Silver Bit @ Fan Expo 2014

On Friday, August 29th, yours truly made the trek down to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in the heart of Canada's largest city for this year's Fan Expo Canada.  Fan Expo Canada is a multi-day event annually held at the very August.  Originally the convention was made to bring together fans of multiple genres, mainly comic books, science fiction, fantasy and film, Fan Expo has gone on to include a vast range of popular media such as video games, anime, manga and horror.  Over the years, the convention has grown to fill four whole days with panels, workshops, special screenings, tournaments, meet and greets, after parties, signings and photo ops among a plethora of other attractions.  Fan Expo Canada is easily the largest convention in all of Canada as it fills both buildings of the Toronto Convention Centre to capacity.

It has been four long years since I last went to Fan Expo Canada and a whole lot has changed since then.  I was astounded on how the convention has grown in size especially video game portion of the convention.  Back in 2010, the entire convention was held in the North Building of the Toronto Convention Centre with less than five percent of that space being dedicated to video games.  This year, the video game portion of the convention took up a whole quarter of the South Building and a large area of the North Building.  The video game industry was more than well represented at Fan Expo 2014 and a lot of the thanks has to go to EB Games Canada and their Gamer Zone.  EB Games Canada brought in the likes of Ubisoft, Sony, Microsoft, Bethesda, Disney, WB Games and 2K Games to demo some of the most anticipated games coming out in the next year.  There were well over 30 games on the show floor to demo including Evolve, Destiny, Far Cry 4, Sunset Overdrive, The Evil Within, Mortal Kombat X and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.  Personally, I spent the majority of my time in this section playing all the upcoming games I could get my hands on.  Considering I went for the one day, I only got to play about a third of the games available, but it was well worth all the kilometres traveled and the time spent waiting in lines.  I look forward to sharing my impressions on the demos I played in the coming weeks.  So stay tuned.

I did not spend my entire Friday in the video game section of Fan Expo.  There were tons of vendors selling video games, comics, art books, t-shirts, framed artwork, action figures, plush toys and anything you can think of.  Out of thousands of items available to buy, I picked up two Official Nintendo Legend of Zelda shirts for 40 dollars.  A lot of time outside of the games section was spent taking pictures of all the incredible statues set up on the floor such as giant Lego statues of the Shedder and Lord Business, and life-sized models of Prowl from Transfromers G1 and the Batmobile from Batman: Arkham Knight.  I also got to watch the very first episode of Star Wars: Rebels, the new Star Wars animated TV show set between Episodes III and IV, in the John Bassett Theatre with tons of excited fans both young and old.  It was a completely different experience watching a show with hundreds of other people as you got to hear live reactions from everybody in the audience, not just yourself.  While Rebels is geared towards a young audience, I found it to be very enjoyable for Star Wars fans of all ages.  It will definitely worth a viewing when it premieres on Disney XD this October.

Last but not least, I got to meet the cast of Reviews on the Run and Electric Playground along with famous video game composer and founder of Video Games Live, Tommy Tallarico.  Even though I met most of these gaming celebrities before, I was incredibly starstruck in front of all of them.  Some people idolize athletes, film stars or musicians, I idolize people in the video games industry including the developers, journalists and game analysts.  While I may have awkwardly stumbled over my words while talking to them, they all made me feel welcomed and appreciated.  I would like to thank Victor Lucas, Ben Silverman, Jose Sanchez, Marissa Roberto, Steve Tilley, Raju Mudhar and Tommy Tallarico for making a great Fan Expo even more special for me.  It was an excellent day and I cannot wait to go again next year.

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.

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.

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

E3 2014: The Big Questions

Well the most wonderful time to be gamer is here yet again.  The 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is only a day away and all the buzz and excitement around the event is its peak.  With all the extreme highs and lows of E3 2013, last year's event was a very exciting and entertaining to experience.  Expectations are set pretty high for this year's event as all the hype surrounding brand new hardware is now firmly in the past and the industry can focus on the product it so perfectly crafts-- video games.  Although hopes are in a much better place leading into E3 2014 than last year's event, there are some key questions that need to be addressed in the coming week.  Questions that will be pivotal in moving the industry forward for better or worse.

What is the 2014 holiday lineup?

The last few weeks leading up to E3 has seen some delays for games originally set to release later this year such as The Order 1886 and Batman: Arkham Knight.  The more delays announced, the more worried this writer has been getting.  Aside from the usual suspects (Assassin's Creed, Battlefield and Call of Duty), the lineup of games releasing this holiday season are much slimmer than years past.  With everything still up in the air, there is nothing that truly stands out among the deluge of similar experiences.   Destiny may be the exception as this writer sees this game generating a large of amount of sales due to Activision's aggressive marketing, but Destiny is just one game that releases at the very beginning of the holiday season.  All video game publishers especially the console manufacturers (Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo) need to make their plans for the holidays clear with firm release dates and a mix between sequels and new properties.  The holiday season is the most crucial time for any business especially video games.  To come out of E3 2014 without a solid holiday lineup set will be bad news for console manufacturers that are looking to push hardware sales and game publishers hoping to sell large quantities of software.

