To celebrate the decennial of Tales of Vesperia, Bandai Namco is treating us to Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition. This edition comes with upgraded graphics, new music tracks, new characters, and all DLC, in one package. The original Tale of Vesperia released in 2008 in North America exclusively for the Xbox 360. With loads of Xbox 360 and Japanese exclusive content now available for the first time in the West, the Definitive Edition really is a stellar package for newcomers and Vesperia Veterans™. Seeing as the original came out a decade ago, I will briefly touch on the original parts of the game and focus more on the new content and features of the Definitive Edition. Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition places you in the shoes of Yuri Lowell. This ex-knight sets out to retrieve an artifact needed to restore the water crisis in his quarter of the capital city. The simple start of the story quickly escalates into a much grander, and more dangerous, adventure. Soon Yuri's quest turns from simply retrieving an artifact to saving his world, doomed to be destroyed. With each party member joining Yuri's posse, the scope of the story grows; this is only one of the aspects that made the original so special. The 50 odd hours of Tales of Vesperia is a memorable journey, even ten years later, it still holds up remarkably well. The great combat system of the original is still present and feels just as great as it did 10 years ago. Choosing between the three modes provided for combat encounters really boils down to personal preference. Manual Mode gives you full control over your characters and gives you Grade for using it. Semi-Auto Mode is relatively close to Manual Mode, but automates your movements, leaving you to concentrate on attacking. The great combat system of the original is still present and feels just as great as it did 10 years ago. Auto Mode automates your entire party, including your character, leaving you with little else to do during combat encounters but watch. Creating your own weapons from gathered material is still a hoot while assigning Tactics can still be intimidating to newcomers. The 60 FPS combat makes a beautiful spectacle on the PlayStation 4, thanks also to the smooth animation and interesting character designs. In the Definitive Edition, players can look forward to new boss encounters, all new dungeons to explore and a host of smaller DLCs. On the subject of extras, the two stand out additions to this is the inclusion of two new playable characters - well, one brand new and one fan favorite, to be exact. Flynn Scifo, Yuri's best friend and knight forms one-half of the two new characters, complete with unique rates, attacks, and combos. The pirate Patty makes up the other half. Created specifically for the Definitive Edition, Patty fits in well and makes a great addition to the party. As with all remastered games, upscaled graphics and smoother frames per second have become a necessity. Running at a mostly smooth 60 FPS on 1080p on the PlayStation 4, the fresh coat of paint compliments the classic art style beautifully. Being a 10-year-old game, some textures do look dated, and a lot of models reminded me of cheap painted plastic. I really wish the developer devoted just a tad more time on upgrading the textures, instead of just stretching it to "high definition". ...even with the PlayStation 4's power, the frames took a hit on occasion in the over-world. If you are planning on playing the game on the Nintendo Switch, be aware that the performance is slightly different on it. In TV mode, the game runs at 1080p 30 FPS during exploration, but switches to 60 FPS during combat. In handheld mode, the frames per second stay the same but the resolution is down scaled to 720p (I didn't personally test this, but reports from Switch users confirm this). The PlayStation 4 and PC version is undoubtedly the best consoles to experience the game on, but even with the PlayStation 4's power, the frames took a hit on occasion in the over-world. Vesperia Veterans™ will remember the pain of reading through a game that took roughly 50 hours to complete. Not that the writing was bad, but at times it could feel like reading a short book before jumping back into the action again. In the Definitive Edition, a large chunk of the game has received voice acting. As an added bonus to this, most of the original cast members came back for the project, except for Troy Baker, who voiced Yuri Lowell in the original game. This makes for a sometimes jarring experience. Listening to Troy Baker in one scene, then hearing Grant George in the following is something you don't easily get used to. As this is an issue that affects the main character, it's a flaw that cannot be overlooked. Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition is a great package. It celebrates the memorable origins with a fresh coat of paint, added characters, unreleased DLC and extra story content. Newcomers will be treated to one of the best Tales games in the long-running series, while Vesperia Veterans will finally be able to enjoy a spruced up version of Tales of Vesperia on modern consoles. The switch between voice actors, muddied textures and occasionally performance hitches hinder the experience somewhat, but the overall package provides enough content to push those minor annoyances aside and lets you enjoy a memorable JRPG of yesteryear.

