Julius

LEGO Star Wars using the music from the last trailer for The Rise of Skywalker has got me so hyped. Trailer of the show for me so far. I am so in.

Yep, caught myself drifting off for a moment there. I mean, what was with that WoW: Shadowlands animated short? It was so long! Not very well paced at all at the moment. Hopefully the Ratchet demo turns up soon...

Oh this sucks. Been a while since I watched Soccer Saturday, the chaos of that 2011/12 was definitely the most I tuned in. Not very happy reading through what the reasoning might be, if there's any truth to it. I am absolutely all for diversifying on-screen personalities, but this doesn't mean you should just sack your current personalities, especially when they're as experienced and well-received as Le Tissier, Nicholas and Thompson. Unfortunately this seems to be becoming more commonplace across all industries. Again, diversity is great, but it shouldn't be the first thing considered in these situations.

Most annoying thing I've heard about all of this was on Sky Sports while flicking through channels, something to the effect of "if United can't afford Sancho, then of course they can't afford Messi!" Of course Manchester United can afford Messi, and of course they can afford Sancho! The higher-ups just think that other clubs should polish their shoes for them and aren't in the slightest way respectful: I think they think Dortmund is still a smaller club than United (in worldwide appeal/fanbase size? Sure. In terms of what happens on the pitch? Haven't been for years) and should think it's some kind of honour to sell a player to United, and should sell lower than their asking price - even though they have more than enough money to bring Sancho over at the asking price, which in my opinion was totally fair. Utterly ridiculous. On the flip side, Chelsea have been doing some wonderful business, our best summer in a long time: Werner and Ziyech before the window started, Chilwell confirmed and Thiago Silva all but, and Havertz and Sarr seemingly on the way too. Just need a goalkeeper too now and we're set. I know Abramovich loves Messi, but I think our great transfer business this summer actually puts us out of the running, and honestly, while I'd love to see it, I don't think he'd suit our system or our long-term plans.

Figured as this is going to be the final hurrah for the COVID-19-induced Summer of Gaming, it warranted it's own thread for the main show - which is tonight! Kyle Bosman will also be hosting a pre-show which starts half an hour before the main event. So, how's everyone feeling going into Gamescom? Maybe it's just me but my expectations feel tempered by still not knowing much about the next gen consoles, and I'm not expecting many Japanese games to turn up here, what with Tokyo Game Show's digital event next month and the potential for another PlayStation event prior to/at launch. I'm expecting the already announced big boys like Call of Duty, fully expecting EA to show up in some capacity with a remaster or an EA Sports demo drop, and a slow of AA games. Think it will be a great time nonetheless! Oh, and obligatory Gamescom tune (skip to 08:19 in the event the link is broken):

Pre-order registration has just gone up in the US... Apparently PS+ members are getting free shipping, and it makes sense that Sony might want to cut out the middle man to some extent to help avoid scalpers...or perhaps more accurately, just get the box in the hands of their fans. Some FAQ stuff for pre-orders directly through Sony: SOON™. But seriously, surely it has to be in the next week or two with this out there now, right? RIGHT?!

SEGA have announced the end of the SEGA Ages initiative (linked article in Japanese). This means that Herzog Zwei will be the final SEGA Ages release. The article goes on to say that there are more M2 games which they wish to re-release in the future, and SEGA's own Rieko Doama and Kagasei Shimomura are already working hard on their next project, though it's not clear if that will be related.

Oh, it's great to see Square Enix finally bring the Final Fantasy Legend games to the Switch. Absolutely everyone's been asking for them. No other Final Fantasy games we want re-released. A very tone deaf Partners Showcase, seems about right at the moment and I can see them cashing in some marketing cheques right now. Jokes aside and in all honesty though, when do people expect the next actual Direct - not Pokémon, and not a Mini (or apparently much worse: a Mini Partners Showcase) - to land? Because, if I'm remembering right, we haven't had one since the start of September last year when Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition was announced, have we?

