You say shameless rip off like it's a bad thing...

It's been rumored for awhile now, and Sony's own mascot brawler title has officially surfaced, with the ridiculously long and terrible title of Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale. But the surprising thing is just how much of a blatant knock-off of Nintendo's Super Smash Bros series this is. There are certainly other 4-on-4 brawlers similar but this is so close Sony's legal department has to be keeping a tight watch on it. Of course, as long as you accept the fact it's a shameless rip off, if it's a well-done shameless rip off, there's a lot of fun to be had. Personally I'm all for seeing the likes of Nathan Drake, Ratchet & Clank and Kratos mix it up.

Arguably Sony's biggest problem is going to be having a roster that people give a shit about. Yes, they have a pretty big and varied stable of characters, but nothing anywhere near the level of Nintendo. Even the more oddball characters like Nes or Roy have a cult following. Once you get past the few top tier characters Sony has, you've run out of characters anyone gives a rat's ass about. Random dude from Killzone? Fat Princess? That's not someone anyone cares about playing. I'm pretty sure the developers said there would be some third-party characters as well. Hopefully that will sufficiently swell the roster and there will be some nice surprises come E3 when I'm sure a good portion (though probably not all) of the roster will be revealed.

That's it for today, I'll most likely be back Monday or Tuesday with another post. Until then, here's your BIG BANG OF THE WEEK:

5 reasons the Big Bang Theory sucks (and 5 reasons it's great)

The Big Bang Theory is one of the biggest sitcoms out there, it's wildly popular, but also wildly divisive. There is a rather large geek contingent that considers it insulting and stupid, not too mention it competes against the less popular Community, which has a small but fiercely loyal crowd. I happen to be a fan of the Big Bang Theory, but I can also see why some treat it with such vitriol. So here are 5 reasons Big Bang Theory is one of the worst things to happen to nerds since Revenge of The Nerds, and 5 reasons it's one of the best.

Reasons it sucks:



#5. Canned Laughter:  It is 2012 right? Who still uses canned laughter for virtually all their sitcoms? Just CBS. It's a relic and a crutch for mediocre stuff that has to tell it's audience when something's funny. Because really, how will we know if something's funny unless someone else tells us?

#4. The humor is stupid: For a show about nerdy scientists, most of the jokes are pretty dumb. Much of the humor relies on old standards like stereotypes, prat falls, and random references without much rhyme or reason.

#3: It's Insulting to us nerds and geeks: This isn't really a show about us, it's a show that makes fun of us and for evidence of this all you have to do is look at Penny. She is specifically there to react like the average CBS viewer and be confused when somebody says anything remotely intelligent and just be stunned/amused that grown men play video games, enjoy sci-fi read comics and watch anime.

#2: The characters don't evolve: This is true of many sitcoms, but it doesn't make BBT any less guilty. Raj is the perfect example. He has spent the entire show being unable to talk to women except when drunk or on drugs with wacky side effects. In real life this would cripple more than just his chances of getting laid, it could ruin his career (except in a Chuck Lorre show, where no woman is in charge of anything, more on that in a bit). In 5 years he should've made some smidgen of progress in this area, but not on a CBS sitcom, hell no.

#1: Chuck Lorre is the Michael Bay of sitcoms: Seriously, take a look at this guy's "greatest hits"-Cybill, Dharma & Greg, Two and a Half Men and Mike Molly. Truly the picture of mediocrity at its finest. But it's also not just mediocrity, Lorre's shows all pretty much look the exact same, and he just seems to have a really weird and negative attitude towards women in general, this shines through the most in the truly awful Two & Half Men, but you can see plenty of it in Big Bang Theory. Amy Farrah Fowler is possibly the smartest character on the show, but nearly all jokes she's involved in are about her possible lesbian attempts with Penny. And speaking of Penny, does anyone know her last name? Oh I guess the primary female on a Chuck Lorre show doesn't get one.

Ok, enough with the negativity, after all I actually really enjoy the show, and here's 5 good reasons why:

5. There is smart humor: Yeah there are some dumb easy jokes, but there's a ton stuff only nerds will really appreciate. Like the various made up games, the huge amount of references to sci-fi and geek culture in general and the random comic book debates are all things that nerds love and will laugh hysterically at and the average viewer won't have a clue why it's funny.

4. Great Nerdy guest stars: Who cares about Wil Wheaton, the whiny kid from Star Trek being on Big Bang Theory? I sure as hell do. The list of geek-approved guest stars runs the gamut from pretty well known icons like Leonard Nimoy & Brent Spiner to more obscure ones like Steve Wozniak and Neil deGrasse Tyson. Sure it may be geek pandering, but hey somebody's pandering to geeks, that's awesome!

3. It celebrates nerds: Yeah it pokes fun at us, but like the saying goes, if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at? And while it pokes fun, it also gloriously basks in some of the nerdiest aspects of geek culture. The characters take a lot of pride in the things they enjoy, and so does the show.

2. The characters actually do evolve:While I will give you Raj as an example of someone who hasn't really changed in the course of the show, everyone else has. Howard is getting married, Sheldon is more empathetic (though he's still Sheldon) and sort of has a girlfriend. Leonard & Penny's relationship is constantly changing, which is perfectly realistic. Granted it's not on the same level as Community, but saying the characters don't evolve means you aren't regularly watching the show, but even then you can still enjoy it. Which leads me to my final good thing:

1. It's inclusive: Community is a great show, but the show and it's fans make you feel like you are being punished if god forbid you haven't watched from the very beginning or missed a couple episodes. You can't randomly watch an episode of Community, you won't know what the hell is going on. You can however, randomly watch most Big Bang Theory episodes randomly and just enjoy them. Also, much like Penny hanging out with the guys, you don't have to be an uber-nerd to get all the jokes and references, there's at least a little something for everybody. Some may point that out as weakness, that the show is too broad and not strictly made for nerds, I say it's a great step towards nerds gaining more mainstream acceptance.

Ok that's it for today, I should have another post up this weekend, until then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Lawless

Dragons. Must be Tuesday....

Yup another game involving dragons. Though the twist being that this is a Japanese developer's(Capcom) take on a western-style rpg, being far more action oriented than most rpgs you see out of Japan. Will it succeed? Well, the game release is still about a month away, but Capcom released a demo you can check out now on 360 and later today on the PS3. It seems to play a hell of a lot like Dark Souls, with very little hand-holding and enemies that if you're not careful, will kill you quite easily. A very interesting mechanic is the ability to grab things. It sounds really simply just stating it like that, but you can throw various items at enemies, small enemies at each other, and you can climb on large enemies. This is such a simple and yet awesome idea it's kind of a wonder it's not really a staple. Climbing on a massive griffin and relentlessly stabbing it is a great thrill that might never get old.

It does seem lacking in personality, with environments that look like they were ripped straight out of Dragon Age: Origins, but it's hard to get that across in a short demo. I know Capcom is taking a big gamble on this being one of their big new IPs, so hopefully it'll be successful. It is something I'm very interested in picking up if I have time, but I'm pretty front-loaded as is, and I doubt that'll change in a month's time, so hopefully somewhere down the road.

That's it for today , I should hopefully get another post up tomorrow. Until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK:  Labyrinth iXi

Making the case for day one dlc...

This is an image that Rocksteady has been teasing tied to supposedly new dlc for Arkham City. In addition to pretty obviously being Harley Quinn, it's also been heavily rumored that Robin will feature in some solo DLC as well. Sounds great, the problem? Arkham City came out in October of last year. That's virtually a lifetime for a videogame. I loved it, but I beat it and it's done. I have virtually no interest in it now. I probably would have if it had come out within a couple months of release, but I've moved on, and my bet is most other gamers have too.

That being said, since Arkham City has been confirmed for the Wii U, it would be at least a nice bonus for anybody who waited for that release. Those combined with something  showing why the Wii U version would be superior through unique features could make a strong case for buying ports on the Wii U versus the other systems. I'm not saying games should always have day one dlc, but if they want gamers to stay invested they probably need something to trickle out every couple of months.

