First Byte: Fan Expo 2014 Gauntlet Part 2

When I initially conceived this two part series, I did not anticipate how busy school would get this early into the semester.  Although things are crazy as I seem to have a test or project every single week, I am committed to finishing this gauntlet up before any of the games in this final part are released.  If you did not get a chance to read the first part of the Fan Expo 2014 Gauntlet, it focused on the likes of Driveclub, Forza Horizon 2, The Crew, The Order: 1886, Far Cry 4 and Mortal Kombat X.  If you want to read my impressions on any of those games, click the link.  This part will preview the four games that I got over ten minutes of hands-on time playing.

While the majority of the games I played at the Sony Booth left me disappointed, the LittleBigPlanet 3 demo had me excited for more.  The demo was split into two levels, Tutu Tango and the Crypt.  Tutu Tango was a Toggle-centric level that focused on using Toggle's switching abilities to manipulate momentum in different ways needed to advance in the level.  On the other end of the spectrum, the Crypt was a level made entirely for Oddsock that had the dog companion of Sackboy bouncing off of walls and performing precise jumps at a frantic pace perfect for those who love speedrunning.  While both levels were completely different in pace, the controls were responsive and the platforming was spot-on, which are two mechanics not normally associated with previous entries in the series.  Even though the levels were made for specific characters, there were multiple hidden areas that hinted at in co-op play in both levels.  Without creators Media Molecule at the helm, I did not have much faith that LittleBigPlanet 3 could surpass its predecessors.  After playing this demo, LittleBigPlanet 3 has caught my full attention especially when it comes to the single-player portion of the game.

Unlike any game on the show floor, Bethesda pulled out all the stops to engross you in experience of The Evil Within.  The booth consisted of over 20 demo stations all equipped with noise-cancelling headsets and black dividers to keep your attention solely focused on the game.  Thanks to Bethesda's excellent booth design, it felt like I was playing The Evil Within during the middle of the night, which made all the scares that much more frightening.  Unlike any game on the market today, The Evil Within demo brought some true scares as I explored the eerie halls of a derelict mansion.  The atmosphere of the game was perfect as the expert audio design made you feel uneasy at all times and the unpredictable enemy AI, which changes every time you load the game, kept you looking over the protagonist's shoulder constantly.  Much like early entries in the survival horror genre, The Evil Within does not hold your hand as you are free to explore the mansion as you wish.  It also creates tension in a similar fashion by restricting ammo and the use of melee weapons.  From my 20 to 30 minutes with the game, The Evil Within felt like a return to true survival horror rather than the Michael Bay-like action games that some companies are trying to pass as horror these days.  If you are in desperate need of a game that gives you nightmares like the original Resident Evils did over 15 years ago, The Evil Within will certainly fill that void.

Out of all the games at the Microsoft Booth, Sunset Overdrive was the only one I wanted to play no matter.  Ever since I saw the game in action at Microsoft's E3 press conference, I was in love with the absolute insanity developer Insomniac is trying to pass off  as gameplay.  Insane is the perfect word to describe the chaos of Sunset Overdrive's gameplay.  The game flows at an incredibly smooth clip that may be to smooth, in fact, as it can be easy to get lost in the swarms of enemies and explosions.  Like all Insomniac games, the guns are always the highlight of the show with their creative designs and expert handling.  Switching between guns is quick as a flick of the right analog stick, which adds to the chaotic pace of the game.  Apart from the chaotic gameplay, Sunset Overdrive exudes humour and style through humourous character designs, funny one-liners, and unique respawn animations.  All-in-all, my time with Sunset Overdrive was easily one of my highlights at Fan Expo as it was just pure unadulterated fun, and nothing can beat that.

The honour of being the very last game I got to play at Fan Expo belonged to Evolve.  The demo for Evolve was one of the main reasons I wanted to go Fan Expo 2014 in the first place, so there was no way I would leave the show without playing this game.  While I got to play Evolve for a good 20 minutes or so, you definitely need to play the game more than once to get a true feel for its mechanics, controls and subtle nuances.  My first impressions are positive, but just a little tainted due to getting beat before seeing the full potential of the game and the lack of helpful advice provided by the developer/tester advising me.  I played as the Kraken and almost evolved to its ultimate form before I succumbed to the strength and teamwork of my opponents.  The Kraken was very unique to control due to its sheer size in the game world.  Much of my time was spent on the defensive as I avoided combat with hunters and focused on feeding on enough wildlife to evolve.  I felt extremely vulnerable as a level one monster, but became much more competent as I grew in level.  As a whole, Evolve was an incredibly tense game of cat and mouse that was very enjoyable to play.  Hopefully when the game comes out next year, I can get more time with Evolve to hone my skills and possibly avenge my embarrassing loss at Fan Expo.

