

Yeah regarding the setting, tight city streets were a joy in Burnout Paradise simply due to how nimble the cars were compared to Hot Pursuit and Most Wanted, In Most Wanted they just feel cramped and restrictive, doesn't help that there's significantly fewer shortcuts through the city.

A few thoughts on how this compares to Burnout Paradise:

• The multiplayer seems to encourage really dickish, aggresive behaviour in a way Burnout Paradise never did. Stuff like getting points for takedowns outside of races and the ability to be eliminated from score based events is just frankly not very fun.
• I guess it's to be expected in a Need for Speed game, but there's a distinct lack of personality compared to Burnout Paradise. I feel like this is probably due to the inclusion of licensed cars.
• The handling feels way heavier than in Burnout so there's less emphasis on tight manoeuvring through traffic, obstacles, etc. Also everything seems a bit more spaced out: wider streets, less tight windy offroad sections, etc.
• Some of the more ridiculous aspects of Paradise are missing here: the barrel rolls, flat-spins, over the top car damage and so on
• The multiplayer has totally made some improvements though. The whole idea of speedlists is great and results in less long drives around the game world to get to the next challenge. Also the way it warps slow or uncooperative players to the meetup is a godsend. However I miss the inclusion of Road Rules and the leaderboards for most barrel rolls, biggest jumps, etc. that would appear in Paradise.

Overall there is a lot I like about it and I'll probably play the hell out of it anyway, but it's not the Criterion racing game I wanted. I want them to do a new Burnout Paradise, take the stuff they were doing with some of the later DLC like Big Surf Island's sheer density and checkpoint based races and extrapolate on that. Make a Burnout Paradise 2 that fixes all the little flaws in the original whilst adding a new setting, Speedlist style chained challenges, better graphics, and a host of other improvements while still keeping that same personality.

Not sure about my favourite, but Limberg is easily my least favourite. What an ass.

The Last Rocket, Gauge, Fieldrunners 2, Super Crate Box, Super Hexagon, Eliss, Lost Cities and Letterpress are my favourites right now.