What is Microsoft's and Nintendo's plan to fix their current woes?

Out of the three big console manufacturers, Sony is the only one currently on solid footing.  While the Vita and its games may not be selling much, Sony has written off the handheld as a peripheral for the PS4, a non-factor in their current business plan.  As much as eyes will be on Sony to see if they can keep their momentum, there are more eyes peering at Microsoft and Nintendo to see what they can do to fix their current situations.  

Although the Xbox One is selling, it is significantly lagging behind the PS4.  All of the Xbox One's woes come from Microsoft's debacle from a year ago.  Alienating their primary audience with no used games policy, always connected requirement and forcing Kinect on every Xbox One owner was not the best decision for Microsoft to make leading into the next console generation.  With the recent announcements about a cheaper Xbox One and more benefits for Xbox Live Silver, it seems Microsoft has finally learned from their mistakes and is looking to reconcile with those they alienated a year ago.  The effort may come too late to fix anything in the immediate future, but making these adjustments now will benefit Microsoft farther down the road.  Their E3 2014 press conference is the next step in the healing process and Microsoft better make the most of this opportunity because they will only get one shot.  A subpar to decent performance will not be tolerated, Microsoft needs to come out with games and experiences that gamers can only get by owning a Xbox One.  Microsoft was once a great first-party developer, but has significantly scaled back in the last decade.  It is fine time to flex that software making muscles again and show why Microsoft deserves to be making video games.

Nintendo's issues are on a whole different level.  To get an extensive break down of the problems this writer believes is plaguing Nintendo, check out the A Link to the Wrong post from a few months back.  What Nintendo needs to do at E3 is make steps in fixing the elephant in the room-- the Wii U's dismal sales.  Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. will definitely move a ton of units this year, but those two games can only push console sales so far.  Nintendo needs to show consumers why they have to own a Wii U and key part of convincing people to buy their console comes from showing how their games will take full advantage of the Wii U's tablet-like controller.  Nintendo has to hammer home the Gamepad's full potential with every game they show.  Every game does not need a fancy gimmick, they just need to make the Gamepad relevant for gamers.  Speaking of games, time for Nintendo to drop some information on new titles such as the next entries in The Legend of Zelda and Metroid franchises or Shigeru Miyamoto's super secret project along with release dates for already confirmed titles like Super Smash Bros., Bayonetta 2 and X.  Much like Microsoft, the stakes are high for Nintendo this year.  Anything short of amazing will be considered a failure by critics and gamers alike.  Positive buzz absolutely needs to be generated at E3 2014 around the Wii U and the Nintendo brand as a whole or things will continue to slip for the Big N this cycle.

Why should I buy a next generation console?

A year has passed and it seems like we have not made any progress whatsoever with this question from a year ago.  The next generation is here and there is nothing that truly differentiates it from the last.  All we got so far is a massive game drought, shinier graphics and a hike in video game prices.  To make matters worse, most of the quote-on-quote next gen experiences these major game companies brag about are also available on the previous console generation.  The graphic fidelity may not be as spotless and the frame rate may not be that smooth on the PS3 and Xbox 360, but there is little to no difference between these cross-generational games.  These issues give little to no incentive on consumers to drop close to six hundred dollars on a brand new console when there is barely anything that they cannot already get on the consoles they already own.  Every publisher and developer has a huge task this E3 in providing the games and experiences that can only be conceived with the power of these new consoles.  Time is not currently on anybody's side as consumers are already losing patience with these systems.  Moves need to be made this coming week on all fronts to keep consumers from getting too anxious and to ensure people their six hundred dollar investments were worth it.

Seeing as the industry is currently in the middle of a game drought, it is time to get people excited about what is coming in the weeks, months and even years ahead.  E3 is arguably the most pivotal event of year for video game companies.  As seen with the PS4 and Xbox One respectively, E3 can generate enormous amounts of buzz around a product or completely derail a product altogether.  More than ever before, this year's E3 has to deliver with the games announced, the surprises revealed and the excitement generated because it will be the event that launches the video game industry into the next stage of this eighth console generation.  Come June 9th, all eyes will be on Los Angeles, the LA Convention Center and the video game industry as a whole.  Time for the video game industry to put up or shut up.

Infamous: Second Son Review

Ever since man could dream, they always desired powers beyond their being.  Abilities like flight, x-ray vision and supersonic hearing would all make our hard and sometimes trying lives more manageable and relaxing.  As long as humans have dreamed of these superpowers, ironically the only realm where they can truly become reality is in fiction.  From comic books to television shows to movies, superpowers and superheroes have captured the hearts and minds of people the world over.  Unlike those types of media where you view these unbelievable powers and iconic heroes from a distance, video games immerse one in the world of superpowers and spandex like no other.  In direct control of all the action, you are the one soaring over Gotham's streets, catching bad guys in your webbing or thwarting a villain's plans to rule the world.  The latest game to give you direct control of these wondrous superpowers is Sucker Punch's Infamous: Second Son.

