Bit by Bit: E3 2015 Wrap-up

E3 is over for another year and I got to say: what a wonderful show.  While there some bumps along the way, E3 2015 was one of the best in a long time.  During this nearly week long expo, we saw incredible feats of game mastery, pipe dreams become reality and the next generation of gaming finally live up to all the hype.

Although there are some issues the video game industry still faces such as the ever-rising cost of AAA development or the instability of jobs, E3 2015 made us forget about all the negativity and focus on the fundamentals of this art form: fun, imagination and community.  All the silly Muppet skits, excessive gum flapping and surreal moments of celebrity interjection cannot compare to the excitement of the Nintendo World Championships, the tears brought on from the Final Fantasy VII Remake and Shenmue III reveals, and the blood-pumping gameplay trailers for highly anticipated titles like Star Wars Battlefront, Kingdom Hearts III and The Last Guardian.  

E3 2015 was a show that will reverberate throughout the annals of video game history.  To wrap-up this great event, Silver Bit presents a special E3 2015 edition of Bit by Bit.

Winner of E3 2015

With all the stiff competition, I thought it would be a hard decision to pick the winner of E3 2015.  Nintendo blew things out of the park with their World Championships and constant Treehouse Live coverage only to falter in the most important area: the Digital Event.  Microsoft came out swinging with the announcement of Xbox One backwards compatibility and showing live demos for their biggest titles, but seemed to undermine their momentum by announcing a good number of their Xbox One "exclusives" for PC as well.  Both Bethesda and Ubisoft took a step back to let the games do the talking for them yet did little in terms of delivering truly shocking surprises.  At the end of the day, all these great performances could not stand up to the unstoppable force that is Sony.

Sony may not have delivered much in terms of bolstering their lineup for 2015, but they did make us forget about it with all the bombshells they dropped.  For a solid hour-and-a-half, Sony delivered a steady stream of the most exciting and enticing gameplay trailers and demos at the show.  Out of all the great games shown off at Sony's presser, there were three that took it from great to legendary: The Last Guardian, Final Fantasy VII Remake and Shenmue III.  Sony literally made dreams come true by showing them off that fateful Monday night.  They also serviced both the old and the new by announcing three of the most wanted games in the past decade and showing off brand new IPs like Horizon: Zero Dawn, No Man's Sky and Dreams.

For the third year in a row, Sony showed that the PS4 is THE system to own this generation.  Even though Sony's lineup for 2015 is rather sparse, the incredible wave of good will coming off of their performance at E3 2015 along with some smart partnerships with Activision, EA and Warner Bros. might be enough to solidify the PS4s huge lead on the competition.

Surprise of E3 2015

There isn't much else to say about my pick for the Surprise of E3 2015.  In fact, arguments can be made for any of the big three surprises from the Sony press conference.  Personally, my pick is Shenmue III because it came out of nowhere.  With how much Sega has been suffering in recent years, never in my wildest dreams did I expect Shenmue III to get the funding needed for development.  To see Shenmue III caught me off-guard, which left me stunned and a little choked up.  The last surprise to affect me that much was the Kid Icarus: Uprising reveal back in 2010.

Trailer of E3 2015

Funny enough, this year's E3 wrap-up has turned into the Sony show.  In all honesty, there was great stuff from everybody at the show and I would love to highlight it all, but this wrap-up isn't the place for that.  I'm here to highlight the best from E3 2015 and the truth is Sony had the best stuff this year.

Out of everything Sony showed at E3, one title blew me away.  That game was Horizon: Zero Dawn.  Horizon is Guerrilla Games' brand new property that switches out the first-person shooting of Killzone for a third-person adventure game set in a pre-historic/post-apocalyptic mishmash.  Hearing the premise is compelling in of itself, but watching the game in motion is breathtaking.  Seeing the female lead move between stalking mechanical dinosaurs and hiding in bushes along with the fluid fight with the robot T-Rex gives the impression that there are many ways to tackle enemies.  Watching the trailer over again, Horizon looks like a next generation version of Monster Hunter with fluid combat and mechanical monsters to slay, which has me even more intrigued.

If it was playable on the show floor, Horizon would easily nab the number one spot on my Top Games of E3 2015 list.  Unfortunately, all Sony brought to E3 was this awe-inspiring trailer that has me craving for more.

