You would think I would have watched the Minecraft Movie or worse Snow White, nope I watched another film that caught my eye a few weeks back after seeing the odd trailers online and my love for penguins which is The Penguin Lessons. The only things I knew about it was that it was based on a true story and also recognising the actors face Steve Coogan which you may know him from a handful of films including Around the World in 80 Days, Night at the Museum, The Other Guys and the Disciple Me franchise just to name a few.

The story follows of a disillusioned Englishman who went to work in a school in Argentina in 1976. Expecting an easy ride, Tom discovers a divided nation and a class of unteachable students. However, after he rescues a penguin from an oil-slicked beach, his life is turned upside-down. A story about the friendship on a human and a penguin is a touching moment where you would think the penguin would be a menace, but now it actually brings people together and making them smile during the 70's where Argentina had its hands full on politics. There were some moments that did make me laugh at Steve portraying as Tom truing to understand the penguin and what it's thinking at the same time dealing with politics while trying to teach the children English.

Overall, Penguin Lessons took me by surprise on how charming the film can be at times, making you want to care about the penguin this is worth the watch.

4/5 (Four Star Rating)

My thoughts on the recent Nintendo Switch 2 does look impressive to look when reading about it on social media and the line of games that were coming to the system. I was tempted myself on picking one up on launch but then realise that I have SunnyCon Anime Expo on the same month and would rather save the money which I know for a fact that it will take up a lot of my time for that month alone.

The price tag alone seems like a reasonable price or pay extra which comes with Mario Kart World as a launch title is a good way to launch a console just like the golden days of the Nintendo SNES or Nintendo 64 having a Mario title as a launch game. The problems I see with the Switch 2 at the moment when hearing about it on social media and from a few friends is the battery life is shorter than the Switch 1 when playing games on the go; And the other is the price tag on physical games costing around £75/$90 is a bit steep costing more than a PS5 game on launch the option of buying the game digitally is a little cheaper than physical. The one problem again on that is whatever game you plan to purchase it will take up quite a bit of storage on the Switch 2 or depending on what SD Memory card you plan on buying be sure to get something over 12GB or 64GB for storage.

I would love to try out the Switch 2 before purchasing one myself or wait for a decent offer to come up later down the line having Professor Layton game added to the deal would get my attention, luckily it's also coming to the Switch 1 so either way I'll be solving puzzles one way or the other.

Those were my mini thoughts on the Nintendo Switch 2.

What are your thoughts?

Let us know in the comments-

Tim Schafer is well known in the gaming industry for releasing some of the best games of all time on the PC such as Grim Fandango and Day of the Tentacle; but back in April 2005 Psychonauts was released both on PC and Xbox in North America and then for the PlayStation 2 in June 2005 but UK/Europe didn't get the game until almost a year later on all three platforms.

The first time I've ever heard of Psychonauts was back in 2004 after seeing a trailer for this from buying and playing Blinx the Timesweeper on the Xbox. At first the trailer and seeing some gameplay footage which was one of the first trailers that was shown around 2002, the ability to read people's minds was an awesome idea to see in a video game. Then after reading gaming-comic panels on the internet and reading reviews from both IGN and GameSpot around 2006 I really wanted to get my hands on playing this game mainly because I liked the art style which had a mix of Tim Burton's animation mixed with Pixar animation.

When I got my Xbox chipped was able to play games from any region, including copied games on blank discs remember someone giving me a US copy of Psychonauts but however the whole game was in black and white. So instead I bought the UK copy at GameStation in Newcastle using my birthday money I got, I could tell that this game itself was going to be an amazing platformer and unlike any other platformer games I've played over the years like Klonoa 2, Crash Bandicoot 3 or even The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge. Its story is based on Raz a young boy gifted with psychic abilities who runs away from the circus to try to sneak into a summer camp for those with similar powers in order to become a Psychonaut, a spy with psychic abilities sounds like something you would see in an X-Men comic when thinking about this. Raz finds out that there is a sinister plot occurring at the camp that only he can stop. This is where the game takes on the strange and imaginative minds of various characters that Raz enters as a Psychonaut-in-training/Psycadet in order to help them overcome their fears or memories of their past, so as to gain their help and progress in the game including the story. Raz gains use of several psychic abilities during the game that are used for both attacking foes and solving puzzles.