Infamous: Second Son takes place seven years after the events of Infamous 2.  In that time, super-powered humans known as Conduits have been vilified by the government.  Known as Bio-terrorists, they are hunted down and captured by the government's special DUP unit.  Second Son's story begins when protagonist Delsin Rowe comes in contact with three escaped Conduits.  From this meeting, Delsin awakens his dormant Conduit powers which allow him to absorb any power he comes in contact with.  Delsin's new powers get him in trouble with the DUP head Brooke Augustine which leads to Augustine unleashing her concrete powers on the innocent people of Salmon Bay.  Due to Augustine's actions, Delsin and his brother Reggie travel to DUP-occupied Seattle to absorb her concrete powers in order to heal the people of Salmon Bay.  While the narrative hits certain pre-determined points, the player has full control of how Delsin presents himself.  Delsin can either be the goody two-shoes superhero or the revenge-driven supervillain.  This decision directly affects Delsin's actions, appearance, ultimate attacks and abilities available to customize and upgrade.

The story and karma system may provide initial motivation for the player to combat the overwhelming forces of the DUP and customize Delsin's large set of powers, but both are far from Second Son's best features.  The success or failure of every superhero game depends whether the game truly makes the player feel like a superhero or not.  With four powers to play with and tons of ways to enhance and upgrade those base powers, Infamous: Second Son succeeds at putting you in the shoes of a superhero.  The powers easily take centre stage in Second Son as they are your primary tools for combat and exploration.  Each power is suited for different play styles.  For example, neon is best suited for long range sniping and video is perfectly designed for stealthy approaches to combat.  Each power is fleshed out and fun to play, but each person will find a favourite among the four powers available.  This writer's personal favourite is neon because of the incredible speed, the ability to slow down time during combat and the precision sniping.

The powers would not be as fun as they are without a fully realized world to use them in.  The virtual sights and sounds of Seattle are Delsin's playground in Second Son.  Compared to current more grandiose open world sandboxes like those found in Grand Theft Auto V or the Batman games, Seattle can feel a little lifeless and bland at times.  While you are not overloaded with tons of optional missions to tackle or additional attractions to experience all at once, Seattle offers enough side missions, collectables and random enemy encounters to keep players engaged.  Although the lack of variety among side missions can can cause things to get repetitive from time to time, one can easily lose themselves in the ebb and flow of destroying surveillance cameras, collecting blast shards, spray painting buildings and busting drug dealers.  A key reason why the Seattle setting is so engrossing comes from Second Son's superb graphics.  From the stunningly captured faces of all the main characters to the dazzling particle effects to beautifully rendered cityscape during day or night and rain or shine, the game uses the power of the PS4 to make the world of Infamous more believable and photorealistic.  The graphics of Second Son truly shows off the incredible horsepower of Sony's PS4 and brings the city of Seattle to life in a way no game has ever captured before.  Seattle may have its drawbacks, but ultimately it is a well made playground that keeps players moving forward in progressing the narrative and the advancement of Delsin's powers.

Infamous: Second Son may have some great features and content, but there are a few areas where this game falls short.  The tedious nature of the side mission, which sees the same six missions repeated over and over again throughout all of Second Son's world, really holds back Seattle from being held in the same regard as classic open world sandboxes such as Batman's Arkham City, Grand Theft Auto's Liberty City or Spider Man 2's New York.  This repetition limits the replay value of Second Son as all but true completionists will have their fill finishing only the side missions they run into during their first playthrough.  Some may be inclined to play Second Son again to experience the differences between playing as a superhero or supervillain though the story does not excite even the first time around.  Sadly after the opening hours, the story falls into a pattern of introducing a new Conduit with a desired power,  gaining said power and searching for core relays to unlock new abilities.  Along with the repetitive story structure, none of the other major characters are fleshed out to the point of caring about them or downright hating them outside of Delsin and Reggie.  Even Augustine, the antagonist of Second Son, has barely any character development until the final moments of the game.  The lack of character development and repetitive story points makes the plot feel like it is going through the motions to move the player from one objective to the next.  The karma system is no better as it forces the player to one path rather than experimenting between being good or evil.  One action that is opposite of your current path, even if it is an accident, will completely derail the karma combo needed to use ultimate karma bomb attacks.  Also the major choices of the game lack weight as they are always between two extremes instead of multiple shades of grey.

Although Infamous: Second Son may have some flaws in terms of narrative, variety and choice, Sucker Punch's open world adventure succeeds where it counts.  Second Son truly makes the player feel like a superhero or supervillain as they are in full control Delsin's powers and evolution throughout the game.  It also succeeds as a technical powerhouse that perfectly shows off the power of the PS4's graphics processors in the most crucial early stages of this new console cycle.  Overall, Infamous: Second Son is one of the best games currently available on the PS4 and a worthy addition to anyone's library.