I'm sure everyone's aware of it by now, but there's been a lot of chatter since Barca got humiliated in the UCL by Bayern about where Messi's future lies, and it has only picked up in the last few days with more and more reputable transfer sources indicating that Messi could well be leaving Barcelona, mainly down to the handling of the club by club president Bartomeu, including talk about the termination of player's contracts by Koeman who wants to cut the team of players past their sell-by date, such as Suarez (you know, one of his close friends and a club legend). And a flurry of activity earlier this evening has brought talk of a transfer up to eleven. Yeah, that's the President of the Generalitat de Catalunya effectively saying goodbye. And others which go into similar things. Basically, it seems Messi has had enough of the board, half of whom have apparently already resigned as a result of this. Whether Messi genuinely is making a motion to exit the club or is effectively spearheading a coup d'etat in which this board - which has caused many issues for the team and has been at the centre of their internal strife for the better half of a decade now - is ousted I'm sure will become clear in the next few days. Worth noting that Bartomeu only has one season left as club president and will not be allowed to run again during next year's elections, so if this is all true, the only thing standing between Messi staying at Barcelona is his pride and a few million euros (this would be required to "balance the books" for the tenure of the current administration if required, as his stepping down as club president would be voluntary and he and his administration would not be allowed to leave the club in a financially worse state). For those curious about the release clause and the contract situation being discussed, Messi reportedly has a symbolic release clause of €700 million - Ronaldo had a similar one in his time at Real Madrid of €1 billion. Messi also reportedly has a clause in his contract which can see him walk away from the club for free at the end of a season, which is what he and his team are apparently trying to see sustained here: they are arguing that the contract hinges on the season being complete, and the extension of the season due to COVID-19 until August means that, in their eyes, this should still stand - and they are reportedly ready to take it to court to have it upheld. Barca are reportedly not willing to let him go for free (understandably) and are saying that the season ends by the start of June and so this is no longer an option, but would be willing to accept a world record fee in the realm of €300 million. Realistically, I think if he does leave, it's only realistically a race between City and PSG: both clubs are among the few that can afford him, have enticing projects well underway to get to the peak of Europe and win the UCL, and have Messi's friends playing for them (Aguero and Messi are extremely close, being the godfathers to each other's sons; and though Neymar left Barca apparently trying to escape Messi's shadow, last summer's transfer saga with him wanting to return to Messi's side at Barca shows that if this was an ever issue, it might not be anymore). City might have the slight edge, as Messi would be reuniting with Pep and one of his coaches from La Masia in the process (who is now an assistant at City, if I recall correctly), ex-Barca personnel in high positions such as Txiki, as well as walking into a system which is not too dissimilar to what Pep left Barca with back in 2012, and suits his playing style, not to mention the strength and depth of this squad too. PSG could be enticing I imagine as it would mean reuniting with Neymar and forming a trio arguably more potent than MSN when linked up with Mbappé too, but that team is in desperate need of an overhaul as is, and seems to have only just found it's footing and direction - on the European stage - under Tuchel. Outside of those clubs, there aren't many others which I could see Messi both wanting to join and which can afford him. In terms of who can definitely afford him, there's Manchester City and PSG which seem like the most likely destinations, Real Madrid (look, it's been a horrendous year, but this could literally spark a civil war - this isn't going to happen, though I wouldn't be surprised if they at least threw their hat in the ring), and Manchester United (their inconsistency over the last few years I'm sure doesn't inspire much confidence). Clubs which I think might have been on his radar to some extent in that they can also provide an earnest challenge for the Champions League or an otherwise interesting project would be Bayern Munich (though I think they could probably afford him, he would implode their wage structure), Liverpool (they've strangely been holding on to their money, seemingly against Klopp's request, since winning the UCL, so I would have doubts about this one), Inter (Conte is confirmed to be staying and it would be interesting to see him and Ronaldo face off again in the same league - but I'm not sure if the style of play or Conte's managerial style would win Messi over, and I'm also not sure how well positioned they would be for a move of this scale right now), and Juventus (I hope they throw their hat in the ring just because who wouldn't want to see Messi play alongside Ronaldo?! But it does seem unfeasible given their poor habit of scooping players up on free transfers and paying them well above their value, such as with Aaron Ramsey, and I think this poor balance of wage structure could rule them out). City is looking most likely to me then, if he moves. Again, could be a crazy coup d'etat attempt by him to take back the club he loves so much even if all of these reports are true and are simply empty threats, but that increasingly seems to not be the case here - I know many doubted Ronaldo leaving Real even when he came out and suggested it himself after a UCL final, so I'm curious to see how everyone reacts to this news, and of course what the outcome is. And whilst typing this, a couple more updates hinting at a City move... And this next one is huge because it's Xavi Campos from Catalunya Radio, who is about as legitimate a source you can get for Barca news.

