Julius

I agree that the CGI is very touch-and-go at times, but to say it's "really terrible" is perhaps misleading. This is something that can be cleaned up further in the future, and you can tell from the special effects used in the film that this was a large chunk of their budget (see: ships landing, such as Krennic at the start of the film and Rogue One on Scarif). It's funny, because nobody nitpicks the awful use of CGI in other films released this year; for example, Tony Stark's jittery head in Civil War. But that's besides the point: though not perfect, the CGI facial reconstruction used in this film, especially for Tarkin, is very good. There are some shots where it is more telling than others, but seriously, people can't point and say "oh, this looks nowhere near as good as the young Stark in Civil War!", because there's one thing to understand which puts this feat into perspective: Peter Cushing died over 20 years ago. Your argument for Mon Mothma also loses me, perhaps even more so than your CGI one. Rogue One leads directly into A New Hope, so there's no second guessing as to why Leia has to look like Carrie Fisher (may she rest in peace) in a New Hope; there are four years between the end of Rogue One and Return of the Jedi, and the actress used has already been utilised before (in Revenge of the Sith; her scene was cut from the final film). It was argued upon seeing the release of the deleted scenes that she looked suited for the role, but ten years later certainly more so: the actress looks very similar to the one used in ROTJ. Not to mention that it's a secondary/recurring character at best: if a Leia lookalike had been utilised, we'd be picking that apart even more so.

Likewise Well...VIII actually finished shooting in July earlier this year. So, unless anything changes drastically to do with the story - which likely won't be the case, seeing as it's been edited since August and reportedly began scoring work under John Williams earlier this month - we will more than likely get the chance to see her, one final time, in VIII.

I'm not even sure what to say.

Well, well...what can I say? That film was nothing short of superb! Now, mind, it did have a few problems for myself, but the last 30 minutes or so - and ESPECIALLY the last 5 minutes - is probably the biggest pay off I've ever seen in a film. I grinned non-stop for three minutes at the end of TFA when Rey arrived on Ahch-To and was clearly walking up to Luke, but in this case, it was probably the last 20 minutes or so. Ear-to-ear. My cheeks really hurt. I read Catalyst[/b last week: easily the bestcanon-related decision I've made since the restructure! So, just a few things I want to say after my first viewing - and SPOILERS, obviously:

Rogue One in four days! FOUR DAYS!!

Iirc the Treehouse event at E3 was the final major event to take place, so it competing for mindshare wouldn't be too much of an issue when you're the last flavour being tasted before a restaurant closes for the night. Though I agree, they've played the long game thus far and it's worked, I'm just hoping they know how to ramp it into high gear when the time comes. For example, they spent $5 million on a Super Bowl ad for Pokémon last year; it wasn't even for a game, just to say it was the 20th Anniversary. Actually, Super Bowl could be a prime candidate for some ads this time around too.

I agree. If this isn't somehow a launch title it would be a massive mistake, but actually using it as opposed to say, Mario, which is reportedly a launch title, in the event that Zelda isn't a launch title would be barmy. Luckily, only a little over a month to go until its release date should be revealed. I'm loving everything we've seen so far, definitely going to be getting a Switch at launch if Zelda is a launch title, might sit on it a while if not.

I'll admit, I'm not the biggest Zelda fan in the world (Pokémon has been the only consistent Nintendo thing in my life if I'm totally honest), but this game has me extremely intrigued and excited. The visuals look amazing - graphically there seem to be hiccups but I assume they're cleaning them up before the Switch presentation in Jan - and this is the first game in a long time I've seen advertising for being solely from the game, as opposed to cinematic trailers rendered in glorious fashion, and if anything that makes me even more excited. My only problem will be if the rumours are true about it being "delayed" again until next summer - specifically June - as this will likely delay my purchase of the Switch altogether, and would seem a poor move on Nintendo's part for obvious reasons. Then again, the prospect of Mario at launch, Zelda a quarter later and then the first console version of a main series Pokémon game certainly spaces out tent pole releases in a similar fashion to, say, a certain successful comic book movie universe, and having 2 of the 3 aforementioned games at launch would likely sell consoles but not games. Alas, I do find myself with a question towards you Zelda fans, who seem to have a much more solid grounding in the lore of the franchise than I. I'm thinking of purchasing some Zelda games and history in January, specifically Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask and Hyrule Historia, to prepare myself for the Zelda launch and have a much stronger footing in the lore. I'm without a Wii U, but do have a 3DS and Wii: are there any games other than those I mentioned that you would propose I play (in the aforementioned consoles), and would OoT and MM put me in good stead for having a greater understanding of the franchise as a whole? Cheers in advance :P