We know Skyrim is getting DLC and it'll be a massive expansion. But really, unless I've got nothing else on plate, it seems unlikely I'll be interested because again it's been too long. Though I haven't bought any myself, I think one game that's a good example of properly doling out dlc is Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. They've already come out with 2 fairly meaty DLC expansions and the game has only been out two months. That's a great enticement for people who really enjoyed the game and want more of it to keep playing at a pretty reasonable pace. I'm actually mild surprised there hasn't been any Mass Effect 3 single-player dlc as of yet but my guess is the negative reaction to the ending and admittedly ridiculously corporate message of "buy dlc!" at the end may have pushed initial plans back until they release that extended ending dlc and the heat has died down a bit.

Bottom line, DLC is a tricky beast, and it's important to do it right. And it may not fair to developers hoping to get a little extra cash, but there's a window and I think it's pretty much closed for Arkham City (and possibly Skyrim for that matter at the rate they are going). Sure it will sell, but probably not nearly as much as if it had been released already instead of up to several months from now.

That's all for today, I should be back on Monday with a new post. Until then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Struck By Lightning

God of Bore....

Now for the record I'm really not opposed to a new God of War game, but I was hoping a new game would take it in a different direction. We've now had no less than 5 seperate games of Kratos wreaking havoc all over Greek mythology. A prequel isn't going to change that I'm betting. Either a new setting or a new protagonist (arguably both) is strongly in order. I'm pretty sure some new equivalent of Kratos in a different culture (Eqypt would probably be the most obvious, but there are plenty of other interesting options as well). Honestly I was getting a little bored with the whole theme by the end of God of War II, and III just seemed completely unnecessary.

Horror movies mostly seem to follow a similar formula. You've seen a few, you've pretty much seen them all. Cabin in the Woods knows this, and uses it in extremely brilliant ways to subvert your expectations. It manages to be savagely funny, have a couple good genuine scares, and some nice surprise pop-ups from a couple Joss Whedon alums as well. To really discuss the plot would be to spoil the surprise, but needless to say this goes well beyond your average group of dumb teens getting slaughtered in the woods. Easily the smartest horror film in over a decade, even if you aren't really a fan of horror films (especially if it's because they are all the same) you'll probably get a lot of enjoyment out of it.

That's pretty much it for today I should be back tomorrow with another post though. Until then here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: 2am Truck Stop

The Witching Hour...

I don't think the Witcher 2 could've planned it's console release this Tuesday better if developer CD Projekt Red were clairvoyant. In the wake of Mass Effect 3's failure to deliver on it's promise of true choice and consequences for your actions, Witcher 2 is already acclaimed for and prides itself on its protagonist, Geralt, for making grey choices in a world where nothing is simple. It also is one of those games that prides itself on not being particularly welcoming to newbies, as one of the common complaints is that it has rather unforgiving combat and complex systems that it doesn't bother explaining much.  I'm certainly interested in trying it out, but admittedly I've got far too much on my plate to fit in another 30-40 hour epic rpg at this point, so I'll get it somewhere down the line.



Roger Wilco returns? Most likely not, but the creators of the legendary and completely awesome Space Quest have re-united to bring us something new. Odds are it'll be right up there with the newer Monkey Island games & Sam and Max adventures in terms of awesome bizarre humor. Hell even Leisure Suit Larry is trying to get back into the game. It really is great to see all these old school adventure series making a comeback as its the stuff I pretty much got started on. Now if they could bring back Maniac Mansion I'd pretty much be completely content.

Super Mario 4? Hell technically we're up to about 15 Super Mario titles (and that's not counting various spin-offs), but officially there's never been a Super Mario "4". So now that Nintendo has gone and registered "Super Mario 4" as a domain name, people are speculating about what exactly that means. Most likely it'll be something that's a callback to the earlier 8 & 16-bit titles, but Nintendo's never really been afraid to do bold and daring gameplay with their core titles, so it also wouldn't surprise me to see Super Mario 4 as a premiere Wii U title that balances old school gameplay with showing off the new features of Nintendo's latest system. Hopefully we'll find out at E3 which isn't too far off.

That's it for today. I might have another post up Monday, but will most definitely have one up by Wednesday. Until then here's your BIG BANG OF THE WEEK:

The Legend Continues...

The Legend of Korra probably has an extremely unfair legacy to live up to. Avatar: The Last Airbender, is easily one of the greatest animated series ever, flawlessly blending action, humor and heart and managing to tell an extremely tight story in 3 short but amazing seasons. And after the extreme horror that was M. Night Shamaywatchamacallit's "vision" of Airbender on the big screen, this was pretty much fans' last hope for anything remotely salvageable from the franchise.

So to say expectations are unrealistically high is an understatement. Does it manage to live up to them? Hard to say after just one episode, but the premiere episode does show a lot of promise and flair and seems to be a worthy follow up so far. It manages to touch plenty on the past series, have an interesting new heroine to follow in Korra, and a few enemies more complex than the simple rule the world fire thugs that dominated the previous show. There's still a lot of unanswered questions, such as who will be Korra's inevitable buddies and how well they will compare to Aang's, and whether her enemies will have any real depth to them. But if the first episode is any indication, this will be just as good as it's predecessor. If you want to watch it for free and don't have cable, you can download it off Xbox marketplace, and if you haven't seen the original, it's available on pretty much everything including Netflix streaming so do yourself a favor and catch up.

The Wrath of the White Witch is easily on of my most anticipated games coming out for the PS3. The combination of Studio Ghibli and Level 5 is a no-brainer instant classic. Sadly it's been delayed til 2013 already, but here's the first English trailer in the meantime:



That's really all I have today but I should have another post up tomorrow, til then here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Schoolgirls vs. Orcs

When Worlds Colllide....

In the realm of PLEASE GOD LET THIS COME OUT HERE: Sega, Capcom and Namco are making a crossover game. No not a fighting game (though that would be great too), but a strategy RPG. Granted, this is hardly the first game of this type. And in fact, previous similar crossover efforts have not gone so well (i.e. Namco x Capcom), but I'll hold out hope that an rpg that sees Mega Man team up with Yuri Lowell as one of the most awesome things ever.



I'm pretty in the know on voice actors between playing video games and watching various animated shows, but it still blows me away occasionally finding out who voiced some of my favorite characters over the years because there's usually a lot of crossover and the really talented voice actors can do completely different voices for different characters. So I'm extremely excited to see this documentary that really gives them a little spotlight though it still seems like its a ways from coming out.

And it looks like we finally have one of the first horror movies in years worth checking out in Cabin in The Woods, which although his actual level of involvement is questionable (he's listed as a co-writer) is basically being treated as Joss Whedon's take on horror. The important part is this probably has the best reviews of a horror movie in years if not decades. I'll be checking it out Tuesday and I'll be sure to post my review on here. I also know I haven't been mentioning movies in theatres or dvd releases as much lately, but I'll try and work on that and at least post if something important and geeky is out, which admittedly there hasn't been a ton of so far this year anyways.

That's it for today, I should definitely get another post in this weekend, I'll try and aim for two. Until then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Looper

Xenosaga....

So I've logged around 6 hours with Xenoblade Chronicles so far, not enough to give an in-depth review but certainly enough to give some fair impressions. This is one of the more fun rpgs I've played in awhile, for a Wii game the graphics are tremendous but it's clear that this would benefit highly from the power of an HD console. The battle system, which plays out quite a bit like FFXII is extremely addictive and I love that much like an MMO battles take place right there without going into another field. The full voice acting (which is all-around pretty stellar) and achievement system are nice bonuses. And unlike many jrpgs, it includes a great fast travel system and a save anywhere feature not too mention a generous checkpoint system which really makes running into powerful enemies that kill you quick much less frustrating.