A Link to the Wrong: Nintendo's Problems

Nintendo's current situation has been well documented for months now.  The Wii U is currently the worst selling console on the market and despite incredible sales, the 3DS is not selling enough to make up for the Wii U's dismal sales.  A part from those points, third-party publishers this side of the Pacific are abandoning Nintendo and their systems like they are a sinking ship.  The talk surrounding Nintendo is in such an ugly place that an article that either praises or dismisses the Wii U is front page news on any video game website every week.  As an avid fan of Nintendo, I personally do not like the battle between positive and negative press flying around all mediums of communication.  Even if the Wii U does not pan out, Nintendo has an enormous amount of money saved from their successes like the Game Boy, DS and Wii to support themselves into the future.  Another point, the Wii U is only in its second year on the market.  There is still time for Nintendo to turn things around with the system.  The 3DS is a prime example of the possible turnaround that could happen with the Wii U.  With all that said, Nintendo's current situation is entirely their fault.  While the marketing for the Wii U has been a mess since the very beginning, it is not the main cause of their situation.  There are a good number of issues that Nintendo as a company has not been aggressive in tackling or have avoided altogether which have created this perfect storm.  These issues are not independent to one of Nintendo's systems; they involve Nintendo as a whole.

1)  No Party for Third-Parties

Nintendo's problems with securing third-party support has been an ever-present issue with their systems since the days of the Nintendo 64.  One would expect this issue to be solved sometime between the three console generations since the N64.  Funny enough, it has only gotten worse.  Third-party support outside of Japanese publishers and Activision is nearly non-existent.  Even Ubisoft, which has been a big supporter of Nintendo products the past couple generations, is severely cutting back their support aside from downloadable titles and yearly Just Dance installments.  Third-party publishers seem to be moving away from Nintendo products because they believe they cannot make a profit on them.  That impression is not one Nintendo should continue to let foster.  The Big N has shown off some of the partnerships they have forged with Japanese companies like Sega, Atlus and Tecmo Koei, but Nintendo needs to make strides with the publishers in which they have had problems enticing in the past.  First-party games, no matter their great quality, can only take you so far.  Third-party games are needed to pad out the times where there are a lack of first-party titles.  Better for Nintendo to aggressively seek fixing this issue now rather than let it fester any longer as it will be hard repairing these relationships later.

2)  Stalling with Online Multiplayer

Nintendo has dabbled in online multiplayer with games like Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart.  Compared to the efforts of their competitors, Nintendo's efforts have been lacking.  More games in their portable lineup have received online multiplayer to great success.  These portable games show the great potential of Nintendo-crafted online multiplayer.  Now Nintendo just needs to start adding an online component to games that should have it.  The lack of online multiplayer in games like Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Bros. U, Super Mario 3D World and Pikmin 3 is a missed opportunity in this writer's honest opinion.  Personally, I am a huge advocate for local multiplayer, but those days have been replaced by playing with others without leaving the comforts of your home.  Nowadays, online multiplayer is expected to be included in most games.  Nintendo does not need to add online multiplayer to all their games, but they need to start adding some sort of online component to those which already include local multiplayer.  I have had great times playing games like Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Bros. U and Super Mario 3D World with my friends locally.  Just imagine being able to recreate that fun at anytime without the hassle of trying to gather a group of people every single time you wanted to play some multiplayer.

3)  Stuck on Gimmicks

Nintendo has never been a powerhouse when it comes to graphics.  Their strength has always been gameplay, but sadly the world has become obsessed with the amount of polygons you can cram on a screen.  It is hard to communicate gameplay without giving people the game to actually play.  Case and point, Super Mario 3D World.  Upon first impressions, everybody thought 3D World would just be a up-scaled port of 3D Land.  Once people got their hands on the game, their opinions completely changed for the better.  Nintendo combated this superficial obsession with cutting-edge graphics by introducing unique gimmicks to their consoles and games from the two screens of the Nintendo DS to the motion controls of the Wii.  Nintendo's focus on gimmicks did pan out with the DS and Wii, but they have become a little too reliant on gimmicks to push their games and consoles.  Gimmicks work only when you design games that take advantage of those gimmicks in new and creative ways.  In the Wii U's case, Nintendo has not made any games that truly take advantage of the hardware within the Wii U Gamepad which has caused it to backfire on them.  Gimmicks are not a bad thing, they just become tiresome when you rely on them far too much.  If Nintendo is going to stick with using gimmicks to separate themselves from the competition, they need to be more careful in adding gimmicks that truly institute creativity and innovation rather than just adding gimmicks for the sake of having them.

