Let's address the elephant in the room. I know I promised to have things back to normal by the end of March and it's now three weeks into April. I am sorry for the delays, but school consumed my entire life until last Wednesday. Between writing close to 20 pages for final essays and studying non-stop for exams that involved copious amounts of writing, I wasn't in much of a mood to write anything else at that point in time.
Although I originally wanted this edition of Bit by Bit to be the first post back from the hiatus, I am very happy that I got the Launch Station for Xenoblade Chronicles 3D up in time for its release this past Friday, especially considering my reverence for the Wii original. Since school is winding down for the year (only one exam left!), I will be able to once again post to Silver Bit on a regular basis. With all that being said, let us rewind the clock to last month and look back at the best and worst of March 2015.
Shame of the Month
Typically, I highlight the best game I played in the past month, but I think the game I am talking about today deserves an exception. While I critique games, I don't usually review games I find middling or bad because I don't spend enough time with them to justify a review. Personally, I like to experience everything the game has to offer before writing a review, including playing through the single-player portion and spending a good amount of time with the multiplayer. It is a time-consuming commitment that I don't usually make for a game that I despise playing. Now, I want to start playing a greater variety of games, in both genre and quality, to widen what I talk about on Silver Bit. Although too much time has passed for me to give a full review justice, I will still honour this game as the very first Shame of the Month.
In the middle of all the craziness that was March, I decided to download a little free-to-play game that was popular among everybody I met through StreetPass—Pokemon Shuffle. At the core of Pokemon Shuffle, there is an okay match-three puzzle game. Sadly, that core is wrapped in frustrating gameplay mechanics that are only in the game to make players shell out their hard-earned cash.
Unless you have a gripping need to spend real money to play Shuffle for hours on end, it is best to play for the short amount of time offered through the five regenerating hearts. You will see everything Pokemon Shuffle has to offer in the first 30 to 40 stages, leaving you over 100 stages of recycling the same challenges with increasing difficulty. What makes the game even worse are the mechanics, such as the catchability meter and enemy disruptions, that are tweaked in such a way that it forces players to pay money in order to advance in the game. Yes, there are ways around these frustrations by hording jewels until absolutely necessary, but the game continually tempts the player to use them for five more turns or 20 more seconds to catch their desired Pokemon. These deceitful freemium practices just put a bad taste in your mouth.
Hopefully with Nintendo producing games for mobile platforms, these cash-sucking titles will be exclusive for those markets instead of infecting the 3DS and Wii U eShops. Pokemon Shuffle is pretty much the exact same game as last year's Pokemon Battle Trozei with new Mega Evolution screen-clearing combos and tons of devious ways to steal your money. Pokemon Shuffle may not be that fun, but it is perfect start to Silver Bit's Shame of the Month.
Most Anticipated Game of the Month
This past March, Nintendo pulled the curtain back on Splatoon and does it ever look good. About midway through the month, Nintendo brought video game journalists from media outlets like IGN and Gamespot and Youtube personalities like ProJared and The Completionist to play the game at their American headquarters. The onslaught of videos and articles that came from this event highlight Splatoon's various single and multiplayer modes.
Back when the game debuted at E3 2014, I initially thought Splatoon wasn't anything special as it looked like a neat little downloadable title. I can say now that I was totally wrong and I am glad to be wrong in this case. Splatoon looks to be a very comprehensive game with a Mario Galaxy style Octo Valley single-player campaign and fully-fledged suite of online multiplayer modes like Turf Wars and Ranked Battles. I am especially looking forward to spending lots of time in Octo Valley launching from floating island to floating island, using ink in unique ways to battle enemies and finding interesting ways to traverse platforms with some cool ink-squid combinations.
If you would've asked me about Splatoon at the beginning of the year, I would've shrugged the game off as Nintendo giving the third-person shooter genre the good ol' college try. Now, all I want to do is play it. I know I overuse this saying, but I seriously can't wait until May 29th to play Splatoon. I am that damn excited.
Video of the Month
In 1987, Hironobu Sakaguchi was a young video designer for Squaresoft that just wanted to finish the final game in his contract to pursue the greener pastures of hip hop. Unbeknownst to Sakaguchi, his "final fantasy" spiraled into the long-running franchise many gamers know and love and a seemingly never-ending extension to his contract. How did the success and popularity of Final Fantasy affect the legendary game designer? Watch Mega64's totally real behind-the scenes look at the making of Final Fantasy to find out.
Showing posts with label The Completionist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Completionist. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Bit by Bit: April 2014
With school coming to an end for another year, April serves as the start of more free time to relax and do things that were pushed aside during the school year like video games. While I did get some time playing games between studying and working, it seems like the floodgates have just opened in these last couple of weeks. Funny enough, the end of the school year coincided with finally completing Bravely Default after spending the last two and a half months working on beating the game. Spending so much time with one game felt very limiting that now this feeling of freedom and choice is almost overwhelming. The spring and summer months should be fun as I will be bouncing between games from my ever-growing backlog and brand new releases. It should be a fun journey that will be chronicled right here on Silver Bit. So stay tuned.