Bit by Bit: April 2014

With school coming to an end for another year, April serves as the start of more free time to relax and do things that were pushed aside during the school year like video games.  While I did get some time playing games between studying and working, it seems like the floodgates have just opened in these last couple of weeks.  Funny enough, the end of the school year coincided with finally completing Bravely Default after spending the last two and a half months working on beating the game.  Spending so much time with one game felt very limiting that now this feeling of freedom and choice is almost overwhelming.  The spring and summer months should be fun as I will be bouncing between games from my ever-growing backlog and brand new releases.  It should be a fun journey that will be chronicled right here on Silver Bit.  So stay tuned.

Game of the Month
Ever since I beat Bravely Default, I have been able to spend more time playing a wide variety of games.  In the few weeks since I beat Bravely Default, I have been playing Golden Sun, Resident Evil 6 and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and have completed shorter games like Rhythm Thief, SteamWorld Dig and Donkey Kong 1994.  As great of an achievement beating a long, gruelling RPG is, playing a game for over 100 hours can be exhausting.  The change of pace has been refreshing especially with one game in particular pulling me in more and more.  That game is Infamous: Second Son and it is the one game that has got me to play the PS4 on a rather consistent basis.  I have dabbled with the previous entries in Sucker Punch's superhero playground, but never for any considerable amount of time.  Compared to other open world sandboxes, Second Son's setting of Seattle may seem a little lifeless, bland and full of hilarious glitches.  Even with those drawbacks, I have had lots of fun just running around, completing side missions, collecting blast shards and beating up waves of DUP officers and drug dealers. The most fun to be had with Second Son comes from the new powers you get to play around with.  While the smoke and video powers are cool, the best power in the game is neon.  Zipping around Seattle at supersonic speeds, slowing down time to aim and sniping enemies with precise neon shots make for a power players will stick to throughout their entire playthrough.  Infamous: Second Son may not be the best open-world superhero game as Batman still holds that honour in my opinion, but it is definitely the best game on PS4 right now.  Second Son deserves to be in every PS4 owner's library.

Most Anticipated Game of the Month
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS are easily the two most anticipated games of 2014.  A new entry in the Smash Bros. series only happens every four years or more so any news or announcement about the newest entry is an event in itself.  Aside from Masahiro Sakurai's daily screenshots on Miiverse, there has not been a major dump of information about Super Smash Bros. since E3 2013.  Early this April, Nintendo and Sakurai took some time away from developing Super Smash Bros. to deliver a Nintendo Direct focused solely on the two games.  During the nearly 40 minute presentation, Sakurai touched on the release dates, included stages, online play, differences between the two versions, items, assist trophies and returning and new inclusions to the roster among a plethora of additional information.  It is impossible to capture the greatness of this Nintendo Direct in mere words.  It is incredibly produced, filled with tons of goodies that will make any gamer smile ear to ear and easily sold hundreds to buy a Wii U, 3DS or possibly both.  Personally, my excitement for Super Smash Bros. is at unimaginable levels.  Even thinking about the games makes me giddy with excitement.  Summer and Winter 2014 cannot come any sooner.


Video of the Month
Usually I never have a problem picking the Video of the Month, but this April has been the exception.  There has been so many great videos this month from the wacky Tomodachi Life Direct to Screwattack's epic interviews with the creator of Videoball Tim Rogers to Mega64's collaboration with Nintendo on the recent Nintendo E3 announcements.  While they are all incredible videos and deserve to your viewing, I have to give the Video of the Month to a video that got me thinking.  The Completionist's Final Fantasy VII Retrospective has been a month-long event where Jirard and a crew of Youtubers take an in-depth look at the impact that Final Fantasy VII has had on RPGs and video games in general.  This in-depth analysis of Final Fantasy VII really made me see the game in a new light and truly understand why people hold the game on such a high pedestal.  While the first two videos were released in March, the majority of this series has come out throughout April and deserves the recognition for how great it is.  I will share the first part here, but I highly recommend watching this series in its entirety.  It will give you a new appreciation of Final Fantasy VII as it has done for me.

