Paris Games Week

   Considering the recent events that occurred in Paris, and just a fortnight from when I had the pleasure of visiting, I was having second thoughts about doing this article. But the true victory of the terrorists comes when we actually allow them to achieve their goal: to terrorize. To make you have second thoughts about doing something that you normally would because now, things are somehow different due to their actions. That is when they have truly succeeded. So I will talk about the wonderful time I had at the Paris Games Week as if nothing had happened. And to the innocents that lost their lives, may they rest in peace.

   So yes, I was fortunate enough to visit the city of Paris and attend the Games Week. After I had landed at the Orly airport, I found it a bit difficult getting around, even though I had mapped out where I was supposed to go before I left, because everything was in French! And the people, even though I made an effort to speak their language but couldn't, didn't really seem to care. This is something that must be said; the people in Paris are very rude!
   After struggling to find my way, I eventually took the shuttle bus, which led me to one of the tram lines, which would take me right outside the Porte Des Versailles area, where the expo was being held. After finding the place I was going to stay, I purchased my ticket from the (rude) lady at the booth and I went straight in!

   I think whoever founded the term "nerdvana", must've had a situation like this in mind! Thousands of people everywhere, massive stands for every gaming company and announcements and shows non-stop, people waiting in endless lines, competitions with amazing awards, and on the outside, just exhausted people siting anywhere they could find. That pretty much describes the situation at the Paris Games Week.
   Of course, being the fanboy that I am, the first place I sought out was the Square Enix stand where I could find out the latest news for my most anticipated game, Final Fantasy XV. However, I was disappointed to find them talking about Just Cause 3, which I don't really care about. But as I was about to walk away, the people on the stage started giving out gifts (I have no idea what!) to the crowd and everyone just went into beast mode! I am talking mothers lifting their little girls over their shoulders crazy! Quite the sight to behold!

   I got to try out some new games, some old ones, but one of the most incredible experiences I had at the show was with the Playstation VR (as I hear their calling it these days!). I had heard good things about it but with media you know to always take things with a grain of salt. But after trying it out for myself in a game called "London Heist", I believe everything! It was like there were people actually shooting at me, not to mention it grants the player 360 vision of his surroundings. I don't know how they pulled it off but it's amazing. It was also hilarious just sitting there watching other players jumping all around while playing.

   There was of course a massive stage for e-sports, but I didn't stay there long. I was just shocked by how popular this sport has become. There must've been at least 500 people watching 2 teams duke it out on World of Warcraft (or it could've been Lineage, I can never tell the difference between the two).

   Nintendo of course were going strong! They were right in front and to the left as soon as people walked in and they had all sorts of tournaments going on! From a handheld Pokemon tournament, to Mario Kart and Splatoon tournaments on the Wii U, their loyal crowds weren't moving from there!

   But for me, the "winners" of the show were Ubisoft. Yup, that's right! They had a huge stage for their new Just Dance game on which they had professional dancers bring up people from the crowd constantly and make them part of the show. It seemed like a lot of fun. And behind that stage there was another, on which they talked about their new Assassin's Creed: Syndicate game. They got a lot of the hub of the show! But then again, so did EA and Naughty Dog.
   On the second day (of course I went a second day!) I attended, I got to try a delicious Behemoth Burger from the great people at the Final Fantasy XV caravan right outside the show. The chips were nothing out of the ordinary but the burger was great! Tasted like one of my mother's! I also had a look around at the merchandise area. There was anything and everything a game freak can imagine. From comfortable gaming chairs to t-shirts to mouses with a thousand buttons on them... you name it, they had it! 

   All in all, it was an amazing and unforgettable experience. It was an enormous and very busy area. There was a lot of ground to cover in just 2 days but I believe I made the most of it. My thoughts as I was walking these halls were "if this is this crowded, imagine what goes on at E3!". Till next time... 

Jump right in, the water's fine!!!

