Final Fantasy is not the only big new release that lands on store shelves today. After four years, Namco hopes write another successful chapter in the tale of souls and swords. With the fighting genre on the rise, Namco's newest weapon-based fighting game, Soul Calibur V could not come at a better time.
Soul Calibur V takes place 17 years after the events of Soul Calibur IV. This jump in time has allowed Namco to create a new batch of fighters to fight alongside returning fighters such as Ivy, Voldo and Siegfried. While half of the roster is made up of newcomers, these new characters are related to characters found in previous Soul Calibur games. Carrying on tradition, Ezio Auditore da Firenze from the Assassin's Creed series is a guest fighter for this entry in the Soul Calibur series. At least the assassin from Renaissance Italy fits more into the story and setting of the Soul Calibur series than the likes of Darth Vader, Yoda and Spawn (guest characters in past Soul Calibur games). As with each new fighting game, developers effortlessly tweak features to make it the most balanced and satisfying fighting experience yet. The same goes for Soul Calibur V as Namco has tweaked everything from super moves, now known as Brave and Critical Edge moves, to character creation to give both old and new players a reason to pick up this entry in the Soul Calibur franchise.
From what I have seen and read, Soul Calibur V seems like more of iteration than reboot in the Soul Calibur series even with the time jump. New fighters seem more or less based off of fighters from previous entries in the series. It could be another stellar entry in this great fighting series, but Namco really has not given fans like myself (who owns Soul Calibur II, III and IV) much incentive to pick up this new entry in the series when they can go back and play older entries in the series.
Ever since the holiday season and the holiday game rush of 2011 came to an end, there have been little to no new games released. Maybe one or two Game of the Year editions of a couple games, but nothing completely new. Well tomorrow, January 31st, starts the first big game rush of 2012 as publishers and developers release their first wave of heavyweight games. Among the first of this big wave of releases is a direct sequel to Final Fantasy XIII. Final Fantasy XIII-2 hopes to right all the complaints fans and critics laid on its polarizing predecessor. Let us take a closer look at Final Fantasy XIII-2 before it releases tomorrow.
Immediately after saving the worlds of Cocoon and Gran Pulse in the finale of Final Fantasy XIII, Lightning is sucked into another world. Trapped in this alternate reality, Lightning must contend with the evil forces of the main villain of this Final Fantasy game, Caius Ballard. Left without a sister, Serah goes on a quest to find Lightning, which leads her to meeting Noel, a mysterious time-traveller from 700 years in the future. Serah and Noel must travel across time and space in order to find Lightning and stop Caius Ballard. Final Fantasy XIII-2's main focus is on improving on the XIII's shortcomings, mainly the extreme linearity of XIII. You no longer have to travel down long hallways for hours on end as each location is open for you to explore, complete various side-quests or do whatever you want. The Paradigm Shift battle system returns from XIII with some additions. The first addition being little quick-time events called Cinematic Action that play at pre-determined moments in fights that keep you engaged while these epic moments happen on-screen. The second addition is the ability to tame monsters to use as the third member in your party. This third party member can be very useful especially for its special Feral Link move, which can deal a good amount of damage when needed. Along with the additions to the combat, Square Enix has added Live Triggers, which serve as Final Fantasy's take on dialogue trees, and Temporal Rifts, little puzzle-like mini-games that play into furthering the story.
Story is a huge component of Final Fantasy games and time travel could provide some messy plot holes if Square Enix does not do it right. I was not a huge fan of Final Fantasy XIII when it released back in 2010 and I am not really interested in Final Fantasy XIII-2. It looks like Square Enix listened to the fans and critics and tried their best to right the wrongs they made with Final Fantasy XIII. Hardcore fans of Final Fantasy and Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs for short) will most likely enjoy Final Fantasy XIII-2. I do not think it will grab gamers who have their minds set on Kingdoms of Amular or Mass Effect 3 though.
Yes, this blog is about video games, not TV shows. But Chuck is much about games and nerd culture as it is about crazy comedy and dramatic spy action. From one of the primary settings for the show taking place in a huge electronics store parody of Best Buy to many mentions of different real video games such as Call of Duty and Gears of War to fake video games such as Spy Attack. Heck, there is even an episode of Chuck that revolves around Missile Command. If you disagree with the fact I am talking about this show on a video game blog, leave your reasons in the comments below, but I don't really care I am going to talk about it anyway.
Back in 2007, I was getting into a couple TV shows such as Lost and Heroes. Right around the time season 2 of Heroes started, this new show called Chuck was on an hour before. After reading a review of the pilot on IGN, I decided I would check it out. I watched the second episode and was hooked. The great mix of comedy and action just melted my heart and I fell in love with this little sci-fi show. Year after year, Chuck would get to end of the season and us fans would fight to keep the show going for another season. As we came to the end of season four, news broke that season five would be the final season of Chuck. Well last Friday saw the series finale of Chuck and it was one emotional two-hour ride as it was the final time we would ever see these characters that we have been watching these last five years. From the numerous nods to the pilot to one last performance from Jeffster, it was an excellent set of episodes that truly brought a good close to this great series. Even after all that has gone on, I still feel sad that there will never get to watch a new episode of Chuck. I guess that is how it feels to stick with a show from the very beginning to the very end, dedicate so much time getting engulfed in the mythos of the show. It feels very surreal and may take a few days for me to get over it.
Well Chuck, it has been five incredible years. As much as I and many others would love to see a movie or more seasons of the show, I am glad that the show ended on its own terms instead of being cancelled or overstaying your welcome. You made myself and many others smile, laugh and get excited on a weekly basis for the past five years. Thank you to everybody who worked on the show for everything. It has been one hell of a ride. Goodbye Chuck. You will be missed.
Yesterday was a busy day for me with work and such. As I could not think of something to write for yesterday, I decide to put up two posts this weekend to make up for not posting yesterday. Compared to the last week, I spent a little more time gaming. As I do not have much more to say in this paragraph, let us take a look at the bests of the week.
Game of the Week
Like last week, most of my time was spent playing Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. When you get into the story, gameplay and collecting djinn and other summons, you will not want to put it down. I also played Groove Coaster and Run Roo Run on my iPad, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure and Luigi's Mansion for the Gamecube, Kirby's Dream Land on my 3DS and Rayman Origins for Wii. It is hard to pick one Game of the Week as I enjoyed playing all of them, but I was most impressed with Four Swords Adventure. After playing the free Four Swords 25th Anniversary Edition, I was a little disappointed in the single-player as it left something to be desired. The game was meant to be played with multiple people and I felt that Four Swords Adventure would be the same. Other than the fact that you can only play multi-player by using multiple Game Boy Advance systems and Nintendo Gamecube GBA cables, I was very impressed with Four Swords Adventure single-player. You will definitely get the most out of the game by playing with others, but single-player is just as good. Controlling all four Links by arranging them in different formations to solve simplistic puzzles and defeat huge amounts of enemies is very satisfying. While playing, Four Swords Adventure reminded me of a Link to the Past. I think that was due to overhead perspective both games share. One day, I will gather four people together all with Game Boy Advance systems and Nintendo Gamecube GBA cables and I will experience how great the multi-player for Four Swords Adventure is. For right now, the single-player is impressive enough to warrant it my Game of the Week.
