As with last year's E3, the 3DS eshop is loaded down with a ton of game trailers for both the 3DS and Wii U, so lots to look at and get excited over. Still...
- No downloadable trailers. Last year we got several downloadable trailers, this year we haven't seen a downloadable trailer since the one for Legend of Zelda Link to the Past 2 for the 3DS sometime back.
- No E3 demos either. Last demo I saw was for Project X Zone demo 1... maybe a few good E3 demos will roll out soon... maybe.
- On the bright side got another E3 unique Mii earlier this month, so that was nice. That and a batch of E3 crntric swapnotes.
All in all the stuff concerning E3 wad pretty good, but all the same could have been better. Stay tuned for updates.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
E3 polls going up
As E3 wraps up, Nintendo being overshadowed by Sony, but hopefully hanging on over Microsoft and all its XBox One foibles. So as E3 heads to conclusion I started throwing up a few polls during the Week. Tonright it's about the next gen console war, next up in a few hours is a harder question... who won the present gen war? While realistically I know the Wii has ZERO chance at least the XBox360 has a good chance versus the PS3... So stay tuned, that is coming up soon.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Summer 2013 Day 18 : E3 Day 2... where's Nintendo?
E3 is on and day 1 is done... So... where is Nintendo?
First day out and since Nintendo cancelled their live press conference and hid day 1 only Sony and Microsoft made the rounds first day. Bad news? Sony made good traction with its PS4 and taking a swing at Microsoft with game sharing. Worst news? Microsoft began turning it about by doing what they should had done day one of the XBox One, blind and befuddle people with pretty games... one good thing for Nintendo is that Microsoft had only a few good exclusives, and failed to address the giant Godzilla sized problem hanging around the XBox One that has been a sore spot with reviewers and XBox gamers for weeks. So at the very least Nintendo should still have a chance, but they need to start wowing us and do it now.
- Project X Zone looks good, but it's first demo seems rather shallow. They can't live on this alone.
- Hope that Legend of Zelda Link to the Past 2 demo comes out this week. Looks excellent.
- Need Wii U exclusives that will make us want a Wii U. Already seen stuff in Pikman 3 and it looks awesome, but we need more. A new Zelda, some great RPGs and Strategy games, on a personal level a new Cooking Mama or Order Up... let's face it, the Wii U Tablet would make cooking gaming a snap and quite immersive to play... good games, give us good games.
But E3 has only just begun... hopefully tomorrow's news roundup brings better news for Nintendo. Stay tuned.
First day out and since Nintendo cancelled their live press conference and hid day 1 only Sony and Microsoft made the rounds first day. Bad news? Sony made good traction with its PS4 and taking a swing at Microsoft with game sharing. Worst news? Microsoft began turning it about by doing what they should had done day one of the XBox One, blind and befuddle people with pretty games... one good thing for Nintendo is that Microsoft had only a few good exclusives, and failed to address the giant Godzilla sized problem hanging around the XBox One that has been a sore spot with reviewers and XBox gamers for weeks. So at the very least Nintendo should still have a chance, but they need to start wowing us and do it now.
- Project X Zone looks good, but it's first demo seems rather shallow. They can't live on this alone.
- Hope that Legend of Zelda Link to the Past 2 demo comes out this week. Looks excellent.
- Need Wii U exclusives that will make us want a Wii U. Already seen stuff in Pikman 3 and it looks awesome, but we need more. A new Zelda, some great RPGs and Strategy games, on a personal level a new Cooking Mama or Order Up... let's face it, the Wii U Tablet would make cooking gaming a snap and quite immersive to play... good games, give us good games.
But E3 has only just begun... hopefully tomorrow's news roundup brings better news for Nintendo. Stay tuned.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
First Impression : Project X Zone demo 1
Strange, there is supposed to be a demo of Legend of Zelda Link to the Past 2 out now according to a video I saw on YouTube... maybe soon. In the meantime I saw a demo for Project X Zone and snapped that up for a look at.
First Impression comes with flaws.
- Sad low demo count. Only 5 demo plays, and I guess that would be OK if the demo wasn't short as all heck. One fight displaying the game's combat, a mix of RPG Strategy akin to a Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics mixed with light button mashing (using a combination of buttons and controls to create a combo list of hits against x monster you chose to fight).
- Project X Zone has an OK fighting system, but becomes repetitive as of almost instantly, my enthusiasm waning quickly... until I realized a few of my favorite female characters like Black Rose (dot hack) and this one mostly naked bat winged enemy lady was in the game... wow, eye candy... sigh.
- Fights seem rather unbalanced. Pretty easy minions and ridiculously hard leaders requiring you to throw every team pairing you got at the character to beat them. That should have been worked on a bit more.
- The healing agents present in the demo are rather weak, with only the ones used to heal TeamMates bring useful healing 30% a use. There are skills, but first play through I didn't experiment with skills. Something to try out next play through.
