Next Gen Consoles Do's and Don'ts

The next generation of gaming is imminent and probably going to occur this year. Nintendo has already stepped up with their next generation hardware with the Wii U, but what about Microsoft and Sony? A recent announcement from Sony last week claimed that the "future of Playstation" will be discussed during a press conference on February 20th in New York -- which we all can assume is a Playstation 4 announcement. Microsoft has stayed fairly quiet about their next console, but many rumors have been circulating around the internet about both the next Xbox and the Playstation 4 and it's specifications. Whether or not any truth lies within these rumors is a different story, but I would like to explore some of the speculation thrown around and discuss what I feel both consoles need to accomplish when they hit the market.

The biggest rumor I've noticed about both next-gen consoles is some sort of technology that locks out the use of used games. Allegedly, both the next Xbox and the Playstation 4 are rumored to either have a registration process included within the data on the disc that works similar to a CD key found in PC games that will allow the disc to only play on the console it was registered to, or some sort of online only DRM (digital rights media) that will lock the game to the user's account and cannot be played unless the account has privileges. A third theory has been discussed about the possibility of the new consoles to detect whether or not the game disc is used and will force users to pay an online fee in order to unlock the ability to play said game (similar to what we see already with online passes) with the possibility of a premium paid service (like a higher tiered Xbox Live service) that will allow unlimited used game unlocks.

I'm honestly surprised we have not seen some sort of used game blocking technology already. Publishers do not make any money off of used game unless you count the fanbase or brand loyalty that may grow with the purchase of older used games in a company's back catalog. In order to ensure the publisher obtains every penny off of every game sale, a block on used games may be the only solution. Will blocking used game sales be a good thing for consumers though? Absolutely not. I personally love hunting down old games for my collection and the inability to be able to play used games hurts the gaming collectors and enthusiasts in the long run. Not only will this method hurt collectors, but certainly the average gamer who tries to save a buck by picking up a game used later on down the road with the inevitable rise in development costs and game prices. Honestly, the only people who win here are the publishers and a business cannot function if the consumer will not back the products, so I feel a system that blocks used games will certainly affect console sales. I do not agree with it, but I would definitely not be surprised to see this rumor become reality.

Another popular next-gen rumor is the possibility of both consoles becoming online only by not allowing any gameplay and limiting console functions unless the console has an active internet connection. Since most consoles are connected to the internet at all times, a large population of the United States still do not have broadband internet. By requiring a constant internet connection, console manufacturers are cutting down and alienate a pretty decent margin of consumers that will potentially purchase the console. Internet service provider outages, bad weather, and other occurrences can cause internet connections to become unstable or downright non-functional at times, which will ultimately not allow the user to play their single player games offline until connections are restored. The ability to be connected to the internet at all times is just another tactic console manufacturers use to battle piracy and gather statistics on the user, which again hurts the consumer in the long run. I cannot count on both hands how many times my ISP has had internet outages and I cannot play an online game, so I play a single player game instead. If this rumor is accurate, then my internet outages will deem my console completely useless.

A lot of rumors and speculation about the next-gen consoles have caused a lot of paranoia and panic about our favorite past time. I remember hearing used game lockouts before the PS3 came out, so all of this could be only paranoia. The gaming industry is evolving and I eventually see everything going to a completely digital distribution model in the future; however, I hope we have another couple of generations before that occurs. As much as I love the Steam platform for PC games, I hate downloading titles and with game client sizes in gigabytes climbing higher every year (Max Payne 3 on PC was over 25 gigabytes), downloading games will become a huge nuisance to everyone. Just imagine downloading Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 on release day when literally millions of players are jamming the servers at once attempting to download the game and it hits 30+ gigabytes in size? It would literally take me a week to download the game, and that is if I can even connect to the server in the first place after they crash due to overloading frequently. This is not the way I want to spend the first day of a highly anticipated game release. I still enjoy buying physical copies and displaying them on my bookcase with my other titles and having that physical product to hold-on to that holds a value in some shape or form. All of this will be gone with digital distribution.

A lot of negativity circles around the next-gen speculation, but what about the positives? I have heard talk of both consoles using unreleased 8000 series AMD video cards, which is definitely exciting to hear. Microsoft is suppose to finally jump on the Blu-Ray bandwagon, which is definitely a must with the growing size of game clients. Talks of including solid state memory built into the consoles is cool, but if it drives the cost of the consoles too high (which it will), then please stick with old school hard disc drives. I'm hoping Sony finally changes their controller design and give us something new. I am seriously tired of using the same old Dual Shock controller we have all used for three generations of consoles. Rumor has it that the new dual shock will include a touch pad found on the back of the Playstation Vita, which I honestly have no negative or positive feelings towards. Both consoles really need to ditch 3D capability, which the format as a whole really needs to die off.

Any respectable gamer is highly curious and excited about what the next generation will bring to the table for gaming. Rumors will spread and many will be true while many will be nothing but rubbish. I'm sure both Microsoft and Sony will make decisions we all love and hate, but I really hope both keep the consumer in mind when they designed these consoles. We will all find out very soon what both companies are working on; hopefully as soon as February 20th.

What consoles need to do:

• Release at a sub $400 price point. Anything above $400 is asking for a Vita-like fate.
• Keep digital distribution as an option instead of a requirement.
• One SKU and one SKU only. We do not need to further confuse consumers with multiple versions of a console.
• Give consumers value if a service is charged. Playstation Plus is the right way to go, while Xbox Live Gold is not.
• Allow game installs. This feature is probably the most brilliant thing Microsoft ever thought of. It helps keep the hardware cool and saves on wear and tear on the disc drive.
• Focus on first party software more than normal. Gamers like me need justification for buying both consoles.
• Backwards compatibility. Do not allow all of the money spent on downloadable games and content become worthless or inaccessible in the future.
• Ditch motion controls and 3D support. Both are useless and unappealing.
• Avoid blocking used game sales and do not insult the retail market that support you.
• The requirement for keeping an internet connection active is a bad idea. Allow offline play for those of us without broadband connections or disconnections due to ISP issues.

Agree? Disagree? Hit me up on twitter @FaintDeftone and let know.

Gaming Haul: February 6th, 2013.

I made some more rounds today with a little extra money in my pocket and came up with some good stuff. First off, I found a Super NES game I've had high on my list for quite some time, Secret of Mana, in very good condition at a local second-hand game shop for $50 and I didn't think twice about snagging it up. I have yet to run into Secret of Mana in public so I didn't want to pass that one up. Secret of Mana is a game I have yet to actually play so I'm looking forward to firing it up.

Second, I found a good condition copy of Shenmue for the Dreamcast for $20 (which is about the same price I always see it for). I've always regretted selling Shenmue many years ago and since I picked up it's Xbox sequel about a month ago, I wanted to right my wrong and reintroduce it to my collection. I also picked up Fire Emblem: Awakening since I heard the game is basically the first must-own game for the system that isn't a Mario or Zelda game and I've always wanted to get into it's genre (see my blog post below about my experience with it so far).

Finally, I was able to find a Gamestop store that still had a brand new copy of The Last Story for the Wii. The Last Story is the second game feature in the Operation Rainfall movement that helped Xenoblade Chronicles get localized for the North American market. The game only had one pressing and is very hard to come by, so I grabbed it since this will probably be my last chance at getting it for a decent price. I plan on writing something about The Last Story fairly soon.