Most Anticipated Game of the Week
I enjoy rumours of upcoming games and systems like anybody else, but I do not like to report on them until something is actually announced. I cannot help for this rumour. It is rumoured that Rocksteady, the studio behind Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, are working on a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle game for the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii U. It is suppose to be a darker take on the turtles with a half-shell, but still have some of the humour the cartoons and movies have been known for. You will be able to play as Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello in the main game, but you will also be able to play as Master Splinter during flashback sequences. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Manhattan Crisis, the alleged name for the game, will run off of the engine used for Arkham City. Considering how great Rocksteady's Batman games were, I am looking forward to see how they tackle the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles if this rumour turns out to be true.
Video of the Week
Created by using Portal 2 assets, one fan put together a Portal-style remake of "This Is Halloween" from The Nightmare Before Christmas called "This Is Aperture". It is very haunting music video that hits all the right notes about the craziness that goes on at Aperture Science. Nothing I say will do this video justice. Just watch it and see for yourself.
While there has not been many of new console game releases this month, there has been plenty of downloadable games for gamers to enjoy. For those looking forward to all the big releases coming out in the next few months, there are plenty of demos on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network to keep you satisfied until they launch. Talking about demos, considering that Nintendo seems to be releasing a new 3DS demo, there will be another quick impressions followed by two previews of new downloadable games for you to pick up this week. So let us get rolling.
Last week saw the first demo come to the Nintendo eShop in Resident Evil: Revelations. This week up on the eShop is a new demo for all 3DS owners to download. This demo is for Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, which is set to release on the 14th of next month. The Mario & Sonic demo allows players to try five events (basically mini-games) from the final game. The events offered in this demo are Pistol Firing, Football (soccer for all us North Americans), Trampoline, Swimming and Bike Race. These events are more or less hit or miss in both controls and fun factor. One event, you will be loving the game, the next you will be cursing the difficult controls and play methods. The Bike Race event even makes you keep the 3DS flat thus forcing you into a rather uncomfortable position. At the core, Mario & Sonic is a mini-game collection in the truest sense of the word as the demo lasted all of eight minutes. That will make for great portable play for those interested, but there will have to be a whole lot more events to keep some people playing for than a couple hours at best. For young children or people who enjoyed the other Mario & Sonic games for the DS and Wii, give this demo a try and see if you want to pick up the first 3DS entry in this series. For everybody else, this eight minute demo is more than enough time with this mini-game collection.
From the minds behind DS survival-horror games Dementium and Moon, Renegade Kid comes the Mutant Mudds. Mutant Mudds is a platformer, where you play as an average kid tasked with the supernatural task of thwarting the plans of the Mutant Mudd army. With your trusty water cannon and water-powered jet pack, you jump between the foreground and background, collect water sprites in order to power your water-based tools and destroy the Mutant Mudd forces that stand in your way. With 40 levels over 5 worlds, Mutant Mudds is jam-packed with content. For 9 dollars, Mutant Mudds should be another great download for the 3DS and the fledgling Nintendo eShop.
Earlier this week, I saw a trailer for one Jazz: Trump's Journey for iOS devices and it caught me by surprise. It looked like one unique mix of side-scrolling platform game with a rhythm game. In actuality, Jazz: Trump's Journey follows Trump in his journey to become a jazz musician and win the heart of the lovely Lady Poppy. Like Mario, you traverse through levels by jumping from platform to platform and avoiding enemies and obstacles to get to your goal. Unlike Mario, Trump has a trick up his sleeve and that trick is his trusty trumpet, which you can use to stop time. With stunningly charming graphics, wonderful jazz music and what looks to be solid gameplay, Jazz: Trump's Journey could be another great and inexpensive game (costs only 3 dollars) for your iDevice.
Popped into EB Games today to find a good stack of Gamecube games just traded in. As an avid collector of great Nintendo games, I had already had most of them, but two caught my eye. They were The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure, which I have only come across once before and made the stupid mistake of not grabbing it when I had my chance, and Luigi's Mansion, a game I rented years ago and just did not enjoy, but at the price of 5 dollars would try again to see if younger me was wrong. So I made sure that before I left that store I had bought both of these hard to find Gamecube games. What got me though was all the nostalgic feelings remembering my times with that small purple cube I got after buying Four Swords Adventure and Luigi's Mansion. The Nintendo Gamecube was the first game console I bought on my own and also was host to some of my favourite games I own such as Metroid Prime, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes and Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. As a tribute to my fond memories of the Gamecube, I wanted to share one of the best pieces of music to grace, in my humble opinion, Nintendo's most underrated console.
The song that I will share with you guys as apart of this edition of Hump Day Music is from an independent musician from Sweden known as FreddeGredde. As a Christmas project, FreddeGredde combined a bunch of tracks from the soundtrack for The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker along with one or two from other Zelda games to create an excellent medley he called Wind Waker Unplugged. The Legend of Zelda among many other things is known for its beautiful music, which varies in genre and sound from game to game. From what I remembered, Wind Waker's music was a little more joyous, bright and happy, which went hand-in-hand with the bright and cartoon-like cel-shaded graphics. Listening to this medley brings up my times of sailing across the huge ocean that made up this new Hyrule en route to a new island just in the distant for me as Link to explore. Great times, great game and a great medley. So do not forget to watch the video below to listen to this beautiful music.
As long as I have loved video games, I have been a Nintendo fan. No matter what anybody says or whatever happens, nothing will ever change that. It is ingrained in my DNA. For a huge Nintendo fan to pick up an issue of Nintendo Power just about ten years ago, it was one magical moment. Everything Nintendo-related captured in about 100 page magazine made 11 year old me giddy in side. After buying a few issues, I asked my parents for a subscription to Nintendo Power for Christmas and well the rest is history. Through the good times and bad, the thick and the thin, there has been one constant these last ten years of my life. That I would receive a new issue of Nintendo Power at the beginning of each and every month. Not every issue has been the greatest thing to grace the printed media, but Nintendo Power has never let me down.
As has become sort-of a tradition over the last few years, Nintendo Power begins the New Year with a big 35-page preview of the year to come. In this huge 35-page preview, the editors of Nintendo Power highlight the biggest games that have been announced for 2012 such as Kid Icarus Uprising, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 and Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure. It is one great feature, but the reason you will want to read it is for the excellent previews of Kid Icarus Uprising and Rhythm Thief both for the 3DS. The preview for Kid Icarus Uprising is extremely comprehensive as it looks at all the features, weapon classes, basic plot and bonus features, much of which was not shared until this feature. On top of that, Nintendo Power had one incredible interview with the director on Uprising and creator of Kirby and Super Smash Bros., Masahiro Sakurai about the challenges of reviving this 25-year old franchise in this day and age. After reading the preview, my anticipation for Kid Icarus Uprising has gone through the roof. The preview for Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure is just as good as Nintendo Power runs down the diverse tasks you be completing by tapping, sliding, tilting and button pressing. Thanks to Nintendo Power's coverage of Rhythm Thief, I am interested in seeing how good this unique 3DS rhythm game is when it releases in March. While the big 35-page 2012 preview was the big story in this issue, but it was not the only good thing about this issue of Nintendo Power. Nintendo Power treats readers to one great interview with Michel Ancel and Sebastien Morin on arguably the best platformer of 2011, Rayman Origins, a list of 40 can't miss games on the Nintendo eShop, a look back at Revenge of the 'Gator, a solid pinball game from Nintendo and Hal Laboratory, and new edition of the always good Power Profiles, in this issue they profile Toshiaki Mori, an illustartor for Capcom. Along with the regularly solid Pulse, Power Up, Reviews and Community sections, issue 275 of Nintendo Power is one all-around great magazine.
