Year in Review 2014: Games I Missed

Compared to previous years, the video game industry seemed much more concerned with the future than the present in 2014.  There were a lot of games released over the course of the past twelve months, but not to the extent of being overwhelming like past years.  2014 was suppose to be the coming out party for the next generation of consoles.  With an onslaught of delays, re-releases, unfulfilled hype and buggy launches, 2014 felt more like a transitional year for developers to ramp up production for their true next gen titles.

Although there were less games released in 2014, no one person can play through them all.  There were quite a few games that I personally wanted to make time for, but never got around to with my constantly busy schedule.  Hopefully, a new year will bring plenty of chances to play these missed titles.

The Wolf Among Us
Some may debate the position of The Wolf Among Us on this list due to the first episode releasing late 2013.  Considering the majority of the game released during this past calendar year, I believe it is safe to say The Wolf Among Us is a 2014 release.  Ever since I saw the preview for it in an issue of Game Informer, The Wolf Among Us has ranked high among the games I want to play especially after experiencing Telltale's exceptional work on The Walking Dead.  I almost got the chance to put some time into Wolf Among Us when I purchased the game during the Steam Summer Sale and installed it on my Mac.  Funny enough, the fall semester of university came, I got a brand new laptop and completely forgot about The Wolf Among Us.  It has been in the back of my mind for months now, but I never made the time.  A lot of good things have been said about the game's take on the Fables universe and highly interactive action scenes that I look forward to making time for The Wolf Among Us in the near future.

Child of Light and Valiant Hearts: The Great War
2014 hasn't been the best year for Ubisoft.  Most of their major titles, including Assassin's Creed Unity, The Crew and Watch Dogs, suffered from being over hyped, extremely buggy and rushed to market.  While these titles hurt the French publisher, there were two downloadable games that brought some much needed good faith Ubisoft's way.  I'm speaking of Child of Light and Valiant Hearts.  As the first two games to use the incredible UbiArt engine outside of the recent Rayman titles, they both show how flexible the engine is in crafting games of different genres.  While the presentation of each game is second-to-none, both feature compelling and creative gameplay to complement the beautiful art.  Due to their unique premises and gameplay, both games are deserving of being on anyone's must play lists.

Destiny
Everybody seems to have an opinion about Bungie's newest title, except me.  While I have seen tons of coverage for the game and watched my brothers play it multiple times, I never had the motivation to sit down and play Destiny since the beta.  Considering Destiny is such a massive game that one can lose hours in, it doesn't work well with my extremely hectic schedule during the school year.  It is no fault of the game; I just prefer playing in smaller chucks during the term.  Despite the polarizing opinions people have on Destiny, I really want to play the game for myself to form my own opinion instead of being swayed by the masses.  While I am a little afraid of being outclassed by those playing since launch, it will be exciting to see how Destiny has changed since the beta.

Year in Review 2013: Game of the Year

It has taken a long time to get to this point, but we are finally at the very end of Silver Bit's Year in Review 2013.  To end off this month long journey is the most prestigious award of any year, the Game of the Year.  There were many Game of the Year caliber games that released in 2013.  Tomb Raider, Rayman Legends, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds and Super Mario 3D World were all in top contention for this writer's pick for Game of the Year, but they were all beat out by one game.  Released very early in 2013, this game could not be dethroned as the best video game experience of 2013 in my humble opinion.  I easily dumped well over one hundred hours into this game and could easily dump hundreds more.  This game is Fire Emblem Awakening.

What have I not already said about Fire Emblem Awakening?  While Awakening might not be the 3DS's killer app (that title easily belongs to Pokemon X and Y), it is the greatest game released for the handheld to date.  Fire Emblem Awakening easily combines the past, present and future of the series in one game.  There are tons of nods to older entries in the series even allowing you to battle and recruit characters from past Fire Emblem games.  Awakening takes on the present with key refinements to the core Fire Emblem mechanics to create some of the most superb tactical gameplay found in any game.  The future of the series comes in the drastic improvement of the support system from boosting stats in battle to even marrying other characters (along with the results of the marriage) and the game's incredible StreetPass and SpotPass functionality.  On top of all the great mechanics, there are hundreds of hours of content packed on Awakening's 3DS cartridge from sidequests to extra skirmishes and even more to download from SpotPass or the Nintendo eShop.  Although all the Fire Emblem games are all excellent games in their own right, Fire Emblem Awakening is hands down the greatest game in Nintendo and Intelligent System's storied strategy series and the 2013 Game of the Year.

Year in Review 2013: The Games Part 2

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

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

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

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

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

Launch Station: Rayman Legends

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

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

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

Most Anticipated Games of the Next Half

Just last week, this writer reflected upon his favourite games from the first half of 2013.  While there were some great games already available to play, there are some stellar ones coming out in the next six months.  The summer is definitely slow on releases, but the holiday season sure makes up for the slack.  There are the regulars like Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed that rake in the big bucks yet are losing traction with more gamers with each yearly release.  The most exciting new releases of the upcoming months are sequels that have not been diluted by a yearly release schedule or brand new experiences that uses new interesting ideas to grasp our attention and money.  Here is this writer’s list of his most anticipated games of this Summer and Fall.  