- I did like the special solo and partner moves, but it wasn't enough to keep combat from feeling rather repetitive. But that is a old hat of RPG RPG and strategy content, so par for the course.
This was my firs impression of my first play through of the demo. Stay tuned for updates when I do my second play through.
First Impression comes with flaws.
- Sad low demo count. Only 5 demo plays, and I guess that would be OK if the demo wasn't short as all heck. One fight displaying the game's combat, a mix of RPG Strategy akin to a Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics mixed with light button mashing (using a combination of buttons and controls to create a combo list of hits against x monster you chose to fight).
- Project X Zone has an OK fighting system, but becomes repetitive as of almost instantly, my enthusiasm waning quickly... until I realized a few of my favorite female characters like Black Rose (dot hack) and this one mostly naked bat winged enemy lady was in the game... wow, eye candy... sigh.
- Fights seem rather unbalanced. Pretty easy minions and ridiculously hard leaders requiring you to throw every team pairing you got at the character to beat them. That should have been worked on a bit more.
- The healing agents present in the demo are rather weak, with only the ones used to heal TeamMates bring useful healing 30% a use. There are skills, but first play through I didn't experiment with skills. Something to try out next play through.
- I did like the special solo and partner moves, but it wasn't enough to keep combat from feeling rather repetitive. But that is a old hat of RPG RPG and strategy content, so par for the course.
This was my firs impression of my first play through of the demo. Stay tuned for updates when I do my second play through.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
E3 2013 : An Opportunity To Be 2nd Best
After Nintendo announced it cancelled its big yearly opening event at E3, opting to quietly court stockholders and premium monied media at the event, you'd think they would be at a great disadvantage at E3. Thankfully it seems Microsoft is riding into E3 ready to save Nintendo, XBox One held high as people flee Microsoft's newest self destructive console.
But really, to be saved by a maniacally suicidal company hellbent on nickel and diming themselves into bankruptcy, if Nintendo fails to at least beat Microsoft at E3 this year... then boy are they in trouble, because right now SEGA could jump back into the console battle (SEGA Spectrum maybe?) and they could easily overcome Microsoft... So Nintendo should have no problem at least second best.
And they don't have to do very much. Release a batch of good games for the 3DS and Wii U, announce good online content for both... and avoid every pitfall Microsoft fell into, which shouldn't be too hard if Nintendo doesn't lose touch with reality and rally behind Microsoft and their war against their own customer base. That includes the death of used videogames and rental services, 24/7 online requirement, and the inability to trade or loan games with friends... for starters.
All Nintendo has to do is keep doing what they're doing, and they should come in second best this E3... which, all in all, isn't all that bad, given the situation with the Wii U and all that. Stay tuned.
But really, to be saved by a maniacally suicidal company hellbent on nickel and diming themselves into bankruptcy, if Nintendo fails to at least beat Microsoft at E3 this year... then boy are they in trouble, because right now SEGA could jump back into the console battle (SEGA Spectrum maybe?) and they could easily overcome Microsoft... So Nintendo should have no problem at least second best.
And they don't have to do very much. Release a batch of good games for the 3DS and Wii U, announce good online content for both... and avoid every pitfall Microsoft fell into, which shouldn't be too hard if Nintendo doesn't lose touch with reality and rally behind Microsoft and their war against their own customer base. That includes the death of used videogames and rental services, 24/7 online requirement, and the inability to trade or loan games with friends... for starters.
All Nintendo has to do is keep doing what they're doing, and they should come in second best this E3... which, all in all, isn't all that bad, given the situation with the Wii U and all that. Stay tuned.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Quick Review - Monster Rancher Explorer
Monster Rancher Explorer
for the Game Boy Color
A nice change of pace after RPG Monster Rancher of one kind on the PS2 to the other kind on the Game Boy Color, plunking down a little time on classic old school puzzling was a nice change of pace and while it has its flaws overall it is still a pretty fun batch of retro.
A rare game based on the game mechanics of Solomon`s Key, a pretty fun old school NES slash Famicom era game, your tasked with climbing a 100 floor tower. Each floor is a puzzle room you solve by using your character with this magical ability to create and break blocks. Using this skill you can traverse levels using that skill figuring out how to open the exit and move on to the next floor, facing a sub boss every 10 levels. Simple enough, right? Yes, and yet it is also a pretty decent bite of micro puzzling that challenges you a bit, and gives you a bit of a workout... but then we roll into the big flaw in this game, a nd that is this game has absolutely nothing to do with Monster Rancher!
For its good point this game has about as much in common with Monster Rancher as broccoli does with cheesecake... absolutely nothing. It is Monster Rancher in name only, and while it has visual and maybe story elements in common, this game is completely alien in comparison to other Monster Rancher games. Also without a randomizer to shake things up the game is a bit of a one trick pony. Worst, the big gimmick, the level creator, would be a better gimmick if this was a downloadable game off the 3DS or Wii slash Wii U Store, and utilized the online capacity of each system in full.