I mean I'd buy it, don't think it'd happen without technically making more versions by replacing the 20th Century Fox logo and fanfare A New Hope by itself has 10 different versions if you include the 2015 digital edition update, when the 20th Century Fox logo and fanfare were first replaced with Lucasfilm's (I mean, I'd include it). Heck, we technically got a new version just last year when George Lucas's final change came to light in the 4K remaster he'd worked on before the sale to Disney finally got released. I think the biggest change was Greedo's last word is "maclunkey"? Which is a nice rabbit hole for fans to dive down in itself. Star Wars is so funny in that way: it's a story told across generations and to multiple generations, yet every generation is encountering a different version. I'd love if they could rework some of the CG elements in the prequels at some point just to bring it up to modern standards (still think Revenge of the Sith's CGI is on a whole other level when compared with most films of the time and in many cases since), and did the same for Tarkin and Leia in Rogue One in ten or twenty years when the tech is there to bring it up to snuff. And some people in The Rise of Skywalker I guess. Also, for what's being discussed about physical media: like @Happenstance, I also invest in a film collection. Mine is only standard blu-ray (don't have a 4K player, a good enough TV in my opinion to take advantage of it, and most people I know don't have these things either) but I love having them on my shelf and knowing I have access to them, I had fun spending a few years picking up and then completing my Ghibli collection, for instance. I'm a big fan of streaming and where it's going, but nowadays it's spread across so many different platforms that it's hard to keep track sometimes, and things often move from one place to another. Case in point: Mad Men is one of my favourite shows, I've watched it the past two summers, and I got my sister into it a couple of months back. She started Season 5 when Netflix dropped the show. Not knowing if it will end up somewhere else or where that might be, I just picked up the blu-ray, and I do similar for a lot of my favourite series. Different strokes and all that

Looks like we're getting to get a better look of that demo in June this Thursday during Gamescom's ONL. Looking forward to it!

Game will be at Gamescom this Thursday: Looking forward to seeing more!

New trailer and release date info: XBO, Windows 10, PS4 and Steam on 13th Nov; XSX in November; and PS5 "soon". Don't know if I'll be picking it up on Day 1 (still got Yakuza 4, 5, and 6 to enjoy going through first, as well as Judgement), but very excited for when I do get around to playing this.

