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.

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.

The Game Awards 2014 Impressions

No fancy intro.  No intricate back story about the failures of the Video Game Awards.  I am getting straight to the point because I cannot think any other way to say it.  Although the Game Awards were a great improvement over the VGAs, I still found them disappointing and boring.  I understand a lot of good people put a ton of time and effort into making this show a celebration of games, but the show as a whole did more to make me question the point of it outside of the game reveals.  I spent three hours of my life starring at a computer screen to see about an hour of watchable content and I personally find that unacceptable.

Before diving right into all the flaws with the Game Awards, I will admit there were some good to great moments in this show.  There were a good amount of reveals with Metal Gear Online, Adr1ft, Human Element and the new Legend of Zelda being the standouts in my opinion.  Speaking of the new Zelda, that gameplay footage, albeit being short in length, made me feel all giddy inside.  Just the sheer size of Hyrule made my jaw drop.  While I found them unneeded, most of the musical performances were done well especially the collaboration between Imagine Dragons and Koji Kondo.  Geoff Keighley's friend Greg from Scotland stole the show with his performance of classic game tunes from Mario, Sonic, Street Fighter and Tetris using lasers to produce the music.  After a performance that spectacular, Greg definitely deserves a job in the video game industry.  It is up to the developer and publishers now, give the guy a chance.

One of my main complaints with the VGAs was their complete lack of respect and effort put into the awards aspect of the awards show.  The Game Awards fixed some of that by putting together credible award categories, having most of the awards selected by of panel of industry veterans and highlighting more awards on the show than ever before.  While I do have some complaints about the handling of awards outside of the main stage (more on this in a bit), the Game Awards did a job leaps and bounds better than any of the VGAs.  Also the awards look much better than the stupid monkey statues they use to give out.

For everything good about the Game Awards, there were two or three things wrong with the show.  For a three hour show, it had no sense of pacing.  Some segments like Conan O'Brien's videos on the nominees for Game of the Year and Lindsay Stirling's performance of Dragon Age: Inquistion's theme song felt rushed, while others such as Keighley's asides with others in the crowd went on for far too long.  Speaking of Keighley's asides, these moments made two key problems with the show evident: the lack of rehearsals and poor representation of awards not shown on the main stage

It is understandable that a level of improvisation makes the show feel organic, but every conversation, speech and introduction came off as awkward and highly unprofessional.  The fact that you forget a member of the Hearthstone team was in the audience to accept their award for Mobile/Handheld Game of the Year, overheard a musical performance tuning their instruments on the main speakers or had a Sony representative call out the existence of a teleprompter is just unacceptable.  These unfortunate instances make the video game industry as a whole look like a laughing stock to casual viewers and people from other mediums.  These mistakes would have been ironed out with a few rehearsals before the show.

Building off of the lack of rehearsals, the awards given out off of the main stage were handled poorly.  Nobody is going to take these awards seriously if Keighley and company are just going to hand them out with little to no context.  Time may be a constraint, but have a pre-show or cut unnecessary segments in order to make these awards feel credible rather than awkwardly pulling people out of the audience to hand them their awards.  These parts just reinforced how unprofessional the show was.

Apart from the Game Awards itself, my brother and I found it next to impossible to view the show on our Xbox 360 and PS3.  We tried everything from looking on the dashboards to searching on the Youtube and IGN apps to no avail.  When we went to search for instructions on how to watch on our game consoles, all we found were press releases boasting the show was available on all platforms without any instructions on where exactly to watch it.  It is one thing to boast about the show's availability, but to not provide a means of helping people gain access to it added more frustration to this entire ordeal.

While the Game Awards is a disappointing and boring show, it is a small step in the right direction.  Sadly, this step has created a plethora of new problems that Keighley and company will have to overcome before the show can gain widespread credibility.  After this year's show, I believe efforts should be made on creating an awards show that competes with the DICE Awards and the BAFTA Game Awards rather than the Grammys and Oscars.  Despite the Game Awards having a few moments that are worth watching, I cannot recommend spending three hours viewing the Game Awards in its entirety.

Bit by Bit: Fall 2014

It took two months, but I have finally emerged from my hibernation called university to bring you all your gaming goodness.  The last two months have been a never-ending onslaught of tests and assignments.  I am so glad that it is over and can dedicate some time to writing.  More than previous terms, I have really missed writing for Silver Bit.  A lot of cool and crazy things have happened these last two months in the world of video games that I have been itching to write about.  Expect to see plenty of articles being posted on Silver Bit this month.  Before we can jump to all the fun we are going to have this December, it is time to for another round of Bit by Bit.  Enjoy.

Game of the Fall

While people were banking hundreds of hours into Destiny, scouring the ravaged lands of Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor or losing their sanity with The Evil Within, I had my face planted into my 3DS or Wii U during short breaks from school and work.  With a shorter time to play, I have kept to playing games in half-hour or hour chucks depending on the day.  In that time, I alternated between playing Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Bayonetta for Wii U.  Out of these two games, I have to give my Game of the Fall to Bayonetta.

Although I bought Bayonetta for PS3 back in 2011, I only played it one time in my three years owning the game.  I always wanted to play more of Bayonetta, but never got around to it.  In a spark of genius, the original Bayonetta comes packaged with Bayonetta 2.  This Wii U version of the game gave me the perfect opportunity to finally beat it.  Bayonetta was a wondrous yet surreal experience.  Like all games made by Platinum Games, Bayonetta is balls-to-the-wall insane in both story and gameplay, but I would never have it any other way.  Bayonetta had me rolling on the floor laughing more than any game has in years, thanks to its over-the-top set pieces and moments.  Aside from all the craziness of Bayonetta, it is overly sexual to the point of being uncomfortable at times.  While I comprehend it as Platinum's unique way of parodying exploitation films, these sexual tones may turn some people off and its understandable.  Another thing that may divide people's opinions on Bayonetta is its difficulty.  Even on normal, the game will put you through the ringer.  While I can see it frustrating many, I found it incredibly rewarding to master a level or sequence after dying multiple times.  

I could go on about Bayonetta for pages, but I don't have the space.  Overall, Bayonetta is an incredible action game that deserves your attention if only to watch some of the absolutely insane moments in the game.  You get to start a motorcycle with your middle finger and punt a god into the sun.  'Nuff said.

Video of the Fall

Sticking on the Wii U bandwagon (it's like I haven't got off of it all year), there was only one video that rocked my heart and soul.  It was Nintendo's 50-Fact Extravaganza for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.  While it did take away the element of surprise by revealing every detail about the game, this video made me so excited for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U that couldn't handle the anticipation.  If you have the time, take 35 minutes to watch this video to see everything that will make Super Smash Bros. for Wii U one of the greatest games of 2014.  Immediately following the video, proceed to run to the nearest game store and buy a Wii U and copy of the game.  Spoiler alert: it's that damn good.

