Sorry about all the delays on the posts this week. This week was much busier than I had previously expected. There were quite a few days when I was either busy hanging out with friends or did not fell up to writing a blog post. In the end, I got everything done and up before the end of the week. With the weeks winding down before school starts, I will definitely be getting busier and busier. Let us make the best of the last few weeks of regular blog posts here on Silver Bit.
Game of the Week
At the beginning of this week, I plowed through the last few missions of Advance Wars: Days of Ruin to finally beat that game. Even though I did spend a lot of time with Advance Wars this week, my Game of the Week goes to Symphony. This new music game mixed with a vertical shooter is a lot of fun. The shooter gameplay is tight and the music to level translation is incredible. It took me a little while to get my music library to properly work with Symphony, but once it did playing through my music felt incredible. I wanted to try each song to see how I would do and how Symphony would translate that song into a level in the game. The inclusion of the six difficulties and online leaderboards really ups the re-playability of Symphony as you look to reach the highest score for all your songs. While story might not be the most stellar narrative you have ever seen, it is serviceable nonetheless and makes for some really cool surprise boss battles. I can easily see myself diving hours into Symphony like I did when I bought Audiosurf. If you are either a fan of music game s or have a huge library of music you would like to do a little more with than just listen to, Symphony is a game to pick up.
Most Anticipated Game of the Week
Seeing as it comes out this Tuesday, my Most Anticipated Game of the Week goes to The Last Story. Considering my Launch Station for the game is already up on Silver Bit, I say you should go read that for my full views on The Last Story before its' release. I will say that for 50 dollars, people who pick up the game at launch will sure get their moneys worth. A steelbook, an artbook and a game soundtrack along with an epic RPG from the legendary Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of Final Fantasy. There is no way that I am going to let this game slip through my hands because in just a few months, it will be close to impossible to find this game. Case and point, try finding a new copy of Xenoblade Chronicles.
Video of the Week
Way back when Pokemon hit North America, Nintendo launched the games alongside the anime, which added more narrative to the plot of the games. Along with the Pokemon games, the anime was thus catapulted into superstardom. All the kids loved it. Rushing home from school to watch the newest episode and singing the theme song at the top of their lungs when the show started. I know all this because I was one of those kids. While my love for the Pokemon RPGs never wavered, eventually the Pokemon anime grew old fast especially when it took about 20 episodes for Ash and friends to reach each gym. Imagine if Nintendo went back to the drawing board with the Pokemon anime and decided to go in say a more mature approach to the series in order to appeal to the older fans like yours truly. I believe the result would be this incredible cutscene for the upcoming Pokemon Black 2 and White 2. The more I watch it, the more I wish we would see this cutscene turn into a full-on anime. I would definitely watch it, would you?
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Launch Station: The Last Story
Lazulis Island, governed by Count Arganan, has become a small wonder of power for it's nearly impenetrable defence and mysterious attributes. Lazulis Island's reputation brings in many people looking to make a fortune. Among those people is Zael and his fellow band of mercenaries. Even though on Lazulis Island mercenaries are perceived to be upon the lower classes of society, Zael and his friends catch the eye of none other than Count Arganan. Waving the caveat of knighthood in front of their eyes, Count Arganan employs Zael and his friends to complete missions for him personally. On one of Count Arganan's missions, Zael is bestowed with a mysterious power known as the Gathering that sends him and his friends on a journey they will never forget. With The Last Story, Hironobu Sakaguchi and his team at Mistwalker looked to evolve the rather stagnant JRPG genre in new and creative ways. With this directive in mind, The Last Story employs an innovative real-time battle system that has not been seen in any other JRPG. Battles happen all in real-time with the player controlling Zael while the computers control the other party members. To help set up big chain attacks and other strategic plans, you are able issue commands such as directing allies or telling a magic user to destroy a bridge to your party members in real-time. The Last Story has a full-on cover and stealth system that works in tandem with the battle system that allows players to hide behind cover in order to avoid enemy fire, get the advantage on certain enemies and pick off dangerous ranged enemies from a distance. The Gathering power that Zael gains can be used in battle to help your party as it draws all enemy attention to Zael, which buys party members enough time to cast spells, heal or take a much needed rest from the onslaught. Lazulis Island is a rich setting that players can explore at anytime during the game. There are over 30 side quests to complete, tons of items to collect, new powers such as Focus and Seek to acquire and an incredible amount of additional backstory and information about the world of The Last Story for players to discover. If players tire of the huge single-player story, The Last Story also includes both competitive and co-operative online multi-player modes. Players can either team up against monsters or battle one another in order to collect some rare items for use in the single-player.
