2014 - A year in gaming

   2014 was the first full year of the next-gen (now called current-gen) consoles. There was a constant struggle between the PS4 and the XBox One, but the Wii U really had its moments this year as well, making a very powerful comeback with its exclusive titles! Many new games, many shocking announcements, lots of expos and a lot of cool new gadgets is what 2014 left the gaming world to remember. Let's take a look! (Due to the massive amount of games that were released in 2014, this blog will only make reference to the games that received the greatest attention.)
   January may have started things off a little slow. The biggest release of this month was an unexpected one, and came as proof that independent developers had a lot to give to the industry. Broken Age Act 1 received such attention and praise that it forced Sony to approach  Double Fine studios who were behind the creation of this game in order for them to bring the title to the PS4 and so that they may have exclusivity of the eventual Act 2 of the series. Also, the definitive (a.k.a. remastered) edition of Tomb Raider was released for next-gen consoles, with a major upscale in graphics.
   February saw Nintendo's "counter attack" finally begin. The first game out of their arsenal was Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freece, a title that combined the old-style feeling of the classic SNES Donkey Kong Country games with some of the new capabilities of the Wii U. It received many good reviews.
   In March a few of the most anticipated titles began to drop on the PS4 and the XBox One, with Titanfall being the greatest among them. There was a lot of buzz for the colossus battling shooter and it was obvious that this was a title that Microsoft had a lot to wager on. On the other hand, Sony released Infamous Second Son almost simultaneously, so the flames of the console war began to ignite anew. Other titles that released in March that made an impact in the industry were Dark Souls II and Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (a mini-game that served as a prequel to MGS V: The Phantom Pain). Last-gen also got a whole lotta love in March however, with South Park: The Stick Of Truth, Bioshock Infinite: Burial At Sea 2 and Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD.
    April and May served as the calm before the storm that is E3 for the gaming industry. However there were a few interesting titles released such as the indie developed game Child Of Light that received a lot of praise throughout the year and, of course, Mario Kart 8. One of many titles for the Wii U that was just too much fun not to notice. This game was what pretty much forced the gaming community towards Nintendo's console and to go out and buy it as opposed to the other two. Of course, there was a lot more to come...
   The month of June was dedicated to the gaming industry and for no small reason. E3 was once again held in San Francisco and everyone's eyes were glued either on the stages or on their live-streaming screens to see what cool new stuff they would have to look forward to. A lot of new games were announced and shown: Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Mass Effect 4, Far Cry 4, Assassin's Creed: Unity, Rise Of The Tomb Raider, The Division, a new Legend of Zelda and a new Star-Fox game. Also Sony showed off a new product called PlaystationTV, a tiny gadget that would allow the user to play his PS4 on any TV just by connecting it (provided he has WiFi connectivity).
   In July, one of the best (if not the best) games of 2013 was re-released. The Last Of Us was remastered for the PS4 so that the people that got to experience this adventure can relive it, and those who never did can do so in the marvelous graphics that the PS4 can provide.
   August shifted the gaming world's attention to Europe and more specifically, Cologne, Germany, where the annual Gamescom expo was held. At the local Sony Conference, it was announced (among other things) that the creator or Metal Gear Solid, Hideo Kojima and well-known Hollywood producer, Guillermo Del Toro would be collaborating in the creation of a new Silent Hill title. In fact, they brought with them a small playable trailer tentatively titled "P.T.". Whoever played it or even saw it could say that it was one of the scariest games ever. Meanwhile, at the XBox convention, Microsoft was announcing and showing off a plethora of their own games such as FIFA '15, Fable Legends, Halo: Master Chief Collection and Quantum Break. But the most shocking news was the exclusivity of Rise Of the Tomb Raider for the XBox One!
   September was when the big guns finally started to come out. A lot of games released for the next-gen consoles including The Vanishing Of Ethan Carter, Middle Earth: Shadow Of Mordor but Sony's major title was undoubtedly Destiny. A lot of players had joined up for the alpha and beta trial stages of this game and when it released it gathered the attention of even more. Nintendo also released Bayonetta 2 that was well sought out throughout the year. But more news came from Japan, where the annual Tokyo Game Show was held. Square Enix released a trailer for the long forgotten title Final Fantasy XV and announced the release of a demo of the game called "Episode Duscae" along with the release of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD.
   In October, Microsoft released yet another exclusive. Sunset Overdrive was a fun, colorful shoot-em' up title that gave killing zombies a whole different side. Super Smash Bros came to the 3DS and showed that the handheld industry also has a lot going for it, especially in the Japanese market!
   So many major titles released in November it was hard for gamers to keep track or choose! Dragon Age: Inquisition, Alien Isolation, Assassin's Creed: Unity, Assassin's Creed: Rogue, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Little Big Planet 3, Grand Theft Auto V (for next-gen) and if that wasn't enough, Pokemon Alpha Ruby/Omega Sapphire and Super Smash Bros Wii U all hit stores within the same month! This was a bit of a taste for the things to come, that were shown off in...
   December! The month of the Video Game Awards, where gamers worldwide also got a glimpse of the epic-scale projects that are yet to come to their systems. No Man's Sky, Metal Gear Solid V Online Mode, Adrift, The Witcher 3, Godzilla, Bloodborne, King's Quest, The Legend Of Zelda Wii U, are all things that were shown off at the event and players can look forward to in 2015. And as if that wasn't enough, PS4 owners got to see even more at the Playstation Experience, an event held by Sony at Las Vegas as a sort of "thank you" for the over 10 million(!) of PS4 units sold within its first year. An expansion to Destiny was shown, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Persona 5, Grim Fandango: HD, Day Of The Tentacle HD, Final Fantasy VII (the original), Shovel Knight, Ultra Street Fighter 4 and Street Fighter V, Bastion and more are all titles that PS4 owners can anticipate within the next year (or two). As for the releases of the last month of the year, things were kind of slow, with Kingdom Hearts 2,5 HD ReMix (for the PS3!) being the most noteworthy release.
   And there you have it! It's been a year full of new things for the games world. And even though players got a bunch of new games, they still look on to 2015, each one having his/her own game that they "can't wait to get their hands on"! So here's to a year full of new adventures, races, matches, epic battles, record breaking, and lots of trophies and achievements!! Happy 2015 to all gamers!!!

