darksnowman

Croatia back to where they were. 15 mins to salvage it... again.

Dude this is still on.

Spain have plenty to thank the Premier League for. Oh and would you look at that, see what can happen when you get the ball down the pitch and go for goal! Not rocket science is it!

I won't begrudge Azpilicueta that one.

Prolific! Totally. When they checked it I thought there was absolutely zero chance it'd be given, then forgot to get your opinion on it since you've always got the latest rule book at hand to clarify these things. This is set up for Modric to win it and be a villain in Spain.

One I know, should dual-wield, and I would have said they were already there as a Mii. Another I haven't the foggiest who they are or what they are from. And the other I have heard of. The fourth actually looks cool and came in backed by a nice ditty.

Ha, I still think the keeper should have controlled it. Especially at this level with tippy-tappy play it out from the back philosophy goalies adhere to. Meant to get your thoughts on that penalty Spain were awarded against Slovakia, if you remember it? The way I saw it, the Slovak defender was already into the slide tackle motion before the Spaniard nipped in and won the penalty. So, I thought Slovakia were hard done by on that one. You?

Calamity. Is this how Spain show us how to dominate possession, score and go out.

I got a game over in my second battle! I'm not sure what happened but it seemed like the yellowy-blue lion one-shotted me because the encounter ended very quickly. So zetta quickly that I thought it was a forced death to teach me something about the rules of dying in the Reapers' Game. It wasn't, and after that I mashed Y + X to an A grade victory. Mashing with no real thought turned out to be enough for the demo--I hope the full game has more depth and strategy to it. The Buya looks great, yeah! I like the way the tall buildings and skyscrapers lean down as you head in certain directions. I tried to turn the camera too, but I think having it fixed is totally fine for this... it would help more if the map in the lower corner was oriented in the same direction as the fixed camera view because it didn't seem like running left on screen, for example, took me left on the map. A strange way of presenting things, imo. The loading times aren't annoying, I agree, but they are noticeable which is what I find strange. At least loading out of battle has the results screen to camouflage it, but no attempt has been made (in the demo) to mask the few seconds it takes to load in. It's a wee bit jarring as otherwise the game seems pretty smooth! Displaying noise erased rather than "NOISE CANCELLED!" at the end of battle is a missed opportunity.

Yeah, he sends them out with the number one priority being the clean sheet, and whatever they can string together in the attacking third then so be it. Germany are vulnerable at the back so England will fancy their chances, but Germany have also been scoring goals and if they find the net against England, who knows how England will respond? Will they open up and chase the game? Will they go even further into themselves and try to get out of there with a dignified 1-0 loss? Who knows. England are a bit of an unknown quantity, at least character-wise to me. I'm starting to think it's time England just won one of these things so we can get it out of the way and reset the clock. Like Murray winning Wimbledon and Liverpool winning the league. Maybe just getting it over with would be best so we can all move on. Chance would be a fine thing. Belgium getting Portugal out of the way (sorry @Jonnas, someone had to go and this time it's your lot) doesn't really clear a path for them with Italy next in line. So many genuine contenders nowadays. Italy will have to be on their game because if Belgium can create for Lukaku it'll be game over. And even if they don't manage to find Lukaku in good positions, somebody like Hazard could rifle one in like last night! It's going to be another quality duel. Bobby Mancini should outsmart Bobby Martinez but you just never know. The duel of the Bobbies here we come!

Yeah, I thought displaying the elevation could have been handled better. It was difficult to quickly open the map and assess things. I just played the ball through the tornadoes as if it was a normal shot and it seemed to end up where I expected, just up a level. Were you trying to land the ball in the tornadoes or what? Added some nice variety to the golf, I agree, and made adventuring around the course with your Mii more interesting too because you had to plan a route for the ball as well as yourself. But there should have been XC challenges and tournaments on each course in adventure mode. There, I said it. And a koopa the quick NPC for recurrent speed golf challenges... and other pros that only do traditional golf... and a proper ladder to climb to number one in each style... and your rival rookies could flourish in a different type of golf each... so many untapped possibilities that could've been done within the adventure mode framework they built. Such a pity.

Just looked it up and I'm fairly certain I've got the graceful. If you ever see the one that hangs beside it would you keep me in mind? EDIT: Checked a list and I think it's the detailed I'm talking about.

O rly. Time to undock the joy-cons and condemn whoever joins for some four-ball to the drift.

I think you can get at Hummels but in truth, I reckon Southgate'll set them up to invite pressure and try to nick it with Sterling on the break.

Before kickoff, I thought this would be an upset but watching the match it is fully deserved. Well done.

For some reason or another, I thought this would be little more than a vapid cash-in but it's actually really cool. Only downside in the demo, imo, is the loading into and out of battles. At least coming out you can look at the battle stats.

What was so bad about it? The shot limitation was really generous. The only issue I had was discerning on the map the upper levels from the lower, as there didn't seem to be a way to know at a glance. Other than that I thought it was a breath of fresh air!