   It's been quite a long time since I wrote about anything. But life has a way of keeping you busy, especially when you're running 10-12 hours shifts... Anyway, none of that! We're here to discuss much more significant matters! A fortnight before I head out to France so that I can join the madness that is the Paris Games Week (and I will be doing a full article about that with pics and everything just as soon as I get back!), I take a step back and look at the whole gaming scene from afar. That and also, both an article on IGN and one of my own inspired me to post this.
   There has never been a better time to be a Gamer! This is it! It is now mainstream, more than even Hollywood itself (http://uk.ign.com/articles/2015/10/15/metal-gear-solid-5-opening-day-twice-as-good-as-avengers-age-of-ultron) and we are part of it. At every major gaming event around the world, the tickets are sold by the hundreds of thousands to the hungry fans that want to see what the new entry to their favorite IP will look like. Even the ones that cannot attend, livestream the events through their PC's, iPhone's, PS4's, XBox One's or whatever, just so that they don't miss out a minute of the action!
   Not only that, but now, it's the ideal time to purchase a (so-called) next-gen console. Two years a go when the PS4 and XBox One had first released, I wrote an article on all the reasons why someone shouldn't buy one (you can check it out right here). And it's funny cause most of the things I wrote back then turned out to be true! Apart from the price cuts that both consoles have had since launch (although the PS4 hasn't officially received one here in the EU to be precise but it's only a matter of time), look at all the options we have:
   A variety of themed consoles and controllers, packs with our favorite games that reduce the overall cost, and a whole bunch of games that have been released already including (but not limited to): Metal Gear Solid V, The Witcher 3, Grand Theft Auto V, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Until Dawn, Far Cry 4, etc.
   But not only that, right now we're at a period in which most developers have become accustomed to the new machines and their capabilities and they're just about to release all their triple-A titles. Between the end of this year and around about mid-2017 we are going to be hit by a storm of amazing games, some of which are even planned for launch within the next 2-4 months! More specifically, here are some titles that have been confirmed for release within 2015-2016:
   Fallout 4, Star Wars: Battlefront, Mirror's Edge: Catalyst, The Last Guardian, Final Fantasy XV, Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, No Man's Sky, Halo 5: Guardians, Tom Clancy's: The Division, Tom Clancy's: Rainbow Siege, Rise Of The Tomb Raider, Quantum Break, Dishonored 2, Hitman, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8, Persona 5, Street Fighter V, Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 4.
   And that's just what has actually been announced. There's still the off-chance that we might get something mid-2016, like the typical EA sports games or what happened recently with Ubisoft's fresh-out-of-the-oven Far Cry Primal! Also, there are games that have been announced but are still far off that weren't added to this list, like Shenmue 3, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, Kingdom Hearts 3 or the Final Fantasy VII remake. So as you can easily see, there's still a lot more to come!
   So, as a final assessment, it is easily realized that now would be the perfect opportunity to enter the next-generation of gaming. To enjoy the continuous flow of marvelous content that all these developers have poured their heart and soul into and to become a member of an always-growing community. I think I'll have much more to talk about next time, when I return from Paris. Till then...

Been a long time coming...

   This year's E3 was filled with many happy announcements, many surprises and lots of innovations. People were left filled with anticipation over the coming months or years, when they would finally be able to play their favorite new titles on their consoles. Lots of long forgotten games made their grand re-entrance. The Last Guardian, Doom, Fallout 4, Kingdom Hearts 3, Shenmue 3, Nier 2, Doom, Metal Gear Solid 5, Mirror's Edge: Catalyst are only but a few of what people can expect on their high-tech consoles. However there was one announcement that blew even those ones out of the water, especially for those of us who are past the 25+ year old barrier. But in order to explain the significance of that, one must first look to the past...
   It was late 1997 and yours truly was just a toddler (in the last class of elementary school in fact) playing Super Mario games on his SNES, when one of my classmates suggested I go over to his house so he could show me this "cool new game" that he had. Eventually I caved because he kept talking about it so much. And when I did, I wanted to go back and see him playing some more, because I was intrigued by what would happen next in that game. Thanks to that particular title, I was able to move on from the "kiddie-like" Mario games and move on to more sophisticated stuff. I also forged a friendship with that kid, thanks to our common strong feelings of the game called Final Fantasy VII.

    The years went on. Other titles in the FF franchise were released, but they would all pale in the inevitable comparison. Even though some had interesting characters (Squall Leonhart from VIII, Noel Kreiss and Caius Ballad from the XIII saga), others had amazing graphics (XIII, XIV, XV) and some had incredible soundtracks (Type-0), none had the magical combination of all these things that VII had.