First Byte: Destiny

Unless you were living under a rock sometime during the end of July, a beta for a little game called Destiny was released to the masses.  While Bungie did give a small taste of Destiny through the PS4 exclusive alpha back in June, the beta marked the first time gamers got a substantial piece of the game to play.  Available from July 17th to 27th on Sony consoles (PS3 and PS4) and July 23rd to 27th on Microsoft consoles (Xbox 360 and Xbox One), the Destiny beta gave players five story missions and one strike co-op mission to complete, the Old Russia wastelands and Guardian Tower to explore and the Control PvP match-type to compete in along with some addition content such as a new story mission and PvP match-type only opened for brief periods throughout the beta.  With the financial backing of publishing powerhouse Activision and the unstained reputation of developer Bungie, Destiny has easily become the most anticipated game of 2014 well before people ever got their hands on the game.  This beta marked a chance for millions of gamers the world over to try this major title without dropping 70 dollars to buy it or spending hundreds to play it at a gaming convention.  The Destiny beta was an unprecedented event, but that leaves one question: did it succeed in convincing those skeptical to buy the game and reinforcing the beliefs of those already excited for the game?  Although the true answer to that question will only be revealed on September 9th when Destiny is released to the public, I will be sharing my initial opinions on Destiny and recap my experience with the beta in this edition of First Byte.

Before launching right into the game, the Destiny beta starts off in a character creation screen.  In this screen, players choose their class (titan, warlock or hunter), sex (male or female), race (Human, Exo or Awoken) and other physical features.  As I am not the most adverse at character creators, I only spent a few minutes creating my unique Exo warlock.  Those interested in tweaking every little feature of their character to perfection might be disappointed in Destiny's focus on using preset features and colours for character creation; however it does keep players from spending an unnecessary amount of time in these menus and moves them into the action right away.

After finishing the character creation, the first cutscene plays setting up the conflict between the Traveler and the Darkness and the players' need to bear arms against the threat of the Darkness.  The first mission starts as my character is resurrected by a Ghost (your character's robot companion played by Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage) and it plays out much like your standard fare tutorial introducing the core mechanics of the game.  Considering you gain one level every mission in the early stages of Destiny, the four other introductory missions are very similar as each one introduces a new element of the game such as special moves, vehicles, public events and new enemy races.  Once you complete the first mission, you are given access to the Tower, Destiny's social and non-combat hub.  While at the Tower, players are able to view messages, buy new weapons, armour and ship upgrades, decode encrypted items, store items in vaults, take on single and multiplayer bounties and interact with fellow guardians.  Exploring the Tower offers players a peaceful distraction outside the intense firefights of missions and multiplayer matches.  The Tower is not the only place guardians are able to roam as players can explore each major setting of the game at their leisure.  In these "explore" areas are loot caches to find, enemies to fight, secret areas to discover and side missions that come in the form of beacons to complete.  Considering I did not get a chance to play the multiplayer portion of the beta, Destiny's open world areas are where I spent most of my time and I spent most of my time exploring Destiny's open world areas and they were a fun way to kill some time.

Although I am not a huge fan of first-person shooters, Destiny got its hooks in me.  Even with the limited selection of missions and activities to do, I kept on coming back every chance I had and I believe it had to do with Destiny's excellent hybridization of expertly polished FPS gameplay with the empowering abilities and skills found in many RPGs.  The gun play is very reminiscent of Bungie's entries into the Halo series as each gun has its own strengths and weaknesses in effectively dealing with different situations from long distance shootouts to up close and personal brawls.  The RPG elements are excellently implemented as players gain levels independent of learning new skills such as hovering, draining health when using your melee or supercharged special moves.  Gaining levels never feels like a grind because there are plenty of opportunities to earn experience through missions, explore mode, multiplayer matches and public events.  Another impressive element of Destiny comes from the enemy AI.  It floors me how well the enemies react to your tactics by moving from cover to cover, flanking when you are busy fighting another enemy or swarming when you make a mistake.  Destiny's enemies are unlike the regular FPS grunts as they offer a considerable yet satisfying challenge for players of any skill level.

While I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Destiny, there are still a few issues I ran into during the beta.  The most prevalent issues came with the side missions and public events in explore mode as I ran into far too many missions and events with the exact same objectives.  The randomized nature of these activities is definitely a factor in this repetition, but Bungie should make a large enough pool of side missions and public events in order to avoid repetition of missions and events altogether.  The other issues I found were more graphical glitches like a enemy teleporting through objects, errant collision boxes the level designers forgot to remove or stuttering during loading screens, which are not that serious.  Hopefully, the beta helped the programmers and designers at Bungie find all the bugs and balancing issues needed to make Destiny a better game come launch.

Skepticism best describes my opinion of Destiny before taking part in the beta.  Due to the incredible marketing might Activistion is putting behind it, there is no doubt that Destiny will be a success upon its release, but would it actually be live up to the hype is whole other question.  The excellent quality of the Destiny beta has completely changed my opinion on the game.  In a year with a significant lack of triple A titles, Destiny will shine brighter than any game on the market this holiday season, possibly challenging Call of Duty in sales.  We will only know come September 9th if Destiny is the revolution in console MMOs that it is being hyped to be, but I do believe we are on the cusp of something special regardless.

Top 10 Games of E3 2014 Part 2

Welcome to the second part of Silver Bit's Top 10 Games of E3 2014.  In the previous article, we took a look at the games that just barely made this final five.  E3 2014 saw some great games grace the show floor, but only a handful can walk away as the most impressive games of the show.  While all the games on this list are among the best of E3, the games in this top five could easily walk away with top honours depending on one's opinion.  To reiterate,  the only games eligible for this list are those available to play on the show floor.  Now with that reminder out of the way, it is time to count down the final five games in Silver Bit's Top 10 Games of E3 2014.  Hope you enjoy and feel free to share your favourite games of E3 2014 in the comments.

5.  Sunset Overdrive - XBONE
There are only a select few Xbox One exclusives that really get one hopeful for first-party content on the machine and Insomniac Games' Sunset Overdrive is champion over them all.  All of Microsoft's offerings nowadays seem to fall under the same experiences they delivered last generation, but Sunset Overdrive is the shining example of what happens when you give a team of creative minds full control over their vision.  Sunset Overdrive is pure unadulterated fun wrapped into an open-world third-person action game.  Stuck in Sunset City during the Awesompocolypse, the player is tasked with cleaning up the mess made by the launch of FizzCo's Overcharge Delirium XT, an energy drink that turns anyone who drinks into mindless mutated creatures known as the OD'd.  Sunset Overdrive gives players tons of options to tackle their task through fully customizable characters, a slew of creatively designed weapons and plenty of solo and multiplayer missions to complete throughout Sunset City.  Traversing Sunset City is incredibly fluid as players are able to wall run, grind rails and wires, instantly switch between grinding and zip-lining, bounce off of any surface and use other crazy acrobatics.  Although Microsoft will not push Sunset Overdrive as heavily as Halo or Forza, it is a game that Xbox One owners should not overlook this holiday season.

