Today was kind of a big deal in the video game industry. A little thing happened you might have heard of, that seemed fairly popular on the internet, from what I could tell. Day one of the E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo happened today, headlined by major press conferences by Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft and EA, just to name a few. While the headlines were dominated by the new consoles (Xbox One and PS4), there was one company that remained quiet all day. But that's pretty par for the course when it comes to Nintendo. Nintendo marches to the beat of their own drummer, as they say. They don't ever do anything out of pressure from the industry, but always because it is what they want to do. Every year, they always do their press conference on Tuesday of E3, but this year, they are going a different route. Instead of the normal big production press conference, they are simply releasing a Nintendo Direct video first thing in the morning, which is something they have gotten very good at over the last year or so. They haven't really said why they are trying this new form of E3 announcements, but if I were a betting man, I would guess that they just realized that it wasn't going to be as efficient in driving whatever point they have to make home - and that a scripted, edited Nintendo Direct video would be more successful. Why am I bringing all this up, you ask? And what does this have to do with the game I played today, which as you can see, is Mario Paint for the Super Nintendo? Well, it's simple, really. If I could have one wish as to what Nintendo will announce in their Nintendo Direct video, it would be a new addition to the Mario Paint franchise. Ideally, I would love to see it on the Wii U, but a 3DS version would work fantastically as well. A Wii U Mario Paint game seems almost more obvious than it should be, but then again, we are talking about Nintendo. They don't ever do the obvious things when it comes to business models. Playing Mario Paint tonight made me realize how far ahead of the curve Nintendo was with this game - and usually is with most games and ideas they have. Thanks to smartphones and tablets and everything else out on the market now, the concept of Mario Paint seems simplistic, basic and uninspiring in today's marketplace. But seriously, a eShop version of Mario Paint on the Wii U would sell gangbusters, plus it would be the type of game to finally show off properly how great the GamePad is, and what kind of potential it has. The painting in the game is pretty straight forward, but throw in the stamps and textures and patterns, the video recorder and the fly swatting mini-game, and you actually have a well designed Paint game. Also, it's amazing that Nintendo can shameless push out plastic peripheral after peripheral without any qualms from the consumers. Good news with a Wii U version of this game is that everything you would need to make the game work, you would already have. So at least you won't have more plastic Nintendo licensed products sitting around collecting dust ... since that's what your Wii U is doing anyway. So we will see, Nintendo fans!
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I know what you're thinking before you even get a chance to finish this sentence. "WHY IN THE WORLD IS HE PLAYING THIS GAME AND COUNTING IT AS AN ACTUAL GAME FOR HIS BLOG? DOESN'T HE HAVE ACTUAL GAMES HE COULD BE PLAYING?" So, how close was I? I'm betting pretty darn close, but alas, I'm also a risk taker. Either way, i'm a realist and there is no chance that anyone who clicked on here thought that this was a logical choice. So with that, allow me to enlighten you a bit, my dear, dear readers. Find Mii is a packed-in game with the 3DS system, that utilizes the StreetPass functionality of the device to drive the gameplay and replay value of the mini-game. With every person you pass while out and about who is carrying a 3DS on them, you essentially give each other an in-game high five. You meet all your new visitors at your gate in your system, and from there, you send them into battle for you in the Find Mii game. You can also buy warriors as well using coins you collect from walking around, but that isn't as fun. Sure, buying them for back up is great, but to use people you actually encountered in the real world to fight your battles for you is far more entertaining in my opinion. Through the dungeon battles, you collect treasure chests that contain different hats you can swap in and out on your Mii character, which is a nice incentive too keep playing the game. Avatar awards for playing a game? Yeah, that's a successful strategy on the developers' part. So why did I pick this game to play, you're still wondering? Well, I went up to Seattle today for a baseball game. I took my 3DS along with me, with the intention of sinking some time into the freshly downloaded Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Well, it was such a beautiful day, such a great game and I was enjoying the time with my oldest boy so much that I didn't once feel inclined to pull it out and play. When I got home tonight, however, I flipped it open and my alerts went crazy, flashing to indicate I had StreetPassed with someone. Well, it turns out that I StreetPassed with 10 people. Now, I'm not sure if you can only have 10 at a time or not, but I kind of think that's the case. If someone knows for sure, please enlighten me! ANYWAY... So with my newly acquired 10 StreetPasses, I immediately jumped into Find Mii to dungeon crawl with my newly formed squad of