   And even though the game ended back in 1997, it has always been here in one way or another. 2006 saw the release of a continuation movie called Advent Children in which we see how the group deals with the emotional and physical scars left on the planet after their battles. In 2007, Dirge Of Cerberus was released to show how one character of the group especially deals with his own issues and sins. And in 2008, Crisis Core, a prequel to FF VII and the story of one key character was released. There have been other releases along the way as well, such as novels, anime, and a director's cut of the movie Advent Children featuring almost half an hour of extra footage, but nothing has been the same.

   Those who experienced the original cried out for something better. Something that they felt while playing the original and thinking "I wonder what all these places and people would look like in real life?". And with the tech demo shown off back at 2005's E3, the fans have been craving it even more.
   But developers just kept denying it, saying that "the workload would be too much" or that "it would leave some faithful fans unsatisfied". Time after time were they told that a remake of FF VII was impossible, yet that just made them want it even more and ask for it even harder.

   Fast-forward to December 2014 and the first ever Playstation Experience held in Las Vegas. Final Fantasy Brand Director Shinji Hashimoto goes on stage to report that FF VII would be coming to the PS4... the original FF VII! The one that was released on the PSOne. The outrage in the comment sections of all social media was undeniable. Not only were they refusing to do the remake, they were rubbing it in the faces of the fans as well! But Mr. Hashimoto knew what was going on behind the scenes... It was something that would be revealed a few nights a go at Sony's E3 2015 press conference.

  
 The significance of this for all of us that played the original game and could only imagine what it would look like in "real life" (or better graphics) is incredible. A lot of people held their heads in disbelief, others screamed at the top of their lungs and some even cried at the fact that after almost 20 years we will finally get to see that which we dreamed about. We will get to revisit the areas at which we spent our childhood as if they're our front yard. Let's just hope that our adult cynicism doesn't ruin it for us...     
 

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD review

   After going through my second play through with a game that was initially released on the PSP and now given a HD remaster treatment for the current-gen consoles, I am about to begin my third! But, before that, I thought I would share my thoughts on the marvelous new chapter of the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythos of the Final Fantasy series, Type-0.
   The first and most important thing this game has to offer is it's tragic story. Just a few minutes after starting the game, you bare witness to a young man and his chocobo fighting for their lives during a war. The worst thing is, they lose the fight and die. Soon afterwards you become quite accustomed to the fact that you're in a war and a lot of people around you are dying. Even people your playable characters know. War has been present in other entries of the FF series (VII, VIII, IX, XII, XIII) but never as vividly as it is here. People don't "turn to crystal". They don't "return to the Lifestream". They remain dead, on the streets, under a pool of their own blood. Cause that's what war is. And, to throw some salt on the wound, people that die are wiped out of people's memories. So, if you die, you practically never existed (because if you don't stay in anyone's memory, what's the point, right?). However, even though you're going through all that, there is absolutely NOTHING that can prepare you for the mind-boggling final chapter that throws everything out the window. And it is the shock of that final chapter that makes it necessary for players to go through a second, or even a third play through. Because it basically leaves players holding their heads, asking for some context.
