Julius

The NPDs for the month of March 2018 are in, and its an interesting one.

Yeah, I think they should be able to give them a good match. Both squads are relatively inexperienced on the European stage at this point in time, so I’d imagine that Anfield terrified the Roma team today, and I think the exact same thing could happen to some of the Liverpool team next week in the Olimpico. Especially at the back. I think that Roma have already shown with their performances in the Champions League this season that they shouldn’t be written off at any point, especially after what happened with Barça. And I think you’re right: Roma can play very emotionally, in that they can pull a result with their backs against the wall. Man City are an excellent team and play some beautiful football, but, beyond Jesus’ opening goal in the second leg, seem scared to play anything but beautiful football (you know, route 1, long ball stuff). I don’t expect Roma to turn it around, but I do expect a good match next week, with a much more balanced game.

I think Liverpool will get through in the end, but I do think that Roma could give them a good game regardless of that. If we’ve seen anything so far this competition it’s that Roma are willing to fight tooth and nail until the very end, and that mentality is what’s got them into the most unlikely of positions already. It’ll be very interesting to see how the other tie goes tomorrow night. I think a few too many journalists (and fans) have already written Bayern off, but Heynckes has this team as efficient as ever, and the guy’s a tactical genius; if there’s any team and manager combination left in the competition capable of keeping Ronaldo quiet, it would be Bayern and Heynckes.

Sorry, I should have been clear: I meant that another player of great calibre (Neymar, Hazard, De Bruyne, etc.) could have a stunning World Cup, whereas Salah might not, which could mean that they might scrape into the top three ahead of him. And the Ballon D’Or is based on calendar year performance, so I imagine if he didn’t continue his great form into the start of next season, he might not make it. Not to be a downer, because I think he deserves to be in that shortlist based on what he’s done so far. However, a great World Cup for someone else, or an injury, could prevent him from being up on that stage. Just playing devil’s advocate

I think Civil War does just as good a job with introducing Spidey, but I can’t argue with Homecoming being fun. I can’t really argue with any of the films being fun, actually they’re all great in that regard (apart from maybe The Incredible Hulk?) To be fair, while I’m sure Infinity War will begin to bring a close to what we’ve had so far in the MCU, we’ve still got Avengers 4 next year, so @drahkon has a year before we probably get the real payoff

I think he’d deserve to be there based on what’s he’s done so far this year, but I definitely don’t think he can be shortlisted just yet. We’ve still got a World Cup to get through

Yeah, I scrolled through again after and found that I was referring mostly to the crossover between my list and the other films that you mentioned (whoops) I wasn’t really trying to condense it beyond taking the fluff out that I don’t think is necessary for enjoying Infinity War (I love Homecoming, but I don’t think Spider-Man’s arc in the film sets his role in Infinity War up any differently than if one didn’t watch that film). I think the only way that I could condense it further would be to start taking out some of the films which start some threads off, like Iron Man 3 (which further sets up Tony’s position in Age of Ultron) and The Winter Soldier (which sets up much of Steve’s arc in Civil War), and I’m not willing to suggest that at all I will mention that I think watching Doctor Strange is a must, though. From everything I’ve heard about the film (and him being the only Avenger in possession and control of an Infinity Stone), it would seem that he’s being set up to play a bigger part in Infinity War than many realise

To be fair, I recommended a viewing order which is mostly in line with yours (though with some differences) on the last page (and so did @Happenstance)

No idea. It’s something that I think would be interesting to see, but I imagine it would have its fair share of both proponents and critics. I think it could make battles a bit more dynamic, and I think it has the potential to be quite interesting if some battles were set up so that if the opposing trainer defeats one of your Pokémon, theirs evolves. It would also mean that a move accessible through evolution, such as Blaze Kick for when Combusken evolves into Blaziken, could be used when the move first becomes available (i.e. when Combusken reaches Lv. 36 and evolves), as opposed to having to wait until the end of the battle. I’m not impatient, but I do think it would help to streamline the gameplay experience, and would offer Game Freak a unique mechanic to play around with; I’d much rather see something as relatively simple as this than, say, another Mega Evolution or Z-Move mechanic, which comes a bit out of left field and drastically alters gameplay (though, I suppose, in the same vein, those are both in-battle mechanics). If this is a faster way to have a Pokémon evolve by levelling up when compared to the current system in place, then I struggle to see the downside to it. Sure, why not press B when they level up? Have an animation begin to play out (like Mega Evolution or a Z-move) which can be cancelled with the B button during battle? I don’t know why you’d have to press B every time a Pokémon got experience. Though I think it could be interesting to see how it could be incorporated into the games, it’s not the mechanic I would be most excited for out of those that I mentioned.

