I didn't mean to gloss over the release of Lollipop Chainsaw this past Tuesday, but it's been a crazy week as I'm going to California next week and am just taking care of stuff I've been putting off in addition to working a ton. But all the reviews seem to confirm what I guessed-It's a fun quirky title, but sure as hell not worth $60. Much like the great but also not worth $60 Shadows of The Damned, which was a great buy at around $20. Titles like this really make the argument that every game really can't and shouldn't be this arbitrary price of $60. I'll bet if it was $40 brand new it would sell a lot better.
Moving on, Pokemon & Nobunaga's Ambition are both classic Japanese franchises, but you'd never figure the two would make a very good pairing. Much like the initial reaction to Kingdom Hearts, you'd be dead wrong. Pokemon Conquest is a weird blend of Pokemon and old-school turn-based strategy rpg that accroding to initial reviews, works surprisingly well. This is great news because I've been dying for a solid portable strategy rpg since Ghost Recon last year frankly and admittedly with a trip coming up I have a pretty good excuse to buy it. It's supposedly out Monday but I have heard rumors of it slipping to Friday so I'll just give impressions whenever I get my hands on it.
Ok that's really it for today, but I do plan to have another post up tomorrow. Until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Achievement Unlimited 3
I don't think anyone will argue that Nintendo failed to make a big splash with the Wii U at E3. Were there some impressive games shown? Sure. Does the gamepad have some nifty features that will be put to good use? Probably. But based solely on the E3 presentation, there's isn't a whole lot of reason to wait in long lines in early dawn hours just for a chance to get one.
That being said, drawing back from the E3 presentation and really thinking about it, there are plenty of reasons to pick up a Wii U, if not this year in the near future. Here are my top ten:
10. Finally getting their online act together: Ok, there is almost no real evidence for this yet. In fact it's recently been revealed that in some form or another, Friend Codes will in fact still be a thing. But it's also been promised that they will be part of a much better system. Nintendo can literally offer experiences that if taken on-line you can't find anywhere else. No other company to date offers Kart racing on the level of Mario Kart or crazy fun 4-player fighting on the level of Smash Bros. and there's a lot more potential where that came from. Obviously potential for a Starfox or Metroid title with online capabilities would be humongous. If Nintendo does finally take online seriously and treat it as a major pillar in its strategy, it could pay huge dividends. Speaking of which...
9. It's the ultimate MMO console: I already did a post specifically referring to this idea, and clearly I'm not the only one who thinks this way be Wii U's greatest asset. MMOs on consoles are still a pretty new thing. The gamepad is a way more ideal setup for playing MMOs on your TV than what is currently available. Hopefully games like Dragonquest X will just be the start. We could see a number of either original or well-established MMOs really solidify the Wii U as a system that really has experiences you can't get on anything Sony or Microsoft would have to offer.
8. The best ports: Ok, I have stated and still stand by the fact that nobody is going to wait for the Wii U versions of games like Arkham City & Mass Effect 3. But the E3 presentation of Arkham City did highlight a reason why future ports may be best on the Wii U-The gamepad will make immersion better by not forcing us to go through menu after menu. We can switch gadgets and other things on the fly. Menu navigation can be a pain in even the best games, and that's just the most obvious idea. If games like Assassin's Creed III, Darksiders II, Rayman Legends and so on offer superior performance along with enhanced gameplay, it will be a pretty easy sell for someone who wants the best versions of those games.
7. People are ready for something new: While I wouldn't say people are ready to toss their current consoles in the garbage, for at least the last two years we've been expecting some kind of solid announcement from Microsoft and Sony. It's been a very long generation, and it looks to have a couple more years left in it. That's good and all, but a lot of people are ready for something new and until The PS4 & Xbox 720 or whatever they'll be called actually hit shelves, the new thing will be the Wii U. It will have new games and experiences while at least for the next couple of years he Wii U has the field all to itself.
6. It's an incredibly weak holiday season: The PS3 and 360 have a ton of great games coming. Sometime next year. What's coming this year? Halo 4, Call of Duty Black Ops II, Assassin's Creed III and.... yeah not much else. In previous years during the holiday season, we were practically drowning in AAA releases. This year it seems we are down to a handful. And honestly? That handful isn't all that exciting. The Wii U launch window has a slew of many unique titles that won't be available on other systems even if they don't offer completely unique experiences like the Wii did at launch. Honestly it isn't even the big Nintendo titles that interest me the most. If anything will sell me it's games like Rayman Legends and Project P-100. But again what we are seeing on the current consoles is a lot of the same old same old. The Wii U has one of the more interesting launch line-ups in recent memory and while there are some disappointingly safe bets there's plenty of cool risky stuff too.
5. NINTENDO IS FINALLY IN HD: Granted, for some this may not be that big a deal, but remember the crowd going completely apeshit at seeing the Zelda tech demo last year? Now that it's finally been dragged kicking and screaming into the HD era we will get to see our favorite Nintendo characters in glorious hi-def and for many that's enough. Sure we may get a lazy 2D Mario platformer now, but at some point we will get a shiny new Mario Galaxy successor, an HD Zelda and probably an HD Metorid at some point along with others like Smash Bros. Maybe even an HD Kirby. Nintendo's staple of awesome characters in HD will always be a big selling point.