The festive season for 2018 is now over, and what a time it was! The heat made moving out of the house for recreation impossible, outside of the family obligations we all had to submit to. I asked the team what games they played this festive season, and the responses were interesting. Lynley - goes first because I feel his dilemma December was a time to sit back, relax, and try and make a dent in my Pile 'o Shame. What to play first? Assassins Creed: Odyssey or Read Dead Redemption 2? Maybe give Battlefield V a go - killing Nazis is always a good way to spend Christmas. What's this? The Final Fantasy X Remaster is staring at me from the PS4 home screen. Sure, I spent far too much time when I was supposed to be studying back in 2004 playing the game on PS2, and sure I finished the game on both PS3 and PS Vita a few years ago when the remaster was first released. And, yes, I also finished it on PC (the not quite legit release) more recently, but the game just beckoned to em once again. Maybe this time I would get that final Celestial Weapon or at least master the Jecht Shot. While the game itself is still pretty good mechanically, the voice acting - especially Yuna - and the story are not quite as good as I remember. Something I also forgot about was the fact that the game is relatively linear when compared to older games that had a large world map to explore. I'm stuck at the moment, near Zanarkand, as I didn't grind enough, but this is it, my last playthrough. What's that, the game is releasing in April on both the Xbox One and Switch. Oh dear... They could be models Adam December and the beginning of January was filled with ambitious, backlog-decimating plans; before I started playing Assassin’s Creed: Origins properly. And, lo and behold, those lofty ideas curled up and died in a dusty cupboard corner. It's taken me approximately 3 weeks to finish Origins main campaign, including all its side quests and, despite a terrible combat system, I don't regret it all. Origins is just so damn amazing, especially in its world design, and plumbing the depths beneath temples and caverns for remnants of the First Civilizations colossal structures are among some of my favourite Assassin's Creed gaming moments. I still have to clear up many of the forts and locations containing treasure, which I will probably do because of my obsessive-compulsive need to 100% things, and then I will begin on the expansions. I'm taking a bit of a break from it now by replaying another phenomenal, and criminally under-played title; Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 with a little Dead Space freakiness on the side (ed - a man of fine taste!). DC Universe rounds out my superhero flight fix, while Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate is taking care of my platforming fix. I'd really hoped to get more done, but with so much asking for my time, from movies, television shows, to books... well, there's just not enough time in the day for everything. I suppose I should just be glad that I actually managed to get one thing done. (Hides AC: Odyssey at the bottom of a pile in the back of a cupboard for my sanity). Ohmmm Gregg Foolishly I set up a server of Minecraft. More specifically, a Minecraft Server with the "All The Mods 3" Modpack. Now, for those of you who don't know, Modded Minecraft is one of those fantastically nebulous black-holes of time manipulation, where you can tell yourself, "I'll just login for half an hour or so before I play something else", only for you to look up from your screen, 10 hours have passed, you're both dehydrated and starving and, in the distance, a car alarm is blaring, which you only noticed for the first time now. But hey, at least you fully automated that blood magic ritual, right? Oh wait no, you got side-tracked, and instead started automating the 27-step process of creating the ultimate chicken curry. That’s ok, I mean, in-game food is important, so it’s good you've sorted that out. Oh wait no, it turns out in order to magically accelerate the growth of your spice leaves, you have to go to the wizard dimension and steal a unicorn horn. That’s fine though, how hard can that be? After all, all you need to do is clear the entire Twilight forest of its 10 bosses, and so on and so forth. So, yes, most people will look at me and blink twice when I say I spent the entire December playing Modded Minecraft. But you know what? I got to hang out with my friends on the server, enjoyed the myriad of challenges, and haven't even scratched the surface of the modpack's on the server. So, if you'll excuse me, I have a rocketship to build. The moon and its moon dungeons await - although before that I need to find some way of easily processing rocket fuel, and for that I need more power, so maybe a nuclear reactor is in order. (ed - Gregg failed to finish writing this paragraph, instead wandering off into the distance mumbling to himself). For the HORDE! Andrew My festive season of gaming was centred around tackling several titles I skipped over, including two Xbox exclusives that came out in December, with