4)  Wanted:  New Blood

It is hard to think of the last new franchise Nintendo introduced on such a large scale.  You would have to go back to 2006 with the introduction of Wii Sports.  In all honesty, nobody thought Wii Sports would spawn into a franchise which would include Wii Play, Wii Fit, Wii Music and Wii Party.  Looking at that fact, it has been eight years since Nintendo last introduced a major franchise.  Nintendo has introduced new IPs such as Rhythm Heaven, Professor Layton, Pushmo/Crashmo and HarmoKnight, but they all have been confined to handheld or downloadable space instead of major releases on their consoles.  Although it is only one game, there is hope in the mysterious new IP Shigeru Miyamoto is currently working on.  Hopefully, the possible success of this unknown game could spur Nintendo into taking more risks in developing games outside their comfort zone of Mario, Zelda and Pokemon.  Nintendo can even dive into their back catalogue and make new entries in series such as Star Fox, F-Zero, Earthbound or Metroid to alleviate some of the franchise fatigue affecting their most relied upon series.

Year in Review 2013: Disappointments

2013 marked the end of one generation and the beginning of another.  The release of both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One held center stage in the video game industry.  This focus on the next generation saw fewer games release throughout the year compared to years past.  It was very easy to keep on top of the major releases in 2013 and this year saw yours truly buy many games upon release, much more than I have ever bought in years prior.  With buying many games upon release, not every game will live up to a person's expectations.  There were quite a few games that I played this year that fell short of my expectations and left me disappointed.  Being disappointed in a game is not the same as hating a game.  All of the games I will list are fine games, they just left me feeling a little empty after beating them for one reason or another.

BioShock Infinite
The original BioShock was a revolutionary shooter that engrossed gamers in its environment unlike any game before it and few after it.  The impression left by the first BioShock set the bar high for Irrational's next entry in the BioShock series.  In trying to reach a broader audience, Irrational took BioShock Infinite away from the revolution it could have been and made it more of an evolution.  The setting of Columbia and the excellently programmed AI companion Elizabeth are Infinite's clear strengths, but the game is held back by a considerable amount of key flaws such as the last three hours of the game being a relentless slog of dispatching waves upon waves of enemies, the unnecessary additions of the Boys of Silence and Sirens, the shoe-horned stealth sections and the pretentiously convoluted ending.  The most aggravating flaw is how Irrational forgot the tenets of exploration and freedom that makes Infinite stand out from the all the other first-person shooters in the most crucial hours of the game.  Those last hours can make or break one's enjoyment with a game.  In BioShock Infinite's case, it severely derailed my enjoyment of the game.

The Last of Us
First things first, The Last of Us and I have never been on the same page.  While people were crying to the heavens that it was the best game showed at the Video Game Awards, E3 or whatever other video game show, it never impressed me.  I surely wanted to see what all the fuss was about, but it looked too derivative of Naughty Dog's Uncharted series.  When I saw all the excellent reviews The Last of Us got upon its release, I was caught up in the hype and wanted to see if Naughty Dog proved me wrong.  Well they did not.  Do not get me wrong, The Last of Us is a good game.  It is not the greatest game of this past generation that everybody has been labeling it.  The game has some good ideas and an incredibly emotional story, but those two strengths alone do not allow a game with considerable technical and pacing problems to get a pass.  As much as Naughty Dog tried to engross me in the post-apocalyptic world of The Last of Us, I was taken out from my AI companions running head-first into the strongest enemies in the game, known as clickers, with no reaction from said enemies or hunting for the extremely small triangle button prompt to tell me which objects I can interact with.  While there were some great moments like the entire opening two hours and the Winter section of the game, I never felt much emotional attachment to the characters  or my actions in the game.  The Last of Us is more on par with Naughty Dog's efforts on the first Uncharted.  There is some good stuff in The Last of Us, but there needs to be more refinement before The Last of Us can truly grasp its full potential.

