Bit by Bit: February 2015

February usually marks the beginning of the first quarter game rush.  Despite not being as jam-packed with titles as past years, this February has been a good month for games.  Nintendo launched the New Nintendo 3DS XL in North America with two highly anticipated portable games, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, and some big AAA titles like Evolve and The Order: 1886 dropped.  It's easy to say February was quite an eventful month.  As midterms and major projects will soon be a constant part of life, best to utilize the little free time I have to deliver another exciting edition of Bit by Bit.

Game of the Month
As much as I love the core Pokemon RPGs, I can honestly say Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire didn't excite me that much before their release.  Nintendo and GameFreak have been releasing Pokemon RPGs every year since Pokemon Platinum released for DS in 2009 and I was starting to get sick of the yearly releases.  Although I planned on buying one of the remakes no matter what (sorry, I'm a sucker for Pokemon), I seriously thought Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire were going to be as disappointing as Black and White 2.  Much like past entries, differences between the two versions are relegated to minor story alterations and Pokemon exclusive to one version over the other.  While I only played Omega Ruby, my opinions on the game can be applied to Alpha Sapphire as well.

It may have taken a few hours of play, but oh was I ever so wrong about these games.  Applying the 3D graphics of Pokemon X and Y to the third gen Pokemon games may be the most noticeable addition to these remakes, but it isn't the biggest.  First, story has become a bigger part of recent Pokemon games and Omega Ruby makes huge advances in this area.  The story is far more engaging than any Pokemon game before it especially the Delta Episode.  Unlocked after beating the Elite Four, the Delta Episode links capturing Rayquaza into a Hoenn-wide adventure that has major implications on the series as a whole.  Instead of skipping through story moments, I felt compelled to read through all the lines of dialogue for once.  The other big additions change the means of exploring the world and capturing Pokemon.  The DexNav app of the PokeNav makes finding and capturing Pokemon in each route a lot more approachable as it tells what Pokemon are in the immediate vicinity and helps in finding rarer Pokemon.  Also the Soar ability adds a new dimension to exploring as you get to see Hoenn from the skies.  Soaring makes the act of flying far more engaging than the fast-travel of regular flying and allows trainers to go off the beaten path to find Mirage Spots, special locations that offer the chance to catch rare and legendary Pokemon.  After experiencing the wonders of soaring, I hope that it replaces Fly as the prime form for aerial travel in future Pokemon games.

Despite my early skepticism, Pokemon Omega Ruby turned out to be a great game that I gladly sunk my precious time into.  Although I thoroughly enjoyed the game, enough to pick it for Game of the Month over The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, I still feel I am at my wits end with these yearly releases.  I love Pokemon, but Nintendo and GameFreak please give us a year off!

Most Anticipated Game of the Month
It seems Intelligent Systems is dominating my Most Anticipated Game of the Month section this year.  Last month, I gushed over the announcement of a new Fire Emblem for the 3DS.  This month, I am eagerly anticipating Intelligent Systems' new intellectual property, Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.  First announced at last year's E3, Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. along with Splatoon represent the first new properties for the Big N since the early years of the Wii.  Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.'s interesting look and the pedigree of Intelligent Systems sold me on the game initially then the demo came out and everything changed for the better.

Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. is one of those games that you can't capture the quality in screenshots or trailers—you need to get your hands on it.  The demo takes players through the first few missions of the game, which slowly teach you the core mechanics of the game.  Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. takes aspects from both Valkyria Chronicles and the newest X-Com and blend them into an extremely engaging turn-based strategy game with turns that play like a third-person shooter.

After getting hands-on with Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., I have a feeling this will be one of those great titles that gets lost in the shuffle because its a new IP and doesn't have much marketing from Nintendo.  I highly recommend 3DS owners download the demo and give Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. a chance.  It is well worth it

Video of the Month
There are times when a trailer comes around that just sells you on a game.  It may only be a few minutes long, but everything contained in that video just leaves you in awe and wonder.  That happened this past month with the newest trailer for Persona 5.

In all honesty, I am still fairly new to the Shin Megami Tensei franchise as I have only played the fourth entry in the main series.  Despite my current unfamiliarity with the franchise, the trailer caught my full attention with its stylish UI, jazz soundtrack and unique gameplay mechanics.  Seriously, traversing through the world like an action-platformer or sneaking up on enemies using cover in a JRPG is freaking awesome!

Thanks to this trailer I want to dive headfirst into the world of Persona.  Be it Persona 3, 4, Q or Arena, I am really excited to get into this series when I have the time.  Also I will definitely be there day one to buy the newest entry when it releases later this year.

