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Ah it affects you prem fans much less but we are feeling a little the same way at Birmingham at the moment, there is certainly a feel good factor around the club at the moment, and the good results to the start of the season show that considering the team is still a long way off a play off contending side. We made bristol look mediocre, we nicked a win against Leeds at the last second and our new wingers are looking very promising. The stadium is looking in good shape, the new owners have spent a sum repainting the stadium, putting up new screens and club crest as well as regenerating the seats etc. The stadium was looking rather dilapidated so it looks great in comparison. There is talk of a few more players yet to come in, we need some more depth so that's promising, we are lacking a potent striker (though that sounds like something most clubs are struggling with at the moment). It has also been nice to see some faces to our new ownership and some interaction from them with the fans, our previous owners were certainly leaving the club to languish.

Some surprise news! Brand New Broken Sword Game Announced Alongside Remaster of First Game | gamescom 2023 - IGN WWW.IGN.COM Big news in the world of Broken Sword: developer Revolution Software has announced a brand new game in the series alongside a remaster of the much-loved first game.

Spurs looked great. I agree with @Lurchzy though that you need a striker still. Long season to go. Rovers need a striker too. Feels like most teams do and thats strange as they seem to be a rare commodity through the PL and Championship. Gutted for England Women but as you say, the right better team won on the day. We couldn't really create anything which was a shame. I was actually surprised with the squad depleted so much from injuries that we got so far. Shows how much depth their is in English Women football already.

After playing Oblivion for hours on end and not finishing it as I got a little bored of all the detail, and that it was single player you can probably see why I didn't go near Skyrim! That game happened in my 7 year cebatical of games, and depressingly I found this place 😅 Maybe one day Skyrim....but for now I'll have to play Starfield with FG fwends! 😍

Good result for us Spuds at the weekend, but more importantly I'm very happy with the attacking style of play. We git out Tottenham back 🙂 Watched the WC final, shame about the result but the best team won, and I was in good company so enjoyed it either way. Hope these competitions help to continue encourage young uns to get into sports 🙂

Will definitely dwell I'm to that ifit comes out on console.

Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part Two (Expansion)

Campaign? Is there some sort of game on those discs?

I caught my iPad in the wrong place and it binned me! 😂😂

I have it pre-installed on game pass for PC. Nice I don't have to buy a Xbox for it. Especially since it's single player. I'm excited for it. But then again, I got platinum on NMS at launch so there's that. Space is always a win for me.

Thanks Greboth, I'll mix it up as I go along - just see what works - started in HC with a marksman rifle which seems to be going along ok - I guess there's probably a lot of core people going HC for long shots which might dilute the hardcore hardcore !

Right, holiday season is nearly over, so let's get this campaign finished! @Middle Class Caveman can let me know what dates you're available and I will set up a Poll and Event.

Superb review @Luseth, really enjoyed reading that. I think I'm lucky I have my PC in a place where I don't feel I need an alternative to just sit on the couch with. They do interest me though if I ever felt like I wanted to play a certain game on holidays, etc. I think Nintendos offering just is in a different space, mainly due to the unique games they create. They have a market that people will tap into alongside the PC and console market, which is a great space to be in. Its a shame their Labo stuff didn't take off.

I'll likely play the campaign again as MW2 campaign was great.

Looks decent and I suspect it will be good. Both of the campaigns from MW2019 and MW2 were excellent.

That depends what exact question you’re asking. Are longshots easier in hardcore? most definitely. Are platinum challenges easier in hardcore? not always. The amount of camping that goes on in hardcore means less kills and so less long shots. That’s fine for some guns, like the M4, as they’re just so difficult to get longshots in core ao it’s better to do slowly in HC than not at all. Other guns though, like the ISO hemlock or fss hurricane spring to mind, are piss easy in core and I think probably makes them quicker to do in core.

I am probably much like you, the SD was mostly used round the house and I suspect this will be too, I have a trip to Liverpool in a few weeks where I am contemplating taking it on the train but then my Switch is probably a less expensive gadget to take in case someone decides they want to do something stupid or something ^_^

Very!