Looking Past the Surface: The Pros & Cons of CG Trailers

The biggest news to come out of this past week was the announcement of Batman: Arkham Knight.  As the final Batman game in Rocksteady's trilogy, Arkham Knight is being hyped to be more expansive and epic than the previous two entries in the series (one of them being easily the best superhero game of all-time).  Scheduled to release this October, WB Games decided to release a trailer for the game.  Considering the game is less than year away, it would have been nice to see how exactly Arkham Knight would run on the next generation systems with a gameplay trailer.  What we got was a computer-generated (CG) trailer that did a decent job of showing what the game would be about, but did little to impress this writer.  In fact, this trailer got me thinking about the video game industry's love of pre-rendered CG trailers.  There are pros and cons to CG trailers which I would like to discuss in this article.  Personally, I lean more towards the con side of this debate, but I can see the pluses of CG trailers as well.

As the video game industry has evolved, trailers have been given much more prominence than in the past.  Video game trailers are so prominent nowadays that websites dedicate obscene amounts of time dissecting each frame and highlight every big trailers on the front page.  There is even a website which focuses solely on highlighting game trailers in GameTrailers.  With a lot more importance put on game trailers nowadays, game publishers want their trailers to be the best even if the game is not ready to be shown yet.  These publishers employ animation houses to make a trailer that best captures the ideas of the game.  When the game is early development, a CG trailer works as an appetizing teaser for gamers.  It gets gamers excited for the upcoming game as they see all the grand possibilities which they can eventually play.  These trailers work as a great way of eliciting gamers to pre-order the game well in advance.   As a money making machine, CG trailers serve their purpose well.  Another pro of CG trailers is the quality as most of them can easily rival that of Hollywood's best.  The quality of these trailers can produce great amount of hype no matter the actually quality of the game.  The CG trailer for Dead Island is an excellent example of this type of situation.  It easily produced enough hype to put Dead Island as one of the most sought after games of 2011.  CG trailers are a very profitable business for game developers and serve as a form of entertainment for gamers.  They will definitely be the norm of the video game industry well into the future.

While there are plenty of pluses to the use of CG trailers, they are not all that they seem to be.  With CG trailers, the quality can serve as a double-edged sword which many a game have fallen to.  Sometimes, the CG trailer is too good that it overshadows the quality of the game when it finally releases.  Dead Island fell into that trap as the game was marred with numerous glitches, some that even halted gamer's progress indefinitely.  Another example is Killzone 2.  The infamous trailer shown at E3 2005 had such amazing graphical fidelity that Guerilla's game could never achieve those great heights.  The expectations brought on from Killzone 2's first trailer caused many gamers to feel betrayed by Sony and Guerilla Games.  As these CG trailers are created by animation houses outside of the actual developers, it is easy for these trailers to include certain aspects such as supposed mechanics or weapons that are not even in the main game.  This mixed messaging can deceive gamers into believing that exactly what they see in the CG trailer will be in the actual game and most of the time that is not true.  As much as CG trailers can help boost the hype and possibly sales of the game, they can be just as damaging if games rely too much on them.  As game graphics continue to advance, an argument can be made that in-engine graphics can be used without hurting the quality of video game trailers.  Already there have been many games that use in-engine graphics for their trailers to great success.  Every trailer for Grand Theft Auto V including the very first one from 2011 was produced with in-engine graphics.  Mass Effect 2 and 3 used in-game graphics for both of their launch trailers and produced some of the best video game trailers in years.  The Mass Effect 2 launch trailer was the sole reason I hunted down a Collector's Edition of the game the weekend after launch.  Using in-engine graphics for trailers might not always be a possibility especially earlier in development, but they can alleviate some of the trappings of relying on CG trailers to convey the concept of the game.

 Although this writer would love to see in-engine gameplay trailers become the norm, CG trailers are not going anywhere.  In the early years of this new console generation, CG trailers will become more prominent as publishers build hype for games that are years away from completion.  As CG trailers become more prominent, gamers need to become more critical of these trailers rather than taking them at surface value.  Gamers need to stop blindly getting excited for a game because it had a great CG trailer.  Instead, they need to start taking them as they are, just proofs of concept, and waiting on gameplay footage, previews and possibly demos before making a definitive decision on how these CG trailers represent the game they are promoting.

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.

Top 5 Games of E3 2013

E3 2013 has been in the books for two weeks now.  The fallout from this year's show has been big with the incredibly positive buzz surrounding the PS4 and the immense animosity towards the Xbox One- even following Microsoft's change of heart.  E3 2013 saw the first real shots fired in the next round of the console wars.  The frontrunner following E3 looks to be Sony with Nintendo in second and Microsoft in a distant third.  E3 did garner some excitement for the next generation of consoles yet this writer does not see a game that provides a reason for gamers to drop their cash to pick up these new systems at launch.  Those games may be a couple of years down the road, which makes waiting possibly the best choice for most unless you are among the most hardcore.  Most of the games showed off for the next generation of consoles were a lot in line with the games that have dominated the last half of the current generation- shooters and sequels.  It is a new generation; time for Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft to start taking more risks rather than solely resting on their laurels.  Most of these companies are making moves to secure exclusives on their console and ramp up their support for independent developers, one of the few sources of originality in the industry nowadays, but those things alone will not secure victory this time around.  The dawn of the last console generation saw the birth of franchises like Gears of War, Uncharted and Wii Sports to name of few.  Creative risks of that ilk seem to coming from downloadable games or a select few games available for both current and next generation consoles.  The console manufacturers need to start leading by example and move this industry out of the sequel-driven slump it has fallen into.  Do not get this writer wrong, sequels are fine and healthy parts of this industry, but too many unnecessary sequels (Call of Duty, Assassin's Creed, Need for Speed) cause stagnation in creativity and disinterest from gamers.  Once the initial wave of games for the next generation release, hopefully we will see some new ideas emerge from the triple A publishers.