After having such a disappointing time reading OXM, I really enjoyed my time reading issue 275 of Nintendo Power. While other magazines spend most of their time taking stabs at their competitors, Nintendo Power focuses on highlighting Nintendo's current and upcoming systems and the unique experiences only offered on them. I would have never been interested in Rhythm Thief if Nintendo Power had not made room in their magazine to highlight this game that has been flying completely under the radar at the moment. At only 6 dollars, this issue of Nintendo Power is a great read for anybody, not just Nintendo fans like myself.
When I work on articles and other projects that I work on, I enjoy to listen to music. It helps keep me focused on the task at hand and also relaxed to let my creative juices flow. Over the weekend while writing blogs and other articles, I started searching through the web pages of a website known a OverClocked ReMix (OC ReMix for short) listening to all the free video game music I could. I was first turned onto the greatness of OC ReMix by Tommy Tallarico and Victor Lucas, who featured the website on a segment of Electric Playground years ago. I continue to go back to the website every once and a while to listen to the new remixes that the community of hundreds of remixers add on a regular basis.
OverClocked ReMix is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to preserving and paying tribute to video game music by re-interpreting the songs we have all come to know and love through playing games with new technology and software. OC ReMix offers thousands of fan-made video game music arrangements, information on game music and game music composers, resources for aspiring game composers and a forum for video game music fans to share their love of video game music. Apart from thousands of single-tracks for video game music fans can enjoy, OC ReMix along with their hundreds of loyal ReMixers have gone onto produce over 50 albums for many gaming series known for their great music such as Mega Man, Metroid, Sonic, Street Fighter and Final Fantasy. After an Associate Producer from Capcom USA listened to OC ReMix's Street Fighter tribute album, Blood on the Asphalt, the musicians of OC Remix were chosen to handle the soundtrack for Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. It was first in the video game industry as the Street Fighter II Turbo HD was the first video game release to feature a soundtrack completely made by fans.
Instead of illegally downloading music through torrents, OverClocked ReMix offers video game music lovers like myself thousands upon thousands of re-interrupted pieces of video game music. From Jazz Metal Gear Solid music to Heavy Metal Mega Man music, there is something for every gamer on ocremix.org. So show your support by downloading the tracks and albums that pleases your ears or by buying some official OC ReMix merchandise or if you are looking to get into composing music for video games, even contributing some tracks of your own. I hope you enjoyed this article and that I opened a few peoples' eyes as there is great legally free music out there, you just need to look.
We hit the middle of January and the news starts flowing. Some big news happened this week, but I will get to that a bit later in this edition of Bit by Bit. Between work, blogging, getting everything ready for my university application and avidly watching seasons 2 and 3 of Beast Wars (by the way, great show you guys should watch it), I did not get to spend a whole lot of time gaming other than playing a few demos, as you all saw with the first two editions of Demo Impressions, and a few other games here and there. With a few more days off and a not so busy week ahead of me, hopefully I will get more time to dedicate to video games this coming week. Now let us take a look at the best of the week.
Game of the Week
I would love to put Beast Wars here because I spent most of my time this past week watching the final few discs of the box set I got for Christmas. It was one of favourite TV shows when I was a young'un and man has it ever aged well. A must watch for old and new Transformers fans. Enough of that little tangent, this is not the Show of the Week, it is the Game of the Week. And for those still waiting for my review of Arkham City, don't worry it is coming very soon. Even though I did not spend a whole lot of time gaming this week, I would like to put the spotlight on a game that has been in my 3DS for the past few weeks. I have been playing it whenever I get a chance to pick up my 3DS. This game is Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, a very fun and simple RPG for the DS. Dark Dawn is the third entry in the Golden Sun series, but it is the first one I actually own. I played the original Golden Sun for the Game Boy Advance and even though I got to the final boss, I never really enjoyed it when I was younger. Maybe it was my age, but right here and now I am really enjoying Dark Dawn. It is a nice straight-forward RPG with a compelling story and a fun yet basic turn-based battle system. Even though, I am growing sick and tired of random battles, it is easier to tolerate in Dark Dawn because you are not thrown into a battle every few steps. At the moment, I am about eight hours into Dark Dawn's long adventure and I cannot wait to play more.
Most Anticipated Game of the Week
Being the end of the Mayan calendar, a lot of superstitious people are expecting an apocalypse to happen sometime before the end of the year. Like Y2K and the Rapture, I am not the least bit worried. In the world of one iconic Capcom franchise, 2012 maybe the end of the world as it seems that there is no hope left. The president has been turned into a zombie, the world is overrun by a zombie outbreak of incredible proportions and it is up to Leon Kennedy, Chris Redfield and another mysterious zombie fighter to save the world before it is too late. Yes, I am talking about Resident Evil 6, which was announced this past Thursday through one amazing trailer. Resident Evil 6 looks to up the ante on everything that has come before it in the Resident Evil series as we travel across the world to stop this global zombie outbreak with a mix of the slow tense moments from the first three games and the high action-packed gameplay from the newer games. It looks like another great entry in the iconic gaming franchise and I cannot wait for November 20th of this year to play it. Before you move onto the Video of the Week, watch the exciting trailer for Resident Evil 6. One of the best trailers for a game in quite a while.
Video of the Week
On a normal week, the trailer for Resident Evil 6 would have definitely got Video of the Week, but this week was no normal week. On Wednesday, there was the Great Internet Blackout, which saw over 75 thousand websites black out in order to protest SOPA and PIPA. Many other sites did other things to protest the two bills such as petitions and boycotts. One boycott I shared with you guys had gamers boycott E3 until the ESA pulled support from SOPA and PIPA. Well yesterday, there was good news for everybody as SOPA was indefinitely shelved, PIPA on its last leg and the ESA pulling their support of these two dangerous bills. For my Video of the Week, I would like to share ScrewAttack's Hard News from Wednesday. The host of Hard News, Professional Jared, nails it down what SOPA and PIPA is and how and who these bills will affect. It was a very effective two and a half minute video that really left an impact on me. Hopefully it will leave an impact on you too.
During my last edition of the tentative Demo Impressions, I said I wanted you guys to come up with a better name for this recurring article as my creative juices cannot think of a cool title. So far I have received two really good suggestions, but I would like to hear some more before I make a final decision. If you want to give me a suggestion, comment on my demo impressions on Final Fantasy XIII-2 from this past Tuesday. While on the PSN store to download the Final Fantasy XIII-2 demo, I saw a demo for Capcom and CyberConnect2's upcoming action game, Asura's Wrath. I have read a few previews and had been mildly interested in trying this unique game so I downloaded it as well.
The demo for Asura's Wrath offers two chapters of the game for you to enjoy. These chapters play out much like episodes from an anime series complete with "To Be Continued" cliffhanger to end each chapter. The two chapters you get to play in this demo are two big boss battles with the two of the Gods who betrayed Asura at the beginning of the game. These two boss battles demonstrate a lot of the mechanics that govern this game. The one impression that stood clear in my mind throughout the whole time I was playing Asura's Wrath was this game is absolutely insane! That and my figures were pretty sore after repeatedly mashing on the face buttons of the PS3 controller. This game will certainly cause you to break one or two controllers in the process of playing. I honestly cannot put what I witnessed playing the Asura's Wrath into words because you will have to see it to believe this level of insanity. From fighting your former master on the face of the moon to almost getting crushed by planet-sized figure, the action is so insane that you just have to either watch gameplay footage or play it yourself to truly understand how crazy this game is. While Asura's Wrath is crazy, it is the most fun with a demo I had in a long time. The bit-sized five to ten minute chapters are packed with loads of action like other beat-em ups and some great use of quick-time events to keep the player engaged. I hope in that there are plenty of chapters in the final product as if all the chapters are five to ten minutes, Asura's Wrath will be a very short game especially for 60 dollars. This demo did its job perfectly as it Asura's Wrath on my radar for games to look out for in early 2012. If you can, make sure you can try to demo for Asura's Wrath. You will definitely love the craziness this exudes. Just don't mash on those buttons too hard. It would be sad if you were to break your controller.
