2015: The Year and Games Ahead

Although we are already a month into 2015, the year is still young.  As each day passes, we move one step closer to the next big game release or product launch.  After how disappointing 2014 was, the video game industry will be trying to bounce back in 2015 with grander spectacles, shocking surprises and innovative concepts.  While we may not know everything that is coming in the next 11 months, I want to share, in no particular order, the games and other products I am looking forward to in the coming year.

Amiibo
Yes, I know it's not socially acceptable for a 23 year-old adult male to be collecting little "children's" toys, but I honestly don't care.  Nintendo and their games have and always will be a significant part of my life and the ability to get physical statues of the characters I love without spending an entire paycheck is incredible.  I want to own them all, but things haven't been going to plan considering the low supply and the insanely high demand.  With their cool designs and extra functionality, I am excited to buy future waves of Amiibos, but I am not going to let these toys consume my life like they have for many others.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
If it wasn't for the additional delay, it would only be weeks between me and Geralt of Rivia instead of months.  The delay may be for the best considering all my responsibilities with school and work at the moment.  No matter when The Witcher 3 drops, I know it consume a gigantic portion of my time.  The scope and scale of The Witcher 3 is just mesmerizing as you can literally go anywhere and do anything you want in its open fantasy world.  Every new piece of information, be it a trailer or news story, gets my blood pumping to play this game.  On May 19th, the rampage of the Wild Hunt begins.

Mighty No. 9
Everybody and their mother has been clamouring for a new Mega Man game for years now.  No matter how loud and boisterous people get about the severe lack of the Blue Bomber, Capcom just doesn't want to give their mascot any love outside the occasional cameo or guest appearance.  While Capcom may not be listening to their fans, Keiji Inafune, father of Mega Man, took the opportunity to capitalize on the high demand with Mega Man's spiritual successor, Mighty No. 9.  Launched via Kickstarter back in 2013, Mighty No. 9 easily demolished its goal and has gone onto entice millions to donate money even after the initial funding campaign.  What Inafune and his studio Comcept have shown off of Mighty No. 9 through trailers, closed betas and previews has looked outstanding.  The game has similar elements to past Mega Man games, but combines them with some unique mechanics, such as dashing as the main way of dispatching enemies, that sets protagonist Beck out of his older brother's shadow. With Mighty No. 9 coming to every system on the market today, there's no way you should miss out on the biggest platforming games of the year.

Xenoblade Chronicles X
Back in 2012, Xenoblade Chronicles impressed with its humongous vistas and superb adaptation of MMORPG gameplay into a single-player experience and on the Wii no less.  Sadly due to a limited production run, many people were unable to experience one of the best JRPGs of the last generation.  For those who purchase the New Nintendo 3DS, a port of the original Xenoblade Chronicles is coming in early April, but, in my opinion, the smaller screen of the 3DS will not do the magnificence of Xenoblade's incredible scope justice.  Fortunately, Monolith Soft and Nintendo are joining forces once again to deliver a sequel for the Wii U later this year.  Xenoblade Chronicles X looks to have even larger environments to explore, more refined RPG mechanics and the addition of mechs!  As much as I love giant robots, the added mechs makes the scope of the combat feel as awe-inspiring as the environments.  If you aren't convinced, take some time to watch the 24-minute gameplay trailer Nintendo released a few weeks back and see for yourself.

The Legend of Zelda
The release of a brand new Zelda is always a highly anticipated event.  This time around, the anticipation is at a fever pitch.  Nintendo has shown only two short trailers for the game yet they have been enough to send gamers into a frenzy of speculation.  The reason for this frenzy comes from the significant changes to the formula in the way of progression, combat and exploration.  The most significant change being the creation of a fully realized open-world Hyrule where you can complete dungeons however you choose.  Since Nintendo is aiming to have this new Zelda out by the end of 2015, there is still plenty of information to be revealed in the months ahead.