2014 - A year in review

   As yet another year comes to its close and we prepare to usher in a new era, it is a custom to always take a look back at what the past 12 months have left us with so that we can recall those events and learn from them as we move forward in the year to come. Let's see what each month of 2014 brought to the world.
   January: Latvia officially joins the eurozone as its 18th member and adopts the Euro as its official national currency. Meanwhile in Ukraine, the violent protests are still going on due to the political measures taken and in Israel former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon passes away. In Switzerland, there is a United Nations meeting for a peace negotiation between the U.S.A., Syria, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Russia.
   February: The month of the Winter Olympic Games. They were held in Socchi, Russia, despite many terrorist threats and were considered in general a great success. In Ukraine, the protests continued even more violently leaving 100 people as casualties, which resulted in the parliament voting the removal of Viktor Yanukovych and him being replaced by Oleksandr Turchynov. The Ebola virus outbreak begins in Africa, with over 7,000 people dead and 19,000 infected.  Protests continue in Venezuela as well, as a result of the very strict economical measures taken by President Nicolas Maduro's government. Three people are left dead after the struggle between police and rioters and Maduro warns that they are facing a "coup d'etat". The opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez is blamed for igniting the flames for the riots, so he turns himself in to the authorities, which results to even heavier protests. In the meantime, in Switzerland there is a second round of negotiations led by the United Nations for a peace treaty between the U.S.A., Russia, Turkey, Syria and Saudi Arabia.
   March: Russia sends its troops to Crimea in order to defend the Russian people living in the area from the violent protests. This begins a series of events which results in the area seceding from Ukraine and seeking annexation by Russia, that it eventually succeeds in doing after Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a treaty on March 18th. Although the treaty is not considered valid by the majority of the UN, not to mention forces them to remove Russia from the G-8, halt all peace negotiation talks with them and move the G-8 meeting from Socchi to Brussels. In other news, an airplane from Malaysian airlines going from Beijing to Kuala Lumpur suddenly goes missing from the radars over the Gulf of Thailand. Not much is known about its whereabouts or the 239 people onboard. The violent protests continue in Venezuela. President Nicolas Maduro has ordered the police to use pepper spray, water cannons and tear gas in order to stop the outbreak.
   April: Despite an initial agreement of the U.S.A, Russia and the European leaders for the situation in Ukraine to deflate, Russia does not maintain their end of the deal, keeping their 40,000 troops on the Ukraine-Russian borders. Also, there are many pro-Russian protesters and militants in many central buildings of main Ukrainian cities (Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kiev) that refuse to leave their posts and recognize the government. In response to these actions, U.S. President Barrack Obama imposes sanctions and bans to people and companies close to Vladimir Putin, including (but not limited to) travel ban, freezing of assets and inability to trade with the U.S.. In Nigeria, 276 girls and women are abducted from a school in order to be used as sex slaves. Former Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius is put on the stand for his murder trial against his former girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. During the testimony, Pistorius breaks out in tears and testifies that he shot the door four times in order to get it to open and, eventually, find his dead girlfriend's body behind it. 
   May: As the Ukrainian crisis comes to a conclusion, the U.S. and Europe threaten Russia with even heavier sanctions and polls show that only the people in favor of the annexation were actually voting in Crimea. As a result, Vladimir Putin withdraws his troops from the border, he urges separatists to abandon plans for a referendum or autonomy and begins reaching out to the other nations in order to begin negotiations, although he is met with much skepticism. Despite all that, the pro-Russian separatists attempt to take over the airport in Donetsk, with 50 of them killed as a result. Petro Poroshenko, a.k.a. the Chocolate King, is elected the new prime minister in Ukraine. In Nigeria, the Islamic group Boco Haram takes responsibility for the abduction of the 276 girls from the school. Their leader is seen in a video saying "I have your girls". Meanwhile, the U.S. and the Taliban complete a 5-year prisoner exchange negotiation, with the American military retrieving Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl and 5 Taliban leaders headed for the Qatar prisons, where they will remain for one year. Scientists and doctors identify the spread of poliomyelitis in 10 countries.
   June: King Juan Carlos of Spain abdicated, leaving his son Felipe VI in his place on the throne. Meanwhile, a group called ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) take control of the Mosul and, with the joined effort of government troops and officials who are simply 'fed up', head for the capital of Baghdad in order to overthrow the Shiite government itself. The FIFA World Cup begins in Brazil, despite numerous protests from the population.
   July: After 3 Israeli teenagers where kidnapped and murdered and in response, one Palestinian was killed by the Israeli, the tension in the area began to rise, with the death toll reaching the thousands. Malaysian Airlines 777, a boeing type airplane traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down on the eastern Ukrainian border, the part of the country that was controlled by the separatists. All 298 people on board went missing. The plane was presumably shot down by a Russian surface-to-air missile. This was a violation of the U.S.-Russia 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and as a result, forces the U.S. and Europe to take further actions against Russia or anyone doing business with them. Argentina defaults on its debt yet again, ISIS declares its ground in Iraq and Gremany go on to win the FIFA World Cup, after embarrassing the hosts to a 7-0 defeat in the semi-finals.
   August: After ISIS take control of the largest dam in Mosul and threaten every Christian in town to convert to Islam, U.S. President Barrack Obama has ordered his troops to perform limited airstrikes on the group. However, in retaliation, ISIS released a video to the public in which American reporter James Foley was beheaded. After fighting for 7 weeks, Israel and the Hamas agree to an open cease-fire thanks to Egypt. The casualties are heavy, especially for the Palestinians, with over 100,000 people left without food or shelter. Famous actor Robin Williams was found dead in his apartment in California. Apparently he took his own life due to his depression.
   September: In a nationwide vote, the people of Scotland elected to stay within the United Kingdom. However, this was only by a small margin as the vote ended in a 55-45% difference between the voters. Meanwhile, the actions of ISIS in the Middle-East leads over 130,000 Kurdish people to seek refuge in neighboring Turkey, with the European country unable to sustain such a huge amount of people. In Iraq, ISIS release yet another video showing the execution of American journalist Steven Sotloff, who worked for Time magazine. After this, Barrack Obama requests extra funds from the Senate in order to train rebel troops for ground strikes and gives a worldwide speech in which he addresses ISIS as "ISIL". Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. join the U.S. in their airstrikes against ISIS. The 2014 World Nobel Peace Price Award ceremony to be held in Cape Town is suspended after the South African government's refusal to issue a visa to the 14th Dalai Lama.
   October: The U.S. airstrikes against ISIS continue. In Bolivia, President Evo Morales wins a third consecutive election by 61%. A man is shot and killed after attempting to attack the Canadian parliament. This is linked to Canada's association with the airstrikes against ISIS. 
   November: According to the final part of the 5th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world faces "severe, pervasive and irreversible" damage from the exclusions of CO2 to the atmosphere. The U.S. and China reach a revolutionary agreement that will see both nations use cleaner energy sources like windmills in an attempt to reverse the climate change. Also, humanity managed to land a spacecraft on a moving comet, with the Rosetta spacecraft's Philae successfully reaching Comet 67P. Meanwhile, five people were killed in a synagogue in Israel by Palestinians and 43 Mexican college students were abducted and murdered presumably by the local police, an act which led to nationwide riots. In Egypt, the local militia voiced their support to ISIS and a local court dropped all charges on former president Hosni Mubarak for his crimes against humanity.
   December: An Iranian man held people hostage in a coffee shop in downtown Sydney, Australia. The situation continued for over sixteen hours and resulted in the death of the armed man and another two people. The Taliban attacked a school in northern Pakistan, leaving 145 people dead, most of them children. A man who had been sentenced to prison in Cuba for 15 years was released by the local government, which resulted to the U.S. President stating that his country would resume diplomatic relations with Cuba.       
   And there you have it. A year with many events, some of them positive, others negative, but with many things to learn nonetheless. Let's hope we can use this year as a foundation upon which we can build a better future for the generations to come after us to this world. Happy new year everyone!!!

15 years of life lessons

   About a month ago, the story of Naruto came to an end. Masashi Kishimoto, the mangaka (author) of this epic that broke Japan's borders and spread around the world, decided it was time to close the curtain on the 16 year old knucklehead ninja's story. Across the 15 year lifespan of this incredible journey, the readers were spectators to how hardships can be overcome in order to find a better future. Many feelings and life lessons were portrayed throughout the course of events and the plethora of characters that were featured. Let's take a closer look.

  Loneliness. The main struggle during the many chapters of the manga was the issue of loneliness. It was a problem for the main character of Naruto, who had to deal with both the fact that he didn't have any parents and to add insult to injury, everyone in his village ostracized him, due to the fact that he possessed the spirit of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox Spirit inside of him. The other main character, Sasuke Uchiha, also had the same problem as his entire clan (Uchiha) was killed in front of his eyes by his older brother Itachi, leaving him all alone. Secondary character Gaara was also a possessor of a Demon Spirit and so he was forced to deal with the pain solitude brings.