Coming off of the heels of Xenoblade Chronicles, which turned out to be a success for Nintendo, The Last Story looks to be the last great game to release for Nintendo's aging Wii console. It will easily tide hardcore Wii gamers until the release of the Wii U. Hironobu Sakaguchi's newest creation looks to be one of his finest. It is a game that every hardcore Wii gamer and JRPG aficionado should pick up this coming Tuesday.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
On the Download: August 5-11
While this edition of On the Download is not as big as I originally thought it would be, but it is a packed edition nonetheless. Got some big games to talk about this week on XBLA, PSN and Steam. So without further ado, let us jump right in.
After some initial server problems, the newest release in Microsoft's Summer of Arcade promotion is up on the marketplace. This game happens to be Hybrid, 5th Cell's (creators of Scribblenauts and Run Roo Run) first foray into developing console games. Hybrid is an online only multi-player third person shooter. Hybrid takes place in 2032 where a Supercollider implosion causes a rift between our world and an alternate reality. From this rift, a new species known as the Variant emerges. The emergence of this new species causes a world war to break out between the Variants and a group of rebel humans known as Paladins. Playing as either the Variants or the Paladins, players compete in 3-on-3 matches that will affect this massive online war. Included in Hybrid are 10 maps and modes for players to compete on and tons of weapons and abilities to customize their character. For those interested in joining this world war, Hybrid is available exclusively on XBLA for 1200 Microsoft Points.
Ever since the full reveal of the PlayStation Vita at E3 2011, there has been one game that has been everybody's mind. That game is Sound Shapes, the latest project from Canadian-based Queasy Games that brought acclaimed PSN shooter Everyday Shooter. Sound Shapes has finally released on PSN and good news, you can play it on both the PS3 and the PS Vita for one price of 15 dollars. Sound Shapes is a unique blend of side-scrolling platformer with a rhythm game. Every action in Sound Shapes from playing, composing and sharing levels all make the music in the game. For those looking for some single-player action, Sound Shapes offers a comprehensive campaign that fuses music and artwork into a classic 2D platformer. Many great artists from Pixeljam to Superbrothers and musicians from Beck to Deadmau5 contributed to artwork and music used in Sound Shapes' campaign. As much as Sound Shapes is a game, it is also equal parts a musical instrument that musicians or just regular games can pick up and create their own musical levels. All the levels you create in Sound Shapes can be shared online with friends and the entire Sound Shapes community.
Sound Shapes was not the only music game released for download this week. Brought to you by Empty Clip Studios, Symphony is a vertical shooter in which you play through levels composed of your own library of music. In Symphony, your music is under attack and it is up to you to liberate it. A mysterious entity is corrupting your music as you play it. It is up to you to play through your collection of songs in order to discover items, battle bosses, find pages of the Symphony of Souls and reclaim your music. By completing a song in Symphony, you unlock a new item to customize your ship with in order to tackle higher difficulty levels and score targets. Symphony also includes 6 difficulty levels and online leaderboards to keep players engaged for a long time. If you are interested in this unique musical shooter, you can download Symphony off of Steam for 10 dollars.
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.
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.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
SGC 3: Help Bring Back the Biggest Party in Gaming
Launch Station: Persona 4 Arena
Persona 4 Arena takes place two months after the end of Persona 4. A mysterious fighting tournament has started in TV World, a realm that in the Persona universe runs parallel to our world, and characters from both Persona 3 and 4 are trapped fighting in it. By playing through the story mode for each character, you will solve who is running this mysterious fighting tournament and how can these characters escape. Unlike the latest entries in Street Fighter and Marvel vs. Capcom that have embraced 3D models, Persona 4 Arena sticks with gorgeous high definition 2D sprites with incredible amount of hand-drawn animation and stages. While in a fight, characters are able to fight on their own with their fists or call upon their Persona to assist them. Combining your own physical attacks with assists from your Persona can prolong combos and be the difference between winning or losing. Like in many other fighting games, players are able to execute special attacks and defend from opponent's attacks for prolonged periods of time. To inhibit players from spamming these moves and techniques, special moves and guarding are limited by the Persona 4 Arena's Burst Gauge. Persona 4 Arena also includes both offline and online multi-player for players to challenge friends and absolute strangers to one-on-one fights.
Personally, I have never played any of the Persona games so I am not too familiar with the series to get excited for a Persona fighting game. For fans of Persona or fighting game fans in general, Persona 4 Arena looks like a solid fighting game that will satisfy your Persona and/or fighting needs. I will say it is pretty cool yet risky decision for Atlus to take Persona from its' RPG roots and make it a fighting game. One decision that I personally would like to see succeed.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Bit by Bit: July 29-August 4
As we enter August, we enter the final month that I will be posting regularly six times a week. Come the second week of September, I start university so I am going to be too busy to write a blog post every single day. I will talk about this situation in more detail when the time comes for the change, but I would like to give a little warning so I do not surprise anybody with the news. Now with that news out of the way, let us get on with the regular scheduled blogging.
