Launch Station: Guild Wars 2

Madden NFL 13 and all those PlayStation game collections were not the only games released Tuesday.  Tuesday saw the release of a highly anticipated MMORPG, Guild Wars 2.  Guild Wars 2 is possibly the only MMO that could give Blizzard's MMO giant World of Warcraft a run for it's money.  With huge improvements and no monthly subscription, Guild Wars 2 looks to be the MMORPG experience not to miss this year.

Guild Wars 2 is set 250 years after the original game.  In that time, the world of Tyria has faced massive changes, devastating cataclysms and other huge global events that have caused big changes to Guild Wars 2's environments and play areas.  Humans are no longer the dominant species as the balance has shifted to towards the many other races inhabiting Tyria.  To make things worse, dragons have awoken from their slumber to wreak habit on the world.  You, the player, are tasked with reuniting the disbanded Destiny's Edge guild in order to combat the dragon threat.  At the outset of Guild Wars 2, players are able to create their own character from a combination of five races (humans, charr, asura, norn and sylvari) and eight professions (engineer, necromancer, thief, elementalist, warrior, ranger, mesmer and guardian).  Each race and profession have different attributes that effect which skills the player has access to.  Guild Wars 2 combat system is very skill-based, so players can only use 10 skills in combat.  Each skill slot has predefined roles in order to make each character balanced and have the combat focus more on strategy than just spamming certain skills.  Guild Wars 2 also includes a higher level cap of 80, a more elaborate crafting system and a World PvP that players can jump into at anytime and play anybody in the world.

Not everybody enjoys playing MMOs, but the original Guild Wars and in turn Guild Wars 2 offers a lower barrier of entry thanks to the game having no monthly subscription.  All you have to do to play Guild Wars 2 is just buy the base game in store or online and you are ready to go.  It is very appealing especially for people like yours truly whose biggest reason for not playing many MMOs was due to the monthly subscriptions.  I personally will not be picking up Guild Wars 2 because there is no way my computer could run it, but possibly someday down the road.  Blizzard and World of Warcraft have some serious competition in NCSoft and ArenaNet's Guild Wars 2.  We will have to see who wins out, but I believe it is time for a changing of the guard.

Launch Station: PlayStation Game Collections

Yes, it is Madden day, but I do not enjoy doing sports game previews.  There is not much to talk to about other than the incremental improvements that I honestly do not care about.  If you are a football fan, you have probably already bought Madden NFL 13 and have been playing it for the past 24 hours.  You do not need my preview.  Instead of highlighting the umpteenth edition of Madden NFL, I am going to highlight the four, yes four, game collections that Sony released this Tuesday for the PS3.  These games are going for 30 to 40 dollars and include 3 full games at the least.  If you missed any of these games the first time around, these are the collections that you should definitely pick up no ifs, ands or buts.

This collection brings us all the way back to the PS2 days.  The days where Sony had three mascot platformers all competing for your attention in Jak and Daxter, Sly Cooper and Ratchet and Clank.  While Jak and Sly have gotten their times to shine in the HD Collection high, Sony fans have waited quite a long time to see Insomniac's beloved characters join the party.  The Ratchet and Clank Collection runs 30 dollars and includes the first three Ratchet and Clank games (Ratchet and Clank, Going Commando and Up Your Arsenal), a 10th Anniversary Ratchet and Clank Avatar item and early access to the Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time demo.  Along with the obvious HD upgrade to the graphics, there is trophy support for each game and online multi-player exclusively for Up Your Arsenal.

After Sucker Punch made a name for itself with Sly Cooper, this team moved onto the more mature darker superhero game in the Infamous series.  For being a new IP when it released in 2009, Infamous did very well.  Enough to get a sequel in 2011 and a special Halloween-themed DLC.  For those who missed out on this series when it first released, they should look no further than the Infamous Collection.  The Infamous Collection includes both Infamous 1 and 2, the Festival of Blood DLC and all other extra DLC missions, costumes and weapons all for 40 dollars.

Easily the most bang for your buck, God of War Saga includes the entirety of the God of War series leading up to the release of God of War: Ascension next year.  There are five games packed onto one disc for only 40 dollars.  You get God of War 1, 2, 3, Chains of Olympus and Ghosts of Sparta.  Five high quality incredibly cinematic hack-and-slash action game classics that has spanned the PS2, PSP and PS3.  On top of that the God of War Saga includes exclusive bonus content and a one month trial of PlayStation Plus, which is also included in the Infamous Collection.

thatgamecompany has made a name for themselves by releasing incredibly unique and artistically splendid downloadable games exclusively for the PS3.  Their latest effort Journey made waves in the video game industry when it released earlier this March, which easily made it one of the highest selling PSN game of all-time.  Capturing the hearts of many including yours truly, Journey is one of the video games you have to, and I emphasize have to, experience this year.  There is no way to not to experience now considering Sony and thatgamecompany just released the Journey Collector's Edition for the amazingly affordable price of 30 dollars.  The Journey Collector's Edition does not just include Journey.  You get Flow and Flower, thatgamecompany's previous games, three game prototypes created during thatgamecompany's Game Jam and art galleries, commentaries and soundtracks for Journey, Flower and Flow.  That is not all as this package also includes exclusive PSN avatars and a one month trial for PlayStation Plus.

