Mel81x

I think of it this way, what quality player will come in the winter market? The chances are slim to none and most of that business properly concludes in the summer anyways. Its a big risk to take to go out and get a temporary replacement only to have shipped dross out the door and replace it with another shaky player.

This is an odd situation to be in when you consider the injuries as well as the timing of them all. Two of our capable CBs are out, we have a RB that we could have relied on that has been injured and we're currently struggling to find suitable replacements for them without pushing the panic button which we've done in the past so many times. But, having said all of that, look at the injury return timings and the coincidental matches as well. Gomez is back soon, Trent will probably push to be back sooner rather than later, we have Milner and Fabinho to slot and interchange, Matip to play second fiddle or primary and we have a midfield that can rotate defensive duties wherever necessary. To get someone now isn't a bad idea and I guess everyone will look back at this moment if we lose the title race and say "should have bought a defender" but its a good risk to take (waiting not panic purchasing) and if it pays off we will have all our players back fully fit.

I'm honestly more in favour of having Fabinho play that central role since his ball control and distribution skills supersede Matip's so that adds an opening to have him or Virgil traverse up the pitch more to help the midfield out. Add to the fact that Fabinho tracks better from what I have seen and Milner would be a more ideal choice playing down the right side as he is our most versatile player.

So that Andy, VVD, Fabinho, Matip/Milner?

Hmm, kidding myself, nope just checked definitely not. Like I said, quite a myopic perspective of an industry that grows not every year but every day in almost every facet it has put out there so yes its gotten miles better over two decades, forget about matching itself two decades ago. As for to each their own, fair point not even a debate there but now I am curious about what exactly was so great almost two decades ago that is eternally lost to the industry today?

You know what's worse? If you're using Chrome or any Google enabled service and you opened this link their search algorithm has now ranked feet in the lower echelon search block. This means that sooner or later you're going to get those lovely ad recommendations that you don't want in your browser window. Furthermore, it might even start suggesting it to you as part of search completion. Gotta love the internet.

https://kotaku.com/game-modding-illegal-in-japan-punishable-by-prison-and-1831525943 Luckily I have never owned a modded console nor have I ever had the fascination but I suppose this does send a message to people out there trying to mod and cheat their way through things. Good step by Japan?

When you get done with the moon hunting phase I recommend going out and getting Breath of the Wild its just as good, if not better, than Odyssey.

That is a great title some would argue that Fortnite is in that class too because of all the building.

Think that's a bit myopic if you ask me honestly. MGS: Phantom Pain is a masterpiece in a long line of excellent games directed by Kojima. FF has taken a funny turn for the worse and I do agree that they need to stop being more action oriented and go back to RPG mode but lets face it they are just going with whatever the latest trend is and Square is probably never going to change their stance there. The new God of War didn't tone down the violence it just used it far more effectively and has a story that made it win GOTY just for the mere fact that you aren't going around like the hack-and-slash days but have to actually plan the attack or you'd lose terribly. I think anyone that played it will also tell you that it was one of the better games of the last five years given how everyone is now moving these games to a more story driven system with very little in terms of action/adventure. Call of Duty and every other FPS perfectly matches what you're talking about in the fact that there is zero creativity and its just a grind to the finish but as I stated before thats where the industry is going with those games and companies realize thats what they have to do to get there. As far as the comment of there aren't any real top games out there I totally disagree, we've moved past boxed systems in open-worlds, corridors have become far harder to traverse and the idea that a game has to run on rails and be non-explorable is dead. Look at titles like Red Dead Redemption, Last of Us (i cannot re-iterate how great this title is), Resident Evil 7, Doom, Limbo, Nier: Automata, Horizon:Zero Dawn, Wolfenstein II, Cuphead, Nioh, Persona, Hollow Knight, Dead Cells, Monster Hunter, Spiderman, Assasins Creed, Octopath, The new Tomb Raider series, etc and the innovation and creativity is hardly dead. And that's just from the last two years alone, mind you all the games I have listed don't require microtrans to get the full experience out of them and are playable as-is so I don't get the statement of there aren't any top games from famous franchises anymore. They are there it just depends on what you're looking for and if it fits into how you like to game. I can't stand FPS games because they get grindy and non-innovative at a point so I stay away and for the most part almost every action-adventure title put out by dev shops like Naughty Dog, Santa Monica Studios, Tecmo, Kojima Studios, etc have been great because they've taken what they were excellent at and morphed it into something both adults and kids would enjoy. Are there duds out there? Absolutely, it wouldn't be a creative business if there wasn't. But there are some real diamonds in the rough too and not just from Nintendo.

Have you heard his original fame busting song?

That song makes my ears fucking bleed.

Well you're partly right. The monetization component of gaming is alive and well plus they've really always been this way its nothing new, they are after all companies putting out titles and they need to earn money for it. As for the fact that there aren't any real AAA titles out there anymore I think that's untrue and you can get the same experience as playing MGS, GT, FF(Insert version here) with other titles as well like Last of Us, Resident Evil, Uncharted, FFXIII, FFXIII-Lightning Returns, Tomb Raider, Metal Gear Solid : Phantom Pain, etc. It's all really a matter of just choosing the level of gaming you'd like to get into and sticking with it. You may not even choose to buy a DLC or go further than the story if you really just want to stop there and it provides a lush and rich gaming experience that in some ways actually trumps what we grew up playing (hard to believe I know). Where I completely agree with you is this weird microtransaction world the gaming industry adopted and I blame the money-minded-bastards at EA for starting this whole mess. I don't mind paying for a DLC if its reasonable but to make money they way they do is stupid and kills the joy of gaming.

I never thought we'd get to page two of this topic. Well done to ladies feet.

I saw that and thought to myself "why would I even want to torture myself I'll just wait for the whole game". Then I remembered its the internet and if people can hack governments for data I am sure there's some good samaritan just waiting to break that timer.

I am looking forward to Metroid this year as well as someone announcing a proper Castelvania (side scrolling platformer not the new style they've adopted), a kick ass F-Zero and a real Final Fantasy specifically for the Switch. I wouldn't be too upset if KOEI Tecmo / Team Ninja went out and did a Gaiden for the Switch either, what a game that is by itself.

https://kotaku.com/bright-memory-is-a-shooter-action-game-made-primarily-b-1831445427 Thinking this might be a pre-order, quite like the chaotic mess it can become and has shades of the first Bayonetta.

Harder than SM Galaxy? I hated that game.

You should ask @Harry how many he has I got to around 700+ and stopped. The grind is insane to get to 999.

Mario is fantastic but Zelda to me was a lot better and I think the only reason for that was that it as the first game I got for the switch. If you like the hack-and-slash genre give Bayonetta a check as well because it can get ridiculously hard as you ramp up.

We have to be top post March and then we can start to dream. The rest of the pack is a bit too close at the moment to really call anything. When the CL starts again then the task of maintaining fitness and squad rotation comes into play. I am just glad Gomez comes back at that time and affords us the ability to focus on multiple fronts without sacrificing defensive fitness in the process.

What a song to pull out. That is some deep Bollywood dive there. Listen to a lot of it?

I think we would become a bit unbearable but knowing us (and I say this lightly) we won't make it to the end of the season without a few heart-attacks.