No E3 is complete here at Silver Bit without the annual Top Games of E3 list.  Throughout the hectic week that is E3, yours truly makes a tireless effort to watch as much gameplay footage shown at the show.  Without physically being in LA to experience the event, it is hard to find footage for every single game at the show.  Like last year, the only games that qualify for this list are those that had demos on the show floor.  Now let us get on to the Top Games of E3 2013.

Honourable Mention

Batman:  Arkham Origins- PS3, XB360, Wii U, PC

The reveal of Arkham Origins just about two months ago was not well received by this writer.  Arkham City is easily one of the best games of this generation, but Origins seemed to be a quick cash-in by Warner Bros.  After watching the demo showed off at E3, Arkham Origins looks to be more of the same Arkham City greatness with some improvements and that is totally fine.  The combat and open world traversal looks the same as usual, but it is the new investigation mode that should get gamers excited to venture into Gotham City.  Instead of the forced investigation segments from the previous entries in the Arkham series, Origins allows gamers to become the World's Greatest Detective by being able to reconstruct an entire crime scene using evidence collected throughout the investigation and exploration. Seeing the new investigation mode in motion has got this writer excited to lace up the Dark Knight's boots once again.

5.  Murdered:  Soul Suspect- PS3, XB360, PC
Last year, Airtight Games was gathering a lot of attention for Quantum Conundrum, a first-person puzzler similar to Valve's Portal.  Now come E3 this year, Airtight has got gamers intrigued with their newest game Murdered: Soul Suspect.  Murdered places you in the ghostly shoes of the recently deceased detective, Ronan O'Connor.  Caught in limbo, Ronan is tasked in solving his own murder using his new found supernatural powers.  Powers like possession let Ronan interact with the environment around him to find evidence unbeknownst to the other NPCs in the game.  With the evidence collected, Ronan can piece together key information used to open up new areas to investigate.  Ronan is not the only one stuck in limbo.  From time to time, Ronan will run into demons that threaten the ghostly detective.  To dispatch these enemies, Ronan must use stealth and possession powers.  At E3, Murdered: Soul Suspect seemed to get swept up under all the hype produced by the next gen consoles and huge Triple A games.  It is sad considering how unique and intriguing this game is.  Murdered: Soul Suspect will definitely be one to watch come 2014.

4.  Bayonetta 2- Wii U
Nintendo showed off some great games at E3, but none really blew this writer away much like Bayonetta 2.  The Masters of the Insane, also known as Platinum Games, have brought some of the most unapologetically crazy games this last generation and they look to continue that drive into the future with Bayonetta 2.  It is really hard to describe the demo showed off at E3, but did it ever make this writer's jaw drop on multiple occasions.  Watch the demo and you will see what is trying to be conveyed in this paragraph.  You play as a witch covered in clothes made of her own hair as you fight angels, demons or whatever enemy Platinum throws your way with magic produced by using your hair.  It does not make much sense, but sure does it look fun.  While Bayonetta 2 will not be a system seller for the Wii U, it could push some hardcore gamers to pick up Nintendo's newest console.

3.  Transistor- PS4, PC
When Transistor was first announced at PAX East, many were comparing it to Supergiant Games' freshman effort, Bastion.  Transistor does have a couple similarities to Bastion like the isometric perspective and the use of a narrator to describe the action, but that is where the similarities end.  Transistor is primarily a turned-based strategy game, but it does allow you play it like any other action game if you choose.  Choosing to play Transistor like any other action game will be a mistake as you are missing out at Transistor's greatest strength, its planning mode.  In planning mode, time stops and you are able to plan out your moves and attacks on the action bar.  You are given all the time in the world to plan out your battles as you can scrub up and down the action bar and edit it as you want.  You cannot abuse the planning mode as it will need to recharge after every use.  The interplay between fighting in real-time and using planning mode is very intriguing and will easily make one of the standout downloadable experiences on PS4 and PC next year.

2.  Plants vs. Zombies:  Garden Warfare- XBOne, XB360, PC
Nobody thought turning Plants vs. Zombies from a tower defense game to a third-person shooter would be a good idea.  Many thought this change in genre would destroy all the fun and charm that makes Plants vs. Zombies so endearing to gamers and non-gamers alike.  Well PopCap proved us all wrong then because Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare looks flipping awesome!  Easily one of this writer's biggest surprise from E3, Garden Warfare did not look like anything exceptional from the trailer showed off at the EA Press Conference, but the gameplay changed the entire story.  Allowing gamers to jump into any one of the plants from the Plants vs. Zombies games, you fight off hordes upon hordes of zombies with your own weapons and other traps and defences you set up throughout the level. Garden Warfare looks like a team-based shooter that should be a lot of fun to play with others hopefully both on and offline.