Most of its puzzles were pretty challenging but fun at the same, most of its levels were very well detailed, especially when jumping in the mind of a wrestling black velvet painter named Edgar Teglee where the whole stage is set in a Spanish city but using Black and Coloured chalk for its landscapes think of The Oogie Boogie song from The Nightmare Before Christmas. I also forget that Psychonauts have some of the best levels, including the mind of a mutant-lung fish and going around Fish City smashing tall buildings like in Godzillia. Another memorable level that most people will remember, especially when myself and two of my other friends would know it straight away after quoting "I am the Milk Man, my milk delicious" you jump through the mind the appointed guard named Boyd, who refuses to open the gates, rambling about a conspiracy and "the milkman" holding the key. Again visiting Boyd's mind, Raz discovers that the milkman is Boyd's pyromaniac alternate persona.

I could go on all day how brilliant and memorable Psychonauts is but if you have not heard of this game or even played I would highly recommend you checking out this game after reading this blog. If you either still own a PS2 or an Xbox you can also pick this up on Steam and also appears on multiple occasion on Humble Bundle deals including Charity Gaming sites at a very cheap price. After this game was released back in 2005 it got so much praise from reviewers, including myself who love this game, it didn't do too well on sales by the end of the year, and it had shipped less than 100,000 copies. Psychonauts has been re-released as a PlayStation 2 Classic from the PSN Store if you own a PS4 and backward compatible if you own the original game on the Xbox you can play it on the Xbox One.

A sequel was announced back in 2015 The Game Awards, with strong sales of the original through various outlets along with strong demand from the fanbase of the original game, Double Fine sought to acquire part of its financial capital to fund the developments of Psychonauts 2 through a $3.3 million crowd-funding and investment drive through Fig, launched simultaneously with the game's announcement; the campaign overall raised nearly $4 million by the beginning of 2016 which was surprising for many including myself which I've waited since 2006 for a sequel. It would finally be released back in 2021 and my Game of the Year, this is one of those games that I could easily go back to again and again, not just for the story, but it's how the game is well presented for a platformer and it's not often that we get really game that offers something for everyone. Even a few years back when the game was almost finished Double Fine was still struggling with money and luckily Microsoft stepped in and bought the company and told them to finish off the game and still release on other platformers other then the Xbox since Double Fine is now purchased by Microsoft.

Have you played Psychonauts, have any favourite moments?

Let us know in the comments-

The first Saturday of May is in fact Free Comic Book Day in both North America and in the UK, not sure if other countries have this event in their local stores, Free Comic Book Day has been around since 2002 around the same time when Spider-Man was released in Cinemas to take advantage of the film's heavy promotion and related press about the comic book medium and thus the first event was held May 4, 2002, one day after the film's opening.

Since then there has always been a film based on a comic series or Superhero franchise to help boost sales in comics and Cinema boosts during the first two weeks. However, if you do live the UK like I do the Bank Holiday weekend slides in on that weekend in the first week with it being a Bank Holiday Monday in the UK, so this sort of a perfect way to spend the weekend plus grabbing some free comics and manga. The good news is that Free Comic Day is on the Bank Holiday weekend again this year if you live in the UK and also a great way to spend a three day weekend if you think about it especially with the King Charles Coronation. It was called off and changed to a later date for both 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19 but most stores had all the free comics in which were both set around August during that time, but like most comic book fans would say it was more traditional to have it in May instead of later in the year.

On Free Comic Book Day participating comic book store retailers give away specially printed copies of free comic books, you do get a mix of comics, including Marvel, DC, Archie, Bongo and Dark Horse comics. Manga like VIZ Media, Shonen Jump and Kodansha Comics would throw in the first few pages of a new Manga series that'll be released in a few weeks or months or even welcoming new people into reading when it comes to Comics and Manga. In addition to comic books, some stores also give away other merchandise, such as mini posters and other movie tie-in memorabilia.

This year's Free Comic Day which will be on May 3rd will offer comics like Archie, Spider-Man, Minecraft the Manga, DIABLO, Godzilla, Thundercats, Speed Racer, Star Wars and many more. There are many more to the list if you look on their website, however there are many more series and franchises that you can get for free. Not all stores, but certain stores across countries or even places where you live would have a back issue department where you can pick up Issues of certain Comics at a really cheap instead of paying full price for a comic that was released a few months back like December issue of Star Wars or Superman or even Batman you can easily pick that issue for 50p; If you like in their back issue boxes it'll also include certain board games, and graphics novels as well at a good price, making it cheaper than buying them online from sites like Amazon. Some retailers and stores would organize stuff like a quiz, cosplay contest, or getting an artist to sign stuff which you can either get for free or pay a very small price for something you would request.