Project X Zone
One of the largest crossovers in video game history, Project X Zone was high on this writer's radar especially considering many never thought the game would release outside of Japan.  Mixing the biggest franchises from Capcom, Namco and Sega into one strategy game was mind-boggling.  Project X Zone's combat was incredibly unique.  While you moved units on a grid-like battlefield like any other strategy game, the combat was more in line with a fighting game where you choose different combos and juggle enemies to cause the most damage.  The combat along with the craziness of the plot gave me hours of enjoyment.  Sadly those hours of enjoyment did not last for the entirety of the game.  Around the 25 to 30 hour mark, the mechanics and story grow rather tiresome and repetitive.  The developers at Banpresto and Monolith Soft could have easily cut down the game by at least 5 hours or more because there are plenty of chapters that feel like padding.  Much like BioShock Infinite, Project X Zone's last few hours became a boring slog through an ever increasing amount of difficult enemies.  Thanks Project X Zone for disappointing me and killing the left trigger on my 3DS.

Sonic Lost World
Ever since the release of Sonic Colors, Sonic the Hedgehog has been on a roll.  The Blue Blur has been slowly but surely gaining back the gamers lost from the onslaught of horrible Sonic games released during the mid to late 2000s.  With the announcement of Sonic becoming a Nintendo exclusive, Sonic Lost World looked to be in a prime position to continue Sonic's upward trend.  All Sonic needed was the solid mechanics introduced in Colors and refined in Generations to be brought into this new Mario Galaxy and Sonic Xtreme inspired world of Sonic Lost Worlds, but Sonic Team decided against it.  What we got was a mixed bag.  Some levels exude creativity and bring the functionality to match it.  Other levels are exactly the opposite as they are poorly designed and can induce high amounts of frustration and possibly rage.  Sonic Lost World is not the total disaster the media paints the game to be.  Honestly, Sonic Lost World is an all-around decent game, but fails at improving the standing of Sega's mascot and it is hard to forgive the game for that major failure.  Lost World was Sonic Team's opportunity to show that the aging Blue Blur can still hang with the platforming giants of the modern era.  Sadly, Sonic Team missed their mark and Sonic fans are left with a decent Sonic game instead of a great Sonic game.

Hump Day Music: His World Instrumental

Funny thing about work sometimes.  When you think you have a full day off, you don't actually because they you can get called anytime to work.  So my day and all the plans I had got extremely shortened or thrown out the window.  Sadly one of those plans was to write Hump Day Music, but that got postponed to today.  To make up for the delay, I have picked one amazing track from the Sonic the Hedgehog series, His World.

While His World does come from easily the biggest disgrace in Sega and Sonic's career in Sonic the Hedgehog 2006, it is an incredible track that has become one of my favourites of the series.  Before anybody knew of the travesty that Sonic 2006 would become, this piece of music is what got me so hyped up for the game.  I would watch every trailer that came out just to listen to His World.  Sadly Sonic 2006 became yet another nail in Sonic's coffin instead of the rejuvenation of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise that many, myself included, thought it would be.  Sonic fans would have to wait until the release of Sonic Colors to see the Blue Blur return to his former glory.  Enough of my little tangent, the only good thing that came out of Sonic 2006 was the soundtrack.  Sega made an excellent decision to have the music in a Sonic game be all orchestrated because it is just beautiful.  The Sonic 2006 soundtrack is a treat for the ears.  You can find two lyrical versions of His World done by Zebrahead and Crush 40 respectively, but the best version in my opinion is the His World Instrumental.  Hearing the instrumental without being bogged with lyrics that do not always sound the best with a song this epic is the best way to listen to His World.  Even though Sonic 2006 was an atrocity that would be better off forgotten, His World is a piece of video game music that deserves more praise than it gets from everybody outside the most hardcore Sonic fans like yours truly.

Launch Station: Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

Square Enix has done their best to draw out the Kingdom Hearts series as much as humanly possible before they have inevitably end the series with Kingdom Hearts 3.  For close to six years now, Square Enix has been releasing side story after side story trying to flesh out the entire mythos surrounding Kingdom Hearts that fans have gotten quite anxious for the next numbered entry in the series.  To tide fans over just a little bit longer, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, exclusively for the 3DS, serves as the official prequel to Kingdom Hearts 3 as the ending of Dream Drop Distance is said to lead right into third core Kingdom Hearts game.