Splinter Cell:  Blacklist

Splinter Cell: Conviction was one of the games that this writer bought an Xbox 360 just to play.  While some of the Splinter Cell hardcore were not fond with Sam Fisher’s new direction, yours truly found Conviction unbelievably fun.  The stealth was smooth, the guns felt great and the Mark and Execute system made clearing a room of enemies such an adrenaline pumping experience.  With Blacklist, Ubisoft Toronto looks to expand on what made Conviction so much fun with the Killing in Motion system.  Killing in Motion allows Sam to string together stealth kills with the Mark and Execute moves in one fluid motion.  Along with an interconnected campaign that allows you to access both single and multiplayer levels from the same mobile base and the return of the Mercs vs. Spies multiplayer mode, Blacklist is shaping up to be one of the standout games of the Summer.

Rayman Legends

Ubisoft broke many hearts with the seven-month delay of Rayman Legends and the loss of Wii U exclusivity.  The thought of Ubisoft’s betrayal still stings, but this French publisher has at least made an effort to mend the bridges they burnt with the free Challenge App on Wii , which gives early access to Legend’s multiplayer Challenge mode.  There are both weekly and daily challenges in various difficulty levels to complete and earn trophies in order to increase your Awesomeness level.  Having this leaderboard-focused multiplayer mode along with an incredible single-player should easily keep Legends stuck in many disc drives for months after release.

The Wonderful 101

Put the vast number of controllable units from a game like Pikmin with the B-movie superhero hijacks of Viewtiful Joe and the result would be Platinum’s Wonderful 101.  The first game in Nintendo’s exclusive deal with this extraordinary Japanese developer, The Wonderful 101 has the player taking control of one hundred different superheroes much like Captain Olimar controls Pikmin.  While it is neat to control the entire horde of little heroes, Wonderful 101’s hook comes from all the various ways you can use these heroes' Unite powers, which are activated these by drawing a different symbols on the Gamepad’s touch screen.  These Unite powers allow these heroes to form into either a ladder, a sword or even a giant fist.  Each of these Unite powers can be used to interact with the environment or fight off all the enemies that stand in your way.  The Wonderful 101 looks to be the beginning of a beautiful partnership that this writer hopes to see continue in the years to come.

Watch Dogs

Chicago is your playground and weapon.  In the world of Watch Dogs, the Windy City is in the palm of your hands and you are free to do whatever you want with it.  Hacking into the city’s systems to spy on strangers, evade the law, complete your agenda and cause as much chaos as humanly possible are some of the activities you can get up to in Watch Dogs.  Funny enough those activities are only the tip of the iceberg in this open-world.  Watch Dogs immerses the player with multiplayer that seamlessly integrates with the single-player campaign.  No need to log into a separate lobby to play with others, just have to be connected to the internet or playing on the companion app for iOS and Android platforms.  The potential of Ubisoft Montreal’s newest venture is limitless, which has this writer and many others excited.

The Legend of Zelda:  A Link Between Worlds

It has been ages since Nintendo has delivered a proper top-down Zelda adventure to gamers.  The announcement of true return to the top down format with A Link Between Worlds left many including yours truly weeping tears of joy.  On top of the return of the top-down perspective, A Link Between Worlds is a direct sequel to A Link to the Past, a game among the top echelon of the Legend of Zelda series.  The brand new mechanic in A Link Between Worlds is Link’s ability to merge with the wall as a painting.  This mechanic opens up the door for some unique platforming-like puzzles for the developers at Nintendo to test gamers with.  Much of the game is still under wraps by the Big N, but what has been shown so far looks very promising.  No matter what, A Link Between Worlds should be a stellar game to wrap up the 3DS’s phenomenal year.

E3 2013: Ubisoft Press Conference Impressions

Aside from their consistent problems finding a suitable host for their conferences, Ubisoft has had some of the best showings at E3 the last two years.  With games like Rayman Legends, Watch Dogs and Assassin's Creed IV in their corner, many were looking forward to what Ubisoft would show off this year at E3.

Well to sum things up, Ubisoft knows how to end a press conference.  Sadly, they do not know how to do much else because this conference was a definite step back from years past.  It was not good or bad, it just was right in the middle.  Only a few things Ubisoft showed really stuck.  The rest went in one ear and out the other.  Maybe these reactions were due to the lack of actual gameplay demos or the continued presence of Aisha Tyler, which was a black hole that sucked plenty of good out of this conference.  Also Ubisoft's conference was significantly hurt by the exclusion of Watch Dogs and Assassin's Creed IV demos in favour of showing them at the Sony Press Conference.  There is no point in having your own conference if you are not going to showcase your own games especially the two biggest titles in your 2013 line-up.  As much as Ubisoft under delivered, it was not as bad as the EA conference.  There were a couple of good points.  The demo for Reflections newest driving game, The Crew was really good.  The inter connectivity of the world and the instantaneous multiplayer were impressive.  There are a few questions this writer has for The Crew, but personally I am intrigued.  The game that saved this conference was the newest Tom Clancy game known as The Division.  The Division had a similar set-up to Watch Dogs' set-up a year before.  Ubisoft had the audience at the conference and at home on the edge of their seat trying to decipher what it was.  The Division is an open-world third-person shooter with RPG elements.  It is set in a world that has spiraled into to complete and utter chaos after the collapse of the stock market and society as we know it.  Set with the task of surviving, the player teams up with others in this persistent massively multiplayer world scavenging items, collecting upgrades and gadgets and fighting off threats to your survival.  While I personally would have loved to see more about Rainbow Six: Patriots, The Division looks like a great new extension of the Tom Clancy universe and another great game in Ubisoft's huge library of games.