As I've already said this is also a good way of getting someone or even a friend into a new series or even getting them into this kind of thing, if they want a good story plot or even a unique art style that you can get into some issues and volumes making it a reason why you should pick up later issues in the future. But it is nice that this has become a yearly event every year since 2002 you can tell it's been here for quite a while and hopefully they'll carry this tradition in the future, especially if you live the UK because it feels kind of special if you are a comic nerd or a manga geek and a great way to spend your weekend.

Don't forget to mark it in your calendar or on your phone that May 3rd is Free Comic Book Day.

Have you picked up any good free comics in the past?

Let us know in the comments-

Heard so many good things about Flow, which was just after the New Year it started gaining attention and even more attention after winning the Oscar for Best Animated Movie which was up against the likes of Inside Out 2, Wallace & Gromit and Wild Robot being the big three competitors when it comes to animation. For an independent film winning the award did surprise a lot of people including myself when I heard the news on the Oscar winners, it did get a UK release at certain cinemas and had to see what the fuss was about especially the film was made with a free animation software called Blender.

With no dialogue or voice acting, you had to use your imagination when it comes to storytelling; A black cat takes refuge in an empty home, now conspicuously absent of humanity. But their tranquil life is soon disturbed by a flood which ravages the deserted landscape, narrowly surviving by boarding a boat carrying a languid capybara. Voyaging through the flow of the flooded forest and nearby city, their ark is soon boarded by an excitable golden retriever, a hoarding lemur and a proudly independent secretarybird. Becoming a found family, the animals band together as they encounter both peril and beauty across the breathtaking journey. As emotionally profound as it is visually mesmerising, this dialogue-free voyage explores powerful themes of the environment, displacement and the culturally enriching experience of co-existence through the gorgeously realised perspective of a found family of animals.

The visuals did give me PS3 vibes when watching Flow makes it feel like I was playing an indie title in a good way which I think this would have been a fun game to play. There were some stunning visuals and CGI effects on the animals, the landscapes and the water effects. I can see why everyone loved Flow on release including the positive reviews which does show you that a word of mouth can really make an impact when it comes to art and animation, even the soundtrack even tells the story without dialogue makes it memorable as well.

I would highly recommend Flow if you haven't seen it, you will not be disappointed

5/5 (Five Star Rating)

With Winter coming to an end and Spring is right around the corner and the line-up for Anime lined up between January - March list of series was impressive a lot of people I know have enjoyed watching Sakamoto Days, Solo Leveling Season 2 and Dr. STONE being the popular ones out of the bunch. A ton of new anime would have started by the end of this week and next week here is a list of a few anime's worth checking out if you have the time between beginning of April and until the end of June.

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes-

Not everyone needs a license to fight for justice! In a superpowered society, there is nothing ordinary about evil anymore. Heroes, trained and licensed to protect and defend the public against supervillains, stand above all the rest. Not everyone can be a hero, however, and there are those who would use their powers to serve the people without legal sanction. But do they fight for justice in the shadows, or for reasons known only to themselves? Whatever they fight for, they are called…vigilantes. Koichi Haimawari couldn’t make the cut to become an official hero, so he uses his modest Quirk to do good deeds in his spare time. Then one day a fateful encounter with some local thugs leads him to team up with two other unlikely heroes. None of them really know what they’re doing, but they’ve got the courage—or foolishness—to try. But they soon discover fighting evil takes more than just being brave.

LAZARUS-

The year is 2052 – an era of unprecedented peace and prosperity prevails across the globe. The reason for this: mankind has been freed from sickness and pain. Nobel Prize winning neuroscientist Dr. Skinner has developed a miracle cure-all drug with no apparent drawbacks called Hapuna. Hapuna soon becomes ubiquitous… and essential. However, soon after Hapuna is officially introduced, Dr. Skinner vanishes. Three years later, the world has moved on. But Dr. Skinner has returned – this time, as a harbinger of doom. Skinner announces that Hapuna has a short half-life. Everyone who has taken it will die approximately three years later. Death is coming for this sinful world – and coming soon. As a response to this threat, a special task force of 5 agents is gathered from across the world to save humanity from Skinner’s plan. This group is called “Lazarus.” Can they find Skinner and develop a vaccine before time runs out?

