Bit by Bit: February 2015

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Year in Review 2012: Games I Missed

2012 was a very busy year in the video game industry.  So busy in fact that it has been very hard to keep up with all the incredible games that were released this past year.  Many of the games I have personally been most looking forward to play, I have not gotten much time to play between school, work and having a life.  Instead of a more traditional list of my top games of 2012, I want to write a few articles on my look back at 2012.  Each article will look at a different set of games.  First up will be the games I missed out on during 2012, but hope to spend plenty of time with in 2013.  The second article will be about my favourite games that I actually got to play this year and the final article will be all about my Game of the Year.  So without any further ado, let us get on with this Year in Review.

Dishonored
Before Dishonored came out, I was cautiously optimistic.  While what I had seen and read about the game was very promising, you have to be careful with new IPs.  They do bring about innovation and change in the video game industry, but sometimes they can completely flop.  Personally, I did not want to get my hopes up only to be disappointed in the end.  So I was very happy to see all the positive reviews for the game and see that it is among one of the best games of the year as it is up for many Game of the Year awards.  Dishonored looks like a great blend of the stealth of a game like Thief and the open world choices of a game like BioShock or Deus Ex.  While I have heard that you can easily run through the game if you do not care for the side missions, the charm of a game like Dishonored is the freedom to experiment with your powers and abilities.  Can easily see myself putting a lot of time into this game trying different tactics and approaches to the missions in the game.

Pokemon White Version 2
I am a huge sucker for the Pokemon RPGs.  Pokemon Black and White 2 came out at the beginning of October and I was busy with school and saving my money for the Wii U, so there was no time or reason to pick up this game right at launch.  With more free time this semester, I have enough time to plug away at White 2 (the version I picked up a few weeks ago).  While not much has changed since Black and White released back in March of 2011, White 2 looks to offer enough new additions to keep this Pokemon fan playing for another 40 or 60 hours.

The Walking Dead
Never been a fan of The Walking Dead comic and TV show and when the game was first announced by Telltale Games, I was not that interested.  What really got me and I think many others to take notice of The Walking Dead was all the reviews praising each episode of the game.  Also playing the demo really helped win me over.  With The Walking Dead, Telltale Games has single-handedly revitalized the adventure genre in the eyes of many gamers who have not touched an adventure game in years.  Personally, I have been a fan of Telltale Games for a couple years now from playing their other great adventure games (Back to the Future and Tales of Monkey Island) and I am excited to play what has been their most successful game both commercially and critically.

X-Com:  Enemy Unknown
Another genre that has gotten little love on this generation of consoles has been the turn-based strategy genre.  Other than Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn for the Wii (a great game that every Wii should own), there has not been anything to scratch that hardcore strategy itch on the consoles.  That was until 2K Games and Firaxis released X-Com: Enemy Unknown, a true sequel to the PC classic in October.  Enemy Unknown is not for the feint at heart and that is what gets me excited and terrified to play it at the same time.  You need to be very careful with each turn you take because one move can be the difference between life or death for one of your squad mates.  I cannot wait to spend countless hours becoming a great commander and protecting the Earth from all of it's alien threats.

Off the Newsstand: Game Informer Issue 227

Between all the games coming out, the Vita launch, the normal weekly posts like On the Download and Bit by Bit and reviews, there has not been many times when yours truly has time to give his insight on the magazines he is reading.  Since the last Off the Newsstand, I have read issue 235 of Electronic Gaming Monthly (the only supposedly monthly magazine that is bi-monthly) and issue 226 of Game Informer.  So I have been busily reading away don't you worry.

