2014: Year of the Delay

Delays are a natural part of any industry.  Nothing ever goes exactly to plan as issues and problems can occur at anytime during production to negatively affect the estimated time of arrival.  In the video game industry, delays come about regularly as developers run into game-breaking bugs that need additional time to receive the necessary attention or publishers search for the perfect release date for their game to succeed.  While there are quite a few games that slip past their original release date each year, 2014 has seen a large amount of major releases delayed until 2015.  So many delays, in fact, each one seems to make 2014 feel more like a barren wasteland for major releases.

The whole of 2013 was solely focused on launching two brand new systems in the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the heralds of the next generation of video games.  With those brand new consoles, the promise of games to justify their cost and hype was not too far behind.  After experiencing many console launches, a drought of games immediately following the release of these systems was to be expected, but to have this lack of major releases extend the majority of 2014 cannot be overlooked.  Although the good amount of downloadable releases may satisfy the most dedicated gamers between major releases, the vast majority does not scour the PlayStation Store, Xbox Marketplace or Nintendo eShop regularly for games to buy.  Sadly that vast majority focuses on the larger retail titles such as Call of Duty, The Last of Us and Watch Dogs over downloadable games like Child of Light, Shovel Knight and Transistor.  The games being delayed until 2015 (Batman: Arkham Knight, Evolve, The Division and Witcher III) are the system sellers for these next generation consoles and delaying these games until following year will cause more people to hold out on buying a PS4 or Xbox One for the time being.  Each time a major release is delayed, it adds more fuel to the argument that the next generation came a year before it was actually ready.

Despite all the negativity surrounding game delays, they are necessary and beneficial part of the video game industry.  Delays offer developers more time to fix bugs, polish mechanics, balance features and refine a game's content, which all result in making a better product.  Rushing a game to market, especially in an unfinished state, to meet a deadline can do a lot of damage to a company's image than actual good.  While the extra time benefits a game, there are some current trends involving delays that can have an averse effect on a game.  These trends include delaying a game just a few weeks before its release (Rayman Legends), over-hyping a game before its delay to go completely silent on it afterwards (Watch Dogs) and setting a release date for a game in order to push pre-orders before delaying it (Batman: Arkham Knight).  These trends alienate the loyal fans that look to support these games through pre-orders, buying collector's editions and paying for season passes by literally pulling the rug out from under them.  Playing with the emotions of the most passionate fans is an easy way to sour their opinions towards a certain game or game company.  Developers and publishers need to let delays be for the betterment of the games and learn to keep their audience's emotions in mind when announcing and handling these crucial situations.

Although it may be a tough pill to swallow, delays are an inevitable part of the video game industry.  They are needed to handle the unpredictable nature of game development, but gamers, publishers and developers all need to find better ways of dealing with them especially as development costs rise and the ability to connect with one another becomes more available.  As a gamer, it is disappointing to see the list of major releases in 2014 dwindle every month as many get pushed to 2015, but all hope is not lost.  There are many other options for gamers to spend their valuable time with than just the larger triple A titles including a wide selection of value-priced downloadable games or a vast backlog of games missed out on from previous years.  While 2014 may be a soft year for major game releases, best use the extra time to discover brand new experiences or rediscover those you missed out on from years past.  The games we are all excited about will eventually see the light of day; we just have to be a little more patient.

Year in Review 2013: The Games Part 2

Welcome to the second part of Silver Bit's best games of 2013.  Last time, I listed my favourite games from the first eight months of the year.  Now, it is time to look at the last six months of 2013.  The last half of 2013 had me glued to my 3DS and Wii U with great games mostly from Nintendo, but one also from Ubisoft.  These games easily stood above the yearly sequels which dominate the holiday season.  Again enjoy this conclusion to the best games of 2013 and if there is any game that I may have overlooked do not be afraid to share in the comments.