Year in Review 2014: Game of the Year

Every year, all roads lead to one place—the Game of the Year.  The title gets thrown around a lot throughout a year as gamers and critics voice their pleasure with select games.  But what truly makes a game worthy of being called Game of the Year?  Is it the most unique experience on the market?  Is it the game with the highest aggregate rating on Metacritic?  Is it the title that sold the most units?  Or is it the most popular game released in the last 12 months?  The criteria for what determines someone's Game of the Year differs with the person.  Personally, I determine Game of the Year with a mix of my highest rated games of the year and the strong feelings I experienced while playing each game.  In a cheesy way, my Game of the Year usually elicits a sense of childlike glee from the bowels of my soul.  The one game to do just that in 2014 was Shovel Knight.

Full disclosure, I backed Shovel Knight when developer Yacht Club Games pitched the game on Kickstarter in early 2013.  At the time, it looked like a cool mash-up of classic NES games like DuckTales, Castlevania and Mega Man that I found very appealing.  Also with the game set for release on Wii U, I jumped at the chance to support a game for the then struggling console.  Shovel Knight made its goal and backers waited almost a year and a half before the game was released.  While I was very excited for this throwback to NES games of the past, nothing could have prepared me for the final product.

Despite Shovel Knight borrowing its mechanics and aesthetics from NES era games, it makes these elements feel distinctly its own through a great amount of polish and refinement.  Everything is so finely tuned that with practice and perseverance anybody can learn to play the game with any sort of mastery.  Some of the incredible feats one can perform in escaping death or reaching a hidden area will make any jaw drop.  In addition to Shovel Knight's gameplay and aesthetics, the game packs a great amount of items to collect, feats to accomplish and tons of cheats to experiment with.  For just 15 dollars, Shovel Knight gives enough content to rival games four times its price with even more on the way through free updates.

Although I find no fault with Shovel Knight, that reason alone is not why I chose it for Game of the Year.  It is hard to describe what exactly makes Shovel Knight so special because one aspect of the game doesn't make it stand out.  It is the combination of perfectly tuned mechanics, beautiful retro-inspired graphics, wonderful chiptune soundtrack and respectful reverence for a bygone era which makes Shovel Knight stand above any game released in 2014.  Don't let the cheaper price tag and downloadable distribution method fool you, sometimes the best games come in smallest packages.  In Shovel Knight's case, the Game of the Year came a small affordable package.

Kickstart This!: Summer of Kickstarter

Welcome to Silver Bit's newest recurring article, Kickstart This!  With Kickstarter's rise in popularity among video game developers and in some cases composers to fund their projects, yours truly has been trying to think of ways to promote these great projects.  A few of video game Kickstarter projects get the initial publicity on big video game media sites such as IGN and Gamespot if they are attached to a popular video game designer such as Tim Schafer or noteworthy developer like WayForward.  There are plenty of Kickstarter projects that never get the public attention they deserve.  While Silver Bit is not among the most viewed blogs in the world, this writer wants to do his part in spreading the word about the Kickstarter projects that appeal to him.  One more person talking about these projects will definitely get a few others talking and hopefully cause a domino effect as more and more decide to spread the word.

The inspiration behind Kickstart This! came about due to all the Kickstarter projects that yours truly has been following and supporting as of late.  I have supported a few projects over the past year or so, but not at the frequency that I am doing now.  It has gotten to a point where this writer is scared to find another project to whisk away more money.  What a better way to kick off Kickstart This!, pun fully intended, then with the three Kickstarter projects that sucked up this writer's money this past Summer.
                       
