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While it's only been out for around a week now, I think it's safe to say that Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is one of animation studio Science Saru's best. Killer animation with great character designs, a soundtrack you can't help but jam to, and a star studded cast, it has it all. But there's another Netflix anime that really helped put the studio on the map, and one you really should check out if you haven't: Devilman Crybaby.

For those that haven't heard of it, Devilman Crybaby is based on the 70s manga titled just simply Devilman, by Go Nagai. It's a manga you should make yourself familiar with if you're a Neon Genesis Evangelion fan, as it was a huge influence on the 90s mecha show, both in its dramatic dark turns, as well as the potential queer elements of its main characters. Crybaby is an updated take on Devilman, bringing it forward to a modern day setting, and it is nothing short of astounding.

It centres on a teenager called Akira Fudo, the titular Devilman, himself fused with a demon granting him great powers and strength, all because of his close friend Ryu Asuka (yes, there is some romantic tension between them). Iconic anime director Masaaki Yuasa helmed the adaptation, his signature fluid art style on full display, one that works incredibly well for the at times quite out there demon designs. I should be absolutely clear that Devilman Crybaby is for a bit of an older audience than Scott Pilgrim Takes Off; there's a bit of nudity, a lot of violence, that kind of thing. But I think it's also the perfect next step for those who watched Scott Pilgrim Takes Off as adults that are revisiting something from their teen years.

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Let me start by saying this. When it comes to spending money, for better or worse, I generally adopt a similar attitude to Seinfeld’s George Costanza; each bit of loose change I surrender, or any little number decrease to any of my bank accounts, hurts me on a physical level.

Though, thanks to my genetics, I’m also a sucker for a good bargain, which makes Black Friday an interesting proposition. Sometimes I just see a deal I like and swear that, had I a decent wad of cash to spare, I’d overcome my frugal nature and snap them up.

Here are a few from this year’s sales that’ve had that effect.

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The Simpsons: Hit and Run is an integral part of many of our childhoods, and the creators of one of its most hilarious mods have recently celebrated their unhinged work’s first birthday by recording a full director’s commentary.

If you’re unfamiliar with ‘Hell Inspector's Mod of Stupidity’, I’m not quite sure I can sum it up while properly doing it justice, but here goes. Imagine taking the already rather wacky 2003 safe-for-kids GTA clone, and making it even stranger by adding a bunch of new missions to it that bring to life a tale involving an array of iconic characters from other shows and games.

That’s pretty much the formula for the mod, which was finally released by its main creator - the aptly-named Hell Inspector - this time last year and has now turned one. To commemorate the occasion, the modder has roped a couple of fellow modders, Nightbane and Tappie, into doing a full director’s commentary playthrough of the mod 12's missions.

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Recently, our friend and long time VG247 contributor Sherif Saed gave Pinnochio-themed soulslike Lies of P a bit of a pasting in his review. Our two star score prompted a lot of backlash from some quarters, and also a bit of internal discussion about the nature of opinion pieces. How reviews can sometimes be a flashpoint of controversy, and how scores don’t reflect any of the nuance that led the author to their conclusion. Personally, I’m always a bit baffled by the phenomenon of people who haven’t played a game kicking off online about the views of someone who has. As a wise man once said: “it’s only game, why you have to be mad?”

Anyway, I thought it would be funny to do an entire podcast episode on the question of other highly acclaimed games that Sherif would give two stars to. What sacred cow would he slayeth, given the task? To find out, you’ll have to watch or listen to this podcast here, via the methods handily listed below.

Special thanks to David Bulmer for performing "Jim's Theme".

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20 years ago this month, on a better timeline, Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness was released for PC and PlayStation 2, with the latter marking Lara Croft's next-gen debut.

Avid Tomb Raider fans — including my then 13-year-old self — rushed out, bought it, played it, and loved it. We praised its willingness to break away from the formula established by the first five games in the series by including daring new features like skill levelling, non-hostile areas where you could gather information and stock up from vendor NPCs, a second playable character, and a plot you could actually follow, all without sacrificing any of the shooty-shooty-puzzle-solvey goodness we'd come to expect from the series.

Unfortunately, we dwell on this timeline, where what actually happened is that Tomb Raider developers Core Design were instructed at short notice to pull forward the release date for Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness from its planned 2003 Christmas period launch slot to June of that year, cutting off the last four or five months of the anticipated development period. The result was a game that was, in many ways, deserving of the descriptor "unplayable".

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Black Friday may be all about spending money, but sometimes the best things in life are free, as this new Baldur's Gate 3 mod proves by allowing you to give one of the game’s iconic characters some equally iconic new shorts.

There are plenty of great BG3 mods out there that can help to ensure your party will look very fly as they take care of their little tadpole problem and get up to all kinds of other wacky hijinks. After all, what would you expect from the community that spent a good few months begging Larian to give them a magic mirror via which they could spend hours preening and pruning their Tav?

That said, the latest work of modder Sakusakus takes things to a whole new level. Dubbed ‘Art Thou Nasty’, it adds a pair of custom Renaissance/Medieval-style hotpants that have that very phrase emblazoned across their rump into the game as an equippable rare armour item.

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In time for Black Friday, EAFC 24 Thunderstruck players and Icons have dropped, offering a new upgradable set of special cards to add to your best teams. Including new Playstyle Plus abilities on popular meta players, there are tons of exciting cards like juiced up Vini Jr and Varane, as well as Quick Step Ronaldinho and Power Shot Cruyff.

There are now more than 40 Thunderstruck players and Icons now in EAFC 24. While the first drop included 24 from a host of top teams, more and more were added over the Black Friday weekend via packs, SBCs and Objectives.

Based on the real life performances of their current or past teams, each Thunderstruck item has the potential to get boosted ratings and extra Playstyles, so here’s how everything works.

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If you’ve yet to splash out on EAFC 24, now’s a great time to do so thanks to some killer Black Friday deals, which could see you save up to 50% of the game’s original release price.

Sure, if you’re one of the many frugal freddies who’ve opted to keep playing FIFA 23, FIFA 22, or an even older entry in the series, rather than opting to upgrade to the latest instalment of EA’s annually-released footy sim, you’ve probably been feeling pretty ok about that decision. Though, once you’ve seen how much both physical and digital editions of the game’s standard edition, which was priced at £69.99 on release in September, are currently going for, you might change your mind.

For example, if you’re looking for a physical copy of EA Sports FC 24 on PS5 or Xbox Series X, several UK retailers including Currys (you’ll want to head here and here), Amazon (you’ll want to head here and here), and Smyths (you’ll want to head here and here), are currently selling them for just £41.99. You can also add Very to that list, with its PS5 and Series X copies being found here and here.

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