   Being an underdog. Naruto was considered by many to have no talent as a ninja. He was told so time and time again and he was forced to watch his teammates surpass him. Yet, despite all that, he put his all into his efforts and eventually turned a lot of heads and gained a lot of attention, so much so in fact that he was able to unite the entire ninja world!
   Hatred and revenge. Sasuke was fueled by his hatred for his older brother Itachi. Everything he did, he did in order to surpass him and eventually kill him for what he had done to the Uchiha. After discovering the horrible truth behind his brother's actions though, Sasuke becomes even further blinded by anger and his hatred becomes stronger, leading the whole world (even his former friends and teachers) to consider him a lost cause. Only one person thinks of him as a friend to the very end.

   Love. The exact opposite feeling was also on full display as Naruto learned the truth of how and why his parents placed the spirit of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox inside of him and also when his mother Kushina helps him take part of the monster's strength. Love is also an issue for one of the main antagonists Obito Uchiha, who has a crush on his teammate Rin Nohara that leads him down a very dark path. Sakura Haruno also struggles with her feelings for Sasuke as she knows he is a criminal (and even comes close to killing her himself) but can never get over him. Hinata Hyuuga secretely supports and admires Naruto throughout his childhood and teenage years.

   The bond between teacher and student. There are many displays of this special bond in Naruto's story. Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke to Kakashi Hatake. Sakura and Ino Yamanaka to Tsunade. Kakashi and Obito to Minato Namikaze. Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru to Hiruzen Sarutobi. And many more. But the two most shown off were the ones between "Team 10" (a.k.a. Shikamaru Nara, Ino and Choji Akimichi to Asuma Sarutobi) and Naruto to Jiraiya. Naruto may have had Iruka Umino and Kakashi as his first teachers, but his master was most definitely Jiraiya. Considering Jiraiya was also Minato's (Naruto's father) teacher, he knew pretty much everything there is to know about him and was immensely strong himself. He taught Naruto his first serious techniques including the Rasengan and the Summoning technique, but mainly he was the closest thing to a fatherly figure that Naruto had. He taught Naruto his way of life and how to stay true to himself. When Jiraiya was killed by the hand of another of his former students, Nagato, who proceeded to attack and destroy the Leaf Village in an attempt to find and capture Naruto himself, Naruto almost lost himself in his rage. But it was Jiraiya's teachings that ended up saving him from himself and the path of senseless revenge.
   Power. Quite a few characters have an obsession with power. It's actually another driving matter of the series as there is a legend behind it and it goes like this: "Once there was an all powerful ninja called the "Sage of the Six Paths". The ninja had two children, the eldest who thought strength was the way to peace and the youngest who considered love to be the solution. On his deathbed, the Sage called both of his children by his side in order to name his successor. Even though the eldest thought he would be the one to succeed his father, the Sage ended up choosing the youngest son to carry on his will. Blinded by rage, the eldest son declared war on the youngest. That war has gone on for generations. The eldest son's descendants are known as the Uchiha. The youngest's descendants are known as the Senju."

It is mainly those affiliated with the Uchiha that have this lust for power. Even Sasuke in his attempt to take revenge on Itachi tries every means necessary to become stronger and goes to the point of becoming a test subject for main villain Orochimaru. The criminal organization "Akatsuki" hunt Tailed Beast Spirits in their quest for power. And Madara Uchiha, the founder of the Uchiha clan, took the eyes of his own brother Izuna in order to reach greater heights. In the end, even the Sage of the Six Path's mother, Kaguya Ootsutsuki was obsessed with possessing all the chakra in the world.
   Despair. When feelings of love are lost, they can turn to despair. As was the case for Obito Uchiha. As mentioned before, he had a childhood crush on his teammate Rin. But he was forced to leave her in the hands of their other teammate Kakashi, since he thought he was going to die due to a giant boulder having crushed his entire right side. However, Madara found Obito and healed him. Obito was on his way to recovering when he was told about an attack on Kakashi and Rin from ninja from the village hidden in the mist. Obito got there just in time to see Kakashi's hand pierce Rin's heart, which led him to rampage on the Hidden Mist ninja and decide to cooperate with Madara's "Eye of the Moon" plan, which pretty much meant taking on the entire ninja world.

Nagato's case was very similar as his parents were murdered by Hidden Leaf ninja during the Third ninja War when he was a child. But what actually led him to despair was the fact that his best friend Yahiko was killed during what was supposed to be a peace negotiation between Yahiko's newfound "Akatsuki" group and the village hidden in the rain's leader Hanzo of the Salamander. When Madara Uchiha lost his 4th and final brother Izuna at the hands of Tobirama Senju, he seemed lost in despair as well. However, Hashirama Senju's efforts brought him back in to the light long enough for Madara and his Uchiha clan to join forces with the Senju clan and create the village hidden in the leaves. But it wasn't meant to last as Madara had lost all he had to protect and his despair was far too great. In the end, he attacked the village he had helped build. Even Kakashi had issues with despair as he had lost so much throughout his life. All his teammates and his teacher were killed and he felt there was nothing left to live for. Until Team 7 came into his life that is...

   Teamwork. The manga is called "Naruto", but if it were just him alone he wouldn't have accomplished much! Even in the final battles when Naruto has grown stronger than ever, it takes the help of his teammates, classmates, teachers, the former Hokage and everyone else in the ninja world to survive the crisis. 

   Sacrifice. Naruto's parents sacrifice themselves in order for their son to save the future. Itachi Uchiha decides to carry the burden of an entire clan and his brother's hatred in order to avoid an internal conflict. Even Jiraiya could have escaped the battle with Nagato but decided to sacrifice himself in order to find out his true identity and send that information to his comrades in the Leaf.

   The next generation. This was a point made by the relationships of Naruto and Konohamaru Sarutobi and also Asuma Sarutobi, Shikamaru Nara and Hiruzen Sarutobi. Everything we learn, we learn in order to one day be able to pass on to the younger generations of children that will succeed us. In the same manner that Asuma was killed in order to give Shikamaru the information on how to kill one of the Akatsuki members that was after Naruto. Shikamaru then vowed to protect and teach Asuma's unborn child in the same way that Asuma had taught him everything.

   These are just a few of the many things Naruto had to say about life. It was definitely worth the ride and whenever Naruto decides to tell us another story of his life, whatever form it maybe in (movie, manga or anime), there will be a whole lot of people who will be happy to learn all about it!
        

Gaming: Q4 2014

   A few turns before the holiday season is upon us, and it's time the gaming companies pull out the big guns from their arsenal. There have already been a few heavy-hitters put out to the public. Some were fine, others had a few issues but were well received, and some flat out disappointed even their most faithful followers. Let's take a closer look at some of those titles.
   Of course the main attraction these days is no doubt Nintendo's latest hit, Super Smash Bros Wii U. This is a title that has been anticipated for quite some time now and it did not disappoint! Its 8-on-8 battles allow for lots of fun with friends and family in the living room (since this is a mode not supported by multiplayer, which in this humble writer's opinion is a good thing!), plus the lots of different innovative modes only further the fun and replay value of this game. The fact that it received almost perfect scores from most reviewers is proof of that!
   Nintendo also struck at the handheld market (and I'm not talking about Smash Bros

3DS, which is also selling remarkably well!). On November 21st, the latest remake of Pokemon was released, with Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire taking the series back to the Hoenn region. Lots of different mega-evolutions, a new story, new and improved equipment and of course, the updated graphics are sure to deliver a remarkable experience to not only faithful poke-fans but RPG lovers in general.
   Another game that was released was the upgraded version of Grand Theft Auto V for the next-gen consoles (PS4 and XBox One). It still remains an incredibly entertaining and fun(ny) game, but the improvement in graphics that these machines allow for brings the city of Los Santos to life like never before! Also another nice touch by Rockstar was the first-person camera, that lets players see through the eyes of the characters.

   Far Cry 4 also hit the stores in November. The open world and campaign, co-op, multiplayer and side-quests of the game have seen good reviews, with the only problem being the game's characters. But even that is something that gamers are divided on. Overall, pretty good game!
   Dragon Age: Inqusition also saw the light of day and it was pretty impressive! Apart from the weak story of this game, everything else is amazing, including the open world and battle system that truly give this game a classic RPG feeling!