However there is one major area where the game falters and that's quest management. It's just a mess. There's no efficient way to even just list the quests you currently have, but you also can't place markers and at best the game only gives you a very vague idea of where to go rather than just having the markers on the map like virtually every other rpg in existence. Granted for quests where you have to kill X amount of a certain monster or find items that just randomly spawn thats fine, but many involve finding specific NPCs and since they actually do move around on their own internal schedule, something that tells me where the hell to find them would remove a lot of frustration. Also, some of the game's systems are not explained very well, specifically the "heart-to-hearts" which are optional scenes you can activate to increase party affinity. But all I ever seem to get is ones I don't currently have the correct characters for. It's kind of pointless to have those markers there if I can't use them, other games (i.e. the Tales series) have similar features where such scenes can simply be triggered at the right moment, there's no reason they couldn't do the same here.

But it's really a minor complaint for an otherwise amazing game. If you like rpgs at all there is pretty much no reason not to pick this up, it's a real gem and between this, Skyward Sword and Last Story, I probably will spend more time playing my so-called dead system more than any other this year.

That's all for today, should probably have another post up Tuesday or Wednesday.

Bioware Caves. Bad Bioware...

So in a not completely surprising move, Bioware has caved to the more pissy "fans" and is offering an "extended" ending DLC to come out at some point this Summer. This is seriously a terrible precedent, there is no other way to put it. Even if this was something they had planned and had to move ahead(which seems possible, because it would be very difficult to throw something like this together in just a few months), then the game was rushed and released unfinished. At least they aren't stupid enough to try and charge for it. I can't imagine what this extended ending will contain that will possibly satisfy the ones so pissed they demanded a change anyways, odds are it won't since Bioware claimed it's not altering the ending, just explaining it more. Regardless, I don't think this move will pacify these trolls and will just make them think that if they whine & bitch enough, they can get whatever they want changed.

Moving on, when Epic Mickey 2 was announced, I was pretty skeptical, as I said previously, it had some great ideas, but was more or less unplayable. Well consider me officially excited, as this 10-minute gameplay video seems to show a playable game with a camera that actually frakking works:



Add to that a 3DS version that's supposed to be an homage to the classic Castle of Illusion, and this may be the first game I buy for two systems.

Finally, tomorrow, the long-awaited Xenoblade Chronicles is out. Frankly if you own a Wii and want finally to send a message that yes, there really is an audience on the Wii (and therefore most likely the Wii U) for a critically acclaimed core title and not just people who only play Wii Sports and Just Dance, this is one of your last chances to do so. Buy it BUY it BUY IT.

That's really all for today but I should still be able to cram in one more post this weekend. Until then, here's your BIG BANG OF THE WEEK:

WoW on Wii U?

So over the last couple days there have been conflicting reports about the Wii U's power. Originally it was reported to be up to twice as powerful as the PS3 and 360, which given how long those systems have been out, isn't a big surprise. Then reports came out that it isn't even on par with what 360 & PS3 can do now. There's seems to be no real consensus, but hey as long as you can bring me this:



I could care less what the specs say.

One extremely interesting tidbit that's come out of all this is that the controller seems primed for MMOs which could be a key difference in distinguishing itself and its library. MMOs are still pretty much in their infancy on consoles. A key franchise like WoW, which believe me they have been trying to figure out how to make that cash cow work on consoles for years or The Old Republic would do wonders for system sales. Dragon Quest X being an MMO would make a lot more sense and could be a showcase for MMOs on the Wii U. So hopefully at least this is true because it could be a key weapon for Nintendo in the next round of the console wars.

Ok That's really all I have for today but I should definitely have a post up Saturday or Sunday with early Xenoblade Chronicles impressions. Til then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Ragnarok Eternal

This is all you need to know about Star Wars Kinect...

Ok, so Star Wars is officially dead to me and really should be to any nerd, even Michael Bay and Uwe Boll on their best day could not fuck up beloved characters this bad. But really this highlights all the real problems with Kinect as a platform as well. You probably could've had a compelling core title using the Star Wars license that showed Kinect was more than a gimmick, instead tomorrow's release is basically a minigame collection, almost seeming more like a hastily thrown together tech demo than anything else. But Star Wars has gotten to the point where it's almost more a kiddy franchise than anything that somebody who saw the original movies can even relate to, so it will probably sell a million copies easy.

Is Sega dead? Well they certainly haven't been the powerhouse software developer that they were back in the day when they were still making consoles, and if the latest news of massive layoffs and outright cancellation of all but a few titles most likely means it may be awhile before we see the Sega that brought us daring original stuff such as Shenmue, Phantasy Star Online, Bayonetta, Madworld and so on. If ever. It's been a rough decade or so with a lot of bad decisions and too much reliance on licenses rather than actual gameplay to sell. As a former stalwart Sega diehard, I hold out hope that someday they'll get back in shape, but I'm not holding my breath.

All right, that's it for today, I should certainly have a post up Friday with some thoughts on Xenoblade Chronicles. In the meantime, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Total Recall

The Indoctrination Theory and why it doesn't matter....

In case you get bored or just don't have the time to watch a nearly 25 minute youtube video, this seems to be the popular theory by fans lately on why Mass Effect 3's ending was so vague and incoherent: Shepard has been slowly indoctrinated throughout possibly the whole series and the end of the game is actually taking place in his head. The final decision you make basically whether or not you succumb to said indoctrination. There is a lot of strong evidence for this, the slight but noticeable differences in the endings, things from the dream sequences, and frankly it would probably be the only way any future DLC would make any real sense.

The problem with that, whether its what Bioware planned from the beginning or if it's how they decide to officially explain things is that this was supposed to be the end, the culmination of Shepard's journey. Sure we can have more Mass Effect titles, that would be great. but again and again we have been told Shepard is done. For him and for a good portion of his crew, there is no Mass Effect 4 or MMO or whatever. If this theory is even the slightest bit correct, that's really just as bad because then Bioware didn't even give us an ending, good or bad. Then they possibly want us to pay for the "real" ending whatever that is? Admittedly I might be willing to accept something free that further explained things, but as I previously said asking us to pay just to see the ending is beyond ridiculous.

So really the only way the Indoctrination theory makes sense is if Mass Effect 3 isn't the end of Shepard's story (which admittedly is kind of hinted at when the old man and the little boy are talking in the end). But it's supposed to be. I'll be all excited about an announcement of Mass Effect 4, as long as Shepard has little to no part in it. Doing otherwise feels like a huge cop out.

That's all for today, I will most likely have another post up by Tuesday. Until then, here's your BIG BANG OF THE WEEK:

Seriously just fuck you Capcom....

I don't know how this happened, but somewhere somehow Capcom has quickly gone from one of the most respected game companies to one of the worst and most shameless. Granted, they've been milking their biggest franchises with little innovation for years, but their was usually cool original stuff to go with it whether it was a new take on an existing franchise that could use a reboot, or totally new IP. Then they went and killed Mega Man. Even for Capcom, they are pushing it too much on their main franchise, Resident Evil, by releasing several titles this year alone.

And now, they are releassing new DLC for their newest franchise, Asura's Wrath, that will include the "true conclusion" of the game. Granted, I have no idea how Asura's Wrath originally ends, as I found it to be pretty shallow and no interest in finding out, but as Capcom is hoping it's a new franchise in the making, I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't tie up much of the story, that's what sequels are for. But then, you get a whole new game to play in addition to the ending, not just some extra addition that basically seems to say even though you paid your hard-earned money for the game, you have to pay more to get the real ending. I can't see how anybody would see this as anything less than desperately trying to squeeze your customers for every penny you can. To be completely fair I can't imagine Asura's Wrath being so compelling that anyone would pay money just to see the "real" ending, but it's really the precedent here that matters. Think of one people are a lot more invested in, like say Mass Effect 3. Sure the reaction is overwhelmingly negative, but it's an ending and most of us spent well over a hundred hours of our time to get there. What if you had to pay to get some "real conclusion"? A surprising percentage of commenters on various boards I've seen even seem ok with this, as long as they get whatever ending makes them satisfied, obviously that's a terrible, terrible idea. Do you want the Scooby Doo ending where it was Old Man Withers under a rubber mask all along? $10 Please.