Rayman Legends
Delays could not hold back the quality of Ubisoft Montpellier's masterpiece, Rayman Legends.  This game was the reason I bought a Wii U and it lived up to my expectations and more.  Rayman Legends is platforming fans dream come true.  The pacing is excellent, the speed and responsiveness of the controls is spot-on and the level design is genius.  While all versions of Legends are great, the Wii U version stands as the definitive edition of the game.  Legends for the Wii U is built from the ground-up with Nintendo's system in mind.  The Wii U game pad is integrated perfectly as it is used to easily zip around the game's interactive menus and for special Murphy levels.  In these Murphy levels, the player with the game pad controls the fairy-like Murphy while another player or the computer controls another character.  As Murphy, the player creates a safe path for the other character by interacting with the environment through tilting the game pad or swiping the screen.  I cannot talk about Rayman Legends without mentioning the superb music levels.  These levels will push your platforming skills to their limits as you run, jump and bash enemies to the beat of remixed versions of Eye of the Tiger and Black Betty.  Legends is so amazing that it even trumps Mario's recent efforts in the 2D platforming space.  Nintendo's mascot could learn a thing or two from Ubisoft's limbless hero and this must-own title.

Pokemon X & Y
People have been clamouring to see Pokemon make the true jump to 3D for ages.  With Pokemon X and Y, those prayers have been answered.  A fully 3D world has brought on the biggest changes for the series in years.  The 3D models bring new life to world of Pokemon as they make battles much more dramatic with new camera angles and attack animations.  Seeing an actual Flamethrower or Bubblebeam come out of a Pokemon's mouth is an incredible sight especially when compared to the limited attack animations of past entries.  Aside from choosing your gender, Pokemon X and Y offers a whole suite of customization to your avatar.  You can buy new clothes, accessories and even change your haircut.  This freedom allows players create an avatar that truly reflects their personal tastes.  The major changes come with the addition of Mega Evolutions and the online offerings.  Mega Evolutions are temporary forms that can only be used in battle.  Once you have a Mega Stone for a certain Pokemon and the Mega Ring, you can unleash these powerful new forms on your foes.  These new evolutions add an interesting new strategy to battle, but are limited to one Mega Evolution per battle.  The online offerings for X and Y are incredible as you no longer have to go to certain locations to connect with Pokemon fans across the globe.  Just enable the 3DS's wireless connection and you can connect with anybody at anytime.  Trading and battling online is the same as before but the addition of Wonder Trade is just amazing.  Wonder Trade may scare a few because it is anonymous trading with anybody in the world, but it is incredibly addicting and thrilling.  While I can easily go on for days about the greatness of Pokemon X and Y, there are some shortcomings in the story and post-game content.  Aside from those shortcomings, these games are the next big evolution for Nintendo's venerable monster hunting series.

The Legend of Zelda:  A Link Between Worlds
As a sequel to arguably one of the greatest games in Legend of Zelda history, A Link to the Past, A Link Between Worlds had a lot to live up to.  Funny enough, Link's first original adventure on the 3DS easily surpassed these titanic expectations by usurping tradition.  For the longest time, The Legend of Zelda has been a rather linear affair.  Find dungeon, collect item from dungeon, use item to beat boss, rinse and repeat.  There is more to this franchise than my over-simplified explanation of its linear nature, but you get the gist of it.  The first few entries in the series allowed the player to explore and complete dungeons in any order; a design choice that A Link Between Worlds fully embraces.  After the first dungeon, you gain access to Rovio's shop.  Through this shop, the player can buy or rent any item they need to complete whatever dungeon they want.  Outright purchasing items is not available right away so you are forced to rent items.  The risk of renting items comes with death as you lose all those items.  It is a risk-reward system that makes the game much more intense.  Early on in A Link Between Worlds, you get a bracelet that allows Link to merge with any flat surface.  This bracelet opens up the game to tons of mind-bending puzzles which forces you to think in a whole different way.  All-in-all, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is a worthy successor to A Link to the Past, an outstanding entry in this series and easily this writer's runner-up for best game of 2013.

