Graduated Gamer

#52GameChallenge - LittleBigPlanet 3

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 19 Mar 2015 22:57:00 -0400

Every now and again a game comes along that comes out of nowhere, challenges the big boys on the block, knocks a few heads around, and walks away victorious with trophy in hand. Not too long ago that game was LittleBigPlanet for the PS3. When it released in 2008, it surprised a lot of people with its fun yet challenging platforming, and customization. Despite the cute look of the game (who can forget the iconic SackBoy, pseudo-mascot for the PS3 for some people), LittleBigPlanet offered gamers the ability to not only decorate their characters with a variety of skins (even some from other popular franchises), but to also create levels for the online community to enjoy and challenge themselves.

I got my first taste of the series with a free copy of LittleBigPlanet 2 I received and it did not disappoint. Not only was I sucked in by the platforming and the adorable childhood real-world-imagination-inspired look of the game, but my fiancée was so taken by the costumes and cuteness that it instantly became a couple’s game for us to enjoy together. We had so much fun that I knew I’d have to pick up LittleBigPlanet 3 when it came up (not like my fiancée would give me a choice in the matter). Surely the folks over at Sony and Sumo Digital wouldn’t disappoint.

Unfortunately for us, not only did LittleBigPlanet 3 disappoint; it was flat out awful. I’m sorry to those of you who are willing to look past a game’s many faults to find the “silver lining”, but I’m not going to be an apologist for a game that’s so buggy that it can make the game frustrating on a level that borders unplayable. At first you don’t notice the issues as much, because they happen infrequently; however, the more you play, the more you notice things, like your SackPerson falling through a floor and getting stuck, or losing control over your SackPerson for a few seconds as you watch them helplessly careen into DOOM because you can’t stop them from running left.

The most common thing you'll see the entire game.

Those are just two examples of many times I found myself wondering how such a great franchise could have a game so obviously flawed and in need of further testing released to the public. Even my fiancée, who is a saint compared to me and my levels of patience, found the game’s frequent bugs so upsetting that she asked if we could stop playing for the night. It just got to the point that it wasn’t even worth playing anymore, and that’s unacceptable.

However, bugs, glitches, and straight-up broken-ness aren’t the only issues that cause LittleBigPlanet 3 to suffer. The most glaring was the time it took to load anything in the game. Loading screen times were long – I’m talking 1990’s-PS1-RPG-with-multiple-discs long. When you’re 2 systems and 10 years removed from those kinds of issues yet suffer from them, you’re doing something wrong. It was so bad that there was a running joke between me and my fiancée – when a loading screen came up we’d ask one another to do something like go change the oil in the car or make dinner while we waited. It was funny at first, but eventually the jokes and the loading times got old and we just stopped caring.

Another issue, albeit a minor one, with LittleBigPlanet 3 was the presentation of the game. Mainly the story and characters were dull and uninspired. You’re transported to a new planet in the universe, Bunkum, by an unskilled creator named Newton. He asks your help to defeat an evil witch who is bent on freeing three evil spirits who will steal all creativity and imagination from the world forever. When you confront the witch, there are a few twists, things go wrong, and the spirits are released. You’re now tasked with freeing three legendary heroes to help you stop the evil spirits once and for all. It’s a tale so simple that a child could’ve written it, which might be the point, but with a weak story, I’m going to need a little more to grab hold of me.

Brave warriors of fabric, assemble!

While the story of LittleBigPlanet 2 wasn’t anything to write home about either, the characters and voice-acting (especially Robbie Stevens as Larry Da Vinci) were brilliant enough to make me forget about the simplicity of the plot and enjoy the experience. There was no such brilliance to distract me from the shortcomings of LittleBigPlanet3, as the characters were barely introduced, had little to no backstory, and overall felt forced upon the player for no other reason than to move the story along. Couple that with voice-acting that was over-the-top annoying (e.g. – dialogue that dragged on so much that I found a better use for my time in the form of a bathroom break) and you can see why it was hard not to focus on the frustrating bugs in the game.