As much as The Crew and The Division captured our imaginations, those two games were not able to save Ubisoft's conference from mediocrity.  The absence of the Watch Dogs and Assassin's Creed IV demos and the lack of demos for a slew of trailers beat Ubisoft into one of their most lackluster showings.  At least, this year's press conference was not even close to their infamous 2010 conference. 

Grade:  C-

Bit by Bit: April 28 - May 4

It has been a busy last couple weeks with things picking up on the job front that I have not got around to writing as much.  With completing Darksiders II last week and Luigi’s Mansion:  Dark Moon this past week, I am hoping to get a few more reviews up in the coming weeks.  I also have a review of BioShock Infinite that I am still working on to put up.  It should be a busy couple of weeks of working at my jobs, writing reviews and playing a bunch of games.  Before we get onto the meat and potatoes of this week’s Bit by Bit, let we wish everybody a May the 4^th be with you.  Now let us get on with the show.

Game of the Week

Even though I played enough of Luigi’s Mansion:  Dark Moon this past week to beat the game, my Game of the Week goes to Ace Attorney Investigations:  Miles Edgeworth for the Nintendo DS.  I have been looking for Ace Attorney Investigations for a long time now.  I did not get the chance to pick this game up when it first released back in 2010 and it has been next to impossible to find used.  So when I came across a new copy of Ace Attorney Investigations for 30 dollars at my local Microplay, I could not pass it up.  It was a 30 dollars well spent as I have finally completed my Ace Attorney collection for DS (aside from the currently Japanese only Investigations 2) and Ace Attorney Investigations may be the most unique entry in the series.  Currently, I have spent close to three hours with the game.  From my time with Investigations, I can say it is a very good and also different entry in the Ace Attorney series.  Aside from playing as Phoenix Wright’s rival Miles Edgeworth, the game uses a much different perspective than your normal adventure game.  You actually control Miles Edgeworth as you investigate crime scenes, collect evidence and piece together more evidence using the Logic system.  Not everything you can interact with yields evidence, some things yield little logic notes that Miles must connect using the Logic system in order to progress.  In Investigations, you never step foot in a courtroom.  All the gameplay takes place at the crime scene as you piece together the crime through interacting with the environment and talking to suspects in a similar cross-examination system to the other Ace Attorney games.  These observations come from playing through the very first case in the game.  There is still much more to experience and I look forward to playing more Ace Attorney Investigations:  Miles Edgeworth in the near future.

Most Anticipated Game of the Week

Apart from the slew of information Nintendo has been providing gamers on upcoming releases for Wii U and 3DS, there is one game Nintendo has said little to nothing aout these last few months.  That game is The Wonderful 101, the first game developed through Nintendo’s new partnership with the incredible Platinum Games.  Everything shown so far looks amazing.  I am just itching for Nintendo to give us an actual release date because I am planning on asking my family to get it along with Pikmin 3 for my birthday.  So hopefully we get some sort of confirmation soon because it is suppose to be out sometime this Summer.

Video of the Week

While I am loving my time with the Rayman Legends Challenge App, it still hurts that I along with many other Wii U owners could have had this game two months ago if it was not for Ubisoft.  Earlier this week, Ubisoft released a new trailer for Rayman Legends to help make the suffering more manageable or aggravate fans by putting salt in the wound (you be the judge).  Nevertheless, this trailer is pretty awesome as it showcases another one of the excellent music stages that will be included in Legends.  Most people will notice the tune found in this level even with it being performed by a mariachi band.

On the Download: Wii U Update Bonanza

After months of patiently waiting, Wii U owners have finally received the massive update needed to solve the load time problems the system has had since launch.  While this update does drastically decrease the load times between running games and applications, it is not the only feature that Nintendo has added to the Wii U through the update.  Wii U owners can now boot right into the Wii Menu by holding the B button during start-up, download and install games and applications in the background and when the system is turned off and transfer data between two USB storage devices.  Along with the update came a few new games to download in the Wii U eShop.  For the first On the Download of 2013, let us get on with the show.

Wii U owners have gotten a little taste of the Wii U Virtual Console through Nintendo's 30 cent trial program on the Wii U eShop.  Now with the release of the spring update comes the official launch of the Wii U Virtual Console.  While Nintendo's 30 cent program on select Virtual Console games will continue until July, Virtual Consoles will be released much more frequently now that the service has officially launched.  For those looking at what to download for the Virtual Console launch, there are eight games to choose from.  These games are Super Mario World, F-Zero, Punch-Out, Balloon Fight, Excitebike, Kirby's Adventure, Ice Climbers and Donkey Kong Jr.  The prices for Virtual Console games range from 5 dollars for NES games and 8 dollars for SNES game, but Kirby's Adventure is on for 30 cents until May 16th.  For Wii U owners who have moved their Wii Virtual Console library to the Wii U, you will be able to download the Wii U Virtual Console versions of these games for either 1 dollar for NES games and 1 dollar and 50 cents for SNES games.