Off the Newsstand: Game Informer Issue 232

Just two months removed from the events of E3 2012, magazines are still covering all the big news from the huge conference.  While the July issues of each magazine covered most of the games showed off to the press before E3, the August issues are usually when each magazine breaks down everything at E3.  Giving their grades for each of the Big Three, ranking the games at this year's event and giving away their Best of E3 awards.  For those of us that cannot see every single thing at E3 due to publishers and developers keeping certain games and demos behind closed doors, these issues of each video game magazine serves as our one stop shop for everything that we may have missed at E3.

Being the annual E3 issue, every article excluding the reviews and Game Over sections are all about E3 2012.  From Game Informer's annual breakdown of the Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo's showings at E3 to the humongous cover story, which includes previews of Game Informer's Top 50 Games at E3 2012, you are in for some of the most comprehensive coverage of E3 found in any magazine.  For collector's Issue 232 of Game Informer has six different covers.  Each cover showcases a game highlighted in the E3 Hot 50 cover story.  They are all pretty cool, but my personal favourites are the Castlevania, Resident Evil 6 and Splinter Cell Blacklist covers.  The bulk of the issue is dedicated to the cover story which is more or less an expanded previews section and that is not a bad thing.  I am baffled at how Game Informer picked some of the games on this Top 50 Games of E3 list such as Gears of War: Judgment and Star Wars 1313 when they had little to nothing to show at E3 this year, but everybody is entitled to their opinion.  Honestly I do not really see the purpose of even making this a Top 50 when each writer is essentially writing a preview and not selling why a certain game is at a certain spot on the list.  For the sheer amount and quality of the content in this cover story, it is a must-read for any gamer.  Just forget about the numbering because it does not mean much of anything.  This issue of Game Informer also includes interviews with some big names in the industry, an in-depth analysis of Square Enix's Agni's Philosophy tech demo, a rundown of the most interesting downloadable games and Action MMOs of E3 2012, an in-depth interview with Jason Rubin on his new role at THQ and his plans for the future of the struggling company, reviews and a retrospective look at the first game Rod Fergusson, the director of production at Epic Games, ever worked on.

If you have been living under a rock for the past two months and completely missed out E3 2012, Issue 232 of Game Informer is your one stop shop on all the big announcements and up-to-date game previews.  The sheer amount of content crammed into these 116 pages is incredible.  Definitely an issue of Game Informer that any gamer should go out of their way to read.

E3 2012: Microsoft Press Conference Impressions

Well the future of gaming is now.  The E3 press conferences are were all the big news happens.  Surprising new reveals, huge game demos, and a whole lot of hype.  That is what makes up these press conferences.  Following each press conference this year, I will be writing my impressions on each show.  The good, the bad and the absolutely ugly along with a final grade to wrap up each impression.  Let us start with the first conference of E3, the Microsoft Press Conference.

It is easy to sum up Microsoft's 2012 Press Conference in two words, inconsistent and disappointing.  In the last few years, Microsoft has fallen into a formula of sorts.  They would cram all the hardcore games in the first 30 minutes of the show then the rest of the show would be dedicated to either Kinect or other boring topics.  This year, Microsoft tried to mix things up interspersing hardcore games with casual Kinect games and new entertainment iniatives.  Instead of keeping things focused, it made the show feel all over the place and confusing.  Microsoft focused too much on the entertainment side of things rather than highlighting the reasons to own a Xbox over a PS3 or Wii U.  It came off extremely boring, uninteresting and completely unnecessary.  Microsoft could have easily did a video much like Nintendo's Pre E3 video last night and highlighted all this stuff.  Honestly I do not need or want to know that I can now search movies on my Xbox by genres.  Really?!  The SmartGlass presentation was interesting, but too long drawn out.  One of the main selling points for Internet Explorer working on Xbox when browsers have failed on other consoles is that you use your tablet and/or smartphone to control it, but that leaves one big question.  Why would I use Xbox's browser with my tablet and/or smartphone rather than just use the browser on my tablet and/or smartphone?  Answer that one, Microsoft.  The best part of Microsoft's conference were the game demos.  Splinter Cell: Blacklist and Tomb Raider stole the show while Halo 4 and Resident Evil 6 both had good showings.  I also enjoyed the little interlude for downloadable games.  While it was only a two to three minute montage of trailers, it was far more enjoyable than most of the conference.  To hit home how low this conference got was the final two acts.  To reveal Dance Central 3, Microsoft had Usher perform his new single, Scream live yet forgot to show off any real gameplay.  The final act at Microsoft's press conference went to Call of Duty: Black Ops II.  Not the reveal of the new Xbox, not a new Microsoft game, no Black Ops II.  It was disappointing and also showed how weak Microsoft's first-party development studios have become as they have to rely on a third-party developer to finish off their show.