While I was out, I also grabbed a silver Gamecube console for $25. I sold my Gamecube back when I first bought a Wii due to the Gamecube backwards compatibility found in the Wii hardware. I regretting this as well since I wanted the console for my collection and I would much rather play Gamecube games on an actual Gamecube console and avoid sticking goofy memory cards and peripherals into the top of the Wii. I also talked to gentleman at one of the game shops I visited who may be able to hook me up with a Sega 32x attachment. I've never owned a 32x and even though it was short-lived and didn't have a lot of software, I still want one for collection purposes. The system has not been tested and was missing some cables, but the clerk told me to check back in a few days so he can try to obtain cables and test it out, then will sell it to me.

That is all for now. I better go play all of these damn games!

My First Crusade in Fire Emblem

The turn-based strategy genre is one that I've always avoided. I remember attempting to play games like Shining Force and Advance Wars in the past and having trouble grasping the gameplay. The hex-based grids that the player navigates in order to defeat their enemies always felt overly complicated to me. I remember feeling the same way about turn-based RPGs as well until Final Fantasy VII tore down that wall for me and I ended up loving the genre. With the release of X-COM: Enemy Unknown, which ended up being one of my favorite games of 2012 thanks to the fantastic tutorial included, I wanted to delve deeper into this genre. Is there a game that could help me through that hurdle in the strategy genre like Final Fantasy VII did for me? Well I am now attempting to to find out if Fire Emblem: Awakening is that game.

Controversy around Fire Emblem: Awakening struck this week due to shipping errors on Nintendo's part. The game was scheduled to release on Sunday, February 3rd and retailers never received their copies of the game; however, the Nintendo e-Shop digital download version popped up as scheduled Sunday. Gamers were in a frenzy this week trying to find the game and preorders at many Gamestop stores could not get enough copies to cover their preorder numbers. The whole fiasco was quite a mess, where gamers ran to the message boards sharing stories of their struggles to obtain a physical copy. Many gamers gave up and simply bought the digital version, but at no price reduction and the game filling up half of the included 2GB SD card, the digital version seems like a bum deal. Lucky for me I was able to snag a copy Monday night at a Target store.

Currently I have logged about two hours into the game and I am happy to say that I am actually enjoying it. The game does indeed include a well-made tutorial that helps the player ease into it's mechanics. The core battle system is pretty easy to understand but hard to master, since the right unit placement, the right weapons, and the right items are needed to be successful. Thankfully, Nintendo included many difficulty levels to help tailor the experience to a wider audience. I decided to play the game on the easy difficulty, yet still keeping the perma-death feature enabled that will result in a permanent loss to the unit if they fall in battle.  I like the fact that my fallen comrades will be lost forever since it makes me care more about them and want to play the game smarter, but I do find myself restarting each mission if I lose one of them or fail to recruit a new member. I've already lost the starter healer character, which I'm bummed about since she was very useful.

Like X-COM, I really enjoy the customization found in Awakening. Recruiting new members, leveling them up when they survive battles, equipping them with gear and abilities, and pairing them with other characters to enhance relationships are all really enjoyable elements to the game. From what I've played so far, it seems that there isn't any actual role-playing elements like exploring towns, overworlds, or talking to NPCs like some of the games in this genre has, but the game does include a pretty good story with a lot of cutscenes and dialog in between skirmishes. The game will at times let you break off and pick up side-quests or visit shops to pick up new gear, allowing the player to deviate from the game's set path.

I can see myself putting a lot of time into Fire Emblem: Awakening. I've been looking for a new 3DS game to pick up that offers a deeper experience than most games found on the handheld. Awakening's reviews have been stellar so far; many claiming that the game is the first killer app for the 3DS. The fact that the game is flying off of store shelves will hopefully make Nintendo think twice before they screw North American gamers out of Japanese RPGs. I will report back once I progress further into the game and see if I become an official Fire Emblem fan.

Top Ten Games of 2012: Day Ten

1. Far Cry 3

Ubisoft continues to knock it out of the park in 2012 with Far Cry 3, which is a series I previously cared less about until now. During Far Cry 3's development, I paid little attention to the coverage and remembered all of the flaws that irked me in the second Far Cry title (like getting malaria... yeah) and simply wrote the game off. It was not until the stellar reviews blossomed all over the internet that I decided to give the game a rent on the Xbox 360. The framerate was atrocious, but the game hooked me instantly and I ended up buying a copy on the PC. Before I dive deeper into this game, heed my warning: if you have a PC capable of running this game, do yourself a favor and skip the console versions due to the massive framerate issues. If you can only experience this game on a console, please do not give it a pass; however, brace yourself for some poor performance.

The first thing any gamer will notice about Far Cry 3 is the graphics engine; the game is simply gorgeous. The entire game takes place on a lush tropical island that can be fully explored to the player's discretion. The physics involved with vegetation, water, and explosions are all very impressive and life-like. I can't really say the game is photo-realistic, but it looks remarkable and gives the Crytek engine a run for it's money. The game is chock full of content, ranging from a 12+ hour story path, a good number of sidequests, and other activities such as hunting, assassinating, and racing the clock to deliver medical supplies to islanders. For a $60 title, the amount of content is very pleasing for a single player romp. The multiplayer and co-op campaign are nice diversions, but neither is really as appealing as the story mode.

Speaking of the story, Far Cry 3 knocks it out of the park as far as putting the player in a perilous adventure. The game opens with a group of young, wealthy vacationers being lead to a beautiful island in search of thrills and fun. Unfortunately for our vacationers, their fun quickly ends when they're kidnapped by a ruthless pirate militia ran by a man named Vaas who holds the group for ransom. Playing as Jason (the main character), you barely escape with your life and are picked up by a member of the Rakyat tribe who helps Jason seek out his kidnapped friends and take revenge on Vaas. During the beginning of the game, the characters within the group of friends are pretty unlikable and all seem like rich Jersey Shore rejects that sort of make the player care less about their fates; however, after experiencing what Jason and his friends must go through in order to survive, I started to actually care whether or not these people make it out alive. The game includes a zany cast of characters along the way and the villain Vaas is quite possibly one of the best villains I've seen in a video game in years. The voice actor portraying Vaas is fantastic and does a great job of making him feel likable, yet also look like a massive psychopath.



After the game takes the player through a thrilling first hour or so, the game really starts to shine when the world completely opens up and allows the player to tackle objectives as they please. The enemy A.I. isn't the smartest around, but when you stir them up enough they will become quite a challenge to handle. The random checkpoint spawns found in the previous game are gone (thankfully), but this also makes the game feel a little empty at times. No worries though, because the island wildlife will keep anyone busy between fire fights. Hunting and gathering pelts throughout the game will allow the player to craft upgrade items that will greatly aid the player on their journey. The wildlife can also be used to aid the player against the militia, but if not handled correctly the wildlife can quickly turn on the player. Each successful kill or skilled takedown will result in experience points earned, which will allow the player to level up and upgrade their abilities. Each ability adds a new tattoo to Jason's arm, which by the games end will make Jason look like an employee on Miami Ink.

Far Cry 3's shooting mechanics are on point, giving the player a fairly large arsenal to experiment with. At the start of the game, the player only has two weapon slots, but after a bit of hunting and gathering materials, the player can max out at four weapon slots. Having the four weapon slots is something I would recommend any player shoot for as soon as they can, because the amount of gun types will allow the player to fully customize what weapons they carry with them and how they want to handle any situation they may be thrown into. I personally always kept a shotgun on me in-case any lethal animals got a little too close for comfort, a sniper rifle for the stealthy route, an assault rifle to take down multiple enemies in a pinch, and a rocket launcher to deal with any heavily armored units. Using stealth was my favorite tactic in the game and I found taking down enemy outposts (which are scattered around the map and can be taken over for added save points) a thrilling task.