In preparation for the return of Xehanort, King Mickey and Yen Sid decide to put Sora and Riku through the Mark of Mastery exam.  As part of the Mark of Mastery exam, Sora and Riku are sent into the Sleeping Worlds.  Sora and Riku's task is to reawaken these Sleeping Worlds by unlocking each world's keyhole and eliminating the new Dream Eater threat that stands in their way.  If Sora and Riku are successful in completing this task, they will be deemed full-fledged Keyblade Masters.  In Dream Drop Distance, there are two playable characters, Sora and Riku.  You never control both characters at the same time, but you will rotate between each character on the fly thanks to the Drop Gauge.  The Drop Gauge, which gradually depletes over time, controls when you switch between the two playable characters.  Once the gauge empties, you will switch control from Sora to Riku or vice versa.  You can add more time to the gauge by fighting Dream Eaters and you can also switch characters at any save point in the game.   The Command Deck battle system that was first introduced in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep for the PSP returns in Dream Drop Distance with a couple additions.  Dream Drop Distance adds a new Flowmotion mechanic.  Flowmotion allows the player to interact with their surroundings in new ways to help traversal of the environment and set up new combos in battle.  Along their adventures, Sora and Riku are able to capture Dream Eaters, which can be used to help out in battle and provide different abilities for each character.  In past Kingdom Hearts games the Gummi Ship was used to travel between each world, not in Dream Drop Distance.  Dream Drop Distance makes use of a new mini-game called Dive Mode, which has player's literally diving down a long tunnel, collecting stars and defeating enemies before you reach the world's gate.  Also Dream Drop Distance is compatible with the Circle Pad Pro, which will make it much easier to control the game's camera, and has Augmented Reality functionality, which will allow players to play with the Dream Eaters they obtain in the real world.

No matter what I say, all Kingdom Hearts fans that own a 3DS will pick up Dream Drop Distance.  I do applaud Square Enix for their incredible support for the 3DS this past month.  It seemed like they were the only publisher other than Sega that wanted to keep us 3DS gamers satisfied this July and I along with many other gamers are grateful for that.  Speaking of Dream Drop Distance, I personally think it will be a really good game for the 3DS.  From my time with the demo, I do believe that to get the best experience with the game is to play it with the Circle Pad Pro because without the camera seems to be a quite erratic.  Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance should be a solid portable RPG to keep gamers satisfied for the coming months.

Sonic & Mega Man: A Crossover of Epic Proportions

Sorry in advance that there will not be a Hump Day Music this week due to an announcement of epic proportions.  Crossovers are common in video games and comic books.  They answer tons of what if questions fans might have and offer an excellent chance to have the audience of one franchise be exposed to what makes another franchise so great.  Some of the most notable crossovers are Capcom's VS. Series, Super Smack Bros., Alien VS. Predator, the Mario & Sonic games and the recent Pokemon Conquest.  Just in time for the San Diego Comic Con, easily the biggest and most popular comic convention in the world, Archie Comics has announced a crossover that should get any gamer excited.  Across 12 comics, 3 series and 2 franchises, two gaming icons will join forces for the very first time next year.  Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man will team up in this 12 part comic event spanning Sonic, Sonic Universe and Mega Man comics.  This crossover will be handled by Ian Flynn, one of Archie's best writers, and feature the art of Patrick "SPAZ" Spaziante.  Right now, the finer details of this crossover are under lock and key, but more shall be revealed at Archie's Sonic & Mega Man panel at Comic Con this weekend.

As a big fan of both franchises, I am very excited.  I have been reading Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comics for well over a decade and I did pick up the first seven issues of Archie's Mega Man series, so I do have a history with both series.  Personally, the Sonic comics are my favourite as they deviate from the story of the games and have it govern every story in the comics much like the Mega Man comics.  At the moment, I have not picked up a Sonic comic in months because the grocery store that I would buy my Sonic comics each and every month stopped selling them.  It is a bummer considering the series has really gotten good these last few arches.  I have not picked up a Mega Man comic because I do not like the direction Archie is taking it.  Like I mentioned before, the Mega Man comics followed the games too much with little to no deviation to create it's own identity much like the Sonic comics have.  With this crossover, I am really going to enjoy the new material for Mega Man as it will not be filler or another adaptation of a classic Mega Man game.  Also with Archie's top talents on this project, I know this crossover is in good hands.  While some might saw it is hard to this crossover working because there is not much similar between Sonic and Mega Man, some of the most unlikely crossovers are some of the best.  Just look at Pokemon Conquest for example.  Who would have thought Pokemon and Nobunaga's Ambition would ever work?  No one, but look at how great of a game it turned out to be.  We can speculate all we want, but we will not know for sure until we have the result in our hands.  Right now I just got to say,  great move Archie.  You got this fan excited.

