dan-likes-trees

Would defo be keen on this! Lists might be a touch more varied too. Anyway, in b4 deadline on the ninty list 1 - Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time - Just a perfect game. Simple but effective bildungsroman, great dungeons, the best score, archetypal, amazing, first console game I ever played and still one of the very best. 2 - Pokemon Gold / Silver - Still plays great, before the games got (visually) too gross and childish for my taste. Also epic in scope; that final battle with trainer red is one of the GOAT gaming moments 3 - Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild - Could yet rise higher but for my shame (or lack of rushing) I've still not completed it! Regardless, 100% lives up to what I wanted Zelda to become when I first played through the first on my list. Beautiful timeless graphics, feels like a true adventure. 4 - Diddy Kong Racing - Surprised there are no votes for this beast! Better than any Mario Kart game, hard as nails toward the end, fun boss battles, planes are well implemented, holds up great today 5 - Advance Wars: Days of Ruin - Gameplay across this series is impeccable. An unpopular opinion but I much preferred the art style and plot of this one. Felt a bit like Grapes of Wrath / the road or something. 6 - Lylat Wars - Top arcade shooter, top bants with the crew. Love the multiple endings & the sci fi references scattered throughout. 7 - Mario Kart: Double Dash - best multiplayer of the series. Crucially has the mode with all 4 cups as a one-er; an epic 45 minute endurance battle, like a premier league season. Still play it loads 8 - Golden Sun - Possibly the most dated of my list in hindsight, but just a fantastic little RPG with an epic scope. 9 - Pokemon Red / Blue - Lacks the quality of life improvements of Gold / Silver but still holds up brilliantly and has some of the eccentric weirdness and darkness lost in the later games. The Mewtwo stuff on Cinnibar island is great. 10 - Warioware - How they've not resurrected this franchise is beyond me. Bloody great fun!

I've been playing this since it came out last week.. I'm bloody obsessed. Outrageous that it's now free! Highly recommend everyone hops on it. Pubg knockoff or not, it's immensely smooth and a fantastic experience. Genuinely heart pounding stuff once you get down to that top five! Today's addition of better ranged weapons has definitely improved the game too. I do feel like they've missed a trick by not making it a plus game. Does anyone ever check the free-to-play games tab? I guess it's success will be dependent on word of mouth.

Yeah for all I'm enjoying it I gotta say it does make me want to play PUBG more and more! But it's providing about enough to stop me spunking a grand on a pc for now Potentially massive news though - Battle Royale - Fortnite next week is going free to play on ps4 xbox pc and mac next week! I've become a bit obsessed it! Got two #2 finishes but that first place has alluded me thus far.. Not a huge fan of the fort building stuff (last few survivors all seem pretty well versed in making forts) but I am appreciating the differences in tone to pubg - games are a bit quicker and more arcadey, the map is more condensed, plus using the pickaxe to ust through walls and cielings spices things up a little. Well worth a go for non-PC owners!

Hopped right on this after seeing this post... it is might be the most outrageous, cynical cash-grab knock off I've ever seen!! Literally the only reason it must've been made in such bare bones state must have been to get first dibs on all the ps4 owners wanting to try out battle royale / pubg. That all said, like an absoloute sucker, I bought it pretty much as soon as seeing this post - and it's pretty great!! Notched up a couple of kills and 14th place finish first go, and subsequently didn't best that the rest of the evening. Would definitely do with a bit more to distinguish itself from the crowd (and the sooner they add squads the better) but still. Addicting stuff!

Hah!! Ah well, you must've liked it some to binge to that extent at least. Can see your issues with the show, though for me the pretty shoddy writing of Chandra's character toward the end was the only one that really offended me. I actually didn't find the plot in general to be totally ludicrous; even if it's exageratted I feel like it does draw on the genuine injustices in the legal system; it's telling that British original was written by a criminal lawyer. Same way the Wire had a couple of outlandish plot points that were carried off through the quality of the rest of the show. Aanyway. Do check out some of the rest of that list! @killthenet - I've caught the first couple eps of Top of the Lake 2 - pretty good stuff so far! Very different tone to the first season, but the setup is pretty strong, especially the relationship between Elizabeth Moss's character and her daughter. Get on it - drops off iplayer in a couple weeks!