   The characters seem a little one-dimensional, as even though they each have their own unique characteristics (and there is a reason for that), they don't really show them. Apart from Machina and Rem who go out of their way (especially Rem) to point them out, the only person that has some sort of character in the game is Qator Bashtar! (On a more personal note however, I did find myself gaining a lot of respect for Cid Aulstyne after finding out the truth about him.)
   The battle system is also a big plus, with the variety of characters giving players a lot of choices: melee or ranged, different types of magic, eidolons or triad manuevers, etc. However it all seemed to go to waste, especially for people who are sticking to the main story, as there's nothing to escalate towards. There is no final boss in this game!!! Here you are in the final dungeon, going through all sorts of trials, when all of a sudden you're up against this huge boss (think Orphan or Barthandelus from XIII, but with a lot more blood) thinking "ok, here we go, epic boss fight!!". Then, all of a sudden, the game comes in and makes it super-easy for you, granting you Haste, Auto-Regen and Reraise... There goes all the anticipation and feeling of accomplishment, out the window! 
   However there are many high-level dungeons to explore, many secrets to locate and sticking to the main story won't even get you half of what the game has to offer, even if you go through it 3 times! The return of the world map, old-school style and airships is a big plus, and also you get to raise your own chocobos and it's surprising to see how many different types there are (although it still hasn't caught my attention exactly how they differ from one another, but anyway).
   Akademeia itself (the base of operations for Class 0) is gorgeous, with a real "Balamb Garden" feeling to those close with the series. There is constantly something to do and new things or hidden scenes to discover there, and you can even hit the battle arena and do some secret training for when you decide to turn off your PS4 and come back to find your character leveled-up!!
   The graphics have been half-updated. Class 0 cadets are the only characters with a total upscale in graphics that is true to what the current-gen era of consoles can do. All the rest look dumbed down, as if no one bothered with them. Honestly, it's half-assed and it's something that was noticeable in last year's remaster of X/X-2. Square Enix need to realize that remastering a game doesn't just mean "make some characters and areas look pretty and just screw the rest". That's plain lazy and disrespectful to the customer. It shows that they have the technology to upgrade everything, they just don't feel like it. Akademeia looks fabulous but every time you step your foot outside, you feel like you've gone back to the PS2-era. That's not acceptable. If they want to do a XII HD, it better not just be "upgrade the main characters and Rabanastre and leave the rest as it is"!!
   However the music comes and saves the day. It gets you pumped up for battle, it hits you in the feels and there's two particular hidden scenes that feature two amazing tracks! If the future of FF music is with Takeharu Ishimoto and Yoko Shimomura, then the franchise can feel safe that it will have grand soundtracks for many games to come!
   All in all, Type-0 is a very nice experience that doesn't shy away where XIII did. It felt like it was worth a lot more attention and definitely more deserving of the title of "flagship of the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythos" than the trilogy that came before it. The fact that it intentionally leaves players in the dark about a big part of the story, thus practically forcing them to replay it is a stroke of genius in my book. There is a lot to learn about these cadets and the world they live in. If a Type-Next where to arrive, I would welcome it with open arms! 