Launch Station: Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure

Another week, another rhythm game for the 3DS.  Last week saw the release of Theatrhythm Final Fantasy from Square Enix, this week sees Sega's offering in Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure.  It seems in the dead of summer, the 3DS is getting some love with a good stream of quality games coming out.  Well it is a good time to be a 3DS owner then as there will be a new game to look forward to almost every week this month.

Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure is a first -and-foremost a rhythm game with puzzle and adventure elements mixed in.  In Rhythm Thief, you play as Raphael, also known as illusive art thief Phantom R.  Raphael is searching for the whereabouts of his father, who went missing a few years ago.  During Raphael's adventures, he runs into a mysterious girl known as Marie and a seemingly resurrected Napoleon Boneparte, who is trying to take over Paris.  The bulk of the story mode has you going from level to level playing a series of rhythm games.  Each and every level in the game has a different rhythm mechanic that uses each part of the 3DS (touch screen, d-pad, face buttons and gyro) to the best of it's abilities.  For Sega aficionados, Rhythm Thief features parodies of past Sega rhythm games such as Space Channel 5 and Samba de Amigo hidden throughout the game.   Outside of the rhythm game based levels, you are able to travel to various areas in Paris, talk to NPCs, solve puzzles to advance the story, find hidden rhythm games and story branches and use the medals you earn by completing levels to buy mini-games and movie clips from the shop.  Rhythm Thief also features a multi-player mode where you can take on friends in a variety of rhythm challenges and StreetPass functionality that has you challenging the people you StreetPass to beat your high scores and vice versa.

It is great to see for the entire month of July the 3DS release schedule is dominated by third-party games.  Nintendo makes some of the best games on their systems, but the third-party support is what will makes or breaks any system.  So it is nice to see Nintendo step back for the month of July and let other companies take the spotlight on the 3DS.  Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure has been on my radar for awhile.  Everything I have seen and read about the game looks very unique and a lot of fun.  If you want to see for yourself, try the demo on the Nintendo eShop.  It does take a few tries to get use to each levels control scheme, but once you figure out the rhythm the game is a lot of fun.  While I do not plan to pick up Rhythm Thief right away, it is a game that I will eventually pick-up for the 3DS in the near future.  For those looking for another good rhythm game for the 3DS to go along with Theatrhythm, you should definitely considering picking up Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure.

On the Download: July 1-7

It has been one busy Thursday for the video game industry.  I turned on the computer today and was bombarded with at least four big news stories.  Two of these stories relate to my weekly post on the newest downloadable games.  First, Capcom and Marvel are joining forces again to bring both Marvel Super Heroes and the original Marvel vs. Capcom to XBLA and PSN this coming September in the Marvel vs. Capcom Origins.  Next story is Sega's announcement that their iconic flying platformer from the Sega Saturn, Nights into Dreams will be getting a HD remake for XBLA and PSN releasing this Fall.  Two big games you will definitely see me covering here in On the Download come their release.

July 5th marked the start of Nintendo's 8-Bit Summer initiative  on the Nintendo eShop.  Throughout the month of July, there will be two new 3DS Virtual Console games released on the eShop each week. The first two games released for the 8-Bit Summer are The Legend of Zelda and NES Open Tournament Golf.  Both games were released to the 3DS Ambassadors just under a year ago for the NES wave of free games.  For those who already own these games for the 3DS, you are able to update them, which adds the restore points feature found in all other Virtual Console games among a few other upgrades.  If you are not a 3DS Ambassador, you are able to pick up these NES games for 5 dollars each.