Hopefully this will be a terrible failed experiment because frankly a future where I have to pay just to see a real ending of games I enjoy is one where I'm probably not buying very many games anymore....

That's all for today, I should get another post up by this weekend, in the meantime here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Jungle Wars

Eternal Damnantion?

In the most unlikely sequel news, 2 of the quirkiest games released in the last decade might be getting well deserved sequels. The first has been in demand for awhile, as developer Silicon Knights has said their next project would be follow-up to one of their most requested IPs. They really only have 2 IPs worth mentioning-The Legacy of Kain series and Eternal Darkness. And no one cares that much about Legacy of Kain, so hopefully that only leaves a sequel to the completely crazy and incredibly awesome Gamecube exclusive. The inherent randomness and weirdness of the franchise could certainly benefit from the Wii U's unique controller and that is supposedly the system they would be developing the follow-up for. As much as I'd love a sequel, Silicon Knights hasn't made a good game since the Gamecube days. In fact their last couple, Too Human and X-Men Destiny were fairly high-profile disasters. So as excited as I want to be for this possibility, I gotta wonder if it's some last ditch effort to do reclaim some past glory.

Suda 51 is arguably the craziest developer out there with games that flaunt non-traditional characters, gameplay and storylines such as No More Heroes and Killer 7. Arguably his most grounded work to date, Shadows of the Damned (imagine Resident Evil crossed with From Dusk til Dawn), received really solid reviews but pretty much died at retail in part thanks to virtually no marketing for it. I recently picked it up as part of a buy 2 get one free deal and am very entertained by it so far but it is really short so I admittedly might have felt cheated paying a full $60 for it (I'm hoping Lollipop Chainsaw, his next title will be much longer cause it looks very awesome). So it's surprising and awesome that a sequel is apparently seriously being considered. Hopefully if this does happen some serious marketing will actually be put behind it and it will make up for the failure of the first one.

That's all for today, should hopefully have another post up by Thursday. Until then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: The Host

Flying too close to the sun....

Few franchises are like Kid Icarus. Even though it only has 2 previous games to its credit, the last being waaaayyyy back in 92, it has remained a popular franchise despite being practically buried by Nintendo. Sure he made a brief resurgence in the Smash Bros series, but that was no reason to believe there would be a whole new entry in the series. Then when the 3DS came out, a new Kid Icarus game was touted as one of the premier titles for the system. It took nearly an extra year but now it's finally here, and does it live up to the hype?

It depends on who you ask really, but all the reviews seem to agree on one thing-the controls for the on-ground sections are downright uncomfortable, sometimes to the point of causing pain. You think this would lead to a near universal panning, but again depending on the review you read the game is either awesome despite these control issues, or terrible because of it, and again, the reviews seem to all say the same things, the dialogue is funny, the upgrade system is slick, the graphics are top notch, etc. But the scores still tend to drastically differ. Granted I got done with Super Mario 3D Land months ago and am getting tired of only having Mario Kart 7 & Find Mii II to play, but I don't plan on buying a game I can't really get a serious try when the controls are such a divisive issue. This is where Nintendo's recent openness to demos would really come in handy in deciding to make a purchase or not. Since I can't really try before buying, I think this'll be a pass for now and just hope something else comes along soonish.


-That's all I have for today, I'll try and get another post in this weekend, until then here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: The Adventures of Zomboy

Excuse me, this FFXIII-2 has some Mass Effect in it!

Yup, that's the main characters from FFXIII-2, Noel & Serah, wearing N7 armor from the Mass Effect series. It actually looks really cool, but for some reason it's only available in Japan, which really makes no sense because no one cares about Mass Effect in Japan, it's sold less than 10,000 copies. Hopefully it'll make its way over here soonish, as though I don't currently own FFXIII-2, I plan on picking it up at some point.

Ok, I really think this whole Mass Effect 3 ending thing is getting way out of hand. Filing complaints with the BBB, Amazon offering refunds, and it sounds like Bioware might really be caving in and at least offering some DLC that offers more explanation, closure, Shepherd becoming the new Doctor Who companion, whatever. Ok, the ending was bad, we get it. But Bioware changing it is an enormous mistake. This will set a bad precedent, period. Frankly, if the fans are truly that annoyed, the solution shouldn't be paying Bioware money for DLC anyways. Besides, we already have the perfect ending:



Epic Mickey 2 has just been announced, yay? It's coming to pretty much all platforms this time, and it does seem like they are doing something very different and unique, with it being a "platformer musical". But I was extremely disappointed by the first game so at best I will approach this with cautious optimism.

That's all I got for today, I should be back tomorrow or Friday with thoughts on Kid Icarus: Uprising along with some other stuff. In meantime, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK:  Dark Shadows

Aftermass....

So I just beat Mass Effect 3. It was a harrowing epic filled with great and tragic moments, coming to a conclusion that well, there's been plenty of discussion about. I think it would be nearly impossible to please all parties involved, I mean if you had a super-perfect happy ending...

You'd probably have people bitching that it's unrealistic Hollywood-esque shclock. That being said, an ending that puts you in company with  Lost and Battlestar Galactica and FF7 with a vague cutscene that offers no real closure and explains nothing. Some people complained it removed true choice which is probably valid. Overall my reaction was probably much like my Shepard's. It was a thrilling ride, but damn I'm just ready for it to be over, so what actually transpired didn't really do much for me. I will say in my opinion, the ending shouldn't have been a choice at all, it should've been a culmination of everything you've done thus far, that would actually put some real weight behind this being a true trilogy where everything supposedly matters when in the end it really didn't amount to all that much. Maybe that's too much to ask for with all the variables, but considering they were able to offer 2 drastically different endings on Knights of the Old Republic I think several vastly different endings based on your decisions up until that point (or even 2) wouldn't have been too much of a stretch. And now Bioware has essentially said that DLC will offer more explanation and closure. That's pretty goddamn ridiculous. If this is the ending you wanted Bioware, that's fine, I'll support that, but don't cave in because pretty much anything by consensus is terrible.

The other thing I'd really like to address is the multi-player. It is incredibly fun and well-done, but also a clear sign of EA's influence here, not because of the multi-player itself. Sure people bitch about having mp put into a series that up until now has been single-player, but before that people were bitching about it only being single-player so that's kind of moot. And while it is well-made and a worthy diversion all on its own, clearly EA felt that people would just ignore it because if you want any chance of getting the best possible ending choices, you need to play it. Not a ton mind you, I got my galactic readiness rating up to snuff in probably about 6 or so hours of mp games. But the point is Bioware repeatedly said if you didn't want to play the MP you didn't have to. They blatantly lied about it. What's more, good MP can stand on its own, which this is, there was no reason to make it some essential component of the overall game. So shame on both Bioware and EA on this point, it's shady practices.

So where does Mass Effect go after this, because Bioware has stated repeatedly that while this probably the end of Shephard's story, it's hardly the end of this franchise. Well I don't think a continuation would be out of the question. It would mollify a lot of the fan base if Mass Effect 4 took a look at the universe Shepard created. A game where you could finally be a protagonist from another race would be welcome. A prequel (like the one I suggested focusing on Sarren) wouldn't be amiss either. An MMO seems extremely likely, but honestly since nearly everything seems to be trying that route, I wouldn't be too excited about it.
One extremely unlikely but awesome idea would be a strategy game based around it. I'd prefer something turn-based, but real time would clearly work as well. Something in the vein of either Starcraft or if they are going turn-based looking at Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars would be an excellent example.

Ok that's really all I have to say on the subject. I should have another post up by Tuesday. Until then here's your BIG BANG OF THE WEEK:

Too epic for DLC?