With the mixture of different gameplay types, a ton of content to explore, and an engaging story that is worth seeing till the end, Far Cry 3 is a must play. The reason the game is so high on my list is due to the sheer amount of fun I had with the game; I was literally hooked on the game from start to finish. Even after I completed the main quest, I found myself coming back for more in order to unlock all the achievements and complete all of the sidequests. Ubisoft took the complaints from previous entries along with the strengths and forged a terrific shooter. Far Cry 3 is has the complete package and this is why the game is my #1 favorite game of 2012.

Thank you to everyone who read my 2012 top ten list. I put a lot of time into this and I appreciate anyone who took the time to read it. Here's hoping 2013 brings us many more amazing games!

Gaming Haul: Week of January 28th

This week I didn't find too many interesting additions to my gaming collection. I feel like I have sort of bled my normal sources dry and need to wait a month or so for new stock to come in before I find some good stuff. That being said, I did find one game that I couldn't say no to: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the NES.

I remember playing this game a lot when I was a kid. A large part of my childhood was spent idolizing and obsessing over the Ninja Turtles, so it was a no-brainer that I had to play the video games too. This particular Turtles game was pretty bad and certainly no Turtles in Time, but I still enjoyed it as a child. The game was overly difficult, not particularly faithful to the source material (look at the cover, they're all Raphaels...) contained one of the worst water levels ever in gaming and was pretty glitchy, but it still has some awesome music and one of the most memorable NES games I've played. Take the game for what you will, I still wanted it for my collection due to how much I played it as a child. I picked it up for $1.99 so I certainly got a good deal on it.

Check out my gaming collection via The Backloggery to check my progress as I attempt to build a massive gaming collection!

Top Ten Games of 2012: Day Nine

2. Mass Effect 3

The Mass Effect series in my opinion is one of the best things to come out of the current generation of gaming. The series premiered on the Xbox 360, migrated to the PC and then eventually ended up on the PS3 as well. Developer Bioware made a name for itself many years ago with games like Balder's Gate and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, so it was a no-brainer that Mass Effect was going to be an amazing title. The game has spawned two sequels creating one of the best trilogies in gaming history (again, in my opinion). The third chapter of the Mass Effect series may not be quite a strong as the previous iteration, but the game still continues the tight shooter mechanics, amazing world, and great story that made the series so special to begin with.

There isn't a whole lot to say about Mass Effect 3 that hasn't been said about the last game. The same core gameplay is intact with some minor tweaks. Traveling the universe, recruiting characters of multiple species to join your cause, using dialog trees to converse and make decisions along the journey, and leveling up class specific powers to defeat the reaper threat is still the name of the game here. Simply continuing the strong story with a strong cast of characters, taking the player to new and amazing locals and carrying over all of the previous decisions made by the player throughout the series are all more than enough to make this game one of the best of the year. All of that being said, the game isn't without it's flaws.

A lot of controversy surrounded this title in 2012; however not all of it was justified in my opinion. Some gamers cried out that making one of the most crucial characters in the story downloadable content (included with new copies) and screwing over people who bought used copies unless a premium was paid is a bad move on EA's part. I personally played through the entire game before I decided to finally download the extra character and mission and I honestly feel like I should have had this character in my party throughout the whole game, making me feel like I missed out on a lot of story. The other big commotion was over the game's ending, which basically failed to take into effect any of the decisions made by the player throughout three entire games by giving each player the exact same canned ending. Also, gamers ranted over the way EA closed the game by not giving players a satisfying ending to such a long story. EA attempted to correct some of these complaints by creating a free downloadable extended ending, but it didn't seem to patch the crippled ending nor please anyone. I personally did not mind the game's ending at all and liked the way the game closed it's final chapter; that being said, I do agree that forging an ending based off the individual decisions made throughout three titles would have been a much better route to go.

One thing that Bioware was able to do was make a believer out of me when it comes to their multiplayer suite. When the multiplayer component was announced, I rolled my eyes thinking it was going to be another tacked-on, uninspired multiplayer package thrown in to create false value out of the title. Usually the assets spent on multiplayer I feel would have been much better suited by creating more memorable and quality single player components (like fixing that ending, heh). Thankfully I was wrong because Mass Effect 3 is also my favorite multiplayer experience of 2012. Instead of shoe-horning some awful competitive multiplayer shooter into the mix, Bioware gave us a very fun enemy wave-based co-op experience similar to Horde mode in Gears of War. The thing that made Mass Effect 3's take on this popular co-op mode is that it still retains character creation, experience and leveling, power and stat building, and multiple classes to master. Thankfully, EA allowed Bioware to hand out a lot of extra multiplayer downloadable content like extra maps and character classes free of charge. Another cool feature found in the multiplayer suite was EA's inclusion of  special weekends that challenged gamers to hit a specific milestone online; if the assigned milestone was completed within that weekend, players were given free items and unlockables to any player who participated, which kept players coming back for more.

With all of the complains and controversy surrounding Mass Effect 3, I bet many of you are wondering why the game is so high on my list, or why it even made the list at all. Honestly, flaws and all, the game is still an amazing role playing game with brilliant set pieces, a jaw-dropping universe, some amazing characters, and one of the most memorable stories told in gaming. The gameplay is tighter than ever and the multiplayer was a complete blast to play. Any science fiction fan will fall in love with the Mass Effect universe and any RPG fan who loves to explore deep worlds and explore large amounts of lore made for those worlds will also adore this series. I could care less about how the game itself ended, but the journey as a whole was a memorable experience that ended up being easily my favorite series of games to come out of this generation and one of my favorites of all time. This is why Mass Effect 3 is my 2nd favorite game of 2012.

Top Ten Games of 2012: Day Eight

3. The Walking Dead

Point-and-click adventure games have slowly made a comeback within the past couple of years thanks to developer Telltale Games, who resurrected the classic Sam & Max and Monkey Island series while also moving several film franchises like Back to the Future and Jurassic Park into the genre as well (with mixed results). Even though I love that Telltale has brought back a treasured PC genre that sort of lost it's way in the new decade, I have not really paid too much attention to any of their games nor have I been highly anticipating any of them. The company's take on the popular graphic novel zombie drama series The Walking Dead certainly peaked my interest, but I didn't think much of it until I actually sat down to play it.

I can honestly say that Telltale blew this one out of the park. The game stays faithful to the comic series by retaining it's tone, yet giving us a new cast of characters that exist within the same universe. The game plays like your typical point-and-click adventure game while also throwing in several different modern game elements to mix up the gameplay. The majority of the game will be spent controlling the main character Lee by walking around the environments and interacting with objects and elements within the world. Small spurts of shooting, quick time events and melee combat mechanics are included along with dialog trees for conversations between characters and decisions made by the player effecting the outcome of the story. The graphics use a similar art-style to the comic book that looks cartoony, yet gritty and depressing. The atmosphere Telltale has created mixed with the color pallete paints a dark, bleak painting that displays dread and desperation perfectly for the player.

