Ramblings of an Englishman

Super Smash Bros Ultimate is more than just a game. It's a tribute to the wide and wacky world of Nintendo and by a larger extension now since Super Smash Bros Brawl in 2008 the video game industry in general. I can't imagine that when the fist Super Smash Bros game released in 1999 the developers at HAL Laboratory saw this crossover of 12 of Nintendo's biggest characters would spawn into a roster of 80+ fighters from all over the video game industry.   If anything this roster is as close to a video game hall of fame as we will get. With a few omissions if you class it as such a host of icons both past a present are all showcased. From Mr Game & Watch to Steve from Minecraft generations of videos games are represented in one game. It's amazing the agreements to be put in place on this game the likes of Snake and Mega Man who's parent companies do not use are hold in a negative light due to fractured relationships with developers get into the game which is a surp...

Kazuya Mishima becoming the latest DLC character for Super Smash Bros is a great but expected move. I had hoped to see Jin Kazama and Crash Bandicoot as the final two but Tekken getting a rep is great (don't let me down Smash, video game awards announce Crash please). It got me thinking that whoever it is we are one character away from the end of Fighter Pass 2 and has me thinking will we get a Fighter Pass 3?  For this first we need to look at similar games in the fighting game genre. For a comparison for some of the most recently released games. Tekken 7 has had 4 Season Passes for additional fighters  Street Fighter V had 5 Season Passes for additional fighters Injustice 2 had 3 Season Passes for additional fighters Mortal Kombat 11 had 2 Season Passes for additional fighters (but an extra story pack with extra fighters) This information has been taken from the fan wiki's but it shows a pattern of fighting games moving past 2 season passes for at least one more. The only on...

What an odd season this has been for football as a whole. Between no fans being in the ground and everything happening to clubs like Dover I don't think Football experienced a season like this before and maybe won't again. While fans were not allowed into stadiums across England due to COVID restrictions fans of teams in the lower leagues were able to purchase games online. Personally, I purchased the season for my local team Dagenham & Redbridge to watch all home games that were available while I haven't seen all games this season between away games and the ones aired on BT Sport (no I'm not paying extra for that go away) I do still feel it was enough to give a look into what went on this season. In an up and down season Dagenham finished twelfth with a record of 17 wins, 9 draws and 16 losses as per the below table. Only 9 points off the play offs it was a positive end to the season with 7 of those wins coming from April onwards. I do think this late season run st...

In what is shaping up to be the premier event for AEW each year Double or Nothing was the first PPV to emanate from Daily's Place and the last one of this era of AEW as they return to the road. In what they would hope you be a fitting send off this was a stacked card. I found the build to the whole show odd it never really felt like they were building to a PPV until the last two weeks but it was still a card I wanted to see. It would be a good gauge for AEW with a full crowd for who is truly over and who isn't it's almost the perfect test to see what is working on the show and what needs reworking. This can be especially good with the addition of Rampage and in 2022 the 4 Super Cards they will have on TNT. With that all in mind let's break down the card.  The Buy In: NWA Women's Championship Match: Serena Deeb (c) vs. Riho Two things before we talk about the match. I've seen a lot of talk that Riho has now moved Stateside which is a massive plus for AEW and the ...