4. It's getting into the next gen at an attractive price: Ok we don't really know the price point of anything coming out right now, But we know Nintendo has to be somewhat competitive so I think $349 would be the absolute highest and even that might be a stretch. It's virtually guaranteed that the next systems from Sony & Microsoft will be significantly more costly because they will be running insanely high-end powerful engines like Unreal 4 that while pretty, are also very costly to run. Sure, they'll sell the consoles at a loss, maybe even embrace the "subscription" model that Microsoft is testing out now but something like $500 would probably be the minimum at launch you are looking at.
3. It will attract smaller developers: Current gen titles are expensive. This generation has seen unprecedented studio closures and titles need to sell millions just to break even. This will be even more so on the next gen offerings from Microsoft and Sony. One title flopping could easily mean doom. Nintendo has a opportunity here to court smaller developers that make risky original titles because they will comparatively be the low end console. The next Braid or Fez or Cave Story could easily be on the Wii U with it's smaller budget demands and that would be awesome.
By the time I finally get around to playing this, the Wii U will probably be out...
2. It will bridge the gap: Aside from being compatible with all Wii titles, it's already been established that Nintendo will offer a full transfer of saves and Virtual Console games to the Wii U. No it won't play Gamecube games, but when backwards compatibility has been such a sticky issue with Sony and Microsoft, it's nice to see Nintendo jump right out there and say yes, they will do it. Always makes the jump to a new console a lot easier.
1. The Next Brain Age: Is Nintendoland Nintendo's next huge crossover title? It doesn't look like it. But then neither did Brain Age. Or Nintendogs. Or even Wii Sports. Nintendo has a proven record of these titles that no one really thinks will even do all that well and end up selling in the kind of numbers franchises like Call of Duty and GTA can't even dream of. Even if it's not Nintendoland, odds are something will come along that has that huge crossover appeal. I mean why do a new 2D Mario co-op game rather than a new 3D one? Oh yeah, because New Super Mario Bros. Wii sold more than three times as much as Super Mario Galaxy 2. So odds are there's at least one title if not in the launch lineup, that will hit soon after that will really sell everybody, core and casual alike, on the system.
So as you can see, there are plenty of valid reasons not only to not write off the Wii U but enthusiastically pre-order it. Maybe I should call Gamestop now and see if they'll just take my money....
That's all for today, I should be back tomorrow with thoughts on Lollipop Chainsaw and a few other things, until then here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Django Unchained
Admittedly I've been mostly a big ball of negativity about E3. And while not without good reason, that's ignoring the fact that there are plenty of games to get excited about, so here's the 10 games I'm most looking forward to playing hopefully in the not too far off future:
10. Nintendoland: According to Nintendo, this is the Wii U's own Wii Sports. Wii Sports didn't have a ton of depth, but it didn't need to, it was a lot of fun and easily showed off the capabilities of the Wii. Reggie himself said, when you play Nintendoland, you will instantly "get it". I dunno about all that, but it looks like an incredibly fun collection of pick up and play mini-games that holds at least some appeal to everybody, and we haven't even seen half of them.
9. Rayman Legends: New Super Mario Bros. U might have the name recognition, but we've seen it before a lot in just the last couple years (between Nintendo's systems, this'll will be the 4th game with the "new" moniker in 6 years, and it's a marginal improvement at best). Rayman Legends is similar gameplay, but with a great variety of characters and extremely colorful imaginative levels, it will do it better, just like it's highly acclaimed predecessor.
8. Epic Mickey : The Power of Illusion: I think Epic Mickey for consoles looks promising, but I'm far more excited about this 2D homage to the Castle of Illusion from back in Mickey's gaming heyday. It looks great and the 3DS has been surprisingly lacking in platformers overall, so this will fill a big hole for anybody looking for that.
7. South Park: The Stick of Truth: Granted, South Park games of yore have not been anything horribly exciting, but this game really has the look and feel of the show downpat, with heavy involvement from the creators. That combined with the same game studio who regularly brings us epics like Skyrim hopefully means on epic in adventure in the quiet mountain town.
6. Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon: I really enjoyed the original title, just felt it wasn't nearly long enough (I'm pretty sure it barely passed the 6 hour mark), so hearing this long overdue sequel will have several mansions along with all new kinds of ghosts is more than enough to get me extremely excited.
5. Project P-100: A lot of people were wondering why this game wasn't shown at Nintendo's E3 press conference, as it seems to getting the majority of the positive press. Granted, it's a little similar to Pikmin 3, but it's got a much crazier fun Viewtiful Joe vibe to it. Which is fitting since much of the team worked on not only that series, but the incredibly awesome Okami as well, which virtually guarantees us an extremely exciting title.
4. The Last of Us: I shouldn't even need to explain why Naughty Dog's newest IP is near the top of my list. The guys behind the Uncharted series deliver amazing set pieces with great characters and always make it look effortless and this new franchise looks to follow that trend.
3. Watchdogs: If there is one game really running away with all the buzz at E3, it's Watchdogs. This futuristic open-world action title looks amazing. In fact, it probably won't be possible on current consoles without a lot of compromise, so don't be surprised if we don't really see this in final form til the new systems are out, but it'll probably be worth the wait.
2. Star Wars 1313: I admit I had pretty much written off Star Wars as a whole. But a dark Star Wars game not featuring a Jedi that has Uncharted-style gameplay? That looks pretty freaking amazing. I really hope this is one we won't have to wait too long for.