    One of the games that let many people down despite initial expectations being quite high, given what we had seen, was Assasin's Creed: Unity. The game suffers from glitches and the crowds that you jump into just seem so lifeless and meaningless. Also the story of the game is a bit of a mess, with players executing missions (and people) without ever understanding why. On the plus side, the co-op mode with the four assasins, which was pointed out during the game's development, is quite refined and so are the graphics, that give off a real sense of what Paris was like during the revolution.
   Another game that was a let-down (though this time it was expected) was Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric. This is a Sonic game that doesn't allow Sonic the Hedgehog to run. I think enough has been said! The dialogue is bland and tasteless, the gameplay is monotonous (not to mention glitchy and not paid any attention to), the story is non-existent... there is basically nothing good about this game. And it seems like a shame because the Sonic team based a lot on it (including a 3DS game and a TV series that is actually kinda fun).
   Other than a few other games (including LittleBigPlanet 3 that was released and was good but also had its glitches), those are the most major titles that have and will come out for the rest of the year, including the holiday season. Maybe Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD ReMix can be put into that category, but it releases exclusively for the PS3. So now the question arises: who will emerge victorious this holiday season?
   Already we have seen Microsoft fall way behind even the Wii U. They have been forced to reduce the price of the XBox One to 329$ PLUS a recently released game in one of their Black Friday bundles, a tactic which is safe to assume they will keep intact during the holidays. It seems kind of a desperate move, considering they are now losing money for every console they sell! Sony in the meantime, are close to the 14 million console mark. And with AC: Unity, Far Cry 4 and all the Destiny boys backing them up, they're soon to reach that goal!
   But we've said it before that this is the year (or maybe the season) of Nintendo. This is the time they have been waiting for for years and now they get to sit back and enjoy the fruit of their labors. With Smash Bros at the helm and all the rest of their incredibly fun titles following, its almost certain that the Wii U will be the console everyone asks Santa to bring them for Christmas this year!! 

The greatest comeback in the video-game industry.

   This week, Nintendo announced the release dates of a few of their most anticipated games for the Wii U. Captain Toad, Yoshi's Whooly World, Sonic Boom and, of course, Super Smash Bros Wii U will all be coming out before the end of the current year. Which means of course, along with the current line-up of games like Zelda: Wind Waker, Mario Kart 8, Super Mario World Wii U and so on, there's no better choice of console right now than the Wii U.

   Of course there's nothing that can guarantee things won't change. Especially with the spectacular quantity and quality of triple-A titles coming to both the XBox One and the PS4, it is in fact highly unlikely that the Wii U will remain in its favorable position for long. By this time next year, Nintendo could be looking for ways to salvage whatever they can from the wreckage that 2015 will have left for them.
   But credit must be given where credit is due. Nintendo went through some rough times during the late N64 and even up until the Wii era. Not enough innovations, small number of high-quality games that the opposition was more than willing to offer and poor use of their own exclusives is what practically drove them to the brink of bankruptcy. If it wasn't for the handheld market that they pretty much owned (since the PSP and Vita turned out to be poor opposition), we could be remembering Nintendo as a relic of the past right now.
   However they managed to shift things into high-gear with the arrival of the Wii U. Not only did they create a quite different console in the way that it is used to play games, but they made clever use of the highly advanced capabilities of this new piece of hardware in order to make better games exclusive for that console. They began with the extremely fun Super Mario World Wii U, a game that is based on the popular Super Mario formula but can be played with up to 4 people at once!

   They moved on with Mario Kart 8, a game that isn't so much a racer, as it is a fun passtime with friends and family. However even on single player the addictiveness is on an entirely different level. Someone could pick up the controller in the morning and end up putting it down in the afternoon without even realizing it! And that's what makes a great game.

   Nintendo also utilized their on-going co-operation with SEGA, with them re-introducing their all-star Sonic The Hedgehog and his friends with a series of games, comics and CGI animated episodes all tentatively titled Sonic Boom. There will be two different games, one for the Wii U and one for the DS and both will tie in with the story that will be carried on in the episodes broadcast on TV.

   But the most anticipated game on the Wii U is undoubtedly Super Smash Bros Wii U. The number of characters that span from different series that have been introduced in this brawler along with the ones that already existed promise for a variety of choices. Also, with the number of different stages and the 4-vs-4 action that only the Wii U can offer, one can only imagine the epic battles that will go on in the arenas of the players' living rooms. It has already been touted among gamers as the greatest fighting game and its counterpart for the DS sold 2.8 million copies in its opening week! 

   And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Other games such as Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze, Zelda: Hyrule Warriors and Zelda: Wind Waker have also sold well and there's still loads more to come like Captain Toad, Yoshi's Whooly World, Bayonetta 2, the new Zelda RPG and Monolith's X are sure to carry the Wii U for a while. And there's also the DS to think about that has Pokemon Alpha Ruby and Omega Sapphire releasing in November as well. But will all of that be able to deal with the upcoming opposition?
   Nintendo have managed to shift a bad situation. Right now, both the Wii U and the DS seem to be the ideal consoles for exclusive, fun, interactive games that someone can play either alone or with friends/family. The big question here is, how long will that remain? 

Final Fantasy @Tokyo Game Show 2014

 
  Many fans of the Final Fantasy franchise had been anticipating this year's Tokyo Game Show, in speculation of perhaps a glimpse of news from highly anticipated titles of the franchise. And even though the developer Square-Enix had not announced anything beforehand (with the main titles in this year's line-up being "Final Fantasy Explorers" and "Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn"), nor had they shown off anything at Sony's pre-show conference or main conference, the fans were not wrong to be anxious.

  
   Starting from a leak on GameInformer and another on the Portuguese counterparts of IGN, the news began to spread. However, they were soon retracted, although not fast enough for the internet to catch wind of what was going on. But this was just the calm before the storm of what Square-Enix had to show.

   The grand announcement was the official release date of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD. The highly anticipated PSP-to-next-gen port will be arriving worldwide in late March! Alongside these news came other releases such as the game's opening sequence dubbed in English by IGN and 25 minutes of gameplay. Compared to the limitations of the PSP, the game not only looks better, but offers better quality in sound, battles and an altogether experience. Despite all that, game director Hajime Tabata confirmed that it's at about 70-80% complete, and that the final product will look and play even better than what was shown at TGS.
   Speaking of Tabata, there was even more great information about another game people are expecting. In fact this is THE title people are waiting for! That's right, Square-Enix finally relinquished a ton of news and two more trailers of Final Fantasy XV. But that's not even the best part of it. It was announced that whoever purchases Type-0 HD will get a free voucher to play a demo of Final Fantasy XV (that will release round about the same time) tentatively titled "Episode Duscae"!! After nearly a decade of waiting patiently, players will finally be able to get a feel of this game. Tabata (who is now the game's sole director, as Tetsuya Nomura is no longer needed and has moved on to other projects) revealed that this demo will not contain any spoilers for the game's story and it's just so that the player's can get a 'taste' of the battle system. It will be about 1 hour long, although players will be able to explore a dungeon and the open world if they want, which will maximize the total time to about 3-4 hours. They named the demo "Duscae" after the name of an area in the game and the demo takes place shortly before the main events of the game itself. There will be no boss battles (since apparently they will be "a big deal" in this game) but instead there will be another 'surprise' for fans of the series. Players will be able to traverse by car (manually or automatically, by letting character Ignis take the wheel) or maybe by chocobo, if the development team has time to implement it. 