a few coop sessions thrown in. Better still, I got access to most of these games thanks to a month of Xbox Game Pass that I paid only R5 for. On PC, I've taken the first tentative steps towards achieving my lifelong goal of re/playing every Infinity Engine RPG, with my arrow-slinging rogue setting out into the wilds of the Sword Coast, currently heading south to the Nashkel mines in Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition. There’s really nothing quite like the complexity of a classic Dungeon’s & Dragons based-RPG, back before two-thirds of your budget was dedicated to visuals and marketing, rather than writing a branching narrative and complex characters. On the console front, I finished the excellent tactical-combat/RPG, Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden, a game that has free-form movement when not in combat and excellent stealth mechanics – instantly elevating it above its tedious peers. Ashen was yet another ‘Souls-like I increasingly prefer to actual Dark Souls games! The combat is simpler and more streamlined sure, but what a stunning world to explore, functional platforming, an uplifting story, and a cool AI/human companion system that got me through some tough fights near the end of the game. Finally, I tackled Below, getting close to the endgame, before difficulty spikes and tedium put me off. A great opening half, with a good balance of difficulty and exploration, before you hit an increasingly tough and frustrating second half. As expected, I didn’t get close to tackling as much of my backlog as I hoped to, but I did play several excellent indie games that were far more interesting than their increasingly stale and predictable AAA peers. Patrick, is that you? Sam – He made me put him here, not sure why I found myself quite preoccupied with catching up to the endless pool of Netflix series' and movies that I completely missed or foolishly ignored. However, I did manage to squeeze in a game or two, mainly from the indie catalogue. I decided to revisit Phil Fish's awesome Fez. Even though the stigma attached to Fish's name now is a bit of a sensitive subject, the game itself is undoubtedly a remarkable piece of work. Taking place in a 2D world, the adorable titular character awakens one morning to find out that he's been living in a 3D world all along, and that an entire dimension literally existed around him. With the anticipation of exploration and adventure pulsing through his veins, Fez takes off to uncover the secrets at large about this new 3D world. A bit meta in its execution, Fish uses this clever and intuitive game design to push a narrative forward that's simple in nature, but as deep as the world our hero inhabits. I left the game with a sense of pride and accomplishment (not the EA type) that I rarely find in indie games. I adore Fez. (Oh, the other game was Furi, but that's for another time...) Foreign Exchange Zealot Douw My December break this year wasn't the longest I've enjoyed but I still managed to dip my toes into several titles during the break, going for a more scattershot, bite-sized approach. This started with finally getting round to Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which I had been eyeing since the ICON panels earlier in the year, but had not found the time for. While I enjoyed my time there, I was quickly drawn away into all the Indie titles that I had missed during the year, kicking off with the absolutely beautiful GRIS. With that small taste of indie delight, I plunged on into Wandersong and Celeste, finding my time locked in, and Shadow was unfortunately left to the backlog. Then, in between this, Gregg started his Minecraft server and, well, seeing as I own it across three platforms, I couldn't deny joining in and becoming the best astral mage that I could be (between trying out the latest World of Warcraft's content). Now if you'll excuse me I need to get back to unlocking all the Smash Ultimate characters... (I think I may have a problem...) So pretty Rob – Finally, the only opinion that matters This festive season, I didn’t engage in as much gaming as I would have hoped for, but I did achieve something special. In a very short time (a week), I managed to get through all three Tomb Raider Reboot titles, and I absolutely loved it. Shadow was slightly underwhelming but Rise and the first game in the trilogy more than made up for the experience. I had hoped to jump back into Darksiders III but I still haven’t managed to get around to it, and let’s not even talk about Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey right now. I checked off a few more bucket list items, however, by completing Just Cause 3 and all of its expansions, and I am now settling into a Destiny 2: Forsaken rhythm that will probably not break until Tropico 6 comes around. How could I forget, Cities: Skyline also drained roughly 40hrs of my life. Oh, well, it seems I had more time than I realised. I'll smoulder while the ancients fall What did you get up to in your festive season? What have you been playing since? Let us know in the comments.