1. Paper Mario : The Paper Mario presentation really seemed to capture that elusive feeling of simple, fun pure joy that seemed readily absent from virtually every other corner of E3. I've immensely enjoyed the entire series, and cannot wait for this latest entry, it's easily my most anticipated game of this year.
That's all for today, I will see if I can squeeze out one more post post this weekend. If not, I'm sure I'll post something Monday or Tuesday.
Not based on Nintendo's severely underwhelming E3 presentation, anyways. It just seemed full of opportunities where they could have shown why the Wii U tablet is so essential to a different gaming experience, an it didn't. Pikmin 3, which should've been a showcase title for the tablet, doesn't even need the tablet, it just adds a little functionality. New Super Mario Bros. U just looked like the laziest thing ever with some social content thrown in. And some of the games shown were just like why bother? Arkham City came out a year ago, and Mass Effect 3? Who the hell wants to wait to buy the 3rd game in the series? I'd actually be psyched to buy a Mass Effect trilogy that implemented the tablet for quick commands and menu stuff. That'd be simple and awesome. And I already own the whole trilogy!
The Wii U looks like a perfectly solid system, and I'm sure just by it being a Nintendo system, there will be some can't miss experiences that I will need to own it for. But they really failed to show anything that makes it a truly unique gaming experience with things only possible on the Wii U. Unlike say the Wii at the time it launched, which was so different every game was pretty much unique at the time. Sony and especially Microsoft's conferences were extremely underwhelming so Nintendo pretty much had the ball entirely in their court and they dropped it big time. Also not helping is things like the controllers only having about 3-5 hours of battery life and while it's nice that it can support 2 gamepads, clearly nothing at launch will support that feature because they've already said it practically cripples the framerates of games and no games showcasing this feature were even mentioned.
I was ready and willing to be blown away and at best I'm mildly intrigued. Short of some hugely surprising title or a surprisingly low price I can't see myself buying a Wii U this year and I'll be that's the majority reaction.
That's all for today, I will most likely have some final E3 thoughts tomorrow or Friday (there is a 3DS event later today that will hopefully be awesome). Until then, here's your BIG BANG OF THE WEEK:
As usual Microsoft and Sony's E3 press conferences were full of missed opportunities.
Let's start with Microsoft-Is the 360 even really a gaming machine anymore? I mean seriously, the show was almost entirely about non-gamer things like expanding upon sports broadcasting, more Kinect functionality and just plain bizarre stuff like the Nike trainer program. Of the few games they did show, only a couple are even coming out this year, not giving 360 owners a ton to look forward to. And frankly, Halo 4 looked very blah. It was also a really poor decision to close out the show with Black Ops II, a game that was a known quantity and will be shown many times over the next couple days. Black Ops II on the Wii U would be a nice surprise, on the 360 it's like so what? We know that's coming, show us something new. It wasn't the painful embarrassment of last year, but still a very unexciting and disappointing non-event. I almost feel I could turn in my 360 right now and miss out on nothing since I'm not that big on online gaming.
Sony's press conference was pretty much like last year's where while it wasn't boring, they really needed to blow the doors off and fell far short. They showed a number of vaguely interesting titles, but nothing to blow anyone's socks off. Entertaining mouthpiece Kevin Butler was nowhere to be seen. There were some bright points-The Wonder Book technology actually looks very cool and anything that encourages reading for kids is great. All Stars Battle Royal looks like a lot of fun and will be a nice way to fill the void since a new real Smash Bros. game is supposedly a ways off. And Naughty Dog's new apocalyptic thriller The Last of Us looks amazing, so gamers have stuff to look forward to.
Notice how nowhere above did I mention the anemic Vita? Sony pretty much acted like that as well, barely mentioning it the entire conference aside from an Assassin's Creed spin-off. If there was one thing Sony really needed to do this year it was save the Vita. Show off some fantastic games, drastically cut the price, SOMETHING. But it was given less time and focus than the PSP had in any previous show. It's like even they consider it beyond saving. I can't really see a compelling reason for anyone to buy it at this point.
-That's it for today, I will be at work during Nintendo's press conference which is several hours from now, but I will be watching it as soon as get home and will post my thoughts early tomorrow at latest, but tonight if possible. In the meantime, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Ninja the Explorer
Nintendo had their first of several E3 events yesterday, with a presentation showing of a lot of the features of the Wii U. Most were pretty cool, such as live video chat, using the gamepad as a universal remote and the potential expanded feaures of the "Miiverse". It all sounds incredibly cool, whether or not it will be implemented into gameplay in interesting ways is yet to be seen. Honestly the most troubling words I heard during this whole presentation was "later" &; "eventually". These words accompanied many of the coolest features shown, and of course those words mean those features will not be available at launch, some may not be available for a long time after that if ever.
Hopefully Nintendo will get right on the ball and everything will be rolled out in short order. A lot of great ideas get presented at a console's launch and some are either not what they are cracked up to be or never see the light of day. These features being available shortly after the console's launch would be key, especially the social aspects in my opinion, where it looks like Nintendo is finally doing more than just playing catchup really poorly, they are doing something that is really unique and won't make them look like they are just aping their competitors. Tie that with a competent way to play online and you might have the best online system available which would be an amazing turnaround from the dark days of Friend Codes.
