Tuesday, December 8, 2015

On the Cutting Room Floor: MinionsMania is Running Mild

Comic relief is an integral part of most narratives. It relieves tension and gives the audience a break to soak in important plot points and information. Sometimes, comic relief can take the form of a character, or in this case characters. As par for the course, these comic relief characters often become the standout stars of their respective movies. The Penguins from Madagascar, Shrek's Puss in Boots and the Minions of Despicable Me are just a few of these standouts that come to mind.

Since movie studios equate these characters' popularity to the success of their respective movies, standalone movies are made for them in order to capitalize on this supposed market. Sadly, the truth is these comic-relief characters just don't have the depth to hold people's attention for the length of a featured film. While the charming denim-wearing yellow Minions from the Despicable Me films may have the marketability, they fall under the same shortcomings.

Minions follows these titular creatures on their quest to find the evilest being on Earth to be their boss. Unfortunately, the Minions are unable keep one because their oblivious stupidity results in their boss' death. Sounds great, right? In actuality, only a small fraction of Minions is spent on the humourous dispatching of former bosses (much of which is already given away in the trailers).

The majority of Minions is spent jumping from one set piece to another without any intention on telling a satisfying story or developing the Minions as anything more than incompetent. Even the antagonists of the movie, Scarlet and Herb Overkill (Sandra Bullock and Jon Hamm respectively), are an afterthought since they never amount to anything other than being the wacky psychopaths that are somehow more incompetent than the Minions.

How you enjoy the comedy of Minions will make or break the film for you. For me personally, there are some legitimate laughs in this movie; they just were few and far between. The kids in the screening with me ate up every word of gibberish and fart joke in the movie. For me, much of the comedy felt too childish to keep all ages laughing throughout.

Although it seems like I have been picking on Minions a whole lot, I believe it would have been better suited as a short film or weekly television series. There is some good material hidden in the movie; it is just stretched too thin in order to fill 90 minutes. Unfortunately, a movie will generate more money than a short film or TV show ever would.

As it stands, Minions doesn't have the heart or depth to stand on its own. While I don't recommend going out of your way to see it, Minions is a fine movie if you have nothing else to watch on Netflix.

Monday, December 7, 2015

On the Cutting Room Floor: Great Things Come in Small Packages

Welcome to the first edition of On the Cutting Room Floor. 

Sadly, not everything you write will be put into publication. Sometimes, extenuating circumstances can lead to some articles being left on the cutting room floor. Instead of having these articles sit on a hard drive to never see the light of day, I want to share them here for all to enjoy. 

This review was originally written late July, early August 2015 for the theatrical release of Ant Man. Unfortunately, I took too long writing and missed my opportunity to be timely. Considering the DVD comes out very soon, it seems like the right time to post it.
To say Ant Man had a troubled production is an understatement. Director Edgar Wright, best known for his work on cult hits like Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, left the film due to creative differences mid-2014 causing Marvel to scramble for a new director and rewrite the script. This tumultuous development has caused many fans and critics alike to fear the worst. Could Ant Man be the first flop for Marvel Studios?

No, quite the opposite. Ant Man exceeds all expectations despite being smaller in scale than recent Marvel movies. In taking a step back from the grander events of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), this movie centres around an emotional core that establishes a brand new cast of lovable characters while perfectly planting seeds for upcoming movies, namely Captain America: Civil War.

Ant Man centres around Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), an ex-convict looking to fix his life after prison. When Scott comes across a peculiar-looking motorcycle suit during a break-and-enter, he will get the most unusual second-chance ever. With the help of Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), Scott is entrusted to become the new Ant Man and stop Hank's former protege Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) from using the super-shrinking Yellowjacket suit for militaristic purposes.

Forewarning: Ant Man starts off slow. Slower than most superhero/action films, in fact. Once you get past the plodding first 40 minutes, the movie moves at a wonderful pace that never lets up. In particular, the climax of Ant Man is nothing short of spectacular. The fight between Ant Man and Yellowjacket may happen on such a miniscule scale, but it is literally unlike anything ever seen on the silver screen. Thomas the Tank Engine and all.

Michael Douglas' performance as Hank Pym steals the show. Both Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly are good in their roles, but it takes a while to establish them as likable characters. From the moment Douglas steps on screen, he looks comfortable in the role of Hank Pym—like it was made for him.

Unlike Age of Ultron's scenes of forced set-up, Ant Man naturally weaves its story with characters, events and themes from the broader MCU. The inclusion of the MCU is not a side-story that has no impact on the plot, it is a integral part of it. One pivotal exchange between Ant Man and a certain Avenger halfway through the movie perfectly encapsulates the MCU's importance to the plot.

For all that Ant Man does right, there is one glaring problem with it: Darren Cross. A villain doesn't get anymore one-note and generic than him—even his name sounds generic. In all seriousness, all the scenes setting Cross up as the villain are just painful to watch. Instead of coming off as threatening and unstable, Cross is wacky and cartoonish. Good thing the movie stops focusing on his development about a quarter into it.

Although the events of Ant Man may seem microscopic in comparison to the world and even universe-spanning adventures of recent Marvel movies like Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy, it stands among the best movies Marvel has ever produced. While it doesn't have the big names or explosive spectacles that make most summer blockbusters, Ant Man is a movie that you shouldn't overlook.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Passing on the Season Pass

It's surprising that the concept of downloadable content (DLC) has been around for 10 years now. Starting with the launch titles for the Xbox 360, DLC has become a major part of the industry as it gives the player more things to do in the game and keeps them from trading it in for something else. This need to keep gamers from trading in their old games has forced every major AAA title nowadays to have a plan for DLC or risk fading away into obscurity. With the industry's dependence on DLC, packaging all the DLC together in one purchase called a season pass has become a standard practice for every game big and small. What first started as a great deal has more commonly become a money gouging strategy by publishers.

The two most recent season pass offenders are Star Wars: Battlefront and Rainbow Six: Siege.

It has become common knowledge that Battlefront has great gameplay, but DICE clearly skimped out when it came to the content. Looking to make up for the short-sight, or what I like to call, "We need to get this game out now, better add this stuff later," DICE has provided 20 weapons, 16 maps, four playable heroes and villains, four new game modes, and an exclusive emote that players can buy in a season pass. The content seems reasonable until you look at its 70 dollar price tag. Seriously, 70 dollars! What does EA think they will achieve? They're scaring people away, rather than enticing them to pay for extra content. EA may be arrogant enough to believe severely overpricing their season passes is an acceptable practice, but it will come back to haunt them when gamers skip on the initial release of their games to wait for the inevitable Game of the Year version.

If you though Battlefront's season pass is bad, well the season pass for Rainbow Six: Siege is on a new level of exploitation. Spending 30 dollars on this season pass nets you seven day early access and instant unlock of eight new operators (which you can unlock free of charge by playing the game), weapon skins, 600 credits for additional in-game purchases, five per cent Renown boost, and two more challenges a day. I can't think of a worse way to spend 30 dollars. Outside of the minor boosts and cosmetic additions, everything contained in this season pass can be unlocked through regular play, meaning this pass only exists to gouge money out of Rainbow Six fans. Is Siege a AAA title or a freemium game, Ubisoft? Because how you treating it with this abomination of a season pass and the addition of unnecessary microtransactions are telling me otherwise.

Not all season passes are bad. Witcher III's expansion pass and the Mario Kart 8 DLC bundle price are two examples of great season passes. Just most of the recent offerings have been giving this option to buying DLC in bulk a bad name. Making new content for a game, no matter its size, can be costly especially with the ever-rising price of video game development, but that doesn't give publishers justification to gouge money out of the consumer that already pays close to 100 dollars for one title. Instead of enticing more people to buy more content for their games, these underhanded practices are good ways to keep people from buying DLC altogether.

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Bit by Bit: October 2015

Sometimes, you can't think of anything interesting to write as a lead for an article. This is one of those times.

I've been trying to put together this edition of Bit by Bit for a couple weeks now, but I blank every time I sit down to write an introduction. A lot happened during October; sadly I can't seem to find a way to put it into a cohesive thought. Maybe that's how the working life goes: everything just blurs together.

Well, enough of my introspective look at introductions. Let's get to what you read Bit by Bit for: the video games!

Game of the Month
If a game's quality was solely based on its graphics, Yoshi's Woolly World would easily be one of the best titles of 2015. Good thing it plays just as well as it looks. Yoshi's Woolly World is the closest Mario's dinosaur companion has come to reaching the quality of its first solo outing in Super Mario World 2.

Although Yoshi games have never been known for their challenging gameplay, Woolly World challenges the player in different way. Each level has tons of collectibles for you to find and the process of tracking down everything in one run can be very difficult. The great thing about the collectibles are the rewards. Collecting all the wonder wool in a level gives you a brand new Yoshi to play with. Also collecting all the flowers in a world opens up a secret level, which are easily the most difficult levels in the game.

Speaking of Woolly World's levels, the level design in the game is superb. From directing a Monty Mole through a maze of traps to transforming into various vehicles, each level in Woolly World has a different hook to keep you engaged. It also helps that the controls feel spot-on. They are easy enough to learn for beginners, but offer enough depth and nuance that seasoned players can pull off some great feats of platforming.