DLC can be a great thing when done right. After all it's a great way to expand the life of your favorite games. I've admittedly gotten tons for most Bioware titles, for instance, and it helped me spend more time with some of my favorite games and characters in the better instances. But admittedly sometimes a the end of a game now matter how much I enjoyed it I'm exhausted and relieved it's over and don't really feel like going back to that series until there's another full entry. It can have to do with length but just as often it's the dramatic scope of the game. For instance, I didn't get the Oblivion expansion Shivering Isles, which was by all accounts fantastic. I had literally spent a couple hundred hours playing Oblivion and never even got done with the main quest, but I became the head of most of the guilds, slew thousands of monsters, etc. I felt I was just done with the damn thing one day. Though I didn't put nearly as much time into Skyrim, I easily spent a hefty 60 or so hours, beat the main quest along with  several other major quest lines and really have no urge to take on  more even though any DLC is promised to be sufficiently epic and probably add 30 or more hours to the game.

Though I'm taking a break while finishing Mass Effect 3(which should be finished in the next few days), Kingdoms of Amalur is a game I've been having a lot of fun with, but it's huge open world and couple hundred possible hours of questing just seems so daunting I can't imagine getting DLC for it, and hey there's some coming just around the corner!



Great for someone who wants to squeeze a few more hours I guess, but I'm already getting a solid backlog of rpgs with Xenoblade Chronicles and Witcher 2 being added to that in the next month or so here. I can't ever see getting it.

With Mass Effect 3, it's more emotional impact. This is the end of Shephard's story one way or another, I can't really imagine myself going off and doing some side story afterwards. In the previous games it was different because it really felt like there was still plenty to do and see in this new universe and that there could be plenty of new stories and adventures for the Normandy crew to have. The third entry very much has a finality to it that doesn't really fit adding more. The day one DLC makes even more sense this way.

Does this make DLC for these games a bad idea? Not really I'm sure there are plenty of people who just can't get enough no matter how many hours or emotion they've already invested. I'm just saying for myself that there is too much of a good thing sometimes.

That's all for today. I probably will squeeze in another post tomorrow if I can. Until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Surprise Bullfight

Aging Gracefully...

Though it's not nearly as renowned as series like Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest, the Tales series from Namco is a prolific longstanding rpg series dating back to the SNES days. I've played and enjoyed a good portion of them, though some of have never seen the light of day over here in the states. Like many long-running Japanese rpg series, though the stories and characters vary the basic style and gameplay remain pretty much the same. Whether or not that's a selling point can vary, as obviously change is necessary to keep a series from getting tired. Love it or hate it, Final Fantasy tries something new with virtually every entry. But sometimes something familiar is fun to fall back to. Tales hasn't really changed a whole lot since the series moved to 3D, but then again the real time battle system that mixes a light fighting game style and programmable A,I. teammates still manages to be fun and while the characters are usually beholden to rpg/anime cliches they still manage to be entertaining.

Given that the last Tales game I played was Vesperia a few years ago, and in the intervening time anything resembling a traditional jrpg has been hard to come by, and frankly after the Dragon Ages and Skyrims and Mass Effects a little something familiar might be a welcome change of pace. Granted the timing of the release the latest in the series, Tales of Graces F seems odd given that Mass Effect 3 came out just a week ago, and this is coming out just a week later, but smaller titles like this usually have a dedicated enough fanbase that they will actively seek it out. I know I was hoping the original Wii version would come out so I would have an rpg to play on my Wii a couple years ago (that came out in 2009, so it's been a long wait to see this game at all stateside) but I'll gladly take it on PS3 with enhanced graphics and added features as well. I'll certainly understand if people pass on this very traditional, very Japanese rpg, but given that this style of game is getting harder and harder to come by I'll gladly pick this up for that old familiar feeling if not this week, soon after I finish the more modern Mass Effect 3.

That's really all I have for today, I should have another post up by Wednesday, until then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Frankenweenie

10 shows Netflix should ressurrect before Terra Nova...

Netflix seems determined to basically have its own slate of original programming, starting with bringing back Arrested Development and now there are already talks of them picking up the recently canceled Terra Nova. But frankly, Terra Nova isn't a good show and it's incredibly expensive. It ultimately seems like a bad investment. There are plenty of other shows that people actually liked that were canceled well before their time. Here's 10 I think Netflix could reasonably do (and no, Firefly is nowhere on this list, because Castle is awesome and it's honestly been too long):

#10: Boomtown-Arguably the best cop show of the last decade, but it didn't even manage two seasons. It's great Rashomon-style perspective, brilliant writing and acting made for truly compelling episodes. Most of the actors are doing other work, but as long as you could find a new great ensemble cast and keep the style and writing it would be awesome.

#9: Studio 60 on The Sunset Strip-A witty drama by Aaron Sorkin about the behind-the-scenes happenings at an SNL type show. It was engaging and original, but also up against the similar but more comedy-focused 30 Rock. You want a prestige drama to show off, this would be a really good choice.

#8: The 4400-You want a great epic sci-fi series that actually has fans and really needs to be brought back? The 4400 fits the bill pretty well, especially since the show ended in a cliffhanger with no resolution. Add to that the show was more a victim of the writer's strike than anything else and it is probably more deserving of a second chance than most.

#7: Torchwood-This Doctor Who spinoff is admittedly extremely uneven, but when it really works it makes for some of the best stuff on TV, and John Barrowman is always worth watching. Though not officially canceled, it would seem in limbo after the underwhelming 4th season, so it could be a smart move for Netflix to pick this cult sci-fi show up.

#6: Dollhouse-I am a huge Whedon fan, but I'll admit Dollhouse was a woefully uneven series. It does seem at least part of that was Fox's constant messing with the show. Granted, Whedon may be too busy to have more than a passing hand in any revival, but the show had a lot of potential that shined through in its better episodes, and anyone one of his regular crew of writers could probably make the show solid if given a chance.

#5: Reaper-Granted Bret Harrison is on "Breaking In", which just recently got rescued from cancellation itself, but he's hardly an essential element of that show. He'd be much better off continuing this supernatural comedy along with the hilarious Tyler Labine and the always fabulous Ray Wise as the Devil. Canceled way before its time, this would be a great quirky offbeat addition.

#4: Justice League Unlimited-One of the greatest animated shows of all time, and it had a ton of stories left to tell. Arguably the best feature of the show was that it could offer compelling and fun episodes about lesser known characters such as Vigilante and Booster Gold. If they were to resurrect this show, it could probably mostly do that and still be really good.

#3: Better Off Ted-Just as brilliant and offbeat as Arrested Development, and equally mishandled by its parent network. BOT was original, biting, uncompromising and just absolutely hilarious. Making this in a comedy block with the returning Arrested Development would make me all kinds of tingly all over, and it should be the same for the people who have managed to catch this brilliant show.

#2: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles-In all reality, this show shouldn't have worked. The last 2 terminator films were pretty bad, and focusing and young John Connor and giving him a hot female Terminator to ogle seemed like really poor ideas. But it managed to be a really awesome show (even making Brian Austin Green of all people cool) and do justice to the first 2 Terminator films. It even got pretty solid ratings, but Fox canceled it anyways. Because they enjoy making nerds cry (seriously, take a look at the long list of awesome shows they have canceled anytime like Brisco County Jr, Firefly, the Lone Gunman, just to name a few). You want an epic sci-fi show that was just on Fox that was actually good? Take this instead of Terra Nova. PLEASE.

#1: Veronica Mars: This was a completely brilliant detective show, and it left a lot of unanswered maddening questions even after resolving it's initial premise of who killed Veronica's best friend. There were several pitches for a change of scenery that all sound great, either just Veronica in college and/or her interning for the FBI several years in the future. Most importantly it's a showcase for Kristen Bell who is one of the great TV actresses' out there, and is being completely wasted on crap like Gossip Girl and House of Lies.  Add in the always great Enrico Colantoni as her dad and that's pretty much all you need to keep this show a winner.