4.  Valiant Hearts: The Great War - PS3, PS4, XBONE, XB360, PC
The UbiArt engine has proven time and time again that the most beautiful games do not need to have the largest polygon count.  In fact, the art in 2D games can be just as beautiful or even more than their 3D counterparts; just look at Rayman Legends and Child of Light for proof.  Valiant Hearts: The Great War is the next title to use the UbiArt engine and the game looks spectacular in terms of its visuals and gameplay.  Valiant Hearts follows the story of four individuals as they try to survive the horrors of World War I.  Starting in different locations and allegiances, the stories of each character interconnect with one another through a common companion--a dog named Walt.  Throughout the game, the characters are thrust into various situations from sneaking behind enemy lines to blowing up bridges.  Valiant Hearts offers players plenty of puzzles to complete through interacting with the environment and other characters or sending Walt to reach areas the characters cannot normally reach.  The interplay between using the characters and Walt to solve puzzles and the mature tones of the story have me very excited to venture into the world of Valiant Hearts in the near future.

3.  Batman: Arkham Knight - PS4, XBONE, PC
In recent years, The Dark Knight has become an incredible force within the video game industry thanks to the folks at Rocksteady.  One can argue that the Batman: Arkham games are single-handedly the greatest licensed games to grace the market.  As the final entry in this acclaimed series, Rocksteady looks to pull no punches with Arkham Knight as Batman and his world are being supercharged with new abilities and content.  The moment from the E3 demo where Batman steps out onto the balcony of his hideout and peers out onto Rockstady's Gotham City will make anybody's jaw drop.  The expansiveness of this open world is breathtaking and I can see myself drowning hundreds of hours exploring every nook and cranny of Gotham City.  With how vast Gotham City will be in Arkham Knight, Batman needs another way to traverse the city than just his trusty grappling hook and cape.  For this final installment, the Batmobile has been added to The Dark Knight's arsenal.  Aside from the vehicles primary purpose, Batman can summon the Batmobile at will, use it to immobilize enemies, have it clear obstacles and launch himself into the air.  The Batmobile is not the only addition as Batman's combat and stealth abilities are receiving considerable upgrades in speed and precision.  Although Batman: Arkham Knight will no longer be gracing consoles this year, the game looks to be on the road to surpassing its predecessors' legendary quality.

2.  Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS - Wii U, 3DS
Arguably the most anticipated game of 2014, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS had one of the best showings of the show.  Nintendo went out of their way to make Super Smash Bros. the most important game of the show.  They gave fans three character reveals in Mii Fighters, Palutena and Pac Man, an incredible live tourney held in the Nokia Theatre and multiple kiosks to play on the show floor.  Seeing the two versions in motion is a thing of beauty.  The Wii U version flows at an incredible clip and all the new characters, stages and items look to fit in with the polished gameplay.  While the 3DS version may take some time to get use to the controllers as I have heard from many video impressions on the game, it looks just as polished and refined as its Wii U brethren.  Much like Far Cry 4 in part one, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS are both hard to sum up in words.  I highly recommend watching the Super Smash Bros. Invitational or one of the live demos from Nintendo Treehouse Live at E3 to see how great these games play.

1.  The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - PS4, XBONE, PC

As great as Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS may be, there is one game greater than it this year.  That game is The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.  Not much has been shown of Witcher 3 since its reveal back in early 2013, but CD Projekt RED let the floodgates loose at E3.  The Witcher 3 gives players a living, breathing open world to explore.  In fact, the map is 30 times larger than the previous Witcher games.  Plus the amount of freedom in The Witcher 3 is incredible as players can venture to any part of the map at any time and pick up and put down story and side quests whenever they choose.  On your way to a quest objective and feel like helping a traveler in distress along the way or starting up a whole other quest, you are free to do that without penalty.  The world is shaped around the player's choices in combat, regular conversation and pivotal story moments.  Every piece of media for The Witcher 3 from E3 has been nothing short of phenomenal from the blood-pumping pre-E3 trailer to the show floor demos.  While The Witcher 3 may not earn the same amount of money Elder Scrolls, Dragon Age or Mass Effect rake in, this game and its ambitious scope prove why anybody should spend close to 600 dollars on a next generation console.  The next generation of video gaming truly begins on February 24th, 2015 with the release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Top 10 Games of E3 2014 Part 1

Silver Bit's month long coverage of E3 2014 comes to an end with the annual Top Games of E3 list.  This year yours truly is going to switch things up as this list will be a Top 10 list instead of the Top 5 lists from previous years.  Due to the change, it will be hard to contain all these games in one article.  To solve the problem, I will be splitting the list into two parts with part one covering numbers 10 through 6 while part two covers numbers 5 through 1.  As I could not physically go to Los Angeles to experience E3 in person, efforts have been made to watch as much gameplay footage available online to narrow down the best games for this list.  Like in years past, the only games eligible for this list are those available to play on E3's show floor.  Without any further stipulations, let us count down the first five games in Silver Bit's Top 10 Games of E3 2014.

10.  Mario Maker - Wii U
If there is one Nintendo property that people have grown tired of over the years, it is Mario.  Mario releases may come at an accelerated rate these days, but you cannot blame Nintendo for sticking with what sells especially when they need it the most.  I will admit that Mario's 2D platformers have not added much to the formula since New Super Mario Bros. for the DS.  Mario's recent stagnation in two dimensions makes Mario Maker such a breath of fresh air.  Giving the player full freedom to create whatever 2D Mario level their heart desires in such an official form is a dream come true.  Mario Maker allows players to build levels using classic Mario assets such as blocks, warp pipes, goombas and koopas, two different styles of graphics (original NES graphics and the New Super Mario Bros. graphics) and the ability to instantly switch between editing and playing levels at any time.  Mario Maker is the next logical step in taking 2D Mario games to a whole new level.  There is an incredible amount of potential in placing the creation of new Mario levels in the hands of the players and this writer is excited to see what crazy contraptions come from it.

9.  Evolve - PS4, XBONE, PC
Coming from the minds that brought us classic cooperative shooter Left 4 Dead, Evolve looks to take competitive and cooperative shooters in a brand new direction.  Evolve is a four vs. one multiplayer shooter where the team of four has to work together to beat the one.  It might seem very unfair if the one was not a gigantic monster.  With this unique dynamic, matches involve much more than straight-up firefights.  Playing as the monster involves taking advantage of the moment-to-moment action to decide between striking the opposing team or avoiding combat in order to eat roaming creatures needed to evolve into more powerful stages.  On the other hand, the hunters need to work effectively as a team in order to track down and kill the monster before it becomes too much for the team to handle.  Matches in Evolve become hectic games of cat-and-mouse as both sides wrestle for control of territory and resources while contending with the unpredictable computer-controlled creatures that inhabit each map.  Since Turtle Rock Studios announced the game this past January, Evolve has been nothing but impressive especially with its showings at this year's E3.

8.  CounterSpy - PS3, PS4, PSV
Not much has been seen of Dynamighty's PlayStation exclusive outside the trailer found on PS4 demo kiosks across North America.  Considering CounterSpy is being published by Sony, one would have thought the gaming giant would make mention of it at their press conference.  In fact, the only footage available of CounterSpy at E3 is from the demo on the show floor.  It is a shame because of how great CounterSpy plays.  CounterSpy is a side-scrolling stealth game that has players sneaking through enemy bases in order to prevent nuclear war between the United States and Russia.  Trusted with a silenced pistol and stealth know-how, the player jumps between cover, shooting and taking out enemies on the fly.  In particular, the cover mechanics for the game are very interesting as the camera changes from a side view of the stage to slightly tilted view of the player and their sight from cover.  Overall, CounterSpy looks like a delightful downloadable that deserves a lot more attention than it is currently getting.  Watch some gameplay for it, CounterSpy might just surprise you.