Like any game (well, almost any game), LittleBigPlanet 3 does have some redeeming qualities. The introduction to three new playable characters adds some welcome variety to the platforming elements of the game. One character (and my personal favorite), OddSock, is a speedy running character who can run and jump up walls. The style of gameplay tests gamers in precision unlike any previous game in the series has to date, and I personally enjoyed the levels featuring OddSock (when they weren’t broken) the most. The second addition is that of Toggle, a shapeshifting SackPerson who can flip between a large, lumbering, and brutish state, and a smaller, faster, and more maneuverable form. While the puzzling elements involving Toggle were challenging, they were more on par with what one experience with SackBoy, and wasn’t as impressive at those featuring OddSock. Lastly, you could play as Swoop, my fiancée‘s personal favorite. Swoop is a bird and as you might expect requires you to fly and swoop through obstacles and around enemies. The Swoop levels added the most difficult challenges because the player is required to tap X repeatedly to keep Swoop in flight, and combining that with near constant motion and avoiding obstacles made for some fun yet difficult levels.

Apart from the new characters and gameplay elements, LittleBigPlanet 3 also introduces new Power-Ups for your SackPerson to use, each giving you a special ability to progress through a level or reach previously inaccessible areas in a level to find more collectibles. Many of them were fun to play with but the method used to switch between them via your Popit menu was tedious and broke the flow of gameplay, especially in levels requiring the use of one or more power-ups.

This was actually fun...when you had the chance to do it.

Unfortunately, my fiancée and I did not get to explore the level creator and other community-based functions of LittleBigPlanet 3. This was purely due to the fact that we gave up on a game that is so glaringly in need of fixes and couldn’t find any reason to return once I beat the game (and I mean that I beat the game solo, because my fiancée rage quit for the last time near the end of the game and vowed never to return). It was a large disappointment for both of us that the third installment of this charming franchise didn’t even come close to living up to its predecessors. However, if there is a silver lining in all of this negativity (I guess I’ll go there), it’s that the bug and glitching problems plaguing LittleBigPlanet 3 are still 100% fixable. While it wouldn’t fix the loading times and the story/character issues, it would make the game more inviting for those of us who want a more consistent experience with our video games.

I wish I could say I recommend LittleBigPlanet 3 to gamers and fans of the previous installments, but there simply isn’t enough to be done that can cause me to overlook how broken the game can be at times. There’s still a ton of cuteness in the game, and if you’re one with a creative and imaginative mind, I’m sure you can find plenty to do with character customization and level editing. I, however, am not that type of person, and therefore cannot say with confidence that anyone would have a pleasant, cohesive romp through Bunkum in the main campaign mode. Not even SackBoy’s tongue-wagging happiness can sway me to the light.

#52GameChallenge Progress:

9/52

A Guide To Playing Final Fantasy Games In Order Across All Platforms

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 4 Mar 2015 23:40:00 -0500

As a big Final Fantasy fan, I wish I could tell you when my first experience with the fabled and widely celebrated JRPG series occurred. I know when I absolutely fell in love with the series – that was when I played Final Fantasy VII for the first time on the original PlayStation (much like a lot of people around my age, living in North America). Still, I know that I had exposure to the series earlier than that, but all I have to go on is a vague memory from my childhood of playing a very difficult RPG on my SNES that I rented from a local Blockbuster. I assume the game was Final Fantasy III (or Final Fantasy VI to fans across the Pacific), but my memory is so foggy I can’t be positive.

The memory has haunted me for a long time, because I know I never finished that game long ago, and as big a fan I am of Final Fantasy, I’ve actually only beaten four games in the numbered series (and one of those is a sequel): Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy X, and Final Fantasy X-2. Honestly, that’s a pretty pathetic list for somebody who claims to be a fan. I can easily chalk it up to my youth when a lot of the games were released (I was born in 1986), but I’ve been an adult for way too long with a steady income to have any more excuses, especially since a lot of games have been ported to other systems for North American audiences.