That's the list. Honestly even if Netflix doesn't decide to renew any of these actually great shows, I'd rather they keep Terra Nova dead altogether, because it's seems like they would just spend too much money to justify their investment on a mediocre show when they could either save it altogether or spend it on something original. I should have another post up Saturday or Sunday. Until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: The Love Letter

March Massness

Yeah there may be political rallies and college basketball and spring training starting up this month, but all us gamers really care about is the release of Mass Effect 3 and the conclusion of the greatest trilogy of this or possibly any console generation. It's a lot of heavy expectations to meet up to, and there's certainly been some controversy with them essentially shoe-horning in multi-player or daring to have dlc on launch day (and don't even get me started the literally hundreds of dollars of collectibles that also offer dlc). But take all that bullshit noise away, just focus on the actual game, does it deliver on its promise? Well maybe not if you were expecting something like massive space battles against giant Reaper ships, but this game is pretty much about gaining alliances, resources, and morale and doing it in an entertaining and compelling fashion, and at about 10 hours in, I can say so far they manage to do it in traditionally epic Bioware faction. Hell they even managed to make scanning incredibly tense, with reapers able to close in on your location.

Any complaints I have are pretty minor overall-Mainly that they still have limited ammo and especially fuel. It would be nice to be able to outfit your squad members with better armor and whatnot, but it's not a huge deal since they didn't have it in 2. Anyways. even with sky high expectations, I think ME3 would manage to impress anyone not determined to hate it for idiotic reasons like EA now owning Bioware and therefore suddenly making them "terrible".

Will this be the last Mass Effect game we see? Thankfully the odds are that will not as Bioware has repeatedly stated that while this is the end of Commander Shpehard's story, it definitely does not mean this would be the last game taking place in the Mass Effect universe. As long as they can make the stories this compelling and fun, I would love to see future iterations of this series that have a new story and protagonist to focus on.

That's all for today, I should have another post up by Friday. Until then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: A Thousand Words

What is the fastest selling system of all time?

That would be the 3DS, hitting the 5 million mark before any other console in history, and that's just in Japan by the way. Can the Vita even hope to catch up? Only time will tell of course but I'm thinking at best we'll see history repeat itself with the Vita doing respectable numbers but just completely dwarfed by its primary competitor.

And in response to Vita's launch, Nintendo had a little streaming conference where they mentioned a bunch of various little things, but the most exciting for me and many others is the announcement of The Last Story, a game that like Xenoblade Chronicles, American Nintendo fans campaigned to get released here, will in fact be hitting the US this Summer. This is probably the last year the Wii is going to have any sort of relevancy, and it's turning out to be a great one for core gamers that have gotten the short end of the stick on quality games.

Finally, Mass Effect 3 is just around the corner, but it's already causing controversy by having what some see as crucial day and date dlc. Not just because it's available on the launch day but because it contains an extra party member that's a member of the Protheans, which of course are supposed to have been wiped out/converted into the Collectors by the Reapers. I think this is a pretty silly reaction. First off, nothing in the DLC is going to be crucial to the main game so that's stupid. Second, this is a bonus for people who ordered the collector's edition so it's not like it's been a huge secret, just dumbasses not paying attention. Finally, offering it day and date frankly is a good thing for those of us who don't usually get collector's editions(i.e. me), as we can just buy it and save $10 over buying that edition just to get that content. I just really don't see how Bioware is supposedly robbing customers just because this is available launch day? Would they feel better if they waited a couple weeks? Several months? It's just a nonsensical overreaction.

That's it for today. I will try and get another post up this weekend, but until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Gravity Duck 2

Snakes for breakfast...

While the PS Vita is easily the biggest thing out this week, there are still a couple major releases to for other consoles this week. Easily the biggest for 3DS owners being a remake of another "classic" with Metal Gear Solid 3D Snake Eater, which is a remake of Metal Gear Solid 3. Most gamers consider Metal Gear a classic series but honestly I've pretty much hated all their entries, with their shitty stealth gameplay and nonsensical stories that the writers must have dropped a whole lot of acid to come up with. The 3rd entry in the series adds a couple ridiculous "features" that virtually no game has used since, like having to hunt and eat wildlife (i.e. snakes) to survive, and needing some actual medical knowledge to heal yourself (instead of you know, medpacs which virtually ever other game uses) yet dealing with injuries that would realistically put you in a hospital for months. If that sounds fun to you, go ahead and pick it right up. I'll be waiting for a worthwhile release like Kid Icarus which is finally out next month.

And Capcom's first big title of 2012 drops with Asura's Wrath. While it's got a fun crazy "only in Japan" style to it, the demo clearly showed with the reviews backing this up that's it's little more than an interactive story with little actual gameplay involved, Hopefully for Capcom's sake Dragon's Dogma, their other big original release this year will fare better, or from what I hear Capcom could be in serious trouble.

That's really all I got for today, but I should get a post in by Friday. Until then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Iron Sky

Is the Vita DOA?

The Vita was always going to be a hard sell to begin with. Though the PSP was actually pretty successful everywhere but the US, it was no serious challenger to the DS. It had a reputation of not being much more than a portable emulator. And it's terrible UMD media along with proprietary memory cards just seemed like a bunch of really obvious missteps. Sure it was a powerhouse that blew the DS away graphically, but that obviously ended up not having much impact.

History seems almost set to repeat itself unless Sony pulls out something pretty drastic even before the US launch this Wednesday. In most technical aspects, the Vita easily blows away the 3DS, but that hasn't stopped sales from plummeting in Japan, where the system should've had no trouble selling based on the PSP's numbers. There's even reports of Vita developers jumping ship in droves and the best response Sony had was essentially that it wasn't as bad as reported meaning that it was most certainly happening.

Looking at the launch line-up, sure they have some killer apps like Uncharted and Lumines, which the 3DS was certainly lacking at launch, but the biggest complaints about those titles all revolve around forced interaction with the touch screen, which I know I heard developers claiming would be an optional interface for those who wanted to experience it, so good on Sony for forcing them to shoehorn it in there. The one good aspect so far on the titles is that they do have a decent price range as opposed to 3DS titles which are all nearly in the $40 range.

But I think the real sticking point is the ridiculous memory cards. First off, for something that is very digitally focused (most retail titles are going to be available day-and-date with a discount along with smaller PSN titles), not having internal memory (or some basic memory card included) is pretty unforgivable. Then add to that Sony's proprietary cards cost more than double your standard memory like sd cards and who is going to want to waste money on that? Sounds like a huge and permanent deal-breaker to me.

Granted, Nintendo was able to turn things around on the 3DS, so maybe Sony will be able to do the same with Vita, but the 3DS' biggest issues were software-related, which it has now pretty much fixed. The Vita's go deeper, and will require a different approach and Sony is historically slow to act on these things.

That's all I got for today, but I should have another post up by Tuesday. Until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Ace Pilot

Sony vs. Sony...

Yup, that's Sony in 2005, claiming that the touch screen on the DS was nothing more than a cheap gimmick that wouldn't have any long term appeal. And of course with Vita, Sony is going way out of their way to make sure that you see just how awesome touching your screen is, mostly to the detriment of the launch titles according to most reviews. They even have one on the back for... some reason. The thing that really bothers me is rather than merely offering it as an alternative form of control which is pretty much something Sony said they would do as not to piss off core gamers, they are forcing it with lame minigames and controls that would be served better under the traditional schemes. Hopefully these are just growing pains and soon developers will learn how to incorporate touch controls in a way that doesn't actually detract from the game. Until then, it really is just the gimmick Sony of 2005 believed it was.


And the long-awaited Mass Effect 3 demo finally hit today, and as expected it was a pretty awesome taste of what's to come is just a few weeks. Everything seems nicely fine-tuned and the little additions that the demo shows aren't revolutionary (oh my god I can climb ladders!), but they do add some decent new layers to the combat. Admittedly does make the wait seem even longer, so if you were already set on buying it, it might actually be better to skip the demo because it almost feels like a cruel tease...

That's really all for today, I should get another post up Friday. Until then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Twisted Tales...