7.  Mortal Kombat X - PS3, PS4, XBONE, XB360, PC
Mortal Kombat has seen its fair share of ups and downs over the years especially during the PS2, Xbox and Gamecube years.  With the success of Mortal Kombat 9, things have gotten back on track for the franchise.  Not to rest on their laurels, Ed Boon and NetherRealm Studios are making big changes to series while expanding on successful mechanics introduced in Mortal Kombat 9 and Injustice: Gods Among Us.  Mortal Kombat X's biggest departure comes in its roster and story as the game takes place 25 years after the events of the previous game.  Since 25 years have passed, the roster will consist of brand new characters such as Cassie Cage (daughter of Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade), Kotal Khan (a blood god) and D'Vorah (a human/insect hybrid) along with some returning favourites like Scorpion and Sub-Zero.  Although gameplay remains very similar to past Mortal Kombats with the return of fatalities, special moves and x-ray moves, there are some interesting additions in the form of fully interactable environments and combat variations.  Much like Injustice, combatants can use parts of the environment to launch themselves into the air, set traps for opponents or use as additional weapons.  Speaking of combat variations, each fighter has three different variations to choose from which changes their move sets, strengths, weaknesses and weapons.  With all the new additions and refinements to Mortal Kombat X, gamers all around should be excited to dive back into this fighting game franchise come 2015.

6.  Far Cry 4 - PS3, PS4, XBONE, XB360, PC
Far Cry 3 surprised everybody back in 2012 with its excellent gameplay and vibrant open world.  Two years later, Ubisoft is at it once again with Far Cry 4.  To sum up Far Cry 4's showing at E3 in one word, it would be jaw-dropping.  Instead of having an entire island at your disposal, you now have an entire country in Kyrat.  On foot, in car and through the air, Far Cry 4 gives the player an incredible amount of choice to explore Kyrat however they want.  Gameplay gives the player the same amount of freedom as you can play solo or with a friend, use items and animals found in the environment to your advantage and freely move between modes of travel at any time.  It is hard to describe everything that makes Far Cry 4 such a standout among the sea of shooters releasing this year.  It is best to watch some gameplay footage of Far Cry 4 and see the awesomeness for yourself.

Well, this marks the end of part one.  Hope you enjoyed the list up to this point and feel free to share your favourite games of E3 in the comments.  If you want to continue reading, click this link to see the conclusion to Silver Bit's Top 10 Games of E3 2014

E3 2014: Sony Press Conference Impressions

Heading into E3, Sony was in the best position amongst the three console manufacturers as the PS4 has sold over seven million units.  With the immense amount of pressure on Microsoft and Nintendo to deliver this year, E3 2014 was Sony's to lose.  Could Sony pull out another show stopping performance or would they rest on their laurels now that they are number one in the current console war?

To answer that question, Sony killed it again this year.  While last year's conference only came together in the last thirty minutes, Sony kept people excited and interested throughout their two hour presentation.  There was a good thirty minute chuck that almost killed the pace of the entire conference as Sony took time to talk about Free to Play titles, PlayStation Now, PlayStation Plus and the PS Vita.  Although it may have been a dry thirty minutes, it was necessary portion of the conference because it gave important information on the PlayStation Now Beta coming this summer, announced the PlayStation TV for 100 dollars or 139 dollars with a controller and the Lego Movie video game and gave a little life to the PS Vita with games like Tales of Heart R and Minecraft.  The portion of the conference that felt completely unnecessary was the presentation of the PlayStation exclusive show Powers and the Ratchet & Clank movie.  It may have lasted close to ten minutes, but it added nothing to the conference other than a lot of eye rolling.  Aside from that forty minute portion of the conference, Sony hit everything else out of the park.  There were tons of great gameplay demos for The Order 1886, Entwined, Far Cry 4, LittleBigPlanet 3, Mortal Kombat X and Batman: Arkham Knight.  Each demo made this writer and the company watching gasp, laugh, pump their fists and get excited.  These gameplay demos sold a lot of these games as must owns to yours truly.  Along with the great demos, Sony dropped a lot of surprises at the conference like a remastered version of Grim Fandango exclusive to PlayStation, From Software's Bloodborne, Dead Island 2, Magika 2, Giant Squid's Abzu and Devolver Digital games coming exclusively the PlayStation consoles.  Sony also made a big effort in pushing exclusive content and benefits for multiplatform games on their consoles such as the Destiny Alpha and Beta coming first to PS4 and exclusive missions or enemies in Batman and Diablo III respectively.  Sony ended the show in style too as they showed off the first trailer for Uncharted 4: A Thief's End.  After all the controversy surrounding The Last Guardian's false cancellation announcement, this writer thought Sony had to make an effort in showing the game is still alive and kicking.  Although The Last Guardian would have brought this conference to legendary levels, Uncharted 4 did its job in ending the Sony press conference with a bang.

After the end of every conference leading up to Sony's, this writer felt underwhelmed with the lack of legitimate surprises and games that truly captured my imagination.  Apart from the dull forty minute information dump, Sony's conference was a breath of fresh air.  Everything showcased at this conference are the reasons people play and get excited about video games.  Due to Sony's efforts on Monday, this writer is finally feeling much more optimistic about the next generation of video game consoles.  Last year Sony dropped the mic, this year they stole the show.

Grade:  A

Year in Review 2013: Games I Missed

Hundreds of games release in a year both physically and digitally.  It is impossible for one person to play every game that releases in a year.  You have to pick and choose which games to spend your valuable free time playing.  With this mindset, you will miss experiencing some great games.  As game releases slow after Christmas, it is an opportune time to pick and play those missed games.  While I did not get much or any time with the games on this list back in 2013, I hope get plenty of time with them in 2014.

Guacamelee!
Luchadors, wrestling moves and Metroidvania-style platforming.  Guacamelee is made for me.  Sadly, its early Sony exclusivity kept this writer from picking Guacamelee up until its eventual release on Steam.  Playing as an average Mexican farmer turned super powered luchador, the player is tasked with saving El Presidente's daughter from an evil skeleton.  Crazy story aside, Gucamelee looks to be a great extension of the classic Metroidvania formula.  Switching the classic weapon upgrades out for wrestling moves, adding a dimension-changing mechanic and focusing on melee combat are the ways that Guacamelee differentiates itself from other action-platformers in the Metroidvania vein.  I love this style of platformers and have put countless hours into many games in this sub-genre from Super Metroid to Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow.  Once I get the chance to install Gucamelee on my computer, I predict much of the same with this game.