H1Z1 is coming to PS4, with an open beta starting on May 22nd. It will run at a smooth 60 FPS, with a higher resolution being touted for the Pro, and new gunplay mechanics and weapon attachments are also inbound.

Oh, for sure, I agree with you. It wasn’t my first or personal recommendation to @drahkon: I added to the list of films @Happenstance recommended checking out before seeing Infinity War, and I think the ten that I listed are probably the most cohesive way to experience everything one might want/need to know before going into Infinity War. Just floating the idea out there that, in the event that @drahkon doesn’t have the time to go through and watch any (see: all ) films that we might think are essential, that seeing Infinity War first could be the best route to seeing the film without having it spoiled, and that a subsequent second viewing - after having seen the other films - would serve as a great way to then further contextualise the events of the film. But yeah, I think the films that we recommended for viewing (+Black Panther, if it’s still available to him as others have suggested might be the case) are probably the best way to have a bare minimum understanding and contextualisation of the film (personally, I think he should just commit to the 30+ hours needed to watch them all )

The console versions of Shenmue I & II are now up for pre-order on Amazon, at £29.99. A bunch of screenshots from the remasters have also been released, which I think look great: Shenmue I Shenmue II

Speaking of which, I wonder if this Venom will somehow play into Spider-Man later this year? We already know that an Iron Spider Infinity War costume is going to be in the game, so will we get this Venom turn up in DLC/mentioned in the game’s exposition? Assuming that they’re still building their own Sinister Six universe, and that they’ve given Marvel the license to use Spidey on the silver screen, I wonder if this is a good way to do that?

I’m guessing this is why there were talks about Nvidia working on a new SoC a few months back? From everything I’m reading about this, it seems Nintendo did a decent job on their end this time around with regards to the OS, so I wonder if this could potentially tarnish their relationship with Nvidia beyond the Switch? Nintendo really need to get a shift on with announcing back-up saving and Virtual Console now. If they leave it too long, they’ll have over 20 million units in the wild, with many being sold on at a considerably marked up price for features/games we really should have learned more about last year.

Yeah, I should have mentioned that a lot of cinemas (even if in the same chain) tend to have different run lengths a lot of the time, so it’s still probably worth having a nose around. I think my local cinemas took Black Panther out a week or two ago? They don’t have any plans to show it before Infinity War, either :/ I don’t really look at Marvel movies as critically as I do other films (Star Wars in particular I always zoom in on) because I do see them as a fun escape with a good range of characters that I can become emotionally invested in, but I have found that the films that I tend to prefer, up to this point, are the ones that I would say perform better under a critical viewing glass. My list of favourites (from best/most enjoyed to worst/least enjoyed) is probably: 1. Captain America: Civil War 2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier 3. Iron Man 4. The Avengers 5. Thor: Ragnarok 6. Guardians of the Galaxy 7. Spider-Man Homecoming 8. Ant-Man 9. Avengers: Age of Ultron 10. Doctor Strange 11. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 12. Black Panther 13. Captain America: The First Avenger 14. Thor: The Dark World 15. Iron Man 3 16. Thor 17. Iron Man 2 18. The Incredible Hulk

I really don’t know how I feel about it. I love Venom as a character, but I’m not into what I’m being shown at all (though I think this is almost objectively a better trailer than the first teaser trailer we got?). The CGI for Venom looks...rubbery and glossy to me, but more than I think it probably should? Completely agree with @Sméagol that they need to make it crystal clear whether or not this takes place in the MCU. The fact that they’ve been so quiet about it makes me think that it isn’t, but they know that announcing that’s the case would lead to it being a financial disaster (which it probably still could be). It’s a shame, really, because Tom Hardy’s great.

It’s not legally available to be viewed anywhere at the moment, as far as I’m aware; it’s home release comes in a week or two, and it’s been phased out of most cinemas by now. And while I’m sure watching it gives some great context for what we’ll see of Wakanda in Infinity War, we don’t see the Soul Stone in the film, so even though I think it has some great worldbuilding in setting up Wakanda, I don’t think it would be as vital to see as any of the other films that have been floated around.