Was a good end-to-end game, but definitely cagey, both teams seemed very nervous (mostly I felt with the fullbacks on the same side, Kehrer and Davies). Bayern deserved to win it based on their form going into this game, pretty much everyone was brilliant, but feel sorry for Neymar and Mbappé, they just haven't had their shooting boots on since the UCL started back up. I'm sure Mbappé will get another crack at it at some point, but I have to imagine it raises questions for Neymar. Felt like Cavani could've made a huge difference here and stretch out Bayern's centre backs, but instead he's been made a free agent. This PSG starting XI needs a major overhaul: a new 9, right back, a replacement CB for Thiago Silva (who has been solid, seems like he might be coming to us at Chelsea which I would love), a new CDM (if Marquinhos is moved back to play alongside Kimpembe), and a new CM. That's not to mention the depth they need to add on the bench, their lack of options outside of the starting XI here really cost them. A lot of work to be done in the next few weeks during the transfer window. Bayern's transfer business is unquestionably the best in the world and has been for some time in my opinion, a star-studded XI with a lot of depth built intelligently and without needing to spend nearly as much as necessary. Swooping in for Thiago for just €25 million in 2013 because he didn't play enough games that season for Barça and had a reduced release clause, Lewa on a free, etc. And no audacious signing bonuses and ridiculous wages for their free transfers (looking at you, Juve). I'm not sure about this, because the same was said about the 2013 Bayern squad. They might have been aging, sure, but their German core won the World Cup the next year, and they got handily torn to shreds by Real Madrid in the semi-finals that year, and if I recall correctly that's the year that they won the Bundesliga the earliest it's ever been done. Only think you could really say is they had a different manager (Pep), but honestly that's just football, in knockout matches there are so many wrinkles which could turn it against the favourites. Bayern could just as easily meltdown in the quarter finals for five minutes which knocks them out next season, it happens. I think people forget how long it had been since someone retained the European Cup before Real Madrid managed to do it three times in a row: it had never been won consecutive years since the change in format from the European Cup to the Champions League, and the last team to retain it was AC Milan when they won it back-to-back in the 88/89 and 89/90 seasons under Sacchi. Looking back at the 2010s, I honestly think there are only three teams that weren't expected to retain it: Inter in 2011 after winning it in 2010, because Mourinho left; Chelsea in 2013 after winning it in 2012, because it was a miracle (and we were the first team to crash out at the group stages the season after winning it...); and Real Madrid in 2019, after Ronaldo left in 2018. The rest were all expected to retain it from my point of view: Barça in 2011 is one of the greatest teams of all time; Bayern in 2013 got revenge after their embarrassment at losing it at in their own backyard in 2012, and crushed Barça 7-0 on aggregate in the semi-finals (the same Barça that equalled Real's record of 100 points in La Liga the year prior, though their shakiness was perhaps warranted with what was going on with Tito Vilanova at the time); Real Madrid in 2014 won La Decima and strengthened with numerous signings after the World Cup; Barça in 2015 had Messi, Neymar, and Suarez, and Messi making a fool out of Bayern in the semis before completely choking in 2016; Real then won three in a row; and lastly, looking at this Liverpool team that won in 2019, they only strengthened and were expected to retain it before Atlético knocked them out. Are Bayern going to be favourites next season? Definitely. Will they retain it? We'll have to wait and see.

Not sure where I land on the game quite yet, but it didn't really grab me as much as I was expecting it to. As @Cube said, the questions raised over the potential continuity in this game are...interesting? But I would much rather they just come out and say "Hey, you, here's what's happening." I feel like the questions we have are a marketing choice to get people talking more than anything else. In terms of what we saw, the combat looked okay, but not quite as tactile to me as the Arkham games, though it is difficult to judge based on a stream of pre-alpha gameplay. Not the biggest fan of it leaning heavily into more typical ARPG traits like experience and levels, numbers popping up all over the place to quantify damage or inform us of an enemy's level, and - purely based on what was shown here - what seems to be a focus on rushing enemies being the more viable option when compared with stealth. I also wasn't the biggest fan of the art style, because while it would take some getting used to anyway, having the combat clearly be based on Arkham's but having a softer art style just doesn't work with it as cohesively for me. Last thing: co-op in this is cool. Online co-op only, and with only two players when there are four playable characters? Not as cool.

Final Tenet trailer

Yeah it's... certainly a bit of a mess! I thought the multiverse that they tried to introduce in the core games as an explanation for the differences in the remakes/3D games in ORAS was a really cool idea, but in the end it's turned out to be a pretty lame excuse for them to make subpar games, at least in the case of ORAS especially. That generation as a whole was a big dip for the series in terms of quality, and I don't think it's got close to what it was before since. I feel like they could've done so much more with it than they did, one of the only interesting points I think they had somewhat related to this was what happened with Anabel, Looker, and the UB's. Personally, I would much prefer that they just made references to characters and places from other games, it's that sort of continuity in any medium which really excites me. In the spin-off games Ranger did this fairly well, but in the main games I look at things like a passing reference to Blue in X/Y by that guy in a Pokémon Centre about him studying to go into research; the Sinnoh games beginning with a newsflash about what was happening at the Lake of Rage in Johto (these games as a whole are a good example of this I feel, such as with Jasmine turning up in Sunyshore); and references to the player character of Black/White in the sequels. It's one of my favourite things about Sun/Moon, though I do feel they went a little overboard by the end. I wish they'd go back to things like that, I love when worlds tie themselves together, and especially in games. It's why I often love the intros to Pokémon films, getting to see Brendan take on Lucas was something I thought was cool as heck as a kid! Guess anything can get me going about Pokémon

I mean, the original discussion was about spin-offs. So I was saying that if we were going to speak about them strictly as either being a spin-off or not, I think that they would be spin-off titles rather than not. I wasn't arguing against them being crossovers. I blame @Vileplume2000. He threw the curveball and didn't even give an answer from his own options!

