Julius

Just seen that EA have thrown down the gauntlet for shadow drops for E3 with Unravel Two. Hopefully that’s a sign of things to come with the other conferences.

I won’t be. I wouldn’t have been anyways due to other things going on, but after having the last few be just as eventful as watching paint dry; it just doesn’t seem worth it. I think there’s a good chance that we see Respawn’s Star Wars game, to be honest. Apparently they’ve had a much smoother time than Visceral had, and I’m interested in seeing what they’ve come up with if so. I’m also interested in seeing if any more indie titles turn up after A Way Out did so well for them at their conference last year. Other than that, I don’t expect much from today’s conference for them, and it’ll hopefully be a good chance to see how they present Anthem this time around after the Battlefront II backlash. We didn’t learn about how many of the systems/microtransactions worked until the open beta launched in that case; will they be more up front this time around with Anthem? Or will those things remain hushed for now?

Loved those carpet reviews also really like Huber Syndrome’s E3 special EZA’s E3 schedule:

Sam, a 33-year old man recovering from a recent break-up, returns to his hometown Basswood, West Virginia, for the funeral of his best friend. Understandably depressed and bitter, he feels completely out of sorts and out of place… But when he wakes up in his hotel room with a bloody shirt and no memory of his whereabouts the previous night, he embarks on a twisted investigation to find the truth. Developed by Bandai Namco and Dontnod.

Right now? Probably won’t be catching any of the streams next week (exam season, woo... ) but I can’t wait to binge the streams next Friday and Saturday with the Allies’ reactions. Best in the biz

Here you go, @bob;

Hmm... Also, really enjoyed José’s WC group stage predictions:

Those further details being... Let the countdown begin. ~ 17 months to go

Just read about how Karius was concussed a few minutes prior to messing up for that Benzema goal. It looks like Ramos was the culprit, leaning into the space in front of him after a push from van Dijk to either intimidate or harm Karius. Poor guy probably didn’t even know Benzema was there, and it’s orobably why he misinterpreted where that second Bale goal was going, too. Ramos coming out and acting like Karius has been complaining doesn’t help at all. Also been keeping up with the Yaya Toure “problems” City and Pep are having now that he’s finally leaving. His agent sure loves to ruffle up some feathers, saying that Yaya would play for any team in the top 6 for £1/week (with performance bonuses, of course) to prove a point to Pep. Yaya has even suggested that Pep outright doesn’t like working with African players, so that should be fun. Apparently we’ve signed Blanc to be our next manager, but with a clause so that, if Sarri gets free of Napoli by the end of the week, he gets his due compensation and we get Sarri. I’m a little confused, to be honest, because Napoli have already signed Carlo Ancelotti, so why are we having such massive problems getting Sarri in? It’s an odd one... Fred is a great signing for United, and the Jorginho deal for City will probably be wrapped up before the start of the World Cup. There’s potential for a very busy few days before that kicks off next week!

Yeah, I agree. The E3 2018 thread over in General Gaming Discussion has been up since mid-February, and is already up-to-date with the times and dates for every conference coming our way this E3.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the Pokémon Let's Go titles the only titles currently dated to be coming out after RDR2? So far it's definitely been a case of everyone trying to come out before the end of October, and seeing as it's probably a bit late to announce a game as dropping in August at this point, it seems like everyone has decided to drop their games in September

Some news on S-E’s Avengers project, from IGN Germany. Figured it was worth putting in here seeing as we’re very likely to get this confirmed, and in something of a more official capacity, next week.

Confirmed to be the game’s box art. It looks very much like a 70’s/80’s sci-fi movie poster to me, but it’s not that interesting. It seems more colourful than the relatively desaturated look we got last year, but it seems pretty empty, and there’s not much shown to get excited about we’ve seen all of it before.

Just read that pre-orders for the game are up on eShop, and it comes in at...a whopping 1.8GB. It still blows my mind how good Nintendo are at optimising their games.

I’d take that all day long, honestly. If the majority of that stuff comes between this E3 and the next one, that still leaves potential for big hitters like Bayonetta 3, Pikmin 4, Mario Kart 9 (would a reveal next year be too soon for that?) the more-core-than-Let’s Go-which-is-also-core-but-not-really-core core series Pokémon Switch game, and Animal Crossing for next year. And probably a Super Mario Bros. title. That sounds both realistic and awesome, at least to me. I just hope that they’re a bit more consistent in releasing their tentpole titles than they have been so far this year (it definitely looks like the next six months are going to be saturated with potentially great games), and/or that we see more third parties finally get in on the act and reveal their games that have been hashed out in just over two years come next E3.