Overall, Microsoft's E3 2012 Press Conference was a inconsistent mess that came off more of a disappointing whimper than a triumphant victory over the competition.  There are a couple of moments that were truly great, but they were crushed by all the crap that permeated this conference.  Microsoft has made it very easy for Nintendo and Sony to one up them this year.

Grade:  D+

E3 2012: Most Anticipated Games

E3 is home to the big reveals, huge surprises and incredible showcases of the biggest games of the 2012, 2013 and possibly 2014 and farther in the future.  Going into the big show, there is a good number of games and products that we know will be showcased.  This list of games contains the ones I am most looking forward to seeing in all the E3 coverage around the net and on TV.  A few are carryovers from my Most Anticipated Games of 2012 list from the beginning of the year along with some newly announced games that I am most looking forward to seeing more about.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow- Mirror of Fate
Just revealed in the newest edition of Nintendo Power, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow- Mirror of Fate is the first Castlevania game for the 3DS and serves as the bridge between Lords of Shadow and Lords of Shadow 2.  Mirror of Fate is a 2.5D sidescrolling adventure that is very similar to the other Metroidvania style handheld offerings like Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin.  You begin the game as Trevor Belmont and in later stages of the game will be able to play as up to three other descendants of the Belmont clan including the iconic Simon Belmont.  From the screenshots I have seen and the cover story I read, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow- Mirror of Fate has quickly jumped up my list of anticipated games.  Really looking forward to see the game in motion at E3 next week.

Fire Emblem: Awakening
Another 3DS game highly anticipated by yours truly.  The newest Fire Emblem has been doing well in Japan since its release earlier in the year yet nothing has been said about a North American release.  E3 seems like a perfect time for Nintendo to announce the newest installment in this incredible strategy game series is coming to our shores complete with accompanying DLC.

Resident Evil 6
Ever since Capcom announced Resident Evil 6 way back in January, I have been hanging on every little thing Capcom drops on the game.  Apart from the trailers and screenshots, nothing else has been showed on the next game in this classic survival horror franchise.  Resident Evil 6 looks to blend the tension-filled atmosphere of the original Resident Evil games with the high-octane action of later installments in the series.  Being Capcom's biggest game of 2012, there should be no doubt that we should see at least one or two demos of the game being showed off next week along with another excellent trailer to boot.

Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider was easily one of my most anticipated games of 2012 until it got delayed until March 2013.  Even though I am a little sad, it means more time for the Crystal Dynamics to make the best Tomb Raider game of all-time.  More visceral, more gritty and more mature than all the other installments in the Tomb Raider franchise, Tomb Raider serves as Lara Croft's origin story.  The E3 2012 trailer was released earlier today and it is just incredible.  If this trailer is a sign of the things to come this year at E3, Tomb Raider should definitely impress.

Wii U
I have stated this fact many times before and I will state it once again.  I am a huge Nintendo fan and the one thing I have been patiently waiting to hear and see more of is the Wii U.  First shown of last year at E3 to some confusion, this year is the full unveiling of Nintendo's next generation console.  The uses of the controller, the final specs of the console, the first-party games, the third-party support and the plan for online are among few of the topics that will definitely be addressed this coming Tuesday.  My anticipation for Wii U has been building for a year now as I have patiently waited for this year's Nintendo Press Conference.  Tuesday honestly could not come any sooner.  It should be incredible.

Launch Station: Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City

First Resident Evil Revelations for the 3DS, now Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City for the consoles and in a exactly 8 months from today, Resident Evil 6.  Resident Evil fans must be on Cloud 9 because three big Resident Evil games in one year was unheard of until now.  Now let us get right down to the preview of the Resident Evil series' return to iconic Racoon City.