Ni No Kuni:  Wrath of the White Witch
This joint venture from the minds of legendary animation house Studio Ghibli and esteemed video game developer Level-5 originally released for the Nintendo DS in Japan.  A decent number of gamers heard about this unique collaboration through the media, but nobody thought Ni No Kuni would make it to our shores.  Thanks to Namco Bandai, the PS3 remake, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, came to North America last January.  Just as unique as the collaboration between Studio Ghibli and Level-5 is Ni No Kuni's gameplay.  A mix between the combat of Namco's Tales series and the monster collection of Nintendo's Pokemon franchise, Ni No Kuni has the player switching between human characters such as Oliver and his party members and monster-like creatures known as Familiars during enemy encounters.  This unique battle system along with the excellent 2D and 3D animation and art provided by Studio Ghibli make Ni No Kuni stand out as a quality JRPG in a generation that has seen more lackluster entries in this genre than standouts.

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney:  Dual Destinies
My love for the Ace Attorney series has been well documented in the annals of Silver Bit.  Apart from Capcom's controversial decision to keep Dual Destinies as a digital-only release, the latest entry in the Ace Attorney series was easily among my most anticipated games of 2013.  Following the events of Apollo Justice, Phoenix Wright has returned to the courtroom to help the wrongly accused from awkward teenagers to killer whales from facing prosecution.  Even though Dual Destinies Mature rating, the game still looks to have all the comedic hijinks that fans have come to know and love.  Dual Destinies adds the Mood Matrix to Phoenix's arsenal, which replaces the psych locks and perceive system from previous installments.  The Mood Matrix allows Phoenix to gauge the emotions of a witness during cross-examinations in order to pick out contradictions.  While this writer is still holding out for a physical release of Dual Destinies, I will definitely pick up the newest Ace Attorney within the next year.

Puppeteer
Sony may have been hitting it out of the park on the hardware side of things in 2013, but their software has not gotten this writer as excited.  Sony's major releases consisted of unnecessary sequels such as God of War: Ascension and Gran Turismo 6 and over hyped new IPs such as The Last of Us.  The one game from Sony that got this writer excited was the one that got the least hype from the electronics giant--Puppeteer.  Puppeteer is an interesting platformer from Sony's Japan studio with a striking presentation as the entire game plays out as an actual puppet show.  Apart from the unique aesthetic, Puppeteer features a couple cool mechanics such as the ability for Kutaro, the player character, to switch heads for different abilities and Kutaro's pair of magical scissors which can be used to interact with the environment, fight enemies and traverse trails of string and paper.  From what I have seen and read about Puppeteer, I am excited to eventually spend some time with the PS3's most interesting exclusive of 2013.

The Seventh Generation: Essential Games

What makes a game essential?  Is it the cutting-edge graphics, the gigantic scope, the innovative gameplay or the masterful mechanics?  An essential game may include one or more of these aspects, but having these aspects does not automatically make a game essential.  In this writer's honest opinion, an essential game is not the highest rated or most popular game out on the market.  An essential game is one that NEEDS to be experienced by everyone who plays video games.

There were a ton of great games from this past generation.  To boil all those great games down to a list of nine essential games is an incredibly hard and daunting process.  This writer took a lot of time and care in putting together a list that encompassed the experiences that defined the seventh console generation from the largest blockbusters to the smallest experiments.  There may be some omissions such as BioShock, Grand Theft Auto IV or The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, but this writer has not played enough of these games to even form an opinion on them much less name them an essential game of this past generation.  Without further ado, let us dive into the final entry of The Seventh Generation, the essential games of the last console generation.

Portal
Originally bundled with Half-Life 2 and Team Fortress 2 in The Orange Box, it looked like Portal would be overshadowed by Valve's heavyweights.  Fortunately, Portal was never overshadowed.  The game's expertly crafted humour, perfectly developed villain and incredibly unique puzzle mechanics made Portal an instant classic.  Portal has the player take control of a test subject at the Aperture Science Enrichment Center.  Equipped with only the Portal Gun, the player is tasked with completing a gauntlet of test chambers which grow more difficult and dangerous as the player advances.  Throughout these chambers, the player is constantly berated by a computer AI known as GLaDOS.  While GLaDOS is the antagonist of Portal, she spouts the funniest and most memorable lines of the game.  Even though Portal can be beaten within a few hours, you grow to love the characters, the enemies, the dialogue, the Portal Gun, the level design and the puzzles.  If it was not for this little game stuck on The Orange Box, gamers would have never learned to think with portals.

Rock Band
At one point or another, everybody has wanted to be a rock star.  The dream of singing your heart out, shredding the strings on a guitar or smacking a set of drums in front of a sea of thousands is one that many imagine, but few actually live.  Many games have tried to emulate the thrill of being a rock star, but only a handful have succeeded in fulfilling this childhood dream.  Rock Band is among the pinnacle of these games.  Using the plastic instruments that come packaged with the game, one can emulate being in a band with friends and family or play the guitar, drums or sing solo.  With the focus on local multiplayer, Rock Band quickly became the most popular party game of this generation because of its excellent accessibility.  While sequels and future rhythm games made improvements on the original, nothing will ever beat the euphoric thrill of getting three to four people together to play in Rock Band.  Rock Band brought the rhythm genre to its greatest peak and no other rhythm game has been able to recreate the magic this game created.

Mass Effect
The Mass Effect trilogy as a whole encompasses the three greatest games of this past generation.  Perfectly blending the combat of a third-person action game with the complex systems of a RPG and single-handedly revolutionizing the art of storytelling in this medium as one's decisions followed them throughout each game in the series, the Mass Effect trilogy is an astonishing feat of artistry.  As great as all three Mass Effect games are, this writer can only choose one for this list--the original Mass Effect.  The sole reason this writer bought a Xbox 360, the original Mass Effect is unlike any game before it.  You are given the freedom to create whatever Shepard you desire.  Male or female, good or evil, tactically savvy or guns blazing, the player's Shepard is not just their avatar, it is an extension of themselves.  From the heart-racing thrill of threatening a journalist on the Citadel to the heart-wrenching indecision of choosing the fate of a crew mate, an entire fleet of soldiers or a small group of Council delegates, Mass Effect is never afraid in giving players decisions no matter their difficulty.  If there is one RPG that you play from this past generation, make it BioWare's sci-fi masterpiece Mass Effect.

Super Mario Galaxy
Just like Super Mario 64 defined the 3D platformer during the fifth console generation, Super Mario Galaxy defined the future of this genre.  No longer restricted by flat surfaces, Mario traversed a number of spherical planetoids on his way to retrieve all the missing stars.  Playing around with gravity in interesting ways, Galaxy provided new ways to maneuver around a three dimensional space.  The motion capabilities of the Wii remote are expertly used to ease jumping, interact with objects in the environment and control Mario on different rides such as a ball or a manta ray.  Super Mario Galaxy is the premier platforming game of this generation and it should not be skipped over by any gamer.