Telltale has crafted a highly memorable story that may possibly be the best story told out of any video game I have ever played. The characters are much better written than anyone featured in the novels or the TV show and the writing is extremely strong. As the player, you will grow attachments to these characters and feelings that will make the decisions laid out before the player extremely hard to make. I literally sat and thought deeply about each choice I made (if you can, seeing as some decisions are on a time limit) due to how I would feel the characters would react to them. I honestly have not played a video game yet that made me care as much for a group of people as this game has. Playing through the entire game while trying to protect a young innocent girl named Clementine (who has lost her parents and left alone) gives the player a huge sense of responsibility in your actions and a major emotional element to the character and her fate.

The Walking Dead is split into five episodes that play out like your typical television program, with recaps of previous episodes at the start of new ones. Each episode can be purchased separately (depending on the platform) on digital platforms for $5 a piece, or the entire series can be purchased in a bundle for $25 via download or on a $30 retail disc. The game can be played on a variety of different platforms including Xbox 360, PC, PS3, and iOS devices. Which ever method or device you use, The Walking Dead is easily one of the best, most moving gaming experiences I have had in quite some time and I challenge anyone to experience the ending without shedding a tear. All of this is why The Walking Dead is my #3 favorite game of 2012.

Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia the Top Selling Book on Amazon

The year 2011 was the 25th anniversary of the Legend of Zelda series, which happens to be my all-time favorite series in gaming and one of the reasons why I have devoted a lot of my life to gaming. Zelda fans had a fantastic year in 2011 thanks to the release of Skyward Sword, the start of the Zelda Symphony concerts and CD releases, and the 3D re-release of my favorite game of all time Ocarina of Time for the 3DS. Japanese Zelda fans had an even better year with the release of one of the coolest books I have ever laid my eyes upon, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia.

Hyrule Historia is a glorified art book that spans across the entire series' history that's chock full of official artwork, concept art during the creation phases of each game, and a ton of Zelda lore. The most important aspect of this book is that Nintendo finally explained the illusive and secretive Legend of Zelda timeline that has thought to be merely a tall tale to many gamers who questioned the timeline's existence. Not only do we get the entire timeline explained, but we are also given a lot of lore that makes the already magical world of Zelda even more memorizing. To the majority of the Zelda fanbase, this book is a godsend... yet only Japanese Zelda fans were able to get their hands on it, disappointing Zelda fans all around the globe.

Thanks to Dark Horse Comics, the Hyrule Historia has been translated into English and released to the American public on January 29th, 2013. It took a little over a year before U.S. Zelda fans were able to delve into it's secrets, but luckily for us the book's cover and design is much better than the Japanese release with a leather-bound, golden-paged limited edition also being released along side of it, both blowing the Japanese release out of the water. Like many other things coming out of Nintendo Japan (Xenoblade Chronicles anyone?), Nintendo of America didn't feel the need to release the book in the States until Dark Horse Comics picked it up and did the job for us. Well now I'm sure Nintendo of America is slapping themselves for not releasing it earlier because not only is the book the top seller on Amazon.com, the limited edition is basically impossible to find anywhere, selling upwards to $200 a copy on eBay.

This book is literally my prized possession at the moment, being displayed beautifully on my bookcase in my gaming room. My Zelda fandom is huge and everyone who knows me can tell you how much of a Zelda fanatic I am. I have had the book preordered for over five months and I found myself counting down the days until the mailman delivered my copy to me. I was shocked how gorgeously designed the book is and the overall quality of it. Dark Horse and Nintendo really put a lot of work into this book and it shows. I have only read a few pages of it so far but I cannot wait to read the entire thing. The Hyrule Historia is an amazing piece of memorabilia for gamers and should be owned by every Zelda fan out there. The standard book retails for $34.99 while the limited edition sells for $69.99.

Top Ten Games of 2012: Day Seven

4. Dishonored

If you have been following my game of the year list thus far, you would have seen my earlier rant during my Mark of the Ninja column about how stealth games have sort of sucked over the years. Thankfully, 2012 gave us two fantastic stealth action games, and Dishonored is one of them. Developed by Arkane Studios (housing some of the talent who were involved with the Deus Ex and Half-Life series) and published by Bethesda, Dishonored is a first person stealth action game that follows the footsteps of games like Bioshock and Half-Life by giving players open environments and the freedom to complete objectives in a multitude of methods by the player's choosing.

The thing that stands out the most about Dishonored is the art style and the clever use of powers that greatly enhance how players stealthily dispose of their foes. The art style is sort of a mixture between a cartoon and a steam punk distopia, with humans having slightly exaggerated facial features. The game's graphics are nothing to write home about, but the game's art aesthetic really shines on current generation hardware. Arkane Studios included a number of powers that the protagonist can unlock and obtain throughout the adventure by collecting hidden runes and bone charms that can be traded for upgrades, perks, and new powers. One power included in Dishonored's arsenal is a complete game-changer to the stealth genre, called Blink. Blink allows the player to teleport anywhere within the environment with the snap of a finger, given the player is trying to warp within the abilities' distance requirements. The use of blink makes sneaking up on and disposing of enemies much quicker and cooler by allowing players to cut out all of the time and tedium of waiting for enemies to wander around and place their-selves in the right spot at the right time; this ability is absolutely brilliant and makes Dishonored's stealth elements and exploration a pure joy.

Dishonored is all about choices and decisions of the player, and the decisions will effect how the game sort of plays out as you progress. Each mission basically consists of one main objective of assassinating a specific player in a giant web of conspiracies. How the player dispatches of this assigned target is solely up to the player. For instance, one could simply walk up and murder a target right up to their face, poison their drink and make it look like an accident, stealthily kill the target without their knowledge, recruit other NPCs to help dispose of the enemy, let the target live by shaming them for the rest of their lives, or other story-related events (like tricking one target into falling into his own trap). Hell, you can even choose to kill a guy with a plague of rats if you wanted. All of these choices allow the player to think about how they want to tackle each mission, which can make multiple playthroughs even more likely. Several missions had me actually fighting with myself to decide how I wanted to take care of an enemy, with many choices made due to how I felt about the characters personally. The whole mission set up and story integration is brilliant in Dishonored and other games that claim to do similar things do not even come close to this game's achievements.

Even though Dishonored is an extremely well designed game, it does not last long. The game can be finished within 8-10 hours depending on how badly the player wants to collect all of the hidden goodies and side quests. Luckily the game includes many incentives to have players return to this gritty world and the hope of future downloadable missions will even further raise the game's replay value. I honestly found the experience Dishonored gave me to be great enough to make me play through and experience it all over again, and the multiple paths, tools, and methods given to the player make those extra playthroughs even more likely. I also really enjoyed this game's story and the main character, Corvo (which is an awesome name by the way). Dishonored is an atmospheric, dank, grisly experience that makes the game one of the most memorable titles I have played this generation that has me begging for a sequel. An experience like this is why Dishonored is my fourth favorite game of 2012.

02/20/2013 - Sony Playstation Conference: Is the PS4 Announcement Upon Us?!

On Wednesday, February 20th, the Sony Playstation brand is really to announce something big. Sony announced today that a huge NYC press conference for the media and their investors will be held on Febrary 20th.The company released a small teaser video today to hype the gaming nerds up, but really do not say anything about what this announcement is or it's intentions. The video suggests it is related to the entire Playstation brand, so this could only mean one thing... right? The Playstation 4 announcement!!

After releasing this video, if the announcement really has nothing to do with the Playstation 4, I think Sony will piss off a lot of gamers out there. I honestly do not see this conference going anywhere but towards the PS4 unveiling so I think it is a safe bet we will see this bad boy shown in 20 days. I'm pretty excited to see the massive crab damage we can do this generation!