This of course was just the beginning, we'll see a lot more at the actual press conference on Tuesday. But as of right now I'm very impressed with the hardware, just need the software to match it and I'll be sold.
That's all for today, I have a pretty packed schedule today and tomorrow, I will try and do an update on Microsoft and Sony's press conferences possibly late tonight or early tomorrow but at the absolute latest I will do a post on all 3 tomorrow evening. Until then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Les Miserables
We are a mere 3 days away from the biggest gaming show of the year, and there are certainly a lot of things to be excited about-A good look at the Wii U, a new Gears of War game, along with new entries in the God of War series and Sony's blatant but fun looking Smash Bros. rip-off. So even if there isn't much in the way of surpises it should be a very entertaining show. That being said, here are 10 not officially announced but totally plausible games I would love to see at this year's show:
#10: Dragon Age III: This is pretty much all but official, so don't be surprised if it actually makes a showing, but aside from Bioware talking about some loose plans fro the next game, nothing has been officially announced. I know II got a lot of flack for it's loosely strung together plot and lack of locations, but I loved the fast-paced combat so if they can stick that with a solid story and a wide variety of locations we could have a great epic rpg on our hands.
#9: New (full) Ratchet & Clank Game: Now, there is a new downloadable R & C coming out, which is great, but it's already been described as a "bite-sized adventure". I would love to see the next full game at least announced, as this is easily one of the main reasons I even own a PS3. Even a spin-off title starring Quark or Nefarious would be pretty awesome, especially after the mildly disappointing All-4-One.
#8: Rocksteady's next superhero game: There is going to be another Batman game, Kevin Conroy has confirmed he's working on it (also duh, Arkham City is one of the biggest games ever). But the developers have stated they might want to try something else as well. I'd be equally happy with either, a new Batman game from Rocksteady is something to get very excited about, and so would be something new focusing on a different superhero because there's a lot of them that could make awesome games.
#7: New 2d Metroid: Other M left a very bad taste in our mouths with it's terrible characterization of Samus and bland gameplay. But a return to the classic 2D gameplay of old developed by a worthy studio would do a lot to make up for it. The tablet controller could be easily implemented as well. Hell just remake Super Metroid in HD with Wii U tablet functionality, I'm pretty sure us fanboys would just drool over that. Though for the record I'm not opposed to a new 3D entry either, but I feel a new 2d game is more warranted.
#6: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: Uh yeah, probably not quite like the above image. Granted, MUA2 was a mild disappointment, but the Avengers and Marvel properties in general are incredibly hot right now, so what better time to re-invigorate the franchise with a new entry? I could certainly do with a new round of MP Diablo-style gameplay with a large cast of Marvel characters.
#5.No More Heroes III: Suda 51's crazy assassin tournament series is just amazing, and there's no reason for it to end with only 2 entries. Honestly if you own either a Wii or a PS3 do yourself a favor and pick this up because it's essentially like if Robert Rodriguez & Quentin Tarantino teamed up on their best possible day to do a video game. Travis Touchdown is also one of the most entertaining protagonists of this generation frankly, so it'd be a shame if we didn't see him again.
#4: Psychonauts 2: Is it happening? There's been some really open discussion and it seems like the wheels are slowly turning, so it'd be great to at least have an official announcement. This was one of the most original and entertaining games of the last decade and it's death at retail is a great crime. Seems like people over the years have finally discovered it's greatness as the demand for a sequel is pretty huge.
#3: Shadows of the Damned 2: Yet another brilliant but virtually ignored game from Suda 51. What makes me really excited is they said a sequel was being considered anyways, because this is video games' From Dusk til Dawn, just an incredibly fun and funny thrill ride that I'd hate to see stopped so short.
#2: Crimson Skies II: For some reason, flight combat is an extreme rarity on consoles in general. I can't think of many that even came out this generation. Crimson Skies is one of the best I have ever played and it was incredibly popular, so why there's never even been any real word of a sequel is beyond me. I spent tons of hours playing the multi-player an would love to jump into an hd sequel to this.
#1: Kingdom Hearts Console game: Yeah us Kingdom Hearts junkies can get our fix with Kingdom Hearts 3D on the 3DS, but c'mon, it's been 7 years since we've had a proper console follow-up. Enough is enough. STOP TORTURING US SQUARE ENIX. I wouldn't even need any new worlds, new adventures in the old ones would be fine (although for God's sake please leave out any musical levels).
-Ok that's it for today, I will probably try and get in one more post this weekend, but I will certainly be posting as soon as possible on E3's big conferences, which start off with Sony Monday evening. Until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Zombie Tormentor
Well I didn't mean not to post over the holiday weekend but I had some crazy back to back shifts and was just too exhausted to do much besides sleep (well and get in a little Xenoblade Chronicles, but mostly sleep). But back on track, E3 is a mere 5 days away, with lots of anticipation behind it, hoping to see updates to our favorite franchises, new original stuff and of course new technology. This year may be one of the most crucial for all 3 companies for varying reasons, so here's what I think they need to do in order to win the show this year:
Microsoft: Microsoft's press conferences usually aren't all that exciting, but last year's was pure torture, focusing on casual Kinect titles & integration aimed at a target audience that doesn't even know what the hell E3 is. Arguably the core game meant to bring in actual gamers, Star Wars Kinect, is a huge embarrassment. The show can't be all Kinect all the time, though some titles showing it's actually worth it for more than just Dance Central would be a good idea. This may be the last big year before Microsoft moves on to focusing on their next system, so showing the core audience that really bought into series like Halo & Gears of War a little actual love should be in order. And for god's sake find somebody who doesn't bore the hell out of us to do the presentation, Microsoft has been missing a decent spokesman since J. Allard left the company.
