Jump to content
NEurope

Julius

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content count

    8,263

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    182

Posts posted by Julius

  1. Posted

    13 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

    Majors done a fantastic part of being the antagonist

    Helps when there's no acting involved :laughing:

    13 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

    the final boxing fight was really well done.

    It really was. Michael B. Jordan directed this one and he's talked about being a fan of anime before - for this particular fight he said he wanted to convey similar emotions and energy to an anime fight, and I think it really shows! Definitely feels unique in the world of fighting films. 

    14 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

    Training montage was a bit weak though which was a shame as I always love watching them. 

    Aye, peaked with the first film for me and it feels like they've been trying to claw back to that greatness ever since. 

    Still a banger of a track for it, mind :D

    15 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

    When Harry Met Sally

    e4c073ca-13fa-425b-863c-a2d4d18a89d4_tex

    Love that film :laughing: real shame Rom-Coms have generally gone the way of the dodo or are straight-to-subscription service schlock, it's most of what my parents brought me up on :cry:

    • Like 1

  2. Posted · Edited by Julius

    Finally getting some more concrete news on next year's animated film which will mark the debut of Avatar Studios: starring Eric Nam and Dave Bautista, with the work-in-progress title of Aang: The Last Airbender. 

    Quote

    Dave Bautista and Eric Nam are set to headline the voice cast for the upcoming “Avatar: The Last Airbender” movie in development at Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Studios. The film’s working title is “Aang: The Last Airbender.” The news was announced during Paramount’s slate presentation at CinemaCon.

    Joining Bautista and Nam in the voice cast are Dionne Quan, Jessica Matten and Roman Zaragoza. Plot details for the film remain under wraps. Bautista will voice a villain character. The new “Avatar” animated film is set for release on Oct. 10, 2025 from Paramount.

    The studios announced in June 2022 that three standalone “Avatar” animated films were in development. The 2025 film was the first to get a release date. Lauren Montgomery, who worked on the original “Avatar: The Last Airbender” series, is directing the project, with original series creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko executive producing alongside Eric Coleman. William Mata is co-directing. 

    Bautista did some voice work in Ghibli's the Boy and The Heron recently, and I think he'll make a stellar villain, so I'm looking forward to hearing that. Bit of a shame they seem keen to move on from the original cast in most cases (I imagine apart from Zuko?), but I know some have retired and others have expressed interested in those of backgrounds closer to their characters getting the nod over them (heard this for both Korra and Katara), so it's hard to complain; excited to see how it turns out nonetheless :peace:

    • Thanks 1

  5. Posted · Edited by Julius

    Wrecking Crew '98, Amazing Hebereke, and SUPER R-TYPE are landing on the service...today! 

    Quote

    Today, players with a Nintendo Switch Online membership can swing a hammer with Mario, blast through space in the advanced R-9 ship and revel in cute chaos with friends when Super Famicom™ system games Wrecking Crew '98™ and Amazing Hebereke", and Super NES™ title SUPER R-TYPE™ join the Super Nintendo Entertainment System™ Nintendo Switch Online library.

    :peace:

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 4

  6. Posted · Edited by Julius

    Headed over to the Birmingham Gaming Market last Saturday and had a pretty good time (albeit a bit of a sardine-like experience). 

    Going in, I'd done my research on retro games I wanted to get around to picking up a while ago, but I had a few priority items on my mind for this event:

    • Silent Hill 2 - one of the horror games I want to get around to this year, in its original form rather than the remake. 
    • Armored Core games - I adored VI, so I'll be picking up most if not all of these as time goes on, I'm sure! 
    • Suikoden V - the only mainline Suikoden I don't own in some form or another. 

    I also said I wouldn't be picking up any JP copies of games. My main tactic with our early access tickets was to take a quick nose around at high list items on racks/shelves closer to the vendor the first go around and then I'd dig into things truly on subsequent loops. 

    GK40Jt0WUAAjFNS?format=jpg&name=large

    So first game picked up was Armored Core: Silent Line, which I picked up on my first go around the place and spotted out of the corner of my eyes from several stalls away :D chuffed to pick up an Armored Core game, and this one went for £40, which is roughly how much it goes for elsewhere, too. The same vendor also had a PAL copy of Nine Breaker, too, but I didn't pick this up for two reasons: firstly, from my research it seems pretty universally loathed and rated as the weakest entry in the series, and secondly - and perhaps most importantly - it was going for £140. I was tempted (mainly because I know it'll probably go up in price by the time I get to it in the future), but kept my wits about me; I thought it was gone by our third go around which would've made it easier on me, but it had just moved shelf, and I'm glad I didn't pick it up then either. 