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Preview

   Fabula Nova Crystallis (also known as "The New Tale of the Crystal") was a legend from which three original stories were born. Those stories were to be told through three games in the Final Fantasy saga: Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy Versus XIII (later known as Final Fantasy XV) and Final Fantasy Agito XIII. Final Fantasy Agito XIII went through a lot of phases, but was eventually known as Final Fantasy Type-0. However, the story of Type-0 was only told to a small part of the world. The people cried out in agony and demanded they also learned this part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythos. So, after about 3 years of endless yearning, the people that kept this story held back from the rest of the people, decided to release it in a much better way.
   To simplify things, Type-0 only released in Japan in October of 2011 and its worldwide release was put on hold and later cancelled due to the poor sales of the PSP (the console that the game originally released on) in the worldwide market. However, since fans asked for it so badly that they went far enough to import the game and make their own translations of it, the owner Square Enix, decided to release this little trailer at last year's E3 expo (skip straight to 2:50):

   With this, the announcement had finally been made that Type-0 would be coming to the west and to next-generation consoles no less! Further confirmation came at September's Tokyo Game Show:

   It seemed that the wait was worth the trouble. Now the fans would finally get the chance to learn the story of Orience, the land of the four crystals and how each one grants an individual power to each nation. Like the Vermilion Bird crystal, that grants the citizens of Rubrum the power of magic, the Azure Dragon crystal, that grants the citizens of Concordia command over dragons, the White Tiger crystal that grants the citizens of Milites the power of technology and advanced weaponry and the Black Tortoise crystal that grants the citizens of Lorica the sturdy shield power. The story begins when the army of the Militesi Empire, speared by Commander Cid Aulstyne, assaults the Peristilium (magic academy) of Rubrum and uses a magic jammer weapon in order to render their crystal useless, proceeding to slaughter them all. That's when Chancellor Khalia Chival VI of Rubrum's Akademia orders Class Zero, a highly skilled military faction, to get into the action and they manage to push the Milites forces back and win the battle of Togareth. Events begin to unfold from then-on.
   The main characters are 14, but they can be split into 12 and two. The main recruits of Class Zero, who are named after deck cards (Ace, Deuce, Trey, Cater, Cinque, Sice, Seven, Eight, Nine, Jack, Queen and King) and the two new recruits Machina Kunagiri and Rem Tokimiya. The game is different from other games in the franchise in that it has a lot more mature content. The depiction of violence and blood is quite often, since even in the opening scene a man and his chocobo are shown bleeding to death. The pain of loss and the value of life is a message that game tries to push toward the player, so much so that even during a mission when one of the characters gets KO'd, he/she is unavailable for the rest of that mission.
   The gameplay is also quite different. It bares a resemblance to Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, yet not so much since that game only had one playable character. Here there are, as previously mentioned, 14 playable characters, yet the player can only have 3 at a time in his party, and can only control the actions of one. This is not turn-based, or ATB, everything is constantly moving and foes are running around all the time so players will need to be quick in their actions. KO'd opponents leave a substance behind known as "Phanotma". There are different colors of Phantoma and each represents something else, though which is what is currently unknown. Players can also summon (6 summons in this game: Ifrit, Shiva, Odin, Diablos, Golem and Bahamut), however the character that performs the summoning sacrifices his/her HP and cannot be used for the rest of the mission. Summons can be used just like a normal character, but have much more HP/MP and much stronger attacks.
   The graphics in this remaster are definitely much better than the PSP version! There have even been a couple of "comparison" trailers in order to show people the difference and the work that has been put into it. However, this is not consistent. It's obvious even through these trailers that some areas have been worked on more than others. For example, some battle scenes look like players are gaming on a PS2, whereas there are cut-scenes that look comparable to what we saw in Final Fantasy XIII!

  The sound is great and has been upgraded and even the soundtrack comes with one or two new tunes that fans can get into (like "Utakata"). Takeharu Ishimoto who is the composer really put his all into bringing the game to life and the voice acting is also top-notch, whether players will be listening to it in English or Japanese. Although the lip-syncing seems to be off but that is to be expected from a former-PSP title.
   All-in-all this is a game that a lot of people and not just the Final Fantasy fanbase wanted to get their hands on, and the fact that they finally will in such gorgeous (most of the time) graphics and sound is like a tribute to them by Square Enix. Coupled by the fact that the demo of Final Fantasy XV will also be in the day one packages, the patience of the fans with the company is finally beginning to pay of. It will be known in about a couple of months whether it was worth the wait or not...
                                                               "When nine and nine meets nine...
                                                                A voice like thunder shall sound...
                                                               And thou shalt know...
                                                               We have arrived!"
   