Man oh man did I LOVE these games. What a fitting way to round off what has been an awesome 20th Anniversary! I played these games at a snail pace in comparison to my other playthroughs, and was pleasantly surprised by my enjoyment of just slowing down, battling everyone and everything, catching as many Pokémon as I could and just having the most fun I think I've had playing a game in a long time! Very happy to see the sales results, but a bit gutted we don't yet have definitive figures and that Sun and Moon were counted separately, seeing as I don't see anyone doing the same for FIFA and CoD special editions :/ but alas, awesome figures nonetheless, and this game is so very deserving. As a lifelong fan who was seriously thinking of jumping off the franchise for good (if it was great my argument was to go out on a high; if it wasn't I think it's pretty self explanatory), this game did more than just drag me back in, it reminded my why I play video games, and, more importantly, why this is my favourite video game franchise. Granted, there were some issues, but I think they did great to evolve from Gen VI with the same system at their disposal, it's a microcosm of Nintendo and Gamefreak through the years in all honesty (getting the most out of their platforms that is). But where from here? Seeing as the datamines left us with the knowledge of placeholder event text up until 2021, which would be the 25th Anniversary, I think people could soon realise that the Gen VII isn't just a one-off celebration with just Sun and Moon, but rather a string of games which could bring the games to a great steady point, with the events in XYORAS hinting at something larger and SM perhaps even more so! And to think, they've left themselves in such a smart position with the timing of the Switch! Kanto games (praying for sequels set after the events of GS/HGSS) seem like an ideal target for a 25th Anniversary game or earlier on the Switch, whilst the events of SM hint at potential for both Kanto and Sinnoh visits, as well as the usual wish for many to return to Alola, which could well happen next year with Stars; fingers crossed it's more like BW2 than Platinum in terms of being a sequel with new features as opposed to a third version. Though, I do think it's a weird position for fans and Nintendo/GF alike: where do they go with the 3DS and Pokémon from here? Is that it now?

Also seen this; we had the same problem in a certain part of Lumiose in XY iirc. Also started seeing some posts citing the Battle Tree as another area with the same problem, so I'd advise avoiding saving in either of these locations until a patch is inevitably released.

I know the recent rumour is Pokémon Stars, but alas:

I agree wholeheartedly, but I'm going to tip-toe carefully with what Joe was saying: they're not going to just Switch mid-generation. I mean, by all accounts, new Pokémon, and transfer only via Bank, amongst other things, are what define the classical reference of a Pokémon generation! Are we then going to argue that Stars is Gen VIII? Man, this is going to be a weird one over on Serebii...SM caused enough of a stir with the whole Gen 6.5 nonsense. But alas, I concede. Not quite sure I was thinking with my bold statement; rather, I should have said, if the Switch is a flat-out failure then I wouldn't be surprised if they returned with DP remakes.

Well, well, well...can you feel it too? Because it's that time of the year again fellow Force users! Teaser trailer April 2016 First official trailer July 2016 Second official trailer October 2016 Synopsis From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves. And, for those not in the know...tickets go on sale tonight in the U.K. at midnight!

The wait is killing me. Gosh darn I hope we don't get a stupid delay once again with Stars... But the wait aside, I'm loving what I've heard about or seen of the games in reviews. As for the news on Stars? I don't see it as a big deal, and, in my opinion, it won't be a third version in the traditional sense (i.e. slightly tweaked story, slightly tweaked Dex, round off a few corners and so on), simply because that wouldn't make much sense in my opinion - especially given the reported delay that came along with the news of it in the first place. If this has been in development alongside SM and if it's using fully HD models that have already been designed for SM, why on earth would there be a delay for a few tweaks? It's definitely not a third version in the sense that Platinum, Crystal or Emerald was in my opinion. I'm betting on a sequelistic third version (several years later with Necrozma as the main legendary, like BW2 but in one game). As for them jumping ship to the Switch mid generation, I think it's walking onto and then back off the ship. Stars on the Switch, DP remakes on the 3DS and then a potential Kanto sequel/remake for the Switch (and anyone who screams "but we've done that a million times before!" , "meh") before we make the full Switch over. EDIT: Put these financial predictions for SM up on Serebii a while back, so figured why not just sit them down here too? :P

Now we just need to see it be a physical wall in the meta, eh? I'm still not over how accurate some of these leaks have been. I mean, I'm just jumping up and down at the idea of seeing a fully 3D Cynthia or Blue, AND THE POSSIBILITY THAT WE GET TO GO IN THE SS ANNE OMKHSJDLHFHAKDKFBDNELLRODBDNRMDPI

It's true. All of it.