In all honesty, Yoshi's Woolly World is one of the best platformers of the year and yet another great title for the Wii U. Don't let the cute exterior fool you, Woolly World isn't a game just for children. It offers entertainment and challenge for all ages.

Most Anticipated Movie of the Month
I may be the only person on the planet that isn't excited for any of the huge AAA titles coming out this holiday season. I will admit that Fallout 4 and Star Wars Battlefront look phenomenal, but I don't need to pick them up for myself right away. That's what siblings are for, right?

But when it comes to movies, I am stuck on the Star Wars Episode VII hype train with no way of getting off. Everything Disney and Lucasfilm has shown for The Force Awakens looks absolutely incredible without giving away too many plot details. I haven't been this excited for a movie in a long time.

Just watch the final trailer! It was worth enduring a few painful minutes of Monday Night Football to see live.

Video of the Month
Kids born in the '90s may remember the slew of cartoon shows based on your favourite video game characters. Mario, Sonic, Earthworm Jim and Mega Man are just a few of the video game cartoons that people may have watched during the '90s. One cartoon I remember was Donkey Kong Country, a CG-animated show based off of Nintendo's tie-wearing gorilla, which aired on Teletoon here in Canada. All I can remember about the show is its catchy theme song, but a show with a catchy theme must be good. Right? Right?!

No, Donkey Kong Country is, for lack of a better term, bat-shit crazy and not in a good way. While I may not be able to remember the finer details of the show's insanity, ProJared's newest video does a great job of capturing Donkey Kong Country in all its glory. Watch the video to see DK at his worst.

Monday, November 2, 2015

First Byte: Yo-Kai Watch

Back in 1998, a small portable called Pokemon hit the gaming scene and ignited a phenomenon. Who knew catching, trading, and fighting adorable pocket monsters would become and stay popular among children and young adults for over 15 years? Many titles have tried their hand at usurping Pokemon off of its throne, but most have failed. Well, until recently.

Yo-Kai Watch, a multimedia franchise similar to Pokemon just replace monsters with ghosts, has blown up in Japan. Created by the well-respected Japanese game developer Level-5, Yo-Kai Watch has gone on the spawn games, toys, manga, anime, other forms of merchandise. Considering Yo-Kai Watch is such a hit in their home country of Japan, Nintendo and Level-5 are looking to recreate that success here in North America with the simultaneous launch of the toys, anime, and game.

To entice gamers to pick up the Yo-Kai Watch game upon release, Nintendo has a demo up on the eShop for all to enjoy. Funny enough, it had the adverse effect on me.

The demo gives the player one quest to complete: defeat three mischievous yo-kai and report back to the quest giver. Spoiler alert: turns out the quest giver is a yo-kai as well, and it's up to you to beat it or fight until the demo ending cutscene triggers. Outside of the quest, you are given a small section of Springdale to explore where you can talk to NPCs, find and fight wild yo-kai, and pick up random items (even though the demo doesn't allow you to use them).

Coming out of Fan Expo, I had a few reservations with Yo-Kai Watch, but was mostly pleased with the 10 minutes I played. The game has some unique systems in place when it comes to tracking down and fighting wild yo-kai that differentiate it from Pokemon, although not enough to stop comparisons from being made. After playing through the demo twice now, Yo-Kai Watch feels too shallow for my liking. While it may be easy to get into the game, there isn't anything beyond the surface. Simply, it lacks depth.

My problems with Yo-Kai Watch's lack of depth stems from its combat. Fights take place in real time, which means you have no direct control over what your party does. You only have control over switching your party mid-battle, who they target, and whether to unleash a special move or cure an afflicted party member. Using special moves and curing party members triggers one of three touch screen minigames: tapping the screen, rubbing the screen, or tracing lines. Thanks to the touch controls and minigames, I spent the majority of fights staring bottom screen. There were times I wouldn't even notice that a battle ended until I was booted back to the overworld.

This lack of agency during battles soured my impression of Yo-Kai Watch as a whole. I'm not going to spend 20 to 40 hours with a game, especially a RPG, if it's combat is this shallow. I might be wrong and Yo-Kai Watch adds plenty of depth the farther you get in the game, but I'm not spending 50 dollars just to find that out.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Game Avalache 2015: Guide to the Fall Game Rush

In a few short weeks, we enter the craziest time of the year—the avalanche known as the fall game releases. The sheer amount of games releasing in the period of one month is unbelievable. Most of them of huge AAA titles, like Halo 5, Black Ops III, Fallout 4, and Star Wars Battlefront, that will easily make a big dent in your wallet. With all these great games permeating store shelves the world over, the temptation of buying them all is definitely there. Unless you have a whole lot of disposable money, you sadly can't afford buying every game outright. For those money conscientious people out there, I'm here with some tips and tricks to help you through this trying time.

Pick and Choose
With new games selling for 70 to 80 dollars a piece, it's just too expensive to be buying every major release nowadays. Add in the nearly 20 hour plus campaigns and/or extensive multiplayer suites of modern titles, there is no way one person can beat each game in time for the next big release. There is too much coming out and not enough time or money to play them all right now. With all that in mind, best to stick with one or two new titles this holiday season and get the most out of them rather than trying to cram them all in.

Use Alternative Funding
Money can be an issue, especially for students and those dealing with debt. While it is important to budget your money in order to afford the necessities of life, the urge to get the latest and greatest game can be hard to overcome. If you need to pick up a game at launch with limited funds, it might be best to look at your backlog and see if there are any games you are willing to part with. Since most retailers nowadays accept games and other pieces of media for trade-in credit, trading in older titles is a viable solution for funding new game purchases.

Forewarning: don't go in expecting to get more than five dollars a game. Video game prices are in constant flux, so a title's trade-in value can change weekly based on factors such as rarity, popularity, or age. Unless a game's rarity or popularity trumps its age, the older the title is, the lower its resell value will be. Also the resell price of yearly releases, especially sports games, plummets once the newest entry hits store shelves. So it's best to trade those titles in before the new game comes out. Plus, keep an eye out for trade promotions because they will get you more money for the games you're looking to trade.

Play the Waiting Game
Good things come for those who wait. This adage is especially true when it comes to video game shopping during the holiday season. If you don't feel like buying a game within the first week of release, it's better to just wait. Sales happen regularly over the course of the last two months of the year. You might just find the game you're thinking of buying for 10 to 20 dollars off (sometimes more on Black Friday or Boxing Day) or somebody may give it to you for Christmas. Holding off your money spending urges might lead to the best rewards during this expensive season.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Bit by Bit: September 2015

September was an eventful month. I went to Fan Expo, spent three days powering through Mario Maker for a review, started classes for another year, and ended my post-secondary career in the span of 30 days. The last one might seem drastic and surprising, but it has been surprisingly refreshing. A great weight lifted off my shoulders when I handed in the withdrawal form. School took up every facet of life for the past five years, so to finally be done is surreal. Now, I got more time to play games!

Enough about me, we got games to talk about especially with the fall game rush in full effect. For the uninitiated, the fall game rush is the incredible amount of games that release from September to November each year. And I bet if you're a self-respecting gamer, you picking up at least one brand new title in the next few months. I know I'm buying quite a few.

Game of the Month
Super Mario Maker would be the easy choice for Game of the Month with its robust level editor and insane amount of user-created content, but I haven't spent as much time with the game that I originally thought I would. Mario Maker is one of the best games on the Wii U; it just hasn't grabbed me in the way I wanted it to. Outside of the first weekend owning the game, I've only picked it up a handful of times over the last few weeks. Let's just say seeing little reaction to your uploaded levels can be disheartening.

While Mario Maker didn't grab all my free time, Yacht Club Games' free expansion for Shovel Knight sure did.

In Plague of Shadows, you take control of Plague Knight as he collects the essence of his fellow knights in order to create the ultimate potion. Instead of relying on a shovel to bounce off enemies like a pogo stick, Plague Knight must use bombs, spells and his charge launch ability to reach the chambers of his former comrades. Although you play through the same levels that are in the main campaign, using Plague Knight's unique abilities makes each level play in a whole new way. Plus as an added bonus, each level has special area that only Plague Knight can get through. Plague Knight may be tricky to control at first, but you will definitely get the hang of his arsenal after the first few levels. In addition to the brand new campaign, Plague of Shadows adds a challenge mode with over 40 challenges to complete as Shovel or Plague Knight.

As an expansion, Plague of Shadows offers more content than most game expansions or DLC. Plus, it's all free for anybody who buys or already owns Shovel Knight! If the other planned expansions for the game are just as good as Plague of Shadows, Shovel Knight may be one of the top games for years to come.

Most Anticipated Games of the Month
I can't nail down my most anticipated game of September since I have three big game purchases during the first three weeks of October. Very similar to those picking up all the big AAA releases in November, October is my big rush of games. Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash drops Friday, October 9th followed by Yoshi's Wooly World a week after that and The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes just a week later. With all those games, I'm going to have quite a bit to talk about this upcoming month. No promises, but maybe I will get around to posting some reviews for them in the near future.