    On my second loop I picked up Spider-Man 3 (specifically on PS3) and LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, two items high on my PS3 wishlist, from the same vendor. While I've seen them around, I was watching out for copies iin nicer condition - and these would do! They were £18 and £5, respectively. 

    And then...there just weren't any of my other priority items around. I did spot copies of Armored Core V and Verdict Day from a mile off, too, but unfortunately these were JP copies and so I wouldn't be able to play them (they were also £55 and £65, respectively, so not cheap for shelf-fillers). 

    Wanting to make more out of the day and use some more of my budget, I lifted my rule on not picking up any JP titles, and headed back to the same stall (Sore Thumb from up in York) I got Silent Line from with one particular game in mind that I'd spotted on my first pass through...

    GK40JymWkAMF06p?format=jpg&name=large

    Chrono Trigger. Yes, I own it on DS physically and on Steam digitally, but I'd spotted a Japanese SNES copy a while back in great condition which had been put aside for someone at my local retro games store, and well, a JP PS1 copy of the game would take up less space and still looks quite nice, so why not? That set me back £25. I then also picked up Hunter x Hunter: Ubawareta Aura Stone (The Stolen Aura Stone) for just £10, a game I'd heard a little about and picked up because, well, Hunter x Hunter :p 

    Which brings me onto my favourite pick-ups of the day, two games I'd actually been thinking of importing before I treated myself to their English ROMs...

    GK40J1MWAAAQo5F?format=jpg&name=large

    Suikogaiden Volume 1: Swordsman of Harmonia AND Suikogaiden Volume 2: Duel at Crystal Valley. These are spin-off titles to the Suikoden series which are actually text and picture-based adventures more along the lines of a visual novel, the first being set during the events of Suikoden II and the second being set following the events of Suikoden II, incorporating save transfers for character cameos or your player character name from II, and the games also introduce you to Nash, who I know turns up in III; notably, these never made it out of Japan. These are part of the 'Konami: The Best' line (even came with the spine sleeves, which I've popped into their respective cases), and though I was thinking of importing standard copies, getting to pick these up at a gaming market when I recognised their font while flicking through boxes felt special, and so I was happy to make an exception here. Definitely my favourite pick-ups of the day, big fan of the box art. These were £15 each. 

    Overall, I was a bit let down in terms of finding priority items from my retro games list here - I thought Suikoden V was a bit of a long shot, but I watched footage of last year's event and there were 5+ copies of Silent Hill 2 floating around back at that event, and a good few more Armored Core titles, too. I "only" ended up spending £128 of the £300 budget I'd set myself for the event in the end, and half of that was from JP copies of games I didn't go in expecting to buy, but picked up to salvage the day for me a bit in terms of pick-ups. 

    Cool for a first gaming market experience, but I honestly thought my pick-ups at Comic Con a few months ago felt more special (maybe free of the pressure of not being a gaming market), and I do wish they'd have some sort of traffic system in place with arrows on the floor rather than having it be a bit of a free-for all. No doubt I'll be hunting down my priority items in the coming months online, and I'll be looking forward to whatever gaming market I end up at next! 

    • Like 5
    • Thanks 1

  7. Posted

    2 hours ago, Dcubed said:

    "you're watching the Triple-i initiative".  Yes, I know that.  Thank you.

    While I agree, I do think it was the right move for their first show, purely to get it stuck in your head. "Triple-i" as a corner of the industry isn't really discussed all that casually I find, and it's not being run by one of the big dogs or Geoff, so I think they were right to try to basically push awareness of the show on us for future reference. I know I certainly won't be like "what was that show earlier this year again, 'Quadruple-B Irrigation'?" later this year when we're waiting for shows to pop up, it'll be "'Triple-i' was super solid, really hope they turn up with another show!" :laughing:

    Now, that being said, if they mention it more than an average of once every 15 minutes in their next show, then I'm going to change my tune, and they certainly can't return next time saying it nearly as many times as they did this time around. 

    I do also wish they'd just take an extra beat for some of the release dates, some flashed up on-screen and we'd moved on a bit too fast for my liking. 

  8. Posted · Edited by Julius

    Thought that was a really solid show with some great reveals, though the pacing was a bit too breakneck to endure the full 45 minutes. I think you can cap out at 25 minutes top going at that speed, but it's the first showcase I remember watching where the problem was it being too fast rather than far too slow. 