Bit by Bit: August 19-25

Well I have entered the last week of regular posting as it is the final week of August.  It is funny how the summer has gone so fast and school is coming so quickly.  I have one more busy week of blogging which will be capped off by a post next Saturday on the future of Silver Bit.  It should be an exciting week and considering I do not work evenings, let us make the final week of August the best week we can.

Game of the Week
Last Story, Transformers.  Transformers, Last Story.  Which one to choose for Game of the Week?  For some it might be a big dilemma, for me not so much.  I have played a considerable amount of The Last Story and I am enjoying it.  The starting of The Last Story was fine, but did not draw me in as much as an early story quest to retrieve medicine from a group of bandits.  Once I got past that mission, The Last Story has got me hooked with the story and gameplay and I will definitely be playing it in the weeks to come.  The Last Story would easily win Game of the Week if not for Transformers: Fall of Cybertron.  The more I play Fall of Cybertron, the more I fall in love with it.  While I have not tackled the multi-player, Fall of Cybertron's campaign is absolutely amazing.  The levels may come off as a little too linear, the amount of variety packed in these levels is just incredible.  There is always something new around the corner for you to experience from commanding a massive city-sized Autobot to playing as the indestructible ultimate form of the Combaticons known as Bruticus.  Two of my top highlights of Fall of Cybertron's campaign so far are the Cliffjumper and Jazz levels, which have a heavier focus more on stealth and platforming over the regular shooter gameplay.  In my opinion, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron has improved on the foundation High Moon Studios laid down with War of Cybertron in every way possible creating easily the greatest Transformers game of all-time.  If you are still on the fence, I highly recommend you get off it and pick up a copy of Transformers: Fall of Cybertron.  You will be happy that you did.

Most Anticipated Game of the Week
While I am very much looking forward to the Journey Collector's Edition, which releases this coming Tuesday, my Most Anticipated Game of the Week goes to the new piece of Mass Effect 3 story DLC, Leviathan that also releases Tuesday.  The Leviathan DLC has Commander Shepard and his team explore the corners of the galaxy to find a rogue Reaper called Leviathan.  In this DLC, Shepard discovers more about the dark origins of the Reapers, explore new uncharted planets, interact with new characters and dive into the deep depths inside a mech.  It is more Mass Effect goodness for 10 dollars. Considering I am buying the Journey Collector's Edition this week and picked up a few big video game books this past week, I might pass on Leviathan for the time being, but that does not mean I cannot be excited for this new extension to my favourite game of 2012.



Video of the Week
Let me introduce to you the newest show by The Completionist called Here Comes a New Challenger. In Here Comes a New Challenger, Jirard reviews new releases, be it an indie game or a Triple A title, to see if they are worth your hard earned cash.  Here Comes a New Challenger does not focus on completing the games being reviewed, but experiencing enough of the game to give a fair analysis of the game.  The first game to take the challenge is none other than Symphony!  Yes, that downloadable game I talked about a few weeks back.  Here is another opinion on the game for those that may still be on the fence.  It is a very good review and I do look forward to seeing more of Here Comes a New Challenger reviews in the future.

The Power is Over: The End of Nintendo Power

This past Tuesday rumours surfaced around the net that Nintendo would not be renewing their deal with Future US to continue Nintendo Power.  While at first it was just a lot of speculation, the rumour was confirmed on Wednesday by Nintendo of America, Nintendo Power web site and many Nintendo Power editors.  The publication will end production with the December 2012 issue, which will release on newsstands December 4, 2012.

Easily the longest running video game magazine in existence, it is very sad to see Nintendo Power go.  Personally this year marked the first time I ever picked up an issue of Nintendo Power.  After buying each and every issue for a good year, I decided to get a subscription with Nintendo Power for Christmas from my parents back in 2002.  A subscription that will have lasted exactly a decade from this December.  For me, Nintendo Power was my introduction to incredible world of print magazines.  Reading a monthly anthology of information on my favourite hobby and my favourite video game company in the world just blew my mind.  I was hooked into looking through each and every issue cover to cover and reading the articles that I wanted to.  Eventually when I grew older, I started reading every magazine I bought cover to cover.  If it was not for Nintendo Power, I would never be the gamer that I am today, I would have never pursued a career making video game, I would have never started reading and eventually subscribe to EGM and Game Informer and I would have never gotten through a lot of difficult things in my life.  Getting a new issue of Nintendo Power in the mail was always a great moment that will be severely missed this coming January.  I really owe a lot to this magazine and its' editors for providing me with the quintessential information about anything Nintendo-related.