I then began researching what it would take to play every numbered game in the series in order. As a resident in North America, I’m well aware of the odd releases and numbering surrounding some of the games (like Final Fantasy IV released in North America as Final Fantasy II for the SNES), and I started to realize this might be very befuddling to some gamers and fans of the series. I then decided I would create a helpful guide for those who wish to play any of the Final Fantasy series without the confusion. I’ve included the actual order of the numbered games below, and what systems folks in North America can play the game on, as well as any alternate names. I hope you find this helpful.

Final Fantasy I

Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
PlayStation (PS1), as Final Fantasy Origins
Game Boy Advance (GBA), as Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls
PlayStation Portable (PSP)
Smart Phone (iOS, Android, Windows Phone)
Wii Virtual Console (VC)
PlayStation Store PS one Classic, as Final Fantasy Origins

Final Fantasy II

PlayStation (PS1), as Final Fantasy Origins
Game Boy Advance (GBA), as Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls
PlayStation Portable (PSP)
PlayStation Store PS one Classic, as Final Fantasy Origins
Smart Phone (iOS, Android, Windows Phone)

Final Fantasy III

Nintendo DS (NDS)
Smart Phone (iOS, Android, Windows Phone)
PlayStation Portable (PSP), via PlayStation Network
PC (via Steam)

Final Fantasy IV

Super Nintendo (SNES), as Final Fantasy II
PlayStation (PS1), as Final Fantasy Chronicles
Game Boy Advance (GBA), as Final Fantasy IV Advance
Nintendo DS (NDS)
Wii Virtual Console (VC), as Final Fantasy II
PlayStation Portable (PSP), as Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection
PlayStation Store, as Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection
Smart Phone (iOS, Android, Windows Phone)
PC (via Steam)

Final Fantasy V

PlayStation (PS1), as Final Fantasy Anthology
Game Boy Advance (GBA), as Final Fantasy V Advance
PlayStation Store PS one Classic, as Final Fantasy V
Smart Phone (iOS, Android)

Final Fantasy VI

Super Nintendo (SNES), as Final Fantasy III
PlayStation (PS1), as Final Fantasy Anthology
Game Boy Advance (GBA), as Final Fantasy VI Advance
PlayStation Store PS one Classic, as Final Fantasy VI
Smart Phone (iOS, Android)

Final Fantasy VII

PlayStation (PS1)
PlayStation Store PS one Classic
PC (via Steam)
PlayStation 4 (PS4), release date TBA

Final Fantasy VIII

PlayStation (PS1)
PlayStation Store PS one Classic
PC (via Steam)

Final Fantasy IX

PlayStation (PS1)
PlayStation Store PS one Classic

Final Fantasy X

PlayStation 2 (PS2)
PlayStation 3 (PS3) and Vita, as Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster
PlayStation 4 (PS4), as Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster (May 2015)

Final Fantasy XI: Online (MMORPG)

PlayStation 2 (PS2)
PC
Xbox 360
Five expansions and three add-ons available

Final Fantasy XII

PlayStation 2 (PS2)

Final Fantasy XIII

PlayStation 3 (PS3)
Xbox 360
PC (via download and Steam)

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn* (MMORPG)

PC (via download and Steam)
PlayStation 3 (PS3)
PlayStation 4 (PS4)
Additional content released via multiple patches
One expansion announced for Spring 2015

There, now you North American fans of the much-loved Final Fantasy series have no more excuses when it comes to playing the numbered series in its entirety (and in order). I’m well aware that there are plenty of sequels and prequels and spin-offs of the main series games, and I have no problem with folks playing the sequels as a part of the experience. However, I believe that the original numbered games in the series are the stars of the show and that is why I’ve only included them in this list. I hope you’ve found this guide helpful, and good luck to any fans out there who plan on tackling this amazing series in order.