Made by Slant Six Games, the developers behind the PSP SOCOM games and online only SOCOM Confrontation, Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City is set around the same time as Resident Evil 2 and 3. It is a non-canonical "what-if" scenario that has no bearing on the series overall story, which means you can kill off pivotal characters in the series such as Leon Kennedy, Claire Redfield or even Jill Valentine without worry about causing a time paradox.  You play as either as one of the agents from the Umbrella Security Service (USS) set to clean up the T-Virus breakout in Racoon City or a member of Echo Six, a team from the U.S. government's special operations field unit sent to expose Umbrella's illegal operations.  You can play up to six operatives on each side each with their different skills and attributes.  You can play the main campaign either solo or cooperatively with up to three friends.  After playing through the campaign there are some multiplayer modes to dig into.  You can play Racoon Mode, which pits the USS against the US Special Ops against the zombie threat in a three-way battle royale.  There is also Heroes Mode, which allows you to play as the hero characters such as Leon Kennedy, Claire Redfield, Jill Valentine, Ada Wong or HUNK to take down waves upon waves of zombies.

Ever since it was first announced close to a year ago, I had disdain for Operation Racoon City.  The last time Capcom tried to revisit Racoon City in the Outbreak spin-off series, did not go over well.  Instead of focusing on yet another spin-off of the Resident Evil series, they should put all their efforts in making Resident Evil 6 the best game it can be.  Also Resident Evil is a survival horror game at it's core, making a squad-based shooter much in the vein of SOCOM just makes it feel like every other shooter rather than a Resident Evil game.  While some might be super excited that Resident Evil has finally embraced aspects in many other shooters, being able to run and shoot in a Resident Evil game is not good enough selling point.  I am one of the few people that still think the stop-and-shoot mechanic made Resident Evil games tense affairs of just surviving by the skin of your teeth rather than a fault of the game.  Unless you are the most hardcore Resident Evil fan, which will pick this game up no matter what, really look into Operation Racoon City and figure out if it is a game you will enjoy before buying.

Launch Station: Resident Evil Revelations

2012 will be a big year for Capcom's big survival-horror franchise, Resident Evil.  While the big Japanese publisher is giving the cold shoulder to Mega Man fans, they are giving fans of Resident Evil everything they want with not one, not two, but three Resident Evil games in one year.  Operation Raccoon City releases next month and Resident Evil 6 releases all the way in November, while Resident Evil Revelations for the 3DS kicks off this big year for the franchise when it lands on store shelves tomorrow.

Resident Evil Revelations might not be a numbered entry in the series, but it's main focus is on the story of the series.  Revelations is set between Resident Evil 4 and 5.  You mainly play as Jill Valentine, one of the co-founders of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA for short), as you search for Chris Redfield, the protagonist of Resident Evil 1 and 5, aboard a derelict cruise ship known as the S.S. Queen Zenobia.  The S.S. Queen Zenobia serves as the main setting for Revelations, but at certain points in the game you will take control of many different characters from Chris Redfield himself to new characters such as Jill's partner Parker Luciana in locations like the city of Terragrigia or the Mediterranean coast.  These sections are more action-focused and serve as a break from the extremely tense survival horror-focused segments on the ship.  With Revelations, Capcom is looking to bring back the tense survival horror gameplay from the first three Resident Evil games.  The segments on the ship with Jill will focus on elements like low ammunition and a bigger emphasis on exploration and puzzle solving.  Revelations also includes a multiplayer mode called Raid Mode.  In Raid Mode, you and a friend battle waves of enemies in order to earn points that can be used to upgrade your character and weapons.  Revelations will be fully compatible with the 3DS Circle Pad Pro, which also releases tomorrow, allowing players to use a control scheme common with most shooters today with one circle pad to move and the other to aim.

From what I played of the demo and seen of the game online, Resident Evil Revelations is shaping up to be a big third-party release for the 3DS.  The mix of elements from old and new Resident Evil games and the episodic nature of the game will be great for playing on the go.  Also with Capcom dropping the price of the game 10 dollars to the normal price of new 3DS games (40 dollars plus tax), Resident Evil fans should not pass up Revelations.

On the Download: January 15-21

The steady stream of downloadable games continues on with the release of some games from the past and the first demo for the 3DS.  It has been a solid week for downloads.  Apple just released the new iTunes U app which provides hundreds of free courses for people to take.  Apple also updated the iBooks app, named iBooks 2, which adds textbooks to Apple's online bookstore.  Two very useful apps for current and future university and college students such as yours truly.  Now let us rundown the biggest download games and demos of the week.