I agree with you and think a crossover is fair in this case honestly, as I think it kind of reaches beyond the spin-off discussion. If you did have to argue if it were a spin-off or not, though, then I would say yes, it's a Zelda spin-off, based purely on the fact that I would list it in a grand list of all the Zelda games made to date. I haven't played the game myself, but is it also set in Hyrule and in the Zelda world? Because if so I think it's definitely a spin-off. Like with Cadence of Hyrule, it's kind of a crossover, but if we were to delve into the spin-off discussion, I would absolutely think it'd be argued to be a Pokémon spin-off. Same logic as above: I'd add it to a list of all the Pokémon games made. And, unless I'm misremembering, isn't it also set in the Pokémon world?

Glen's got a point... Hey, it's your logic. Oh. But seriously, yeah, Hyrule Warriors is absolutely a Zelda spinoff, at least for me. And Dragon Quest Heroes is absolutely a Dragon Quest spinoff too. Name or not, I think so long as the core of the game (or for argument's sake, whatever media) sees the return to characters, topics, themes, or story present in the original work/franchise, it's a spin-off. The IP at the centre of it all is the easiest decider, I think you can get cases where the definition blurs a bit in some cases. If not, you get some really weird outcomes if you're focusing strictly on core systems (though I think it'd be a great way to dive into the history of games and see how things branched out over time). For example, the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games are then spin-offs of the character Torneko from Dragon Quest IV: the first Mystery Dungeon game by Chunsoft was Torneko's Great Adventure: Mystery Dungeon. The new Star Wars Battlefront games are then spin-offs of Battlefield. And almost every turn-based JRPG is a spin-off of Dragon Quest.

Looks like Hungary have jumped the gun, because we've got our first TV Spot: Welcome To A New World. The Champions League final is this Sunday, and as sponsors of the competition, that seems like the place they might want to premiere this as. Price and date has to be coming soon - as in by-the-end-of-August soon - surely? UPDATE: up officially now. I would have never known it was a dramatisation if not for that being mentioned at that start Also, some developers have shared what they think of the haptic feedback and adaptive triggers.

So it's little surprise that Miles Morales was rated recently in South Korea, seeing as that's lined up to be a PS5 launch title, being one of the few titles with a date or release window in the presentation back in June. What is surprising is that Demon's Souls was rated recently in both South Korea... ...and Japan. Maybe it's a little early and is actually coming in the early parts of 2021. Or maybe it's in that launch window. Either way, hopefully we'll find out soon!

PSG vs Bayern in the final, then. Could be a tiring stalemate, but hopefully - like the rest of the games since the return - it'll be a cracker. Bayern were solid as they come tonight, not quite firing on all cylinders, but they didn't need to be. Gnabry's first strike was wonderful, and Bayern and Thiago specifically did a great job of managing the pace of the game in the second half. I think Lyon gave a great fight and a lot of heart in this game, sucks they won't be in Europe next season, but this is the price to pay for not taking their chances - you just can't miss those at this level. I do think that they further highlighted a couple of Bayern's defensive weaknesses - mainly what I mentioned before about their pace and how narrow they become when chasing back - which I do think PSG are well positioned to make something of with Neymar, Mbappé, and Di María. Roll on Sunday! But before then, Sevilla vs Inter also looks like it could be a great end to the Europa League on final. A great European summer of football so far, hope the finals live up to their promise!

Updated my post with it at the same moment love it though, I really do like it! Launching it first on Series X makes sense, but having it work so well across so many devices is such a smart move. Glad they did this deep dive. Love seeing what new dashboards look like

Is the design uninspired? Maybe. Will it probably be awkward to figure out where to put it in your entertainment setup? Almost definitely. But I kind of dig it. The Mini Fridge That Can But wait, there's more! First look at the Series X dashboard: Looks really sleek, I'm a fan. Read a lot of great things about the new Store App too.