1.  Watch Dogs- PS4, PS3, XBOne, XB360, Wii U, PC
Watch Dogs shocked the world when it was revealed back at E3 2012.  The more Ubisoft has shown of their newest IP, the more gamers have been impressed.  Watch Dogs keeps on looking better and better to the point that it has easily become one of the most anticipated titles of 2013.  For a brand new IP to have such huge amount of anticipation is very hard to come by in the sequel-driven environment that the video game industry currently is.  Watch Dogs looks to blend a straight-forward action game with the freedom of a open world Chicago to explore, but this blend is not the reason people are excited for Ubisoft's newest venture.  The reason people are excited to play Watch Dogs is due to the amount of freedom you have to manipulate the world around you.  Playing as master hacker Aiden Pearce, Chicago is your playground and also your weapon.  Hacking into the city to escape the pursuits of the police, cause chaos and listen in on phone conversations are just the tip of what you can do in Watch Dogs.  Couple all that control with the ability to have a friend play co-operatively or competitvely using a tablet, which this writer hopes Ubisoft integrates natively in the Wii U version, Watch Dogs is the game to watch this holiday season.  Ubisoft could have another hit on their hands with Watch Dogs.  Just hopefully Ubisoft does not run this potential series into the ground like they did with Assassin's Creed.

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron Review

For the longest of times, games based off of established franchises such as Batman or Spider-Man were dreaded for being cheap cash-ins.  Now in our post-Arkham Asylum world, certain developers such as Rocksteady and High Moon Studios have forged a new-found trust in the fans by creating quality license games.  High Moon Studios newest Transformers game, Fall of Cybertron, hopes to continue the loving trust they won from fans with War for Cybertron.  Fall of Cybertron delivers in spades.  It improves on the foundation High Moon Studios laid down with War for Cybertron in every single creating easily the best Transformers game of all-time.

Transformers:  Fall of Cybertron continues right after the events from War for Cybertron.  The civil war between the Autobots and the Decepticons has torn their beloved world of Cybertron apart literally.  Cybertron can no longer produce the life-giving materials that the Transformers need to survive.  With no hope left on Cybertron, the Autobots and Decepticons build their means of escaping this dying planet.  Fall of Cybertron recounts the events leading up to this major exodus.  The story in Fall of Cybertron is absolutely incredible as it takes you through the darkest hours of the Transformers.  For fans of the franchise, High Moon Studios has peppered the dialogue with a lot of references to the expanded Transformers lore and one amazing treat only found in the final mission that had me smiling from ear to ear.  While the ending is rather abrupt in my opinion, Fall of Cybertron provides a great conclusion to this chapter of Transformers lore.

Unlike War for Cybertron, Transformers:  Fall of Cybertron’s campaign can only be played by a single player.  While levels may come off as more linear as a result to the exclusion of the three player co-op, it has offered High Moon Studios some freedom to create a more focused single-player campaign with tons of variety.  You are never stuck doing the same thing for long in Fall of Cybertron.  This variety keeps Fall of Cybertron from falling into the monotony and tedious nature of most modern shooters.  There are even some levels in the game that focus on aspects other than shooting such as stealth, platforming or brawling.  These levels along with one truly epic final level that sees you jump between the Autobots and Decepticons on the fly are easily the highlights of Fall of Cybertron’s campaign.  Fall of Cybertron’s core shooting gameplay is the main focus of the game’s multi-player modes.  Fall of Cybertron’s multi-player is very fast-paced and action-packed as you trade kills and deaths at an incredibly high rate.  After a game or two, you will get the hang of things and start getting some streaks.  Personally, I found Fall of Cybertron’s multi-player to be much more approachable than other shooters and I can easily see myself going back to it from time to time.  A key part of multi-player is creating your own Transformer from the parts you win from playing multi-player.  While I personally did not get a chance to really dive into this feature, there are some very powerful customization tools at your disposal to create a robot similar to any existing Transformer or your own unique creation. 

While Transformers:  Fall of Cybertron is an incredible game, it does have one problem that holds the game back from being on a level with say Batman: Arkham City.  The problem in question is some glitches that pop up every once and a while.  I fell through geometry, got stuck in the floor, clipped through walls while transforming and even had to reset my PS3 because the game froze.  None of these glitches were anything game-breaking, but they did detract from the experience just a bit. 

With an incredible campaign, great gameplay, great gameplay variety and an approachable set of multi-player suite, Transformers:  Fall of Cybertron is hands-down the best video game interpretation of this venerable franchise.  Fall of Cybertron gives the proper amount of respect to the Transformers franchise and its lore while forging its own mark on the Transformers legacy.  Fall of Cybertron appeals to longtime fans and provides an excellent introduction to the Transformers universe for newcomers.  Transformers:  Fall of Cybertron is one of the best games of this summer and of this year.  It is an experience not to miss.