    Some really fun transitions between games, though, like "only a few more rogue-lites (promise)" or my personal favourite: 

    mnYVAKm.png

    Also that time a game being introduced as "from the Never Alone community, a whole new story" turning out to just straight up be Never Alone 2 :laughing:

    Highlights of the show for me were Shadows of Doubt finally coming to consoles and WHAT THE CAR? just looks like good, dumb fun (also loved how obviously it was from the developers of WHAT THE GOLF? :p)

    Hopefully they turn back up later this year, would love to see them turn up again this summer! 

  9. Posted

    Guess Ubisoft really want Prince of Persia to stick around all of a sudden, huh? 

    Quote

    Evil Empire revealed their very first game today, after nearly 5 years of working on post-launch content for Dead Cells. The Roque Prince of Persia is their indie take on the iconic video game and will be launching into Early Access on Steam on May 14th 2024. In this action-platformer roguelite, players will take on the role of the titular Prince and flow between death-defying platforming and acrobatic combat as they battle through the capital city again and again with one goal finda way to save Persia from a Hun invasion wielding dark magic.

     

  12. Posted

    @drahkon !!! 

    Quote

    Civilization has waited 1,000 years for the Spire to reopen its doors...

    Return to the Spire and face friends and foes in Slay the Spire 2.

    More details to be revealed before launching to Steam Early Access during 2025.

    I'm sure it'll come to the Switch successor eventually, but for now, it's over here :p

    • Like 1

  15. Posted · Edited by Julius

    First full trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux

    Half expected for the trailer to break out into Wonka's Pure Imagination based on those early piano keys :laughing: that last shot with the glass is wonderful, reminded me a bit of the Joker teaser poster for The Dark Knight. 

    Not really sure where I stand on the first film to be honest, so might need to give it a re-watch before this releases. Joaquin felt the right call for the Oscar (probably a bit overdue tbh) as he gave a great performance, but the film in general I wasn't a huge fan of, especially with how much it aped off Scorsese; lovingly or not, it just didn't sit right with me. Also felt like it leaned into and gave a few toxic corners of the internet a bit too much to fester on. 

    Very curious to see which direction the musical aspect of this film takes, if it's just one song or a good few, because I mean, you don't hire Lady Gaga as Harley to not have her sing a couple of times, right? 

  16. Posted · Edited by Julius

    It's trailer time: 

    August 30th confirmed :bouncy:

    3 days of early access via the premium editions is kind of gross, but I'm totally considering it :p

    Game Informer's next issue will also focus on the game: 

     

    • Thanks 1

  17. Posted

    5 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

     

    Nice to know that water is still wet, because Ubisoft still leaks :laughing:

    End of August just feels perfect for this, got a Star Wars-packed summer ahead! Might need to check myself but it feels like the most stuff we've had come out in a relatively tight window in a while. It's tough to imagine it getting delayed seeing as it already was internally, and because they've got an Assassin's Creed they won't want this thing too close to. 

    That thumbnail has me hyped! Also seen that the rest of the translation mentions ship customisation (not expecting anything beyond colours like we got in Fallen Order, will happily be wrong though) and a season pass, curious to see what that's about. 

    Between this and an Assassin's Creed set in Japan to tide me over until the Ghost of Tsushima sequel, it's looking to be the year I lift my self-imposed Ubisoft boycott :blank:

  18. Posted

    Ronaldo has seriously gone off the deep end over in Saudi, getting a red tonight:

    He's looking more and more like Daniel Plainview from the end of There Will Be Blood (if you've seen the film you'll know this isn't a compliment). 

    Disgraceful. Dude refuses to go peacefully into the night and it feels like he's actively tarnishing his career these days. 

    • Like 1

  19. Posted · Edited by Julius

    1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

    I hate it when I get like that. Usually I end up just sacking gaming off for a day or two and then come back to it a little more focused and refreshed.

    Yeah, that's normally what I do too, take a short break (couple of days, sometimes a week), swap up genres or game lengths and then I normally get back in the groove; been through that cycle a few times already the last few weeks. This particular rut has followed me since I shelved Rebirth, longest one I've had in a good while. 

    I think getting through the Battlefront Collection last month was honestly purely down to muscle memory, I just don't seem to be clicking with a lot of new(-to-me) games at the moment. I know I'll get back to the ones I've shelved for now, and it's not like I was too far into any of them to the point I'd be against starting over, which I much prefer to jumping in mid-game months removed and completely at a loss :laughing:

    Ah well, as far as problems go it's not a terrible to have, if I can even call it that ::shrug: in the meantime I've been in a film-watching mood so I've got through a chunk of new films over the last month. Not counting online sessions with friends, my session with BG3 last night was the longest I've had with a story-focused game since I replayed Part II, though, so that feels like a good omen :D 

    Fingers crossed, eh? 