warriors. I managed to take down two dungeons before being stopped by a tough boss-like character, collecting a new Metroid hat along the way. I have plenty of coins banked that I could have used to buy more Wandering Heros, as they are called, but I opted not to. With a game like this, it's not about the destination and it's not a race, it's about the journey, no matter how long it takes. This is by far one of the most underrated features of the 3DS, It's a hard feature to sell and advertise as well, because it's one of those "gotta see it to believe it" type of things. It's something the player has to experience on their own, with their own 3DS, on their own accord. It looses its luster when picking up a demo or a friends, or even reading about it here for that matter. Which lends the question as to why I wrote about it in the first place? Because I can. That's why. Right off the bat, let me explain to you that there is one soul reason I played this game today. Animal Crossing: City Folk was the last addition to the uber-popular Nintendo franchise, but as I write this, the newest game in the series is currently downloading on my 3DS - Animal Crossing: New Leaf. So the soul reason for playing the older version is simple: I wanted a comparison for the two games, so I can truly appreciate the changes made to the series. When this game came out a few years back, I received it for my birthday from the family. I hadn't played an Animal Crossing game since the GameCube version, as I completely passed on the DS game. With the Wii version, I was hooked from day one. I knew the moment I started playing that I would be investing lots and lots of time into the game, for better or for worse. And I was completely right, too. I played that game every single day for well over a year. Every single day. The game itself is set up to punish you for missing days, such as weeds growing all over your town and people in town moving out because they are sad that you aren't around as much as they would like. So when you don't play the game, it is a chore and half to get back into normal operation of your town once you get back to playing. The game is hard to describe to people that don't already know about it. I've tried explaining it to my buddy a few times, and it just doesn't sound right ever. The premise is simple, though. It's like the Sims, but with less realism and more chores. I know, it doesn't sound like a game that the more hardcore gamer crowd would ever be into, but oddly enough, there is enough charm and entertainment to win over even the biggest of "hardcore" players. Because the game runs hand-in-hand with real time, every holiday and special day of the year is celebrated in game. Also, the seasons are highlighted, with certain fish and bugs to catch and collect only available in certain seasons. This led to many people "time traveling," or setting their internal clocks on their Wiis to whatever season or holiday they wanted to check out. I am purist, however, and never once time traveled, for the sake of playing the way it was intended. After playing it day after day, like a ritual or addiction, all of a sudden, I stopped. One day went by. Two days. A week. And I always meant to go back and get back in it, but I didn't. My town turned into a ghost town. When I opened it up today, I was sad and embarrassed. It is the exact reason why I could never drag myself back to town. With that being said, I am excited to embark on this new Animal Crossing adventure. I don't know how long it will last, how much time I will put into it, but I am looking forward to the daily chores. Hopefully, I can keep it going like a certain other daily commitment I have. I'm a child of the 80's. I don't just mean that I was born in the 80's, but I actually grew up in the 80's, and remember it fondly. Aside from all the awesome toys, clothing styles and TV shows, there was one other thing beginning it's clime to the top of the entertainment realm in mainstream society. Of course, I am talking about professional wrestling, and more specifically, the WWE (or the WWF as it was known back then as, before the World Wildlife Federation decided they didn't want to be confused as the juggernaut any longer). The 80's is when the "sport" really began to build momentum, but once the 90's hit, Hulkamania had already hit America like a suplex. This time period is referred to as The Golden Era of wrestling, when kids everywhere were falling in love with professional wrestling as a go-to form of media entertainment - and I was one of those kids. I grew up watching this stuff, and ever since the very first WrestleMania (WrestleMania VI, if you are curious), I was a fan my entire childhood. Even after the fact, I watched it off and on, mainly because of the nostalgic feeling I always got from it. Despite all the shows and events I watched throughout the year, WrestleMania always remained as my favorite event, mainly because it was the absolute, definitive showcase of the industry's biggest stars, where the biggest names and personalities put on the most impressive show they could. It was the cream of the crop, as they say. And that is exactly what the WWE Legends of WrestleMania game set out to showcase. They brought in the biggest, best and most popular stars of the 80's and 90's and put them all in one game, instead of the traditional "make them unlockable characters" that every other wrestling game seems to do, essentially getting them lost in the mix among all the modern day "stars." For all of the old school pro wrestling fans, it's almost impossible to