Champions League: Φάση των "16" '14-'15

   Εντός της επόμενης εβδομάδας θα πραγματοποιηθούν οι πρώτοι αγώνες της φάσης των "16" του UEFA Champions League. Από την κλήρωση που πραγματοποιήθηκε τον περασμένο Δεκέμβριο έχουνε βγει ορισμένα πολύ ενδιαφέροντα ζευγάρια, άλλα με ξεκάθαρα φαβορί και άλλα στα οποία δεν χωρούν προβλέψεις. Το σίγουρο είναι οτι το φιλοθεάμων κοινό για μια ακόμα φορά θα χαρεί πολλές συγκινήσεις καθώς οι παίκτες αναμένεται να τα δώσουν όλα προκειμένου να συνεχίσουν οι ομάδες τους στη σημαντικότερη διασυλλογική διοργάνωση. Αναλυτικότερα τα ζευγάρια:
   Paris Saint Germain-Chelsea. Για μια ακόμα φορά η ευχή του Jose Mourinho πραγματοποιήθηκε, καθώς ο "Special One" είχε ζητήσει να κληρωθεί η ομάδα του με τους Παριζιάνους. Η Chelsea είναι στη κορυφή της Premier League ενώ η PSG βρίσκεται μόλις 2 βαθμούς πίσω από την Olympique Lyonnais, στη 2η. Άρα πρόκειται για δύο πολύ φορμαρισμένες ομάδες. Σπουδαίες μεταγραφικές κινήσεις δεν έκαναν οι Γάλλοι στα μέσα της περιόδου, ενώ αντίθετα οι λονδρέζοι έφεραν τον Juan Cuadrado από την Fiorentina, ενώ έδωσαν τον Schurrle στην Wolfsburg. Φαβορί υπάρχει στη συγκεκριμένη αναμέτρηση και δεν είναι άλλο από την καλοκουρδισμένη μηχανή των Hazard, Oscar, Diego Costa, Ivanovic και τόσων άλλων, αλλά μένει να δούμε αν έχουν κάτι να πούνε οι Ibrahimovic και Cavani.
   Shakhtar Donetsk-Bayern Munich. Κι εδώ υπάρχει φαβορί και μάλιστα ξεκάθαρο. Παρ'όλο που οι "βαυαροί" βρίσκονται σε ένα μικρό limit-down στην Bundesliga, έχοντας μία ήττα και μία ισοπαλία προσφάτως, παραμένουν πολύ καλή ομάδα και από τα φαβορί για την κατάκτηση του Champions League. Στην Shakhtar μπορεί να υπάρχει ο πρώτος σκόρερ της φετινής διοργάνωσης, Luis Adriano, αλλά αυτό σε καμία περίπτωση δεν τρομάζει τους αντιπάλους τους.
   Schalke-Real Madrid. Δύο ομάδες που συναντήθηκαν και πέρσυ στην ίδια φάση. Και πάλι φέτος, φαβορί ξεκάθαρα οι "μερένχες" και όλα εξαρτώνται ξεκάθαρα από τη δική τους απόδοση και μόνο. Αν η τριάδα των Cristiano Ronaldo, Bale και Benzema βρεθεί στη βραδιά της, μπορούν να σφραγίσουν την πρόκριση από το πρώτο παιχνίδι.
   FC Basel-FC Porto. Αυτό μπορεί να είναι κι ένα πολύ ενδιαφέρον ζευγάρι, καθώς ναι μεν οι "δράκοι" έχουν την εμπειρία των τόσων χρόνων παρουσίας στη διοργάνωση, ωστόσο οι Ελβετοί απέκλεισαν την Liverpool και το σύνολο που παρουσιάζει φέτος ο Paulo Sousa είναι πολύ σκληρό για να πεθάνει, κάνοντας τη ζωή δύσκολη ακόμα και σε ομάδες επιπέδου Real Madrid! Αν οι Ελβετοί καταφέρουν με την ώθηση του κόσμου τους να αποσπάσουν θετικό αποτέλεσμα, τότε τα πράγματα θα γίνουν πολύ δύσκολα για τους Πορτογάλους στον επαναληπτικό του "Dragao". Με τους Walter Samuel, Filip Degen και Matias Delgado να τους καθοδηγούν, οι "βασιλικοί" έχουν το ταλέντο και την εμπειρία να κοντράρουν την Porto του Jackson Martinez και του Ricardo Quaresma.
