Off the Newsstand: Game Informer Issue 232

Just two months removed from the events of E3 2012, magazines are still covering all the big news from the huge conference.  While the July issues of each magazine covered most of the games showed off to the press before E3, the August issues are usually when each magazine breaks down everything at E3.  Giving their grades for each of the Big Three, ranking the games at this year's event and giving away their Best of E3 awards.  For those of us that cannot see every single thing at E3 due to publishers and developers keeping certain games and demos behind closed doors, these issues of each video game magazine serves as our one stop shop for everything that we may have missed at E3.

Being the annual E3 issue, every article excluding the reviews and Game Over sections are all about E3 2012.  From Game Informer's annual breakdown of the Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo's showings at E3 to the humongous cover story, which includes previews of Game Informer's Top 50 Games at E3 2012, you are in for some of the most comprehensive coverage of E3 found in any magazine.  For collector's Issue 232 of Game Informer has six different covers.  Each cover showcases a game highlighted in the E3 Hot 50 cover story.  They are all pretty cool, but my personal favourites are the Castlevania, Resident Evil 6 and Splinter Cell Blacklist covers.  The bulk of the issue is dedicated to the cover story which is more or less an expanded previews section and that is not a bad thing.  I am baffled at how Game Informer picked some of the games on this Top 50 Games of E3 list such as Gears of War: Judgment and Star Wars 1313 when they had little to nothing to show at E3 this year, but everybody is entitled to their opinion.  Honestly I do not really see the purpose of even making this a Top 50 when each writer is essentially writing a preview and not selling why a certain game is at a certain spot on the list.  For the sheer amount and quality of the content in this cover story, it is a must-read for any gamer.  Just forget about the numbering because it does not mean much of anything.  This issue of Game Informer also includes interviews with some big names in the industry, an in-depth analysis of Square Enix's Agni's Philosophy tech demo, a rundown of the most interesting downloadable games and Action MMOs of E3 2012, an in-depth interview with Jason Rubin on his new role at THQ and his plans for the future of the struggling company, reviews and a retrospective look at the first game Rod Fergusson, the director of production at Epic Games, ever worked on.

If you have been living under a rock for the past two months and completely missed out E3 2012, Issue 232 of Game Informer is your one stop shop on all the big announcements and up-to-date game previews.  The sheer amount of content crammed into these 116 pages is incredible.  Definitely an issue of Game Informer that any gamer should go out of their way to read.

On the Download: July 29-August 4

It is sad to see things to slow down this much on the downloadable front.  I can expect it from the retail side of things, but there has been a relentless slew of new quality downloadable games all competing for our hard earned cash as of late.  It is rather sad to see things slow down this much.  There was not even any new games released for the 3DS Virtual Console as part of their 8-Bit Summer initiative or a Game of Weekend deal on the eShop as well.  I am still hoping either Pushmo and/or Dillion's Rolling Western to get discounted a few dollars one of these weekends.  Even with the lack of noteworthy downloadable games being released at this very moment, there are a couple noteworthy ones that people should consider pre-purchasing.  You can pre-purchase Symphony, a very interesting musical shooter that I have actually picked up, on Steam for 8 dollars (20% off the regular price) or Sound Shapes, a platformer where the actions make the music, on PSN for 15 dollars (12 dollars if you have PlayStation Plus) both of which come out next week.  Also the first piece of Skyrim DLC, Dawnguard has been released for PC for those PC Elder Scrolls fanatics that have been waiting what to them must seems like ages for this big add-on.  This week there might not be a lot of games releasing on the downloadable side of things, but next week looks to shaping up to be one big week for downloadable games.  Might be big enough to warrant another two part edition of On the Download.  We will have to wait and see.  Before we can get to next week, we still got to take a look at the lone downloadable offering from this week, Deadlight.