And it Came From NeoGAF: Tax Time Edition

I love to lurk on the NeoGAF forums. Some people claim NeoGAF is a breeding ground of elitist dolts and trolls, but I find a hotbed of hilarity with the occasional legit and engaging conversation about the world of gaming within it's pages. Once and awhile I find a glowing gem on NeoGAF that's too awesome not to share, so I like posting them and allowing you fine folks to experience the wonders of the GAF community. Here is a good one for you:

I literally laughed out loud on this one. The discussion basically consists of a poster seriously questioning whether or not he/she needs to claim any money made from the Diablo III auction house on his IRS tax forms. I highly doubt the IRS cares about the $1.25 you make every couple of weeks by selling that shield you scammed some poor bastard out of giving you on the Battle.net servers. The funniest thing is that some people actually use this game as a source of income, so it may be a legitimate question for the folks who refuse to work so they can bank off of drinking energy drinks and reloading Inferno Diablo checkpoints every 20 minutes of every day in order to pay the rent. Whatever floats boats, I guess.

Top Ten Games of 2012: Day Six

5. Xenoblade Chronicles

Some of my most treasured memories of my gaming childhood came from the Japanese RPG genre. The first time I leapt into a time portal after Marle in Chrono Trigger. Sitting on a ruined playground swing talking about childhood promises with Tiffa in Final Fantasy VII. Hearing that amazing overworld melody for the first time in Chrono Cross (which is named "On the Beach of Dreams" and is easily one of the most moving pieces of music from any video game in existence). The Japanese RPG long ago was the genre that helped redefine video games, changing them from being about high-scores and fast reflexes to being able to tell us a story, take us on a journey, and literally allow us to feel emotions. So why has the JRPG sort of died off in recent years? The abundance of titles have greatly diminished along with the quality and the creativity the genre once had. The current generation of JRPGs have frankly sort of stunk and have given us disappointment after disappointment. The original Playstation and the Playstation 2 carried tons of amazing JRPGs; what's the Playstation 3's excuse? Many blame the popularity of Western game design while other blame the lack of talent left in the major studios that still stand today. Who would have thought the Nintendo Wii would have given us one of the very few JRPGs to actually care about this generation?

Xenoblade Chronicles is a Japanese RPG developed by Monolith Soft, the developers responsible for the Xenosaga and Baten Kaitos series. The game is loosely based on the "Xeno" series (Xenogears, Xenosaga) but mostly stands on it's own feet as a stand-alone game and story. The game released in Japan in 2010, followed by Europe in 2011; however, North America did not see a release of the title, due to Nintendo of America's disinterest in localizing it to the American market due to the fear of poor sales. After a major internet petition and movement by the name of Operation Rainfall surfaced attempting to convince Nintendo to localize many popular Japanese RPGs (including Xenoblade Chronicles) to the United States, NoA had a change of heart and released Xenoblade Chronicles in a limited released sold only by Gamestop stores in the U.S. We have Operation Rainfall to thank because Xenoblade Chronicles happens to be one of the best JRPGs to grace a console in a long time.

Monolith Soft saw trends in vastly popular MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) RPGs and created a hybrid of sorts, bringing the classic conventions of a Japanese role-playing game mixed with the open-ended vastness and exploration of an MMO game. The overworld is large and fun to explore with literally hundreds of side-quests to complete at your own pace. The battle system sort of feels like an MMO game by allowing characters to use and switch between skills that are controlled by a timer that will allow the particular skill to be used again. The protagonist of the story, Shulk, can wield a powerful blade named Monado that can unleash powerful attacks against foes that sort of feels like your typical "overdrive" mode found in many popular action games. One of the coolest things about Xenoblade Chronicles is the feeling of freedom that does not hold the player down by too many cutscenes or warping. This is a world that the player can traverse through with little load times that make everything feel very seamless.

The heart of Xenoblade Chronicles is the story the game tells. Like many great RPG stories, Xenoblade starts off with a fairly lighthearted story that quickly ends in tragedy, which sort of fuels the player's determination to ensure the cast of characters see their quest to the end. The characters are all very likable and well written with voice actors that give them a nice flair due to Nintendo of America's decision to not localize the voice talent and keep the original European actors from the PAL version of the game. The mythos of the game's world is quite creative, with two entire worlds existing within two robotic creatures that are locked in a never-ending battle for eternity. While exploring the world, the game will inform the player of which portion of the body the player currently inhabits including visual aid by the beautifully painted backgrounds. Even though the Wii hardware is outdated, it pumps out enough visuals to create a gorgeous world thanks to outstanding art design.

I am still baffled and saddened by the lack of worthy titles out of the Japanese RPG genre this generation. With Final Fantasy missing the mark and many talented developers jumping ship, I felt like the genre was sort of a dying breed. Xenoblade Chronicles breathed life into a genre that gamers were graving good content from and Nintendo almost denied American gamers a chance to experience it. The game has already become quite rare in the United States with eBay prices of sealed copies shooting higher each day. If you can find a copy of this gem and want your JRPG itch scratched, missing out on Xenoblade Chronicles should be a crime. Xenoblade Chronicles is #5 favorite game of 2012.

Top Ten Games of 2012: Day Five

6. Mark of the Ninja

The stealth genre has lost a lot of steam over the years thanks to games copying Call of Duty's formula over and over again. I remember the good ole days of playing games like Splinter Cell and Tenchu, feeling like a cougar hunting his prey and how satisfying it was to take out a room full of armed guards who were completely oblivious to your presence. After the stealth game's hay day, games started incorporating and shoe-horning stealth missions into basically every game imaginable and the genre sort of died off a bit, with even it's biggest titles turning into action games. Mark of the Ninja, an indie title by developer Klei Entertainment (who also created the Shank games) came to us like a shining beacon of light from the heavens and once again made stealth games fun again.

Mark of the Ninja mixes elements of new and old, taking form of a 2D sidescroller that feels reminiscent of classic Shinobi games and mixing in advanced stealth elements from modern stealth games like Splinter Cell. Climbing walls, taking out lights, popping out of air vents, peeking through doors, using tools to distract and stun bad guys, all of those are intact here in a cool 2D world. The art style is sort of 'Saturday morning' cartoon-ish (think Samurai Jack), but the kills are still lethal and quite brutal. The story isn't really anything special, but do we really play stealth games for the story? The game also has very tight, silky smooth controls that make sneaking, climbing, and killing a breeze. Stealth kills require timed button presses to pull off properly, which mixes the gameplay up and requires a bit of skill in order to clear a room without alerting anyone in the process.

Completionists will also appreciate the collectibles scattered around each level and a point system that grades your performance, which gives the player plenty of incentives to run through previous levels again. Each mission also includes bonus objectives to complete that are optional, but greatly enhance your score at the end of each mission. One thing that always bugged me about stealth games is my perfectionist mentality that always nags at me to stop and reload the game when I mess a stealth kill up. Mark of the Ninja includes a great checkpoint system that allows the player to return quickly to a difficult area and give it another shot without having to pause, restart, hit loading screens, and backtrack through what you've already played.

The fact that Klei were able to take the best elements of classic stealth games and incorporate them into a 2D plane that work just as perfectly as it would in three dimensions is staggering. Mark of the Ninja is the first stealth game in years that brings the thrill of the hunt back to gaming. The game is well-paced, controls like a dream, and simply flat out fun to play. Mark of the Ninja is my #6 favorite game of 2012.