In all seriousness, I am really looking forward to playing all these new Nintendo games. Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash is going to be to closet thing to a new Castlevania until Bloodstained comes out in 2017, Yoshi's Wooly World might just be the best Yoshi solo outing in decades, and The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes takes the fun of multiplayer Zelda and melds it with the expert dungeon design of traditional 2D Zeldas. Also two out of the three games come with adorable amiibos, which is always a plus in my books.

Video of the Month
Words will not do this video justice. Just sit back and enjoy the spectacle that is the Japanese launch trailer for Tearaway Unfolded. I promise you, it's one hell of an acid trip.

Sunday, October 4, 2015

First Byte: Fan Expo 2015 Gauntlet

Early September, I went to Fan Expo Canada for a day. Aside from exploring the massive show floor and buying a few cool items on sale, I spent the majority of my time playing upcoming games. Actually, it was more like standing in line to play said games. Much like last year. there were well over 30 games at Fan Expo for all to play from big AAA titles such as Assassin's Creed: Syndicate to smaller titles like Cuphead. I always go in dreaming to play every game on the show floor, but I can only get in a quarter at best. This year, I played 10 games in total.

This time around I'm changing up the structure of the Fan Expo Gauntlet. Instead of taking two parts to outline every game I played, I'm going to highlight three titles. These are the titles that I got more time to play and can dissect for your pleasure. With how poorly some demos were managed by volunteers, I just couldn't extract enough from them to fill a paragraph. For example, I played Transformers: Devastation for only enough time to say the combat is exactly the same as Bayonetta just with some third-person gunplay thrown in the mix.
Yo-Kai Watch
To my surprise, Nintendo had a lot more games at their booth than the three games advertised (Splatoon, Super Mario Maker and Yoshi's Wooly World). One of the titles available to play on 3DS was the newest sensation out of Japan, Yo-Kai Watch. The demo I played gave me a good impression on the game's combat system, which is pretty different from most JRPGs on the market.

There are no random encounters in Yo-Kai Watch, you literally chase down wild yo-kai by keeping your cursor over them. Once the yo-kai are caught, you engage in combat. Combat consists of spinning a wheel on the touch screen to alternate between the six yo-kai on your team and activating special touch screen specific activities in order to unleash special attacks. Outside of lining up the correct elements to maximize damage and special attacks, normal attacks automatically occur at regular intervals.

For the 15 to 20 minute demo, I found the combat really fun and engaging alternative to the traditional RPG combat systems, but I can see it getting tedious over the course of a 40 hour playthrough if this is all Yo-Kai Watch offers.
Star Wars Battlefront
Ever since EA and DICE released the first slew of information on the new Star Wars Battlefront at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim, people have been tirelessly debating over the game's content or lack thereof and its similarities to Battlefield. The gameplay footage revealed at E3 did quite a bit to fan the flames, but there were still some doubters. I will say this: you will have no doubts when you get your hands on the game. My friends and I walked away from the demo at Fan Expo astounded at how amazing it was.

The only mode available to play was Survival. It is Battlefront's version of Horde mode as you and a teammate are tasked with battling through waves upon waves of Imperial forces on Tatooine. The first few waves consist of just Stormtroopers, but as the waves go on, the difficulty goes up at a gradual yet challenging pace by throwing AT-ATs and shocktroopers your way. For somebody who can't hold their own in contemporary shooters, Battlefront made me feel like an all-star. The controls felt perfectly tuned to deal with everything that was being thrown my way. There were a couple waves where I was the last man standing and the tight controls were the only thing that allowed me to pull through.

Although the demo consisted of only one mode, the superb controls and the game's ability to accurately emulate the world of Star Wars has me highly anticipating playing Battlefront later this year.
Star Fox Zero
Most games I played at Fan Expo left me feeling optimistic about their final release. Sadly, I can't say the same for Star Fox Zero. While I will still buy this game early next year, I have a bad feeling that the game is going to alienate a lot of people because of its unique control scheme, much like Kid Icarus: Uprising before it.

Star Fox Zero has you using the analog sticks to control the Arwing and the motion controls in the Wii U gamepad to aim your weapons. This control set-up works during the on-rail segments. but completely falls apart when you enter all-range mode. The reason for this occurrence comes from the all-range mode's reliance on pinpoint accuracy to dispatch enemies. If you played Splatoon, you would already know that this control scheme is no where near accurate and Star Fox's focus on it feels counter-productive. Transforming into the walker did alleviate some of the targeting problems with particular enemies, but the walker's controls felt rough around the edges as will.

After playing Star Fox Zero, I am happy that Nintendo delayed the game until early 2016 because it gives Nintendo more time to refine the controls for the game. While Star Fox Zero has the potential to breathe new life into this struggling franchise, a polarizing control scheme might just ground the Star Fox team for good.

Friday, September 11, 2015

First Byte: Pokemon GO

Ever since someone picked up a Game Boy to play Pokemon Red and Blue, or watched Ash Ketchum's quest to become a Pokemon Master in the anime, the dream of interacting with these adorable pocket monsters in reality has been present. You could buy the merchandise, toys, or games as a way to satisfy those desires, but they could never truly replicate actually hunting through tall grass to find a wild Pikachu.

Over a year ago, the pranksters at Google tricked the world into believing they made the ultimate Pokemon experience, only to have it be an April Fool's Day joke. While the video was too good to be true, deep in everyone's heart they wanted it to be real. Well, the folks at Nintendo, the Pokemon Company, Game Freak and Niantic have joined forces to turn this dream into a reality with Pokemon GO.

Revealed early September 10, Pokemon GO is the brainchild of Ishihara Tsunekazu and the late Satoru Iwata. It is a free-to-play mobile title for iOS and Android that uses location data to actively catch, trade, and battle Pokemon on your smartphone. Releasing in 2016, GO forces players out of the house and into the world around them in order to become a Pokemon Master. In addition to the free download, players can purchase a peripheral called Pokemon GO Plus. The Pokemon GO Plus cuts out the need for players to continually stare at their smartphone by using vibration and a blinking LED to notify them about certain events happening in the game such as the appearance of a wild Pokemon. It also serves as a controller for the game by helping catch Pokemon and perform other simple actions.

After watching the trailer and conference for Pokemon GO, I am conflicted. The concept is great, but there are so many questions left unanswered that I can't help but be cautious. The conference did nothing more than introduce the idea and everybody working on the project, while the trailer is completely misleading. The trailer makes you believe Pokemon GO is an augmented reality Pokemon simulator when in actuality it is nowhere near that level of detail and involvement. From the screenshots and how the developers described the game, Pokemon GO is very similar to the Pokemon RPGs everybody knows and loves, just interchange running around Kanto or Johto as your avatar with running around locations in real life.

The problem with Pokemon GO right now is there isn't enough tangible information on the final product. There are too many what ifs, especially concerning the gameplay and pricing of both microtransactions and the Pokemon GO Plus peripheral, that it's impossible to get a true feel for what the game will be upon release. As a seasoned Pokemon fan, going off of the Pokemon name alone is not a wish decision. Just ask anybody whose played the thousand of Pokemon spinoffs not named Snap, Puzzle League, or Conquest.

In all honesty, I want Pokemon GO to fulfill the dream of interacting with Pokemon in real life. With names like Shigeru Miyamoto, Junichi Masuda and the late Satoru Iwata, I want to get behind this game and champion it as Nintendo's first major push into the mobile market, but I can't. I need to see and hear more about Pokemon GO's gameplay and pricing to form a genuine opinion about the game. As it stands, I fear the initial trailer combined with the promise of an innovative Pokemon experience will leave a lot of people disappointed.

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Bit by Bit: August 2015

It's sad to say, but summer is coming to an end. As hard as it may be to get excited to go back to school, fall brings with it an avalanche of new game releases. With the current generation finally running on all cylinders, there will be enough games to keep every gamer satisfied for the next four months. Just counting all the Nintendo games I'm going to pick up on Wii U and 3DS in the next four months is a little shocking. Good thing I have brothers that plan on picking up the multiplatform titles I'm holding out on, such as Fallout 4 and Star Wars Battlefront, so I can play them without dropping nearly 100 dollars on each one. You know, I need to save that money to buy amiibos.

Before we get started with this edition of Bit by Bit, I would like to announce that I'm going to Fan Expo again this year. I will be there Friday with a few friends from school to hang out, buy stuff, play games, and explore the show floor. Just like I did last year, there will be a full rundown of everything yours truly did at the show along with the return of the Fan Expo Gauntlet. So stay tuned for all your Fan Expo goodness from Silver Bit in the coming weeks.

Game of the Month
In recent years, I have grown fond of the Shin Megami Tensei franchise and its challenging yet engrossing take on the JRPG genre. Funny enough, the Shin Megami spin-off series Persona that's responsible for the series popularity in the West is one I barely touched. While I own both Persona 3 and 4 on PS3, I never took on the task of playing one until I got Persona 4 Golden for Vita. Now I can't stop!