Yeah, that’s got to be ~22 hours or so of film I’d certainly personally recommend watching all of those films to give context to where everything and everyone is at in Infinity War, but, if the big pull to the MCU right now for you is Infinity War, and you would only want to watch those movies as set-up for Infinity War...I think an argument could also be made to just go see Infinity War without the context of the other films (to avoid spoilers, to be in on the conversation and to experience an audience at fever pitch). It wouldn’t be my personal go-to recommendation, but I do feel like it’s worth throwing out there as an option, because that’s a lot of film to get through without having the biggest film since TFA spoiled for you in some way (probably in some comment section online, let’s be honest). If it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to get through all of them in a short window (within the next week or two) without feeling burned out, you could always go see Infinity War this weekend, watch the films in the recommended viewing order, and catch Infinity War in the cinema/on Blu-Ray again afterwards. It’s definitely not the way I’d recommend going about it, but hey, it’s always another option worth considering

All of the films @Happenstance listed + Captain America: The Winter Soldier (additional context for Civil War if you plan on watching it, which I’d recommend - both are great films) and Thor: Ragnarok (which very literally sets up where I imagine Infinity War will begin?). I’d also add in Iron Man 3, because of the context it adds to Tony’s arc in both Age of Ultron and Civil War, and probably Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 too so that you’re caught up with that side of things. So, my recommended potential trimmed viewing order (to give a bit more context/have you up-to-date on characters goings-on, in addition to what @Happenstance outlines as the most direct way to be caught up on the Infinity Stones) would be: 1. The Avengers 2. Iron Man 3 3. Thor: The Dark World 4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier 5. Guardians of the Galaxy 6. Avengers: Age of Ultron 7. Captain America: Civil War 8. Doctor Strange 9. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 10. Thor: Ragnarok Better get started

I've remained optimistic about a 2018 release date since it was announced, but, because the more experienced Game Freak team has likely been working on this since SM, I almost feel resigned to it being made with the Gen VII engine at this point, the only big and worthwhile differences from the last generation being that it's in full HD when docked, and potentially sees the return of walking partner Pokémon (something which never particularly excited me). I do think it's possible that some work was completed by the more experienced team when they first got their hands on an NX devkit (probably late 2014/early 2015), but it doesn't seem possible that they could have completed a substantial amount prior to their attention returning to SM. Returning to the Gen VII engine won't necessarily be a bad thing, of course, and assuming that the game was developed in that engine (and assuming that engine was compatible with the Switch from its inception) and that work only began in earnest in late 2016, we could still see a considerable amount of new features added to the game that I've spoken about before, which I think would be worthwhile additions to the game: a fully controllable camera, Pokémon roaming in the overworld, in-battle evolutions, a better story (which seems to be their focus vs. an open world), etc. Gen VIII isn't stacking up to be the technological step forwards that many might have wanted, but I do think that it could still see the franchise evolve in some very key ways fundamentally that I'd be all for. And, with the second and less experienced team at Game Freak only becoming more experienced as the years fly by, they should be capable of spearheading any sequels or remakes that come in Gen VIII beyond the opening pair of games, which could free up the veterans to learn more about how they might evolve the franchise (be it an open world or something else) from other developers in the industry, which could position Gen IX as the generation where we get that sort of technological leap with regards to the engine.

Oh, I know. I thought that's where you were going with it originally (as I said above, I think?), but just wanted to clear things up as "unveiled" and "announced" are interchangeable? I do hope that when we learn more about the game, and see it for the first time, that it is prior to E3. I don't have the greatest of expectations for the games, honestly, but I know that many want to see some sprawling open world on a massive scale, and I think many - especially more casual fans who aren't fully aware of why this is so unlikely - will find themselves disappointed, and that will likely only be compounded when we're learning and seeing more about games like Smash, Fire Emblem, etc., this June. Then again, being amidst everything else could also cover up some fan disappointment, so

No, it was announced at last year's E3 Spotlight... (I've timestamped the announcement in the video below) It was almost certainly a reactionary announcement to the outcry of fans the week before (because of the lack of a reveal/announcement during the Pokémon Direct in the week prior), but Pokémon has slowly been working its way into E3 over the last couple of years; if I recall correctly, Sun & Moon were demoed during Treehouse in 2016. @Serebii how likely do you think a 2018 release would be as opposed to a 2019 release? I know there's very little information going around at the moment (with regards to official information or job listings), but I'm just curious, because the lack of information is driving fans nuts and meaning that a lot of them attach their ideas to rumours and speculation, which, I have to imagine, is taking some sort of toll on you as the go-to for all things Pokémon?