The Weekend Playlist, 16th February

Greetings all. I do hope you’re enjoying your weekend. Our guest contributor this week is Neil McPhilips from Sony’s XDev Studio, who’s the associate producer of the eminently wonderful When Vikings Attack!, which saw a brand new DLC pack – When Vikings Relax! – land this week. Take a look at his post from earlier this week for more details – it’s a great expansion. So, without further ado, here are this week’s picks. As ever, please let us know what you’re consuming this weekend in the comments!

Fred Dutton, SCEE Blog Manager

What was the last video game you played?
I finally made a start on Ni No Kuni. As ever with JRPGs, it takes a good hour or so to actually get to the gameplay, but now that it’s finally got going, I’m very much enjoying it. Yes, even Drippy’s accent.

What was the last movie/TV show you watched?
Some mindless Netflix browsing last night led me to Headhunters – the film version of Jo Nesbo’s crime novel. Gripping stuff. I’m planning on getting stuck into the new season of Justified this weekend too.

What was the best book or article you read this week?
A wonderful Eurogamer interview with a guy who’s selling his staggering video game collection on eBay for half a million dollars. Required reading.

What tunes are soundtracking your weekend?
Been on a Springsteen kick this week. His great Nebraska record to be more precise, in keeping with the gloomy weather.

Jawad Ashraf, PlayStation Store Content Coordinator

What was the last video game you played?
No surprises here, it was Ni No Kuni. I think I’m on the final stretch in an area where one little critter (Tokotoko) nets me roughly 8000XP! I’ll spend some time here to level up. Poor Dragette. Whilst Oliver levels up two levels, Dragette doesn’t even manage one. *sigh* I’m sort of dreading getting the Tokotoko. I hear that one is a pain to level up!

What was the last movie/TV show you watched?
The Big Bang Theory. Sometimes I wonder why I still watch it… I suppose it provides a little amusement.

What was the best book or article you read this week?
I’ve a keen interest in figures and toys of franchises/characters I love and with Toy Fair going on there’s been some cool new reveals from Square Enix’ Play Arts Kai range! Metal Gear Rising’s Raiden will not only be in black and white, but red, blue AND yellow (which doesn’t exactly look yellow at all). It’s like Power Rangers! Hoping to nab the rarer colours if possible. Then there were new images of Kingdom Heart’s Sora and Riku in their Tron outfits. Oh and a samurai Batman! Swanky stuff. My bank balance will not be pleased though! :O

What tunes are soundtracking your weekend?
Sort of obsessed with the Metal Gear Rising soundtrack samples so I’ve had that on repeat. Looking forward to get the soundtrack in the post (and the game!) Pretty much the game I’m hyped about this quater (Ni No Kuni aside).

Chris Howe, PS Store and Plus Content Manager

What was the last video game you played?
It’s been a busy week so not much time for gaming but I’ve managed to get a few hours in on Sleeping Dogs. With a free weekend coming up I plan on getting a lot of time in on it!

What was the last movie/TV show you watched?
I saw Lawless last night – the true story of a family of illegal alcohol producers in Virginia in the 1920s. It’s an interesting watch with some old school violence thrown in for good measure.

What was the best book or article you read this week?
I guess like many, the awful Oscar Pistorius story has caught my eye this week, but it has also been really interesting reading all the comments in my PlayStation Plus IGC Blog. Keep them coming in!

What tunes are soundtracking your weekend?
I’m currently listening to a bit of Kings of Leon – hopefully that will get me in the mood for a good weekend.

Neil McPhilips, Associate Producer, XDev Studio

What was the last video game you played?
I just finished Far Cry 3 and loved every minute of it. It’s a game that effortlessly made it into my Platinum list too which is a rare thing for me these days. I love a game that lets you tackle situations your own way so discussing it with friends makes you feel like you’ve played a different game – “Oh, you released a tiger and let it do all the work for you? I got set on fire and fell off a bridge.” Great stuff.

What was the last movie/TV show you watched?
I just saw a live screening of The Room and Q&A with Tommy Wiseau. You really haven’t seen that movie until you’ve seen it live with a fist full of plastic spoons. A legendary train wreck of a film that’s always better with friends – look it up online if you haven’t heard of it.

What was the best book or article you read this week?
Nothing specific really but I have been reading a few articles about some of the talks that took place at DICE 13, specifically David Cage and Warren Spector talks about this generation of game creators evaluating what it is they want to create and what they want to leave behind as their legacy. Very interesting points of view that have sparked a lot of debate over what games are and what they can be.

What tunes are soundtracking your weekend?
We Are The Physics – Your Friend, The Atom. I just missed seeing these guys live in Manchester this week so I’m making do with their last album.