While the delay of Rayman Legends and loss of exclusivity made a lot of Wii U owners very angry, Ubisoft has been trying their best to make it up to these gamers.  First, it was announced that the extra time has allowed the developers up to 30 new levels into Rayman Legends.  Second, Ubisoft planned to release the multiplayer portion of Rayman Legends exclusively for Wii U owners before the launch of the actual game.  There was a vague mention of a spring release for this feature, but nothing was ever set in stone.  It was to many gamers surprise to see the Rayman Legends Challenges App up on the Wii U eShop ready to download this past week.  This free app allows gamers to play through the final versions of the demo levels along with the online challenge mode.  There are daily and weekly challenges for gamers to test their platforming skills against people from all over the world.  Win trophies in these challenges in order to boost your awesomeness level and unlock more extreme challenges.  Personally, I have enjoyed my time with the Rayman Legends Challenges App and will easily spend more time with my Wii U because of it.  The app is free so Wii U owners should have no excuse to download it while we all wait for Rayman Legends' September release.

Games for the Summer

When new game releases start to slow during the spring and summer months, many gamers get very impatient.  Instead of a steady stream of new games to play, they are left with a little trickle.  One option for gamers to turn to during this drought is the realm of downloadable games, which release more frequently during the summer.  Another option is for gamers to resort to their backlog.  For those gamers who rarely trade their games like yours truly, we have accumulated a massive library of unfinished games to work on.  During the spring and summer, most older gamers (ages 19 and above) have much more time on their hands to dedicate to gaming.  This list below are the games that I personally want to dedicate a significant amount of my gaming time to with the ultimate goal of beating these games.

BioShock
After playing the great yet somewhat disappointing BioShock Infinite, I have had an urge to go back and experience the very first BioShock.  Having missed out of the revolution that the original BioShock was, I impulsively picked up Infinite just so I would not miss out on experiencing the revolution again if BioShock Infinite actually lived up to the hype.  While I did enjoy my time with BioShock Infinite, I was left wanting to experience that revolutionary first-person shooter that could possibly give Half-Life 2 some competition for my favourite FPS game.  Considering I own BioShock, it is finally time for me to really experience this game more than an hour.  Time to fight splicers, get scared crapless by the Big Daddies and learn about the underwater dystopia known as Rapture.

Darksiders II
I have put a good amount of time into Darksiders II, one of my favourite games of 2012 and currently my most-played game for the Wii U.  Even though I have invested 20 hours into this game, I have not finished the game.  That is what usually happens when a game gives me a massive open world and numerous side quests to complete.  I am in no rush to complete Darksiders II because I am loving it.  Although to move onto newer games, you have to beat your older games.  Eventually, my time with Darksiders II will have to end and I want to make it this summer.

Half-Life 2:  Episode 2
I love Half-Life.  Valve has easily created the greatest first-person shooters on the face of this planet in the Half-Life games.  While I have still yet to beat the very first one on PC (I hit a random bug that completely halted my progress and I have not picked it up since), I tore through Half-Life 2 and Episode 1 on the 360 edition of the Orange Box a couple years back.  I was about to get into Episode 2 and then I stopped.  I cannot remember why, but I have not played it since.  When thinking about games to work on these next four months, Episode 2 just sprung up right away as I game I have to finish.  Not only in preparation for whenever Valve decides to grace us with the next instalment of Half-Life, but just for my own gamer pride.

Pokemon White Version 2
Before Fire Emblem Awakening sucked up all my game time on the 3DS, Pokemon White 2 was taking up most of my game time.  Currently 28 hours into the game, there is still quite a bit to do in my second trip through the Unova region.  More Pokemon to capture, trainers to defeat and evil forces to stop.  Especially with the worldwide release of Pokemon X and Y this coming October, I want to finish Pokemon White 2 so I will be able to dedicate most my game time this Fall to the next Pokemon game.

Rayman Origins
While Ubisoft ripped my heart out of my chest, and repeatedly stomped on it with their delay of Rayman Legends just a couple months back, there were a couple good things that came from this heartbreak.  One was having some more money to spend on games during the game rush that was March.  Another is now having time to finally beat Rayman Origins before playing Rayman Legends.  I have been working my way through Origins for a while now, so I know I am closing in on the end of the game.  This summer is just the right time to make one final push to beat this game in preparation for the September release of Legends.

The Rayman Legends Debacle

This past Thursday was not a fun day for Wii U owners including yours truly.  Just under three weeks before the release of easily the most anticipated third-party game for the Wii U, Ubisoft decided to announce two big changes to the latest instalment in the Rayman series.  Rayman Legends is now going to be multi-platform and has been delayed until September.  Ubisoft's reasoning for the delay was that it was for the fans.  One of the biggest loads of crap I have heard in a while.  It is just like Activision saying that the newest Call of Duty is not exactly the same as previous entries, it is a lie!  If Ubisoft remotely cared about their fans, they would not have waited until the eleventh hour to pull this bait-and-switch with Rayman Legends.  