Microsoft's Summer of Arcade continues with the release of Deadlight.  Deadlight is a puzzle platformer much like Limbo and Shadow Complex, which both debuted in one of Microsoft's Summer of Arcade promotions from years past.  Set in 1986, the world has been ravaged by a zombie plague.  Deadlight casts you as Randall Wayne, a survivor of this perilous plague.  After his wife and daughter go missing during the beginning of the outbreak, Randall sets out for Seattle to possibly find refuge and hopefully, if they are still alive, find his family.  Each enemy encounter in the game plays out like a puzzle.  You have to expertly use the environment to your advantage in order to get by zombies and other obstacles.  While you are given access to weapons such as an axe and guns to combat the zombie horde, the best solution is to avoid combat unless it is absolutely necessary.  It seems like every other game that releases nowadays has zombies in them in some shape or form and it is getting very tiresome.  While Deadlight is yet another game set in a zombie apocalypse, it looks to be an unique enough experience to make it standout among the horde of zombie games.  If you are interested in Deadlight, you can download from XBLA for 1200 Microsoft Points.

Hump Day Music: Mortal Kombat!!!

I have been in a fighting game mood as of late, all thanks to my purchase of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 last Friday.  While I am playing it quite a bit, there has not been a piece of music that has jumped out me like Ken's theme from Street Fighter, Take You For a Ride from Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and the theme I am going to highlight.  Easily the most iconic fighting game theme of all-time.  It literally will have you screaming the name of the game at the top of your lungs.  It is time for MORTAL KOMBAT!!!

Midway's classic fighting game from the early 1990s easily ranked high in the eyes of many children of time due to it's gratuitous amounts of blood and violence.  I remember when I was younger being in awe of the insane 16-bit violence, but I never saw it anything more than a great fighting game.  I never had the urge to try any of the humanly impossible Fatalities on anybody outside of the game like many politicians and video game activists would have you believe.  While the violence did make Mortal Kombat remembered in the annals of video game history, it is the game's theme that has stuck with me all these years.  This impactful theme grabs you from the very beginning and never lets go.  The electronic beat that underlines the entire piece will get you pumped up in no time.  From "Test Your Might" to running down the names of the entire roster, the very basic and repetitive lyrics will have you singing or it would be better to say yelling along.  Every time I hear the chorus, it makes me want to yell Mortal Kombat as loud as I can.  Let us see if you will test your might and listen to the Mortal Kombat theme.

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.

Launch Station: Risen 2: Dark Waters

Originally released for the PC back at the end of April, Risen 2: Dark Waters will finally be released for consoles tomorrow.  Risen is not a high profile game series so I was a little confused when it came out for the PC, but was delayed for the consoles.  It might be for the better as Risen 2 is being at a time when gamers are starving for new game releases due to the drought of games released these summer months.  A factor that could possibly spike the initial sales of the game.

Risen 2: Dark Waters is a pirate-themed action RPG, a unique theme for a game considering there are not many games based on pirates in the last few years.  Risen 2 picks up after the events of the first game (if anybody has even played it), humanity is at the brink of extinction by a group of raging Titans.  Due to all the destruction caused by the Titans, monsters have started emerging from the watery depths of the sea.  You take control of the Nameless Hero, a member of the military group known as the Inquisition.  The Nameless Hero is tasked with exploring the world in order to find out a way to stop these new threats from the depths of the sea.  Risen 2 offers a vast sea and a huge amount of islands to explore in this dark and gritty pirate-themed world.  Like most RPGs in this day and age, Risen 2 allows the player to take multiple approaches to each scenario in the game and make decisions that will change certain aspects of the game such as the world, story or character progression.  Speaking of character progression, there are no set classes in Risen 2.  The player will get to choose how to customize the Nameless Hero's skills and attributes however they want.  Risen 2 also offers a full day/night cycle which affects different aspects of the game as well.

Unlike zombies or nazis, pirates have not been done to death in video games that some gamers might give Risen 2: Dark Water a look.  Unless you are desperately looking for a new action RPG to buy in these slow summer months, Risen 2 does not look good enough to justify a full 60 dollar purchase.  If you really want to play it, I honestly suggest waiting for it to hit the bargin bin.

Bit by Bit: July 22-28

After such a dull week in the wonderful world of video games, it seems this week will pick up.  With the end of July and beginning of August, we get two new releases in Risen 2 and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.  So I should have two Launch Stations up this week to accompany the release of each game.  Seeing I am writing this pretty late at night and there were not that many big releases coming up very soon that I am very excited about, there will be no Most Anticipated Game of the Week section in Bit by Bit this week.  Also I would like to thank Jirard Khalil, The Completionist, for retweeting my tweet about last week's Bit by Bit, which has gone to be my most viewed Bit by Bit ever.  Again thanks Jirard and make sure you guys watch The Completionist on Youtube.