   Manchester City-FC Barcelona. Ακόμα ένα ματς που είχε γίνει και πέρσυ στην ίδια φάση και το ζευγάρι που όλοι θέλουν να δουν. Πέρσι η ομάδα του Pellegrini απεδείχθη κατώτερη των περιστάσεων απέναντι σε μια εμφανέστατα καλύτερη Barcelona. Ίσως φέτος τα πράγματα να είναι αλλιώς και η παρέα των Kompany, Yaya Toure, Nasri και Aguero να μπορέσει να κάνει την έκπληξη απέναντι στην "Αγία Τριάδα" των Messi, Neymar και Suarez. Στην Premier League οι "citizens" βρίσκονται στο κυνήγι της Chelsea και βρίσκονται σε καλή φόρμα, αλλά όπως οι ίδιοι έχουν αποδείξει αρκετές φορές τα ευρωπαϊκά ματς είναι εντελώς διαφορετική υπόθεση για αυτούς! Η Barca είναι κι εκείνη 1 βαθμό πίσω από την πρωτοπόρο Real, οπότε είναι προφανές πως πρόκειται για ομάδες που παίζουν διαρκώς στο 100% των δυνατοτήτων τους. Αναμένονται δύο συναρπαστικά ματς, μόνο και μόνο για την πληθώρα των ποδοσφαιρικών αστέρων που θα βρίσκονται στο χορτάρι! Φαβορί όμως, όπως και πέρσι, είναι οι "blaugrana".
   Juventus-Borussia Dortmund. Ο επαναληπτικός του τελικού του 1997. Πολλοί στο Τορίνο σίγουρα θα μιλάνε για εκδίκηση για το χαμένο τελικό του Μονάχου και αυτή δεν θα μπορούσε να έρθει σε καλύτερη φάση, αφού οι "βεστφαλοί" παραπαίουν στο ταμπλό της Bundesliga, προσπαθόντας εναγωνίως να ξεφύγουν από τις θέσεις που οδηγούν στον υποβιβασμό! Παρ'όλα αυτά έκαναν καλή φάση ομίλων στο Champions League και οποιαδήποτε υποτίμησή τους από την πλευρά των "bianconerri" μπορεί να έχει βλαβερές συνέπειες ως προς την πρόκρισή τους! Εξάλλου ο Klopp είναι... "μανούλα" σε διπλές αναπετρήσεις και το έχει αποδείξει πολλάκις στο παρελθόν. Αναμένεται με ιδιαίτερο ενδιαφέρον και αυτή η μονομαχία, κυρίως γιατί η Dortmund δεν έχει κάποιον άλλο στόχο μέσα στη σεζόν.
   Arsenal-AS Monaco. Ακόμα ένα ζευγάρι με ξεκάθαρο φαβορί. Η ομάδα του Jardim μπορεί να προκρίθηκε ως πρώτη από τον όμιλό της, ωστόσο αυτή τη περίοδο βρίσκεται στην 5η θέση του γαλλικού πρωταθλήματος, 10 ολόκληρους βαθμούς πισω από την κορυφή. Αντίθετα, οι "κανονιέρηδες" φαίνεται να συνέρχονται από τη χειμερία τους νάρκη και πάνε από το καλό στο καλύτερο, πετυχαίνοντας εμφατικές νίκες με πολλά γκολ και καλό θέαμα. Το μοναδικό τους πρόβλημα είναι οι συχνοί τραυματισμοί του Alexis Sanchez, ενώ και ο Mesut Ozil φαίνεται να βρίσκει τον παλιό καλό του εαυτό.
   Bayer Leverkusen- Atletico Madrid. Το τελευταίο ματς αυτής της φάσης του Champions League είναι η γερμανοϊσπανική μονομαχία μεταξύ των "ασπιρίνων" του Leverkusen και των "ταυρομάχων" της Μαδρίτης. Η Atletico έκανε μια ιδιαίτερα δυνατή προσθήκη στο ρόστερ της κατα τη χειμερινή μετεγγραφική περίοδο, επαναφέροντας τον προερχόμενο από τις ακαδημίες της Fernando Torres, ο οποίος δεν πρόλαβε καλά-καλά να φορέσει τη φανέλα και σκόραρε εναντίον της Real. Η Bayer αντίθετα δεν βρίσκεται σε ιδιαίτερα καλή περίοδο καθώς είναι στην 6η θέση της Bundesliga και έχει αρνητικό σερί αγώνων. Δύσκολα να χάσει την πρόκριση η ομάδα του "Cholo" Simeone, ωστόσο και οι παίκτες του Roger Schmidt θα δώσουν τα πάντα προκειμένου να αποκλείσουν τους πολυδιαφημισμένους αντιπάλους τους, και έχουν δείξει πως έχουν την ικανότητα να τα καταφέρουν.
   Και με το τελευταίο ζευγάρι, ολοκληρώθηκαν τα νέα των ομάδων του UEFA Champions League. Με την ελπίδα το φίλαθλο κοινό να παρακολουθήσει ακόμα ένα γύρο από συναρπαστικούς αγώνες και πολλά θεαματικά γκολ, θα κάνουμε μια πρόβλεψη για τις ομάδες που θα προκριθούν και τα ζευγάρια των "8" (τα οποία, ως γνωστόν, βγαίνουν απ'ευθείας από τις ομάδες που προκρίνονται).
                                                   Chelsea-Bayern Munich
                                            Real Madrid-FC Basel
                                         FC Barcelona-Borrusia Dortmund
                                                    Arsenal-Atletico Madrid