Year in Review 2013: Game of the Year

It has taken a long time to get to this point, but we are finally at the very end of Silver Bit's Year in Review 2013.  To end off this month long journey is the most prestigious award of any year, the Game of the Year.  There were many Game of the Year caliber games that released in 2013.  Tomb Raider, Rayman Legends, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds and Super Mario 3D World were all in top contention for this writer's pick for Game of the Year, but they were all beat out by one game.  Released very early in 2013, this game could not be dethroned as the best video game experience of 2013 in my humble opinion.  I easily dumped well over one hundred hours into this game and could easily dump hundreds more.  This game is Fire Emblem Awakening.

What have I not already said about Fire Emblem Awakening?  While Awakening might not be the 3DS's killer app (that title easily belongs to Pokemon X and Y), it is the greatest game released for the handheld to date.  Fire Emblem Awakening easily combines the past, present and future of the series in one game.  There are tons of nods to older entries in the series even allowing you to battle and recruit characters from past Fire Emblem games.  Awakening takes on the present with key refinements to the core Fire Emblem mechanics to create some of the most superb tactical gameplay found in any game.  The future of the series comes in the drastic improvement of the support system from boosting stats in battle to even marrying other characters (along with the results of the marriage) and the game's incredible StreetPass and SpotPass functionality.  On top of all the great mechanics, there are hundreds of hours of content packed on Awakening's 3DS cartridge from sidequests to extra skirmishes and even more to download from SpotPass or the Nintendo eShop.  Although all the Fire Emblem games are all excellent games in their own right, Fire Emblem Awakening is hands down the greatest game in Nintendo and Intelligent System's storied strategy series and the 2013 Game of the Year.

Launch Station: Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

Gaming's favourite plumbers have explored many genres from goomba smashing platformers to fist pumping sports.  While Mario and Luigi have put on many caps, one genre has blended with the antics of the Mario Bros. better than the platformers they originated from.  This particular genre has been the RPG genre.  Quite a few developers such as Square and Intelligent Systems have successfully brought Mario and company to the realms of role-playing greatness.  While these Mario RPGs have found homes on Nintendo's consoles, there has been one that has dominated on Nintendo's handhelds- AlphaDream's Mario & Luigi series.  AlphaDream has taken the Mario Bros. through the BeanBean Kingdom, the past and Bowser's innards, which shows that there are no limits for where they can take Mario and Luigi next.

For the Mario & Luigi series' first foray on the 3DS, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, the Mario Bros. are going to a realm they have never travelled to before- Luigi's dreams.  After their latest adventure, Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Toadsworth decide to take a vacation on Pi'illo Island.  What originally starts out as a relaxing vacation turns into another princess-saving adventure as Mario and Luigi must save Princess Peach and the habitants of Pi'illo Island from the devious bat-king Antasma.  Only exploring the exotic locales of Pi'illo Island will not lead Mario and Luigi to their goal.  In order to save the habitants of Pi'illo Island from their stone pillow prisons, Mario must enter Luigi's dreams.  On Pi'illo Island, Dream Team plays like every other entry in the Mario & Luigi series from the turn-based battles to team-based puzzles.  In the Dream World, Dream Team turns into a 2D side-scroller in vein of the Super Mario Bros. series.  Considering Mario is in Luigi's dreams, the player is able to interact with the sleeping Luigi on the bottom screen of the 3DS to manipulate the environment or create a great number of Luigis to demolish enemies and barriers.  Luigi also helps Mario when fighting enemies in the Dream World by allowing to hit multiple enemies with successful attacks and through special Luiginary Attacks such as using a humongous ball of Luigis to crush your foes.

The Mario & Luigi series has been a fan-favourite due to its quirky humour, charming visuals, engaging combat and interesting gimmicks.  Dream Team seems to have all that in spades along with a lot of new gameplay options for gamers to sink their teeth in to.  All the interesting ways to manipulate the Dream World both inside and outside of combat looks to be an excellent hook for this new Mario & Luigi adventure.  All-in-all, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team looks to be another great entry in AlphaDream's Mario & Luigi series and yet another great RPG to get for the 3DS this summer.

Bit by Bit: February 10-16

It has been an exciting two months.  Things have been falling into place in my life and for this blog.  This Sunday is WWE's Elimination Chamber PPV, the final PPV before WrestleMania, and that marks the return of my Road to WrestleMania series on my wrestling blog, The Silverdome.  I would love to have a weekly post on both blogs, but with all my school work I cannot get around to writing two blog posts a week.  For the time being, I will be taking a little hiatus from Silver Bit.  I will most likely try to put up previews for Tomb Raider and Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, two games I am personally excited for, next month.  Things will return to normal once WrestleMania has past.  Now without any further ado, let us get down to business.