Game of the Week
While I did have a phenomenal time playing Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Friday evening with my brothers, I do not give it Game of the Week.  Plus there was game this week that I spent quite a lot of time with and had a lot of fun playing.  I just finished this game Friday before heading for to work.  This game is Pokemon Conquest.  I spent the past week beating the last few castles before the final level, Dragnor.  I had the most difficulty with Valora.  I went into the first battle against their warlords with the wrong set of Pokemon and I had to retreat as there was no hope for me to defeat them.  After that defeat, Valora sent three of their warlords to Avia where I had only one of my warlords stationed.  I dispensed the two Arons fine, but my fighting Pokemon could not overcome their Chimecho's psychic attacks.  Losing those two battles was the most adversity that I faced in Pokemon Conquest and it made retaking Avia and capturing Valora that much more satisfying because of the extra challenge.  I will not reveal what exactly happens after beating Nobunaga in Dragnor, in one intense battle I might add, but I found it very enjoyable and entertaining.  Also the addition of eight special episodes that you unlock once you complete the game is great.  It adds a lot of replay value to a game that to this point felt a little too short for a tactical RPG.  These reasons are why Pokemon Conquest is most deserving of being my Game of the Week.

Video of the Week
It is hard when you are the head news and reviews editor of a big independent gaming website to have time to do your own videos, but Jared from Screwattack sure finds the time.  While it does take quite a while for him to release a new ProReview (Jared's own review show), they are always well produced and give a fair review of the game he is reviewing with some of Jared's sarcastic humour mixed in.  Jared's latest ProReview is of Quest 64 for the Nintendo 64 and it is a very entertaining, funny and fair review of this Nintendo 64 RPG.

On the Download: July 22-28

While there were no games that came out this week, there are a few new downloadable games to dive into.  During the dog days of summer, you can always find something new to play during the seemingly annual gaming drought from one of the many downloadable services.  From demos to DLC to full games, there is always something new for release on PSN, XBLA, iOS, Steam and the Nintendo eShop.

Nintendo's 8-Bit Summer continues to roll along with the release of Wario Land:  Super Mario Land 3 for the 3DS Virtual Console.  Along with Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, Mole Mania has also been released for the 3DS Virtual Console.  Surprisingly for the third Super Mario Land for the original Game Boy, Nintendo had Wario take the spotlight from his good-doing counterpart, Mario.  After being kicked out of his castle by Mario at the end of Super Mario Land 2, Wario hears rumours that a group of pirates have a golden statue of Princess Toadstool hidden somewhere on Kitchen Island.  Wario decides to turn his luck around after facing such a devastating defeat at the hands of Mario and goes to Kitchen Island to steal said statue.   You take control of Wario as he fights his way through platforming level upon platforming level, crushing foes and collecting treasure.  Along the way, you can find different hats (Bull, Jet and Dragon Hats) that give Wario special abilities such as temporary flight.  Much of Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 is about collecting as much treasure as possible because the more treasure you collect, the bigger the castle you receive upon completing the game.  For all those interested, Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 is available to download on the Nintendo eShop for 4 dollars.

This PSN game was released last week, but I sadly forgot to cover it in the last On the Download so I have decided to highlight it today.  Dyad is a very stylistic game that should remind many gamers of games like Rez and Child of Eden.  Dyad is a tunnel racing puzzle shooter.  You control this little ship as it travels down a tube.  By using momentum in beat with the psychedelic visuals and the trance music, you can hook, graze and lance enemies in order to propel yourself further down the tunnel.  Dyad has 27 levels for players to enjoy and master.  Dyad also offers two other modes aside from the main game, Trophy and Remix Mode.  Trophy Mode is a sort of mission-based mode where you have to complete different tasks in certain levels to advance and Remix Mode is more a free play mode where the focus is more on relaxing than getting the highest score.  If you want to dive in an incredible unique and stylish download, Dyad is available exclusively on the PSN for 15 dollars.