Sony: Sony may actually have the toughest battle here, amid flagging sales of the Vita and troubling rumors about the financial future of the company and what that means for the games division in general. Move has pretty much been a complete bust, unless they can drastically re-invent it, it should probably just be completely written off and ignored. I am also really not impressed by the announcement of a God of War prequel, so impress me, show me why I should care. But obviously what Sony arguably needs most is to reverse the Vita's fortunes. Much like Nintendo's slow start with the 3DS, the high price and lack of quality software have unsurprisingly led to it being pretty much bust. Sony really needs to show that this is not an expensive piece of gimmicky hardware, and showing quality games that really show off the power of the system while not forcing us to use the touch features are pretty much a necessity.
Nintendo: Simply put, Nintendo really has to explain the Wii U. Give a clear definition of what it can do and why we should be excited about it, and it's going to take more than the fact that we will finally have a Nintendo console that is finally going to be getting current gen ports, because that's what the majority of the lineup looks like at this point. A couple surprises for Wii owners would be nice, but frankly I think pretty much the entire show should be focused on impressing us with the Wii U. They've turned around the fortunes of the 3DS immensely, they can pretty much just show upcoming games for that on the show floor and ignore it in the big press conference. They probably won't, but seriously the presentation should probably be at least 90% about the Wii U because they really need to blow off the doors with it.
That's all for today, I should have another post up by Friday, in the meantime here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Indie Game: The Movie
But surely, Microsoft will be around in the gaming space for the foreseeable future, right? Well possibly not, and it has nothing to do with it's financial standing. Lawsuits over technology trying to get a game system banned are hardly new, Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft have all had to deal with them on numerous occasions. In most cases they are completely frivolous and even the legitimate ones are settled pretty quickly because frankly there's just too much money at stake.
However every now and again one gets through that could potentially be huge trouble for a company, which is what Microsoft is facing right now. A judge has ruled that Xbox 360s are essentially banned from being sold in the US due to several infringements on various technologies. This is not a completely done deal, several things, including the President and his advisers signing off on the ruling, have to happen, and it can still be appealed after that. But the real possibility exists of 360s no longer being able to sold after a certain point. How much this would affect the 360s successor is uknown, but I also think that Microsoft could not really afford to not have a presence on shelves for another year or two until that launched if it could launch under the present circumstances.
This of course leads to an interesting situation where not right now of course, but in a few years, Nintendo may be the only console maker around. That could be a very bad thing. No one company should have that kind of a monopoly. Competition is good for business in general. So I'm honestly hoping that if god forbid Microsoft has to drop out because of legal trouble and Sony has to drop out because of financial trouble somebody else will see an opportunity there to move into the space because it will be badly needed.
That's all for today, I should have another post up this weekend. Until then here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Double Edged
Sony's Move peripheral hasn't had a whole lot of exciting software, but Sorcery, which was shown off in playable form a couple years ago when the move launched, looked pretty promising. For awhile though, there was nothing on it, leading us to believe it was little more than a tech demo, which would make sense with such a generic title. Well it finally comes out tomorrow, though admittedly without much press, so we'll see if it's something Sony just shoved out the door at the last minute. Frankly I'm surprised they didn't spend a wad of cash and combine this concept with the Harry Potter license, it could've been an easy hit that way and if it was actually a good game, it could be a showcase title for the peripheral, which it's sorely lacking at the moment.
Doctor Who seems like an obvious license for a great adventure game, but at least on this side of the pond we have very little in terms of digital Who adventures. So hopefully the Eternity Clock, will provide some worthy fun. Despite the box art, as far as I know, it's only going to be available on PSN for download, so don't go into Gamestop looking for a copy. I do plan on at least trying out a demo if there's one, so I'll give my impressions in my next post if possible.
And finally Dragon's Dogma is also out tomorrow, and the reviews have been pretty solid, so if you are looking for a solid challenging open-world action rpg, this seems like a pretty safe bet. At the very least, it's probably one of the last major releases before the Summer, when traditionally there's not a whole lot of new stuff out. I'm still working my way through Xenoblade Chronicles, and have several other lengthy rpgs to get through after that so if I pick this up, it won;t be for awhile.
That's all for today, I should hopefully get another post up be Wednesday. Until then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: 007: Skyfall
This seems like a ludicrously stupid move. Community is like many struggling shows before it, it has a small but dedicated and fiercely loyal fanbase. Most of whom upon hearing this news, probably won't even give the show a chance now that the guy who made it what it is has been unceremoniously shoved aside. Remember the general reaction when Warner Bros. wanted to reboot Buffy without any involvement from Joss Whedon? Look at how most comic book fans are reacting to Before Watchmen, a prequel to Alan Moore's seminal graphic novel he not only has no part in, but specifically told DC he didn't want them to do it, and they just basically told him tough shit. This seems like they want to just throw the show under the bus, so why did they even renew it in the first place?