RPGs are perfect for portable play. You can pick them up to finish some sidequests or grind a few levels in small bursts, or dive into the story and dungeons as a way to spend an afternoon. It may take some time to wrap your head around all of Persona 4's mechanics and everything they entail. Once you get past the learning curve, managing social links, jobs, boosting stats, and preparing for the dungeons is a blast. I have already lost many hours just delving into all the activities you can do outside of the main dungeons.

The combat is no slouch either. It has a similar turn-based structure as most JRPGs, but adds a few new systems to make the combat more engaging. Determining which elements shadows are strong/weak against is the key to success. Couple that with powerful pile-on attacks and shuffle time bonuses, and you have the ingredients for an incredible battle system that will keep you on your toes.

I am only brushing the surface of what Persona 4 Golden has to offer. I strongly urge everybody to pick up a Vita or PlayStation TV to play this phenomenal RPG, or at the very least download the PS2 original off of PSN. I may only be 25 hours into the game, but I fully understand why it's considered one of the best RPGs of the last decade. Persona 4 Golden is that damn good, period!

Most Anticipated Toy of the Month
Rumours about a Shovel Knight amiibo were floating around the interwebs for a couple weeks now, but nothing was ever confirmed. That was until a UK retailer announced its existence ahead of Nintendo and Yacht Club Games' official unveiling at Nintendo's Nindies @ Night event in Seattle.

The Shovel Knight amiibo is being produced entirely by Yacht Club Games, and it unlocks exclusive modes and features for the Wii U and 3DS versions of Shovel Knight. The amiibo's biggest addition to the game is the Wii U exclusive co-op, which allows you to play the entire game with a friend. It will also add special challenge stages, new relics and character stat customization to both versions of Shovel Knight.

As happy as I am to see Shovel Knight get the amiibo treatment, I am even more ecstatic to see what comes from the introduction of official third-party figures into the amiibo line. This partnership truly marks an exciting new direction for the amiibo brand as a whole. Expanding the brand to outside properties may be the olive branch Nintendo needs to attract third-parties back to their systems. Plus, it offers a wonderful platform for indie developers like Yacht Club Games to get exposure on a scale they could of only dreamed of.

I have my fingers crossed for Bit.Trip, Shantae and Mighty No. 9 amiibos.

Video of the Month
It won't be too much longer before Super Mario Maker will be released to the general public. For those people like myself that cannot wait any longer, IGN has put together a series of videos called the IGN Super Mario Maker Editors Challenge to show off all the wonderful levels you can make in the game. These five to ten minute videos release every Monday, Wednesday and Friday leading up to Super Mario Maker's release and they offer great inspiration for those looking forward to creating their own Mario deathtraps. Plus, it's hilarious to watch the Mario insanity people think of and the priceless reactions from those playing.

I've included the first video in the series below, but I highly recommend watching them all. I hope to see many great levels online when Super Mario Maker launches on 11th of September.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

The PlayStation Vita: Revisted

Upon its release, the PlayStation Vita was a big talking point around the industry. Sadly, it focused on the system's woes when it came to its lack of commercial success and a consistent lineup of games. This unfortunate turn of events has gone to plague the Vita for its entire life. It is remarkable that the Vita is only three years old and the system is already considered dead. Apart from niche Japanese games published by Atlus, NIS America or Aksys Games, and cross-buy indie titles, Sony and third-parties abandoned the handheld by the end of 2014 at the latest.

The Vita's life has been tragic to say the least, but I am not here to rub salt in wound. Since I recently picked it up for myself, I am here to give an honest opinion to those that may be seriously considering buying the system in the near or distant future.

First and foremost, the PlayStation Vita is a well-designed handheld, which is impressive since it is Sony's second stab at a handheld. Originally, I thought the button placement was too close together. After an extensive amount of time with the Vita over the past month, everything feels responsive and fits well in my hands. I only had a problem with the system's d-pad, which is incredibly flimsy due to Sony's decision to meld it to one plastic plate rather than making them separate buttons.

With front and rear touch screens, cameras, and motion controls on top of the traditional button layout, the Vita is filled to the brim with technology. Maybe a little too much technology. Although I fall under the belief Sony packed far too many things into the Vita, it comes down to how the software uses said technology that determines if it's all warranted. Considering Tearaway is the only Vita game out of the 14 I own that properly uses everything in the system, the touch and motion controls mostly come off as gimmicks instead of essential features.

While the Vita may not have be as powerful as the PS3 in the graphics department, the system's OLED screen, found in all original units but not in the Slim redesign, is wonderful to look at. The high screen resolution makes hand-drawn 2D art pop off the screen. It's like watching a painting in motion. Games that lean towards realism in their graphics, such as Uncharted and Killzone, don't fair as well since the Vita can't pump out realistic polygons and textures like its console brethren.

Apart from the Vita's well-documented lacking library, the system suffers from a major problem when it comes to storage. In order to save or download games, you need a memory card for the Vita. Rather than use a universal memory card like a micro SD, Sony decided to force Vita owners to buy their own proprietary cards for outrageous prices. You can find four or eight gigabyte cards for something more reasonable, but you'll run out of room quick if you start downloading PSP and PS1 games to your system. Due to Sony intentionally shortchanging consumers on memory, you might have to fork over another 50 to 100 dollars on top of the price of the Vita to get enough memory to be comfortable with.

For the 100 dollars I spent on a used PlayStation Vita, it was well worth it. I now own 14 great titles I cannot get on any other system, can experience all the PSP games that I missed out on like Valkyria Chronicles II and Patapon, and have a chance to play all my PS1 classics and cross-buy games on the go. For those that are unable to get the Vita for the same price, I suggest you do some research and determine if there enough games, features and applications to warrant spending 200 dollars or more to buy one for yourself.

Overall, the Vita is a great portable system that is superior all other handhelds on the market when it comes to power and beauty. Unless you're a hardcore gamer or own the consoles needed to unlock the system's full potential, the Vita doesn't have the library or the features to be worth spending upwards of 200 dollars on.

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Silver Bit & Imprint

Over the past few months, I have posted a few links for articles which I have written for a publication that isn't Silver Bit. That publication is Imprint, the University of Waterloo's student-run newspaper. I have been volunteering there for just over a year now as a proofreader and now am slowly expanding to take on a greater role as a writer.

With another commitment on the table, I sadly can't dedicate my time equally among everything I do. Before you think it is an excuse not to write on Silver Bit, I am just letting everybody know that there is another place to read articles from yours truly. You can check them out on my archives page. There isn't much there now, but I promise there's a lot more coming.

At the moment, I am Imprint's friendly neighbourhood movie reviewer, but have also dabbled in writing blogs. If you are on UW's campus for whatever reason this coming frosh week, I have a fun little article that I am looking forward to see people's reaction to. Hint: it is unlike anything I have ever written. Hope that's enough of a teaser to get you to pick up a copy.

I've loved every moment I have spent volunteering at Imprint this past year and hope for many more great years to come. Since I am getting more involved, I want to share my published work, along with the wonderful content created by the whole Imprint team, with all you that read Silver Bit.

So take some time to read through a few articles, make comments, share the ones you like with others and maybe make your imprint by getting involved yourself.

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Bit by Bit: July 2015

I did promise back in March to be better at announcing hiatuses for Silver Bit, but I honestly didn't plan this at all.  After the craziness that was E3 2015, I didn't have much drive to write Best Games of E3 article because of the lack of playable demos on the show floor this year.  On top of E3 fatigue, I tried to write an article on collector's editions, but it didn't pan out.

Although a lot of July didn't work out as planned, I am hoping to update Silver Bit on a regular basis in August.  Fingers crossed.

Game of the Month
Two games took up most of my time this past month. The first is Radiant Historia, a turned-based RPG that has you bouncing between two parallel timelines in order to save the world from desertification.  I bought the game two years ago and spent a few hours with it before putting it down until recently.  I always enjoyed the gameplay and premise of Radiant Historia, but it's story and timeline-weaving quests are what will keep you gripping your DS or 3DS for hours on end.  In all seriousness, I play Radiant Historia a good hour or two at a time.  Sadly, I hit a grind wall around chapter four that has caused me to put the game down for the time being.

The second game and July's Game of the Month is Tearaway for the PlayStation Vita.  While I planned on waiting until Tearaway Unfolded for PS4 to dive into Media Molecule's critical darling, my curiosity got the best of me especially considering I found the game for 10 dollars new.  As cool as it would be to experience the beautiful paper craft visuals on a big HDTV, I am so happy that I experienced Tearaway on its system of origin.

Out of all the games on the Vita, Tearaway is the system's killer app.  Unlike other titles, such as Uncharted: Golden Abyss or Killzone: Mercenary, where the use of motion and touch controls feels tacked on, Tearaway uses every feature built into the Vita in an intuitive way.  Seeing your fingers pop out of the back touch screen to dispatch enemies or watching your face play a role as the ever-present sun are just magical.  My descriptions don't do Tearaway justice; it is a game that you have to experience for yourself in order to understand how special it is.

Video of the Month
On July 12th, 2015, the video game industry lost a visionary in Satoru Iwata.  Since the tragic news broke, many lovely tributes for Iwata-san have been made.  All these tributes are amazing, but I can't showcase them all here.  I choose to highlight Screwattack's tribute video because it does a wonderful job at blending Iwata's greatest quotes and the video clips that highlight his quirky personality.