WIND BREAKER Season 2-

Sakura’s idea of what it means to be at the top has begun to change. After making new friends and encountering new enemies in his time at Furin High School, he has gained some perspective. Now, he stands tall as a Grade Captain, fighting to protect others. Watch as Sakura’s rise continues from high school delinquent to heroic legend!

Fire Force Season 3-

Tokyo is burning, and citizens are mysteriously suffering from spontaneous human combustion all throughout the city! Responsible for snuffing out this inferno is the Fire Force, and Shinra is ready to join their fight. Now, as part of Company 8, he’ll use his devil’s footprints to help keep the city from turning to ash! But his past and a burning secret behind the scenes could set everything ablaze.

WITCH WATCH-

Morihito Otogi, a high school student who comes from a lineage of ogres, enjoys a peaceful, ordinary life until his childhood friend, Nico, moves in with him. Nico is a witch-in-training, and chooses Morihito to be her familiar. While Nico is thrilled to reunite with her old friend and crush, Morihito is tasked with the perilous duty to protect her from a foretold calamity. Between the unpredictable chaos caused by Nico’s magic, and the awkwardness of sharing a home, their lives become a whirlwind of supernatural hijinks and threats.

Kijn Gentoushou-

In the Edo period, there was a shrine maiden called "Itskihime" in the mountain village of Kadono. Jinta, a wandering orphan who, along with his younger sister Suzune, drifted into the village and grew up to become the shrine maiden's guardian, ventures into the forest to defeat a mysterious demon who speaks to him of the far future and the threat of a Demon God. So begins this epic supernatural historical fantasy series that follows a demon hunter through his century-spanning journey from the Edo to Heisei periods—all-the-while questioning his wielding of a sword.

Summer Pockets-

Hairi Takahara never expected summer to feel like a dream. Sent to Torishirojima to sort through his late grandmother’s belongings, he’s met with endless sea, quiet nostalgia, and mysterious girls, each chasing something just out of reach. As he settles into island life, lost memories begin to surface and he finds what he never knew he’d lost.

Aru Majo ga Shinu Made-

Meg Raspberry is just an apprentice witch celebrating her 17th birthday. That is, until Faust, her magic teacher and Perennial Witch of the Seven Sages, suddenly reveals she is going to die. To stop the Death Sentence curse, Meg must create the Seed of Life using tears of joy from 1,000 people. Join Meg on her travels as she collects the happy tears from everyone she meets to gain eternal life!

Black Butler: Emerald Witch Arc-

At the Queen’s behest, the 13-year-old earl Ciel Phantomhive and his loyal demon butler, Sebastian Michaelis, leave the gritty underworld of nineteenth-century England and venture to the south of Germany to investigate a series of mysterious deaths. Legend has it, those who enter the Werewolves’ Forest are destined to be cursed, but Ciel and Sebastian press on to uncover the truth.

YOUR FORMA-

In an alternate 2023, the Your Forma, a miraculous “smart thread” technology initially developed to treat a massive outbreak of viral encephalitis, has become an integral part of daily life. But these convenient devices come with an invasive drawback—they record every sight, sound, and even emotion their users experience. For electronic investigator Echika Hieda, diving into peoples’ memories via the Your Forma and hunting for evidence to solve the toughest crimes is all part of a day’s work. The problem is, she’s so good at what she does that her assistants literally fry their brains trying to keep up with her. After putting one too many aides in the hospital, the top brass finally furnish Echika with a partner on her level, a brilliant yet cheeky android named Harold Lucraft. Does this unlikely duo have what it takes to resolve their mutual suspicions and avert a deadly technological infection from sweeping across the globe before it’s too late?