Launch Station: Sleeping Dogs

Cancelled by Activision in early 2011, it looked like United Front Games take on the True Crime universe would never see the light of day.  Late last year, Square Enix announced that they had picked up the rights to publish True Crime: Hong Kong under the new name of Sleeping Dogs because Activision still owns the rights to the True Crimes name.  Not many games come back from being cancelled.  United Front Games is very fortunate to have another chance to release the game that have spent the last four years working on.  Hopefully it can live up to some high expectations from the publisher, Square Enix, and the fans of the True Crime series.

Sleeping Dogs follows the story of Wei Shen, an undercover cop apart of an operation to take down the Triads from the inside.  Wei Shen must work his way up in the organization by taking part in the brutal criminal activities without blowing his cover.  As Wei Shen dives deeper into the ranks of the Triad, the lines between truth and honour, right and wrong blur severely and he is left to struggle between his loyalty to the police and the trust he has gained from the Triads.  At its' core, Sleeping Dogs is a open world action game.  You are given all of Hong Kong to explore whatever way you want from walking on foot to driving a variety of vehicles.  While the story missions are necessary to unlock certain areas and content in the game, you are able to complete them at your own leisure.  The city of Hong Kong is bustling with side missions to complete, activities such as gambling and street fighting to participate in and even girlfriends for Wei Shen to date.  While you are able to use guns in the game, most of the combat revolves around hand-to-hand combat, which allows players to perform deadly martial arts and brutal takedowns much like Batman in the Arkham games.  Also Sleeping Dogs features some light RPG elements.  Depending on what you do in the game, you earn three types of experience points, Triad XP, Police XP and Face XP.  Each type of experience points measures your reputation with certain groups or as a whole.

Personally, I have never been a fan of the True Crime series so Sleeping Dogs does not quite appeal to me that much.  I am happy that Square Enix did the right thing and let this game that almost got eaten up by Activision see the funding it needed to reach store shelves.  Now it is up to the fans of the True Crime series that have most likely been following the development of Sleeping Dogs since it was announced in 2008 and those interested in the game to support Sleeping Dogs with their hard earned cash.  If Sleeping Dogs proves successful, it might influence other publishers to help save other games from being cancelled in the future.

Launch Station: The Amazing Spider-Man

A week after Lego Batman 2 hit the scene, Marvel's web crawler hits the consoles.  Just one week before the corresponding movie releases in theatres, The Amazing Spider-Man hits game consoles.  While there has been a steady stream of quality superhero games in the past few years, gamers are still very cautious with superhero games because they end up as bad as the last Spider-Man game, Edge of Time, more often than not.  With the stinker that Edge of Time was, Beenox has to prove to the gaming world they are not one-hit wonders.  Beenox has to prove that they can make quality Spider-Man games each and every year or Activision will run them out the door and not look back.

Much different than other movie tie-ins, The Amazing Spider-Man game will serve as an epilogue to the movie.  So be warned to those planning to buy it during the first week of release because there will be spoilers.  During the opening mission of The Amazing Spider-Man, cross-species experiments from Oscorp escape into New York City.  In order to combat the cross-species that are running amok in New York City, expert in nano-technology and newest executive at Oscorp Alistair Smythe creates a bunch of robots to hunt them down.  It is up to Spider-Man, which is also a cross-species, from both the escaped Oscorp experiments and Alistair Smythe's army of killer robots.  While Alistair Smythe may be the main villain in The Amazing Spider-Man, the game also includes classic Spider-Man villains such as Rhino, Felicia Hardy, Scorpion and The Lizard.  The Amazing Spider-Man sees the return of the open world gameplay that was made popular in Spider-Man 2 (possibly one of the best movie tie-in games of all-time).  As Spider-Man, you are able to explore New York City to your hearts content.  Swing around, complete side missions and challenges, fight random thugs or take part in multiple different mini-games in addition to the game's main story.  The two major changes to the Spider-Man open world formula are found in the combat and new Web Rush mechanic.  First, the combat has been retooled to be more fast-paced and free-flowing.  The combat in The Amazing Spider-Man is very similar to Rocksteady's Batman games.  Next the Web Rush mechanic makes travelling across New York a little easier.  When you activate Web Rush and highlight the place where you want to go, Spider-Man smoothly transitions to said location.  When Web Rush is activated, control is taken away from the player, but you can break from the animation and go off in another direction altogether.

Personally, it has been hard to tell if The Amazing Spider-Man will any good.  I have not really cared for a Spider-Man game since the last generation of consoles.  I do want to pick up Shattered Dimensions sometime because I have heard many good things about it.  Other than that I am not that interested in The Amazing Spider-Man game.  I do hope Beenox has made a good enough game in The Amazing Spider-Man to get Activision to possibly give them more time to develop future Spider-Man games instead of pumping one out every year.

Launch Station: Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes

Ever since the original Lego Star Wars came out in 2005, the Lego gaming franchise has had incredible success with every entry.  From Star Wars to Harry Potter to Indiana Jones to eventually Lord of the Rings, Traveller's Tales has legofied many great franchises.  The first Lego Batman was the best selling Lego game in the series so Traveller's Tales has created one of their most ambitious games in Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes.

Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes begins with Joker breaking out of Arkham Asylum to join forces with the nefarious Lex Luthor.  Batman and Robin must team up with Superman and the Justice League to take down Joker and Lex Luthor.  Lego Batman 2 has many similarities to other Lego games such as collecting studs to buy new characters and items or constructing objects in order to solve puzzles.  Lego Batman 2 does have some different aspects that make it stand out from other Lego games.  Lego Batman 2 is the first fully voiced Lego game in the series.  No more mime acting and grunts that all the other Lego games used to convey their story.  Also in the audio department, Lego Batman 2 uses of Danny Elfman's score for Batman and Batman Returns and John William's score for Superman along with some original music to make up the game's soundtrack.  Outside of the linear story missions, Lego Batman 2 allows you to explore Gotham City to your heart's content as any character you have unlocked while playing the game.  Lego Batman 2 includes new gadgets for Batman and Robin to use and new vehicles to drive around in.  Lego Batman 2 also features the two player dynamic split-screen co-op that was introduced in Lego Star Wars III where the more you move away from each other the more the screen splits.

Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes looks like another good Batman game.  While I personally enjoy Rocksteady's Arkham series to the Lego Batman games, Lego Batman 2 looks to further evolve the Lego game series to keep up with modern gamers.  Lego Batman 2 is a perfect way of introducing the younger generation to one of the most popular super heroes of all-time compared to the more mature Christopher Nolan movies and Arkham series of games.

E3 2012: Nintendo E3 Press Conference Impressions

Monday was a big day filled to the brim of press conferences.  While Tuesday only has one press conference to speak of, it does mark the first day of show floor is open.  To start the day is Nintendo with their big E3 press conference.  As all eyes were on the Big N, it was their time to deliver and give gamers a reason to buy a Wii U over PS3 or Xbox 360.

The last few Nintendo Press Conferences have been pretty strong.  With the first big unveiling, you would think Nintendo would pull all the stops in order to steal all the thunder away from Microsoft and Sony once again.  Sadly this press conference did not live up the incredible expectations fans and the media put on it.  By all means, it was a decent conference on par with Sony's Press Conference and better than EA's and Microsoft's showings.  While the focus, other than one little segment, was on the Wii U, Nintendo did not do much to give a sole reason for gamers to pick up their newest console over the PS3 or Xbox 360, which will most likely seeing price drops to compete with the Wii U.  The show did start off strong with Mr. Miyamoto and the very first look at Pikmin 3.  Pikmin 3 looked great with all the new features like four new playable characters, a new class of Pikmin and the two different control styles.  The Pikmin 3 showcase was easily the best thing about Nintendo's Press Conference.  Reggie Fils-Aime followed Pikmin 3 by quickly summarizing features of the Wii U controller and the Miiverse, which both had in-depth showcases during the Nintendo Direct video from this past Sunday, before showing off New Super Mario Bros. U.  Super Mario Bros. U was very interesting with a few tidbits at the connection with Miiverse and the asynchronous gameplay use of the Wii U Gamepad like creating platforms that other players can use to get to unreachable areas.  Nintendo then introduced their renewed focus on third-party partnerships with two WB Games for Wii U, Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition and Scribblenauts Unlimited.  Batman: Arkham City did have some cool exclusive features for Wii, but the Scribblenauts Unlimited footage really took centre stage.  We got a set of trailers, one for Wii Fit U and another for a new music game called SiNG, which was one of the low points of the show.  Later in the show, we got some more third-party games now from Ubisoft.  The Just Dance 4 demo was horrid while the ZombiU had an interesting trailer to say the least.  That was followed by Lego City: Undercover, which looked like a very cool mix between the Lego franchise and the open world formula of a GTA, but a lot less violent and graphic.  We also got a quick little rundown of three first-party games for 3DS (New Super Mario Bros. 2, Papar Mario: Sticker Star and Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon) that could of easily been cut out of the conference to make room for more Wii U demos/reveals since there will be a hour long conference dedicated just to 3DS tomorrow evening.  Nintendo ended off the show with Nintendo Land, a virtual Nintendo theme park that integrates with Miiverse and has 12 mini-games based on Nintendo's biggest franchises.  Nintendo Land looks to do for Wii U what Wii Sports did for Wii.  It is meant to get gamers accustomed to the Wii U's new features and controller and would be a great game to pack-in with the Wii U, Nintendo.  The Nintendo Land demo was just okay, but in no way should it have been the final game Nintendo had to show off.  Nintendo needed to end their conference with a bang.  Be it a teaser of a new first-party game or a demo of whatever Retro Studios was rumoured to be working on.  It was a huge missed opportunity and made this conference come out a little flat when everything was said and done.

Overall, Nintendo's E3 Press Conference was an okay showing.  While it did fall flat with no real surprises, what Nintendo did offer was an enjoyable conference nonetheless.  Just Dance 4, SiNG, Wii Fit U and Zombie Reggie were the only real low points of this conference and they did not drag on longer than a minute or two.

Grade:  C+