Thank you, Satoru Iwata.  You will be deeply missed.

Monday, July 13, 2015

Rest in Peace, Satoru Iwata

Death in the video game industry is a subject only thought of in relation to the violent content of the medium and its possible influence on us as human beings.  Nobody thinks about it in relation to the men and women that give their lives to this industry through game development, corporate management or game journalism.  Being fans and followers of video games as a whole, we sometimes bestow these people with imaginary invincibility when in reality, they are merely mortal.  They live and, unfortunately, they die.

Late July 12th, news broke that Satoru Iwata, now former President of Nintendo, passed away July 11th at the age of 55 due to a bile duct growth.

When I opened up Facebook to find the news plastered in the centre of my News Feed, I couldn't believe it.  I went into denial as I scoured the Internet for more evidence than a couple Facebook posts.  Once I confirmed Mr. Iwata's death, the shock sunk in.  Nintendo and other news sources have reported on Iwata's multiple bouts with illness over the past two years, which caused him to miss the last two E3s.  None of the reports mentioned that it was this severe; making the news even more tragic.

Among all the grief and sadness, I feel the best way to honour Mr. Iwata's memory is to share what made him such a great leader and lovable personality not only at Nintendo, but in the industry as a whole.

While not as prolific as legendary Nintendo designers like Shigeru Miyamoto, Eiji Aonuma or Masahiro Sakurai, Satoru Iwata was responsible for the creation of Kirby and fostering classics, such as Earthbound and Super Smash Bros., during his tenure as a programmer and later President of HAL Laboratory.  Upon Hiroshi Yamauchi's retirement in 2002, Iwata was named the fourth President of Nintendo.  As president, he would go onto lead the company through the launches of the Gamecube, DS, Wii, 3DS and Wii U. 

In his early years as president, it was hard to get a read on Iwata's personality since gamers would only hear from him in the occasional interview or appearance at E3 or Tokyo Game Show.  As the years went on and technology evolved, Iwata stepped out as one of the corporate faces of Nintendo along with Reggie Fils-Aime and Shigeru Miyamoto.  The Iwata Asks and the Nintendo Direct gave Nintendo fans into a closer look at the president's quirky personality.  From intensely staring down a banana to his "Directly to you" slogan and hand gesture, Iwata was never afraid to put himself in wacky and possibly embarrassing situations in order to entertain.  His signature quirkiness is the main reason fans love him so much. 

On the corporate side, Iwata was a fighter and an incredible leader.  He managed Nintendo through some of its most difficult times as a company.  Facing immense pressure from stockholders, the media and the consumer, Iwata always stood his ground and kept Nintendo's future in mind before making drastic decisions.  Despite low sales for Nintendo during the Gamecube and horrible launch sales for the 3DS and Wii U, Iwata avoided making shortsighted immediate gains and developed long-term plans to ensure success for the future.  Under Iwata's direction, the DS and Wii both saw unbelievable success and the 3DS has consistently outperformed the other systems on the market over the past couple years.

Although death is horrible experience to all those involved, Satoru Iwata's love for the industry and quirky nature will live on through those he led at Nintendo, the many people fortunate enough to meet him in person over the years and the millions that eagerly watched every Nintendo Direct to see what crazy thing he would do next.  All I have to say to Mr. Iwata is thank you.  Thank you for making the company that I have loved since a child the best it could be for these past 12 years.  You will be deeply missed.

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Bit by Bit: E3 2015 Wrap-up

E3 is over for another year and I got to say: what a wonderful show.  While there some bumps along the way, E3 2015 was one of the best in a long time.  During this nearly week long expo, we saw incredible feats of game mastery, pipe dreams become reality and the next generation of gaming finally live up to all the hype.

Although there are some issues the video game industry still faces such as the ever-rising cost of AAA development or the instability of jobs, E3 2015 made us forget about all the negativity and focus on the fundamentals of this art form: fun, imagination and community.  All the silly Muppet skits, excessive gum flapping and surreal moments of celebrity interjection cannot compare to the excitement of the Nintendo World Championships, the tears brought on from the Final Fantasy VII Remake and Shenmue III reveals, and the blood-pumping gameplay trailers for highly anticipated titles like Star Wars Battlefront, Kingdom Hearts III and The Last Guardian.  

E3 2015 was a show that will reverberate throughout the annals of video game history.  To wrap-up this great event, Silver Bit presents a special E3 2015 edition of Bit by Bit.

Winner of E3 2015
With all the stiff competition, I thought it would be a hard decision to pick the winner of E3 2015.  Nintendo blew things out of the park with their World Championships and constant Treehouse Live coverage only to falter in the most important area: the Digital Event.  Microsoft came out swinging with the announcement of Xbox One backwards compatibility and showing live demos for their biggest titles, but seemed to undermine their momentum by announcing a good number of their Xbox One "exclusives" for PC as well.  Both Bethesda and Ubisoft took a step back to let the games do the talking for them yet did little in terms of delivering truly shocking surprises.  At the end of the day, all these great performances could not stand up to the unstoppable force that is Sony.

Sony may not have delivered much in terms of bolstering their lineup for 2015, but they did make us forget about it with all the bombshells they dropped.  For a solid hour-and-a-half, Sony delivered a steady stream of the most exciting and enticing gameplay trailers and demos at the show.  Out of all the great games shown off at Sony's presser, there were three that took it from great to legendary: The Last Guardian, Final Fantasy VII Remake and Shenmue III.  Sony literally made dreams come true by showing them off that fateful Monday night.  They also serviced both the old and the new by announcing three of the most wanted games in the past decade and showing off brand new IPs like Horizon: Zero Dawn, No Man's Sky and Dreams.

For the third year in a row, Sony showed that the PS4 is THE system to own this generation.  Even though Sony's lineup for 2015 is rather sparse, the incredible wave of good will coming off of their performance at E3 2015 along with some smart partnerships with Activision, EA and Warner Bros. might be enough to solidify the PS4s huge lead on the competition.

Surprise of E3 2015
There isn't much else to say about my pick for the Surprise of E3 2015.  In fact, arguments can be made for any of the big three surprises from the Sony press conference.  Personally, my pick is Shenmue III because it came out of nowhere.  With how much Sega has been suffering in recent years, never in my wildest dreams did I expect Shenmue III to get the funding needed for development.  To see Shenmue III caught me off-guard, which left me stunned and a little choked up.  The last surprise to affect me that much was the Kid Icarus: Uprising reveal back in 2010.

Trailer of E3 2015
Funny enough, this year's E3 wrap-up has turned into the Sony show.  In all honesty, there was great stuff from everybody at the show and I would love to highlight it all, but this wrap-up isn't the place for that.  I'm here to highlight the best from E3 2015 and the truth is Sony had the best stuff this year.

Out of everything Sony showed at E3, one title blew me away.  That game was Horizon: Zero Dawn.  Horizon is Guerrilla Games' brand new property that switches out the first-person shooting of Killzone for a third-person adventure game set in a pre-historic/post-apocalyptic mishmash.  Hearing the premise is compelling in of itself, but watching the game in motion is breathtaking.  Seeing the female lead move between stalking mechanical dinosaurs and hiding in bushes along with the fluid fight with the robot T-Rex gives the impression that there are many ways to tackle enemies.  Watching the trailer over again, Horizon looks like a next generation version of Monster Hunter with fluid combat and mechanical monsters to slay, which has me even more intrigued.

If it was playable on the show floor, Horizon would easily nab the number one spot on my Top Games of E3 2015 list.  Unfortunately, all Sony brought to E3 was this awe-inspiring trailer that has me craving for more.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

E3 2015: Square Enix Press Conference Impressions

Along with Bethesda, Square Enix is one of the new kids on the press conference block.  They used to have press conferences at E3, but it has been a long while since their last conference.  With Square Enix's big presence at both the Microsoft and Sony press conferences, did they save enough for their very own press conference?

Square Enix did save enough to fill their 90 minute conference, but the great number of titles shown didn't translate into an interesting presentation.  In actuality, it was a boring show that saw a lot more gum flapping than gameplay footage.  At certain points throughout the conference, I closed my eyes and just listened to the corporate jargon the presenters were throwing around.  The show must have been putting the translator to sleep since he had some problems keeping up with the presenters at times.

For all the great titles that Square Enix had to offer this year, it was frustrating to see time wasted rehashing the exact same trailers for Rise of the Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy VII and World of Final Fantasy that were shown at other press conferences or worthless "behind-the-scenes" trailers that could've been replaced by actual gameplay footage.  Don't have two random animators from Disney tell us about a Tangled world in Kingdom Hearts III, show it as part of the gameplay trailer.

Speaking of Kingdom Heart III, the gameplay trailer was the best thing on this show.  It hinted at the story, showed off the combat system and highlighted some dramatic special moves including the use of Disney theme park attractions as weapons.  Aside from Kingdom Hearts III, the Just Cause 3, Hitman and Star Ocean trailers were the only other standouts from this show.  Everything else just felt like white noise; even the Deus Ex; Mankind Divided trailer which Square Enix was hyping weeks before the conference.