The first Kickstarter project highlighted today is actually not a video game.  Before you raise your virtual pitchforks, this project does involve video games in some form.  Particularly, it involves video game music.  This Kickstarter is to fund Video Games Live's third album.  For those who have not heard of Video Games Live, it is a multimedia symphonic/rock video game concert run by prolific video game composer Tommy Tallarico.  Video Games Live's first two albums focused on the most popular and recognizable video game music from the likes of Mario, Halo and Warcraft.  For the third album, known as Level 3, Video Games Live is focusing on the more underrated video game tracks from games like Monkey Island, Street Fighter, Journey and Beyond Good and Evil.  Due to how niche the audience for this album is, Video Games Live is looking for passionate gamers like you and I to help fund this project.  Video Games Live is looking to raise 250 thousand dollars to fund Level 3.  Currently 205 thousand dollars have been pledged to the project with only three days left.  If you are a lover of video game music, the Video Games Live Kickstarter is definitely one to support.  Every bit counts.
                       
It has been well documented on how horribly Capcom has dropped the ball with their flagship franchise, Mega Man.  Once the Blue Bomber's creator Keiji Inafue left Capcom to create his own independent studio Comcept, Capcom seemed to abandon their mascot.  Many have been clamouring for any sort of news about a new Mega Man game, but to no avail.  Capitalizing on the demand, Keiji Inafue announced a brand new project from Comcept called Mighty No. 9.  Mighty No. 9 is the spiritual successor to Mega Man.  It is a side-scrolling action game where you run, jump, shoot and transform much like Capcom's Blue Bomber.  It might seem a lot like Mega Man, but with one huge twist.  Beck, the main character, can transform at will.  These transformations are not only earned from defeating the bosses in the game; they can be gained from collecting energy dropped from common enemies.  The Mighty No. 9 Kickstarter has been a runaway success.  The game was funded within two days and is now currently working towards its 2.2 million dollar stretch goal, which will see Mighty No. 9 ported to PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii U.  With 21 days left to go, Comcept will definitely have enough money to fund Mighty No. 9 and then some.  Guess the demand for a Mega Man game is bigger than ever imagined, eh Capcom?
                        
Last but not least, the latest Kickstarter project to make me part with my money to support.  WayForward has been on a roll with their latest offerings (Mighty Switch Force series on 3DS and Wii U and DuckTales:  Remastered for consoles).  So it came as a surprise when they announced that they will be funding a new game project through Kickstarter.  Some thought it could be a whole new intellectual property or a console installment in one of WayForward's signature franchises.  The latter came true as Shantae: Half-Genie Hero was revealed to be said Kickstarter project this past Wednesday.  Shantae is WayForward's first original franchise.  It stars a female half-genie by the name of Shantae who is in charge of protecting a fishing port called Scuttle Town.  Half-Genie hero is Shantae's first venture on consoles as she has been at home on handheld and mobile systems for the past decade.  Before any funding was needed, WayForward confirmed Half-Genie Hero will be coming to PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U and PC.  Meeting the funding goal of 400 thousand dollars will allow WayForward to create a HD Shantae game with an introduction and conclusion stage along with three chapters in between.  Stretch goals are in place to include extra modes, different costumes and even bonus chapters if WayForward's goal is met.  At the moment, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is half way to its goal with just under a month to go.

Hopefully you all enjoyed this first edition of Kickstart This!  If you are interested in any of the projects shared in this article, please pledge some of your money to the project of your choice.  Kickstarter is becoming such a powerful tool in the video game industry especially for the gamers who are getting sick and tired of the current state of Triple A video game development.  These three projects are only a small sampling of everything that is on Kickstarter.  There a tons of projects out there to support.  If these projects did not speak to you, there is definitely a project out there.