   The second trailer was titled "The Overture" and was a gameplay demo in the city of Lucis. It showed the day-night cycle and even how rainy weather affects certain areas more than others by accumulating water. Also the battle system was shown off a bit more. Apparently, players can switch to any other party member on the go and they will be able to dodge consecutive enemy attacks by holding down the "Defend" button. They will also be able to chain a link of attacks by holding down the "Auto-Attack" command button and even combine attacks with other party members. Magic was also used here, although not apparent how. Tabata mentioned that they wanted to show more but couldn't due to the short amount of time they were given. He said they would give out more information about XV through the "Square Enix Presents" program and also at other expos, starting with Jump Festa in December.

   Last, but not least, we learned about patch 2.4 of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. It is titled "Dreams Of Ice" which will expand the story and include one new class and one new job: the Rogue and the Ninja. There are new Dungeons available in the Coerthas region and in one of them (the Ahk Afah Amphitheatre) the players will do battle with the primal Shiva in Hard Mode and Extreme Mode. Other dungeons include Snowcloak, Sastasha (Hard) and The Sunken Temple Of Qarn (Hard). Also The Final Coil Of Bahamut will end the story of the hardest dungeon in the game. No official release date was given for patch 2.4, but it is expected at the October Fan Fest. More news from the Letter from the Producer Live from TGS right here.

   People say that the TGS is not a place where players can expect a lot of news for games. Well, this year certainly proved them wrong! A bright new future awaits the fans of the Final Fantasy saga! Just think... In a years time we all could be playing the 15th installment of the series! Not long to go!

     
   

Τα νέα προϊόντα της Apple

   Σήμερα η εταιρεία Apple σε μία συνέντευξη Τύπου ανακοίνωσε τη νέα σειρά προϊόντων και υπηρεσιών της. Τα κυριότερα από αυτά ήταν το iPhone 6 και iPhone 6+, το Apple Watch, το iPay, καθώς και η εφαρμογή του iOS 8.

   Η νέα σειρά smartphones που έρχονται να διαδεχτούν το iPhone 5S είναι γεγονός. Το iPhone 6 έχει ως κύριο χαρακτηριστικό του την οθόνη 4,7 ιντσών (έναντι των μόλις 4 του 5S), τον ταχύτερο επεξεργαστή (Α8 με 50% αύξηση σε αποδοτικότητα από τον Α7 που βρισκόταν στο 5S) και την καλύτερη ανάλυση της ενσωματωμένης ψηφιακής μηχανής των 8 megapixels που θα επιτρέπει καλύτερη ανάλυση ακόμα και στις λήψεις βίντεο ("phase detection"). Επίσης, για ευκολότερη χρήση ακόμα και με το ένα χέρι, οι χρήστες θα μπορούν πλέον με ένα διπλό κλίκ στο home button να φέρουν τη κορυφή ενός κειμένου ή μιας σελίδας στη μέση της οθόνης. Ακόμα και η δυνατότητα μεταφοράς δεδομένων μέσω wi-fi αυξάνεται "εώς και τρεις φορές" όπως δήλωσε ο εκπρόσωπος της εταιρείας. Και όλα αυτά δεν δείχνουν να επιβαρύνουν ιδιαίτερα την διάρκεια ζωής της νέας συσκευής, καθώς η μπαταρία του φαίνεται να διαρκεί για σχεδόν όσο και του προκατόχου του (5S). Το iPhone 6 έχει οθόνη 4,7 ιντσών, πάχος μόλις 7,1 χιλιοστά, ενώ θα μπορεί να παίζει και βίντεο με ανάλυση 1080p σε 30 ή 60fps.
   Όλα τα παραπάνω θα μπορεί να τα κάνει και το iPhone 6+, με τη μοναδική διαφορά να έγκειται στη παρουσία της μεγαλύτερης οθόνης (5,5 ίντσες). Δεν υπάρχει κάποια άλλη διαφορά μεταχύ των δύο συσκευών. Η ύπαρξη του 6+ έρχεται να γεφυρώσει το χάσμα ανάμεσα στα κινητά τηλέφωνα και τα tablets. Και οι δύο συσκευές θα κυκλοφορήσουν στις 19/09 και θα είναι διαθέσιμες με 16GB, 64 GB και 128GB χωρητικότητα μνήμης. 

   Η Apple προχώρησε και στην παρουσίαση του πρώτου ψηφιακού ρολογιού (digital watch) της, με την επισημοποίηση του Apple Watch. Το Apple Watch φορίεται κανονικά σαν ρολόι χειρός στον καρπό, ωστόσο οι εφαρμογές του είναι άπειρες. Στο πίσω μέρος του υπάρχει ένας μετρητής χτύπων καρδιάς ούτως ώστε να μπορεί ο χρήστης να παρακολουθήσει την υγεία του. Επίσης θα μπορεί κάποιος να προχωρήσει σε βίντεο-κλήση μέσω του Apple Watch, καθώς και να λάβει μηνύματα, να δει χάρτες ή να συμβουλευτεί την Siri για πληροφορίες. Η οθόνη του, η οποία είναι ανθεκτική καθώς αποτελείται από ατόφιο ζαφείρι, θα μπορεί να κατανοήσει τη διαφορά μεταξύ ενός απλού αγγίγματος και ενός κανονικού πατήματος, ωστόσο όλες οι λειτουργίες θα γίνονται μέσω της "ψηφιακής κορώνας" (digital crown) που βρίσκεται στο πλαϊνό μέρος. 

   Μέσω της εφαρμογής "Ψηφιακό Άγγιγμα" (Digital Touch) οι χρήστες του Apple Watch θα μπορούν, όπως λέει και η εφαρμογή, με ένα απλό άγγιγμα του ρολογιού να συνομιλούν ο ένας στον άλλον, ενώ οι εφαρμογές δεν σταματούν εδώ καθώς μέσω συνεργασίας της Apple με πολλές εταιρίες μέχρι και δυνατότητα ρύθμισης της θερμοκρασίας δωματίου θα υπάρχει! Το Apple Watch θα κυκλοφορήσει σε 3 διαφορετικά σχέδια: Watch, Sport και Edition. Το ρολόι αυτό δεν λειτουργεί χωρίς την παρουσία κάποιου iPhone από 5 και πάνω, ενώ αναμένεται να κυκλοφορήσει κάποια στιγμή του χρόνου. Η τιμή του θα είναι $349.
   Η Apple ανακοίνωσε και μια σειρά εφαρμογών, ανάμεσα στις οποίες και το iPay. Το iPay έρχεται να αντικαταστήσει τα πορτοφόλια μας, όπως χαρακτηριστικά δήλωσε ο εκπρόσωπος της εταιρείας, Tim Cook, μιάς και θα λειτουργεί σαν "φορητό πορτοφόλι". Θα υπάρχει μια ένδειξη της πιστωτικής ή χρεωστικής μας κάρτας στην οθόνη και όπου μας ζητηθεί, απλά θα περνάμε το κάτω μέρος του smartphone μας το οποίο και θα σκανάρεται από την ανάλογη συσκευή προκειμένου να πραγματοποιήσουμε την οποιαδήποτε συναλλαγή. Θα μπορούμε με αυτόν τον τρόπο να παρακολουθούμε μέσω του τηλεφώνου την οποιαδήποτε συναλλαγή γίνεται στο συγκεκριμένο τραπεζικό λογαριασμό στον οποίο αναλογεί η κάρτα. Προς το παρόν την συγκεκριμένη εφαρμογή υποστηρίζουν οι American Express, Mastercard και Visa. Όσο για θέματα ασφαλείας; Η Apple χρησιμοποιεί το σύστημα SecureID στην εφαρμογή αυτή, κάτι που ενισχύει την αξιοπιστία της.