Game of the Week

Game of the Week, Game of the Month and a possible frontrunner for Game of the Year.  I am talking about Fire Emblem Awakening for the 3DS.  It has been a while since a game has blown we away like Awakening has done.  Intelligent Systems has improved their already masterful strategy series to astronomical heights.  The excellent pair up system, a support system that adds much more than bonus conversations and a seemingly endless supply of missions to play, teams to fight through SpotPass and StreetPass and bonus challenges and maps to complete.  I have played Fire Emblem Awakening for close to 30 hours and I am only halfway through the main story of Awakening.  On top of all that, Nintendo is releasing new DLC missions every week for gamers to buy that adds much more value to this incredible game.  The more I play Fire Emblem Awakening, the more I love it.  It is a masterful game and possibly the best game on the 3DS and the best game in the Fire Emblem series.

Most Anticipated Games of the Week

I have two Most Anticipated Games this week.  Both games have out for a while, but this week they will be going on sale.  They are F-Zero for the Wii U Virtual Console and Crashmo for 3DS.  The former will be on sale for only 30 cents, while the latter will be on sale for 6 dollars.  It is a no brainer for someone who has been wanting to buy these game for a while now.  I highly recommend also checking out these deals if you own either a 3DS or Wii U.

Video of the Week

The Nintendo dominance continues here in this week's Bit by Bit.  This past Thursday, Nintendo gave us the best Valentine's Day present we could of ever asked, a brand new Nintendo Direct.  This Nintendo Direct focused on the 3DS games that will be released later this year and it was amazing.  Announcing Mario Golf World Tour, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D was the most newsworthy announcement from the show, but we also got a plethora of information on new eShop games for both 3DS and Wii U and some smaller Wii U announcements.  If Nintendo keeps releasing these Nintendo Directs at a regular pace, it could be an excellent year for us Nintendo fans.

Launch Station: Fire Emblem Awakening

It has been a long long time since we have had a Launch Station.  Seeing this is the first Launch Station of 2013, we start the year out right.  The first big release in February goes to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems with Fire Emblem Awakening.  Well known for the Paper Mario and Advance Wars series here in North America, Intelligent Systems' premier strategy RPG franchise, Fire Emblem, did not reach our shores until late 2003.  Ever since then, it has been a struggle to get Nintendo to localize each game in the series.  The first Fire Emblem game developed from the ground up for the 3DS almost did not see the light of day on this side of the pond.  It is a good thing that Fire Emblem Awakening will soon release in North America as it looks to be the biggest and most polished entry in the series.

At the forefront of every Fire Emblem is the story and Awakening is no exception.  You take control of Chrom, the prince of Ylisse, and his band of soldiers known as Shepherds in a world on the brink of war.  The forces of Plegia, commanded by the Mad King Gangrel, start attacking the borders of Ylisse and it is up to Chrom and the Shepherds to defend their homeland of invading forces.  Everything is not what it seems to be as unholy creatures known only as Risen start appearing out of nowhere.  Along with this new threat comes a masked swordsman who claims to be the legendary hero Marth.  This swordsman's message, that the world is not on the brink of war, but its own destruction.  While the story does take centre stage in Fire Emblem Awakening, you cannot count out the series' iconic turned-based gameplay.  If you played any Fire Emblem game, you will be very familiar with the grid-based moving and rock-paper-scissors combat system.  It may seem very simplistic at first, but the gameplay offers a whole lot of depth that few games can match especially with the new concepts Intelligent Systems has added in Awakening.  A lot of effort has been made in improving Fire Emblem's relationship and support systems.  On the battlefield, pairing up characters or even placing two characters side by side offer stat boosts in combat.  The more you pair characters together, the stronger their relationship gets.  Aside from the increase of stat boosts, some characters may even get married and have children due to these strong relationships.  Other big additions come on the side of online functionality.  At any point in the game, you are able to connect to the Nintendo Network to download items, maps, challenges and even teams to fight.  Also you are able to purchase new map packs that has its own stories and features characters from past Fire Emblem games such as Roy, Lyn and Ike that you are able to recruit to your party.  That is not all Fire Emblem Awakening's online has to offer as you are able to exchange avatars in StreetPass and fight others in local multiplayer.  Fire Emblem Awakening offers plenty of value outside of the epic and long story missions.

As a huge Fire Emblem fan, I have been looking forward to getting my hands on Fire Emblem Awakening since the game was first announced back in 2011.  Thanks to a little blunder by EB Games Canada, I got Fire Emblem Awakening a week early.  So far I have put close to eleven hours into the game and I am only on the seventh chapter.  It is an incredible game that is very to put down.  If you are looking for a game to play on your the 3DS, look no farther than Fire Emblem Awakening.  It is a deep strategy RPG that will keep you occupied from hours on end and a portable experience that is not to be missed.