Love is in the air this week, but this week's biggest game release might have you thinking it's more like bloodlust with the long-awaited return of Twisted Metal for the PS3. Car combat seems to be something that other games have tried real hard to get right, but none have come close to what TM usually offers. It should be a fun time and a nice alternative from the usual FPS offerings that dominate online these days. That being said, I rarely venture online these days so I dunno if it'll be something I can get into myself.

Those looking for something their significant other who isn't really a gamer can enjoy Rhythm Heaven Fever on the Wii. Pretty much anyone who enjoys a good music game can get in on this series, it's right up there with games like Parappa the Rapper and  much better musical experience than crap like Just Dance which somehow sells millions.

3DS gamers get yet another re-release of a classic title this week with Tales of the Abyss. It is a really good game that hasn't been available on portable consoles and the 3ds is in need of some good rpgs; but it'll be nice when we start getting some original ones to play.

And you may notice that PSP Vita titles start popping into stores this week even though the system isn't officially out this week, though I believe there is a 3G bundle that's going to be available for early adopters. But I can't imagine too many people shelling out extra dough for 3G plus a data plan they'll need for it on top of the overpriced memory cards. The best thing I can say about the Vita is that if I had the cash to burn I would probably get one, which is more than I could say about the 3DS at launch.

That's all for today, I should have another post up Wednesday with impressions on the Mass Effect 3 demo. Until then, here's your BIG BANG OF THE WEEK:

More mindgames?

PSYCHONAUTS 2. IT MIGHT ACTUALLY HAPPEN. This would be like the greatest news ever. I don't even care what it is on, It can be an indie download,  full retail release, an ipad exclusive, just MAKE IT HAPPEN. If you don't understand my excitement (and shame on you) Psychonauts was much like Beyond Good and Evil, a massively brilliant game that was virtually ignored by the same gaming public that whines about there not being enough originality and innovation in gaming then ignores it when its right in front of your face (I'm looking at you, people who didn't buy Rayman Origins). Regardless, this most unlikely of possibilities for now seems to be actually happening, so let's hope the planets align correctly and we hear some real official details soon. In the meantime, if you are one of the uninitiated, the original is easily found on Xbox and PC for download so do yourself a favor and grab it.

In the "we like to fuck up our launches as much as possible" news: Sony, in their infinite "wisdom" has decided that for us lucky Americans there will be no UMD passport program. What is that? Well it's actually a fairly nifty program where for a nominal fee you can transfer UMD titles you own onto your shiny new PS Vita, thereby bolstering the Vita's library immensely and giving you a reason to ditch your old PSP in favor of the Vita. Granted, it's not likely to be a deal-breaker for those who were planning to get one, but it's a rather nice feature that was scrapped for no fathomable reason whatsoever. While it's getting better, the 3DS library only has a handful of worthy titles, but it can play DS games no problem, so you still have access to a rather large library to keep you busy in-between the release droughts. This is why at least at launch, backwards compatibility can be key, it more easily encourages gamers to invest in the next generation if your initial releases aren't all that impressive, which tends to be the trend for the first year or so while developers are still learning how to start taking advantage of the system. Sony abandoning virtually any form of that yet again kind of sends the message that they aren't all that interested in current PSP owners investing in the next generation.

That's all for today, I should get another post up Friday or Saturday. In the meantime, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Burrito Bison Revenge

A Revelation and a Reckoning...

February is usually a fairly dead month gaming-wise but not in 2012. This week alone has a wide offering of something for nearly everybody along with the PS Vita due in just about 2 weeks (which I will talk about more as it gets closer to release). This week's biggest releases are easily Resident Evil: Revelations for the 3DS and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning for the 360 and PS3.

Revelations has several important factors going for it. It's the first game that offers support for the unsightly analog pad add-on, but it's also the first big 3DS release of this year, and arguably the first game that really shows off the true graphical capabilities of the 3DS as its pretty stunning. Unfortunately, it's going back to pre-Resident Evil 4 methods with the clunky, tank-like controls and ridiculously limited ammo and resources. That may be some kind of welcome return for some but I have no interest in going back to that antiquated clumsy gameplay.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is the first epic rpg release of this year, boasting a meaty 200+ hours of content if you include all the sidequests. And though the demo was pretty unimpressive, most recent previews and the first couple of reviews out have said that the final product is far more polished and fun, mixing an grand quest with much more competent combat than similar free-roaming rpgs like Fallout 3 and Skyrim. As I am admittedly still getting through most of the games I got for Christmas I'm in no huge rush to delve into some new rpg, but I'll probably pick it up somewhere down the line.

A more under-the-radar release is The Darkness II, a first person shooter with the rare emphasis on a solid single-player and being the rare FPS that doesn't take place in some kind of war, modern or futuristic. That alone is probably enough for anyone looking for something besides the CODs and GOWs and their countless look-alike competitors. I only get into FPS games myself once in a blue moon really, so I don't see myself getting it at any point.

That;s really all for today, with luck I should have another post up by Wednesday. Until then here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Lockout

To demo or not to demo....

We seem to swarmed with tons of demos lately for all the biggest titles coming out now or in the near future. Demos are considered  key marketing tools and are almost expected these days of most titles. But should they be? demos are incomplete, early versions that offer a mere snapshot of the whole of the game. They distract from actually making the finished product better because it costs resources to make a workable demo.

Skyward Sword is an amazing game, but have you played the demo in stores? It's pretty terrible, you get thrown in with little to no explanation of how the game works, in scenarios where people who actually own the game have had hours to get familiar how the game works. The Final Fantasy XIII-2 demo isn't as bad but has a similar feel, throwing into a random part of a chapter with little idea of how everything works aside from the monster-catching feature which is introduced at the point.

Perhaps the biggest recent victim of the demo issue is Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, because people who have played the demo and people who have played the finished product seem to have played 2 drastically different games. The demo is buggy and seems like an uninspired WOW/Fable ripoff, and part of that is that was that you only got about 45 minutes to experience what is supposed to be an epic rpg with over a 100 hours of questing. Pretty much every preview (and the reviews that are just coming out now are backing this up) says it's a much better game than the demo implies.

So should demos stop altogether? I don't really think so, they can still be a powerful tool for getting buzz on a game, especially an under-the-radar title. But rpgs and adventure titles should probably never have them, and until people really get the idea that it's not necessarily representative of the finished product, they could do as much good as bad.

That's all for today, I'll hopefully get another post in this weekend, until then here is your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Red Lights

Sony loves you, it really really loves you...

So the list of Playstation Plus perks for February have been released, and along with the usual discounts and free games, a couple of nice surprises are on the way. One is a completely free copy of Far Cry 2 on Valentine's Day, but far more exciting (at least for me and anyone in my age range really) is the confirmed release of THE SIMPSONS ARCADE GAME next week. And PS Plus members get it free! I don't even want to think about how many dollars worth of quarters I sunk into the game back in the day. I'd easily pay a premium to play it at home, so getting it for free is beyond awesome.

At least for now, fears that Nintendo will once again completely screw up online appear to be unfounded. They are actively investigating DLC, making full retail games available digitally, and being more open with developers making advantage of online. Of course, this just means that they hopefully might have something somewhat comparable to what Sony and MS are offering sometime soon, which doesn't hold much appeal to those already experiencing superior set ups and its basically a bone to those who remain steadfastly loyal to the Nintendo brand. I'm excited about the Wii U, but not for the online prospects and I doubt all this will change that.

And finally for today, a look at what a sequel to Wind Waker might look like on the Wii U, which is very a very tantalizing prospect:



And of course here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Mission in Space

A Final Word on Final Fantasy...

Tuesday, the last day of this month, is the first big release day for gamers, which actually kicks off a long slate of big releases like Kingdoms of Amalur, Twisted Metal and Mass Effect 3).