All I can say is thank you, Nintendo Power and all your editors throughout the years for providing me and many others with an incredible amount of memories.  I would love to find a way to keep you going for as long as possible, but that is not reality.  Reality is that Nintendo Power like a lot of printed media is coming to an end and there is nothing we can do about it.  With the dawn of the internet, tablets and suped-up mobile devices, it is hard for tactile-printed media to compete with the flexibility of digital media.  Sad thing is I expect to see more magazines either close shop or go digital-only in the coming years.  All we can do now is show our support and make the last few issues the best issues in the publications existence.  Again thank you and farewell Nintendo Power.

My favourite issue of Nintendo Power.

On the Download: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

It looks like when the big retail releases start coming in force at the end of the summer, the downloadable games start to trickle.  That is not a big problem consider what released this week.  Valve has brought the return of the king of competitive shooters in Counter-Strike.  Easily keeping the attention of many gamers for the weeks, months and possibly years to come.  There are still a lot of people that play the original Counter-Strike and that game is over a decade old.  Another noteworthy downloadable release this week is Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II has finally released for Steam.  As a big fan of the original Knights of the Old Republic, I have personally been waiting for this game to be released on Steam for the last few years and very excited to pick it up in the near future.  Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II is available on Steam for 10 dollars if anybody is interested in picking it up.

After 12 long years, Valve has made a full-on sequel to their ever-popular Half-Life mod, Counter-Strike.  Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is an online first-person shooter that focuses on skillful team-based gameplay.  Each match allows players to play either a Terrorist or Counter-Terrorist.  The goal of a round is to either complete the designated objective or eliminating the opposing team.  In each round, the player is given one life.  If you die, you must wait until the next round to respawn.  Between rounds, players are able to purchase weapons and equipment using the money earned during the round. You earn money by completing objectives and killing enemies and you lose money by killing a teammate or hostage (accident or not).  Global Offensive features new game modes, new maps and new weapons and equipment for players to indulge in.  Along with all the new stuff packed in Global Offensive, Valve has added updated versions of classic Counter-Strike maps, game modes, weapons and equipment such as de_dust.  If you want to join in huge multi-player experience that is Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike is available on Steam, XBLA and PSN for 15 dollars or 1200 Microsoft Points.

Hump Day Music: Awesomenauts Theme Song

Never has there been a theme song so, dare I say, awesome, pun fully intended, than the theme song for Awesomenauts.  The whole reason I first became interested in Awesomenauts when it was showed off way back at E3 2011 was because of this epic theme song.  I would watch Awesomenauts' first trailer over and over again only to listen to the less than one minute snippet of this incredibly infectious song.  For the longest of times, all gamers heard of the Awesomenauts theme song was the snippets that played during every trailer for the game.  With the release of the full game for XBLA, PSN and PC, Ronimo Games has released the full theme song for download on the Awesomenauts web site.  The song is free to download only after promoting the game through Facebook or Twitter, an incredibly inexpensive way of getting a song and giving Ronimo Games some publicity.

The first time I listened to the Awesomenauts theme song, I loved it.  It is an incredibly infectious song that is very reminiscent of an old 80s cartoon theme song.  It is so simply and repetitive that it gets ingrained in your head.  Before you know it, you are humming the song wherever you go and singing along whenever you hear the song playing.  Personally I can listen to this song for hours on end and never grow tired of it.  The Awesomenauts theme song is that damn good.  So please take the time to listen to this gem of a song and if you like it download the song from the Awesomenauts web site.

Hump Day Music: Rocket Knight Adventures Stage 5A

Well I did not get around to writing anything on Monday.  Once I got home from work, I fell asleep for a good two and a half hours then spent the rest of the night playing The Last Story and watching Raw.  To say the least, I did not get around or feel up to writing a blog post on Monday.  To make up for skipping Monday, I have decided to do two Hump Day Musics today.

On Monday, I was on Game Trailers and found a new Video Game Vault from the guys over at Screwattack.  This Video Game Vault was on Sparkster: Rocket Knights Adventure 2 for the Sega Genesis.  After watching this video, I got very nostalgic for Konami's jet pack wearing opossum.  Having played and loved the original Rocket Knights Adventure and the new Rocket Knight downloadable game, I started listening to some music from the game.  Today, I would like to share with you one of my favourite tracks from Rocket Knight Adventures from my favourite level in the game.

Every piece of music in Rocket Knight Adventures is amazing, but this piece stands above the rest in my opinion because of how great it accentuates the gameplay.  Stage 5 starts with Sparkster making his charge right into the base of his nemesis, Axel Gear.  Flying across the sky above the base, Sparkster is bombarded by missiles, balloon-hoisted pigs and a few other robotic contraptions.  It is one epic introduction to this hostile environment and one of the many highlights of this incredible game.  The music really makes this gaming moment really shine in my heart.  The music really gets the desperation of the situation.  Sparkster is so motivated to save Princess Sherry from Axel Gear that he will fly head first into the most hostile of areas to save her.  The track fits in the environment so well as it feels very industrial and rigid.  It really gets your blood pumping especially when you are playing it.  One incredible track for one incredible level.