You guys get much further with this? I'm enjoying it but probably not to the level of your post @Drahkon - I think for me the issue is that the rites are great but they're over in about a minute or two, and though I sort of like characters and the story, I feel like you spend way too long on that in comparison to being in the games themselves. I'm currently finding all the dialogue and stuff a bit tooo abstract at times. The whole game is reeally similar to The Banner Saga in the setup, art style, but that game seems more grounded, the choices matter more, and the balance between the two elements of the game (battles and travelling) is way more even. Still, the matches themselves are great fun. Fantastic idea to combine rpg with a sports game. Would like to see more of that in the industry! As you say, online pvp would be great! My only issue in the games is finding it a bit too easy to just run round via the corners and score, with a couple of speed boost items or whatever.

Lovely stuff. I'll see it out on the dvds! Glad you've gone with The Night Of. A surefire winner.. I think. Let us know your thoughts! And try not to throw up during the gratuitous shots of John Turturro's manky feet. Definitely get on FNL if you haven't seen it - absolutely top tier stuff. About a US high school football team and the small town it's set in but.. better than that sounds. Definitely worth a look - Kyle Chandler is particularly excellent in it. Pretty much agree with @Killthenet 's thoughts above. Homeland well worth it for the first two seasons - Just imagine that it stops there! Bit like ignoring the Star Wars prequels. And Top of the Lake is fine stuff, super atmospheric; I think it made more of a splash (excuse the pun) in the US than over here for whatever reason. Hoping that as Electric Dreams will be an anthology of one-off episodes it'll avoid a decline in the vein of the shows you mention. But we'll see! Pretty beastly cast for a channel 4 show in any case Glad to hear that strong praise of Twin Peaks Killthenet - have been slightly put off by people saying it's pretty hard work compared to the original series - sounds well worth it though. Gonna get on that

OROITT MMAAYYTTTEEE First, thanks for reminding me that This is England '90 is a thing that I missed and get to catch up on now. The lassie's away for the week so that's me sorted. '88 was pretty much flawless. Your list is pretty lined up with mine for faves (asides from Singing Detective which I've not heard of. An.. interesting name..). Anyway from recent years I would thus recommend.. The Night Of which is a HBO miniseries from last year with Riz Ahmed and John Turturro that is excellent, the first episode in particular thoroughly grabbed me by the bollocks and didnt let go for the hour running time. I THINK I remember you being a fan of Friday Night Lights(?) In which case I've been loving the Netflix doccy series Last Chance U, which is pretty much the former but in documentary format. The guidance counciller basically is Connie Britain in real-life-format. Pretty amazingly shot / directed too - looks even more cinematic than FNL! Top of the Lake is defo worth a blast, with ourgirl Peggy Olsen as the lead and lots of beauty New Zealand swooping vistas. Haven't caught season 2 yet myself. Would also recommend looking into Trapped, The Girlfriend Experience, Battlestar Galactica and the first series of Homeland although the latter two are pretty old news.. On a more general note, have we all seen the trailer for this? Looks great! Good old channel 4, losing Black Mirror to Netflix and then comissioning more or less the same thing..

What did you make of it Bard? And the rest of you? Been watching Danny O'Dwyer's streams and I'm so interested in checking it out, to the extent that I'm considering finally getting a PC (justifying it through needing an upgrade for my work). Seems like it's getting bigger and bigger online too. Mad that none of these battle royale games have made it to ps4 yet (I think?)

Surprised at the lack of comments!! That was an absoloute masterpiece! EDIT: ah bollocks. how'd you do spoilers now? Was going to point people toward the making of the episode on GOT official youtube. Excellent stuff.

I bought in Edinburgh recently and found that the valuation survey by our mortgage lender came out a lot higher than the home buyers report valuation was. So even though we were paying a lot more than the home buyers report suggested the flat was worth, the mortgage lender's valuation was in line with what we were borrowing. Might be worth looking into this as I'm sure we didn't just get super lucky. Speaking of - have been in our new flat for a month now - whole process was utterly seamless! Can't believe what a cash drain getting all the 'essentials' for a liveable house came to tho. Cleared me right out!

Ok dude that's a shame but no worries! Thanks a lot for hosting the league the past few months (and when the league was running all those years before). Great to honour Maddog, I'm sure he'd have joined if he were still with us. Had a blast, sad that Winston came within a point of one last title, but we had a good run. Most definitely the end of an era. Lads, it's been a pleasure.