I'm not going to instantly declare this is the worst thing ever and absolutely refuse to watch, as there's not any particular reason to believe the show will be terrible. It still has the great cast, and while Harmon was the voice of the show, it still took a talented team of writers and directors to make it brilliant with him. But I also won't be surprised if we tune in this fall to see a show we don't even recognize anymore and has way more in common with mainstream crap like Two and a Half Men then brilliant quirky underdogs like Arrested Development.
That;s all for today, I will most likely get in another post tomorrow. Until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Robot Legions
A little something for everyone this week (except for Vita owners anyways). The biggest easily being the long-awaited Diablo III for PC, which is one of those few titles that PC owners can really lord over us console gamers. I would love to get in that massive lootfest, but on top on having to spend a bundle just to have something that can run it, the whole mess of having the "proper" graphics card and sound card and whatnot and maybe it make me sound simplistic but this is exactly why I'm a console gamer. Barring any massive bugs, you buy a game and it works without having to worry about your setup. So if Diablo III ever does come to consoles (which is heavily rumored) I'll be right there.
This week also sees the revival of another relic with Max Payne 3. Unlike Duke Nukem though, Max doesn't look like he hasn't aged a day. In fact he looks like he's had some pretty hard times. According to most of the reviews, that's for the best though, as they all seem to agree that Max manages to come into the modern generation with grit and style even if the bullet time mechanics are a tad dated. I'd probably pick it up if I didn't have so much on my plate at the moment.
One thing I could use is a new 3DS title, and Mario Tennis Open seems like an obvious option. While usually playing it safe, the Mario sports titles also usually deliver a reliably entertaining time. Most of the reviews so far say this title plays it a little too safe with virtually no frills and a lacking online component. If it was $20 I'd probably be ok with that. $40 is far too much though, I'll gladly just wait for something that offers a meatier experience for the same price (most likely Kingdom Hearts 3D).
Finally, if there was one license you'd think would be given proper serious treatment for a video, it'd be George R.R. Martin's epic saga Game of Thrones. Well unfortunately, this gets the usual license treatment, that being a hastily hobbled together quick cash grab. Most reviews say there is a good if really dark story in there, but it's buried in terrible mechanics. Hopefully with the TV just really getting into its prime, we'll get another game that is actually worthy of the license.
That's it for today, I should be back by Thursday with another post, until then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Gangster Squad
Avengers is awesome and was a ginormous success, so of course everybody's talking sequel possibilities. Now if you have seen the movie, there is a scene that hints at who the next foe probably is, but there's no reason they couldn't drag out that battle til at least the 3rd film, because frankly it's kind of hard to top that guy after. In addition, if Joss Whedon does come back (and with the gobs of money it's making I'm betting Marvel will give just about anything to get him back), he's already said his idea for the sequel would be to make it smaller and more personal, so upping the ante to some galactic scale might not be the way to go just yet. With that in mind here's 10 very plausible villains the Avengers could face next:
10. M.O.D.O.K.: A big subplot of the Avengers movie was Shield having ulterior motives and secret plans, which Nick Fury basically defended by saying the Earth is not prepared to take on galactic threats. M.O.D.O.K. is a villain that can spring very organically from that simple idea, after all, he was basically created to help understand the Cosmic Cube (aka the Tesseract) and turned on his creators. This would be a good fresh storyline because the Avengers don't really trust Nick Fury and one of their own creations going rogue could cause plenty of good tension between them.
9. Ares: Yeah, another Asgardian villain may be seen as doing the same thing over again, but Tom Hiddleston is so great as Loki it'd be a shame for him to be marginalized or done completely. Ares isn't a bad guy per se, but it'd be easy to have Loki manipulate his bloodlust and pride into fighting the Avengers. It could also open the door for members such as Hercules or Valkyrie to join the team, which I wouldn't be surprised to see expand somewhat.
8. The Leader: Arguably the biggest problem with someone fighting the Avengers is The Hulk. He's virtually unstoppable. So bring in one of his greatest foils, the Leader. It's the classic brains vs. brawn match-up, as The Leader usually is 3 steps ahead of everyone else. Plus, Hulk may not be getting his own movie, so one of his better villains could make a good opponent for the whole team.
7. Mephisto: Yeah this pretty much writes itself. You want darker and more personal? Mephisto is your guy. Sure, he's probably nearly as powerful as Loki, but he'd focus a lot more on manipulating each Anengers personal demons. He could (and has) claim he's the actual devil come to unleash hell on earth, breaking down the Avengers mentally before they obviously rally and prove he's just another super villain to defeat.
6. Norman Osborn: Granted, the Green Goblin started out as a great Spider-Man villain, but his original incarnation wouldn't be much of a match for the combined might of the Avengers. However in later years. he's essentially become the closest thing Marvel has to Lex Luthor, a ruthless brilliant billionaire who believes he knows how to run the world and isn't afraid to do immoral stuff to get it accomplished. This could be a personal, smaller villain that could still pose a credible threat.
5. Doctor Doom: Few normal humans pose as much of a threat as Doom. He's one of the smartest villains in the Marvel universe, with resources and magic to match, which would make him and his army of Doom bots a more than worthy opponent of the Avengers. Sure he's mainly a Fantastic Four nemesis, but he's taken on virtually everybody in the Marvel universe, no reason he can't clash with the Avengers for their next film.