Soul Calibur makes a big return after Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat ushered in a whole new resurgence of the fighting game genre. Will it succeed on the same level as those two did? Reviews are solid so far, but I'm pretty sure II was the last one I got any enjoyment out of and this one seems to pretty much eliminate the formerly solid single-player experience of that. pushing mainly for online, which is a necessary component for fighting games but a solid solo experience that really built your skills would be good too.

And Final Fantasy XIII-2 comes out as well. The reviews are piling in, and the general consensus seems to be "better, but not enough". Granted. many of these outlets are the same ones who gave FFXIII high praise only to damn it later when the overall public consensus was that it was terrible, so take that with a grain of salt. It is generally agreed that it offers a lot more to do and a refinement to the highly-praised battle system. I admittedly suffered through the terrible story of FFX-2 because the battle system was amazing, so this my hold similar appeal. That being said, it will not be a day one buy for me, more likely a purchase down the road when and if there's a big drought going on (so most likely summer).

That's all for today. I should have another post up Monday or Tuesday. Til then, here's your BIG BANG OF THE WEEK:

The name game...

There is a strong rumor going around that come E3, Nintendo's next system, the Wii U, will have a new name. Why? Well mainly because of the 3DS. Not surprisingly, part of the issue with the less than projected sales of Nintendo's newest handheld is the perception that it's merely yet another iteration of the DS only with a flashy new gimmick rather than it being an actual new system. And really, who can blame the general public? There are no less than 3 types of DS systems out right now, if I go into a store without prior knowledge, it'd be hard for me to tell the difference just looking at boxes. And though it would have more to do with the presentation, there is still a pretty big amount of confusion as to what Wii U is exactly. And again the average consumer just looking at boxes (especially at big box stores where associates tend to be either unavailable or poorly informed themselves) might have a hard time differentiating two consoles with only a letter between them.

So should Nintendo rename the Wii U? I think it's not a terrible idea, it could be as simple as naming it something that truly identifies as the next step like Wii 2. It admittedly might be important to identify it as still being a Wii so the casual consumer that gobbled it up last time can just look at it and know that's the continuation. A completely different name can obviously work as well but it would have to be marketed properly, probably with a stronger emphasis that it's from Nintendo, the makers of the Wii rather than the system itself depending on what audience they are striving to reach. Clearly Nintendo is making a lot of steps to draw in more core gamers with finally implementing a seemingly coherent online network, HD gaming and a controller that while unique, also has more traditional features like dual analog, so to emphasize that an entirely different name may be a better idea.

In all honesty, I doubt there's a whole ton of truth to this rumor. When "The Revolution" was officially unveiled as "Wii" pretty much everyone scoffed and thought no one would possibly want to buy anything with that name and yet it's the dominant console this generation. The Wii U with a good marketing strategy and strong launch will do the same regardless of how ridiculous some think the name is.

That's it for today, I should hopefully get another post up tomorrow or Sunday. Until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Congress Chainsaw

Is Rocksteady about to dine on Turtle Soup?

This is  completely awesome rumor: Supposedly, the pizza-loving reptilian foursome known as the Ninja Turtles are the next target to get an Arkham City-esque makeover from Rocksteady. It would probably not be as dark as Arkham City, probably more of a balance between the Turtles' dark comic origins and their more goofy and family friendly TV shows but if you remember when I did a list of the top properties Rocksteady should do next this was my #1 choice so of course I'm very hopeful this is reality. The main thing that makes me doubt it is the original source is a blog no one has ever heard of, so it might easily be complete bull. Let's all hope come E3 we'll be seeing the first videos of this though.

Apparently Gamestop is offering classic pre-owned games to power-up reward members. But the are going about it in a very ass-backwards way. Ok, it's a nice perk for the card owners, but we can't just outright buy them? We have to accumulate points? And the point totals are incredibly high, you'd probably have to trade-in several recent current gen games just to get enough points for one old-school title. Plus, most old school games worth anything are much easier to get be it through digital means or going to stores like Slackers where you can just pay actual money and nowhere near what you'd need to spend to get them through Gamestop. It's a nice idea guys, but it needs some serious re-tooling.



It seems like Final Fantasy may have a competitor for most overexposed game franchise this year. Aside from yet another shitty movie that seems to even ignore it's own continuity, there are no less than 3 Resident Evil games hitting various systems this year, with the one officially titled "6" just being announced even though not counting re-makes and re-releases this is more like 20. This one almost seems like a far cry from what made RE 4 far and away the best game in the series, as frankly it looks like a Gears of War clone with zombies thrown in, which I'm not at all in favor of. Hopefully as we see more it will show that it is not the case.

Finally, on top of the awesome news not that long ago that we will be getting  Lego DC universe game (which for some reason is called Lego Batman 2 even though it stars pretty much all the major Justice Leaguers) comes this supposedly real promo pic of LORD OF THE RINGS LEGOS

Why is this important? Well aside from LOTR legos themselves being pretty awesome, this virtually guarantees a LOTR Lego video game somewhere down the line. 

Ok that's all I have for today, I should get another post up by Friday, Until then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Jeff. Who Lives at Home

Nintendo will be dragged into the digital age kicking and screaming....

Ah Nintendo. A rare company that seems to be forward-thinking in a lot of ways, except when it comes to the ever encroaching digital space. They brought the industry back from the brink with the NES, they pioneered things liked connectivity. The DS, which everybody thought of as gimmicky and yet it's the second-best selling system of all time. And of course there is the Wii, which ushered in (for better or worse) an era of casual and motion-based gaming.

Yet when it comes to online, Nintendo almost seems downright draconian in their approach. Wiiware has pretty much been an afterthought, and their whole "Friend Code" system is just bizarre and nonsensical. They are finally making a couple of steps though. The 3DS at least uses a simplified Friend Code (one per system instead of one for every single game), but online support is still pretty weak at this point, with many games having multi-player, but not online multi-player.

At least they are finally trying to catch up in one area: Demos. Demos are something you can regularly access on either the 360 or the PS3. For some reason, Nintendo, while perfectly willing to do in-store demos for some of their biggest titles, has barely dipped their toes in as far as providing anything to try at home. But in hopefully what will be an ongoing-thing a slew of them are set to arrive on the 3DS starting with the first big title of the year, Resident Evil : Revelations, which is out now. Hopefully this is a sign Nintendo is really ready. A nicer sign would be demos of all their Wiiware titles but at least this is a step and also a hopeful indicator for the online future of the Wii U which Nintendo has claimed will have a much more robust online system.

That's it for today, hopefully I'll be able to get in another post tomorrow, until then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Casa de mi Padre

Kingdoms of completely generic fantasy....

So two more big demos hit today, for The Darkness II and February's big rpg Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.

First I'll talk about Darkness II. Anybody who knows me or reads this blog regularly knows that I'm not a huge fan of FPS games, but I'm certainly willing to give one with an interesting twist and the rare focus on a solid single-player story and the even more rare FPS that doesn't take place either in a historical war or futuristic one. I admittedly found the first game kind of blah and controlling the demon arms was kind of pain. This one makes controlling the arms very easy and the new twist of being able to wield both arms and dual weapons is interesting, but may get just a little too complex trying to juggle it all at once. But this is a lot of maybes. AAs someone who isn't really an FPS fan, It's not interesting enough to get me to buy it, but it looks like a solid alternative for anybody looking for something different from the Call of Duties and their various knockoffs.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, started out life as an MMO. And boy does it show, while the action is faster, this essentially looks like a gigantic WOW rip-off in style. Even most of the fantasy races and the world itself look like it, as does the skill tree system. This is sort of disappointing considered the likes of R.A. Salvatore and Todd McFarlane were involved. The combat is much faster and it's easy to manage switching up between your primary weapon, bows, and magic, but this is a game that offers nothing original in any aspect. It's not bad, it could probably be good filler, but it's certainly not something I would get over any other hotly anticipated title, and considering FFXIII-2 comes out just a week before and Mass Effect 3 not long after, this is one I'll probably pass on.

That's it for today, should get another post up before the weekend, until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: ABOBO'S BIG ADVENTURE