*I understand that Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is not the original 14^th game released. However, seeing as how Final Fantasy XIV Online failed and was eventually overhauled into ARR, and now that the original game servers are down, there is no legitimate way to play Final Fantasy XIV Online. Therefore, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is the logical choice for the 14^th game in the series.

#52GameChallenge - Conker's Bad Fur Day

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 4 Mar 2015 18:49:00 -0500

I’m a bit behind on my write-ups for the #52GameChallenge, so this one is going to be shorter than others. I didn’t quite enjoy the experience as much as I thought I would, and I’d rather spend more time on other games I’ve played. Apologies to anyone who loves CBFD.

Even though the Nintendo 64 is my favorite console of all time (mainly for nostalgia, but the library isn’t half-bad either), there are still plenty of games for the plucky retro system that I haven’t played. One of those games is the infamous, lewd, and foul-mouthed Conker’s Bad Fur Day. One of the reasons is obvious – I was way too young to play it when it released in 2000. The other reason is because it’s a fairly uncommon game to find and therefore is a bit expensive, especially in good condition complete-in-box. Recently I had a stroke of luck and found a good copy via a friend who gave me a huge discount and was finally able to play this mature game I’d heard so much about.

Okay, maybe "mature" isn't the proper term. I'm old enough.

Now I wish I could say that I really enjoyed the game, but overall I found it frustrating and a little boring. While the dialogue is hilarious and pokes a lot of fun at gaming conventions, I found the lack of direction frustrating, and the platforming elements wore thin really quick. There simply wasn’t enough variety to keep me interested in each new world for long. Even when Conker goes FPS, those segments didn’t control well at all and the game was less than forgiving as a result (but the cut scenes and movie references are much appreciated and well done). Combine that with the ever-present Nintendo 64 camera issues and you’ve got an experience that leads to a lot of reloads. Fortunately, the game doesn’t take death or lives seriously and you pick up where you last left off when you die and even when it’s “Game Over”, so you’ll have no problem giving a difficult segment another go.

Regardless, the game didn’t live up to the hype. I can see why this might be though – back in 2000 a game with the crude humor and violence of CBFD was likely a bit of a shock, especially on the Nintendo 64. This led to it being ingrained as a barrier-breaking game in many people’s minds. Combine that with the limited number of games still available in the world leading to inflated second-hand prices and you’ve got a recipe for a game with high expectations but will likely fall flat as an average platformer at best. But look at the bright side Conker – you’ll always have Diddy Kong Racing to fall back on…

#52GameChallenge Progress:

8/52

#52GameChallenge - Super Mario 3D World

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 17:51:00 -0500

No matter how many games I play, and no matter how many other games and series are released, I always find myself circling back to the world of Super Mario. So it was bound to happen during my #52GameChallenge that I’d add a Mario game to the mix, especially after buying a Wii U over the holiday season. And, just like a lot of Mari games I’ve played in my life, this one didn’t disappoint.

I’m talking about the lazily named Super Mario 3D World. Despite the name (which sounded like it was created by a bored Nintendo intern at the last minute) the game delivers in a major way. The biggest draw of the game is the multiplayer. Now I haven’t played a major Super Mario game since Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii, so I’m not familiar with any previous platforming Mario games that allow simultaneous multiplayer. However, I’m also not a huge couch multiplayer fan unless it’s some retro games or sports games, but I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun with a platformer playing with friends and family.

The game itself is standard for those familiar with Mario platformers: Bowser is causing issues by kidnapping some fairies, Mario (and Peach and Toad and Luigi) jumps in to assist, you traverse koopa-laden worlds to collect stars, and eventually face-off against Bowser and save the day. But there are some solid additions to this formula that make the game new and exciting for gamers who may’ve been on a newer Mario game hiatus. The coolest of which is the new cat suit that each character can don that allows them to scamper up walls and attack many enemies easily without having to stomp on them. Not only is it cooler and more useful than the Tanooki suit, but it makes the characters really cute (statement co-signed by my fiancée).