Yo @Haden - is there to be a final season (or more) of the league? Would be up for a grand finale - the fans want it, need it. Or, happy to message a few people if you want to try and keep it running longer

Ha yeah we'll see! Just hoping not to lose tomorrow! What a season this is turning out to be for Haden FC btw! The Haden enters beast mode The defining fixture of the past week had to be a huge win for Haden; a tight three point away win against Phlanax FC. They now sit at 12 points from 12 and have gone 10 games since their last loss; perhaps the turning point was a shift toward more convetional tactics, with every game since being either 442 or 352. The squad is well balanced, with the goals and assists spread across the squad, and Tinson, Testa, Flazon and Munther have had great seasons. The race for 3rd spot is truly on, and a top 3 would represent serious progress for Haden and perhaps a turning point in the club’s history. The final day home match against Winston could be decisive for both teams Winston tie up top 2 and fans begin to dare to dream Winston fans were full of delight in exacting sweet vengence against a side who have long been their bogey team. Hoping to bypass what is usually a packed Winston midfield, the Greeks used an unusual 4-3-3 setup, only to be surprised by a 4-4-2 that neutered the might of the three greek strikers. The game itself was fierce, both teams all out on the offence, with chances at either end. Inspravankov was an inspired substitution off the bench, netting two goals in the final fifteen minutes. In the end it was a well deserved victory for Winston Winston’s manager has long assured the fans that top 3 was the only goal for the season. This has been achieved with two games to go. They sit at the top of the table. The next two games will be two of the biggest in the club’s history. Exeter keep title race fierce with huge away win at Phlanax Another huge twist in the title race came this week with Exeter failing t overcome a rudderless Phlanax team, the latest misnomer threatening to marr an excellent Exeter season. The most significant dropped points, however, came in the early loss away against Winston. Will they bounce back from this? A win tomorrow would surely secure the title. No bit sendoff for disappointing AVFC club AVFC fans are in despair; their manager having recently announced he thinks ‘I will be leaving at end of the season’. Despite starting the season with a monstrous squad, they have only disappointed through this campaign. Dwight Red, star signing, has been particularly poor, with only a goal and an assist to his 13-skilled name. Mid-season away wins at Phlanax and Winston were the only chinks of light in a dark season. Chivoui and Fahlberg have proved reasonbly good prospects, the base of a potentially strong team, but the club have been marred by scattershot transfer dealings and have failed to settle at all. A disappointing showing against Exeter has deflated any hopes of a triumphant exit; the fans will be praying for another season in the league, but this has been a season to forget, and a manager who can see no forward momentum for youths too young and golden oldies well past their prime has been truely discouraged.

There is in fact an app!! Also I think they send you an email 24 hours before a game to set tactics. Never too late to come back Though luckily you didn't mess anything up, don't worry! -- Can't believe I'm first. Starting to believe it could happen. Got to play my youths these three games though, not going to get any raises at this rate!

Uurrrrggghhh. The high of e3, and then the low of e3 for me. Hope the online aspect doesn't dominate the game. What a major disappointment it could be. Can't claim to be too into the dialogue or the voice acting, but as a trailer, and as a way of introducing the world I thought it was great! Baffles me that Nintendo didn't do something similar for Metroid (ie CGI trailer to give a flavour of the game).

Yeah, can't really blame Sony imo; a bit cynical but makes total business sense; if a bunch of mates are all into playing online on PS4 then any of their friends thinking of buying a console are definitely going to be buying a PS4. One of the casual games these days next to fifa et all. In any case - I still play online at least a couple times every week, two years after release; it's a brilliant, brilliant game. Perfect for Switch - tbh given how uninspiring most of the PS+ games are these days I'd consider sacking off my subscription and playing on switch instead for the lower price..

Yeah definitely; I think I remember the Tories doing better in 2015 than the exit poll suggested. Tense night ahead!! Nonetheless, touch wood, I can't see it being miles off, and don't think the exit polls ever have been in the past. Even if the Tory's were to do better than the exit poll suggests, touch wood it looks certain they'll lose seats compared to 2015, which is a massive result in itself and will make for a pretty unstable government! Big gains for Labour in the night's first seat too : peace: CAMMMAAAANNNNNNNN!!!!!

This is just unbelievably classic. Calling an election because she was certain of a landslide. Delivering an uncosted manifesto, chockablock with cuts, patently non-beneficial to the electorate because they were certain of a landslide. Whatever the result; what a complete embarassment, what a tragic gamble!! Going to be one hell of an exciting night!!!