Going multi-platform is best for business and personally I am totally fine with Rayman Legends going multi-platform because it allows more gamers to experience this masterful platforming game and it will help support Ubisoft Montpellier in creating new games such as Beyond Good & Evil 2.  While a multi-platform release is good for business, delaying Rayman Legends only 19 days before the game was set to release for the Wii U is definitely not good for business.  The delay alienates fans who have been promoting Rayman Legends through social media and other forums on the internet and supporting the game through pre-orders.  It serves as a slap to the face of every Wii U owner who Ubisoft promised would support their new system with quality games. Also a slap in the face to all the developers at Ubisoft Montipellier who have been in crunch since last summer in order to get Rayman Legends complete for its February release date only to have it delayed right when it goes gold.

Apart from all the people Ubisoft upset with this delay, nobody seems to notice how stupid delaying Legends until this September.  What HUGE game releases just got announced to release this coming September?  It is Rockstar's newest entry in their open-world behemoth known as Grand Theft Auto V.  Yes, there will be other games that will most likely release in September other than GTA V, but sales-wise most gamers will be buying GTA over any other game released in September.  Since this delay was most likely made to maximize profits on a simultaneous multi-platform release, releasing Legends in the same month as the biggest game of 2013 is just asking for history to repeat itself.  For those who do not know or remember, Ubisoft made a similar decision when they released Rayman Origins back in  2011.  They released Rayman Origins on the same day as Assassin's Creed Revelations and Saint's Row The Third.  Long story short, Origins got lost in the shuffle of the holiday season and the game did not come close to Ubisoft's sales expectations.  How is putting Rayman Legends in the same exact situation going to help sales especially since Ubisoft easily hurt sales by alienating their entire Wii U audience?  If Ubisoft wanted Rayman Legends to succeed, they would release the game in the summer when gamers are starving for new games instead of feeding it to the cannibalistic holiday season.  I love Rayman, but it cannot compete with the Grand Theft Autos, the Assassin's Creeds and the Call of Dutys.

As much as it hurts to have Ubisoft delay one of the games I bought my Wii U to play, there is nothing I can do alone to change this delay.  All I can do is talk about here, but it comes down to all of us Wii U owners to make our voices heard.  Do not stop at a measly exclusive demo, we want the entire game.  If we can convince Ubisoft to release Rayman Legends for Wii U before September, it will be amazing.  If not, at least we tried.  There are other ways of making our voices heard such as boycotting Ubisoft games or buying Rayman Legends used, but we should not unintentionally hurt the excellent developers at Ubisoft's many studios who sacrifice a lot to make the games we love including Rayman Legends because some idiot in a suit thought more about the money lining his pocket than the customers he ultimately serves.  No matter what happens, I will still buy Rayman Legends on the first day it releases.  Now I will definitely think twice before pre-ordering another Ubisoft game.  Sorry Ubisoft, us gamers do not like to be treated like trash.

For those interested in making your voice heard about this situation, please sign the petition I provide in this link, http://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/ubisoft-entertainment-s-a-keep-to-the-original-rayman-legends-release-date-for-the-wii-u?utm_campaign=new_signature&utm_medium=email&utm_source=signature_receipt#.  The more people sign this petition, the more Ubisoft will take notice and hopefully release Rayman Legends when it was originally scheduled to release.  Like Ubisoft says, they listen to their fans.

Top 5 Games of E3 2012

Due to work and the fact I have not had to time to watch every single demo of every single game at E3 2012, I have decided on a Top 5 Games of E3 2012.  There are tons of games at E3 each and every year, but few stand above the rest.  While a lot of games looked good, they were very similar to other experiences we have seen and/or played before.  These five games and one honourable mention really impressed me and brought something new and interesting that the numerous run-of-the mill sequels did not come close to bringing.  Yes, I am talking about Halo 4, God of War: Ascension and Crysis 3 just to name a few.  As with past years, I do not include games that did not have demos on the show floor.  So games such as Watch Dogs and Beyond: Two Souls were not considered for this list even though they both had good showings.  Also a quick notice, there will not be a post until late Tuesday evening as I am working two 14 hour days in a row so I will have absolutely no time to write anything tomorrow.  Now let us get down to one man's opinion of the best games of E3 2012.

Honourable Mention

Quantum Conundrum- XB360, PS3, PC
While it is just short of my Top 5 Games of E3 2012, Quantum Conundrum is creative and unique enough to deserve some love in this post.  From the mind of Kim Swift, the lead designer on a little physics-based puzzle game by the name of Portal, and the team at Airtight Games, Quantum Conundrum is a first-person physics-based puzzle game in which you manipulate objects and the environment by switching dimensions on the fly.  You are in control of the Interdimensional Shift Device (ISD) that allows you to shift between four dimensions (fluffy, heavy, anti-gravity and slow-mo) to solve puzzles in each room of Professor Quadwrangle's mansion.  Quantum Conundrum looks to test your brain in different ways as you jump between dimensions to solve difficult problems.  After learning to think with portals, it is time to think with dimensions.  Quantum Conundrum looks to be a must download when it releases later this month.