Apparently Flushing Game Discs Down the Toilet Magically Repairs Them.

I came across a NeoGAF discussion today about how apparently flushing your defective game discs down the toilet will pull a Merlin on an unreadable game. Now I have heard of many types of home remedies that are rumored to fix unruly discs (toothpaste, shaving cream, boiling discs in water, ect) but this method is certainly a new one. The authenticity of this trick and the odds of it actually working are pretty low if you ask me, but videos have surfaced online with 'tutorial' videos on how to properly flush your video games down the crapper. I do not actually condone flushing your games down the toilet, but I do entertain the idea of it working. I'll let you guys be the judge of this one. Maybe I will try it on my goofy copy of Astal for the Sega Saturn and see if it'll boot up properly after being drowned in my dookie water and make a video of it for laughs. Until then, I'll just leave this video here.

P.S. I wouldn't try this with Gamecube discs. You may actually lose those bad boys to the city sewage system.

Top Ten Games of 2012: Day Four

7. ZombiU

In 2012, a new console launched worldwide that kick started the next generation of gaming. Nintendo released the WiiU, their first HD game console with upgraded HD graphics comparable to the current generation of consoles, a new tablet styled control pad, and integration with legacy Wii remote controllers, games, and accessories. The launch lineup wasn’t the strongest with a lot of ports of older games that we’ve all played before, but a couple of original titles stood out among the crowd and ZombiU was one of them. ZombiU is a first person survival horror title by Ubisoft that is Nintendo’s call to hardcore gamers. The game has been extremely polarizing among gamers and critics alike, but I absolutely loved it and I will tell you why.

ZombiU feels like Demon Souls and Dark Souls in a way. The game is very difficult and punishes you for trying to not play by it’s rules. That isn’t to say the game is frustrating though since the game indeed gives you the tools in order to succeed... if you know how to use them properly and can think fast on your feet. Ubisoft created probably the most realistic zombie survival game out on the market today and playing ZombiU is extremely intense. I remember the first time I heard zombies scream in the fog of the night, I squirmed in my seat thanks to the awesome audio design the developers brought to the table. Every inch you move may be your last, so ZombiU requires players to think fast and use their resources sparingly in order to survive it’s grueling world. I have yet to play a survival horror game released in the past five years or so that actually feels like surviving is a focus of the game. WiiU gamepad integration works really well by using the gamepad's touchscreen as a map, inventory management, and environmental scanner that allows the player to look at the screen and use the gamepad's gyroscope to seek out hidden items and clues within the game's environment.

The greatest part of ZombiU is how the game handles deaths. I can tell Ubisoft intended for gamers to die quite often while playing ZombiU, so the game has online leaderboards and modes set up to see who can survive the longest without losing a survivor. When the player does lose a survivor, there are no extra lives or continues; once you are dead it is game over. However, any progress the player made into the game does indeed save to where you can continue your quest by spawning a new survivor (who happens to be a totally different person with a different profession, age, race, and sex) to pick up where you left off. 

If you do lose a survivor, all of the items and equipment you collected along the way is lost as well, but if you can find your old, zombified self roaming around where you perished as a new survivor, you can kill the failed survivor and steal back all of your gear. If the player dies a second time attempting to kill the survivor’s predecessor, that dead survivor along with all of his or her gear is lost forever and transferred to another player’s game via online game server where another player has the opportunity to kill your failure and take your gear (it even tells the player your Nintendo ID name and how long you lasted). These features associated with the survivors and the online system are really awesome and make ZombiU an unforgettable experience. The MiiVerse (WiiU integrated online message board system) activity associated with this game also boosts the game’s appeal by allowing players to pause the game, post screenshots of areas they are stuck in, and getting advice from the community when needed.

Sure ZombiU has some flaws and some of them are not as easy to give a pass to as others, but none of them ruin the amazing experience you will gain by playing this game. The melee combat can be a bit clunky, controls are a little stiff, the framerate a little jerky, and the graphics not up to par with what you would expect from an HD console. That being said, ZombiU still holds the record for being one of the most intense, frightening, and memorable horror games to come out in recent memory. This is why ZombiU is my #7 game of 2012.

Developers Ninja Theory/QLOC Really Knows How to Port a PC Game

Late last week, the PC port of DmC: Devil May Cry, Capcom's reboot of the action franchise, released on the PC a little over a week later than it's console brethren. Typically, PC ports of console action games of this type are not really marketed well or paid much attention to due to the need of a console controller in order to even properly play it. Most gamers would simply just buy the console version and call it day. Well if you are both a PC and console gamer, buying the console version may have been a huge mistake.

The PC port of DmC: Devil May Cry is actually pretty spectacular. Even on mid-range builds, most PC fans should be able to run this game at 60 frames per second easily, and even a high possibility of running it at 100 frames or more! Due to the fast-paced nature of the gameplay and the need for quick button presses, the console's barely 30 frames per second framerate was kind of a letdown. Not only will the PC version run beautifully on most modern video cards, but a slew of graphic configurations like higher resolution textures, anti-aliasing  and shadows will make the console version look like a PS2 game. The difference the higher framerate makes on the gameplay is quite an eye-opening experience, and I highly recommend players with good PC rigs play the game in this manor rather than on a console.

Developers Ninja Theory and QLOC really knocked it out of the park with DmC's PC counter-part, and may easily be one of the best PC ports of a console game I have ever seen. I myself am not a big fan of this series, but I ended up enjoying the console demo and wanted to see how Ninja Theory portrayed the story and character of Dante. Love it or hate it, DmC exists and I for one really enjoy what Ninja Theory has done with the series. It may not be as difficult or over-the-top as the previous entries, but the game plays great and boasts from fantastic art work and level design. Give the game a shot, PC gamers!

Mad Catz Tournament Fight Stick Pro (Street Fighter x Tekken) Unboxing

My Mad Catz Street Fighter x Tekken fight stick came in the mail today. This is my very first arcade stick I've ever own, so I'm pretty excited to have it. So excited in fact, that I decided to make an attempt at creating my very first unboxing video. It isn't too exciting, but I had fun doing it since I always enjoy watching these sort of videos for some odd reason. I hooked the stick up to my PC and played some Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition today and performed much better than I expected for my first time on an arcade stick like this.

So without further adieu, enjoy!

Top Ten Games of 2012: Day Three

8. Assassin's Creed III

The Assassin's Creed series is not a franchise I am a fan of. I have been pretty vocal about how overrated I feel the series is since it has existed. It isn't that the games are really that bad, actually they're not bad at all. The original game in the series has always left a bad taste in my mouth due to the respective nature of the gameplay and the dull mission design. Assassin's Creed's successors have greatly improved upon the original game, but I still could not connect with the story, characters, nor stick with the game long enough to finish any of them. Assassin's Creed III changed all of that for me... kind of.

Now that Ubisoft has taken the franchise somewhere new and interesting, my interest in the series returned, giving Assassin's Creed III a shot. Taking place in America in the late 1700's before the Revolutionary War, ACIII introduces a new character named Connor, a Young Native American boy who trains in the arts of the assassin to avenge his mother's death, yet gets tangled into a much larger ordeal. This time around, the characters are much more interesting, have better motives for their actions, and get involved in much more interesting situations than ever before. I personally connected with Connor more than I ever did with Ezio or Altiar from the previous two games. The player does not even see the main protagonist of the game until roughly three or four hours into the single player campaign, in which the player takes control of a whole different character completely. Normally this would be an odd decision for a game, yet Ubisoft pulls it off greatly by giving the character plenty of backstory on this mystery character who plays a huge role in the story, thus making the game's story even more grand and epic in scale.