^ Close to nicking a handy point for me and @Nikos9 today though eh!! Tight up top as Phlanax and The Greeks draw in ferocious tussle In a week of relative dead weight games this was the fixture to watch - weeks of Sky buildup, Elstak vs Nikos, a titanic tussle between two top title contenders. The match did not fail to impress - a back and forth humdinger, a ferocious battle in midfield, and a tremedous second half that saw four goals. For both teams, Goalkeepers are a problem - 3 goals from 7 shots this match for both teams suggests fragility, and for Nikos, a 57% save ratio for his top keeper is a dreadful ratio in an otherwise faultless squad. Phlanax find themselves 3 points off the top, and the manager suggests he is the more pleased with the point, but The Greeks remain the only unbeaten team and cling on to top spot. They are right where they need to be Cubic can't be counted out Cubic County have had a strong, defiant start to the season. This week they had their best result yet - a shock away win that defied the stats away against Haden. The manager, dripping with sarcasm, claimed 'It was totally all skill and not in any way a fluke.'. Haden has expressed dumbfounment at an apparently unfair result; a fair qualm, but this punter would also point fingers at Haden's choice in between the sticks - his keeper, a rookie 20/6 - couldn't keep up with a barrage of shots in front of a defence of three. Cubic were unlucky not to nick a point after a good game against Exeter - they will go into their match against The Greeks glowing with confidence. AVFC finally kick off season After another depressing press release , fans have finally seen a chink of light in the form of a dominating 4-0 away win. Rumours abound of yet another rebuild for the squad, given a top three placing seems unlikely, but this latest result will give fans hope of, at the very least, disrupting the order at the top of the table. Chivoui thanked the fans for their patience; the match saw 4 of their 5 total goals this campaign so far. Exeter gently rise up table Phalanax will blame the pressures of household DIY for being demolished by Exeter, and abysmal team ratings reflect that, but Exeter were there ready to swoop, and have responded with a commanding 3-0 performance. Aside from an away loss they have done little wrong A massive injury to Mart Matthews will be hard for them to play through; he has been a rock at the back this season, but it is Forbes who is carrying the team at the moment, instrumental in dispatching Phlanax. The manager has mixed up his tactics in every match which made them hard ot get a handle on. Currently only a point off the top, this team will only remain gentle for so long... Team of the week: Exeter Gently, for quietly navigating past two tricky matches with 6 points

good 45% of that are the google cardboard and Samsung Gears that they basically give away though :P That said - on shopto with farpoint for £299 - fast getting toward that affordability point!!

That start tho @Nikos9 !! Looking like a good title race on the cards between that top 4. Massive game on Friday with Phlanax.. Painful start for you though @Haden - I see you've got a couple injuries in that midfield. Hope things improve (if only to nick back some points off the Greeks next week )

Used to listen to the Lost podcast he did like.. ten years ago. It was great! Formative listening for me. Get your ears on the Little White Lies film podcast - Jimbo presents it - started a few weeks ago. Very good thus far! My go-to's are Slate Cultural Gabfest, New Statesman Podcast(s), and the IGN UK podcast, amongst a tonne of other that I struggle to keep up with! All excellent. I've also been finding S-Town to live up to Serial's high standard from the first few eps

