Sméagol

It was really excellent. Maybe I'll post more specific stuff later on. Generally I loved the story, but especially the world building. The introduction of Black Panther in Civil War (which was already excellently handled there) payed off. Combined with the ample but welcome exposition in this film, we got a good picture of Wakanda. Unlike some other films where introductions may feel rushed, this film had a great balance between exposition, character building, and action. The whole feel is also pretty different from other Marvel films, with a weird blend of typical tribal African culture, spiritual stuff, and sci-fi, and some "real-world" stuff (including a nice little detour to South-Korea). There's even less focus on the typical Marvel humour, though it's still there. Weirdly enough, this also seems to be balanced well. The cast is fucking great. Every single one of them. And the characters they play. They can all be both endearing, and badass. The Wakanda people almost feel like a complete family which is why the film and its chacacters feels so endearing at times. The sympathy even extends to the "bad guy" this time, who is set-up much better than most, if not all previous villains, and actually has a reason to be bad. Special mention of Shuri, I didn't know much about the film beforehand actually, though I read somewhere she was great, and she is in fact, utterly adorable. She's the girl from the last Black Mirror episode. Martin Freeman is also cool as always, but he's also the only one to stand out. Perhaps "genuine" is the best word to describe the film. The little details, everything to make a fictional African culture, like the way they dance during the ritual combat, it really feels like it's done with love by anyone involved. It feels real, you really buy it. Every complaint I may have are nitpicks, not worth mentioning. Except I find it funny the adorable Shuri seems to be responsible for everything scientific in the film. But whatever, she's adorable. Alright, 2 specific things: I like how they use spears to solve problems, and my favourite scene is maybe As for the credit scenes, I didn't know what they were, but It didn't the deserve the lack of hype beforehand (that's how I felt anyway), it does deserve the hype which it now slowly seems to be getting. It's an excellent last Marvel film before all hell breaks loose in Infinity War.

And the first time a lot of them are already dead.

Not sure if I'll be getting that, since I can just play it on my Wii, but I'll definitely get the rumoured sequel. And perhaps the 2nd game, as I never got that one.

Yeah, the end to the Klingon war was disappointing. That said, I loved the "epilogue" part of the episode. And I liked the season overall. Can't wait to see who the additions to the cast will be. At the very least, there seems to be a new captain, though Saru should be perfect for that position. But I'd also like to see more of the other crewmembers. That's so far my only complaint about the show, especially compared to other Star Trek shows. The previous Star Trek shows were always ensemble shows. With most crewmembers getting a chance to shine, but in Discovery, the focus was only on a few.

It's a good thing you can bring your Switch with you then!

On the contrary, I think it is. Despite the controls, Doom was a very enjoyable experience for me, since "not being able to aim" rarely felt like a handicap, in single player and on normal difficulty. For a few reasons. The most important reason is that Doom, in contrast to the average FPS game, puts a huge emphasis on movement. It's as much a platformer as it is an FPS game. In fact, I'd say movement is much more important than being able to aim. This a things it has in common with the Metroid Prime games. While the default controls were shit for aiming for someone like me, they were excellent for movement. The problem comes when enemies come into play. In Doom, the average enemy gets bigger and bigger, and behave more predictable. A lot of enemies like to get in your face, which ironically, is usually where you want them. And the bigger they are, the bigger a target they become, which obviously helps when you can't aim. And lastly: melee attacks. Why shoot when you can simply crack some skulls open. I almost never used guns on imps and most zombies, and even hell razers and possessed soldiers were often beaten to death, depending on the circumstances. In the Metroid Prime games, while it obviously has its share of huge enemies, the average enemy you will encounter remains small, there are more enemies compared to Doom that like to stay at a distance and shoot you, and more of them are airborn. In other words, being able to aim is more important in Metroid Prime than it is in Doom. And you can't punch something in an emergency. The only difference to its benefit, and maybe its only saving grace, is the lock on feature. With motion controls, I wouldn't be needing it, with dual stick controls, I can't imagine being able to play the game without it. @dwarf, I don't see why single stick is seen as limiting. While I love (well implemented) motion controls, mouse and keyboard remains superior. I have never felt the need for analogue movement. There are only 4 directions I want to move in, and only at 2 speeds at most. And in Doom in particular there's never even a reason to walk. I tried using left-handed controls in Doom, but this isn't the same as N64 controls (plus it has its own quirks). My right thumb just isn't trained for delicate stick control, and never will be. I don't want to and simply can't use the right stick for anything more involving than camera movement. This is also why I'm most likely not getting Wolfenstein for Switch, despite having enjoyed Doom. Wolfenstein is not a platformer.

Yeah, global warming put an end to that.

Yeah, no "traditional dual stick" controls for me please. Doom has confirmed for me I can't use them. Motion controls, Gamecube controls, or N64 style FPS controls.

How bizarre. We call ours a Sméagol. What's bizarre is I'm never drunk, but can't drive for shit anyway. Never let me drive you is what I'm saying.

I'm a high-functioning alcoholic. Are you great at driving under influence as well? Fun fact: A designated driver is called a "Bob" in Dutch.

You don't sound drunk at all.

In my opinion one of the cooler ones, and one you get from a sidequest rather than a random core.

Oh and this is late, but, for those who haven't seen it:

I'll dedifinitely be online tonight (unless no one else is), but not sure what time. Probably around 22:00 CET / 21:00 UK.

Couldn't wait until March?

I do miss it, but I have no desire to read a bunch of books about it.

Was it a mess? I thought it was cancelled for being Star Wars. Anyway, I have no strong feelings one way or another about Bandai or Namco doing Metroid Prime 4 yet, I'll just wait and see if this new team can deliver.

I think I'll do some Googling too.

I don't really see the point of a new game plus honestly. Once I get back to the game, I'll finish the remaining sidequests, and collect the final blades, and defeat those supermonsters, all in the same playthough. Unless the game features slightly altered story content to reflect all the weird additions, speaking of which,

Looking forward to Black Lightning Dynamite Panther next week.

I'd like to get some games going tonight, but not sure if I have the time. I haven't played in a while, and I need to check out the new map. At the very least, we should talk about the upcoming Splatfest.. Like always, I'll try to be online Saturday evening, but no guarantees. For the first time since cake vs icecream, I'm with Marina on this one. I like pickles / gherkins on my hamburger. Though I also like them without. I like them in various configurations. But I like them so I'm going to vote in favour.

No.

So they basically devalued my gold coins before I got to even use them. I've bought as many games as I could, both digital and physical, and I'm not even able to buy an average indie game from the E-shop. They should increase the discount, not the number of coins you get!

I don't like how this has such a complicated relation to the MCU. I mean, get it over with, and decide whether it's fully part of the MCU or not. I think I read Tom Holland may show up, but if he does, I don't know what to think of that. If they do make it part of the MCU, It could be a win-win. It seems he's a bit of an anti-hero in this one, he could a full antagonist for a Spider-man film, one who had a whole film dedicated to him, and therefore has an actual backstory. He could be the best MCU villain to date. Anyway, I like the character (I think, I miraculously have actually never seen him in action), I love Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams, I'll go see it anyway. I'd like to see Sony dance around the MCU.

Does anyone have an opinion on that Kakegurui that's on Netflix? I've got the feeling it's popular, though it doesn't seem like something I'd like.