Uncharted 2:  Among Thieves
This writer considers Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception to be the best entry in Naught Dog's venerable series.  Although if it was not for the excellence of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, there would be no third entry in the Uncharted series.  That is the reason Among Thieves makes this list over Drake's Deception.  Uncharted 2 launched Nathan Drake and Naughty Dog into superstardom.  It is an exhilarating roller coaster ride from beginning to end with some unbelievable set pieces like battling mercenaries in a collapsing building or traversing a moving train as a helicopter guns Drake down.  Aside from the Hollywood blockbuster-like moments, Uncharted 2 has a solid base of third-person shooting, visceral hand-to-hand combat and parkour-like platforming.  Uncharted 2: Among Thieves single-handedly created a juggernaut franchise for Sony this past generation and going forward into the future.

Batman:  Arkham City
Batman: Arkham City is the ultimate superhero and ultimate Batman game.  Arkham City is a fully realized world where the player is given the skills and abilities to explore every nook and cranny, fight waves of convicts, tackle story missions or collect hundreds of creatively hidden collectables.  One can easily lose tons of hours just playing around in Arkham City's open world.  Any gamer no matter if they are hardcore fans of the Dark Knight or know nothing about the Caped Crusader will enjoy the amazing experience Arkham City offers.  It puts you in the shoes of a superhero like no other game has ever done before and few could possibly do after.  Batman: Arkham City is the best licensed game of this generation and arguably of all-time.

The Legend of Zelda:  Skyward Sword
Unlike Twilight Princess, which launched with the Wii, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is built from the ground up for the Nintendo's motion-based console.  In short, Skyward Sword stands as the pinnacle of the Wii’s library, an example why high definition graphics do not make games better and why motion controls are not just a gimmick.  Skyward Sword offers one-to-one swordplay like no game has ever achieved before or since, an excellent array of items with intuitive motion controls from old favourites like the bombs to new choices such as the beetle, mind-bending puzzles, beautifully constructed dungeons and a wonderfully orchestrated soundtrack (a first for the Zelda series).  Arguably the greatest game of this generation, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword stands as the embodiment of the pure fun and emotion brought forth by Nintendo's mission with the Wii. 

Journey
Journey is one of the most unique experiences of this past generation.  There are no tutorials, no real instructions.  You are just dropped into a seemingly barren desert with this profile of a mountain in the distance.  The controls are simple yet incredibly intuitive, the graphics and art are just jaw dropping, the music is beautiful and the puzzles, while simple, are very charming and engaging.  Journey is a soothing and relaxing experience that can easily be finished in one sitting, which makes the game easy to replay again and again.  This writer cannot stress how amazing of an experience this game is.  Journey is a game that cannot be captured in words or through video.  Journey is a game that must be experienced to understand its greatness.

The Walking Dead
Unlike any experience in this medium, The Walking Dead transcends the title of being a mere licensed game.  Fans of this property or not, The Walking Dead is an emotional tale that anyone will easily be drawn into.  The Walking Dead will make you laugh, cry, scared, disgusted, shocked, surprised, intrigued and every emotion in between.  When everything is said and done, you will be amazed at how much you care about each and every character you meet and interact with in this game and contemplate on what could have been if you made different decisions.  The Walking Dead is hands down the benchmark for modern adventure games and should be experienced by all gamers mature enough to play it.

The Seventh Generation: PlayStation 3

The third and final console to look back on is the world's best Blu-Ray player, the PlayStation 3.  All joking aside, the fortunes of the Playstation 3 were the exact opposite of the Xbox 360.  The PlayStation 3 had an extremely rough first few years on the market.  Coming off the incredible success of the PlayStation 2, Sony got complacent with the PlayStation 3.  Sony's ignorance cost the company as the PlayStation 3 fell far behind the competition.  It took a large price drop and a console redesign before the PS3 started moving off the shelves.  While Sony had problems getting consumers to buy the PS3, their first-party development in both the downloadable and retail spaces and their extensive library of third-party exclusives made convincing arguments for owning Sony's third console.  Once Sony turned their string of bad luck around, the PS3 became the console of choice for many gamers this past generation.

Out of the gate, the PS3 was struck with a seemingly never ending string of problems.  The over 600 dollar price tag was far too steep for most people even the most enthusiastic gamers.  Programming for the PS3 was much harder than the other systems of this generation due to the PS3's Cell Processor.  Sony executives were making outrageous claims about the PS3's "monster" sales.  Game developers and publishers from Valve to Activision were voicing their disdain against the system.  The one glimmer of hope in the early days of the PS3 was Blu-Ray's win over HD-DVD as the definitive format for high definition home entertainment.  Despite Sony's PR nightmare with the early years of the PS3, things eventually turned around for the system.  Even with the better standing of the PS3 in later years, there were still a good number of mistakes made by Sony.  One big problem with Sony in general is the company's lack of commitment to an initiative or product if it does not have immediate success.  During the life of the PS3, Sony relentlessly tried to shove two different initiatives down the throats of gamers only to completely abandon them less than a year after announcing them.  These two initiatives were the PlayStation Move and 3D compatibility.  The PlayStation Move was Sony's answer to Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Kinect.  Much like the Kinect, the Move tried to bring in a casual audience to the PS3 only to alienate the system's primary audience of hardcore gamers.  Sony tried their hand at 3D compatibility with the PS3 when stereoscopic 3D was all the craze back in 2009.  Sony put 3D compatible logos on all their major games and even released an extremely overpriced 3D monitor to get people to adopt stereoscopic 3D into their lives.  Both initiatives were just gimmicks that Sony used to extend to life of the PS3, but neither caught on and Sony ceased to promote them.

While Sony has made a good number of mistakes with the PS3, they have made some good decisions as well.  People made fun of using Blu-Ray discs as the default format for all PS3 games upon first release, but it is the biggest strength of this system.  While Microsoft faced numerous problems with their dual-layered DVDs for the Xbox 360, Sony's Blu-Ray discs are nearly indestructible.  One would have to make a considerable physical effort to damage a Blu-Ray discs.  Also the PS3 never felt the need to chew up games like the Xbox 360.  Apart from the great success of the Blu-Ray format, Sony's first-party efforts during this generation were among their strongest.  From established franchises like Ratchet & Clank and God of War to newfound properties such as Uncharted and Infamous to experimental titles such as Journey and the PixelJunk series, Sony's first-party had an incredible amount of variety compared to that of Microsoft and even Nintendo this generation.  This vast library of first-party titles was complimented by the great number of third-party exclusives especially in the later years of the PS3 such as Metal Gear Solid 4, Valkyria Chronicles and 3D Dot Game Heroes.

One cannot talk about the PS3 without discussing the biggest event in the console's life-- the PlayStation Network Outage.  This outage happened during the spring of 2011 when hackers attacked PSN causing Sony to shutdown all online functions for about a month.  This outage served as the biggest scare for gamers to this date as hackers got ahold of millions of peoples' personal and even credit card information.  The outage is considered one of Sony's greatest debacles, but personally this writer believes it is a significant turning point for the Sony PlayStation brand.  This outage was a wake-up call for Sony.  They nearly hit rock bottom in the eyes of the gaming community due to the outage.  Many people to this day do not fully trust saving their credit card information to any online store including the PlayStation Store.  This outage showed Sony the horrors of not protecting their customers and has brought forth a brand new direction for the PlayStation brand as a whole.  While Sony has not entirely turned the company's consistent problems around after the outage, they have made greater efforts to push games like the slew of Sony exclusive indie games and initiatives such as PlayStation Plus which actually please and benefit gamers rather than bring in the most cash.  Personally, this writer does not believe Sony would be in such a great position with all the good will surrounding the PS4 if it was not for the lessons learned during the PSN outage.