not find several wrestlers to suit your fancy in this game. Another thing this game does exceptionally well is drop the complicated controls and make it more simplistic, more arcade-like. The four face buttons are the only moves you need to worry about, as well as the d-pad/joystick, of course. While all the modern games (like WWE '13) make controlling each wrestler extremely complicated to add to the realism of the experience, this game embraces the simplistic nature of the old arcade wrestling games and focuses more on being a fun game than a realistic one. Honestly, this is the first wrestling game I've picked up in forever that had no real learning curve to speak of, which is fantastic for someone who doesn't want to spend a second more than necessary trying to learn how to play a game. I just want to jump in and go. Overall, the game features a few different modes, but ultimately is a little short in the depth category, which is why the true brilliance of this game rests solely on the simple control scheme and nostalgic homage it pays to those who paved the way for pro wrestling to be where it is today. If you're a true child of the 80's, you know the importance of Ultimate Warrior beating Hulk Hogan back at WrestleMania VI. And if not, go check out this game, learn a thing or to, and experience start of something great. Arcades are becoming a thing of the past. When I say arcades, I of course am talking about the old school type of arcades, with game cabinets lined up all over, quarters being the only currency used and the glow of machines being the guiding light through the establishment. Now days, "arcades" mean something different - with every game centering around winning tickets and no real skill being involved, but rather luck. Gone are the wall to wall arcade video game cabinets, replaced my gaudy monstrosities of "games." The reason I bring this is up, is because whenever I find myself in a tried and true arcade, the first game I always hunt down - and I mean always - is Bust-A-Move. For you youngsters out there, Bust-A-Move is not a type of Dance Dance Revolution game or anything of that nature, so get that out of your head right now. No, Bust-A-Move is a bubble popping game, where you must shoot different colored bubbles at stacks of colored bubbles, matching up colors in order to create a bubble explosion. Once all the bubbles are gone, the level is over. So again, every time I visit an arcade (which sadly isn't very often anymore), I hunt down a Bust-A-Move machine, if they have one. And let me tell you something, if they do, watch out! I will need to be dragged away from that machine, only after I dump a fistful of quarters into it. Over the years, I have probably spent more money on just that game than any other game I've bought EASILY, including DLC and season passes and all that. And that's just quarter by quarter, remember. Needless to say, I love those types of games for reasons I can't fully explain. It's just my thing. Imagine my surprise when I downloaded a free game (thanks to PS Plus) on my Vita the other morning, only to just discover today that it is a bubble popping game! Talk about an unexpected but very, very great surprise. Germinator isn't exactly your dad's bubble popping game, however. They introduce a new twist on the genre to set it apart from the rest. Instead of bubbles stacking up, when two of the same color come in contact, they merge into one big one. Add another one, it gets even larger. Add a fourth, and POP! This is all made possible by the fact that the bubbles are not bubbles at all, but rather germs. As if a game in this niche genre needed any sort of explanation. Another cool aspect is how the different color germs react when blowing up, and the introduction of a special meter to charge up shots with special powers that do different damage depending on the color. Because of my old school ways, I found it challenging to actually remember to use the special powers, but when I did, it was awesome. Thankfully, this was a free game. Not because it was horrible, but because if it was in an arcade, my wallet would be tapping out quicker than if it was fighting a Steam sale on a payday. Also, because it is on my Vita, I can take it with me while waiting in line to be next on Dance Dance Revolution ... or not. Some games are way too over-hyped, and never live up to the expectations placed on them. After months and months of promotional marketing and self-perpetuated excitement, by the time the game comes out, it falls short of ever being what it was thought it would be. This is something that happens in the industry far too often, unfortunately. It's hard to ever fully put the blame on someone for these issues, as many times the letdown is unavoidable. Call of Juarez: Gunslinger is the complete opposite of this problem. Gunslinger flew under the radar almost undetected, silent and without any hype pretty much up until it was released. But the day it was released, it was clear to everyone who took a chance on it that this game was awesome. There was no hype to live up to, no expectations to meet. And oddly enough, even if there were, I have a feeling it would have by all accounts. The game looks extraordinary, as the cell-shading combined with the realistic style looks amazing. It reminded me how much I enjoyed the visual style of XIII on the original Xbox. The environments are as engaging as you would hope they would be, even yielding points for object being shot (like pumpkins, cans and other things laying around). The game play is pretty straight forward. It's