5.  Pikmin 3- Wii U
Miyamoto did confirm that Pikmin 3 would be at E3 this year, but most fans including myself needed to see it to believe it.  We were not disappointed as Pikmin 3 is among the best games announced for Wii U.  Pikmin is a real-time strategy game has you directing a horde of up to 100 Pikmin, little plant-like creatures that can be used to accomplish various tasks such as building a bridge, collecting resources or fighting off a dangerous enemy.  With the announcement of the new Rock Pikmin, the use of four leaders and the Wii MotionPlus enhanced controls, Pikmin 3 has the potential of being the best first-party offering for the Wii U come launch.

4.  Paper Mario: Sticker Star- 3DS
Paper Mario: Sticker Star was not even on my radar until I saw the demo Nintendo showed at their 3DS Showcase.  Every single action you do in Sticker Star from combat to solving puzzles involves using stickers.  For example, in order to use the classic jump and hammer attacks in battle you have to use the corresponding jump and hammer stickers or using a fan sticker to move a blade of a windmill from blocking a door needed to advance in the game.  It is an incredibly unique game mechanic that turns the typical Mario RPG on it's head.  Something I personally find completely reinvigorating and exciting and something that has made Paper Mario: Sticker Star a must-buy for my 3DS this holiday season.

3.  Splinter Cell: Blacklist- XB360, PS3, PC
The fruit of Ubisoft Toronto's labour came to light this past Monday with the official reveal of Splinter Cell: Blacklist at the Microsoft Press Conference.  The seven to eight minute demo was perfectly paced and revealed enough of the highly refined mechanics (both new and old) to get anybody excited.  I personally loved Splinter Cell: Conviction and firmly believe it is one of the reasons to have an Xbox 360.  Blacklist takes everything that made Splinter Cell great and cranked it up to 11.  The new Killing in Motion mechanic lets you put together incredible mark-and-execute chains that will make anybodies' jaw drop.  Along with the resources of Fourth Echelon and some pretty cool Kinect voice controls, Splinter Cell: Blacklist should be an excellent debut for Ubisoft's newest studio when it releases in the Spring of 2013.

2.  Rayman Legends- Wii U
While the sequel to Rayman Origins, one of the best 2D platformers on consoles today, has been known for a while now, it does not detract from the fact how awesome Rayman Legends is.  Exclusive to the Wii U, Rayman Legends looks to take the almost perfect platforming, 2D animation and humour and give it all a shot of adrenaline.  Easily the best demo of Ubisoft's impressive Press Conference, Rayman Legends looks to use the Wii U and it's Game Pad in some creative ways.  With the touch screen of the Wii U Game Pad, you can control Murfy, who can assist Rayman and friends by cutting ropes, moving platforms, stunning enemies and collecting Lums.  The demo was capped off with an incredible level that had Rayman quickly platforming through the level while Murfy was playing a little rhythm game on the Game Pad which would help clear obstacles for Rayman.  Rayman Legends had a truly amazing showing this year at E3 that has catapulted to the very top of games to buy when I pick up the Wii U this holiday season.

1.  Tomb Raider- XB360, PS3, PC
Step aside Nathan Drake as Lara Croft is back to take her crown.  One word sums up Crystal Dynamics re-imagining of the Tomb Raider series.  That word is mature.  No more complete disproportionate assets or one liner spewing stereotype of a character.  Lara Croft is a living breathing human being caught in one horrible situation and it is time for her to step up and become a hero.  It is a coming of age story that dives into the origin of this video game icon.  It is more visceral adventure than Tomb Raider fans are use to, but exactly what this series has needed.  The seamless transition from bow and arrow to shotgun to melee keeps the action moving and the use of the environment to get the jump on enemies is absolutely incredible.  Each time Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix show off this game, it keeps getting better and better.  March 5th, 2013 cannot come soon enough as Tomb Raider is my most anticipated game of 2013.

E3 2012: Ubisoft Press Conference Impressions

E3 2012 is rolling, but other than a few announcements here and there nothing has truly stood out so far.  It is now Ubisoft's turn to impress the gaming public and put on a E3 Press Conference that does not elicit tons of jokes and disgraces like Mr. Caffeine.