4. Red Skull: If Captain America is worthy not only to be an Avenger, but be the leader, then surely his primary nemesis is just as worthy to be a major opponent for the Avengers. Hydra is still a heavy presence in the Marvel film universe after all, and and having him still at the head of that terrorist organization would be a pretty natural fit. The cosmic cube is also a lifelong obsession of his, which would naturally lead to taking on the Avengers in order to get it back.
3. Apocalypse: Most of the guys on this list wouldn't be a physical match for the likes of Thor and Hulk, but Apocalypse absolutely would. And while he's primarily an X-men foe, his ultimate goal is usually the subjugation of all mankind, which makes him a natural enemy of the Avengers.
2. Kang the Conqueror: Kang is one the Avengers' more well known foes. Coming from the future with an array of dazzling technology, he's always a real threat. Add to that SHIELD's desperate search for technology that can defeat super beings and that could play into the whole conflict between the two organizations.
1. Ultron: You want smaller, darker and more personal while upping the ante on the threat the Avengers face? There is no better choice than Ultron. Why? Because he was created by the Avengers. More specifically, Ant-Man, which could be a great tie-in to the heavily rumored Ant-Man movie that may finally be getting some real traction since Avengers opened so huge. Again this is something that's so easy it writes itself. The Avengers create this machine, it goes bad, and so they are responsible for the destruction it causes, placing a huge amount of mistrust in the Avengers from S.H.I.E.L.D. and the public, even when they eventually stop him, their image may be irreparably damaged, which would be a great basis to start a third movie from.
Ok that's the list. Obviously if you've seen the movie and stayed through the credits, you know who the most likely next villain is, but again I think it'd be great if they held that off for just one more film and save a battle that big for a 3rd and possibly final Avengers film. If I can do another post this weekend I will, but most likely it'll be next week. Until then, here's your BIG BANG OF THE WEEK:
Avengers is an impossible movie. Getting so many heroes together with so many disparate movies, giving them all sufficient screen time, and having people who fit the roles so well just doesn't seem like it could happen. But you know what? They managed to pull it off. Everybody has great moments and one-liners, the dialogue is incredibly snappy, though that shouldn't be a surprise with Joss Whedon at the helm. And it's all capped off with an incredible 40-minute finale that may be one of the finest every seen on film.
That being said, this is a very comic book movie. Unlike say Christopher Nolan's Batman films, which have comic book roots but take a real world context and deal with deep issues and characters that evolve and develop. Avengers isn't particularly deep and the characters don't really evolve or change, but it's smart enough and entertaining enough that unless you're a complete cynic you don't need it to be. I don't even know if they can possibly top this, but I can't wait to see them try because with it having the biggest opening weekend ever, a sequel is kind of a no duh. And of course this means after years of finding at best middling success, Joss Whedon can pretty much do whatever the hell he wants to do next, which is awesome for him and us Whedonites who have been fans of his quirky and brilliant but usually short-lived TV shows.
Of course, this might impossibly raise the bar now. We were pleasantly surprised that Iron Man, Thor and Captain America actually managed to be good, now audiences might expect the follow-ups to be absolutely fantastic and be massively disappointed if they aren't. We also may suffer from superhero overload, as everybody and their mom is trying to get some even mildly popular comic book property on the big screen in some desperate attempt to get in on this thing while it's hot. But as long as they keep making the smart choices they have, audiences should be able to separate the actual movies from the desperate cash grabs.
That's it for today, I should be back with another post tomorrow or Friday. Until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Goin Up
Starhawk is exactly the kind of game that really should get me back into playing online, in that it's different than virtually any other MP focused game available on consoles with it;s futuristic settings and RTS components, it offers a refreshing change of pace from your standard online experience. Unfortunately as I've got a boatload as of yet unfinished rpgs on my plate, I won't be getting into it any time soon.
Is this the Wii U launch list? Dear god I hope not. It's like 95% ports. Don't get me wrong, ports are important, you don't want someone to get your system and then be pissed because it doesn't get any of the multi-platform releases like what happened with the Wii, but having mostly titles people can buy on systems they probably already own isn't convince too many to pick up your new comparatively expensive console. Granted poor launches are pretty much a staple of the industry just because no one really knows how to get the most out of any system at launch, but there has to be a few killer apps or no one will bite. Pikmin should be a good showcase title, but that's just one, nothing else sounds that exciting. After last year's downright confusing unveiling, Nintendo really needs to blow the doors off at E3 this year, and this lineup doesn't sound like it will do the trick. But we'll just have to wait and see in about a month I guess.
That's all for today, I should be back tomorrow or Wednesday with a review of Avengers. Until then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: The Campaign
Ugh. Jericho, really Netflix? It's arguably better than Terra Nova, but still not a very good show. I already listed 10 shows that would be prime for renewal and would be better than Jericho as well, and admittedly Warming Glow also did a list, but since there is very little crossover and so many more worthy I have yet another 10 shows Netflix should revive before even looking at Jericho (most canceled fairly recently):
10. Mr Sunshine: Ok, if I had to pick between this and Studio 60, both of which starred Matthew Perry, I would pick Studio 60, but I feel Sunshine had a lot of unrealized potential as it had a very good '30 Rock' vibe of complete wackiness to it along with a great supporting cast especially Allison Janney & James Lesure both of whom usually make anything pretty enjoyable.