   Για το τέλος, και μαζί με τις νέες συσκευές, αποκαλύφθηκε και το λογισμικό που θα τις υποστηρίζει: το iOS 8. Το iOS 8 έρχεται στη προηγούμενη και νέα γενία των smartphones της Apple για να αναδείξει περαιτέρω εφαρμογές εντός του τηλεφώνου και να τις αξιοποιήσει καλύτερα, όπως π.χ. το Spotlight. Το Spotlight μέχρι πρότινος ήταν μια απλή μήχανη εύρεσης ΕΝΤΟΣ του τηλεφώνου (δηλαδή του έδινες μια λέξη κι εκείνο αναζητούσε στοιχεία συνδεδεμένα με αυτή τη λέξη στα μηνύματα, στο σημειωματάριο ή στο τηλεφωνικό κατάλογο). Τώρα πλέον θα έχει τη δυνατότητα επέκτασης του πεδίου αναζήτησης και στο διαδίκτυο (κάτι σαν τη κεντρική σελίδα της Google, λίγο πιο μειωμένο). Για την υπηρεσία iPay που αναφέρθηκε προηγουμένως, θα μπορούν οι χρήστες μέσω του iOS 8 να συνδέονται με μέχρι 6 άτομα και να "μοιράζονται" τις αγορές τους (και θα μπορεί κάποιος γονέας να βάλει ρύθμιση σε περίπτωση που κάποιο παιδί του προσπαθήσει να κάνει αγορά με τη κάρτα του, να χρειάζεται άδεια κηδεμόνα με κωδικό). Ακόμα, πλέον υπάρχει το "έξυπνο" πληκτρολόγιο το οποίο συλλέγει περισσότερα δεδομένα ανάλογα τον κάθε χρήστη αλλά και το πεδίο στο οποίο γράφει (π.χ. εισερχόμενα μηνύματα, e-mail, κλπ) ούτως ώστε να μπορεί να "δίνει" το ανάλογο για τη περίσταση λεξιλόγιο, διευκολύνοντας τους χρήστες. Τα μηνύματα μπορούν πλέον να γράφονται και με φωνητικές εντολές προς τη συσκευή, ενώ οι ειδοποιήσεις έρχονται με πολύ πιο ήσυχο τρόπο και η δυνατότητα απάντησης είναι άμεση και χωρίς να ενοχλεί από την προηγούμενη ασχολία. Το μενού των φωτογραφιών έχει επίσης αλλάξει προς ομοίωσην του Instagram ενώ υπάρχει μια πληθώρα εφαρμογών για την υγεία και το fitness. Τέλος, θα υπάρχει μεγαλύτερη συνδεσιμότητα μέσω του iCloud για όσους έχουν πάνω από μία συσκευή Apple. Το iOS 8 θα είναι διαθέσιμο για τους χρήστες από τις 17/09.
   Όλα αυτά ανακοινώθηκαν χθες και μπαίνουμε πλέον σε μία νέα γενιά συσκευών. Αναμένονται με εξαιρετικό ενδιαφέρον οι αντιδράσεις της αγοράς!   

UEFA Champions League: Κλήρωση ομίλων

  Για ακόμα μία σεζόν έφτασε η ώρα της κλήρωσης των ομίλων του UEFA Champions League. Ως συνήθως, η τελετή έλαβε χώρα σε μία υπέρλαμπρη δεξίωση στο Μονακό στην οποία παρέστησαν αρκετοί πρώην και νυν αστέρες του ευρωπαϊκού και παγκοσμίου ποδοσφαίρου, καθώς και αρκετοί παράγοντες των 32 ομάδων που συμμετέχουν στην φετινή διοργάνωση. Εκεί όπου βραβεύτηκε ως κορυφαίος για την περσυνή σεζόν (2013/14) ο άσος της Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo.

   Η κλήρωση των ομίλων δημιούργησε, όπως κάθε χρόνο, πολλές ωραίες ιστορίες. Επιστροφές αγαπημένων προσώπων σε παλιά "λημέρια", και άλλες εκπλήξεις έκρυβε η κληρωτίδα που είχε κέφια. Πιο αναλυτικά:
   Ο Α' όμιλος είναι ο μοναδικός όμιλος που κατοχυρώνει επάξια τον τίτλο "όμιλος πρωταθλητριών ομάδων", μιας και και οι τέσσερις συμμετάσχοντες κατέκτησαν τους περσυνούς εγχώριους τίτλους. Η πρωταθλήτρια Ισπανίας Atletiko Madrid, η πρωταθλήτρια Ιταλίας Juventus, ο πρωταθλητής Ελλάδος Ολυμπιακός και η πρωταθλήτρια Σουηδίας Malmoe θα διεκδικήσουν τις 2 πρώτες θέσεις αυτού του ομίλου. Δικαία θεωρούνται φαβορί οι "rojiblancos", μιας και πέρσι ήταν φιναλίστ της διοργάνωσης, ενώ και η "Vecchia Signiora" είναι υποψήφια τουλάχιστον για τη δεύτερη θέση. Αυτό που προβληματίζει πολλούς είναι η έλευση του Massimiliano Aleggri στον πάγκο της Juve και πως θα τα πάει, τη στιγμή μάλιστα που ο Ολυμπιακός του Michel, που πέρσι έφτασε μια ανάσα από τους "8" της διοργάνωσης με πολύ καλές εμφανίσεις, καραδοκεί να εκμεταλλευτεί το παραμικρό λάθος.
   Στον Β' όμιλο έχουμε δύο πολυνίκεις ομάδες της διοργάνωσης με δύο αουτσάιντερ. Η Real Madrid που κατέκτησε πέρσυ τη decima (δέκατο τρόπαιο) και η Liverpool που έχει 5 τρόπαια στη κατοχή της θα κληθούν να αντιμετωπίσουν τη Basel από την Ελβετία και τους πρωτάρηδες της Ludogorets από τη Βουλγαρία. Αναμένονται με τεράστιο ενδιαφέρον τα δύο ματς σε "Anfield" και "Santiago Bernabeu".
   Ο Γ' όμιλος δεν έχει ούτε κάποιο τρανταχτό όνομα, ούτε κάποιο φαβορί, ούτε και αουτσάιντερ. Η Benfica που πέρσι έφτασε μέχρι τον τελικό του Europa League, η Zenit Αγίας Πετρούπολης, η Leverkusen που προκρίθηκε με χαρακτηριστική άνεση στους ομίλους και η AS Monaco που επανεμφανίζεται μετά από καιρό κι έχει πολλές φιλοδιξίες, θα κοντραριστούν για δύο θέσεις που οδηγούν στους "16". Προμηνύονται ομήρικές οι μονομαχίες σε αυτόν τον όμιλο, μιας και καμία ομάδα δεν απέχει σε μεγάλο επίπεδο από τις άλλες και όλες μπορούν να διεκδικήσουν με αξιώσεις και μέχρι τέλους την πρόκριση.
   Η κατάσταση στον Δ' όμιλο είναι ίσως λίγο πιο ξεκάθαρη. Η Arsenal και η Dortmund, δύο ομάδες που βρίσκονται στον ίδιο όμιλο για 3η φορά τα τελευταία 4 χρόνια, ίσως να έχουν ένα ελαφρύ προβάδισμα έναντι των Galatasaray και Anderlecht. Αρκεί να παίξούν σύμφωνα με τις δυνατότητές τους (κι όχι π.χ. όπως στα play-offs όπου ίδρωσαν οι "κανονιέρηδες" για να αποκλείσουν τη Besiktas!).
   Και στο Ε' γκρουπ όμως έχουμε ομάδες που έχουν ξανασυναντηθεί. Μιλάμε φυσικά για τις Bayern Munich, Manchester City και CSKA Moskva, οι οποίες πάλι πέρσι τέτοιον καιρό την ίδια περίπου κλήρωση είχαν. Μόνο που φέτος θα τους συμπληρώσει τον όμιλο η γεμάτη όρεξη για δίακριση AS Roma! Πέρσυ τα είχαν καταφέρει οι "βαυαροί" με τους "citizens" να περάσουν. Για να δούμε αν φέτος θα έχουμε το ίδιο αποτέλεσμα με αντίπαλους τους "Ρωμαίους"!