The steady stream of downloadable games continues on with the release of some games from the past and the first demo for the 3DS. It has been a solid week for downloads. Apple just released the new iTunes U app which provides hundreds of free courses for people to take. Apple also updated the iBooks app, named iBooks 2, which adds textbooks to Apple's online bookstore. Two very useful apps for current and future university and college students such as yours truly. Now let us rundown the biggest download games and demos of the week.
After weeks of waiting, demos have come to the Nintendo eShop. The first demo available for 3DS owners is Resident Evil: Revelations, which is set to release in a few weeks. Interesting thing you will notice once you download this demo is that you have a limited amount of times to play the demo. You are given 30 times to play the demo. From my playthrough, you will only have to play this demo once. It was rather short as I beat it in 18 minutes. The demo highlighted the feel of playing Resident Evil on the handheld, the return to Resident Evil's more plodding pace and a brand new item. The controls will take a little while to get use to especially when fighting baddies. They do make you feel like you playing an old Resident Evil game as Jill moves like a tank. In my 18 minutes with the game, I did jump a few times as enemies seemed to pop up when I least expect it. You feel very tense wandering the halls that this demo is set in. The last thing I want to touch on is the new scanner. It is such a great tool that I used anytime I could to find hidden items and other scannable objects. I would have liked to have had a little more time with Resident Evil: Revelations to get a better impression on it, but I am still looking forward to playing it sometime later this year in preparation for Resident Evil 6, which I am very excited for.
Like many other games before it, Soul Calibur has been ported to the ever popular iPod and iPad. Namco has brought this fighting classic originally for the Dreamcast, but not without a few modes taken out of Soul Calibur. Soul Calibur for iOS does not have multiplayer or story mode, but Namco hopes to soften the blow by making the game universal. I am not a fan of fighting games for iOS. The touch controls are not responsive enough to work for a genre that focuses on precise controls. The removal of two key modes for any fighting game does sting as a lot of people are not going to want to play Arcade, Time Attack and Survival over and over again. If you are craving a fighter for your iDevice, I will not stop you. At 12 dollars, Soul Calibur for the iOS seems more like a quick cash-in for Namco as we quickly approach the release of Soul Calibur V later this month.
By now, you all should have figured out that I am a huge Sonic fan and love to talk about anything involving my favourite Blue Blur. This Thursday saw the release of Sonic CD and Sonic 4: Episode 1 for the PC via Steam. If you somehow missed out on these great games when they were released for XBLA, PSN and iOS before, then pick them up. Both are great platformers that you should have a lot of fun with even with a keyboard. Trust me, I have played a good number of Sonic platformers on the PC and they have controlled just fine. At 5 dollars and 10 dollars respectively, this decision should be a no-brainer. Also every other Sonic game on Steam is 50% off for this weekend only. So jump on it and download some great games at 50% off the regular price. You will not be disappointed.
I have never been the one for politics It is a gray area that I do not like to venture into, but I have a reason to this time. For the past few months, a bill known as the Stop Online Piracy Act along been building up steam in the US Senate. Originally starting out with noble intentions to stop online piracy, which has run rampant over the past decade, SOPA has been twisted in ways to destroy the very foundation of the Internet and restrict everyone's freedom of speech on this enormous online forum. Over the weekend, US President Barack Obama and the White House said they would not support SOPA thus putting it on the shelf, but not dead. Meaning that SOPA can come back at anytime to be passed through the US Senate. With SOPA on the shelf, more focus has been put on the Protect IP Act (PIPA for short), which is just as detrimental to the well-being of a free and open Internet. Many companies such as Electronic Software Association (ESA), ESPN and EMI Music Publishing support SOPA and PIPA, but that list is dwindling little by little. To protest SOPA and PIPA, today certain websites such as Wikipedia and Reddit are blacked out completely. Other sites are protesting in their own way such as Google blacking out their logo.
One such way gamers are protesting is through a campaign known as Stand Together. Started by Craig Skistimas (founder of ScrewAttack.com), Graham Stark (Web Video Producer for Loading Ready Run), James Portnow (Writer for Extra Credits and CEO of Rainmaker Games), Daniel Floyd (Editor on Extra Credits) and Mark Kern (CEO of Red 5 Studio) through a video calling gamers to arms to do their part. What part do you ask? To petition and protest that the ESA, as it is believed to represent the video game industry and its community, to remove support from SOPA and PIPA and until they withdraw support from SOPA and PIPA, we gamers are called to ask boycott E3, the ESA's biggest source of revenue. We are also called to ask our favourite gaming websites, Youtube channels and journalists to join this cause and not to attend/cover E3 until the ESA changes their stance on SOPA and PIPA. Sign the petition, http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-the-esa-petition-and-boycott-e3 and start spreading the word to as many people as you can through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or any other social media website out there.
Before I leave you guys today, I want to say something. That even though I fight against SOPA and PIPA, I believe online piracy needs to be stopped some way or another, but not through the extremist ways of SOPA and PIPA. Nobody is perfect and I have pirated things in the past and you have most likely done so as well. If you truly oppose SOPA and PIPA, show that you do not support piracy. Delete every bit of pirated games, software, music, video and any other source of pirated material from your computer, external hard drives, modded systems or other storage devices. So let us all stand together stop SOPA and PIPA along with turning a new leaf as a community away from online piracy. It is the only way we can make nothing like these bills ever gets thought up again.
In this generation of consoles, there are plenty of game experiences people can play free of charge without resorting to any form of piracy. Through services such as Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, many gamers can get free demos of upcoming and already released games for their consoles or handhelds. PC gamers can get demos through a developer's website or clients such as Steam or Origin. Demos have been around for a long time to give gamers a little taste of the full game that they will be able to buy in the near future. As an avid gamer, I enjoy trying out certain games that I am on the edge on and also those I am highly anticipating. I would like to think of a better title for this new article other than Demo Impressions, but it is late at night and I don't have much creativity flowing through me at the moment. So I would like to pass it off to you guys, comment below with your ideas of a new title for this article and I will pick my favourite for all future editions of this article. As you probably noticed from the title, I am going to give you guys what I thought about a number of demos I played recently. As these demos are just a slice of the final product, do not consider my impressions to anything like a review. Try the demo for yourself and be the final judge.