Done

In case you’re in need of a chuckle... How does everyone feel about Pokémon’s attempts to push a second series mascot in Eevee, by the way? It seems a smart move, though I suppose it could also be argued as being more Gen I pandering

Sure thing. Would you like me to spoiler tag the above post? I’m genuinely not quite sure how people feel about that particular news on that particular game, as it’s a port of a popular game which has been rumoured to be coming to the Switch for a long time, and which we’ve previously discussed at a reasonable length. I don’t think that anyone is particularly surprised by the notion of it coming to the platform, and I’m not sure how much it means to people that this seems to have slipped through ahead of E3, when compared to, say, a potential Nintendo first party game or surprising third party partnership leaking. Plus, I think the source on this one is about as official as it can get without coming directly from the developers/publisher themselves. It’s a slip-up in the system of having a game produced, and not so much a potential leak or rumour floating around on some message board (or, if you’re Ubisoft, a photo of someone’s laptop on a train ). I think it’s also very different when we have a thread such as the Pokémon Switch thread - as talk in there is either more often than not discussion about any news on the game, which I think potential leaks would come under; and, because it is an unrevealed but announced title and has its own thread, I suppose those that enter that thread are actively trying to find news on the game - or threads for your annual CoD or biennial Battlefield games, which are always expected to be coming. I do think that a few ground rules need to be set and agreed upon, otherwise we’re going to end up with a place covered in spoiler tags, many of which would almost seem unnecessary: is anyone really going to be that surprised when we get a third entry in that moderately well received [publisher name here] franchise, which has seen a game released every few years for a while now, and would talk about something so expected really spoil E3 for someone as in touch with gaming news as those here? If I’m remembering the last few years correctly, the more noteworthy and surprising E3 leaks seem to happen from around the end of March up until the start of E3 proper, so maybe it would be worth clamping down a bit more on leaks (regarding E3 specific news) during that window? I’m just a little worried that too strict an enforcement of this in cases where it’s not really necessary could lead to a lot of tiptoeing around, both by those who care about being spoiled and those who don’t, and more than likely result in virtual silence here in the weeks leading up to E3 All that being said, I’ll happily comply and spoiler tag that post if you do deem it necessary, as I don’t want to spoil anyone’s joy when it comes to something like E3. I know that some people take time off from work to watch this at home, or take time at work to sneak in the last few minutes of a conference or a trailer here and there, so I want to respect their time and want for potential elation at a truly surprising announcement.

Fortnite for Switch has been all but confirmed by the Korean Game Ratings Board. For those who have seen the leaks floating around regarding Nintendo’s E3 video presentation, in which this game was listed, I suppose it’s just been given a rather significant boost in credibility.

Nice to know that I didn’t mess up on the BST conversions They can turn the company around in the public eye almost completely, but it’s nice to see that some things will never change

Think I prefer that design for Girafarig, especially given that it’s name is a palindrome Really interesting that the rest of Japan was going to serve as the backdrop for these games. Also, I love how Kanto was just wedged into the bottom corner in what is assumed to be “a fit of madness” I really want a return to Asia, if not Japan specifically, at some point down the line for region inspiration. China and Korea specifically would be really interesting to see, and I think that the former makes a lot of sense seeing as we only started getting Chinese localisations with Gen VII; it would be a great way to push the franchise, and Nintendo as a whole, over there. I was reading about Satoshi Tajiri only the other day, about, for at least the twentieth time, how the franchise came to be. It got me thinking that I’d really love to see a biopic of Tajiri, and then it made me realise that it would be great if we were to get a series of professionally produced, decently budgeted biopics or documentaries on the people who had the largest effect on gaming. One can wish I guess

Honestly, and I think the whole gaming community would agree with me when it comes to this observation: Bluehole are coming immensely jealous of the success that Fortnite has had. As a business, I can understand why they’re upset to see something so similar to their product performing so well. However, they almost seem to think that they’re entitled to the mindshare that Fortnite has had in addition to PUBG’s, just because they share the same genre, and they’re doing nothing to spin that narrative by going around declaring the game as being a rip-off of their product and suing Epic. PUBG was something of an overnight success, but it hasn’t been sustained because of how unprepared and poorly managed Bluehole has been since then. By contrast, Epic was extremely lucky to have been positioned as well as they were to jump in on a red hot craze in Battle Royale, but their organisation and management has seen that sustained, and maybe even pushed further. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this as it evolves, and it’ll be very interesting to see how things pan out.