Made by two people, Spelunky was originally released free for the PC in 2008.  Spelunky is a 2D platformer where you journey through ever-randomizing levels on your way to the end of the game.  This week an HD version of Spelunky has been released exclusively for XBLA.  While Spelunky HD does have more polished animated graphics than the PC original, it is not a mere port.  Spelunky HD has new graphics, music, weapons, items, monsters, traps, zones and secrets for gamers to experience.  Spelunky HD has also been tailor-made for the 360 controller as the controls are much smoother and easier to get use to than in the original.  Even though the levels are completely randomized, you are able to navigate the levels any way you want.  Also each level is fully-destructible.  You can compete with gamers across the world with online leaderboards or through Spelunky HD's Deathmatch multi-player mode.  Spelunky HD's Deathmatch plays a lot like a platformer version of Bomberman as you use weapons and other items, possibly even bombs, to take out your opponents in small little arenas.  If you want to play Deathmatch alone, you can play against AI bots.  Also you are able to play through the entire game with co-operatively with three other players.  Spelunky HD can be picked up on XBLA for 1200 Microsoft Points for those interested in picking it up.

Hump Day Music: Panic Puppet Zone

Somedays, it is hard for me to come up with a piece of video game music I want to share.  It really depends on what music I am listening to at the time and what I want to talk about.  There are excellent tracks I have been holding back so I do not share only music from the same games because if you notice there are certain game franchises that I love a lot of music from.  Mega Man, Castlevania, Phoenix Wright, Metroid and Mario are just a few examples.  As I scoured Youtube to find a piece of music to highlight in this edition of Hump Day Music, I stumbled upon a track that may not have originally heard.  From Sonic 3D Blast, it is the Panic Puppet Zone theme.

I do not believe many have played and/or completed Sonic 3D Blast.  Personally, I have never made the time to sit down and actually get past the third zone in the game.  Sonic 3D Blast is not the greatest game in the Sonic series, but it is definitely not the worst.  It is a mediocre affair that many gamers have most likely stayed clear of in favour of the classic 2D Sonic games for the Sega Genesis.  Considering a fair number of gamers missed out on a really good piece of video game music in the Panic Puppet Zone theme.  The Panic Puppet Zone is the final zone in Sonic 3D Blast and has the best theme in the game.  When I think of Sonic 3D Blast, I honestly think of the music to Panic Puppet Zone.  It is the only piece of music from the game that made such a lasting impression on me.  Funny considering I never managed to play the final level of Sonic 3D Blast.  I know I heard it sometime before I played Sonic Adventure as I could tell that the Twinkle Park theme was remixed from a past Sonic game.  This theme packs everything needed for the final level of a game.  The beat is fast and furious, the track is very frantic, which in turn psyches the player up to complete the game and the track has a memorable tune that will stick in your head for days, weeks, possibly months.  The Panic Puppet Zone theme is a truly underrated Sonic theme due to the fact many gamers did not play much of Sonic 3D Blast.  If you ever played Twinkle Park in Sonic Adventure and could not stop blobbing your head to the beat, you should definitely listen to the original track that spawned that great remix.

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.

Hump Day Music: Sonic CD Title Screen

In honour of Sega finally bringing many classic Sonic soundtracks to iTunes, I decided to highlight a classic track from the ever amazing Sonic CD.  Sadly these soundtracks are currently available in the US at the moment and not in Canada, so I cannot pick any of them up.  Hopefully they are released in the Canadian iTunes Store very soon, but I digress.

Sonic CD has many great pieces of video game music from both soundtracks (the North American soundtrack and the Japanese/European soundtrack).  My two favourites can both be found on the title screen.  While I would love to be talking about Sonic Boom, I will save that track for another edition of Hump Day Music.  I want to highlight a track that few North American Sonic fans have actually heard before the re-release of Sonic CD late last year.  It is Sonic CD's title screen theme from the Japanese/European soundtrack.  Quite possibly my favourite title screen theme of all-time, it is incredibly upbeat and infectious.  I cannot help but smile whenever I hear it.  This music really brightens up your day and gets you bouncing around to the beat.  I could easily listen to it for hours on loop as it serves as great background music while I am working.  The Sonic CD Title Screen music is an underrated piece of video game music that should be listened to.  Give it a chance, I guarantee you will crack a smile.

Hump Day Music: Ice Cap Zone

It has been a little while since I highlighted a song for Hump Day Music.  So I thought I go with one of the most iconic pieces of music from my favourite franchise in gaming, Sonic the Hedgehog.  Any true Sonic fan knows what pieces of music I am talking about today.  It is the Ice Cap Zone.