Let us start off this new article with one of the biggest games be released this January, Final Fantasy XIII-2. Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a direct sequel to Final Fantasy XIII. It follows Serah and newcomer Noel as they travel through time to search for Lightning and stop the evil Caius Ballad. This demo found on Xbox Live and PSN drops Noel and Serah at some point probably a hour or two into the game. You are dropped in the Brescha Ruins and have to fight a gigantic titan by the name of Atlas. The Paradigm Shift battle system does take a little getting use to, but once you spend 15 to 20 minutes with the battle system things flow pretty fast and very smoothly. The one thing about the battle system I do not like is that it feels like you are on auto-pilot at all times. You do not directly control Noel's or Serah's attacks or their actions and it makes me feel restricted. Even though I do not like the return of what seemingly are random battles, I like the new preemptive strike that you can do when initiating a battle. One of my biggest complaints during my little time with Final Fantasy XIII was that the game felt far too linear for my liking. So being thrown into an open environment to explore with optional side-quests to complete was refreshing. This demo also showed off some new mechanics for a Final Fantasy game. First was the ability to gain monsters to serve as your third member in your party. I found this third party member very useful especially for its special Feral Link move, which can deal a lot of damage when needed. Second new gameplay mechanic was the new Anomaly segments which are little puzzle rooms you have to complete every once and a while. These segments seem like a nice little diversion, but the one in the demo felt tacked on and unneeded. The last new mechanic can be found in the big boss battles with Atlas at the beginning and end of the demo. At certain predetermined points during these battles, you enter cinematic action, a little cinematic that has you preform quick-time events to avoid damage or do more damage to the boss. It is an interesting mechanic that allows for some epic moments while keeping the player engaged. Overall, this demo for Final Fantasy XIII-2 was pretty good. It has showed me that Square Enix has at least tried to right the wrongs they made with Final Fantasy XIII. This demo did not convince me that I should run out and buy this game at launch, but I did get a feeling that Final Fantasy XIII-2 will definitely please the Final Fantasy faithful and those looking for a good RPG.
As gamers swear allegiance to one of the Big Three (Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo), there comes the need for magazines to highlight that one console developer. These three magazines are Nintendo Power, PlayStation: The Official Magazine and the Official Xbox Magazine. These three magazines are all owned by Future US publishing company and each target one segment of the gaming industry. They are usually meant for hardcore fans of a certain console, but they can also bring in casual readers from time to time depending on the issue. Personally, I read Nintendo Power each and every month as I grew up a fan of Nintendo game, but I also like reading other magazines to get a broad sense how others report on the video game industry. So when a friend gave me an issue of Official Xbox Magazine (OXM for short) as he received two from his subscription, I jumped at the opportunity to read a magazine I have skimmed through, but never read in my life. Things will probably not change as after reading this issue of OXM, it will be the first and last time I read an issue from this publication.
One thing I want to get off my chest right now is that I did not in the most enjoy my time reading OXM. At first, it all seemed interesting and insightful, but when I got the middle and close to the end of the magazine, I just wanted to read something else. Yes, these magazines that focus on one console are usually bias towards the console their magazine represents, but in all my years of reading video game magazines have I seen so many pointless jabs at other consoles. I have read plenty issues of Nintendo Power and PlayStation: The Official Magazine and I have never seen them do anything like OXM did many times in one single issue. They just mention that said developer worked on this acclaimed game on another console, but never sink so low to make a cheap stab at the competition. It might make the fanboys and fangirls happy, but it comes off as classless and unprofessional. The part I really enjoyed was reading OXM's Game of the Year awards. I did not agree with everything they gave awards to or nominated, but it was the biggest and best written article in the magazine. While I enjoyed that article, the cover story and Think Different article not so much. The cover story for Ninja Gaiden 3 felt more like an extended preview than an exclusive look at the newest game in the Ninja Gaiden series. Honestly, Game Informer's cover story on the South Park RPG was much better than this cover story. The Think Different article came off more like filler than making me think differently about a bunch of games the OXM staff deems as "cult classics". The previews and reviews were pretty good, but could not save this issue from tanking in my eyes.
Overall, OXM is a disappointing magazine that looks to rather make cheap stabs at other consoles than focus on promoting the Xbox brand. Personally, I cannot take a magazine seriously if they act so unprofessionally. Also with this issue of OXM is the last of their signature demo disc. No longer will a demo disc be packaged with an issue of OXM, which many including myself meant a drop in it's ridiculously overpriced 12.99 price point. Well sorry folks as I saw the latest issue in Shopper's Drug Mart and it is still 12.99 and without a demo disc, but as Future US marketing says it has better paper (grade A bullcrap if I say so myself). With it being incredibly overpriced, extremely unprofessional and not a fun read, unless you are a hardcore Xbox fan, I would not recommend OXM to anybody. It is definitely not worth your time and money.
The first few weeks of the year always seem to be slow for games. No big game releases, not much noteworthy news. Apart from info on new tech from CES, gamers are starved for anything gaming-related to trickle down the pipeline. At least, this downtime gives gamers much need time to play their huge backlog of games. Do not deny it! If you are a true gamer, you have a backlog of games to play. So without further ado, let us get rolling.
Game of the Week
Well earlier this week, yours truly beat Arkham City. All I to say, just wow. I really enjoyed Arkham Asylum, but I was a little disappointed in certain aspects of the game. Arkham City adressed all my issues with Asylum and completely blew me away. If I could revise my Top 10 Games of 2011, I would put Arkham City in the number 2 spot on the list. It was that damn amazing. Expect a review from me sometime next week. Arkham City would have gotten my Game of the Week, but a kangaroo by the name of Roo stole my heart. As I said at the end of yesterday's On the Download, I downloaded Run Roo Run for my iPad. I have only played the first two destinations, which are comprised of 15 normal levels and 6 extreme levels each. Each level is a unique challenge of your hand-eye coordination and problem-solving skills as you try to get Roo to the checkered flag at the opposite end of the screen without hitting any obstacles in your way. The 30 normal levels I have played are fairly easy, but man the extreme levels are extreme in every sense of the word. To complete these levels with a gold star, you will have to be perfect. It will take a whole lot of tries, but when you finally beat one extreme level you will feel so satisfied. Cannot wait to pick up my iPad and play more of Run Roo Run. I know it is too early to say, but this game might be one of my top games of 2012. We will just have to wait and see about that, but for now Run Roo Run is my Game of the Week.
Most Anticipated Game of the Week
Well I don't really have a specific Most Anticipated Game of the Week. I am most anticipating the next big release on the 3DS Virtual Console. Last November, I bought both Metroid II and Donkey Kong and I had enough money left over on my eShop account to buy another 4 dollar Virtual Console game. I have been waiting for just about two months now and still no Virtual Console game to entice me to use my remaining money. If something does not come soon, I just might add a little more money to my account and buy Pushmo or a DSiWare game. It does not help when Nintendo does not release a new Virtual Console game each week. I know it is tough, but I check every Thursday to see if there is anything new on the eShop and it is usually just one game for the 3DS. Please Nintendo show some more love to the Virtual Console. There great Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance games that people like myself would love to download to their 3DS.
Video of the Week
Ever try to speed run a game? It is pretty hard. You need to be very efficient with your time while also making little to no mistakes. Well at a big gaming convention down in the US known as Magfest, apart of a performance by Bit Brigade, a video game cover band, Noah McCarthy took to the stage and did a speed run of Mega Man II. While Noah was playing, the band would play rock covers of all the music in the game. Watch this astounding 44 minute video and see for yourself. It is a 44 minutes well spent.
Sonic Generations was originally released for Xbox 360 and PS3 in early November. As there was not a version for the Wii, Sega did not want to leave Nintendo out of Sonic’s 25 birthday celebration so they released Sonic Generations for the Nintendo 3DS.
