Bit by Bit: February 2014

Coming off of the two biggest features I have ever done, it is hard to get back in the swing of regular writing.  I have so many ideas spinning around in my head of articles to write, but no true direction of where I want to take Silver Bit next.  It is a very peculiar position I am currently in with Silver Bit.  Personally, I think getting back into the regular of schedule of work and school after Reading Week will get the creative juices following in this writer's brain.  For this week, I like to revisit an old staple of Silver Bit, Bit by Bit.  Now let us break down yours truly's favourite games and videos of the past few weeks.

Game of the Month
Nintendo always knows how to get people playing their handhelds during February.  Last February, Nintendo released Fire Emblem Awakening, a game which engulfed an enormous amount of this writer's free time and earned Silver Bit's 2013 Game of the Year.  Early this February, Nintendo brought Square Enix's Bravely Default to North America and it has easily won over this gamer's heart.  Bravely Default harkens back to the early entries in Square's legendary RPG franchise, Final Fantasy.  The story is very familiar as the player is sent on a quest to purify four elemental crystals.  Bravely Default's job system pulls a lot from the systems implemented in Final Fantasy III and V.  While Bravely Default does share a lot with Final Fantasy, it captures a sense of fun and wonder that modern Final Fantasies completely lack.  The battle system is turn-based like many RPGs, but it offers an incredibly creative twist.  During battles, you are able to brave or default.  Default acts much like defending as it decreases damage taken, but also increases battle points (BP).  You use BP to brave, which allows a character to unleash multiple attacks in a single turn.  Braving and defaulting is a risk-reward system that adds an inventive layer of strategy to battles.  The choice of braving or defaulting can be the difference between success or failure in battle.  The battles are only just one piece of the great pie that Bravely Default offers from the incredible StreetPass features such as rebuilding the main character's hometown with those you walk past or summoning friends to help in battle to the innovative ability to change encounter rates and difficulty at anytime.  If you own a 3DS and are fond of RPGs, I highly recommend picking up Bravely Default.  It is well worth the price of admission.

Most Anticipated Game of the Month
Usually around this time of the year, I put up my Most Anticipated Games of the Year article.  2014 has been different.  When I write those articles, I personally enjoy writing about a variety of games made by different developers, usually for various devices.  Sadly, there is not much of anything that has gotten me truly excited outside of Nintendo's offerings this year.  With the new consoles, it is going to be a waiting game until E3.  A few announcements may trickle out before then, but nothing too substantial in my opinion.  In the midst of all my pessimism, there is one downloadable game I am really psyched for.  Take some old-school Castlevania gameplay, add in Scrooge McDuck's pogo jump from DuckTales and meld in the themed bosses from Mega Man.  From this crazy concoction, the game you get is Yacht Club Games' Shovel Knight.  Taking inspiration from classics of the 8-bit era, Shovel Knight looks to modernize these amazing elements while keeping the look and feel of these classics.  The more I see of Shovel Knight, the more excited I get.  If you are looking to get in on the excitement, I will share the trailer for Shovel Knight below.  March 31st cannot come soon enough.


Video of the Month
Whoever the person at Nintendo that creates the trailers for Super Smash Bros. deserves a raise.  These trailers are among the best I have ever seen.  Each new character reveal feels like an event and rightly so.  This time around Nintendo pulled the curtain back on one of the most requested Smash Bros. character, Little Mac.  This veteran of the boxing ring will make his first appearance on the battlefields of Smash Bros. in the Wii U and 3DS entries of the series.  Even though it is his first time, Little Mac looks up to the challenge with his all fisticuffs move set and Doc Lewis at the the pink sweatsuit-wearing pugilist's side.

Off the Newsstand: Nintendo Power Issue 280

Absolutely no new retail game releases this week.  Meaning that there will be no Launch Station at all this week.  Now that I got enough time to look at the latest issue of Nintendo Power.  The big Issue 280, only 20 more issues until a landmark 300 issues of Nintendo Power.  Following in suit with all other video game magazines, the July issue revolves around all the big news from this year's E3.

On the cover of Issue 280 is the Wii U, Nintendo's next console.  Considering Nintendo Power has been one of my main sources for Nintendo news, previews, reviews and coverage, I was disappointed that there was not a full article on the Wii U.  It was just a stuck at the beginning of the Power Up section of the magazine.  I remember after Nintendo's big showcase of the Wii at E3 2006, the following Nintendo Power had an amazing article called The Wii Experience that looked at the Wii and some of the big launch titles such as Red Steel, Raving Rabbids, Madden and Tony Hawk.  It was not just a brief look and a list of the Top 10 Wii U Games at E3 2012.  In all honesty, it was a fine look at the Wii U, but I expected much more from Nintendo Power considering this is the official Nintendo magazine for North America and the Wii U report was the cover story of this issue.  If they were not going to have the Wii U as the cover story for this issue, they should have put something else on the cover like New Super Mario Bros. 2.  Speaking of New Super Mario Bros. 2, there was a five page preview of the upcoming 3DS game.  It was a fine preview, but there was nothing too substantial.  Given a few more pages and an interview, this preview could of easily served as the cover story for Issue 280.  Along with that preview was a look back all of Nintendo's releases in 1987, which was pretty cool, but felt more like filler, and a preview of the Adventure Time game for the DS and 3DS.  Even though I have never watched the show, I found the Adventure Time preview easily the best article in this issue.  It gave a substantial amount of information about a game that until now nobody really knew much about and had a very good interview with Adventure Time series creator and animator, Pendleton Ward.  Even though I am being down on this issue of Nintendo Power, there was still some good content in the Download, Preview, Review and Community sections of the magazine.

As a whole, I expected much more from Issue 280 of Nintendo Power.  When you such a big story in the Wii U on the cover, you have to hit the ball out of the park or leave people like yours truly disappointed.  There is still quite a bit of good content in Issue 280 of Nintendo Power, but it is not an issue that you have to go out of your way to read.

Hump Day Music: Bits of Me Impressions

While it was announced way back in April, I finally got my copy of Brentalfloss' new CD Bits of Me in the mail last week.  Originally when I came on here and talked about Bits Of Me, I was on the fence about buying this album.  After some debating, I gave in and put down my 15 dollars to pre-order Bits of Me and show my support for Brentalfloss and his work.  Even though it took about two months after it's initial release to finally reach me, my patience was well worth it.  I received an autographed physical copy of Bits of Me, a free digital copy, three little Brentalfloss pins and one Brentalfloss sticker all for 15 dollars.  I made such a good choice pre-ordering this CD.

I first listened to Bits of Me when I received the free digital copy over a month, I was not impressed.  I do not know exactly why.  I might have just been in a bad mood when I listened to it.  When I popped the CD into my Mac to listen to it last week, I had a completely different reaction to the CD.  I loved it. There is only one song on the entire 18 track CD that I did not entirely enjoy.  The rest of the CD is absolutely incredible.  I have listened to it many times in the one week I have owned the physical CD.  While I do love every track on this CD other than Meet Me in the Dungeon, Dear, my personal favourites are Contra with Lyrics, Castlevania II with Lyrics, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!! with Lyrics and Zelda II with Lyrics.  All-in-all, any video game fan will find something to love about Bits of Me.  If you are interested in picking up Bits of Me, you can buy the physical CD from Level Up Studios for 13 dollars or download it from iTunes, Amazon MP3 and Bandcamp for about 9 to 10 dollars.  Bits of Me is well worth any price you pay.  And for your viewing pleasure is one of the songs featured on Bits of Me, Castlevania II with Lyrics.