   Στο ΣΤ' γκρουπ θα ακουστούν πολλά... standing ovations, μιας και ένας από τους σπουδαιότερους ποδοσφαιριστές παγκοσμίως θα επιστρέψει σε, όχι ένα, αλλά δύο από τα γήπεδα τα οποία δοξάστηκε! Ο λόγος φυσικά για τον Zlatan Ibrahimovic, μιας και η ομάδα του, Paris Saint-Germain, κληρώθηκε με τις FC Barcelona και Ajax, ομάδες με τις οποίες έχει αγωνιστεί ο σπουδαίος Σουηδός. Τον όμιλο συμπληρώνει το ΑΠΟΕΛ. Στα καθαρά αγωνιστικά του ομίλου, Barcelona και PSG φαίνεται να έχουν το πάνω χέρι για τις πρώτες θέσεις καθώς χρόνια τώρα ο Ajax δείχνει να μην μπορεί το κάτι παραπάνω ενώ το ΑΠΟΕΛ και μόνο που θα κοντραριστεί με τέτοιους σπουδαίους αντιπάλους, κερδισμένο βγαίνει.
   Η Chelsea, η Schalke και η Sporting θα δώσουν τη μάχη για έξοδο από το Ζ' γκρουπ. Και πολλά θα παιχτούν από το ποιός θα σκοντάψει στην ανέμπειρη Maribor. Πάντως η ομάδα του Mourinho φαίνεται πιο δυνατή από ποτέ με τις προσθήκες των Fabregas και Diego Costa ενώ η Schalke είναι αρκετά αποδυναμωμένη.
   Παρόμοια κατάσταση και στον Η' όμιλο, με τα θηρία Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk και Athletic Bilbao να ψάχνουν τη διάκριση και την BATE Borisov να είναι ικανοποιημένη με τη συμμετοχή. Πάντως, μια τέτοια κλήρωση έψαχνε η ομάδα του Valverde στη πρώτη της συμμετοχή μετά τη σεζόν 1998/99, ενώ τα πράγματα για την Shakhtar δεν είναι και τόσο καλά.
   Πριν το τέλος, θα γίνει μια απόπειρα πρόβλεψης των δύο ομάδων που θα προκριθούν από τον κάθε όμιλο:
Α' όμιλος: Atletico Madrid, Olympiacos
Β' όμιλος: Real Madrid, Liverpool
Γ' όμιλος: Leverkusen, Benfica
Δ' όμιλος: Dortmund, Arsenal
Ε' όμιλος: Bayern Munich, AS Roma
ΣΤ' όμιλος: FC Barcelona, PAris Saint-Germain
Ζ' όμιλος: Chelsea, Sporting Lisbon
Η' όμιλος: Athletic Bilbao, Porto
   Αυτά προς το παρόν. Περαιτέρω ανάλυση έπειτα από το πέρας των ομίλων και στη φάση των "16". Καλή σεζόν να έχουμε! 

Αναλύοντας τη νέα ομάδα...

    Με την μεταγραφική περίοδο να βρίσκεται στο τέλος της, καθώς και τις αγωνιστικές υποχρεώσεις της ομάδας να βρίσκονται σε φουλ ρυθμούς μιας και το πρωτάθλημα έχει ήδη ξεκινήσει ενώ η κλήρωση των ομίλων του Champions League θα γίνει την Παρασκευή, θα ήταν η ιδανικότερη στιγμή να γίνει μια ανάλυση της ομάδας και των παικτών με τους οποίους θα πορευθεί (εκτός απροόπτου) ο Ολυμπιακός τη σεζόν 14/15.
   Από την περσυνή ομάδα αποχώρησαν πολλοί από το μεγάλο λιμάνι. Δεν ανανεώθηκαν τα συμβόλαια των δύο Παραγουανών Hernan Perez και Nelson Haedo Valdez για ξεχωριστούς λόγους το καθένα. Επίσης επέστρεψαν στις ομάδες τους οι Joel Campbell (Arsenal) και Ivan Marcano (Rubin Kazan). Επιπλέον, έχει αναπτυχθεί έντονη φημολογία τις τελευταίες ώρες πως ο Κώστας Μανωλάς είναι πλέον παίκτης της Roma. Έπειτα είχαμε τις πωλήσεις των Τάσου Παπάζογλου, Ρουγκάλα (Atletico Madrid), Ντε Βινσέντι (ΑΠΟΕΛ), Ανδρέα Τάτου (Ατρόμητος), Machado (Dinamo Zagreb), Σάμαρη (Benfica), Miguel Torres (Malaga), Ibagaza (ελεύθερος) και Carroll (Notts County), ενώ υπήρχε και η περίπτωση του Θανάση Παπάζογλου ο οποίος αποκτήθηκε μεν από τον Ο.Φ.Η. αλλά δόθηκε στη συνέχεια στον Ατρόμητο ως αντάλλαγμα για την απόκτηση του Νίκου Καθάριου, που παρέμεινε επίσης στην ομάδα του Περιστερίου ως δανεικός. Ως δανεικοί έφυγαν επίσης από τον Πείραια για φέτος και οι Τζανακάκης (Εργοτέλης), Leandro (Καλλονή), Καραγκούνης (Reggina), Ιωαννίδης (Zwolle) και Καραμάνος.
  Αυτοί οι παίκτες αποτελούν παρελθόν για τον Ολυμπιακό, τουλάχιστον για τη σεζόν που έχει ξεκινήσει. Από εκεί και πέρα, η διοίκηση σε συνεργασία με το τεχνικό επιτελείο και κυρίως τον Michel, επέλεξαν ορισμένους παίκτες όχι ως αντικαταστάτες, αλλά για να βελτιωθεί ακόμα περισσότερο η εικόνα της ομάδας σε σχέση με πέρσυ. Αρχικό μέλημα του Ισπανού ήταν να αποκτηθούν παίκτες νεαροί σε ηλικία και εξελίξιμοι με διάθεση για ποδόσφαιρο και όρεξη για δουλειά που θα αναδειχθούν από την ομαδική προσπάθεια και όχι από το ατομικό ταλέντο.

   Πρώτη μεταγραφή του Ολυμπιακού (έπειτα από τους ήδη κλεισμένους από πέρσυ Κολοβό και Αυλωνίτη του Πανιωνίου) ήταν ο Αρμένιος Gevorg Ghazaryan από την Metalurg Donetsk. Ακολούθησαν ο Omar Elabdellaoui (Braunschwaigg), ο Matthieu Dossevi (Valenciennes) και ο... πολύς Eric Abidal (Monaco). Στη συνέχεια οριστικοποιήθηκε η παραμονή του N'dinga από την Monaco. Έπειτα υπέγραψαν και οι Pajtim Kassami (Fulham), Arthur Massuaku (Valenciennes), Κώστας Φορτούνης (Kaiserslautern), Alberto Botia (Sevilla) και ήρθε και ο Ibrahim Afellay από την Barcelona ως το "μπαμ" του καλοκαιριού. Βέβαια μέχρι πριν λίγες μέρες ο Ολυμπιακός συνέχιζε τις μεταγραφες, με τις τελευταίες προσθήκες του να είναι οι Jorge Benitez (Guarani) και Jimmy Durmaz (Genzlerbirligi). Ωστόσο ακόμα υπάρχουν κάποια ανοιχτά μέτωπα για τους "ερυθρόλευκους" όπως η αντικατάσταση του Ανδρέα Σάμαρη στα χαφ και η απόκτηση εναλλακτικού σέντερ φορ σε περίπτωση που δεν ολοκληρωθεί θετικά το... σήριαλ με τον Μεξικανό Alan Pulido.
   Παρ'όλα αυτά υπάρχουν αρκετά κομμάτια για να συμπληρωθεί το "παζλ" του φετινού Ολυμπιακού και ο Michel έχει ήδη δώσει κάποια πρώτα δείγματα γραφής για το πως θέλει να παίζει η ομάδα, τόσο στα φιλικά που έγιναν στην Αμερική με Milan, Liverpool και Manchester City, όσο και στα υπόλοιπα με Bilbao, Fenerbahce, ακόμα και στο σαββατιάτικο εναρκτήριο ματς με τη Νίκη Βόλου. Πρωτίστως θα πρέπει να δοθεί έμφαση στις εξαιρετικές εμφανίσεις του Δημήτρη Διαμαντάκου. Το παιδί αυτό προέρχεται από τις ακαδημίες του Ολυμπιακού, είναι μόλις 21 ετών και ήδη φαίνεται να μπορεί με σχετική ευκολία να τα βάλει με επιθετικούς του επιπέδου Kompany και Lescott! Ο Michel τον έχει δει και φυσικά θα του δώσει την ευκαιρία.