The 3DS version follows the same plot as its console brethren. An unknown being known as the Time Eater is messing with time and Sonic must team with his past self to stop the Time Eater from destroying time as we know it. Like in the console version of Sonic Generations, you play levels from past Sonic games from the Genesis Era all the way to the Modern Era as both Classic and Modern Sonic. Instead of just rehashing the same levels from the console version of Sonic Generation, the 3DS version of the game has six new levels for you to play. Most of these new levels are fun to play, but there are a couple levels such as the Water Palace that just did not engage enough to make me want to play it again. Along with the new levels, Dimps brought back the special stages (something that was not in the console games). These special stages in Sonic Generations are based on the special stages from Sonic Heroes as Sonic chases a chaos emerald down a long tube. Rather than the special stages be four to five minutes long like in Sonic Heroes, Dimps reduced the time to one to two minutes timed affairs in order to complement the portable nature of the game. Personally I really enjoyed the special stages in Sonic Generations due to the fast gameplay that really tests your hand-eye coordination. After completing a certain number of stages in each era, you unlock a boss gate. A boss gate contains two challenges for Sonic. The first challenge is a race against one of his three rivals (Metal Sonic, Shadow and Silver). The second challenge is boss battle against a boss from a past Sonic game such as Big Arm, the final boss from Sonic 3. The boss gates like the majority of the game area lot of fun. Dimps even improved the boss battles for the Biolizard and the Time Eater, which were a mess in their respective games.
With all the fun that I had with Sonic Generations for the 3DS, there are quite a few drawbacks that keep this game from surpassing its console brethren. First off, the game’s presentation is great except for one thing, the cutscenes. Usually I am not up and arms about cutscenes in a game, but the talking models standing in white space cutscenes just don't do it for me. These cutscenes were acceptable on the Nintendo DS as it did not have a lot of power, but the 3DS is a new much more powerful handheld that can handle actual in-game cutscenes. Dimp’s efforts just look lazy and rushed. Secondly, having Classic Sonic learn both the Homing Attack and Boost might be cool, but it defeats the purpose of Sonic Generations as now there is not much of a difference between playing with Classic or Modern Sonic. Finally, the game is just a tad short. While the console version of Sonic Generations took me close to 8 hours to beat, Sonic Generations for the 3DS can be beaten in 3 to 4 hours. The missions will lengthen the time you spend with the game, but they are hard to unlock as the way to unlock them is not clearly defined.
At one point in time, handheld Sonic games were way much better than what Sega was releasing on the consoles. It seems right now the roles have reversed. While it is not by a landslide, Sonic Generations for the 3DS is not better than its console brethren. With fast, fun gameplay, good 3D graphics, excellent music and enjoyable and unique missions (when you finally unlock some), Sonic Generations for the 3DS serves as a really good companion game for those who own the console Sonic Generations game. Also if you are a 3DS owner looking for a portable platformer to play in short bursts, Sonic Generations is a great game for you.
After the lack of big downloadable releases, we got a full order of games to talk about on this edition of On the Download. It seems that right after Christmas, developers take a few weeks to start releasing new games for the downloadable services and consoles. At least now there should be a steady stream of games on both fronts for gamers to enjoy for the next few months. Let us take a look at the biggest downloadable games of the week.
30 years after the original released on the Apple II, Choplifter is back. Now in glorious high definition, Choplifter HD dropped on XBLA, PSN and PC earlier this week. inXile Entertainment has recreated the classic Choplifter gameplay for a new era of gamers to enjoy. In Choplifter HD, you take control of an up-and-coming rescue pilot who is just recruited to an international helicopter rescue team. Throughout the 30 missions that are in the game, you will pilot various different helicopters. Maneuver through perilous conditions as you rescue others and complete your mission. If you are interested in revisiting a classic franchise, Choplifter HD will run you 15 dollars or 1200 Microsoft Points.
From the studio that brought Pinball FX 2 and Marvel Pinball to the console downloadable services has now brought a whole new pinball experience to the Nintendo 3DS in Zen Pinball 3D. For the first time experience pinball in a new dimension as you play four excellently crafted original pinball tables. Featuring the most authentic pinball experience on any handheld to date, Zen Pinball 3D also offers online leaderboards, in-game friend challenges and interactive 3D models. Looking for a pinball game for the 3DS, look no further than Zen Pinball 3D at the affordable price of 7 dollars.
If you don't know who 5th Cell is, let me refresh your memory. They are the team behind the two Scribblenauts games for the Nintendo DS. After the release of Super Scribblenauts, 5th Cell looked to broaden their scope. Start making games for different systems other than the DS. Run Roo Run is one of results of 5th Cell broadening their scope. Run Roo Run follows Roo, a mother kangaroo, travelling across Australia in order to rescue her kidnapped baby. Run Roo Run has over 420 levels, each only being a single screen long. Before you roll your eyes, each level is filled to the brim with unique, fun obstacles that complement the easy-to-learn one touch gameplay. Also each week, you will automatically 10 new levels for free each and every week. For the price of 1 dollar for the iPhone version and 2 dollars for the iPad version, Run Roo Run is perfect for any gamer while on the go. Now that I think about it, I might just download Run Roo Run right now.
If you buy a lot of Nintendo games, you have probably noticed a little slip of paper that tells you to register your games for exclusive rewards. This rewards program is called Club Nintendo. It is a place for Nintendo fans to register their games and fill out surveys in order to collect coins that they can use to order special items such as t-shirts, trading cards, posters and other specialty items.
Last month, Nintendo added a new bunch of rewards that Club Nintendo members could use their coins on. Those rewards were actual games. Not retail games, but downloadable games for the Nintendo Wii or 3DS. These new rewards sparked a lot of interest from Club Nintendo fans such as myself. Personally, I only used my coins on ordering the Game & Watch Collection games for the DS. Now I have a reason to finish all my outstanding surveys in order to earn enough coins to get a free downloadable game for my Wii or 3DS. Each month Nintendo selects four games across their downloadable services that Club Nintendo members can use coins to get a code that they can use to download said game for free. For December, Nintendo put up Super Mario Kart, 3D Classics: Xevious, Fluidity and Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again. For January, Nintendo has just put up The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Kirby's Dream Land, Dr. Mario Express and Dr. Mario Online RX. These games range from 100 to 150 coins to get and will only be up until January 31st as Nintendo will switch them out four new games. If you own a 3DS or a Wii, these rewards are great deals that you should not miss. So hop onto your computer and head to club.nintendo.com and start earning some coins and getting some free games.
OBJECTION! TAKE THAT! Words that any seasoned Ace Attorney knows like the back of their hand. Japanese gamers had these glorious courtroom adventure games for a long time before it landed here in North America on the Nintendo DS. Since then the Ace Attorney games have become cult classics with the star of these games, Phoenix Wright becoming gaming icon. Phoenix Wright is so popular that Capcom added the defense attorney as a new fighter in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Speaking of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, for the past few days I have been listening to Phoenix Wright's theme from the game so I decided to bump Hump Day Music up a day. Also I wanted to talk about the new Club Nintendo games that were supposed to be announced today, but considering that at this very moment they are not I decided to move it to tomorrow.
Like last week with the Castlevania series, there are plenty of tracks for the Ace Attorney series that I will definitely highlight in future editions of Hump Day Music. Today, I would like to present you one of my favourite tracks from the series. It is from the original Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney for the Nintendo DS and plays right when you have suspect on cross examination on the ropes so to speak. It gets your blood pumping as you continue your courtroom battle to prove your client is not guilty. It is Cornered 2001.
It has been noted that I have been busy with a lot of things these last couple of months. As work calms down after the holiday season, I am busy reading a whole lot of magazines. With the newest issues of Nintendo Power, EGM and Game Informer about to come in the mail and an issue of OXM that I received from a friend, January is going to be a busy month full of reading. Good thing I just finished my last issue of Game Informer last week.