As their first press conference in God knows when, Square Enix performed far worse than anybody could of predicted with their large lineup of games.  At its best, the conference was passable.  At its worst, the conference was like an uncoordinated powerpoint presentation.  Square Enix may need a phoenix down after this dull show.

Grade:  D

E3 2015: Nintendo Digital Event Impresions

In recent years, Nintendo has pulled back from the traditional E3 presence.  Instead of the tried-and-true press conference and booth combination, Nintendo has opted to provided a constant stream of content from the Nintendo World Championships to the daily Treehouse Live stream.  The crown jewel of Nintendo's week is their Digital Event, a special one hour video that highlights their biggest titles for the upcoming year.  With the Wii U Legend of Zelda skipping the show, could Nintendo announce some titles to fill that void this holiday season?

Nintendo didn't have one single answer to that question as they went for a sheer numbers approach.  Starting with Super Mario Maker, there will be eight titles across Wii U and 3DS, including Star Fox Zero, Xenoblade Chronicles X and Yoshi's Woolly World, releasing this Fall.  While there may not be a single title that will move tons 3DS and Wii U units, this is one of the most robust lineups Nintendo has had for the holidays in a long time.

Looking at the Digital Event as a whole, its content was good, but the video was completely underwhelming and disjointed.  Nintendo tried so hard to be charming and wacky with the puppet skits, but it came off as embarrassing awkward.  Also the announcement of certain games felt out of place.

Although I am not as upset about the Metroid Prime 3DS games as others, the way Nintendo just unceremoniously dumped it on us was a little insulting, especially for longtime fans.  Federation Force and Blast Ball are two refreshing new takes on the franchise that I look forward to seeing more of, but these titles shouldn't have been the only Metroid announcement of the show.  Plus the huge focus on Super Mario Maker and Mario's 30th Anniversary was a little lackluster considering the Nintendo World Championships did such an incredible job promoting that game.  I will admit, revealing that the Mario transitions were actually the Amiibo support for Super Mario Maker was awesome.

While Nintendo's Digital Event felt lackluster as a whole, there were some titles that really impressed me.  Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes looks to be the Four Swords sequel/co-op Zelda I've been craving for a long time.  The ability to play core Zelda dungeons with others both on and offline is great.  The proper return of Mario Tennis with Ultra Smash for Wii U was exciting to see.  If Nintendo adds in robust online multiplayer to the game, it could be up there with Mario Kart, Smash Bros. and Splatoon as another great multiplayer game for Wii U.  Last but not least, Level 5's Yo-Kai Watch was impressive as it had a great amount of charm and some unique RPG elements that looks to appeal to all ages.

The easiest way to describe Nintendo's Digital Event is a mixed bag.  All the games showed off looked to be a lot of fun and it gave perfect picture of Nintendo's holiday lineup, which looks to be their best in a long time.  The show just didn't have the cohesion or a big punch to keep fans from felling a little disappointed.  Plus where on Earth is Retro Studios!?

Grade:  C+

E3 2015: Sony Press Conference Impressions

There is no need for a cool intro because I'm just going to get to the point.  Sony put on one of the greatest E3 press conferences ever.  If you thought their performance two years ago when they stabbed the knife into Microsoft's heart and just kept digging it in was amazing, this show was light years greater than that one.  I have never been physically exhausted from watching a press conference due to all the cheering, smiling and hysterical laughing I did throughout the show.

Sony started their presser by re-revealing The Last Guardian for PS4 and didn't slow down until a hour into it.  Each game in that hour from the large AAA titles to the small indie titles hit it out of the park.  The pace was just rapid fire one after the other with little time to rest, but that breakneck speed made everyone in the audience and watching across the globe experience an unimaginable sense of adrenaline.

Every title at Sony's press conference, except for Call of Duty: Black Ops III and its generic explosion-fest of a demo, had an impressive showing.  Even among the masses of great titles, there were a few standouts.  Guerilla Games' new IP Horizon: Zero Dawn could of easily closed the show with its unique premise, compelling gameplay and freaking robot dinosaurs!  Naughty Dog made the Uncharted 4 delay even more unbearable thanks to a wonderful demo following Drake and Sully's misadventures through a South American town.  Media Molecule's game Dreams intrigued with its ability to literally mold anything you want into reality be it a game, film or piece of interactive media.

On top of all that, Sony dropped some mind-blowing surprises that left many jaws gaping, eyes popping and tears flowing.  Sony started off with a cool trailer for a brand new Hitman game followed by giving us a charming crossover in World of Final Fantasy.  Then the bombs started dropping.  Right after the World of Final Fantasy reveal, Sony announced the heavily-requested full remake of Final Fantasy VII, which had people going bonkers.  If you didn't think that was enough, Sony made waves upon unveiling Shenmue III's existence.  I will be honesty, I choked up when the Shenmue III trailer appeared on the screen; I couldn't believe what I was watching.  It was a magical moment to say the least.

Although I have been singing this conferences praises, it did slow down considerably after the first hour.  The clear change in pace came from an out-of-place montage that should have gone at the end of the show instead of right in the middle.  Seriously, I thought the show was over when they played that montage.  Sony did bounce back with some Project Morpheus updates, exclusive packages for Disney Infinity 3.0 and a new gameplay trailer for Star Wars Battlefront.  It was almost all for naught when Sony ran into some difficulties connecting controllers for the Uncharted demo, but it was fixed thanks to a timely reset.

Even with a few hiccups and a generic demo, Sony's E3 2015 press conference will be immortalized for its breakneck pace, mind-blowing surprises and impressive games.  While I am disappointed that Sony did nothing to bolster their offerings this holiday season, 2016's lineup will sure make up for it in spades.

Grade:  A+

Monday, June 15, 2015

E3 2015: Ubisoft Press Conference Impressions

2014 was a less than stellar year for Ubisoft's reputation as Watch Dogs fell far short of its hype and Assassin's Creed: Unity was shipped as a broken mess.  Despite Ubisoft's best efforts to fix the situation, many felt betrayed by Ubisoft's transgressions.  So the French publisher had something to prove coming into E3 2015.  The question was: could they deliver?

For how many games Ubisoft crammed into a 60 minutes, the conference moved at an incredible pace.  The hour flew by before you knew it as Ubisoft. much like Bethesda, let the games do the talking for them.  For every minute spent talking, three or more was spent showing live gameplay or pre-rendered trailers.  While I do prefer gameplay over trailers any day, the trailers that Ubisoft showed at their conference were short, sweet and incredibly produced.  My personal favourite was Trials Fusion Awesome Level Max's trailer, which saw a gun-toting cat riding a fire-breathing unicorn.  No, I'm not on crack!  It really happened!

The biggest plus from Ubisoft's conference was most certainly the live demos.  Seeing all those titles played live, including the newly announced For Honor, The Division, Rainbow Six: Siege and TrackMania Turbo, gave me a much better impression on all of them.  I'm actually excited to play all of them.  From a medieval melee combat to a tactical shooter to an arcade racer, there was incredible amount of diversity between the titles demoed and on the show as a whole.

Also, I have to praise Ubisoft for being the only publisher in the video game industry that can actually keep a secret.  There were no leaks or rumours about South Park: The Fractured But Whole, Ghost Recon Wildlands or a new IP in For Honor being set for Ubisoft's press conference.  Not having any prior knowledge on those games made all the surprises feel special, something that rarely happens nowadays.

It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows at Ubisoft's press conference.  There were some problems when it came to presentation.  It has become par for the course that Ubisoft brings in some celebrities to host, make appearances or even sing, but it never usually ends well.  The same can be said for this year's show.  Aisha Tyler tirelessly tried to inject some humour into the conference, but seemed to make things awkward ever single time.  Angela Bassett talking about her role as Six in Rainbow Six: Siege was completely worthless.  And to top it all off, Jason Derulo showed the world that he cannot sing—or he might of just hit puberty—in a moment that was so gloriously awful that it came off as being incredibly funny.  Like watching a train wreck, you couldn't turn your attention away from it.

Despite the problems with the conference's presentation, Ubisoft's press conference was a highly entertaining show.  It let the games stand as the sole focus and kept Aisha Tyler's on-stage shenanigans to a minimum.  You know it's going to be a good show from Ubisoft when the only reference to Tyler's girlwood is her necklace.

Grade:  A-

E3 2015: EA Press Conference Impressions

Aside from recent releases like Dragon Age: Inquisition and Battlefield: Hardline, EA hasn't had the best few years.  Buggy launches, poor customer support and selling certain titles without being feature complete are a few examples of EA's sins over the past few years.  Last year's EA press conference didn't make things any better as they put on possibly the worst press conference I ever had the dishonour of watching.  There is no way that EA could put on two bad performances in a row, right?

Let us start with the good news, EA's press conference was better than last year's showing.  The bad news is that isn't saying much.  In all honesty, EA has a great lineup of games under their umbrella; they just can't seem to translate that quality to the stage.  When a conference with Mass Effect, Mirror's Edge and Star Wars almost puts you to sleep, there is something wrong.