The story and setting really are the heart of Assassin's Creed III, because the gameplay has changed little from the past game. You still travel from mini-map beacon to mini-map beacon, stealth killing and sword fighting goons in your path and ultimately assassinating some major player in the story's plight. In order to uncover the full map, the game requires you to still climb on top of towers to get a view of the surrounding environment, and then jump into a hay pile. Aside from the new hunter/gather mechanics in the forests outside of towns, this is still the same ol' Assassin's Creed. Normally this would have turned me off, but the story and characters are so strong here that it kept me going through the game to see what happens next, and rarely are you disappointed. The game's multiplayer hasn't had any kind of drastic overhaul or anything, but it still includes a fairly unique multiplayer experience that some will love. The multiplayer really did nothing for me personally, though.

Assassin's Creed III is an odd choice for me, because the game still includes the same gameplay intact that always put me off in the past. However, this is not a game that I can scoff at lightly due to how well Ubisoft tells a story and sets the player in situations that allow me to forgive any issues I have with how the game plays. I honestly believe any Assassin's Creed hater should still give the game a shot regardless of how they feel about the series. Ubisoft has attracted what seems like many haters with this title, but maybe whatever they changed that turned people off on this year's game are the changes that got me on board. Assassin's Creed III is my #8 game of 2012.

Top Ten Games of 2012: Day Two

9. X-COM: Enemy Unknown

The turn-based strategy genre is not a genre that generally interests me. I have dabbled in many of the RPGs in the genre (Final Fantasy Tactics, Fire Emblem, Shining Force) and the combat games in the genre (Advance Wars, Valkyria Chronicles) and I could never fully grasp the gameplay nor have fun trying to learn. I blame this mostly on the fact that these type of games have little to no tutorial to ease the player into the mechanics, so I sort of get lost and confused and quickly give up. All of that was until I got my hands on X-COM: Enemy Unknown for the PC, a turn-based science fiction strategy game by developer Fireaxis. I have not played any of the previous games in the series, but the rave reviews and cool story the game sports had me curious to at least give it a try. I'm glad I did.

The best thing about X-COM is that my major complaint with turn-based strategy games has been addressed by Fireaxis; give the player a tutorial and teach us how to properly play! The first couple of missions consist of fun and engaging tutorials that fit naturally into the campaign rather than making the player wish they would be over as soon as possible. During these training missions, the player receives a good amount of story to set up X-COM's tale while also actually teaching the player how the rules of a turn-based strategy game works. When I'm playing X-COM, I do not feel like the game is smarter than I while also feeling like I am wrapping my head around a game of chess, yet I'm still spending a lot of time strategizing and thinking before I act. Thank you Fireaxis, because this is definitely the kind of game I needed to ease me into a game of this type.

One of the most surprising elements of X-COM is the squad building tools. You can name and edit each soldier in your squad, promote and level them up if they are able to survive combat, and add classes and loadouts to each one. The funny thing is that you start getting attached to your squad when you successfully make them survive each alien attack, so when you lose one of them in battle you will literally feel horrible afterwards. I remember the first time I lost a soldier that I had with me throughout the start of the game, I felt like I failed the mission before I even completed any objectives.

X-COM also boasts a huge base-building, research mechanic that allows for cool upgrades and new units/gear to become unlocked that also adds to the whole strategy and play style elements. The gameplay can be easily grasped by any player after the tutorials and the game stays challenging while also staying fun in the process. The core gameplay is fast with camera angles that keep the player into the action and on the edge of their seats. Controlling the game is a cinch thanks to great keyboard and mouse controls that are very easy to use and offer a wide array of commands that allow the player to make the best decisions possible. The PC version of the game runs very well on many types of system builds and includes very little bugs out of the box. Multiple difficulties exist as well for players new to the genre and veterans of the X-COM series so no one should feel left out here.

I am a huge sucker for science fiction stories and alien invasions, so the premise alone is what caught my attention with X-COM: Enemy Unknown. The fact that Fireaxis can take a gamer who cannot enjoy turn-based strategy games and make a fan out of them is a huge achievement in my eyes. X-COM sports a cool story, awesome gameplay mechanics with great tools to ease the player into them, and very deep upgrade and squad building tools that allows the player to tailor the game to their liking. The game also includes an awesome multiplayer suite for players to go head to head against other players, but honestly I have very little interest in this personally. Even if you cannot appreciate this genre, I highly advise everyone to give the game a fair shot. This is why X-COM: Enemy Unknown is my #9 favorite game of 2012.

Wasting Time: Week of January 23rd

Anyone who has taken a peek at my Backloggery page will easily see how massive my backlog really is. Adding any new major games to my collection isn't a great idea right now due to how many games I have to still finish. The issue here is that this week the highly anticipated PS3 exclusive, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, released with universal praise. It seems that Ni No Kuni was released in low numbers and has been flying off of store shelves fairly quickly, so I fought temptation to buy yet another big game and easily lost due to the high demand and the anticipation I've had for this game. So this week I have quite a bit on my plate. Lets take a look:

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

The current generation of consoles have not been too kind to the JRPG. Many that have released have failed both critically and commercially and many others have been massive disappointments. The only two to have seem to make any sort of impression on gamers this generation are Lost Odyssey (an Xbox 360 exclusive by Final Fantasy co-creator Hironobu Sakaguchi) and the Wii-exclusive Xenoblade Chronicles that US gamers literally fought to have ported over state-side. With the current generation about to fizzle out, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch comes out to give the JRPG genre one last hurrah and attempt to give fans a game worthy of such classics as Final Fantasy VII and Dragon Quest VIII.

Ni No Kuni is a Level-5 (Dark Cloud series, Dragon Quest VIII) developed JRPG that partners with Japanese animation mega-giants Studio Ghibli (Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away) to create a new yet classic styled JRPG to the Playstation 3. The game has achieve high praise among gaming critics and fans alike. It seems as if Ni No Kuni may be one of the best, if not the best, JRPGs in recent memory. I could not pass up on the opportunity to play this game so I picked it up and put about two hours into it so far. I have not played enough to really determine how good it is, but at the moment everything seems pretty fantastic. The visuals are gorgeous, the story and characters thus far are very strong, and the music is fantastic. Ni No Kuni has quite possibly one of the best overworld themes I have heard since Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. My only concern is that the battle system will wear out it's welcome and rely too much on grinding in order to proceed further into the game. I fully plan on making this game my primary game to play and will report how the game fairs as I dive deeper into it.

Persona 4 Arena

In anticipation of my arcade stick to arrive, I have been grabbing cheap fighting games as I come across them. Persona 4 Arena has gotten a lot of praise last year for being a very unique and fun fighting game and I had the opportunity to grab it very cheap recently. I popped the game in and played through the tutorial (which was more helpful than most fighting game tutorials) and a bit of the arcade mode. The game's fighting mechanics are fairly unique and require a lot of button combinations to memorize, many of them requiring three simultaneous button presses on the face buttons. Seeing as many of the counter and evasive moves require these intricate button presses, I am going to wait until my arcade stick arrives before I really learn how to play it. That being said, the game has some gorgeous 2D graphics and some impressive animations. The game has quite a deep story for a fighting game and takes place after the events of Persona 4 (which I'm currently still playing so I do not understand a lot of it). The game has found it's place into many gaming tournaments lately and the online play is suppose to be strong, so hopefully the online community stays afloat.