As the first issue of Game Informer's calendar year, you would expect a big reveal as the cover story. Last January, Game Informer got the exclusive first look at the new more mature Tomb Raider game, which was amazing. This year Game Informer's big exclusive reveal was a South Park RPG. It maybe hard to convey through words, but when Game Informer revealed this cover I was not amused. Right now some people are jumping for joy at the fact that there will be a South Park RPG, but all those people are probably too young to play this game or even watch the show. The cover story was neat, but all it really told me was the basic premise for the story, that the game will have the same art style as the show and Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of South Park, are writing the script. Cool tidbits of information, but there were plenty of better articles in this issue of Game Informer. The article on the Witness, Jonathan Blow's new puzzle-adventure game, took a short, but rather pleasing look at the Witness' puzzles and unique take on the adventure genre. Also the in-depth interview with Dan Houser, vice president of creative at Rockstar Games was very enjoyable. We got some really good previews on games that are releasing within the next few months and reviews on the biggest games of this holiday season.
At the end of the day, issue 225 of Game Informer is just an okay issue. Personally I hold Game Informer's cover stories in high standing and this issues' South Park RPG cover story fell flat for me. The rest of the issue was a good read, but I would not go out of my way to recommend anybody go out of their way to buy this issue unless you are a big of South Park fan. There are much better issues of Game Informer you can read than this issue.
Well it is only the beginning of a brand new year. We will just have to see how it turns out for all of us. So far things have calmed down a lot from the last two hectic months. It is nice to see things calm down a bit now in January. After two weeks of condensed editions of Bit by Bit, I have a full order for everybody to enjoy today. So let us get rolling.
Game of the Week
Well last week when I said I thought I was halfway through Arkham Asylum, I was so very wrong. I was at the end of the game and it sure as hell did not feel like it. If you want my full thoughts on Arkham Asylum check out the review I posted yesterday. At least with Arkham Asylum in the books, I spent most of this week playing Arkham City. And it does wonders to improve my big complaints with Arkham City. I have been playing the game for the past week and I am only 14% through the game. In comparison, around this time last week I was around 55% through Arkham Asylum (that number includes the story and all collectibles). So Arkham City's length is perfect and the amount of side quests to keep one occupied are outstanding. I have spent more time exploring Arkham City, collecting Riddler trophies, completing side quests and beating up random street thugs than I have actually completing the main story. Arkham City really makes you feel like Batman and it also improves upon Arkham Asylum's flaws. It is truly one of the best games of last year and I hope to sink my teeth much further into this wonderful game for the coming weeks and possibly months. Batman: Arkham City is my Game of the Week.
Most Anticipated Event of the Week
I want to do something a little bit different this week as there wasn't a game that caught my eye this week. I want to highlight an event that was announced this week. On Thursday, I received an e-mail from Nintendo about new tour stops for their Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddess tour and to my pleasure, the symphony will be making a stop in Toronto this coming September. Yes, it is just over nine months away, but the fact that this amazing event celebrating the music from one of my favourite gaming franchises will be only a hour away from where I live and I cannot wait. Tickets for the event go on sale March 31st so I am hoping to a hold of some for myself and possibly some of my family members to go and enjoy some beautiful music from a live orchestra.
Video of the Week
This week I stumbled across a video that made my jaw drop. One very talented individual redid the intro for Mega Man 2 with stunningly beautiful HD assets and old school Mega Man 7 sprites. Combined with one great remix of the intro music by Project X, we have one excellent video and a tribute that will make any old school video game and Mega Man fan smile ear to ear. This video makes me want to see Capcom release an HD version of Mega Man II or make Mega Man 11 with this style of visuals. All I and a lot of fans want is just another Mega Man game, Capcom. Hopefully you see this video and see that there is a very loyal fanbase to the Blue Bomber that you are sadly neglecting right now.
When you play a superhero game, be it Spider-Man to even Superman, you want to feel like you are the superhero. You want to be in control of all his/her super powers, abilities or gadgets. You want to fight all his dastardly enemies. Ultimately you want to be the superhero; something that few superhero games have actually achieved. Finally after a long time of being placed in some of the worst games of the last few console generations, the Dark Knight has reclaimed his glory. With Arkham Asylum, you can finally say, “I’m Batman” with pride as it stands tall as one of the best superhero games of all-time.
Arkham Asylum starts off with the Dark Knight transporting the Joker to the iconic Gotham prison, Arkham Asylum. After a brief cutscene, you are introduced to the inner halls of the asylum as you accompany of restrained Joker to cell. Right before you can lock Joker away for good, Batman’s eternal nemesis with the help of his girlfriend, Harley Quinn escapes and takes over Arkham Asylum. As the World’s Greatest Detective, Batman must explore Arkham Island, figure out what the Joker is up to and stop him from using it to take over Gotham City.
Joker is not the only super villain that the Dark Knight will fight during his adventures on Arkham Island. Batman will fight the likes of the Scarecrow, Bane, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Harley Quinn and Mr. Zsacz on his way to the Joker. Also the Riddler plays a role in Arkham Asylum as well. You will not fight the Riddler, but the man obsessed with riddles has left a bunch of collectables for you to find during your time on Arkham Island. Like mentioned above, Arkham Asylum makes you feel like the Batman and that comes from the gadgets you receive throughout game and the hand-to-hand and stealth combat. Batman receives a good number of gadgets that you can use to traverse the dangers across all of Arkham Island from your trusty Batarang to a Line Launcher to cross large chasms. The combat is very awarding. Depending on the situation, you will have to take one of two approaches. The first being the hand-to-hand combat against a group of thugs. Bouncing from thug to thug combining attacks, counters and Batarangs to the face into one flowing combo is one satisfying experience. The second approach is stealth, which you can use against groups of unsuspecting or gun-wielding enemies. You can perform a stealth takedown from many different places such as hanging from a ledge or sitting on a gargoyle. It is very fun picking off enemies one-by-one and seeing enemies start panicking as they might be the next to face Batman’s harsh justice.
With all the great stuff Arkham Asylum offers, there are a few flaws. First and foremost is the fact that the game is far too linear when Rocksteady gives you all of Arkham Island to explore. It would have been nice to see a few side missions interspersed here and there. That leads into my other flaw as the game just felt too short for my liking. The story is great, but when it just got going that was the point Rocksteady decided to end it. They could have easily kept the game going a little longer with a faceoff with the Riddler or another villain from Batman’s rich comic book lore. Also the final boss battle against Joker was less of a boss battle more of a fight against three groups of 20 thugs. Other little flaws include the lack of variety in the enemies; the mutant enemies get a little too tedious after the third of fourth time facing them and the over reliance of the Detective Mode, a great feature that helps you throughout Arkham Asylum, but it takes away from seeing the gorgeous art and variety in the hallows of the environment in Arkham Asylum.
Even though my big complaints about the game’s length and linearity, Rocksteady achieved something many other studios have failed at, creating a great superhero game. Batman: Arkham Asylum does the Dark Knight and his long storied history justice. It is a game that truly puts you in Batman’s suit and should be in any superhero, Batman or action fans library.