And let's not forget the adorable Plessie who whisks you around some levels.

But the biggest addition to the formula is the multiplayer aspect. Each world can be explored with up to four people at once on one screen. This can add some interesting dynamics to each playthrough of each level. Depending on who you’re playing with, the multiplayer can be co-op, or it can be highly competitive. If you’re like me and you prefer getting 100% on as many levels as possible, you’ll likely play nice with others. However, if you’re also like me and you want to be the best in anything you do, you’ll try and sabotage your friends. You see, not only is the game as a whole based on how many stars you collect to access new worlds and levels, each level itself judges players by how many coins and stars they collect, and who finishes higher on the end-level flag pole. And to make matters worse (or better), the person to finish first and highest on the flag pole gets their flag hoisted for that level on the world map.

What you’ve now got is a mad dash on screen by everybody to collect every star and coin first, but also to complete the level first while sabotaging everyone at the same time. As a result, you may want to pick your friends you play with very carefully. Or, if you’re very prone with ragequits and bouts of immature screaming matches and telling everyone to leave, it might be best to play alone (and seek some anger management help).

Giant Luigi Death Stare Mode Activated!!!

The other multiplayer aspects are the ability to see and leave helpful little hints to other players about a level or the game overall. However, helpful hints are quite rare as most people use stickers you can collect in the game to leave little doodles and works of “art” to entertain you when you beat a level…so good luck finding that elusive 2^nd star on your own.

Since I was simply having a blast the whole time I was playing Super Mario 3D World, it was hard to find anything to dislike about the experience. I will say that there was a flaw with the controls that led to some cheap deaths. You can pick up your fellow players and toss them, which can be helpful in some areas, but can also lead to friends being launched over a ledge accidentally when you don’t intend to pick them up. The only other negative I have to voice about this great game is the final boss fight and the game’s conclusion. I’ll not spoil anything, but the final confrontation with Bowser was frustrating at times, but once you get the hang of it, it’s over very quickly and you’re sitting there thinking that the ending didn’t do the game justice.

Still, the game can’t be judged just by those minor negatives, because it’ll please any fan of Mario and any gamer who enjoys hanging out with friends. I had to move on from this one to make room for other games in the #52GameChallenge, but I know that in the future I will definitely make my way back. There are plenty of stars and stickers to collect, as well as high scores to beat and a “Lost Levels”-esque world of timed levels with difficult enemies to test your skills. Of course a Mario game has high replay value!

#52GameChallenge Progress:

7/52

#52GameChallenge - Tomba!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 19:58:00 -0500

The next game in my #52GameChallenge is one that I wanted to play years ago, but unfortunately fell through the cracks until now. It wasn’t really my fault, though. The tale is boring so I’ll spare the details – I bought a lot of retro games from a guy on CraigsList one day and he said Tomba! was included. I was getting the games for an amazing price and Tomba! is a semi-rare and semi-valuable game, so I was excited. Sadly, the excitement was dashed when the guy said he couldn’t find the disc and only had the case. I kept the empty case as a reminder of what I almost had.

Fast forward a few years and I found a copy of Tomba! on CL again – not at as good as a price as presumed before, but decent nonetheless. I wasted almost no time in booting the game up to see if it lived up to the hype I’d heard from fanboys over the years (and I'm sure my opinion is going to upset some Tomba! faithful).

I’ll give a little background on the story, which makes no sense but it’s noteworthy as it adds that ever so important quirkiness seen in many earlier games that jumped right into gameplay, something that so many modern games forsake for establishing a plot (there are pros and cons to each, but that’s for another day). Here’s the tale; evil pigs have taken control of the land and are making your world different that before and filled with more perils. Their magic is powered by gold and other valuables, and one day they steal Tomba’s gold bracelet, pissing him off and giving us motivation for defeating the evil pigs (you know, because them being evil and taking over the world isn’t enough).

WARNING: Clay Tomba and/or pigs may not appear in-game.