  20. Posted · Edited by Julius

    My gaming rut knows no bounds because not that deep into Chapter 2 of Lost Judgment, it's been shelved (for now). Always a bit frustrating when I find myself scrambling around to try to find a game I'll gel with like this, just bouncing off every game I start up at the moment. 

    So I'm starting a solo playthrough of BG3 from scratch :p this is my Lolth-Sworn (typically red-eyed, underground elf folk) Paladin of Vengeance (think Batman and the sense of fairly absolute definitions of judgement and justice) Drow: Tafr'aq. 

    GKogQnnWAAAY995?format=jpg&name=large

    His name is based on the Arabic term tafrakh, or 'spawn', which relates to me choosing to do a Dark Urge origin playthrough this time around...and that's all I'll say about that.

    And here's his Guardian:

    GKogQrCXgAAehD4?format=jpg&name=large

    Already knowing a fair chunk of the story from my time with it in the co-op campaign, I decided to go with DU this time to mix things up a bit and see what violent tendencies are thrown into the mix (for those unaware this run basically has an evil in your head which bypasses some rolls and decisions, and so you can either fight against or go along with the urges you get). I also know it's the run with the most tie-ins to the older BG entries (which I watched a summary on before diving into BG3 last year), and there was something really appealing to me about the idea of doling out this sense of justice as a Vengeance Paladin and smiting down evil, when that same evil I'm seeking out is also stuck up in my own head and making me commit atrocities out of my own control. I have a general idea of where I want to take this playthrough, fully expect my Oath to be broken, and have some aesthetic tweaks planned as the story goes on relating to Tafr'aq's eyes and hair; I'm basically viewing this run as an Anakin Skywalker-style fallen (or falling) hero, which suits the three act structure of the game perfectly. 

    I think the main reason I want to get through this solo playthrough is to get a better idea of where I land on the game; as I said before, much as I enjoyed it with friends, the story itself didn't get a chance to shine and neither did the NPCs or our relationships with them, and that's why the ending ultimately felt a bit flat in that run. One of my friends has only played it through from start to end in our co-op playthrough and has declared it his favourite game of all-time, and while I respect his decision to come to that opinion, I'm a bit shocked he would say that based purely on our co-op sessions and not after completing a solo run, given that so many of our issues with it seem like they could be ironed out on a solo playthrough. And others which will shockingly stick around. I guess that's where our opinions split on the matter, but it's rare that I complete a game without seeing everything it has to offer or in perhaps the best way before declaring it one of my favourite, let alone of all-time! 

    I probably won't go too in-depth on my playthrough here (maybe updates on an act-by-act basis and any interesting or funny business I came across), but it's already feeling very different controlling four characters as opposed to just the one, and it's interesting that I can break my Oath by, for example, freeing a prisoner, yet let someone else in my party do the same and my Oath sticks :laughing: won't be going out of my way to save scum but will definitely be keeping a number of quick save files to hand in case my Oath breaks before I want it to. 

    As a last aside, talking about save files: the saves in this game are fairly big, which makes the options of 'Delete Campaign' to save going through all of your auto- and quick saves very welcome, and 'Delete all but last save' (or something to that effect) being great for a quick clean-up job! 

    On 4/6/2024 at 3:25 AM, Glen-i said:

    Anyway, a bit late, but the fact that Larian have decided to not continue to work with Hasbro, while totally well within their right (And more power to them), does leave me with concerns that a hypothetical Switch 2 port may be a pipe dream now...

    I really wanna play this game, but it's not the kind of game where I can just play it intermittently on my cousin's PC...

    With or without Larian, I will be shocked if BG3 doesn't end up on the Switch's successor. It's simply too much money to leave on the table for both Hasbro and Larian. 

    On the side of Larian sticking around for a port, there being no DLC(s), expansion(s), or BG4 in the works means that they could just be working on a straight up port already (as opposed to waiting to release a definitive edition in 4 or 5 years if they were working on DLCs/expansions). If the game does come to the Switch's successor I also think Larian would want to support it because they know that it's their name on the game, and their support on PC and consoles - despite some hiccups - has been spot on, with hotfixes constantly in the works, major updates post-launch such as the epilogue being added, etc. 

    On the other hand, it's Hasbro. I wouldn't be shocked if they lacked the foresight to tie Larian down to a Switch 2 port once the Stadia release plans got thrown out the window, and if Larian are planning to move on, given how they've treated staff that have worked on the game at WotC and in other areas of their licensing, they have very little to bargain with here I feel. The cheaper option will seem like the smarter option to them and so I think you'd still get a BG3 port, it'll just be a third-party, and more prone to bugs as a result. 