Well the holiday season is over and we are into a brand new year filled with plenty of new games coming down the downloadable pipeline. Sadly this week On the Download will be shorter due to the lack of big downloadable releases this week, but I come bearing gifts in the form of news about downloadable games and services. First up, Gotham City Impostors, the downloadable Batman FPS that was scheduled to release next week, has been delayed until some unknown date in February. It is kind of sad as I was looking forward to seeing how this very different style of game set in the Batman universe would fare with critics and the online community. Next up is news on demos for the 3DS. Capcom has assured fans via their Capcom Unity blog that the Resident Evil: Revelations demo that released on the Japanese eShop will be coming to North American and European eShops in the near future, something myself and many other 3DS owners are looking forward to a lot. And my last piece of news involves the 3DS as well. It has been reported that European 3DS owners that have bought and register two select games on Club Nintendo from November 1st of last year on will receive a code for a free copy of 3D Classics: Kid Icarus. This promotion has only been announced for Europe, but I am dearly hoping that Nintendo brings it to North America Club Nintendo users as well. Without further interruption, let us take a look at the big downloadable release for this week.
Just like EA did with NBA Jam back in 2010, EA has brought back another classic Midway arcade sports game from the dead. This time EA brought back NFL Blitz for hardcore Blitz fans and gamers such as myself who never got the chance to play the game in the arcade or on the N64. EA has done their best to recreate the fast, energetic arcade gameplay with a plethora of game modes for gamers to sink their teeth into. The modes are a regular 7-on-7 exhibition game mode for quick one-on-one games with friends, season mode like Blitz Gauntlet, EAs now signature card-based mode for all their sports games Elite League and online competition Blitz Battle mode. Coupled with the arcade craziness that gamers have come to expect from this old arcade sports franchise, NFL Blitz should keep the biggest football fanatic to even the young kids satisfied. If you are looking for an arcade sports game for either your Xbox 360 or PS3, NFL Blitz is the download for you.
What better way to start off the New Year that should be filled with Hump Day Musics than with a classic tune from a classic franchise. Castlevania is a franchise that has lived in the hearts of many gamers for years now for its great side-scrolling gameplay, simplistic yet fun story (kill Dracula) and its phenomenal music. Castlevania has produced many iconic tunes over the years including The Beginning, Vampire Killer and Iron Blue Intention, which will hopefully all be highlighted in future editions of Hump Day Music. One track stands as the most iconic out of all the great music from the Castlevania series and that one track is Bloody Tears.
First composed for Castlevania II: Simon's Quest for the NES, Bloody Tears has been remixed a hundred times over by Konami composers for later installments in the Castlevania franchise or by fans for their own amusement. Today, I would like to share my favourite remix of this classic piece of music, Bloody Tears 2008 by Mr. Bloody Tears. The iconic melody from the original Bloody Tears remains intact as Mr. Bloody Tears completely modernizes the track to sound like it was composed in this day and age. Mr. Bloody Tears makes great use of the electric guitar and the drums to create a track that is very smooth to listen to. If you want to get the most out of this remix, plug in a set of headphones and listen. They really amplify this amazing song.
We are just over a month away from Sony releasing their successor to the PlayStation Portable, the PlayStation Vita and all eyes are set on Japan. Last month, the PS Vita was released in Sony's home country of Japan and gamers here have been looking at its performance their to see if it will do well in North America. In its first two days, the PS Vita sold a good 325 thousand systems. Since then sales have taken a complete nosedive only selling an additional 72,479 systems leading up to Christmas. New sales figures for the last week of 2011 have not been released yet, but things are not looking good for Sony's new handheld juggernaut, which . Is the low sales just a slow start for the PS Vita or is this handheld destined to become just as sad and pathetic as the PSP?
The reason the PSP flew off shelves in Japan is the Monster Hunter games made for the system. For one reason or another the Monster Hunter series has become a blockbuster franchise in Japan much like Dragon Quest. Any system that has its own Monster Hunter game will immediately fly off of store shelves. Just watch when Monster Hunter 3G releases in Japan later this year. The lack of a big blockbuster Japanese franchise could be a reason that the sales for the PS Vita have been so low for the first few weeks. Other possible reasons for the PS Vita's low sales numbers could be the appeal of the 3DS, which is considerably cheaper than the Vita or the price of the memory cards, which could run you 100 dollars or more, and are required to play and download games and not included with the system itself.
With the North American release of the PS Vita just over a month away, hopefully Sony can fix the woes they are having in Japan and have a successful launch. Just remember no major video game hardware launch be it a console or handheld is perfect, there will always be problems just go back and look at every hardware launch in the last ten years. The thing with the poor sales in Japan is that it is the Vita's home country, if it is not selling well there then how is going to sell well anywhere else? Only time will tell, but things are not looking good for Sony.
Now that 2011 has closed its doors and we have entered into 2012, that means we are all on step closer to new game releases and console launches. Each year, the video game industry tries to top itself with bigger blockbusters, cooler surprises and more innovative ideas. So today, I would like to list in no particular order the games and consoles I am really looking forward to get my hands on in 2012.
Mass Effect 3
The Mass Effect series has become one of my favourites among this generation of consoles. BioWare's previous two masterpieces perfectly blended RPG gameplay with the mechanics of a third-person shooter and put together one epic space opera that completely sucked me in. Personally I cannot wait to finish the story of Commander Shepard as he unites the galaxy against the Reaper threat. I am a little bummed that there will be no split-screen co-op as I would rather play the multiplayer with my brothers than buy a month of Xbox Live in order to complete the multiplayer missions, which affect the single-player story. Nonetheless, March 6th cannot come soon enough.
Kid Icarus: Uprising
The one reason that I bought my 3DS is almost here. Just have to wait three months, but that probably won't take long as time flies. Kid Icarus: Uprising's third person in-air and on-ground action looks to be as stellar as the Sin and Punishment games that it is definitely inspired by. The action looks very fast and fluid so to keep you on your feet. The addition of local and online multiplayer should be great. If Nintendo adds the online system they used in Mario Kart 7, Kid Icarus' online multiplayer should be the place to be for all 3DS owners. Even though, I was a little sad that Nintendo held it back until 2012, my thirst to play the new Kid Icarus is as great as it has ever been.
Xenoblade Chronicles
The game that all core Wii owners have been begging Nintendo almost a year will finally arrive this April. I don't know for sure if it will be coming to EB Games/Gamestop in Canada yet, I am still very hopeful. If worse comes to worse, I will order it from Nintendo myself. Xenoblade is a rich RPG for the RPG-starved Wii that has said to be the Final Fantasy of this generation of consoles, which is a huge honour. Considering how hard many gamers worked to get this game to come to North America, I hoping Xenoblade sells well enough to get Nintendo to bring Last Story and Pandora's Tower over and give the Wii one last hooray before the Wii U takes over.
Wii U
Well speaking of the Wii U, Nintendo's first high-definition console is set to release in the summer or fall of this calendar year. If you have been following this blog for a while, you have probably noticed that I am a huge Nintendo fan. I like Sony and Microsoft as well, but Nintendo holds a special place in my heart. So I am really looking forward to Nintendo's new console and all the first and hopefully third party games that will be released for it. From what was showed off at E3 2011, I am impressed with the different ways that the new tablet controller can be used (I really want to play that Shield Pose) and I am looking forward to see some innovative uses for the controller.
Tomb Raider
I was introduced like many others to Lara Croft's new direction through last January's issue of Game Informer. I was impressed then and I was impressed when Crystal Dynamics showed it off at E3. Now I cannot wait to Fall 2012 when Tomb Raider is released for the PS3 and Xbox 360. Much more gritty and dark than any of the other Tomb Raider game. We finally get to see how Lara Croft became the woman that we have been playing as for the past 15 years. It should be an adventure like no other and I cannot wait to play it when it comes out much later in the year.