Easily the best tracks in Sonic 3, Ice Cap Zone has a melody that is so soothing and peaceful, but a beat that lies under the melody and is constant and blood pumping.  A few moments after I start listening to this track, I start bopping up head back-and-forth.  It perfect fits the icy winter-like environment that is Sonic 4's Ice Cap Zone.  The Ice Cap Zone like most levels in Classic Sonic games are split into two acts before you fight that level's boss.  Each act shares the same theme, but with some variations for each act.  While the theme for Act 1 of the Ice Cap Zone is the one everybody thinks of when you mention the music of Ice Cap Zone, I personally enjoy Act 2's theme a little more than Act 1's theme.  Act 2 has a little more of a sharper sound to the music than Act 1 and the additions to the song really make the track sound that much better in my opinion.  I will be sharing both tracks (Act 1 and 2) below, so you guys and gals can choose for yourself which is the better theme, but there is no doubt that no matter which theme, Ice Cap Zone is one of the best pieces of video game music ever made.

On the Download: January 15-21

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

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

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

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

Sonic Generations Review

Sonic Generations was originally released for Xbox 360 and PS3 in early November.  As there was not a version for the Wii, Sega did not want to leave Nintendo out of Sonic’s 25 birthday celebration so they released Sonic Generations for the Nintendo 3DS. 

 

The 3DS version follows the same plot as its console brethren.  An unknown being known as the Time Eater is messing with time and Sonic must team with his past self to stop the Time Eater from destroying time as we know it.  Like in the console version of Sonic Generations, you play levels from past Sonic games from the Genesis Era all the way to the Modern Era as both Classic and Modern Sonic.  Instead of just rehashing the same levels from the console version of Sonic Generation, the 3DS version of the game has six new levels for you to play.  Most of these new levels are fun to play, but there are a couple levels such as the Water Palace that just did not engage enough to make me want to play it again.  Along with the new levels, Dimps brought back the special stages (something that was not in the console games).  These special stages in Sonic Generations are based on the special stages from Sonic Heroes as Sonic chases a chaos emerald down a long tube.  Rather than the special stages be four to five minutes long like in Sonic Heroes, Dimps reduced the time to one to two minutes timed affairs in order to complement the portable nature of the game.  Personally I really enjoyed the special stages in Sonic Generations due to the fast gameplay that really tests your hand-eye coordination.  After completing a certain number of stages in each era, you unlock a boss gate.  A boss gate contains two challenges for Sonic.  The first challenge is a race against one of his three rivals (Metal Sonic, Shadow and Silver).  The second challenge is boss battle against a boss from a past Sonic game such as Big Arm, the final boss from Sonic 3.  The boss gates like the majority of the game area lot of fun.  Dimps even improved the boss battles for the Biolizard and the Time Eater, which were a mess in their respective games.

With all the fun that I had with Sonic Generations for the 3DS, there are quite a few drawbacks that keep this game from surpassing its console brethren.  First off, the game’s presentation is great except for one thing, the cutscenes.  Usually I am not up and arms about cutscenes in a game, but the talking models standing in white space cutscenes just don't do it for me.  These cutscenes were acceptable on the Nintendo DS as it did not have a lot of power, but the 3DS is a new much more powerful handheld that can handle actual in-game cutscenes.  Dimp’s efforts just look lazy and rushed.  Secondly, having Classic Sonic learn both the Homing Attack and Boost might be cool, but it defeats the purpose of Sonic Generations as now there is not much of a difference between playing with Classic or Modern Sonic.  Finally, the game is just a tad short.  While the console version of Sonic Generations took me close to 8 hours to beat, Sonic Generations for the 3DS can be beaten in 3 to 4 hours.  The missions will lengthen the time you spend with the game, but they are hard to unlock as the way to unlock them is not clearly defined.

At one point in time, handheld Sonic games were way much better than what Sega was releasing on the consoles.  It seems right now the roles have reversed.  While it is not by a landslide, Sonic Generations for the 3DS is not better than its console brethren.  With fast, fun gameplay, good 3D graphics, excellent music and enjoyable and unique missions (when you finally unlock some), Sonic Generations for the 3DS serves as a really good companion game for those who own the console Sonic Generations game.  Also if you are a 3DS owner looking for a portable platformer to play in short bursts, Sonic Generations is a great game for you.