Good, now that you know why Tomba is your protagonist, on to the gameplay. I was immediately caught off balance by the controls. Tomba! is a platformer but because it was on the PS1 and technically in 3D, the developers made the worlds you explored layered. This means that Tomba can jump from the foreground to the background(s) in areas that have them. This adds an interesting dynamic to exploration, because sometimes items are unattainable until to you jump to another layer. It was very different from anything I’d seen previously in a game, and while confusing at first, I eventually became a master at finding where and when to jump back and forth.

As a platformer, Tomba! is decent but frustrating. Sometimes I felt the platforming spiked in difficulty at odd times without warning. One level you’d be jumping from large platforms, and the next you’d be jumping from small platforms and ropes over a huge chasm of death. I know I was a bit out of practice when it came to platformers of advanced difficulty, so part of it was me. However, it made me rage a couple of times when I went from having 12 lives to 2 just to get through one small portion of a level (especially knowing I had to go back later).

Another oddity of the game is defeating enemies. Most you can simply jump on to defeat…with an added twist. Tomba “paralyzes” enemies by biting them, and then can throw them in a number of directions. Sometimes this comes in handy because it allows you to defeat enemies by using a paralyzed one as a weapon. It was truly a unique element of the game and it’s one you have to experience or see to understand how it’s best utilized. Also, the hit-boxes for some enemies were odd and led to Tomba receiving damage when I thought I’d jumped on them correctly, but with an odd way of killing enemies there were bound to be snags.

Hey, you unlocked Lava Caves...prepare to die!

The biggest frustration with the game is the exploration. The game world isn’t that large, but the way missions/events (which pop up randomly when you talk to someone or do certain tasks) are structured require you to backtrack a significant amount of time, even all the way back to the starting point of the game. It wouldn’t be a burden except that the game gives little to no clues or hints regarding your next step, and when you do get a clue it’s usually cryptic and/or given at a point way before you unlock the event. So you either have to use a pen and paper to write everything down, or have a photographic memory. Obviously the game wanted to encourage exploration and challenge the gamer to think about the events in the game rather than hold your hand throughout, so I can appreciate it from that perspective, even if I was annoyed at times.

Tomba! also incorporated some role-playing elements which, while diluted, still added good variety to what would normally be “just a platformer”. Throughout the game, Tomba can gain more health-slots by completing certain events, and Tomba can level up by defeating enemies. While there were obvious benefits to increased health, I was never able to figure out how defeating more enemies and “leveling up” made Tomba more powerful or helped me beat the game easier. Perhaps an event would unlock if I hit the max level 10, but I never got that far. Plenty of room for clarification and improvement in the RPG elements, but as a platformer it’s forgiven.

Overall, I will say that Tomba! was a bit of a disappointment. The quirkiness and little bonus 3D and RPG elements wore thin once the frustrating platforming reared its head. On top of all that, the method of defeating enemies became dry over the 7+ hour adventure, and even the boss battles (not previously discussed) all felt the same and got boring by the 3^rd one. I can understand how this game may have seemed exciting and innovative when it was released, and I don’t want to stomp on anyone’s nostalgia, but in 2015 I can’t bring myself to say that I would play this again or recommend it to a friend. At least I can say I’ve played it now, so I’ve got that going for me, which is nice.

#52GameChallenge Progress: 6/52

#52GameChallenge - Battleblock Theater

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 7 Feb 2015 21:49:00 -0500

I’m going to keep this short but sweet about my time with Battleblock Theater – it’s a frustrating game that has the potential to absolutely ruin friendships and relationships. I say this because I played this game exclusively in 2-player mode with my fiancé and I’m not proud to say that she saw a very different side of me during our co-operative quest.

On its own Battleblock Theater is a cute game with a weird story told by one of the most hilarious voice-acting performances in a game I’ve ever heard. Seriously, this game is 100% responsible for me having a HUGE man-crush on Stamper, the voice of the game’s narrator. If you have no idea what I’m talking about or what the big deal is, stop reading right now and search for “Battleblock Theater Cutscenes” on YouTube. Go ahead, I’ll wait….