If you're living in the UK, I would suggest looking at some other options of ordering is your only option - and especially if you're looking to order from the official Nintendo store. They have some great deals up there, I'll admit (fan edition of Sun/Moon, limited edition Solgaleo & Lunala 3DS, a free charger and a free Sun/Moon carry case all for ~£225), which I've looked at myself, but the big problem I have is that it doesn't seem to have a release day delivery, instead giving a 2-3 standard delivery deadline. So, if you don't mind not playing on release day, ordering from the official store might be a great idea considering how many deals they've got going on; however, if you do want it delivery day and want to possibly shave some pounds from the final price, I'd personally suggest ordering from Amazon. As for the 31st December date, that may mean you ordered whilst the placeholder was still up? It should probably update...

In before the "dock" is revealed to be just be a bladeless Dyson fan!

I'm sticking to my guns. The NX is a hot tub time machine. The NX is a: • dedicated handheld • dedicated home console • handheld/home console hybrid as the "patents" and "leaks" have depicted; this console I imagine would do tremendously well in lesser economically developed states The catch obviously being the cartridges and them working in tandem. And Nintendo finally making a great dedicated home console with fewer gimmicks than it has directions on the D-Pad

Meh, just make it a fairly small TV and you'd be fine :P By fairly small I absolutely mean that you'd be better off playing on the handheld But seriously, this Pascal/X2/Days of Future Past talk has me all pretty excited. If Nvidia does indeed show off its tech at some point in August, and they are indeed working with Nintendo on the NX, then surely a September reveal for the NX is locked in at this point?

Funny that you should mention that, because I've been thinking about what it could mean for a number of the almost exclusively portable Nintendo franchises, at least when it comes to the main series of the franchise, such as Pokémon, and the general idea of a console which can be taken on the go and upscaled to the TV is...pretty amazing. I mean, if they were to go ahead and change the landscape, I think there's a few ways in which they could do it, being: 1) Pokémon release a predominantly handheld game which can be upscaled to the TV (basically Colosseum/Battle Revolution) 2) They release a predominantly home console game, and when out and about with the handheld you can battle others and perhaps catch location exclusive Pokémon too (much like GO) 3) They release more of a hybrid game. Not sure how you could make a game 50% handheld and 50% home console, but it could definitely work. I think recent revelations, and older ones, on what the NX could be can only be a good thing for the portable side of things.

I'm really starting to think that this was a fully controlled Nintendo leak to give us a peek behind the curtain before the big show come - hopefully - September. I mean, didn't Emily Rogers also recently say something the lines of us hearing about it from a very official source very soon? I'm sticking to my guns on this one now, the NX is: • a dedicated handheld to replace the 3DS. • a handheld/home console hybrid to ease in newcomers into the gaming landscape; also, I'd imagine this thing would do extremely well in lesser economically developed countries, too. • a dedicated home console to replace the Wii U. Sure, there will be quirks which will make these stand out - such as the cartridges presumably being used across all of these platforms - as well as some great linking up to work coherently as a unified system.

Just watched the E3 trailer again, for what must at least be the fiftieth time at this point. Having watched a bunch of Miyazaki's films since my first time watching this, I've got to say, those Ghibli vibes are strong! Can't wait to see how this transfers over to the NX, even considering the latest rumours. I mean, surely it's going to do away with some of the problems evident in what we've seen so far? Oh, and is everyone else expecting the official release date for this thing during the Nintendo Direct NX reveal? I mean, we already know it pretty much has to be a launch title...

That's a great read! Definitely made me rethink my stance on the detachable controllers... In my mind, though, the X2 has to be in this thing if these rumours are to be believed at all. As much as I understand Nintendo wanting to drive the price down, the X2 has many benefits which the X1 seems to lack. As for pricing, I want to say this doesn't go past £250, or anywhere near, and being around £40 a game?