Julius

Awesome. Love the “v. 2. 18” Maybe a first public look at the behind-closed-doors demonstration that the press got during E3? But perhaps condensed into a shorter gameplay trailer? Hyped for Gamescom now. Shenmue III, Cyberpunk 2077, possibly some Splinter Cell...

Played the demo the other day, and really enjoyed it. Had the first one on my list (which I want to play before the new one) for a while now, but the demo for 4 certainly bumped it up some. Also:

This is getting a physical release in spring of 2019, and is also coming to PS4 and Xbox One, though a window for its release on those platforms has yet to be announced.

Just broke the game a little. Completed the quota with hours to spare at the hour, so I thought I’d take the forklift for a spin around the Harbour, and tried to exit the harbour — which, of course, you can’t do. But Ryo decided to glide through walls and drive over the road, and is now in an ocean of black... It’s funny, but I’ve lost half an hour and a half of progress thanks to this

Not that surprising, given that we got our first teaser at Gamescom last year. Actually, I think the first teaser came out around this time last year — maybe even on August 21st? I was just thinking yesterday that it’s a bit odd that Shenmue I & II releases on Tuesday, the same day that Gamescom starts, so I had a sneaking suspicion. Probably our first “real” trailer, if not a better look at gameplay...probably a short demonstration? I have a feeling that the game will look much better than it did last year, at the very least. Hopefully we get a release date, but I won’t hold my breath

Emery rarely ever puts a team out in a formation that isn’t 4-2-3-1. Lacazette probably doesn’t want to play anywhere but up front, and he provides more than ample competition for Aubameyang. I think any other manager in the Prem would try to put him or Aubameyang out on the wing, or even play both of them up front. I guess Emery’s logic checks out, considering his success at Sevilla and PSG, but still, I think him not adapting his style of play and formation when against some teams which will ask questions of his ways is why Arsenal won’t be in the title race this season, and potentially for a few more. It’s just not as tactically stagnant, because of the level of every team and how competitive it is, as the other leagues that Emery’s managed in, so he won’t get away with sleeping on his laurels like I think he is.

Sneak peek from EZA’s Easy Livin’.

Resistance might be set only six months before The Force Awakens. With a number of novels and comics also covering this period, and with it being set so close, I have a feeling that this could be a one-season series, as opposed to having multiple seasons like Rebels and The Clone Wars.

Yeah, I mentioned this yesterday. I encountered it literally twenty minutes into the game, and so saved and put it down. @Hero-of-Time didn’t have any troubles with it until later on, so I figured it might be fine, so I went back in after closing it and it was fine for the rest of the day. However, I just encountered it again after getting the Phoenix Mirror, so I’m going to save and boot it up again. It’s a bit of a pain just because it’s so sporadic, and clearly isn’t tarnishing only one particular cutscene. It’s a real shame.

I’ve really enjoyed my time with the game so far, and I think I’m about to move on from Dobuita. I’ve just placed an important phone call. Admittedly, the controls, specifically to traverse the world, are quite archaic, and the voice acting (as well as the audio quality of it, as HoT mentioned earlier) leaves much to be desired. I’m finding that QTEs in particular give too short a time to react — literally a blink and you’ll miss it sort of situation, which can be a bit annoying. I also changed the on-screen presentation to “Shenmue Mode”, which is subtitle-free unless I choose to skip dialogue, and it seems far more enjoyable than the default mode so far. I think the font was giving me a headache... But, for a 3D game on this scale that is nearly twenty years old, it still does so much right. The attention to detail in this game is something that is still brushed aside in many modern games. I recall reading that Suzuki and his team even went back and looked at weather reports for the various locations presented in the game to give players a true sense for what it would have been like to be there on a specific day. The music is, as I expected, superb, and the various composers of the game’s score did a splendid job of marrying music to whatever Ryo was going through at a given time. I’m loving going around and talking to everyone, playing arcade games (quick question: are they supposed to be silent?), managing to quadruple the darts high score, and training inbetween appointments. I’m finding it difficult to fund Ryo’s gacha addiction with all of these other fun things to do, though... @Hero-of-Time, I had it happen to me for two cutscenes in a row yesterday when I initially started playing the game, and it seems that just closing the application and restarting it did the trick.

Defensively frail today, but otherwise an excellent performance by Chelsea today. Loved the high pressure (again, though, Arsenal playing an oddly high line?), some great expansive and possessive stuff, but we were so weak on the byline in our defensive third. Willian was very lazy in waiting for the ball to arrive for the first Arsenal goal. Morata looks much more confident than he did last week, so hopefully that’s a sign of things to come, and Hazard has two assists in only one half of play, so it’ll be interesting to see his impact when he gets to start a game.