Game of the Month
Ever since I beat Bravely Default, I have been able to spend more time playing a wide variety of games. In the few weeks since I beat Bravely Default, I have been playing Golden Sun, Resident Evil 6 and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and have completed shorter games like Rhythm Thief, SteamWorld Dig and Donkey Kong 1994. As great of an achievement beating a long, gruelling RPG is, playing a game for over 100 hours can be exhausting. The change of pace has been refreshing especially with one game in particular pulling me in more and more. That game is Infamous: Second Son and it is the one game that has got me to play the PS4 on a rather consistent basis. I have dabbled with the previous entries in Sucker Punch's superhero playground, but never for any considerable amount of time. Compared to other open world sandboxes, Second Son's setting of Seattle may seem a little lifeless, bland and full of hilarious glitches. Even with those drawbacks, I have had lots of fun just running around, completing side missions, collecting blast shards and beating up waves of DUP officers and drug dealers. The most fun to be had with Second Son comes from the new powers you get to play around with. While the smoke and video powers are cool, the best power in the game is neon. Zipping around Seattle at supersonic speeds, slowing down time to aim and sniping enemies with precise neon shots make for a power players will stick to throughout their entire playthrough. Infamous: Second Son may not be the best open-world superhero game as Batman still holds that honour in my opinion, but it is definitely the best game on PS4 right now. Second Son deserves to be in every PS4 owner's library.
Most Anticipated Game of the Month
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS are easily the two most anticipated games of 2014. A new entry in the Smash Bros. series only happens every four years or more so any news or announcement about the newest entry is an event in itself. Aside from Masahiro Sakurai's daily screenshots on Miiverse, there has not been a major dump of information about Super Smash Bros. since E3 2013. Early this April, Nintendo and Sakurai took some time away from developing Super Smash Bros. to deliver a Nintendo Direct focused solely on the two games. During the nearly 40 minute presentation, Sakurai touched on the release dates, included stages, online play, differences between the two versions, items, assist trophies and returning and new inclusions to the roster among a plethora of additional information. It is impossible to capture the greatness of this Nintendo Direct in mere words. It is incredibly produced, filled with tons of goodies that will make any gamer smile ear to ear and easily sold hundreds to buy a Wii U, 3DS or possibly both. Personally, my excitement for Super Smash Bros. is at unimaginable levels. Even thinking about the games makes me giddy with excitement. Summer and Winter 2014 cannot come any sooner.
Video of the Month
Usually I never have a problem picking the Video of the Month, but this April has been the exception. There has been so many great videos this month from the wacky Tomodachi Life Direct to Screwattack's epic interviews with the creator of Videoball Tim Rogers to Mega64's collaboration with Nintendo on the recent Nintendo E3 announcements. While they are all incredible videos and deserve to your viewing, I have to give the Video of the Month to a video that got me thinking. The Completionist's Final Fantasy VII Retrospective has been a month-long event where Jirard and a crew of Youtubers take an in-depth look at the impact that Final Fantasy VII has had on RPGs and video games in general. This in-depth analysis of Final Fantasy VII really made me see the game in a new light and truly understand why people hold the game on such a high pedestal. While the first two videos were released in March, the majority of this series has come out throughout April and deserves the recognition for how great it is. I will share the first part here, but I highly recommend watching this series in its entirety. It will give you a new appreciation of Final Fantasy VII as it has done for me.
Game of the Month
Ever since I beat Bravely Default, I have been able to spend more time playing a wide variety of games. In the few weeks since I beat Bravely Default, I have been playing Golden Sun, Resident Evil 6 and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and have completed shorter games like Rhythm Thief, SteamWorld Dig and Donkey Kong 1994. As great of an achievement beating a long, gruelling RPG is, playing a game for over 100 hours can be exhausting. The change of pace has been refreshing especially with one game in particular pulling me in more and more. That game is Infamous: Second Son and it is the one game that has got me to play the PS4 on a rather consistent basis. I have dabbled with the previous entries in Sucker Punch's superhero playground, but never for any considerable amount of time. Compared to other open world sandboxes, Second Son's setting of Seattle may seem a little lifeless, bland and full of hilarious glitches. Even with those drawbacks, I have had lots of fun just running around, completing side missions, collecting blast shards and beating up waves of DUP officers and drug dealers. The most fun to be had with Second Son comes from the new powers you get to play around with. While the smoke and video powers are cool, the best power in the game is neon. Zipping around Seattle at supersonic speeds, slowing down time to aim and sniping enemies with precise neon shots make for a power players will stick to throughout their entire playthrough. Infamous: Second Son may not be the best open-world superhero game as Batman still holds that honour in my opinion, but it is definitely the best game on PS4 right now. Second Son deserves to be in every PS4 owner's library.