While things started out the worst possible way for the PlayStation 3, things eventually turned around for Sony's third outing in console gaming.  Hard lessons learned from the PS3 has definitely changed the PlayStation brand for the better as seen with the overwhelming success of the PS4's launch.  Although the PS3 may never be considered in the same league as its predecessors,  it is arguable the best console of this past generation.

The Seventh Generation: Xbox 360

The second console to look back on is the first one out of the gate this past generation, the Xbox 360.  Microsoft stepped into the video game industry with the original Xbox, but the Xbox 360 was when Microsoft made their foothold in the market.  Launching a full year ahead of the PS3 and the Wii really helped the Xbox 360 establish itself as the must-have console for the early years of this past generation.  While the PS3 had problems with making the system easily accessible for programmers and the Wii was too concerned with the casual gaming audience, the Xbox 360 had the premier online service in Xbox Live, a prospering selection of downloadable games through Xbox Live Arcade and a good number of first and third party exclusives.  The more successful the Xbox 360 became, the more Microsoft tampered with this winning formula.  The later years of the Xbox 360 saw so many shifts in focus that have gone onto hurt this console and company's standing in various ways.

The Xbox 360 made some significant improvements over its predecessor.  Apart from enhanced processing power and improved online services, Microsoft completely reworked the controller for the 360.  While the original Xbox controller was cumbersome and uncomfortable to use, the 360 controller fit perfectly to the contours of a person's hands.  The 360 controller was so well received by gamers that it is considered among the best video game controllers of all-time.  Through Xbox Live Arcade, the 360 brought forth a new avenue to access games.  No longer did one have to go to their local video game store to pick up the latest game, there were hundreds of games, demos, downloadable expansions and extra content available to download from the system's marketplace menu.  All one needed to access all this content was an internet connection.  Xbox Live Arcade also gave independent game developers a chance to easily release games on consoles.  While these indy developers needed the support of Microsoft or a third-party publisher to get their games on this service, Xbox Live Arcade did offer an affordable way to create console games.  Some of the best games for the 360 such as Braid, Limbo, Shadow Complex and Trials were released through Xbox Live Arcade.  Speaking of games, the Xbox 360 saw the release of some generation defining games like Gears of War, Mass Effect, BioShock, Fight Night Round 3 and The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion before landing on other platforms.

The Xbox 360 was overwhelmingly successful with the core gamer audience despite the hardware problems.  There are always problems with technology, but the 360's problems like the infamous Red Ring of Death and the far too common ring scratches were widespread problems.  Although some people like this writer have never experienced such hardware failures, not everyone was that lucky.  Many people went through a good number of Xbox 360s in the last generation.  During this generation, Microsoft constantly improved the Xbox 360 hardware to avoid these hardware problems in later Xbox 360 hardware.  While the hardware improved over time, the 360's standing did not.  From 2009 onwards, Microsoft shifted the 360's focus from  the defined core gamer audience to a much broader all-encompassing audience.  Microsoft moved away from developing first-party software and pushing support for indy developers to creating new peripherals and fostering greater relations with third-party publishers.  The lack of first-party support and worthwhile exclusives pushed gamers away because there was nothing to differentiate the Xbox 360 from the PS3.  The onslaught of casual games brought on by the Kinect, Microsoft's answer to the Wii's motion controls, did not help matters either.  It did bring in the casual audience, but it also alienated a good portion of the 360's primary audience.  Microsoft's SmartGlass and multimedia initiatives made it even more evident that this company had no clue about what to do with the 360's success.

The Xbox 360 has definitely had its ups and downs.  The 360 started out as the dominant console of this generation in the eyes of gamers, but completely fell flat on its face in the past few years due to Microsoft's lack of focus.  The Kinect and SmartGlass were sadly glorified prototypes that did more to hurt the 360 than extend its life.  Although these mistakes, the 360 offers a great selection of games from the Triple A blockbusters to the independent darlings.  In the end, the Xbox 360 is hands down Microsoft's best console to date.

The Seventh Generation: Nintendo Wii

While it has been much longer than just a couple weeks, The Seventh Generation is back.  The first console to look back on is Nintendo's biggest gamble, the Wii.  Coming off of a turbulent run with the Gamecube (Nintendo's weakest selling game console at the time), Nintendo came to terms with the fact that they could not compete with Microsoft and Sony when it came to computing power.  Nintendo looked at their strengths, gameplay and design, and the risk taken with the Nintendo DS for inspiration for their newest console.  Instead of directly competing with the Xbox 360 and PS3 in terms of power, the Wii focused its entire design around one core mechanic, motion control.  Motion controls were attempted in earlier console generations, but they were never refined to the point of actually being more than a non-functional gimmick.  The Wii brought motion controls to the forefront of the video game industry and nobody could have predicted the success to follow.

Apart from the hardcore Nintendo fans that flocked to the Wii for the newest entries in Nintendo's venerable franchises (Mario, Metroid, Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong and Super Smash Bros.), the Wii caught the attention of people who never considered playing video games as an activity for them.  The simplistic design the Wii Remote, which was intentionally designed to look and feel like a TV remote, and the familiarity of the sports included in Wii Sports, the game packed in with every Wii system, broke down the large barrier of entry video games had before this point in time.  No longer did people have to learn complex button presses to play games, they just had to mimic certain motions to get involved.  This universal appeal equated to monstrous sales for the Wii.  While the Wii may had been a minimal improvement over the Gamecube in terms of power and graphics, it easily outsold PS3 and Xbox 360, incredibly more powerful machines, this past generation.

Being the most successful system of the past generation did not mean the Wii was the best console of this past generation.  In actuality, the Wii was quite the opposite.  Although Nintendo and a few other developers used the Wii's under-powered specs to create artistically stunning games, the majority of Wii games can be considered lacking at best.  During the early years of the Wii, there was such a large number of shovel ware released on the machine that it was hard to discern between the good and the bad.  For every Super Mario Galaxy, there were dozens of shovel ware like Carnival Games and Chicken Shoot.  The Wii, much like the Nintendo 64 and Gamecube, suffered from a lack of third-party support.  While there were publishers like Sega, Ubisoft and EA that supported the Wii with numerous games, a good number of publishers such as Bethesda and Take-Two passed over the Wii due to its lack a processing power.

For Nintendo fans, the Wii offered a lot of great games both old (through the power of the Virtual Console) and new that you could not experience anywhere else.  Apart from the core Nintendo faithful and the new slew of casual gamers, the Wii did not offer enough to sway people away from the most cutting-edge systems in the PS3 and Xbox 360.  The Wii may be among Nintendo's most successful video game consoles, but it will never be remembered as fondly as its predecessors.