Still, for an old school puzzler it is pretty nifty and worth a play through if you ever get a hold of some old school Monster Rancher in handheld form. A 3 out of 5.
for the Game Boy Color
A nice change of pace after RPG Monster Rancher of one kind on the PS2 to the other kind on the Game Boy Color, plunking down a little time on classic old school puzzling was a nice change of pace and while it has its flaws overall it is still a pretty fun batch of retro.
A rare game based on the game mechanics of Solomon`s Key, a pretty fun old school NES slash Famicom era game, your tasked with climbing a 100 floor tower. Each floor is a puzzle room you solve by using your character with this magical ability to create and break blocks. Using this skill you can traverse levels using that skill figuring out how to open the exit and move on to the next floor, facing a sub boss every 10 levels. Simple enough, right? Yes, and yet it is also a pretty decent bite of micro puzzling that challenges you a bit, and gives you a bit of a workout... but then we roll into the big flaw in this game, a nd that is this game has absolutely nothing to do with Monster Rancher!
For its good point this game has about as much in common with Monster Rancher as broccoli does with cheesecake... absolutely nothing. It is Monster Rancher in name only, and while it has visual and maybe story elements in common, this game is completely alien in comparison to other Monster Rancher games. Also without a randomizer to shake things up the game is a bit of a one trick pony. Worst, the big gimmick, the level creator, would be a better gimmick if this was a downloadable game off the 3DS or Wii slash Wii U Store, and utilized the online capacity of each system in full.
Still, for an old school puzzler it is pretty nifty and worth a play through if you ever get a hold of some old school Monster Rancher in handheld form. A 3 out of 5.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Travelling Nintendo : The Updated Setup
In the past I have spoken of the travelling pack, the setup for hitting the road for Nintendo buffs... usually for reasons of evacuation during disaster events. Of late I have amended my travelling pack guide and made the following changes.
- From small shoulder slung bags I changed my emphasis to large shoulder slung messenger bags. I have been plumbing the depths of a local thrift store group that worked out of my local school for inspiration, settling on a multi pouch style of messenger bag, with compartments for your handhelds and games and charging cords and a large central pouch for food and drink and incidentals for the trip.
- I started preaching the virtues of a first generation Game Boy Advance being in your set, noting the need for one device powered by easily replaced physical batteries (when plugging in to recharge is not an option). Of course you will also have to invest in a clip on light source for this resistant beast, but given the handhelds range of gaming content it's alright to make do with a weakness or two in exchange for longer more sustainable potential in the long haul.
- The philosophy of travelling with multiple handhelds. A GBA and a 3DS... possibly also an older DS Lite. Simply because charging wise the most efficient is the GBA (be it the SP with over a dozen hours of charge at full, or the original with replaceable battery charge) followed by the DS Lite, and finally the 3DS. One of the most damning things about new tech, the more advance it is the quicker it consumes energy.
- Speaking of charging I have advanced my theory on the Nintendo multitap from GameStop (allowing you to charge a GBA SP or DS, DS Lite and DSi or 3DS all at once. Not only do I think you should own this if you also have an MP3 Player and tablet you should own multiple chargers. The plug on this can adapt to recharge any device that plugs into a USB slot on a PC, so you can't have enough of these plugs for charging I assure you.
For me I am working on a travelling pack pack for study and research with a GBA GBA SP, DS Lite and 3DS. Game wise I am still working on different recommendations lists, but that is a topic for a future Travelling... stay tuned.
- From small shoulder slung bags I changed my emphasis to large shoulder slung messenger bags. I have been plumbing the depths of a local thrift store group that worked out of my local school for inspiration, settling on a multi pouch style of messenger bag, with compartments for your handhelds and games and charging cords and a large central pouch for food and drink and incidentals for the trip.
- I started preaching the virtues of a first generation Game Boy Advance being in your set, noting the need for one device powered by easily replaced physical batteries (when plugging in to recharge is not an option). Of course you will also have to invest in a clip on light source for this resistant beast, but given the handhelds range of gaming content it's alright to make do with a weakness or two in exchange for longer more sustainable potential in the long haul.
- The philosophy of travelling with multiple handhelds. A GBA and a 3DS... possibly also an older DS Lite. Simply because charging wise the most efficient is the GBA (be it the SP with over a dozen hours of charge at full, or the original with replaceable battery charge) followed by the DS Lite, and finally the 3DS. One of the most damning things about new tech, the more advance it is the quicker it consumes energy.
- Speaking of charging I have advanced my theory on the Nintendo multitap from GameStop (allowing you to charge a GBA SP or DS, DS Lite and DSi or 3DS all at once. Not only do I think you should own this if you also have an MP3 Player and tablet you should own multiple chargers. The plug on this can adapt to recharge any device that plugs into a USB slot on a PC, so you can't have enough of these plugs for charging I assure you.
For me I am working on a travelling pack pack for study and research with a GBA GBA SP, DS Lite and 3DS. Game wise I am still working on different recommendations lists, but that is a topic for a future Travelling... stay tuned.
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