After weeks of waiting, demos have come to the Nintendo eShop.  The first demo available for 3DS owners is Resident Evil: Revelations, which is set to release in a few weeks.  Interesting thing you will notice once you download this demo is that you have a limited amount of times to play the demo.  You are given 30 times to play the demo.  From my playthrough, you will only have to play this demo once.  It was rather short as I beat it in 18 minutes.  The demo highlighted the feel of playing Resident Evil on the handheld, the return to Resident Evil's more plodding pace and a brand new item.  The controls will take a little while to get use to especially when fighting baddies.  They do make you feel like you playing an old Resident Evil game as Jill moves like a tank.  In my 18 minutes with the game, I did jump a few times as enemies seemed to pop up when I least expect it.  You feel very tense wandering the halls that this demo is set in.  The last thing I want to touch on is the new scanner.  It is such a great tool that I used anytime I could to find hidden items and other scannable objects.  I would have liked to have had a little more time with Resident Evil: Revelations to get a better impression on it, but I am still looking forward to playing it sometime later this year in preparation for Resident Evil 6, which I am very excited for.

Like many other games before it, Soul Calibur has been ported to the ever popular iPod and iPad.  Namco has brought this fighting classic originally for the Dreamcast, but not without a few modes taken out of Soul Calibur.  Soul Calibur for iOS does not have multiplayer or story mode, but Namco hopes to soften the blow by making the game universal.  I am not a fan of fighting games for iOS.  The touch controls are not responsive enough to work for a genre that focuses on precise controls.  The removal of two key modes for any fighting game does sting as a lot of people are not going to want to play Arcade, Time Attack and Survival over and over again.   If you are craving a fighter for your iDevice, I will not stop you.  At 12 dollars, Soul Calibur for the iOS seems more like a quick cash-in for Namco as we quickly approach the release of Soul Calibur V later this month.

By now, you all should have figured out that I am a huge Sonic fan and love to talk about anything involving my favourite Blue Blur.  This Thursday saw the release of Sonic CD and Sonic 4: Episode 1 for the PC via Steam.  If you somehow missed out on these great games when they were released for XBLA, PSN and iOS before, then pick them up.  Both are great platformers that you should have a lot of fun with even with a keyboard.  Trust me, I have played a good number of Sonic platformers on the PC and they have controlled just fine.  At 5 dollars and 10 dollars respectively, this decision should be a no-brainer.  Also every other Sonic game on Steam is 50% off for this weekend only.  So jump on it and download some great games at 50% off the regular price.  You will not be disappointed.

On the Download: January 1-7

Well the holiday season is over and we are into a brand new year filled with plenty of new games coming down the downloadable pipeline.  Sadly this week On the Download will be shorter due to the lack of big downloadable releases this week, but I come bearing gifts in the form of news about downloadable games and services.  First up, Gotham City Impostors, the downloadable Batman FPS that was scheduled to release next week, has been delayed until some unknown date in February.  It is kind of sad as I was looking forward to seeing how this very different style of game set in the Batman universe would fare with critics and the online community.  Next up is news on demos for the 3DS.  Capcom has assured fans via their Capcom Unity blog that the Resident Evil: Revelations demo that released on the Japanese eShop will be coming to North American and European eShops in the near future, something myself and many other 3DS owners are looking forward to a lot.  And my last piece of news involves the 3DS as well.  It has been reported that European 3DS owners that have bought and register two select games on Club Nintendo from November 1st of last year on will receive a code for a free copy of 3D Classics: Kid Icarus.  This promotion has only been announced for Europe, but I am dearly hoping that Nintendo brings it to North America Club Nintendo users as well.  Without further interruption, let us take a look at the big downloadable release for this week.

Just like EA did with NBA Jam back in 2010, EA has brought back another classic Midway arcade sports game from the dead.  This time EA brought back NFL Blitz for hardcore Blitz fans and gamers such as myself who never got the chance to play the game in the arcade or on the N64.  EA has done their best to recreate the fast, energetic arcade gameplay with a plethora of game modes for gamers to sink their teeth into.  The modes are a regular 7-on-7 exhibition game mode for quick one-on-one games with friends, season mode like Blitz Gauntlet, EAs now signature card-based mode for all their sports games Elite League and online competition Blitz Battle mode.  Coupled with the arcade craziness that gamers have come to expect from this old arcade sports franchise, NFL Blitz should keep the biggest football fanatic to even the young kids satisfied.  If you are looking for an arcade sports game for either your Xbox 360 or PS3, NFL Blitz is the download for you.