The Netherlands are up against it since the sending off. I get the feeling that if the Czech Rep get one, the floodgates might open.

Rolled credits earlier on adventure mode. The ending is very abrupt and just happens... not exactly out of nowhere, though you still kind of think there might be more golf to be played, but no. So yeah, if reviewers sprinted through they could definitely have clocked it in the sub-five hours that's being bandied about. I wouldn't recommend taking that approach though. It's sub-ten, absolutely, and can be enjoyed for the short adventure it is without the need to "rush", as it were. Overall, adventure mode is fine but it could have been more. When I say more, I don't even mean a 3D version of Mario Golf on Gameboy Color, I mean they could have just done more with what they made here--more golf on each course, events, tournaments, types of tournaments, cups and trophies that take advantage of the same hubs and courses that are here already. Just vary the wind and pin placement and away you go! But no, the content dwindles for each area until, as I said, the ending just happens. It tries to ramp up and be epic but pretty much just peters out. Pretty sure it was the first event in the starting area, you have to make the cut or you're out, and I was thinking here we go: golf! If this is how it starts, are we building up to competing over multiple rounds with big leaderboards of NPCs where you have to make the cut or start over? These badges are going to be an achievement to come by! Well, erm, no. Almost all the golf is done over 3-9 holes at pace, running from one stroke to the next, which gives you no time to take in your surroundings, ponder the implications of each stroke, and see what happens with the ball to know why a shot went askew so you can correct your technique next time. Also annoying is when you're stuck with computer opposition that obstructs your view on the green and stutters between their running/ putting/ celebrating animations in front of you when you're trying to line up and sink your own putt against the timer. You're 3-2-1ed into each hole like Mario Kart (sans Lakitu) then it's hit and run hit and run hit and run until you get a badge and move on with no time to think about the golf itself. Could this be a distraction from a shallow control scheme? I couldn't tell you because I haven't had time to settle with it and find out. Looks like that's not what adventure modes about. And don't get me wrong, this concurrent style of running speed golf is all right in itself and a welcome addition to a turn-based sport, I just don't think it should have made up pretty much every event in adventure mode. But I guess you are feeding your Miis speed and stamina stats so they gotta be put to use. Oh, and could someone take the pin out of the cup when I'm putting, thanks! Mario Golf and Tennis used to be golf and tennis first, with some side modes to "kartify" the sports. Ring shots, speed golf, literal Mario Kart 64 item boxes in battle mode in Tennis 64. And it was great to have these unconventional modes but over the years those side modes have become more and more amped up until they've now infested the main sport and taken over. It's up to you to do the work to figure out how to play a bit of sport with the Mario characters and rock-solid Nintendo controls we are so used to. In my opinion, they've got it back to front, but the games must sell bucketloads which is why they double-down on the in-your-face zaniness. Anyway. During the adventure, I reckon I checked every door, bed, fridge, locker, all drawers, crates, barrels, jars, sinks, spoke to everyone each time they had a fresh speech bubble and here is what I got: On a fun note: @RedShellI'd be first in the queue if you do a golf line! So... time to check out the other modes, and frantic Mario Snooker when?

Thank you! Pretty sure I heard them say that's Denmark through to the semi's yesterday which had me scrambling for my wallchart to check. Italy needed extra time to see off Austria. I don't think anyone would have predicted that after the group stage when Italy were creating chances for fun and Austria were all over the shop. Every side that wins these things has a bad match somewhere along the line so maybe this was Italy having their blip, or have they been found out? Hmm. Two good matches in the offing today. You'd think the Netherlands would edge it against the Czechs, but Belgium-Portugal is a tough one to call.

You're not joking! I ended up moving on from that one but will return when I put more points into control to see if that helps. I can get 27+ points on the first three holes but after that bounces are killing me.

I stepped away and came back and it was 4-0. I expected Wales to lose, yeah, but I thought they would keep their collective chin up and not fall apart like that.

There is some good strategy involved with the XC golf and the water management aspect, you're right. More of that please. I haven't explored the menus too much, but I hope these kinds of options are available when setting up a round outside adventure mode. In adventure mode, selecting what clubs to take hasn't particularly helped or hindered me yet, though I've bought everything so far and I'm hoping it comes into play soon for another layer of tactical planning. Will it ever really be necessary to sacrifice running speed for a heavier bag with more clubs? I want to be confronted with this kind of dilemma. I think that reviewers who say adventure mode is 5 hours just put their blinkers on and gunned it. I'm not saying it's massively substantial either, but if you're thorough and talk to the characters in each area (they have new things to say after pretty much everything you do), and do the putting, chipping and driving challenges it is going to take more than 5 hours. If people are finishing adventure mode in five hours or less they've just followed the arrow and critical pathed it. And yes, I check everything for secrets. There is going to be a chest of drawers or a locker that pops open and gives me 500 exp, I just know it. Welcome back. Now quarantine with the Switch. Fore!