Game of the Week
Last week, I said that Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 would probably be my Game of the Week. Well a funny thing happened this past week. I barely even picked up the game this past week. Not that Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a bad game at all because it is an excellent fighter, I just got sucked into playing a lot of my 3DS. I did play through some more Pokemon Conquest where I completed the first of many side-stories. My Game of the Week goes to a game that I am on the cusp of beating, but have not played it for a while. The game in question is Advance Wars: Days of Ruin for the DS. Easily the darkest entry in this very light-hearted series, Days of Ruin takes place in the days and months following an apocalyptic meteor shower that leaves the world in absolute turmoil. While story has never been what Advance Wars has been known for, Days of Ruin's narrative has it's fair share of enjoyable twists and turns. The main pull of an Advance Wars game is the series' superb turn-based gameplay. For me, great Advance Wars missions play a lot like chess with each CO trading great feats of power and strategy. While sometimes it is easy to overpower certain opponents, it is the missions where you start at a disadvantage that are much more satisfying when you win. There was one mission I played this week that was a nightmare the first few times I tried it. Then the very first time I tried a different strategy, I won the mission after a long war of attrition. Advance Wars: Days of Ruin may not be the most popular entry in the this great turn-based strategy game series, but it is a great game for your DS and/or 3DS if you have a chance to pick it up.
Most Anticipated Game of the Week
My favourite music game of all-time goes to a little 10 dollar PC game known as Audiosurf. In Audiosurf, you literally surf your own music. You can select any song from your music library and Audiosurf will create a track for you to surf through with your little ship. It is an incredible experience that in my opinion has not been replicated with much success. A little while back I saw a trailer for this unique new music game called Symphony by Empty Clip Studios. Much like Audiosurf, Symphony can take any track from your library of music and create a level for you to play. Instead of creating a tracks for you to surf, Symphony turns each track into a vertical shooter. As you fight to liberate your music, you will fight bosses, discover items to help you along the way and go for the high scores. It looks to be another gem of a music game just for the PC that many should at least take a look at.
Video of the Week
Sadly I cannot find any good video on the gymnast who did her routine at the London 2012 Summer Olympics to The Legend of Zelda music. So in place of that I give you the latest episode of The Completionist to enjoy.
Game of the Week
Last week, I said that Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 would probably be my Game of the Week. Well a funny thing happened this past week. I barely even picked up the game this past week. Not that Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a bad game at all because it is an excellent fighter, I just got sucked into playing a lot of my 3DS. I did play through some more Pokemon Conquest where I completed the first of many side-stories. My Game of the Week goes to a game that I am on the cusp of beating, but have not played it for a while. The game in question is Advance Wars: Days of Ruin for the DS. Easily the darkest entry in this very light-hearted series, Days of Ruin takes place in the days and months following an apocalyptic meteor shower that leaves the world in absolute turmoil. While story has never been what Advance Wars has been known for, Days of Ruin's narrative has it's fair share of enjoyable twists and turns. The main pull of an Advance Wars game is the series' superb turn-based gameplay. For me, great Advance Wars missions play a lot like chess with each CO trading great feats of power and strategy. While sometimes it is easy to overpower certain opponents, it is the missions where you start at a disadvantage that are much more satisfying when you win. There was one mission I played this week that was a nightmare the first few times I tried it. Then the very first time I tried a different strategy, I won the mission after a long war of attrition. Advance Wars: Days of Ruin may not be the most popular entry in the this great turn-based strategy game series, but it is a great game for your DS and/or 3DS if you have a chance to pick it up.
Most Anticipated Game of the Week
My favourite music game of all-time goes to a little 10 dollar PC game known as Audiosurf. In Audiosurf, you literally surf your own music. You can select any song from your music library and Audiosurf will create a track for you to surf through with your little ship. It is an incredible experience that in my opinion has not been replicated with much success. A little while back I saw a trailer for this unique new music game called Symphony by Empty Clip Studios. Much like Audiosurf, Symphony can take any track from your library of music and create a level for you to play. Instead of creating a tracks for you to surf, Symphony turns each track into a vertical shooter. As you fight to liberate your music, you will fight bosses, discover items to help you along the way and go for the high scores. It looks to be another gem of a music game just for the PC that many should at least take a look at.
Video of the Week
Sadly I cannot find any good video on the gymnast who did her routine at the London 2012 Summer Olympics to The Legend of Zelda music. So in place of that I give you the latest episode of The Completionist to enjoy.
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