There are very few things in the world that feel like they’re tailored for you. Take Starbucks, for example. You walk into the store and go straight over to the barista, to which they will ask you what you want, exactly how you want it, and even put your name on the drink when your order is ready. That overly named latte is presented to you and tastes like those ingredients were made specifically for your purchase. This is exactly how I felt when the Razer Raiju Ultimate made its way onto my lap. Sure, I didn’t have a mildly charismatic person challenging my social skills, but I had a greater sense of modularity from a controller than I will ever need. The Raiju Ultimate has a very bulky feel in the hand, but that instills you with confidence. More often than not, a third-party, high-end controller feels like a glass cannon. Sure, you have new macro buttons that will boost your performance, but if the controller were to fall, it just wouldn’t be the same. That’s a few grand thrown down the drain, but that’s not the case with the Raiju Ultimate. The build quality is phenomenal, and so are the materials being used. The material that is used for the bottom half of the controller has an astounding amount of grip and your hands will remain comfortable, even after hours of gameplay. I often find myself astonished at how well everything held up after hours of use. The material that is used for the bottom half of the controller has an astounding amount of grip and your hands will remain comfortable, even after hours of gameplay. Players who want to keep the traditional side-by-side analogue sticks, I found that the Raiju Ultimate is more Dualshock 4 than it is Xbox One gamepad; a design choice that honours the platform it is designed for and still finds ways to improve on that formula. The magnetised thumbsticks can be easily switched out for any of the rubberised options available, even one that adds some length to the analogue. Along the line of modularity, there are two d-pads available, each with designs to suit a specific type of gamer. The Ultimate has two things that set it apart from any other controller on the market right now - RGB and a mechanical click. The Chroma-outlined touchpad and all the buttons are satisfying, to say the least. Honestly, it was almost impossible to come back to my normal controller after experiencing the mechanical goodness from the Ultimate. The main party piece that will give you bragging rights amongst your peers, has to be the membrane control panel that is found at the bottom the controller. The control panel lets you alter the properties of the programmable buttons on the fly and many more options. You can change the lighting on the touchpad, switch between profiles, and even lock the PlayStation home, options button and the control panel itself. ...the layout on the Ultimate really does boost your performance within the first ten minutes of using it. I played a few different games to see how well the Ultimate handles and yet again, the Raiju Ultimate delivers. The programmable buttons seemed to replace the buttons on the face of the controller, which meant I would never need to move my fingers any further than the space between your nostrils. That meant I could input actions a lot faster than moving my thumb around, and somewhat increase my performance in-game. Normally, we make a clear point of how high-end controllers don’t make you a better player, but instead, give you a more ergonomic way to improve on your skills. However, the layout on the Ultimate really does boost your performance within the first ten minutes of using it. That isn’t surprising considering it was designed to be used for eSports and various other forms of competitive gaming. That being said, it is rather easy to set up. You have a choice of PC Bluetooth, USB, or PS4 Bluetooth that you can toggle at the flip of a switch. I found the USB mode is the easiest to use, with the Bluetooth modes only slightly lagging behind the cable option. All this mechanical euphoria is let down by one thing - the price. As of writing this, the Raiju Ultimate retails at around R3 999. That is a very big ask of Razer for what is essentially a controller. A base PlayStation 4 can be bought for around R5 000 if you look in the right places, and that is where the Raiju Ultimate may lose its appeal. This removes the Ultimate from being just a casual buy for someone replacing their PS4 controller. The Raiju Ultimate would be the best controller you could buy if it weren’t for the Bluetooth issues on such a heavily priced item. If these aspects aren’t a deal-breaker for you, then the advantages over the DualShock 4 controller are very obvious. Then again, you could save money and go for the refined Tournament Edition, but the Ultimate was never meant to be a budget-friendly. It was designed with the sole purpose of giving you the best a controller that is available for the PlayStation 4. It’s just a shame the Ultimate had a few Bluetooth issues, but that doesn’t detract from the amazing build quality, ergonomic design, and insanely responsive buttons. I can’t deny the fact this has changed how I feel about controllers. I just wish there was a sale.

If the past couple of weeks has not sold you on Anthem (ed - it hasn't), BioWare hopes that their latest gameplay series will teach you everything you need to know about Anthem so far. Well, everything they're willing to let us see at least. The series is known as "This is Anthem", and it may not surprise anyone who has been following Anthem closely. We get to see a new boss, known as the "Fury", as well as a few other abilities the Javelins possess. Everything else appears to be things that the public already knew. The six-minute long video seems like it is tailored for those who were undecided about joining in on the demo. What is noticeable, however, is the fact that the gameplay in this video looks like it's from a very recent build - one that irons out most flaws found in the Alpha footage we have seen over the past few weeks. Anthem may not have gone gold, but it seems like it is much closer than it was a month ago. BioWare says part 2 of the video should be coming out soon. According to BioWare, the next video will feature endgame scenarios and a detailed look at the Strongholds. Anthem releases February 22, 2019, on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.