SGC 3: Help Bring Back the Biggest Party in Gaming

If you have been following Silver Bit for a while, you already know that Screwattack is my favourite video game website.  I have been visiting Screwattack almost everyday for a good four years and I have highlighted many of their videos and other content on this blog many times.  Back in 2009 as part of a way to give back to fans, Screwattack put on the first ever Screwattack Gaming Convention (SGC for short).  More of a party than a convention, SGC was a huge success that spawned a second just as successful convention in 2010.  SGC played host to some incredible guests such as Brentalfloss, Keith Apicary, Angry Video Game Nerd, Nolan Bushnell, Uwe Boll and Jack Thompson, some incredible events such as the debut of Brentalfloss' song Corey, the Iron Man of Gaming tournament and the reveal of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 as the final game of the 2010 Iron Man of Gaming.  For 2011 and 2012, Screwattack could not afford to put on SGC.  During the absence of SGC for these two past years, everybody and their mother has been asking the crew at Screwattack for SGC to return.  Screwattack has heard it all and has thought of a way to fund SGC 3, Kickstarter.  The goal for this Kickstarter is 100 thousand dollars.  At the moment that I am writing this post, the SGC 3 Kickstarter has 401 (including yours truly) and has 40 001 dollars pledged towards it with 17 days left.  Like all Kickstarter projects, there are many tiers for the amount of money you pledge.  The lowest tier for the SGC 3 Kickstarter is 2 dollars or more with your being put on Screwattack's "supported by" page going all the way up to receiving tickets for the event and even receiving every piece of Screwattack merchandise ever made.  The fun does not end there.  Screwattack has built in stretch-goals to this Kickstarter, which could bring down the price of registation or fund other big events for SGC 3 and beyond, if the goal of 100 thousand dollars is met and/or surpassed.  Pledges start at a minimum of 1 single dollar.  So if you are planning on wanting to go to SGC 3 or want to support the great guys and gals at Screwattack, please support this Kickstarter.  Even though there is no possible way I could go to SGC 3 if it happens due to school and co-op, I have put five dollars in support of the website that I love and hopes of going to a future SGC.  If you are interested in helping, you can go to the SGC 3 Kickstarter at the link provided, www.kickstarter.com/projects/screwattack/let-throw-the-best-gaming-party-in-the-world-again.

Off the Newsstand: Electronic Gaming Monthly Issue 254

The last little while I have been quite upset with Electronic Gaming Monthly.  Being a follower of this magazine for many years now, I followed EGM before Ziff Davis shut it down all the way through the magazine's glorious resurrection back in 2010.  After just starting a new subscription with EGM, I went a good few months without issues.  I tried contacting EGM's customer service and looking at forums online to find an answer, but nothing.  I along with hundreds of other loyal subscribers were left in the dark for a good few months as the EGM staff worked on their website EGMNow.  This incredibly dumb move along with the switch to EGM releasing on a bi-monthly schedule really ticked off this loyal fan, who had stuck with this magazine through the thick and thin, to the point that I considered cancelling my subscription and moving onto another magazine.  Cooler heads prevailed as this fan gave EGM to the end of this subscription one more chance to turn things around and win back my trust.

Waiting for Issue 254 to come in the mail felt like forever.  I was starting to worry that EGM decided to not to tell subscribers about a possible delay like they did last year, but those thoughts dispersed when I got the magazine in my hands.  The EGM team spent the last two months really revamping the magazine and it really shows.  This issue is a much better magazine than the last few issues I have read.  The returns of the classic EGM three-man reviews and awards system along with a new focused previews that opt to ask the harder questions about the games covered rather than rehashing the same old-info you see in every gaming magazine out there.  Being an apocalypse-themed issue, EGM Issue 254 features great apocalypse-themed stories such as a look at Wasteland 2 Kickstarter, THQ's troubles, a roundtable on the next wave of consoles and a list of the Top 20 Apocalyptic Games.  The Borderlands 2 cover story is pretty good as well featuring new information on this highly anticipated post-apocalyptic shooter and a great interview with the co-founders of Vigil Games, the developer behind the Darksiders series, David Adams and Joe Madureira.  It all amounts to possibly the best issue of EGM I have read since it's rebirth back in 2010.

I was pleasantly surprised by Issue 254 of EGM.  It really turned around my whole attitude towards EGM and made me forget about the mishap from last year.  This is the EGM I remember and I hope to see more great things from this magazine in the future.  If you have 7 dollars to spare, EGM Issue 254 is an excellent read that should make any self-respecting smile from cheek-to-cheek.