 Από'κει και πέρα ο προπονητής των "ερυθρολεύκων" δεν φαίνεται να θέλει να αλλάξει και πολλά σε σχέση με το σύστημα από πέρσυ. Αρέσκεται στο 4-3-3 με γρήγορους και διεισδυτικούς εξτρέμ όπως ο Afellay. Θέλει από τους 2 παίκτες που αγωνίζονται στα χαφ (N'dninga ή Μανιάτης ή κάποια μεταγραφή+Kassami) να μπορούν όχι μόνο να κλέψουν την μπάλα αλλά και να οργανώσουν το παιχνίδι με μια καλή μπαλιά 30-40 μέτρων προς τα πλάγια (ένα στοιχείο που εκ πρώτης όψεως ο Kassami φαίνεται να το κατέχει). Και φυσικά ταχύτατα πλάγια μπακ που να μπορούν να στηρίξουν τα εξτρέμ και να μην αφήνουν κενά στην αμύνα. O Massuaku φαίνεται να τα κατέχει αυτά τα στοιχεία σε σημείο που να παίζει όλη τη πλευρά μόνος του, όμως από την άλλη ο Elabdellaoui δεν φαίνεται να μπορεί να ανταπεξέλθει ούτε αμυντικά, ούτε επιθετικά. Υπάρχει βέβαια και η λύση που ακούει στο όνομα Salino. Και στο κέντρο της άμυνας υπάρχει πρόβλημα ωστόσο καθώς ο Michel δεν έχει βρει ακόμα το ιδανικό αμυντικό δίδυμο ανάμεσα στους Σίοβα, Α.Παπαδόπουλο, Abidal, Botia, και Αυλωνίτη. 
   Ωστόσο υπάρχει συγκεκριμένο αγωνιστικό πλάνο και βάση αυτού γίνονται οι όποιες κινήσεις. Εν όψει της πολύ δύσκολης νέας σεζόν ο Michel επιθυμεί να είναι πάνοπλος για να μην... τρέχει το Γενάρη καθώς επίσης και για να μπορεί ο Ολυμπιακός να είναι εξίσου ανταγωνιστικός εντός κι εκτός συνόρων. Και η διοίκηση φαίνεται να τον εμπιστεύεται πλήρως. Και πώς να μην το κάνει άλλωστε όταν κάθε χρόνο παίρνει... άνθρακα και σχεδόν ένα χρόνο μετά το πουλάει για χρυσάφι;

The reality...

   Having not written here in quite a while, I wanted to go back to my "roots". To speaking about life and all that it involves from the viewpoint of a normal human being. This article may not be as journalistic as it will be a personal opinion, but then again this is a personal blog so a "journalist" is entitled to his own flaws every once in while, right? Here goes...
   Recently I have come to realize that there are two types of people in this world: people who are born with everything and just add to that as they go up and people who are born with nothing. It is very likely for someone to go from the one point to the other (everything ---> nothing) because of all the greediness in the world, but it doesn't work the other way around. If you are born with nothing in today's world then the most you'll end up with is "something". YOU may learn to cherish that "something", but everyone around you will look at you as if you were a waste of life.
   When you go out with your friends and you talk about random stuff, or in some random life situation, someone may throw the word "moral" around or it may be used in context. "That is morally incorrect!" or "What you did may seem right, but it made him/her feel bad so it's immoral." Seem familiar? I have come to understand that morality is a word weak people use to justify their weakness. Their inability to do what is necessary to go up in this world. Only a few people lack morals. They are either criminals or political/company leaders.
   The words "friendship", "love", "family" lose all meaning when it comes to anything with value and usually money. We have learned to use and dispose of one another just as we would a dish of food. I eat until I am full, then I get rid of it. In a similar manner people keep others around them for as long as they enjoy their company. When they find someone or something better to do with their time, they remove the previous person from their life. That is of course unless the previous person hasn't removed them first, in which case they go looking for them (it's a human nature thing, always wanting what you can't have). But if anyone tries to make us pay for something we think we're not supposed to, we're capable of even ending the friendship/relationship/ownage of child right then and there! We can always buy other people in our lives! But we can't buy more money!
   We are all pretentious. Living in fear of someone calling us something that we wouldn't like to be called (as if they don't do that either way), we walk around being friendly even to people we wouldn't want to associate with just to avoid giving ourselves a bad name. Then they do the same with us and the vicious cycle continues. If a person speaks honestly about others in today's world, he/she usually doesn't have very nice things to say! The only place in which there is actual honesty is the internet and that's only because everyone's (thinks that they're) protected by their anonymity. And it's insufferable because of all the hate!
   I may have said a little about it before, but "true love" is a non-existent matter. If you confess your love to someone, all of a sudden in their eyes it makes you seem weak. Just like, if someone confesses or shows their love to you, you change your opinion of them. Even if you liked them before, now they're someone that you don't even have to fight for. That you have dominance and power over. And, as usual with humans, we tend to use that power, no matter how small it is, and crush anyone we can with it. That's what this "love" is. A struggle of power.
   At times we may walk down the street and all of a sudden see a guy wearing the latest in fashion, getting into his fast BMW or Porsche or whatever latest edition, super-awesome car he might have and think "Damn! I would give just about anything to have that!" Meanwhile, he might thinking in his little world "Damn! I gotta go buy *enter name of object* or *enter other name of object*!! I need that stuff!" Some people with morals like to call that ambition. That we always strive for more things otherwise we just stand still. But ambition is just a pretty word to sugarcoat what that feeling of emptiness truly is. It's called greed. And it's exactly what has turned our world into what it is today. An empty place of empty people who are so full of lies they don't even believe in their own self anymore.
   All these things combine. For example, we may be using people because of who they are just to get closer to our own personal goals. Or we might be paying for someone we don't even like just to get to know someone they know that we like. Or someone might be showing off an object he just purchased that we really wanted but couldn't afford. Or we might be told off by a person we don't think highly of yet their bad opinion of us could be spot on! We are strong-headed and because we don't like to deal with the truth and the severity of the situation ("Why are you being so serious for? C'mon, laugh it off!"), we even feed ourselves with lies that we end up believing in order to be able to survive.
   We always hear in the news about threats to our planet, like the hole in the ozone layer or other such things that may destroy our world, but there's really only one thing terrorizing this poor place: US! We've been destroying in the name of self-profit ever since we were created and we will continue to do so until either we are purged by the planet itself, or we inevitably destroy everything in our own greed. We may think that day is so far away that we don't have to think about it, but it's dangerously close!
   One last thing before I publish. I read this somewhere and I believe it is totally appropriate: "There's no such thing as "hope". To hope is equivalent to giving up and is the biggest deception of all."