a straight forward FPS, with XP to be earned and skill trees to be tackled. In this aspect, the game plays eerily similar to the Borderlands games, which by all accords, isn't a bad thing in the least. Going after headshots, long shots, running shots and combos when shooting people is extremely fun, and the thrill of racking up points left and right is enough to keep you engaged when the seemingly endless parade of enemies is feeling repetitive. Above and beyond all else as far as the endearing qualities of the game is the narration of the game. The old cowboy telling the stories that you are reenacting does a phenomenal job, and I immediately thought about the game Bastion. Just like in that game, the game plays out as the narrator is talking, but also the narrator will comment on your game play. This a very easy way to keep the story engaging and entertaining without loosing the focus of the gamer. Overall, this is an amazing game, especially for a $15 title. But I guess when there is no hype or pressure to live up to, it becomes easier to live up to those standards. It's a growing trend in the indie video game side of the business that games are being developed lacking key, distinct plot points and/or unclear or open-ended endings, thus forcing players to develop their own meanings and reasons for the game they just experienced, opening up the dialogue for conversation. While the bigger, "AAA" titles tend to be more straight forward, spelling it out for the player, indie games have a lot more freedom to be creative, quirky and left open to interpretation. While there were a few games before Limbo to go this route of story telling and forced critical thinking, Limbo was the game that thrust this new way of looking at how games should be experienced into mainstream recognition. And ever since it was released on the XBLA, so many indie games have tried to replicate not only the success, but the emotional experience this game brought to the consciousness of gamers everywhere. Few have accomplished this feat, but even when they do, they are still compared to the likes of Limbo. Basically, Limbo is the hipster game of the genre. I first bought this game after it had came out on XBLA, when Microsoft was having its end of the year sale, where they teased the upcoming titles they would put on sale. My friend and I both knew Limbo was coming, based on the hints, and that night, we both waited up until midnight to see it go on sale so we could pick it up. Consider it a midnight launch party, except we were just texting back and forth. Oddly enough, this was one of the first games that we both owned and purchased at the same time, meaning we were able to experience and share notes about the game at the same time. I think that first night I stayed up for a few hours, glued to the game, which is crazy considering it was just an XBLA game. But man, crazy or not, it was so worth it. This game is amazing. I simply don't know how else to put it. Today it was released for the PS Vita, which of course I bought, and it is still the amazing game now that it was back then. In fact, I almost think this game was originally built to run on a handheld like the Vita, because this system is ideal for games like Limbo - especially with the ability to just suspend the game on a whim, and return back to that point whenever you so choose. While Limbo is great in long playthroughs, I really believe it is better in slightly shorter sessions, to allow you to sit back and reflect on what you just experienced. I really do enjoy this game, and even though I beat the original XBLA version of this game a couple of times, I am still struggling to remember all the easy solutions to the platforming puzzles. I shouldn't have a problem, but the beautiful yet creep atmosphere and overall sad, melancholy tone of the game completely distracts me from the task at hand, usually. At least I am distracted by in-game things rather than being bored with the game itself so much that my mind starts to wander off. If you have a Vita and still haven't pulled the trigger on this game up until now, NOW is the chance. Apparently, the totally awesome cross-buy promotion is in full force for this title, so you can have your cake and eat it to. Or something like that... in 2012, Telltale Games pretty much dominated the video games dojo with the release of the episodic and highly successful adventure game, The Walking Dead. Granted, it was capitalizing on the ridiculous momentum and allure that the franchise was drumming up, using the buzz to its advantage. Between the television show and the comics, the franchise was clicking on all cylinders, and Telltale Games cashed in on it at just the right moment. That's not to say that it was a cash-grab game and held no merit as a stand alone product, because it wasn't. By itself, it was a fantastic game, and critically one of the best for the entire year. But that's not to say that the built-in hype didn't help at all, because of course it did. What's important to remember is that this wasn't Telltale Game's first rodeo. They have actually made a few point-and-click adventure games, all based on other, popular franchises. One of their games was Back to the Future: The Game, which I started playing tonight. While not nearly as good as The Walking Dead game, it's easy to draw comparisons and look back to see what went right and wrong back then, and how they seemed to take those lessons and apply them to zombie universe. This adventure takes place after the events of the movie trilogy, making a new storyline for the popular