Other Anime to check out during Spring-

• To Be Hero X
• #COMPASS2.0 ANIMATION PROJECT
• Bye Bye Earth Season 2
• Maomao Falls on Jinshi | The Apothecary Diaries Season 2
• Slime Taoshite 300-nen, Shiranai Uchi ni Level Max ni Nattemashita ~Sono ni~
• I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!
• A-Rank Party wo Ridatsu shita Ore wa, Moto Oshiego-tachi to Meikyuu Shinbu wo Mezasu
• The Children of Shiunji Family
• MIRU: Watashi no Mirai
• Isshun de Chiryou shiteita noni Yakutatazu to Tsuihou sareta Tensai Chiyushi, Yami Healer
• The Beginning After the End
• Danjo no Yuujou wa Seiritsu suru? (Iya, Shinai!!)
• KOWLOON GENERIC ROMANCE
• ZatsuTabi -That’s Journey-
• Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World Season 2
• Ninja to Koroshiya no Futarigurashi
• Haite Kudasai, Takamine-san
• Yandere Dark Elf: She Chased Me All the Way From Another World
• Katainaka no Ossan, Kensei ni Naru
• Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX
• Aharen-san wa Hakarenai Season 2
• APOCALYPSE HOTEL
• Teogonia
• Kanchigai no Koubou Nushi
• Shin Samurai-den YAIBA
• Go! Go! Loser Ranger! Season 2
• Chuuzenji-sensei Mononoke Kougiroku: Sensei ga Nazo wo Hodoite Shimau kara.
• Ballpark de Tsukamaete!
• MOONRISE
• Umamusume: Cinderella Gray
• Classic★Stars
• Anne Shirley
• Twins HinaHima
• Shoushimin Series Season 2
• Princession Orchestra
• Koupen Chan
• Hibi wa Sugiredo Meshi Umashi
• Uchuujin Muumuu
• Kakushite! Makina-san!
• Kanpekisugite Kawaige ga Nai to Konyaku Haki sareta Seijo wa Ringoku ni Urareru
• Rock is a Lady's Modesty
• Mono
• GUILTY GEAR STRIVE: DUAL RULERS
• Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de

Any anime that you will be watching during Spring?

Let us know in the comments-

It's very rare that I would play First-Person Shooters in general when it comes to gaming, the only shooters I've enjoyed playing were titles like BioShock Infinite, Killzone 2 and Halo. But before I've played those titles there was a certain franchise I really enjoyed playing on the PlayStation 2 which was the TimeSplitters series, TimeSplitters 2 is still my favourite shooter and game in the series for its insane multiplayer matches, story plot going through various parts of time and the number of guns you can use.

It would be 20 years ago from this week that TimeSplitters: Future Perfect would be released which was March 21st 2005 and March 24th for UK/Europe. This was the third instalment in the series taking place after the events of TimeSplitters 2 playing the role of Sergeant Cortez, a time-traveling marine from the 25th century, as he attempts to go to the past to save the future. This does feel more like something you would see out of the Back to the Future series when it comes to time travelling and bumping into yourself from a different period of time.

Like its past two games you can make your own multiplayer levels and save them onto your memory card, plus this was a great idea to have in a game before uploading levels through online around the world like LittleBigPlanet. You can create your own rules and what kind of weapons you would have to have to lie around including what weapons to carry; I remember reading and seeing some good level designs that were sent to Official UK PlayStation 2 and Xbox magazine on some of the levels that were made by gamers. Online Multiplayer was supported for both PlayStation 2 and Xbox having 2-8 players which did make an improvement for people who want to play online and not having to go over to a friend's house just to play some multiplayer matches up to 4 players. The GameCube version however didn't have online support, but it still had everything else in the game.

On June 2007 a sequel was announced to be in development was which TimeSplitters 4, however, has since been shelved due to difficulties selling the idea to potential publishers based on Future Perfect's sales after it was released. Haze was released a year later for the PlayStation 3 which was a worldwide release on May 2008 but however the reviews were disappointing to both critics and fans, it had some good ideas but weren't as great as they thought it would be. On December 18th 2008 it was reported that the studio Free Radical had shut down, though it was later confirmed that the company had gone into administration, leaving 40 of the original 185 staff still employed. There have been rumours that a TimeSplitters 4 was going to be released on the PS3 and Xbox 360 but nothing hasn't been mentioned since then; Back in November 29, 2012 it was revealed that a group of fans were given permission to develop a TimeSplitters mod using CryEngine 3. The project lead by Michael Hubicka stated that the ultimate goal is to make it TimeSplitters 4, it was announced that the development team would include some of the original members of Free Radical Design (now known as Crytek UK). And as of last year it would later be cancelled luckily some prototypes were leaked online on what it could have been on the PS3 if you look it up on YouTube.

As of now, you can pick up the original game either on the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube at a reasonable price; the TimeSplitters would get re-released on PSN which included the main campaigns with trophy support sadly no online multiplayer, but you can either download them through PSN Plus or purchase so you've got two options if you want some 2000's nostalgia.

Have any favourite moments in the TimeSplitters franchise?