The reason that EA had problems in translating quality to their stage performance was that they spent too much time telling instead of showing.  The actual game demos showed at the conference combined for a run time of maybe 20 minutes.  For a 90 minute press conference, that's unacceptable.  Also whoever thought splitting EA Sports into four excruciatingly boring and unnecessarily long segments to fill time should be fired along with the person who thought having an interview with soccer legend Pele was a good use of time.

Out of all the bad, there were a couple of diamonds in the rough.  Star Wars Battlefront had a phenomenal demo that expertly replicated the scale and grandeur of the Battle for Hoth from Empire Strikes Back.  In five minutes, DICE showed first and third-person perspectives, vehicle combat (which includes controlling AT-ATs) and playable hero characters all to a great amount of fanfare.  Other than Battlefront, the only other game to truly impress was Unravel, a puzzle platformer with unique mechanics revolving around yarn.  While I have a feeling Unravel will be a smaller title in EA's lineup, it has the potential of stacking up their with other great mascot platformers like LittleBigPlanet and Mario.

If it wasn't for Star Wars Battlefront and Unravel, EA's 2015 press conference would have served as a good time for a nap or a bathroom break.  EA seems to bark to the heavens that they understand their fans, but they are so out of touch that it's hilarious.  Gamers don't watch your E3 press conference to hear about your onslaught of yearly sports games, we want the Battlefronts, Mass Effects, Mirror's Edges and Unravels to be the focus of your show.  Until EA understands that fact, they will suffer the same negative reaction year-in and year-out.

Grade:  D+

E3 2015: Microsoft Press Conference Impressions

Microsoft and the Xbox One has been reeling since their infamous performance at E3 2013.  Microsoft hasn't truly won back the support of gamers and the Xbox One is suffering because of it.  What Microsoft needs to do is announce titles that gamers can only find on the Xbox One and commit to shipping them in a timely manner.  The last thing they need is to repeat last year's good showing with no followup.  In fact, three key exclusives from last year's show (Crackdown, Scalebound and Quantum Break) aren't even going to be at E3 2015.  So does Microsoft have a few aces up their sleeve or are we in for another disappointing performance?

After 90 minutes, I can safely say that was Microsoft's best conference in recent memory.  While nothing at the conference was mind-blowing, it had a good mix of new and existing titles along with a couple surprises.

Microsoft's big strength at this conference was live demos.  The live demos for Halo 5, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Minecraft on Hololens and Gears 4 were all well done and highly entertaining to watch.  Out of the all the live demos, the Minecraft on Hololens demo was the best as it perfectly showed the potential of using holograms to interact with games in brand new ways.  Also it was nice to see a greater focus on survival horror and more proportional characters for Gears 4.

Outside of the demos, Microsoft had some solid announcements around exclusive content for Xbox One.  Comcept and Armature's Recore with an intriguing mechanic revolving around building up a team of friendly robots shows loads of potential.  Rare Replay and Sea of Thieves both look to recapture the spirit of Rare's former glory in the forms of a compilation and new IP respectively.  Even the ID@Xbox showcase and Xbox Game Preview unveiling were fun to watch although the approach seemed to be very familiar to Sony's way of highlighting indies at E3.

The one area where the Microsoft conference faltered was when it came to third-parties.  Aside from the Dark Souls III and Plants vs. Zombie: Garden Warfare 2 reveals, they spent a good third of the conference on titles like Fallout 4, The Division and Rainbow Six: Siege without breaking any new ground on them.  In particular, the "exclusive" Fallout 4 gameplay was the same demo from the Bethesda conference with a minute of new content.  On top of that, EA had an embarrassing showing of their EA Access subscription service.  I feel a little sorry for Peter Moore as every announcement he made fell on deaf ears, but the fact is gamers aren't going to respond to EA's crap no matter how nice you make it sound.

While Xbox One backwards compatibility does fall under the good from this conference, I am little skeptical on its functionality.  As Microsoft traditionally loves to do when they take about certain console features, they were very vague in how they outlined backwards compatibility for Xbox One.  Also they made a quick mention to downloading the 360 game to the Xbox One when you put in the game disc.  Due to the vague terminology, I have a feeling that Xbox One backwards compatibility won't be how everybody believes it will be.

Overall, Microsoft's E3 2015 press conference delivered where it counts: first-party content.  It was a relief to see Microsoft pull back from relying on third-parties so much and come more into their own.  Although we won't know if Microsoft can follow-up on these promises until months down the line, they did build the positive momentum needed at this point in time.

Grade:  B+

E3 2015: Bethesda Press Conference Impressions

Bethesda kicked off E3 2015 with their first ever press conference late Sunday night.  Anticipation for the press conference was building from the moment that Bethesda announced it to the world.  Everybody was hoping for the official reveal of Fallout 4 along with a few unannounced projects hidden deep in Bethesda's pockets.  Those expectations changed once Fallout 4 and Doom 4 were both confirmed for the showcase as some thought the respectable game publisher already revealed their entire hand.  Could Bethesda pull out a show-stealing performance for their freshmen showcase?  Or would early reveals and leaks pull the rug out from under them?

While leaks did sour the Dishonored 2 reveal, the rest of Bethesda's press conference went off without any real problems.  I have to give huge kudos to everybody from Bethesda for stepping back and letting the games do the talking for themselves.  Just seeing Doom and Fallout 4 in all their glory was outstanding.

Both titles look incredible in their own way.  Doom hopes to bring old school FPS gameplay from past entries with modern graphics and controls.  The fast-pace and visceral action of Doom completely sold me on it, but adding in a return to twitch-based multiplayer of the 90s and the mod-making app Doom Snapmap has certainly made it a standout in the crowded FPS genre.

With a nearly 40 minute presentation that included everything from concept art to companion apps to a collector's edition reveal, Fallout 4 looks to be the ultimate post-apocalyptic sandbox ever created.  Just the sheer amount of things to do in Fallout 4 is unbelievable.  In-depth character customization, weapon and armour crafting, building settlements that open up a tower-defense style meta-game and modding the game within the game are just the tip of Fallout 4's immense iceberg of content.  Plus Todd Howard's presentation was simply wonderful.  He brought a form of sincerity and enthusiasm that you rarely see from the typical suits that do the presenting at E3.

Doom and Fallout 4 were the centerpieces of Bethesda's showcase as they spent a good 80 per cent of their conference talking about them.  As for the remaining 20 per cent of the show, it was spent on trailers for Battlecry, The Elder Scrolls Online and Dishonored 2 and announcements for Dishonored Definitive Edition and The Elder Scrolls Legends, Bethesda's competitor to Hearthstone.  While it was well-paced and to the point, this part of the conference felt flat especially considering the mystique surround Dishonored 2's reveal was lost thanks to leaks.  Everything contained in this middle portion of Bethesda's showcase could have been saved for the pre or post-show for better effect.

All-in-all, Bethesda's freshman showing in the E3 press conference circuit was a home run.  They focused on impressing gamers instead of stockholders, kept the conference moving at an entertaining pace, threw in a few inside jokes and established their small lineup as one of the finest in the industry.  If you missed out on Bethesda's conference due to its late airing, make the time to watch it very soon.  The Fallout 4 demo is worth it alone.

Grade:  A

Sunday, June 14, 2015

E3 2015: The Big Questions

Here we go again.  Another year, another week of gaming goodness or corporate catastrophe is less than a day away.  This uncertainty seems to be the name of the game when it comes to the 2015 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).  On one hand, there has been little in the way of earth-shattering news to come out of the video game industry in such a long time that E3 could be a glorious avalanche of huge announcements and surprises.  On the other hand, all the leaks and trailers from the past two weeks could be the extent of this year's offerings.

While E3 2015 could go either way, there a some big questions that the industry needs to address in the coming week.  Questions that concern the video game industry's future in both the short and long-term.

How will a lack of exclusives affect Sony and Microsoft?
This question only concerns Sony and Microsoft because a console manufacturer (*cough* Nintendo) needs to rely solely on their exclusive content to sell their consoles when they have no third-party support.

The challenges Sony and Microsoft face when it comes to their lineup of exclusives are completely different.  Sony has a problem when it comes to mobilizing an exclusive game to fill the void Uncharted 4's delay left, while Microsoft relies far too much on third-parties that their small roster of over-exposed exclusives are struggling to maintain momentum from year-to-year.

Yet again, we enter a Sony press conference with little to no plan for the holiday season.  Uncharted 4 was suppose to Sony's answer to Halo 5 and Rise of the Tomb Raider.  Now, all Sony has planned are Until Dawn and Tearaway Unfolded, two great-looking titles that sadly are nowhere close to heavy-hitters.  Sony is also re-releasing the first three Uncharted games on PS4, but the Uncharted Collection's upwards of 70 dollars price point is more of a rip-off than a worthy substitute for Uncharted 4.