9. Rules of Engagement: In the usual CBS logic, this perennial under-performer is far funnier than most of their shitty popular sitcoms, but it's constantly pulled from the air and held in reserve for when something fails spectacularly. It's not official, but heavily rumored it will officially be canned for good by CBS. It Netflix wants a solid broad comedy, this would be perfect, plus it keeps the stellar Patrick Warburton employed.
8. Breaking In: Fox canceled this hilarious quirky show. Then brought it back, made it awful and canceled it again. Seriously, fuck you Fox. I wouldn't bring it back in it's current form, but if you could get Michael Rosenbaum and Odette Annable back and drop Megan Mullaly, I would very much like to see this somewhere that might actually give it a shot.
7. Human Target: A really fun series starring the awesome Mark Valley, this should've been an easy hit but for some reason it couldn't really find its audience and given it's high-octane style its an easy pick up for a really solid action show, which is something TV in general has been lacking since 24 went off the air.
6. Lone Star: Warming Glow also had this on their list, so good to know I'm not alone in thinking this show was criminally ignored. Arguably the most well-reviewed show of the last several years, yet cancelled after a mere two episodes. The premise is original, ambitious and daring as it asks us not only to follow but root for a protagonist who is basically not a very good person since he leads a double life that involves lie after lie to perfectly good people, namely his two wives who don't know about each other. Had a ton of potential and Netflix would be wise to let it show that.
5. Batman: The Brave & The Bold: Brave and the Bold breaks a lot of the current Batman rules. Batman isn't allowed to be goofy or have a sense of humor, yet this show reveled in having both those traits and managed to be wildly entertaining. Much like Justice League Unlimited, it also really gave a chance for lesser DC heroes like Blue Beetle to shine. And reviving this would be a way better option than allowing the new series, Beware the Batman to air, where a gun-toting Alfred assists Batman on his cases. Sigh....
4. Lie to Me: Yet another brilliant show on Fox (that's 4 on this list if you are keeping count and I'm not done yet) that got canceled way too soon. It's a really brilliant twist on your usual procedural show, focusing on the emotions, facial ticks and body language rather than pure evidence. Tim Roth was also amazing as the taciturn Cal Lightman who just really did not give a damn who he pissed off, but did give a damn about those close to him.
3. Fringe: Brilliantly weird sci-fi show that Fox wants to cancel? What a surprise. Granted unlike most on this list it is getting an official final season but I'm fairly sure there's a lot more stories to tell because it's hardly running out of steam even 4 seasons in. This would be a huge coup for Netflix if they could do it and gaining some loyal nerd fans in the process.
2. The Finder: Though not officially canceled, the low ratings and Friday night graveyard timeslot make it extremely likely this original and very entertaining spin-off of Bones will not make it to a second season. If that is the case, Netflix should swoop in and pick this series up. It actually has a lot in common in Lie to Me in that it takes a very unusual approach to solving crimes and the protagonist doesn't really give a damn, though Walter does it in a way more funny style.
1. Stargate: Stargate as a franchise is no longer on the air and that's a shame, because between SG-1 and Atlantis we had 15 seasons of great sci-fi (the less said about SGU the better). It'd probably be hard to get the cast of SG-1 back together and 10 seasons was certainly a long enough ride. Atlantis was great and got canceled prematurely (especially since there was supposed to be a series of movies) so it'd great to see that back, but Netflix could also start an original show set in the SG universe which could be awesome as well. This is something that has a huge fanbase and Netflix would be wise to take advantage of the fact that they would all love to see this franchise back on the air in some form.
Ok that's the list. Hopefully I'll have another post up tomorrow, until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Cute Explosions
Long-rumored, now officially unveiled, the next Elder Scrolls game will be an MMO. Certainly the framework is pretty much already there, with the consistent world and it's often been described as the equivalent of a single-player MMO, so this certainly seems like a natural evolution. That being said, I'm not sure things will transition all that well, especially the combat. It's certainly more intense and quicker than most MMOs, but it's also really goddamn clumsy. And while the graphics of other MMOs may not be as detailed, that also means no huge clipping or glitching issues on a decently powerful machine. Bethesda is a company known for releasing promising yet bug-ridden games, it's going to be harder to get away with that in an MMO, so hopefully Bethesda will test it as thoroughly as humanly possibly before actually releasing it into the public.
Let the season of geek movies begin! Tomorrow, arguably the biggest (and possibly the best judging by the whopping 92% it's got on rotten tomatoes right now), The Avengers, directed by uber-nerd icon Joss Whedon, opens in theatres. Sadly I won't get to see it til next week due to my schedule but as soon as I get to see it I will post my review. This is clearly a huge test for Marvel and Whedon, but considering the movie has already grossed over $280 worldwide and hasn't even opened in the states yet, I'd say that test has been easily aced. It's a nice bit of validation for us long-suffering Whedon fans and Whedon himself, I'm sure. It's also a nice message to Fox that they are fucking idiots for killing two of his shows before they even got out of the gate really. It'll be nice to know he's got the pull of being an a-list Hollywood director the next time he wants to do something more along his usual brilliant quirkiness.
That's really all I have for today but I should have another post up tomorrow, until then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Expendables II
