Timmo

Yeah, I've seen the argument that the first playthrough is just a tutorial a couple of times, and I don't buy it at all. I tried Nioh 1's NG+ for about 3 or 4 hours and it wasn't for me, yet I felt very much fulfilled by that game. The first playthrough in soul-like games is the best one! It's the one where you're terrified and discovering everything for the first time. You have to take your time and savour that one! Yes, a number of Nioh's systems won't matter the first time around, but those systems don't really matter because all they effect are damage numbers, they don't have any meaningful impact on your experience. You can still enjoy all the spells, weapons and ninja abilities. On co-op, I agree to an extent. I use it when it feels appropriate. Last night the game had what I consider to be its first mis-step, at the start of area 2. I beat the first boss, who was fantastic. The very next sub-mission ended with the very same boss. I'd have been more than happy to fight him again later on, but at that point, considering the fact I'd just spent 30 minutes clearing out the rest of the mission, I just wanted him gone, so I called some help. Really odd design decision, and hopefully it'll be a rare hiccup.

Rollercoaster Tycoon 2

The game has an AWFUL first few hours, you really have to break through it. It's great after.

Absolutely loving this. I think it's much better than the first game.

So many OP cards in this FUT birthday, the game just isn't as much fun and varied as previous years. Mbappe with a 5* weak foot, I hope that card is as rare as R9. That said, I grabbed a Havertz as he looks crazy and not too pricy. The prices often go up on cards like this so I jumped at 750k. Fingers crossed. Edit - he's already over 100k cheaper, oops Ballarabi looks brilliant but the objectives look horrendous.

This might be no good for you, but if you can afford an icon striker (is Ferdinand tradeable? I'm sure his Prime would be good enough and then you could get a really good one like Rush Moments) then you can get everyone on 10 chem using 4-5-1. But you probably knew that.

It's definitely one of those games where you bumble along feeling like you're not getting any better, whereas in actual fact you're actually learning loads more than you realise.

I've played about 5 hours of this and it feels like I haven't even scratched the surface of the surface. And I finished the first game. I was struggling for about an hour last night before I realised I'd spent the whole time in high stance

Absolutely, I'll give them a listen.

I used his Prime as a striker for a weekend and he was fantastic. Ballzie putting him into a Mid Prime SBC was complete madness.

Have they done the third Steve Bruce book yet? The first two podcasts were amazing.

Can't recommend FS Tonali enough, he bullies EVERYONE. He's so much better than Essien for me. The only players I would replace him with are TOTY De Jong or Kante or the obvious elite icons that are beyond reach.

I'm tempted by 93 Henry, just because I loved him a couple of years ago in the world cup DLC, is the balance meta too strong?

*were

He played about 80 games in the Prem.