Ubisoft has been notorious to have the most inconsistent press conferences in E3 history.  Going from super serious shooter like Ghost Recon right into the hilariously horrible laser tag ripoff or having James Cameron go on about Avatar for 40 minutes straight without any gameplay footage or screenshots to speak of.  It would usually end up being an incredible disaster or somehow luck out with the good far outweighing the oh so bad.  This year was different for Ubisoft.  Other than a few slip ups, which I will get to later, their conference was the best so far.  Most of the stuff that would weigh down past Ubisoft conferences were put in short montages or little clips on the big screen.  Ubisoft got to what gamers wanted, which was core games.  The first demo was Far Cry 3, which was fairly interesting and enjoyable.  It really showed off how Ubisoft was taking the definition of insanity, which was a huge focus of last year's E3 demo and making it into an entire plot point.  It was very interesting to say the least.  Next up was a trailer for Splinter Cell: Blacklist as the amazing gameplay demo was shown off at the Microsoft Press Conference.  While not as amazing as the actual gameplay demo, it was very good and kept things rolling at a good pace.  Then Ubisoft showed off a couple of their exclusives for the Wii U.  They showed a full-on gameplay demo of Rayman Legends, which I can proudly say is exclusive to Wii U.  It was the best demo of the conference as it showed off how Ubisoft is using the Wii U's unique controller to interact with the environment in real time.  My only question is how will somebody play Rayman Legends on their own?  During the stage demo had one person using the Wii U Gamepad and another using the Pro Controller.  While I do have some questions, the gameplay in that demo was just phenomenal.  Next up was the Assassin's Creed III demo, which surprisingly did not close out the show.  The demo really showcased how Ubisoft Montreal has really improved on every aspect of Assassin's Creed.  The combat flowed in a way it should have always been like, stealth and action seem to blend perfectly and the game overall looks to be much more fluid and fast-paced, which is a good thing.  To end the show, Ubisoft revealed a brand new game by the name of Watch Dogs.  You are a hacker in an endlessly interconnected city.  Everything is connected to a central computer and you are able to hack it to do whatever you want.  Search up information about anybody in the city, cause electronics to malfunction and eavesdropping on phone conversations is just a few examples of what you can do.  It looks like an incredibly interesting sci-fi world that I personally would love to explore in the near future.  Even with all the good, there was a few bad parts of the conference.  The Just Dance 4 opening concert with Flo Rida was completely unnecessary, the host was annoying beyond all reason and the ShootMania e-sport competition was soo bad that it almost derailed the entire press conference.

Overall, the Ubisoft E3 2012 Press Conference was the best press conference so far.  It had a few bad moments, but they made up for it with their great gameplay demos and reveals.  It was an entertaining one and a half hour conference that Sony and Nintendo have to strive to out do.

Grade:  B+

On the Download: May 13-19

Nintendo and Sega round out our big downloadable games for this week.  Funny how things have changed so much since these two companies were at each others' necks during the 16 bit console era.  For 3DS owners, Nintendo has put up their first retail game patch up on the eShop.  The patch is for Mario Kart 7.  You will need to download this patch in order to play Mario Kart 7 online as it fixes the exploits found in a few of the tracks to keep the game balanced and fair.  3DS owners can check out the Rayman Origins demo on the eShop as well.

It has taken a good number of weeks to finally get a new game for the 3DS Virtual Console.  While not Kid Icarus: Of Myth and Monsters, which should have been released on the eShop already, the game released this week is Kirby's Block Ball.  Kirby's Block Ball is a Breakout-style game that sees Kirby roll up into a ball to destroy blocks and enemies that litter the playing field.  Your objective is to keep Kirby in play by bouncing him off the paddles on all four sides of the screen.  Destroying enemies will give you bonus points.  There are also special items that will help in destroying all the blocks in each level.  Once all the blocks in the level are destroyed, Kirby opens up the next level.  In order to open up the final level of the game, you must beat the high score in each level.  Kirby's Block Ball has a couple different modes like boss battle mode and bonus mode.  Kirby enthusiasts or gamers looking for a good 3DS Virtual Console game will most likely pick up Kirby's Block Ball for its incredibly inexpensive price of 3 dollars.

It has been a long time coming, but the second and final episode of Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is here.  Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II sees the return of Sonic's lovable sidekick Tails and the villainous Metal Sonic as Sonic's adventure takes him to Little Planet, where Sonic CD took place.  Metal Sonic has joined forces with the nefarious Dr. Eggman.  The two evil entities plan to reconstruct the Death Egg, which Sonic and Tails must stop at all costs.  For Episode II, Tails accompanies Sonic in his adventure.  Tails can either be controlled by the computer or a second player through Sonic 4 Episode II's local and online coop play.  There are numerous combination moves that Sonic and Tails can do throughout Sonic 4 Episode II such as Tails lifting Sonic to normally unreachable areas and preforming a huge spin attack together.  For those who did not enjoy Episode I's wonky physics, Sega have created a whole new engine with reworked physics that feel exactly like the Genesis games and stunning HD graphics.  Sonic 4 Episode II features four new zones, special stages based off of those found in Sonic 2, red rings which are hidden in each act and exclusive bonus Episode Metal, which explains what happened to Metal Sonic since we last saw him in Sonic CD, for those who own Episode I on the same platform.  Even though I am a huge Sonic fan, I am not going to be picking up Sonic 4 Episode II until it is announced for Wii U as I bought the first episode for my Wii and want to keep it on the same system to possibly get Episode Metal.  For anybody else, Sonic 4 Episode II is available for PSN, XBLA, iOS, PC and soon Android and Windows Phone 7 with varying prices from 8 dollars on the portable devices and 15 dollars on consoles.

On the Download: March 18-24

It has been a busy week as I start working two jobs.  Once everything settles down and I get more used to all of it, there will not be so many delays here on Silver Bit.  It has been an okay week for new downloadable releases as we take a look at two new iOS games and one HD port of an old classic.  There have been quite a lot of sales.  Chaos Rings and Chaos Rings Ω are both on sale.  There is a huge Square Enix sale on Steam this weekend.  Finally there is Sony's Spring Fever Sale on the PlayStation Store which includes a sale on all things Final Fantasy.  Got Final Fantasy VII for 7 dollars last night so not bad.  So if you use either the App Store, Steam or the PlayStation Store check out these amazing sales on great downloadable games.  Without further ado, let us look at the biggest downloadable games for this week.