X-COM: Enemy Unknown

I have not played the previous editions of the X-COM series, and I typically do not play turn-based strategy RPGs due to not quite grasping the concept of them very well. X-COM: Enemy Unknown, the revival of the classic series, has found it's way on many "game of the year" lists and the reviews have been fantastic across the board. I gave the demo a spin and was quite impressed with what I played. I was able to snag a copy of the PC version cheaply so I started playing the game over the weekend and can easily see what the fuss is about. X-COM simply eases the player into the gameplay mechanics and gives you all the necessary information to properly play and understand the game before the game stops holding the player's hand. The missions are fast and fun, which makes the game a fantastic choice when you want something to play in small bursts. I'm only four or five missions into the game but I can honestly say I may have finally found a game in this genre even I can love. We'll see how it goes as I play more.

That is all this week!

Renewing My Love of Fighting Games

One gaming genre that I have always liked and respected but do not put a lot of time into or purchase a lot of games from is the fighting game genre. When I was a kid I loved playing Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat on my Sega Genesis. I remember when Super Street Fighter 2 released on the Genesis I was so excited to get my hands on that game. Even though I didn’t play fighting games with my friends often, I loved playing against the CPU regardless. Where did my love go for the genre? How come I didn’t get excited over the Street Fighter Alpha series, or even Street Fighter IV for that matter? My excitement over fighting games simply died after the 16-bit era and I’ve only had a very mild interest in the genre since then.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have definitely played and enjoyed fighting games since then. I remember playing quite a bit of Tekken 3 on the original Playstation, the Soul Calibur series (which is probably my favorite modern fighting game series) starting on the Dreamcast, Dead or Alive 4 on the Xbox 360 and most recently the new Mortal Kombat -- which happened to land a spot on my Top Ten list in 2011. Most of my interest in the genre lies in 3D fighters, since 2D fighters like King of the Fighters, BlazBlue, and Guilty Gear really didn’t do anything for me. It was not until Super Street Fighter IV that I started to regain interest in 2D fighters and the genre as a whole. I have found myself recently watching live streams from professional competitions like EVO and SCR (Southern California Regionals) for fun and keeping an eye on professional players by seeing how they play.

To return to the original question, why have I lost the love for the genre? I think part of it stems from not having anyone to really play and practice with. Playing a fighting game online is a frustrating chore since the majority of players are too highly skilled to have fun playing against and latency issues plague many online fighters. The biggest reason behind my lost love for the genre is the lack of an arcade stick. Even though some professional players use gamepads, it isn’t very many and using the standard controller is a pretty big handicap for many. Pulling off intricate combos and moves are much easier when using an arcade stick, but a good stick can range anywhere from $200 to $300 if you want one that performs well right out of the box. Some players will buy cheap arcade sticks and mod them using high-end parts from companies like Sanwa and Seimitsu. Due to the pricey nature of these controllers, I sort of ignored most fighting games since I know the cost of getting good at them can be pricey.

Watching these professional fighting game tournaments has inspired me to get back into the fighting game genre. I would love to finally be able to practice and become good at some of these games, like Tekken Tag Tournament 2 or Super Street Fighter IV, so I took the liberty of finally jumping the gun on an arcade stick purchase. I faught with myself all weekend on whether or not spending the money on an arcade stick would be a worthy investment, but now is probably the perfect time to splurge on one and Mad Catz (one of the top manufacturers) will typically have big sales on arcade sticks during major professional tournaments. Since SCR 2013 occurred this weekend, Mad Catz indeed had a nice sale on fancy arcade sticks, so I purchased the Street Fighter X Tekken Xbox 360 Tournament Fight Stick (originally $160) for only $100. I figured since it will be awhile until there are major sales like this again, now was the time to go for it. I am now patiently waiting for the arcade stick to arrive hopefully sometime this week so I can start learning how to properly use it.

Now that I am an arcade stick owner, I plan on picking up a few new fighting games to test it out. I recently picked up Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition for the PC on the cheap (thanks GreenManGaming.com) and I plan on grabbing Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Persona 4 Arena, and Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 soon. Wish me luck, and if anybody needs a sparring buddy let me know!

Backloggery Collection Complete

I have finally finished my Backloggery collection via Backloggery.com. A link resides on the right side of the page under my updates if anyone is interested in checking it out. I have some quick statistics to share.

- Currently own 441 games across 21 different platforms.
- I have only beaten 22% of my games. Yeah, that sounds about right.
- I own the most games on the PC (142), followed by the Atari 2600 (35) and the PS2 (32).
- I've beaten more games on the PC (26), followed by the Xbox (16) and the Xbox 360 (10).
-According to the statistics, I REALLY need to get on finishing PS2 and original Playstation games!

Gaming Hauls: January 19th, 2013.

Went out on another classic game hunt today and scored quite a few PS2 games I've been wanting to add to my collection for pretty cheap. Also grabbed an Xbox 360 game that I really need to revisit and finish. Here is what I snatched up:

Devil May Cry (original casing, used) - $2.00
Maximo: Ghosts to Glory (used) - $2.00
Onimusha: Warlords (used) - $2.00
Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny (used) - $3.00
Kingdom Hearts (GH version, new) - $12.00
Kingdom Hearts II (GH version, new) - $12.00
Lost Odyssey (used) - $10.00

Total spent: $53

I played through the original Onimusha on the Xbox, which was actually one of the games I bought alongside my Xbox when I bought it. I loved that game to death and been meaning to revisit it, so I grabbed the PS2 version on the cheap. I never got a chance to finish any of the other games in the series (even though I've played them all except for the final one) so I grabbed Onimusha 2 as well and will look out for the other two next time I go on a game hunt. The Devil May Cry series is one I've always wanted to get into, but just never could due to the difficulty of the series. I figured I would try again with the original. Kingdom Hearts I could never get into and I have not played the sequel, but I figured I would give the series another shot. Maximo is a game I dabbled in when it was first released but I didn't get too deep into it, so I've been wanting to revisit it as well. Lost Odyssey I rented during it's release and loved what I played but never got around to purchasing a copy, so now is the time to hop on it. Thanks it for now!

Gaming Collection Project

Have you seen those crazy guys on the internet with the whole rooms filled top to bottom with video games? The folks who’s gaming collections are thousands? Well yeah, that is basically what I inspire to do. I currently have my nerdy man-cave setup as a video gaming mecca, complete with framed gaming art covering the walls and gaming memorabilia filling bookcases and shelving units. My personal video game collection has grown greatly, but it is nowhere near where I want it to be. I find myself every few weeks or so scouring thrift stores, flea markets, and second-hand gaming shops looking for treasures to add to my collection. I have recently decided to categorize, catalog, and database my gaming collection using a website called Backloggery and an iPhone app created by a NeoGAF user (Kevin Gudgeirsson, AKA Avengedsd) named Game Vault to keep track of my collection.

I will post the completed Backloggery database as soon as I am finished, which I will use to show viewer my current collection, progress, and gaming trends associated with my collection. My collection primarily focuses on retail physical copies, but games that are only available in digital form (like Steam games) I will add for progress purposes. I plan on hopefully posting the completed collection very soon. I will also blog about my current finds and purchases as well.

This should be a fun project and I’m hoping to hit my goal of 500 physical games this year. I better start stockpiling up on spare bookcases!