A new season dawns. This league of ours changes. The plates shift. The game is reborn. Which of these new challengers is lead by a true artist, one with an eye for the game, a direction, an all encompassing vision that will lead them to a title? A.V.F.C What madness is afoot behind the scenes at AVFC? AVFC were the only team not from N-Europe to feature in the top division after the merger last year; looking the strong outsiders, they could not pounce, and ultimately had a disapoitng first season. The boardroom has since taken a turn into madness, selling off serious prospects like 21/8 Stensaas and striker Belhammer for big bucks, cashing in to pick up golden oldies - Tjelle, 34/14, was the most recent arrival, a stonking tank in defence that could drive them to the title. A deeply intriguing team, assembled with the clear goal of winning the league at all costs. 5 / 1 Winston Gardens Hot off the foot of successful second challenge, Winston find themselves with a daunting challenge in retaining their throne, with an influx of teams that could only be described as beastly. The team is well set up, consistent, well drilled, though seriously lacking in star power in attack; they will also need to pick up another couple of youths early in the season. Wimmer’s 2 goals and an assist on opening day showed he still has it at 34, and a 3-0 crush of Haden showed promise. Look for them in the top 3, but the manager has urged caution on expecting against such experienced influx. 6 / 1 Exeter Gently Another manager to be heavily investing in golden oldies to beef up the squad pre-season, the Exeter squad looks like a serious force, one not to be taken gently. Adriansson arrives with with a huge pricetag and a bigger reputation, whilst Mart Matthews represents a seirously smart purchase, following on from a succesful season for recent purchase Blucker. Double jumps have put the youths in strong positions. Questions are to be asked of strength in depth here, but regardless, this is a seriously strong team, with youths that will surely become more and more ferocious as the seasons wear on. Angry Greeks The Greeks keep raging; oh how they howled when Winston failed to slip up and present them with a path to league title retention. How they raged upon the news that they sit 4 points and 21 goals behind Winston in the all time standings! Yet last season’s development has left the squad in a great place, ready to pounce back upon that throne and equal Winston’s 2 trophies. Blæstrud*, vardar, Directco, and the recent aquisition of Gil give a young spine to this competently set up team. Could it be argued, whispered, that the squad lacks a certain edge, a certain star-power, that might fling them to the top of the table? Yet they have anger in their hearts, a burning, furious desire to return to the top. Game on. 8 / 1 Phalanx Elstak; he who dramatically quit the N-Europe league and yet more dramatically returned, bringing with him a whole possee. Elstak, he who brought Phlanx through to last season’s trophy without a point dropped. Elstak, who owns a team valued higher than any other in the division. Elstak, he who failed once again Winston and the Angry Greeks. Showtime begins. The headscratcher here is that Phlanx look merely hyper-competent on paper; no star players, a max rating in the team of 10. There is strong youth, but what experience? Podaru has been parachuted in to fill that gap, a bargin at under a mill. They know how to win, nay, they breathe winning. Can they keep up their record against much improved opposition..? 7 / 2 Urban Street Foxes Those that bare the nickname of the mighty Leciester will hope to emulate their underdog success. A mixed bag of players leaves many a quesiton mark, yet Kujit, Oostrum and Poupon form the spine of a team that could a match for any. They will be hoping for some good youths through to develop in the meantime. 25 / 1 Cubic County Cubic County; how they ebb and flow. A strong start to last season disipated a little toward the end, ultimately finishing the season in negative goal difference, and yet an opening day draw against AVFC has cheered fans to no end. There is talent and dross in the squad; Martins, Rowlands, and Brace are all great players, let down by the likes of Lassiter and Lincoln. Holding AVFC to a draw was a strong start to their season; this is a team and a manager more than a match for any in the league. 40 / 1 Haden United The boss, the beast, the one and only; the reason we are here, the beating heart of the league; long how he has raged at the inadiquacies of his players; finishing fourth last season was humiliating for an experienced team and manager, and then opening day humiliation at Edinburgh Castle has quashed hopes of a fresh dawn, fans furious at a manager who refuses to adapt from his preffered 3-5-2 system. And yet! What prospects there are in this squad. Tinson, Testaferrata, Falzon, Munther; a young core that will surely feature in every game and blossom. Stephen is a gawad purchase upfront, giving the team further balance. They will bounce back. Each season, United become more formidable. 15 / 1 FC Fuza-Coda The league’s whipping boys? Fuza-Coda are on quite the losing streak right now, not helped by a seriously baggy squad, with but a couple of gems hidden amidst the dross. A reasonably strong defence will help prevent humiliations; nonetheless, most of this squad needs a rethink. 60 /1 Mapchester United With the dubious distinction of being the team with the lowest team valuation, a manager who hasn’t logged in for weeks, and a frankly pathetic squad inherited from Roger Federer, Mapchester need a new manager to come in with a proper mapped out plan to reunite the team. Truely, there are no redeeming features on show here; the rest of the league will be setting their youth on this ragtag united bunch. 100 / 1

So - how are you guys enjoying this? Anyone finished it? Might make it my post-Zelda game, but I'm noticing that I've seen noone truely excited about it; for all the great reviews it doesn't seem to have the thrill factor that I've seen on other threads, even Horizon et all. My other question is; pretty sure I'll never ever finish it with that 90 hour runtime - is it worth playing with a view of only getting a third of the way through or so?