Yeah, I think it looks pretty rough too. It all just looks unnaturally smooth in what we’ve seen so far. I’m not surprised that it’s cel shades 3D, but when they said that it was going to be anime-esque, I was really hoping for some hand drawn stuff (or at the very least, in the style of). This looks more...uh...low budget Cartoon Network. The Clone Wars is on the way next year and they’re likely working on their next major animated series (this seem more in-line with Forces of Destiny than it does Rebels) right now too, so with them having multiple projects on the go at the same time, I guess this look is easier for them to achieve, and means that they’re (hopefully) saving the high budget stuff for whatever is next. Hopefully.

Yeah, that’s actually something I noticed too. Sounds like they were very close to the mic when recording. I’m curious if you’re encountering any of the technical issues that I am? I might try to stick it out anyway, but I’m a bit worried that it might have an effect on the majority of the cutscenes, which I imagine would tarnish anyone’s view of the game.

The opening minutes of this game gave me goosebumps, so I can tell that I’m going to like it loving the music so far However, I’m going to have to put it on hold for now, because I think I’ve found the reason for the patch (I’m going to assume that the update file that installed was not it). When walking around, I interacted with a few items and areas, which resulted in a cutscene, and the first two or three of these worked fine. However, upon entering the dojo and triggering another cutscene, as well as when running into Megumi after getting away from the Hazuki Residence, the cutscenes/on-screen presentations of the interactions just didn’t work. The audio still functioned fine, but I was treated with flesh-coloured strips one time, and a closer look at the item that I most recently interacted with (which was elsewhere in the room, and didn’t initiate the cutscene itself) the second. Kind of sucks, and puts a little bit of a damper on my first play session with Shenmue, especially since I was hoping to just play it for the rest of the day. Seems like massive oversight on SEGA’s behalf, and I’m not quite sure how you wouldn’t find these problems if the game was properly vetted — which does concern me a little. I have to wonder if it’s a problem with every copy of the game, or a problem with an unlucky few? It might be fine for some, but I’m finding it difficult to enjoy these interactions when, well...I can’t see them I’m only half an hour or so in at the moment, so I’ll restart when the patch becomes available (I would assume on Tuesday?). In a more positive light, I’m pleasantly surprised that I’ve already got four silver trophies from my limited time with the game (I turned off trophy notifications, and don’t really go out of my way to get trophies, especially on a first playthrough of a game like this), and I think it’s great that they’re rewarding player intuition in this regard. My first impression of the game itself, that glaring technical issue aside, is a good one, and I can’t wait to get back into it. Oh well, back to another game for now, I guess?

Just woke up and lo and behold, it is here! Comes with a nice looking double-sided poster. Games are treated as separate entities in the PS4 menu (which looks a bit odd? You get a Shenmue I & II tab just for downloading each game, and then a separate tab for each game to actually access them - I don't know, maybe they've done it before, but it just looks a bit odd to me), so I would assume that pretty much confirms a platinum trophy for each game. For those wondering, Shenmue only requires the quick installation of an update file, whereas Shenmue II is around a 7.6 GB download. Anyway, I guess it's time that I go see about some sailors?

First look at Resistance:

Just received a message that it’s been despatched from Simply Games

Just a quick heads-up to anyone that doesn’t want tie-ins/potential surprises to the rest of the world/Marvel universe to be ruined: stay away from this video. I haven’t seen anyone particularly attempting to avoid those beats, but I thought I’d just mention it. In the event that you don’t mind:

Songbird Symphony, coming to the Switch in 2019. Love the art style.

Well...I’ve made my mind up, and pre-ordered Shenmue I & II from Simply Games — I chose them after reading a number of positive reviews for them on here, so thanks to those that have shared their experiences with them Truth is, I’m in a bit of a rough spot personally right now. I’ve been enchanted by the thought of playing these games ever since I heard about them for the first time a few years ago - don’t bite! The first game is just barely a year younger than I am! - when I really got into gaming, and delved into the atmosphere and communities that come with it. I need a game right now where I can just become fully engrossed in someone else’s story, with beautiful music, and a bit more nuance than outright violence, even if just for a little while. I have more time to invest now than I ever have before, so I’m confident that I’ll be able to complete them before Spider-Man swings around on September 7th. I can’t wait

L’Equipe is reporting that Zinedine Zidane now has his eyes set on a move to England, with Manchester United specifically being linked to him as a result of the current unrest in the dressing room at United, with many feeling that it will be the next major managerial hot seat to become vacant in the Premier League. I think that, if such a move materialised, the Premier League title race would be blown wide open (depending on when he would sign), and the Champions League would be too (again, depending on when he would sign). I have a fondness for Mourinho from his stunts at Chelsea (and I loathe because of his move to United, and how he tore apart our team), but, with his days feeling numbered at Old Trafford, I think that, if Zidane really is interested, United should be jumping at the chance to sign him.