I even said that as the first 5 words in this thread🤣

I'd say Skyrim in space but pretty sure you somehow managed to avoid one of the best games ever made, so that's no help 🤔😅

Do you ever take your handheld out of the house? I think my SteamDeck has only been out in the wild once. I'm in Hackney Downs park writing this, like a lot of sunny days after work, and I brought a book (and phone of course)...I tend to use the SD more late at night.

Finally saw dead reckoning part 1 and if I'm honest I was a little disappointed but not sure why? Now don't get me wrong the film wasn't bad but maybe we've just seen it all before🤷. Still credit where it's due Cruise I'd say is the top action star at the moment imo and when Bond rises from the grave has some serious steps to get anywhere close.

51 gold guns done. Bloody longshots to go - i'm thinking this might be hardcore time, presumably a lot easier there?

Yeah a steamdeck 2 or ultra could be a brilliant machine, the Switch with a bit more power, I have also seen a Lenovo handheld thing that has detachable controllers so there is a lot of potential at the moment. I think with the ROG, at least for the time being I am starting to use it more than my PS5 and it serves the purpose I wanted it for brilliantly.

Great review and comparison @Luseth I think there will be more innovation in this field, and it can only be a good thing for gamers. Interested to see what Nintendo come up with too, as I hear rumours about their next handheld starting to pick up lately.

I need to unlock the M13c as AR's are pretty easy to platinum so should be a relatively easy one to do. Up to 42 platinums now, so only 9 to go - single digits baby! Basically just continued working through the SMG's and Marksman rifles. Marksman, I think, I've only got the Tempus Torrent to finish but I've got most done already. SMG's I'm working on the PDSW and about halfway done with, I think, only the BAS-P and Fennec left to do but I imagine they're going to be horrendous for thinking I need to play some hardcore for them. That puts me at 46 total, add the M13c, FR Advancer and Carrack is 49. So need to find a couple more......hmmmmm. Battle rifles suck but maybe hardcore? Launchers maybe? But I think I'm track to have plats finished by MW3.

Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part One (Expansion)

So I let my Steamdeck go, it had an issue with one of the trigger buttons (I think after dropping it) and I managed to sell it and recoup most of my funds still ^_^ I opted to go for one of these instead of rebuying the Steamdeck, I think the big draw for me was having Windows straight off and not having to faff about trying to install it manually on the Steamdeck, playing with drivers etc. So I feel after having it for a week I can somewhat compare the 2 and I think as I was chatting to Greboth the other night there is a market for each of them and I don't necessarily feel like they are stepping too much on each others shoes. Power / Grunt of the consoles - The ROG wins this hands down, I can play Baldurs Gate 3 on high settings, it's also capable of running outer wilds and such which the Steam Deck somewhat struggles with. The ROG is definately the more powerful console. You are able to change the power settings so you can run at I think 5W, 15W & 25W (or 30 if plugged in), so you can adjust the power draw depending on the game you are playing, however it is worth noting that on more demanding games and running at a higher power draw the machine can run quite hot (something I will get onto later) Audio - I don't think there is much in this, the ROG has Dolby Atmos I believe but it does not make too much of a difference, I will note that playing Baldurs Gate 3 I seem to get some crackling in the speakers sometimes, I haven't had this with other games so I am not sure if it's the demand of the game on the chipset. On the whole I would say they are pretty even on this one. Screen - I think the ROG just edges it, it's a higher refresh rate and just looks a little bit sharper, that said, is it enough to justify buying it over the steam deck for the screen alone? Nope I wouldn't say so. Portability / battery - I think this is a point where the steamdeck may just win out, I find myself charging the ROG more, this might be due to the more demanding games I am playing mind. But due to this I have mostly been playing whilst plugged in and this obviously detracts from the portability. For me that is not an issue as I am using it in place of my Playstation when the kids are about at home (they tend to stand in front of the tv a lot when playing) but if you want a true handheld then I probably would not recommend the ROG over the steamdeck. Controls - The ROG does not have the trackpad admittedly, that said I think this boils down to the games you play. The ROG controls are basically like using an XBOX controller, so mainstream games tend work pretty well with it. I can navigate the OS with the gamepad fine or use touchscreen. Obviously the Steamdeck has the trackpad, which if you are comfortable with it is great and obviously for RTS games and such it is brilliant. I think the Steamdeck just pinches this one just by having more options of controls. OS - For me the ROG wins this one, I am a fan of the current Windows and it being installed by default there is no messing around, I can install anything and it all runs simply. Yes it can be a little fuddly on a smaller screen but on the whole the fact that it has a wider compatibility for me is great. For most people Windows is the problem with this handheld as it is not great for touchscreen etc, that said I tend to control it with the sticks fine. The console also has what is called Armoury Crate I think which is a layer over the top which allows you to easily access games or game launchers all from one menu (similar to how the Steamdeck works). Steam OS is great in itself in that it has been designed and adapted specifically for the Steam deck, it works fairly flawlessly and the obvious benefit of having such a good community behind it does help. Being able to access control schemes others have set up and such. Other notes - Going back to heat, the ROG get's quite hot and there have reportedly been issues around the SD card slot location, the exhaust vents are right next to the slot and some users have reported it burning out SD cards, certainly not great considering the device only comes with 512gb storage, a SD card for most people is a must. It has not happened to me yet, but so far I have only used the SD slot to transfer things between my tablet and my ROG and not to game from. I do plan to upgrade the internal storage at some point. Pricing, the ROG has only one price point and it is pretty steep! The Steam deck has options with the bottom rung being much more available and affordable for people (I would not write off getting one again). On the whole I think it is pretty 50/50, yeah the ROG wins out on power, screen and compatibility but the Steam deck is the better designed product. I think it will largely come down to your preference and the sort of games you want to play on it. If you want a handheld that can play great indie games and every now and again you might push it to play the Witcher 3 or something akin to that then the Steam Deck is perfect, if you want something with more grunt but you don't mind being tethered in place or lumping round a big power bank, being able to play current release Triple A titles then the ROG is the way to go 🙂