franchise instead of going the easy route and just recreating the movie series. The voice acting is phenomenal, and the characters seem as lively and lovable as they did back in the day. One thing that is clear right off the bat is how dull and bland the backgrounds are. While the characters look great, they didn't put much time in creating a world that you feel completely immersed in. The writing is great, but the puzzles are very simple and less challenging than I hoped they would be. And that's the story for this game. For everything it does great, it falls flat on another aspect of it. Thankfully, they figured out this pattern when making The Walking Dead, because without the ability to forfeit pride for the sake of betterment of a project, success would never happen. So for everyone who absolutely loved The Walking Dead game, you should go back and play Back to the Future: The Game, and get a little perspective. Let's face it; there are some games that a guy will buy over and over and over again, for may different reasons. These types of games don't come along very often, but when they do, they hit hard and fast, and before you know it, you have bought multiple copies of the same game, either for the same system over and over, or the same game just on many different systems. For me, the latest one to trick me into this pitfall is Plants vs. Zombies. Currently, I had owned the game for DS, iPhone, Xbox 360 and PS Vita. Well, today I discovered that it was only $.99 for the iPad, so guess what game I bought again, in all it's glory. I have literally done everything there is to do in the game over and over again, yet I continue buy the game and play it over and over again, for no real reason at all. Other than it is a super fun game, of course. For those living under a rock, this is a tower defense game, where you plant all different types of plants and flowers in order to stop the zombie hoard of each level from reaching the house. If they reach house, you lose. If you destroy all zombies, level over. Simple stuff indeed. The charm lies within the characters of the game. Everything from the plants themselves, the zombies and even Crazy Dave, the characters and charm radiate from this game. I guess that's probably why I like playing it so much. If Plants vs. Zombies 2 is anywhere near as good as this game, my wallet will be hurting severely. Usually, video games follow a fairly established set of rules and guidelines that actually qualify them as games. The basic of these guidelines is that there is a way to beat the game, a way to lose the game and always a specific goal laid out in front of you to accomplish. Not all games follow these rules to perfectly, and some just don't incorporate one or another of them. But for the most part, these are the fundamental blueprints for developing a game. Then, every once in a while, a developer comes along and throws all tradition out the window and does their own thing. 99% of the time these will be smaller, indie developers who have less riding on whether or not they follow established guidelines or not, and they have a lot more freedom to experiment with unique and different types of games. Tomorrow Corporation is the prime example of a developer doing whatever they want to do, just because they think it will be a fun experience, not because the industry dictates what should and shouldn't be in a game. Little Inferno is their game, and it is awesome. If you like burning things for no real rhyme or reason in a fireplace. Yes, you heard me right. Truth is, I bought this game when I first got my Wii U, as it was hailed as one of the best games on the eShop at the time. While the description of the game and the limited game play footage didn't exactly make a compelling argument for the game, but nonetheless, I took a chance on a game I knew almost nothing about - mainly because I wanted to support the eShop right out of the gate for the new system. I played it and loved it on the Wii U. But tonight, I played it on my PC, as it was one of many games in the most recent Humble Indie Bundle. And because I knew the game backwards and forwards pretty efficiently at this point, playing through tonight was a breeze. In fact, I sunk three hours into it, but did absolutely everything there was to do in it. And every single bit of it was enjoyable as if it was the first time I played. Literally, this game is as simple as I made it seem. You play as a kid, who is hunkering down in his house because of a massive snow storm engulfing the city To stay warm, he gets a Little Inferno Home Entertainment Fireplace. You get a selection of catalogs to browse a "buy" products with your gold coins. After buying, they are delivered to you, in which you toss them in your fireplace, light them on fire and watch the magic happen. And by "magic," I mean see what happens to each weird item when it is engulfed in fire. Yup, that is it. You can unlock certain combos by burning specific things together at the same time, but ultimately, there is no real reason to do so other than to complete your list. All you really have to do is just buy and burn everything, before the "end game" eventually happens. That's it. Buy and burn, rinse and repeat. The fun is literally just watching things burn and smolder. It might not be for everyone, but for those pyromaniacs out there, there is finally a game for you. But of course, "game" is a very lose term. Which is why this "game" is so great. |
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February 2014
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