Actually Chaos Rings II released for the iOS last Thursday, but considering how many games I was already featuring in last week's On the Download, I decided to hold off a week.  Chaos Rings II is the third game in Square Enix's huge iOS only RPG series.  In Chaos Rings II, time is at a standstill and the Destroyer has brought the world to the brink of destruction.  You play as Darwin, the chosen one, who is sent on a quest to bring salvage this desolate world by sacrificing five chosen people and offerring their souls to the Gods.  When one of the five chosen turns out to be a childhood friend of Darwin's, will he save the world or the girl?  It is up to you the player to decide.  Chaos Rings II features all the great RPG strategy and action that the first two games have with a whole new story, improvements on the graphics and the battle system and a whole new emphasis on the player's choices.  At 18 to 19 dollars depending on if you get the iPod/iPhone version or the iPad HD version, Chaos Rings II is a bit pricey.  If you are looking for a RPG optimized to the strengths of the iOS platform, Chaos Rings II is well worth it.

Well the biggest downloadable release of the week has to go to the sequel to the most popular mobile game of all-time, Angry Birds Space.  With the simple premise of catapulting birds at structures housing the menacing pigs, Angry Birds has gone on the capture the minds of hardcore and casual gamers alike.  Rovio now takes this simple yet addictive premise and has put these Angry Birds in a whole new setting, space.  Space adds many new dynamics to the game such as zero-gravity.  With 60 new levels, new birds, new superpowers, amazing amount of trick shots and regular free updates, Angry Birds Space seems like a beefy package for one dollar.

While Rayman 2 gets a lot of love, the third entry in the series gets overlooked by most people.  Looking to give players another chance to pick it up, Ubisoft has released Rayman 3 HD for PSN and XBLA.  Rayman 3 tells the story of how Rayman stops an evil black lum by the name of Andre from taking over the world with his army of sack-like Hoodlum soldiers.  Rayman 3 HD is the definitive version of Rayman 3: Hoodlum's Havoc and is must play for any fan of 3D platformers.  If you are still on the fence, you try the demo.  If you cannot wait to relive this great game, you can download it for 10 dollars or 800 Microsoft Points.

Vita Wednesday: Third-Party Launch Titles

Welcome the second and final Vita Wednesday.  Last week, we took a look at Sony's three biggest offerings for their new handheld.  This week we are taking a look at the three biggest offerings from the third party publishers like Ubisoft, Capcom and EA.  If you look at the majority of the games launching with the Vita from third-party publishers land in one of two categories.  They are either a port of a recently released console game or a portable entry of an existing franchise that does not do much to make itself stand out from other entries in the series much like Dynasty Warriors Next and Touch My Katamari.  While I personally wanted to stay away from highlighting one of these two categories in this Vita Wednesday post, I will have to due to the lack of anything relatively new released at launch for the Vita.

Just as Street Fighter launched with the Nintendo 3DS, another Capcom fighter launches with the PlayStation Vita.  This time around Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 gets the portable treatment.  As the definitive version of Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 includes 12 new characters, new modes, new stages, re-balanced gameplay and a more robust online mode.  Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 for the Vita has all the modes and features that the console game has with one new mode exclusive to the Vita.  This mode is Touch Mode.  In Touch Mode, you control your fighter through tapping and swiping the touch screen.  If you are looking for a great fighting game for your Vita, no doubt Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is your game.

From the ever-creative mind of Michel Ancel, Rayman Origins landed on consoles with not much of a splash.  Released in the middle of the insane holiday season, this great platformer was fed to the dogs as juggernauts like Modern Warfare 3, Skyrim and Assassin's Creed dominated the last quarter of 2011.  Sad considering Rayman Origins is in my opinion much better game than those just listed.  If you missed out on Rayman Origins back during the holidays, Ubisoft has brought the lovably limbless hero to the launch of the PS Vita.  This Vita version of Rayman Origins has all the features of its big console brother with a few additions exclusive to Sony's next generation handheld.  Rayman Origins for the Vita has a Ghost Mode, which uses the Vita's Near functionality to receive ghost data from friends and race them in game.  Also Rayman Origins for the Vita features touch controls for the game.  With Rayman Origins coming to a handheld near you, it would be foolish to miss out on this excellent platformer yet again.

At the launch of the PSP, there was one game that caught the eyes and ears of all who played it.  It proved to many the potential of the PSP and quickly became it's killer app.  This game was called Lumines, a puzzle game similar to Tetris that perfectly blended music and rhythm with addictive block-dropping action.  Seven years later, Lumines graces the launch of the Sony's newest handheld with Lumines: Electronic Symphony.  Playing with the title, Electronic Symphony features a soundtrack filled with great electronic music.  Electronic Symphony is more focused on straight arcade puzzle action as you vie for the high score and then upload to online leaderboards.  New to Lumines, Electronic Symphony includes avatars that can gain experience, level up and has abilities that can be used to improve your score.   If you are looking to play with others, Electronic Symphony has online multiplayer.  Like every Vita game, Electronic Symphony has touch controls that can be used instead of the d-pad and face buttons.  For all the puzzle game fans out there, Lumines: Electronic Symphony is a game you should not miss if you pick up a Vita.