M13c, Lockwood and crossbow gold.

I am hoping Big Ange gets a striker before the transfer window closes. Richy really isn't good enough.

Spurs 2-0 Man Utd! Great win. Richard Arlison still can't bag a goal though so Martinez did it for him😎

Watched Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, as well as Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Had some spare time in the evenings on holiday and really enjoyed them. Just Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore to go now.

Watched spiral the other night which it's supposed to be saw 9 which it has no real connection to any of the saw films it's more of a spin off. I would not bother watching watching it as i wish I turned it off after the first 15 minutes.

Fantastic win for the England Lionesses today versus Australia, Toone's goal was brilliant — onto the final against Spain.

Chatting about it the other day, I think we all played it a little too video game linearly (go here, do this, go there, kill that) rather than taking advantage of the openness it offers. As Elliott was saying, at the end, about some of the things we could have done. Also I watched a little of Critical Role's season 3 campaign, not so much for the entertainment of it, but it's interesting seeing how they play in terms of interaction with each other, asking more in character questions to the DM or even more random things like pickpocketing an NPC, going to get a beer mid quest or even just walking off as a fight takes place. But all that is going to come with experience of DnD as it was quite bitty as we kept needing to ask questions on what to do or what we could do. Not to mention more familiarity with your character and getting used to playing that role. But it has definitely piqued my interest and would definitely be down to having another go. I appreciate for our first go, or goes, a one and done is best but I do see the appeal of a much longer campaign though, this is FG, so we'd never manage to organise it for more than a few weeks 😄

Sounds like a great night, seems some of you have the bug for it now 😍

Are they going for their own version of No Mans Sky or is it more closer to Star Citizen? I'm trying to understand the angle of what the game objective is and what we're expected to do in the game. Some bits look amazing, i'm not sure their gunplay will feel the best out there from what i've seen. Would love to know what others think that have followed this for a while.

You can eat sandwiches which is pretty cool 🤣

I'm pretty sure it'll release this year, especially with Xbox making a huge deal about it. Right idea to delay to give it a fighting chance at launch too as not many games are due to be out in September, at the start of the colder seasons.

I'm glad they're delaying it to polish it. But come on, this is Bethesda, it will release with bugs, guaranteed 😁

Well, If the delay will provide a less buggy experience then yay!

First delay up