Most Anticipated Game of the Month
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS are easily the two most anticipated games of 2014. A new entry in the Smash Bros. series only happens every four years or more so any news or announcement about the newest entry is an event in itself. Aside from Masahiro Sakurai's daily screenshots on Miiverse, there has not been a major dump of information about Super Smash Bros. since E3 2013. Early this April, Nintendo and Sakurai took some time away from developing Super Smash Bros. to deliver a Nintendo Direct focused solely on the two games. During the nearly 40 minute presentation, Sakurai touched on the release dates, included stages, online play, differences between the two versions, items, assist trophies and returning and new inclusions to the roster among a plethora of additional information. It is impossible to capture the greatness of this Nintendo Direct in mere words. It is incredibly produced, filled with tons of goodies that will make any gamer smile ear to ear and easily sold hundreds to buy a Wii U, 3DS or possibly both. Personally, my excitement for Super Smash Bros. is at unimaginable levels. Even thinking about the games makes me giddy with excitement. Summer and Winter 2014 cannot come any sooner.
Video of the Month
Usually I never have a problem picking the Video of the Month, but this April has been the exception. There has been so many great videos this month from the wacky Tomodachi Life Direct to Screwattack's epic interviews with the creator of Videoball Tim Rogers to Mega64's collaboration with Nintendo on the recent Nintendo E3 announcements. While they are all incredible videos and deserve to your viewing, I have to give the Video of the Month to a video that got me thinking. The Completionist's Final Fantasy VII Retrospective has been a month-long event where Jirard and a crew of Youtubers take an in-depth look at the impact that Final Fantasy VII has had on RPGs and video games in general. This in-depth analysis of Final Fantasy VII really made me see the game in a new light and truly understand why people hold the game on such a high pedestal. While the first two videos were released in March, the majority of this series has come out throughout April and deserves the recognition for how great it is. I will share the first part here, but I highly recommend watching this series in its entirety. It will give you a new appreciation of Final Fantasy VII as it has done for me.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Hump Day Video: Downloadable Cast
Yesterday was an incredibly slow day for the video game industry. Yes, it was new release day, but other than Theatrhythm Final Fantasy for the 3DS no other new game was noteworthy. Most of the gaming community did not care for The Secret World, EA and Funcom's new MMORPG, and Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends, the newest entry in Atari's Test Drive series. With no big release and no real motivation to do I post, I decided to put out two posts today. Two posts that should help you get over the hump that is Wednesday. First up is the Hump Day Video that you are reading followed by Hump Day Music just a little later.
Jirard Khalil is The Completionist. As The Completionist, Jirard reviews games in a different way. Giving games a rating of if somebody should take the time to actually complete the game or not. You can catch Jirard's content on his Youtube page, ThatOneVideoGamer or on Screwattack. It was actually through Screwattack that I started to watch Jirard's videos and subscribe to his Youtube page. One of Jirard's newest projects is a weekly video podcast called the Downloadable Cast (DLC for short). During this weekly podcast, which is recorded live in front of a live audience on Twitch TV, Jirard and a co-host, be it his partner in crime Greg Wilmot or a special guest, discuss big topics in the gaming industry. Out of the three podcasts so far, my favourite has to be the lastest one as they discuss the future of Nintendo. While you may not agree with each opinion, I know I have not always, it is a great one hour discussion that really hit some great points about Nintendo's immediate future. If you have the time, watch the video provided below. If you enjoy this video, watch all of Jirard's other videos and possibly subscribe to his Youtube page to show you support from great original content.
Jirard Khalil is The Completionist. As The Completionist, Jirard reviews games in a different way. Giving games a rating of if somebody should take the time to actually complete the game or not. You can catch Jirard's content on his Youtube page, ThatOneVideoGamer or on Screwattack. It was actually through Screwattack that I started to watch Jirard's videos and subscribe to his Youtube page. One of Jirard's newest projects is a weekly video podcast called the Downloadable Cast (DLC for short). During this weekly podcast, which is recorded live in front of a live audience on Twitch TV, Jirard and a co-host, be it his partner in crime Greg Wilmot or a special guest, discuss big topics in the gaming industry. Out of the three podcasts so far, my favourite has to be the lastest one as they discuss the future of Nintendo. While you may not agree with each opinion, I know I have not always, it is a great one hour discussion that really hit some great points about Nintendo's immediate future. If you have the time, watch the video provided below. If you enjoy this video, watch all of Jirard's other videos and possibly subscribe to his Youtube page to show you support from great original content.
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