While the last Game Informer I analyzed on Off the Newsstand I did not think highly of, Game Informer bounced back with a surprisingly pleasing February issue that had XCOM: Enemy Unknown as the cover story.  So I was interested to see if the March issue would be just as pleasing when I heard that Naughty Dog's newest IP, The Last of Us would be gracing the cover.  Other than the interesting VGA trailer, Naughty Dog has been tight-lipped on The Last of Us.  I thought this cover story would do what the VGA trailer failed to do, get me at least interested in The Last of Us.  Long story short, Game Informer's cover story failed.  Do not get me wrong if you love anything Naughty Dog touches or are already excited for The Last of Us, this cover story will wet your appetite for a bit.  If you did not care beforehand, this cover story will not give you anything to get excited for.  I was more interested in the sidebar about how Naughty Dog was so close to working on a new Jak & Daxter before The Last of Us or the fact that after Uncharted 2, Naughty Dog split into two separate teams (the Uncharted team and the now Last of Us team) than anything about The Last of Us.  I learned more about Darksiders II's gameplay, mechanics and other features in Game Informer's four-page preview than I did about The Last of Us in the ten-page cover story. At least The Last of Us cover story was better than the South Park RPG cover story.  While The Last of Us cover story might have been a little lacklustre, there were plenty of great articles in this issue of Game Informer from the article on the Interactive Achievement Awards (an awards show that actually honours video games unlike a specific Spike-produced awards show) to the return of My First Game this time with Naughty Dog co-founder Evan Wells.

Overall, the March issue of Game Informer is more or less your average issue.  Much like the January issue, the cover story brought could have been a stellar issue down a notch.  Those interested in The Last of Us, this issue is six dollars well spent.  For those not interested, this issue will not convert you into a Last of Us fan, but does warrant at least a read either by signing out of from your local library or reading it at your local Chapters.

Off the Newsstand: Game Informer Issue 224

In this day and age when you can find any piece of information online, there is not much respect for the physical print media.  Before there was IGN, GameSpot and 1up for all your video game news, reviews, previews and features, many gamers bought magazines for all their gaming needs.  Only a few still loyal gamers still shell out the money to support these great sources of gaming knowledge.  Most people cannot shell out even 5 dollars for magazine that a group of editors put all their effort to make.  It is really sad how cheap people are these days.  So welcome to Off the Newsstand, my way of putting the spotlight on these great magazines that I read each and every month in a little review of sorts.  I have been reading gaming magazines ever since I picked up an issue of Nintendo Power just over 10 years ago.  So let us get started.

Game Informer has built a reputation over the past two years of being the place to find excellent debuts of great games on the horizon.  That reputation continues with this the December issue as Game Informer debuts Rainbow 6: Patriots.  After a three year absence, Team Rainbow is back to tackle a new homegrown threat as Ubisoft Montreal looks to push the envelope and make a military shooter that actually has a compelling and intelligent story.  Game Informer's cover story gives readers a great glimpse at one of the missions in the single-player campaign and also dives into the new homegrown American extremists known as the True Patriots.  Readers will get a little look at what Ubisoft Montreal hopes to do with the multi-player in Patriots.  The other big features in this issue explores the opening 20 levels a four different classes in the Sith faction in Star Wars: The Old Republic and runs down many of the games coming out for the Playstation Vita.  As with every December issue of any gaming magazine, there are an abundance of previews and reviews in this issue of Game Informer.  The most interesting previews belong to Mass Effect 3 multiplayer, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time and the Gears of War 3 DLC known as RAAM's Shadow.  There are a whopping 30 reviews in this issue of Game Informer covering a good number of the games that were released these past two months from Battlefield 3 to Rayman Origins.  To end the magazine, there is a retrospective look at the development at the cult classic PC strategy game, X-Com and a brand new article, which I personally hope becomes a monthly article, called My First Game.  This month looks at the first game made by co-creative director of Dishonored, Harvey Smith's Technosaur.

Overall, the December issue of Game Informer is 136 pages well-written, informative and ultimately enjoyable reading that every serious gamer should read.  The cover story on Rainbow 6: Patriots is just amazing and got me excited to play a game that is close to two years away from release.  Game Informer is hands down the best gaming magazine that you can buy and it is only 6 dollars at your local EB Games.  If you do not want to pay for it, sign it out from your local library.  Just make sure you give Game Informer a chance or you will be missing out on a great magazine.