Last holiday season, Sony relied a lot on third-parties, especially Activision's Destiny, to move PS4s because their exclusives—DriveClub and LittleBigPlanet 3—weren't the killer apps that people wanted.  These wise business decisions along with an insane wave of momentum Sony has been riding since the PS4's launch has kept the system leaps and bounds ahead of the Xbox One, but that string of good luck will eventually run out.  Sony needs to start capitalizing on their huge lead or somebody else, namely Microsoft, will take advantage of their arrogance.  Sony has an army of game studios at their disposal so how we don't have another huge title to replace Uncharted 4 is absurd.  Slot in The Last Guardian or Guerrilla's unannounced project into Uncharted's spot because Sony cannot spend another holiday season sitting on their hands.

While Sony has a problem with capitalizing on their lead, Microsoft is having problems convincing people to buy the Xbox One.  In all honesty, the Xbox One is severely lacking when it comes to exclusives, especially when you take into account indie titles and timed exclusives such as Titanfall, Sunset Overdrive and Rise of the Tomb Raider.  On top of that, their small roster of first-party properties (Halo, Fable, Forza and Gears of War) have all been over-exposed thanks to yearly releases or franchise mismanagement.  Gears of War may be the only major franchise that gamers are craving for since there hasn't been a new entry in the series for over two years now.

Last year at E3, Microsoft made a concerted effort to show gamers that they had a renewed interest in first-party development with a large lineup of new exclusive content including Scalebound, Crackdown, Quantum Break and Phantom Dust.  Here we are a year later and Microsoft's supposed renewed interest in first-party development has seemingly gone up in smoke.  Scalebound, Crackdown and Quantum Break will not be at this year's E3 and Phantom Dust is stuck in development limbo as Microsoft dropped the game's developer in February and has yet to find a replacement.  Unless Microsoft has a slew of unannounced projects ready to drop on us at their press conference, they are stuck with a major problem that could plague them this entire generation.

Third-party support and exclusive DLC can only take a system so far.  There NEEDS to be a consistent lineup of exclusives or the Xbox One won't have the staying power needed to compete with the more robust lineups of the Wii U and PS4.

Will the new contenders in press conference circuit sink or swim?
There use to be a time when E3 played host to a plethora of press conferences from Konami to Disney Interactive.  Sadly as time went on, some publishers stopped running press conferences due to ever-increasing costs or their own corporate restructuring.  As a result, five publishers were left as the flag bearers for every show: Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft, Sony and Nintendo.  This time around two new challengers in Bethesda and Square Enix are entering the E3 press conference circuit to try their luck at hanging with the big publishers in the industry.

There has been a lot of speculation surrounding these new conferences because neither company would invest the insane amount of money and effort into a conference if they didn't have a stellar lineup of titles to show.  Bethesda has already announced that Fallout 4 and Doom 4 will be at their presser.  On the other end, Square Enix has confirmed Deus Ex: Mankind Divided's first gameplay footage for their conference along with Final Fantasy XV's absence from the show altogether.  Could this mean we'll get some surprises like the rumoured Dishonored 2 or an official release date for Kingdom Hearts 3?  Those questions may soon be answered as Bethesda kicks off the proceedings late Sunday, June 14th and Square Enix stands as the final press conference before the show floor opens Tuesday, June 16th.

How will Virtual Reality (VR) headsets factor into E3?
With Oculus VR at the helm, virtual reality (VR) headsets have taken the industry by storm.  Game publishers and developers are eagerly jumping into the VR headset race with their own VR headset or games made for the devices.

Is VR the future of video games as we know it?  Maybe in the distant future, but it's hard to say at this point in time.  At this very moment, there are two key issues that can completely halt VR's forward momentum: price and input.  Funny enough, price is the one topic no one wants to talk about and input devices like Oculus Touch have only been demoed through video or behind closed doors.

Since E3 will be the final trade show before VR headsets land on store shelves starting this Fall, it will be the most important show for VR as a whole.  E3 is the final push for these VR manufacturers and developers to convince gamers to shell their hard-earned cash on their products.  There is also a possibility that VR headsets could be a centerpiece at the Sony and Microsoft press conferences considering Sony is developing their own headset called Project Morpheus and Microsoft's newly announced partnership with Oculus.

It will be interesting to see how much of a factor VR will play into E3 as a whole.  VR could either end up being the new input device for games going forward or go the way of 3D and motion gaming.

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Bit by Bit: May 2015

May was an exciting month for everything except games.  My Avengers review made the Arts cover for Imprint's May issue.  My Tomorrowland review hit the Imprint website last week.  I witnessed two great wrestling shows live.  And I did quite a bit of catching up with friends.

Not to say that I didn't play any games this past month.  From starting new purchases to diving into the backlog, I just did a lot of jumping between titles.  Now that both Splatoon and Witcher III have been released, I am not bouncing around as much.  Despite my current gaming stability, I don't have enough to say on one thing this month to do Game/Show/Movie of the Month justice.

I promise everything will be back to normal for June's edition of Bit by Bit.  As I will get to in a moment, June is going to be a very busy month for Silver Bit.

Most Anticipated Event of the Month
You may be wondering: why is June such a busy month for Silver Bit?  Well my uneducated hypothetical audience, June plays host to E3, the biggest video game convention of the year, and I am covering the show from start to finish for the fourth time now.

Coverage of E3 2015 will begin this Sunday with the return of The Big Questions article.  The show ramps up on Monday as coverage of the press conferences begin.  My impressions on Bethesda, Microsoft, EA and Ubisoft will be posted throughout Monday, followed by Sony, Nintendo and Square Enix on Tuesday.  Silver Bit's E3 coverage doesn't end once the show floor closes on June 18th.  The coverage will continue for the rest of June with a special edition of Bit by Bit to wrap up the show and the annual Top Games of E3 article(s).

While E3 may be one of the most exhausting weeks of my year, it is one of the most fulfilling.  I love sharing my opinions and insights on E3 with you guys and gals all week long.  Also it's tons of fun to gather a bunch of my friends together to watch the festivities with me.

Video of the Month
Microsoft is well-known for making a plethora of reliable products including the Xbox 360, Windows Vista and Zune.  So it's a no-brainer that they'd bring their patented reliability to the self-driving car market with a car powered by their excellent bing search engine.  Check out this promotional video by the great folks at Rooster Teeth to see the bing self-driving car in all its glory.  It just needs Internet Explorer and SmartGlass support, and it would be the greatest car on the planet!

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Early Reveals Killed the E3 Surprise

We are less than two weeks away from E3 2015.  It is an exciting time as everyone from video game aficionados to casual fans speculate on what's in store for the show.  During these two weeks, rumours, predictions and even leaks spread across the web like wildfire due to increased levels of interest in E3.  To combat third-parties from leaking their lineups for E3, some game companies adopted the practice of revealing some of their titles in the weeks leading up to the show.  Some people love getting these reveals early because it keeps the games from getting lost in all the hustle and bustle of E3.  On the other hand, these early reveals kill the element of surprise that is a key part of the show's success.

Let's take a trip down memory lane.  What E3 moment made you fall in love with following the event from beginning to end each year?  It certainly wasn't for leaked/revealed games like Titanfall, Gears of War: Judgment, Beyond: Two Souls or Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.  It was surprises that made your jaw drop, got you to sit back in disbelief and possibly left your crying tears of joy.  Some moments that come to mind include Shigeru Miyamoto appearing onstage wielding both the Master Sword and Hylian Shield at the Twilight Princess reveal, the legendary Metal Gear Solid 4 trailers, the return of Kid Icarus and Sony's PS4 reveal.  Everyone has a moment that stands out in their mind, but they all have one thing in common: the element of surprise.

By revealing games early or making these secrets vulnerable to leaks, these companies are hurting the show that serves as a massive marketing push for their products.  Seriously, a product's showing at E3 can make or break it.  Case in point, look at the success of Watch Dogs and Destiny or even the continued struggles Microsoft faces with the lagging sales of the Xbox One.

Speaking of Watch Dogs, nobody knew anything about the game or even the fact that Ubisoft would unveil a brand new property at the end of their E3 2012 press conference.  The surprise of the game's reveal coupled with the scarcity of information about it started a frenzy surrounding Watch Dogs.  In the end, it lead to one of the biggest disappointments of 2014, but not before selling millions upon millions of copies.

Now look at Fallout 4.  Yes, the game's existence has been one of the worst kept secrets in gaming history, but that is beside the point.  Fallout 4 was all but confirmed before Bethesda dropped the trailer earlier this week.

Now, just imagine if Bethesda waited until their E3 press conference this coming July 14th, where hundreds of journalists and millions eyes around the world would be focused on this one event, to reveal the Fallout 4 trailer.  It's not hard to image the audience, both live and at home, would have lost it and Bethesda would have seen a dramatic spike in interest for the game.  By trying to get ahead of third-parties, Bethesda has missed out on a golden opportunity and took a great surprise away from the biggest event of the year for the video game industry.

As much as E3 is about impressing investors and marketing products to a worldwide audience, it is about the gamers.  We are the audience that tunes in every year hoping to be surprised, entertained and ultimately excited for the future of this industry.  Taking the surprises out of E3 only leaves people feeling disappointed.  My advice to game developers and publishers: resist the urge, keep your secrets close to your chest and make E3 2015 an event we will never forget.