The Seventh Generation

It seems like just yesterday when all the hype over the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii consumed every facet of video game media, mainstream media and regular conversation.  Like no other console generation before it, video games were about to take a quantum leap in terms of graphics, processing power, interconnectivity and controls among many other things.  This console generation launched the video game industry to unimaginable heights.  Playing video games was no longer a niche activity for children and obsessively intellectual in the eyes of society.  Due to the popularity of this console generation along with ventures into different forms of interactive media (motion and social games in particular), video games made major strides in becoming a serious media in our culture much like films, books, music and art.  While video games still has many more years and possibly decades before it is on the same level as those forms of media, this generation really got the momentum building for the argument that video games as an art form.

Sadly with the eighth console generation already on its way and just about to shift into turbo with the release of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 this November, it is finally time for these consoles to take a backseat for the next generation.  Big things are ahead, but the title for this series of articles is "The Seventh Generation", not "The Eighth Generation".  For the next month or so leading up to the launches of the PS4 and Xbox One, this writer will be taking a retrospective look at the all of consoles of this past generation (Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3).  For the final article of this series, this writer will be listing the essential games from the past generation.  This article will not be your normal top ten list.  Essential games are not necessarily the best rated games of this console generation; they are the games that NEED to be experienced from the seventh generation of video game consoles.

This series of articles has been boiling around in this writer's mind for a long time.  To take this trip down memory lane should be loads of fun.  Enjoy the ride and The Seventh Generation will be back in a week or two with a look at the Nintendo Wii.

First Byte: Nintendo 2DS

This past Wednesday was a big day if you are a Nintendo fan.  The Big N came out and revealed their plans for the remainder of 2013.  They gave release dates for all their first-party titles and finally announced a much-needed fifty dollar price drop for the Wii U.  This announcement alone would have been enough as it puts the Wii U in a better position to compete with the PS4 and Xbox One this holiday season.  Funny enough, the Wii U price drop and the slew of release dates was not all Nintendo had in store this past Wednesday.  The biggest and most polarizing news was the reveal of the Nintendo 2DS  (no that is not a typo).  The 2DS is the newest model of the Nintendo 3DS designed specifically for young children and those who cannot use the 3DS's glasses-less 3D features.  The 2DS's major changes are the removal of the signature 3D features and the bulky design, which is very similar to old Tiger Electronics handhelds.  Other than those changes, the 2DS is exactly the same as the other 3DS models on the market.  Since its reveal, the 2DS has created a major stir across the confines of the World Wide Web.  Due to how sudden the reveal of the 2DS was, the reactions from media outlets, game designers and general gamers have been very interesting.  So interesting in fact that it has inspired this writer to give his two cents on the topic.  To tackle this topic, yours truly has decided to take a different approach with this edition of First Byte.  This writer will be analyzing the 2DS from two different perspectives- Nintendo's perspective and the gamer's perspective.  There is no absolute right or wrong perspective to this topic because both have their pros and cons.  So sit back, take in the insights provided and do not be afraid to share your opinions in the comments below.

First and foremost, Nintendo did not design the 2DS for core gamers like you and I.  The 2DS is designed for children under the age of seven because 3D is damaging for a young child's developing eyes.  The 2DS, much like the Canada-exclusive Wii Mini, is designed to be a child's first handheld game system.  This mentality is why the 2DS looks a lot more like a children's toy than any other Nintendo before it.  The new bulky design is definitely built to withstand the abuse a child can give to a device.  The 3DS XL is very durable, but the original 3DS with its gloss finish is much more fragile than any Nintendo handhelds to date.  For a younger gamer, it is not hard to see them causing a lot of damage to the regular 3DS unless you invest extra money in protective case for it.  While children are the target audience for the 2DS, it also appeals to gamers that cannot use the 3D features of the 3DS because they get easily nauseated by 3D or it is damaging for their eyes.  You can just turn off the 3D on the regular 3DS, but there is no purpose for these people to have the option if they are never going to use it.  These people can now buy the cheaper 2DS and never have to worry about getting a migraine or experiencing double vision because they accidentally hit the 3D slider.  The final reason Nintendo decided to announce the 2DS has to do with its release date of October 12th.  Funny thing being that October 12th is the same day Pokemon X and Y release, hands down the 3DS's biggest games to date.  Connect two-and-two together and there is no doubt Nintendo is positioning Pokemon X and Y to sell the 2DS as it will cost less than 200 dollars to purchase them together.  It is an ingenious plan on Nintendo's part as this writer predicts Pokemon X and Y will be the best selling Pokemon games in years.

With all that said about why Nintendo decided to make the Nintendo 2DS, the question that should be on gamer's minds instead of blind rage is whether this was the right time to release the 2DS.  In all honesty, this writer thought somebody was playing one hell of prank on him when he first saw the announcement.  I had to check a calendar to make sure it was not April 1st.  The reason these thoughts were running through my mind was that the 3DS has been having the best year a system can ever have.  Nintendo did not need a new piece of hardware or a brand new accessory to sell the 3DS because the onslaught of quality games releasing for the system were doing it for them. Yes, they are taking advantage of the 3DS's immense momentum at the moment, but there is one caveat.  Nintendo is one entity and that entity as a whole is not in the greatest light with the problematic launch of the Wii U.  There is no reason to overshadow the best news the Wii U has gotten in months with the reveal of the 2DS.  By no means is the Wii U dead; in fact it is actually on the up swing.  Although, it should be Nintendo's top priority to get the Wii U on stable ground before making more strides with 3DS hardware.  Another problem with this system will come about because of the 2DS name.  This writer can easily see confusion with the target audience and uninformed parents.  From experience, it is hard for people who do not play games to wrap their head around some of the most basic concepts.  This writer has seen people buy 3DS games even though they do not own the 3DS because they see the DS logo after the three and think it must work on the DS.  A game can sitting its own separate section in different cases with Nintendo 3DS plastered all over it, it does not matter.  There is no doubt in my mind there will be a few kids that search high and dry for these mythical 2DS games as they do for Mario on the PS3 or Halo on Wii.  It will not cause massive confusion, but just enough to possibly frustrate the guardians of the target audience.

Is the Nintendo 2DS the worst idea for a game system?  No, it is not.  In actuality, it is a very smart business choice on Nintendo's part.  By designing a new version of the 3DS that is more approachable to younger children and those easily bothered by 3D, it drops the barrier of entry for those looking to invest in a video game system.  Including more people into this hobby we share is never a bad thing.  On the flip side, this writer whole heartedly believes that Nintendo's timing for announcing the 2DS, while ingenious in some sense, was absolutely horrible.  The 3DS is in a great place with an incredible lineup of games this year and leading into next year as well.  There is no need for Nintendo to focus too much energy on thinking up new 3DS redesigns when the Wii U is definitely in need of some good will for once.  Right now, Nintendo should step aside and let the 3DS games do the heavy lifting.  Get the Wii U on stable ground then unveil a new 3DS model when all the animosity has dissipated.  In this writer's opinion, six months to a year from now when people are concerned about the problems of the PS4 and Xbox One would have been a much better time to announce the 2DS.