    It really could go either way -- I think what we'll ultimately see is a middle ground where some third-party teams up with Larian for the main port effort and then they're overseen by Larian post-launch when implementing fixes, but seeing as there'll be nothing major being added, I think the overwhelming majority of the footwork should be put in before a potential launch so the game can flourish without the need to be patched, like how the physical PS5 and Xbox Series release includes waves of updates already on-disc. 

    We'll of course need to wait and see, but I think BG3 on a Switch successor does 5+ million in unit sales easy, probably 10+ if the thing can get close to Switch console sales numbers. 

  22. Posted · Edited by Julius

    Just finished the 4-player campaign with my friends after 104 ½ hours. It was an overwhelmingly great time, I've got issues with the dialogue and chaos of loot with so many of us so the true highlight was combat; we're pondering a second playthrough and might seek out other games like this in the future for our weekly gaming sessions (DoS II in the future, perhaps?). Really enjoyed it and I'm definitely considering giving the game a run through solo at some point. 

    HOWEVER, without spoiling anything major about the game, I kind of want to warn people against playing the game in 4-player co-op, at least for a first playthrough like it was for us. For the ENTIRETY of the game all 4 members of our party - our 4 created characters - were present in all major cutscenes, even if one was front and centre and considered the "face" of the party for a particular cutscenes, everyone was shown in the background as you'd expect.

    And this was the case...all the way through to the finale and epilogue, where it decided to focus in on only one party character, and the three other created characters weren't present. What's more? Lengthy farewells and hurrahs are had for the NPC party members who had been left behind at camp the entirety of our playthrough. The epilogue is ENTIRELY redundant in a multiplayer playthrough like ours where the party is filled with players because the focus is purely on said NPCs. 

    Again, a great time overall and this wasn't an issue for 99.9% of the playthrough, but to sell the premise of 4-player co-op campaigns so hard and then just miss so entirely on how that's managed with the ending and epilogue feels like a huge fumble. I can't speak to the ending from a solo perspective - I could guess at the issues I'd have based on what we experienced, though - but this really put a damper on the game for me as a way of rounding it off. 

    It's genuinely brought into question whether we even want to do a second playthrough, which is crazy but just shows how much of a letdown it was with how it was - or rather, wasn't - handled. Very disappointed for our multiplayer campaign that ended in such a way :(

    • Like 1

  24. Posted

    8 hours ago, killthenet said:

    @Julius The Belgium away kit is a tribute to Tintin, it's supposed to echo his iconic outfit - I think it looks pretty cool!

    I saw that it was a tribute but...I just can't get behind brown shorts. I really can't. It just looks like a kit a little kid draws up because they're out of crayons in nursery to me. 

    I respect your right to an opinion, and obviously it's subjective, but also: 

    3rd-rock-from-the-sun-john-lithgow.gif

    :p

    41 minutes ago, bob said:
    8 hours ago, killthenet said:
    [mention=20895]Julius[/mention] The Belgium away kit is a tribute to Tintin, it's supposed to echo his iconic outfit - I think it looks pretty cool!

    It probably would look cool if the Tintin brown trousers colour didn't make it look like Lukaku was running around like Donald Duck.

    True, but also, I don't think anyone else is doing a particularly good job of showing it off either! 

    GJn610fXYAAdg2a?format=jpg&name=4096x409

    w640xh480_GettyImages-2117498486.jpg?ts=

    England-vs-Belgium-highlights.jpg?fit=60

  25. Posted

    Great win for the mighty mid-table Chelsea tonight....goodness do I hate so much of what Boehly's done since coming in. Nice to get a result against United at least. 

    Anyways, flicking through the old Euros 2020(/21) posts in anticipation of this year's competition just being two months away (!). Given my early excitement and just how great the last Euros and recent World Cup both were (from a footballing POV because, well, the ethical side left much to be desired), expect this one to be painstakingly average :p

    Way more importantly: have you guys seen the kits for the nations taking part this year, which were worn in the most recent international friendlies? Those are some of the most disgusting tournament kits I've ever seen. Belgium's Away Kit needs to be tried at The Hague for crimes against my eyes. 

    Belgium%20Euro%202024%20Away%20Kit.jpg

    The only thing that makes all of it worse is that news a little while back that Nike's taking over as kit producer for Germany. Groß. 

    (yes that's a stupid 'gross' joke, bite me)

×