Yeah, that’s certainly a possibility. I think he’s shown with Real that his style of managing and play is much more suited to knockout cup football than the standard week-in and week-out affair that comes with managing in a 38 game per season league. I think another possibility is that he knows that if he stayed on, he would have had to start revamping the Madrid squad, because they’re going to be in need of a serious overhaul within the coming transfer years. I don’t think that he wants to be part of that process. Of Real’s starting XI last Saturday, six were 30 or older, and their starters had an average age of 31.5 years. By stark contrast, of Liverpool’s starting XI last Saturday, only one player - James Milner, 32 - was over 30 years old, and their starters had an average age of 25.8 years. I’ve already seen him mentioned in the hours since, and I think you’re absolutely right in thinking that Pochettino will be on the shortlist. As should Luis Enrique, in my opinion, who’s still somehow without a job. Honestly, I can’t think of many other big name managers who haven’t already declared their intentions ahead of next season, whether moving on or staying still, though this did come completely out of the blue, so maybe some minds could be changed? Given his tumultuous relationship with the board and some key players at Juve in the past, despite recently declaring his intention to stay, I think that Allegri is a name worth throwing in the hat, and I think that Zidane’s former captain in his time at Juve, Conte, is worth throwing in there too, seeing as he’ll likely be leaving us within the coming days or weeks, and plays some extremely aggressive and counter-attacking football, which Florentino loves. That, and Madrid’s defence needs some serious sorting out, and Conte has shown in his numerous managerial spells along the years that he can transform a defence. Looking further afield, given how late this seems to step down in a World Cup year, I think that we’ll see some dark horses mentioned. Probably household names, like Joachim Löw and Marcelo Bielsa.

Lampard’s appointment at Derby is likely to be completely overshadowed by this: Zidane is stepping down as Real Madrid manager. I’m excited to see where he goes next, but I’m a bit worried that he’s just going to leave Madrid as one of the most decorated managers in Europe and not move forward with his managerial career. We’ve seen some great tacticians in football, and I don’t think that Zidane is amongst them after his stint at Real, but I can’t think of any current manager who has as massive a presence as him in the dressing room. I seriously have zero idea where he goes next, if anywhere, especially seeing as everyone has already started making moves for managers ahead of next season. Italy or France, maybe? UPDATE Well, I guess that answers that.

Yeah, that’s a good point. I suppose another reason for them to leave Solo in May is because they know that it wouldn’t perform anywhere as well as Mary Poppins Returns will this Christmas. I’m genuinely not sure what to think going into IX’s principal photography this summer, because I do feel like Abrams has a point to prove with the film. This is closing out the trilogy, so hopefully his biggest weakness - his “mystery box” philosophy of storytelling - doesn’t come to the fore as it dead with TFA. I feel like IX has to take some risks, because, although I understand from a storyteller’s point of view that Rey having a simple flat arc makes room for Kylo’s comparatively much more complex one, I still don’t understand the motivations driving these characters to do what they do, whereas that was crystal clear in the original trilogy, and even in the prequel trilogy. Ben was sent off with Luke by his mother, wasn’t told about his grandfather’s true history as Darth Vader, and Luke acted in a regretful manner to help push him further away, but I don’t see how any of this drives him to want to rule the galaxy. Was Ben already showing evidence of his coming fall in training? Was he a violent, selfish and uncontrollable child? Because supplementary materials seem to paint him as happy as a child, and potentially frustrated under Luke’s guidance, but I feel like the film’s writers have so far been asking How did Ben fall? instead of Why did Ben fall? Probably doesn’t help any of the characters that there wasn’t a significant time gap between VII and VIII, because they haven’t had time to breathe and move in the wrong direction before they find their way. I’ve gone off on a bit of a tangent in what is probably the wrong thread, but yeah: I just don’t see where they’re going to go with IX, whereas I knew exactly where they were going with III and VI. I’ll definitely be sure to check out Solo in cinemas, then. If anything, I suppose it’s just nice to see it on a bigger screen My problem with Rogue One’s first two acts is that they feel stitched together by a lot of fan service, which is great the first time around, but only has diminishing returns upon repeat viewings. The first ten or fifteen minutes are definitely the most confusing with all of the jumping around, and I really wasn’t a fan of the use of location cards, and the title card looked abysmal - like it was made in iMovie! I don’t think it really helps, in my case at least, that I find the final act to be leaps and bounds more cohesive and narratively engaging than the prior two, and I feel like I’m just waiting around for seventy or eighty minutes before things really get exciting. I expected substantial blowback going into The Last Jedi, because of the way that social media, hot takes and clickbait titles have dominated the film industry as of late, and also because Empire was relatively poorly received by critics back in its day, too. I went in expecting a film which would take multiple viewings to get my head around and thoroughly enjoy, and so I was very surprised when I came out of my first viewing incredibly on the fence about what I’d just seen. I literally would have given it a 5/10 if somebody asked me then and there for a score /10. I loved Rian’s way of storytelling before seeing the film, and I loved Looper (I feel like he’s be suitable for a live-action Akira adaption given his current CV), so I knew that I’d come around eventually, but it was certainly exhausting. If it wasn’t for those moments of stunning silence around halfway into the film, I think my views would have been leaning in the negative side of things after that first viewing. I’m glad that it (subjectively) gets better with each viewing, and that the film’s nuances and small winks come through the more that you watch it. It’s certainly up there with my favourite Star Wars media, and I can’t wait to see what Rian does with his trilogy. Yeah, I know what you meant