Super Mario 3D World
While gaming's favourite plumber may have stiff competition on the 2D platforming front, Mario is the king and ruler of the 3D platformer.  Super Mario 3D World had a horrible first showing as many were expecting the next evolution of Super Mario Galaxy rather than a console sequel to Super Mario 3D Land for the 3DS.  While the later trailers and gameplay footage did a better job of showing off the greatness of 3D World's gameplay, once people got their hands on this game the rest was history.  Super Mario 3D World takes the excellent blend of 2D and 3D Mario gameplay introduced in 3D Land and expands on it in new and creative ways.  There are a plethora of power-ups both new and old, but the one that stands head and shoulders above them all is the Cat Suit.  Although this new suit makes Mario and company look all cute and cuddly, it adds the integral ability to climb walls for a set period of time and the lunge attack, which serves both as an extended jump and an offensive move.  3D World's other main feature is the four-player multiplayer.  While I personally played 3D World as single player experience, the time I did spend playing multiplayer was a blast.  Super Mario 3D World perfectly balances working cooperatively and competing for top honours (and that damn crown!) as players have more room in a 3D space to avoid constantly running into one another like in Super Mario Bros. Wii and U.  It is incredibly hard to summarize everything that Super Mario 3D World has to offer from the brand new overworld map to the great amount of challenging bonus levels.  Hands down, Super Mario 3D World is THE reason to own a Wii U.

Launch Station: Rayman Legends

The time has come.  After close to a year of waiting, Rayman Legends is finally on store shelves.  It has been a long and tumultuous road of delays, loss of exclusivity and many other crazy circumstances.  While this writer is baffled about how horrible Ubisoft handles one of their premier franchises, it is relieving to finally get our hands on a game that should have been out six months ago.  Rayman may not be a sales powerhouse like Assassin's Creed; this limbless hero is easily taking the platforming world by storm thanks to polished gameplay, excellent controls and beautiful hand-drawn graphics.

After sleeping for a century, Rayman and friends are awoken to world far less pleasant than they left it at the end of Rayman Origins.  The Bubble Dreamer's nightmares along with the dark teensies have grown in strength and kidnapped the princesses of the land and the peaceful teensie people.  It is up to Rayman and friends to stop the nightmares and dark teensies from corrupting the Glade of Dreams.  Rayman Legends improves on the platforming gameplay of Rayman Origins as running, jumping, collecting lums and saving teensies are the name of the game.  Just like its predecessor, Legends allows up to four players to participate in these levels.  Note that this co-operative multiplayer is only available locally.  Apart from the standard platforming fair, Legends offers brand new levels where you take control of Murfy the fairy.  As Murfy, players interact with the environment to assist Rayman and friends such as cutting ropes, activating switches or distracting enemies.  On the Vita and Wii U, players control Murfy with the touch controls on the Wii U's Gamepad or the Vita's touch screen.  While on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, Murfy is controlled by a button press.  Rayman Legends includes 80 brand new levels and 40 remastered levels from Rayman Origins along with remixed versions of each level available upon completion of the game.  While Rayman Legends offers a ton of content for its single-player component, it offers a robust online component as well.  The online Challenge mode offers challenges for players to complete in order to earn trophies and rise through the leaderboards.  There are new challenges offered everyday to keep gamers coming back each day to post their best times and distances.

Rayman Legends has been a high anticipated game for yours truly.  It was the game this writer bought a Wii U just to play.  While the delays and other obstacles Ubisoft threw at us were disheartening, those actions will not deter my enjoyment of Rayman Legends.  The men and women at Ubisoft's Montpellier studio put their hearts and souls into this game and for them this writer puts down his money in support.  While Diablo III and Grand Theft Auto V may suck up a ton of money this September, let us show Ubisoft that Rayman and Ubsioft Montpellier deserve a lot more respect than they give them.  The only way to make this change is to talk with your money and pick up Rayman Legends for your console or handheld of choice.