Let us know in the comments-

Would have posted something a little sooner but been quite busy with not only with work, also been playing quite a bit of Two Point Museum which is hard to put down. Other then I have been working on a Balatro cosplay for Chibi SunnyCon which is a mini event for SunnyCon Anime Expo and also one of those events where if you enjoyed the small event why not come to the big event in June.

Can't remember there being a video game based on Greek Mythology that was good before God of War was released in 2005, I know that Crash Bandicoot 3 had a boss fight with Tiny set in the Greek/Roman period plus there was Disney's Hercules which was released on PS1, Game Boy and PC. God of War was released for the PlayStation 2 on March 22nd 2005 making it ten years since it was released and is the eleventh best-selling PlayStation 2 game of all time.

When looking at the God of War series, the games themselves have a lot of memorable moments in gaming, but my overall favourite game would be the first God of War. Not only the story was pretty good following the story of Kratos who is a warrior who serves the Greek gods of Olympus; when the game starts Kratos has been serving the gods for ten years. He kills the Hydra on behalf of Poseidon, but grows tired of his service and suffering. He summons Athena, who states that if Kratos performs one final act the murder of Ares and will be forgiven for killing his past mistakes. The more you play God of War, more and more flashbacks will appear explaining what really happened to Kratos and his past before he became a servant to the gods.

First time playing God of War was around the same time God of War II was released in 2007 and the Official UK PlayStation 2 magazine had a demo for the first game after playing the demo I've wanted to play more of God of War than decided to get the game straight away, first time playing the game I didn't want to put the game down and also bought my 60 GB PS3 at the time which came with Resistance Fall of Man and MotorStorm ended up playing God of War more instead of playing my new games that came with the PS3. God of War was a third person action-adventure game but felt it had gameplay elements from franchises like Onimusha, Prince of Persia and Devil May Cry with some puzzles and platforming in as well.

What I really liked about God of War on how much blood and gore was in the game for a game based on Greek Mythology I was really impressed how SCE Santa Monica Studios kept a game this good and fresh. The button mashing you had to when it came to killing your enemies and monsters were really impressive to look at where at one point you could rip an enemy in half or drag one of the Hydra's heads with a broken ship and letting it get stabbed through the skull. Quick time events happened quite a lot as well just like Resident Evil 4 you had to keep a close eye on what would happen next and know what to do.

After God of War II was released Santa Monica Studios announced God of War III for the PlayStation 3 and a game for the PSP which was Chains of Olympus, however both God of War and II were released in HD for the PS3 with trophy support and also two years after the PS Vita was released they released God of War for the PS Vita. A movie was confirmed to be in the works since 2005 but there hasn't been a director and haven't any new information whatsoever, a novel was released in 2009 the novel recounts the events of the game and offers deeper insights into its story including new characters including some stuff that wasn't in the game does get mentioned in the novel. Back in 2018 Kratos returned again on the PS4 titled as God of War taking place after the events of God of War III, this time based on Norse Mythology along with a sequel God of War Ragnarök which I still need to play on my PS5.

Did you play God of War when it was first released in 2005 and have any favourite moments?

Let us know in the comments-

Twenty five years later that this console alone took the test of time and stood out from the rest, from console history the PlayStation 2 was first released on March 4th 2000 in Japan and was still the best-selling console outselling both Xbox and GameCube during the 6th Generation of gaming during 2000 till 2008, it wasn't January 2013 that PlayStation 2 discounted worldwide and the last three games there were released for the system were Final Fantasy XI: Seekers of Adoulin for Japan and both FIFA 14 and Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 for the rest of the world.

With the success of the PlayStation outselling Sega and Nintendo nearly every person wanted one, Sony announced the PlayStation on March 1st 1999 the console was positioned as a competitor the Dreamcast which was the first sixth-generation console to be released. Despite Sony's announcement, the Dreamcast went on to a very successful North American launch later that year selling over 500,000 units within two weeks. Straight after the Dreamcast was released during Tokyo Game Show during September, Sony showed off some playable demos including Gran Turismo 2000 and Tekken Tag Tournament which showed off consoles graphic abilities and power. Back at the time it was really impressive to see how powerful games were on the system and how far gaming has come since then with both Gran Turismo and Tekken franchise. Sony even added in something that the Dreamcast didn't have which was a built-in DVD player where you can watch DVD's on the PlayStation 2 instead of a DVD player and a cheaper way in getting a DVD player back in early 2000.

The PlayStation 2 was launched in October 2000 in both North America and November in Europe. Sales of the console, games and accessories pulled in $250 million on the first day, beating the $97 million made on the first day of the Dreamcast. Directly after its release, it was difficult to find PS2 units on retailer shelves due to manufacturing delays. During its release, there has been a huge range of game accessories like SingStar and Eye Toy made an impact on sales that it made games fun to play with friends and family.

I'm pretty sure that for those who still own a PS2 and I'm guessing that everyone had different tastes and their favourite games for the system. Here are my top three favourite PS2 games-

1: Persona 4 (PS2- 2008)-

You could never really find the perfect video game in life, Persona 4 really much had everything you would want in a JRPG game. Set in a Japanese high school and being transferred to a small town you start to find out on the mysterious rumours on the Midnight Channel where people can see their soul mates on the TV around Midnight but however as you progress through the story you find out that students are being thrown in the TV world and it's up to you and your friends to save them within a time limit after a number of days or they will die. Persona 4 is set as a traditional role-playing game you'll go through multiple dungeons you have to use Persona's in order to defeat enemies, which are like monsters which you can summon each party member has a persona, the manifestation of one's true self, that they can use in battle. Each has its own unique Skills, and a specific set of strengths and weaknesses to certain attacks. Personas gain experience from battle and learn new Skills as they gain levels. The fun part about the game is that when you’re in High School or not in the TV you can socialise with other characters in the game this is called Social-Links where you can hang out with your friends or attend an after school club more you hang out with them your Persona's will become stronger. Not only that the story based around Persona 4 really does teach you about friendship in general and that this is more to life and having friends is something that you have to treasure. If you don't own a PlayStation 2 you can pick up Persona 4 the Golden on any platform including the PS4/PS5, Xbox One, Steam and Nintendo Switch.

2: Kingdom Hearts (2002)-

When I first heard of Kingdom Hearts it was mentioned in an article on how well it was selling in Japan, I think I did remember seeing a trailer for this somewhere after being shown at E3 2002. When I saw the images and gameplay, I was amazed at how awesome and seeing an idea a little similar to mine coming to life. I really wanted to get this game but didn't have a PS2 back then, but however when my sister got a PS2 for Christmas, I had to buy this game but the one problem was that it didn't come with a memory card. After waiting a few months finally had the money and bought the game. Most of my summer back in 2003 I spent most of my time playing Kingdom Hearts, I really liked the simplest story where Sora is stuck on an island and his two best friends Riku and Kairi want to get off the island and go on a real adventure. Meanwhile, in another world known as Disney Castle Mickey disappears and leaves a message warning Donald and Goofy that darkness is coming and must find the KEY. Which turned out to be Sora after seeing his world getting destroyed by the Heartless and his friends go missing, Sora, Donald and Goofy embark on an adventure and find out who's really behind all this. Most of the worlds that were mentioned in Kingdom Hearts were really impressive and look totally similar to the films we used to all watch as kids. I'll admit that were some really good moments and boss battles; as its story progressed and progressed it got even deeper, I start to realize that the more you follow the story you learn that deep down you'll always have friends that'll be with you.

3: Devil May Cry 3 (2005)-

First time I've heard about the series was when I was in college and one of my friends I knew was a huge Capcom fan when it came to games like Mega Man, Street Fighter and Devil May Cry. My friend highly recommended the Devil May Cry series after watching some gameplay footage while my friend was playing the game during break because the college I went to had a PS2 in the lounge; ended up playing Devil May Cry 3 to begin with and was my first I now the story goes from 3,1,4,5,2 I'm kind of glad I've gone through that direction because I can tell how Dante has changed the story is set several years before the events of the first Devil May Cry in an enchanted tower, the story centers of the dysfunctional relationship between Dante and his brother Virgil. Dante has opened an as-yet-unnamed demon-hunting agency and his demonic heritage has not yet reached its full potential. What made the game shine was how insane the difficulty had got when you were playing it from a higher level from Easy mode to Heaven or Hell mode, which was one hit and it's game over for you; was a hack-n-slash action adventure game with many weapons to use, memorable cutscenes where the overall game itself made you want to come back for more.

It still amazes that some of the best games I've played have all been on the PlayStation 2 over the past twenty five years not only being just a DVD player, backward compatible with PS1 games and a console that will be in everyone's hearts.

Do you have any favourite PS2 games in your collection?

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