I KNOW RIGHT?!? HILARIOUS! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched those cutscenes because of Stamper’s voice-acting. It’s a work of hilarious art.

Okay, enough about my love for Stamper, because the game is more than the narration. Most of what you do in this game is go through levels with deadly traps in order to collect gems and other items to advance. The levels increase in difficulty as you go along, but at points late in the game it felt like the game just wants to be a dick and make you hate your life as a gamer.

ABANDON ALL HOPE, YE WHO ENTER HERE!!!

This is particularly frustrating when you’ve playing co-op with someone who doesn’t have the gaming experience, skills, or dexterity on your level, because they will die…a lot. That’s when they get frustrated even more than you are because completing the level seems damn near impossible, and it leads to arguing about strategy, rage-quits, and sleeping on the couch as the cat stares at you as if to say, “You should’ve kept your mouth shut, you idiot.” On the list of things that have the potential to end relationships, I’d rank Battleblock Theater second, behind Ikea of course.

So that’s why I highly recommend rethinking playing this game co-operatively unless your partner is an experienced platformer and knows their way around a controller. I still plan on tackling the game solo, but I think I need a large amount of time away before I can do so sanely. I’d also likely have to do so when my fiancé is away so it doesn’t reopen old wounds. Yea, good memories with this game…

#52GameChallenge Progress: 5/52

#52GameChallenge - The Swapper

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 25 Jan 2015 23:25:00 -0500

As I start writing this, I’m not even sure what I can say about a game like The Swapper. It was a game completely off my radar until a follower on Twitter suggested it for my #52GameChallenge. Even then I wasn’t very convinced until it became available for free on as part of my PS+ membership. I figured at that point I had no more excuses to ignore this dark puzzler, so I booted it up. What I experienced was a game that I’m still trying to wrap my head around.

I’ll start with the basics. The game puts you in the role of a lone space explorer who happens upon a derelict ship and decides to explore. It quickly becomes clear that at some point things went pretty poorly for the crew, as there are no other signs of life except infrequent run-ins with another lone explorer also trying to figure things out.

At its core, The Swapper is a puzzler. There are some platforming elements, but their hardly difficult enough to warrant much attention. The bulk of your tasks will involve using a swapping device acquired on-board the ship to create clones of yourself, and throwing your consciousness into said clones to reach normally inaccessible areas. While simple at first (e.g. – create a clone on a high ledge then swap your consciousness to the clone), the difficulty of puzzles and tasks expectedly increases as the game progresses. Add in portions with zero gravity, lights that block cloning and swapping capabilities, and gravity reversal, and you’ve got a game that’s as challenging as it is confusing.

Me, Myself, and I...and another guy...and that dude.

I say confusing because while you’re scratching your head at the newest puzzles to obtain orbs to power portions of the ship, there’s a story going on in the background. Remember that other lone explorer on the ship? Well, they’re also trying to figure out what happened on the ship, and through what they tell you and what you read in the ship’s logs you learn that the ship found sentient, intelligent rocks on a nearby planet and brought them aboard for study. Yes, this whole story revolves round rocks. With brains. And a consciousness. Or a soul. I’m not really sure. And that’s where The Swapper falls short.

I’m not saying that I expect a puzzler to have a great story like a JRPG or other genre, but the creators of the game clearly wanted it to have an intriguing and engaging story. I’ll admit that at first I was curious about the events that led to the ship being abandoned, but after the first 30 minutes the story didn’t progress much in plot until the last 15 minutes of this 4+ hour game. If you’re trying to make the story central to your game, that’s too large of a gap in a short game without any progression.

Still, there’s a pretty neat little plot twist in the waning moments of the game and a dichotomous decision to make that caused a minor internal conflict. But then the game ends with some long-winded reflection about existence, the soul, consciousness, and life/death that frankly seemed out of place. It seemed as if the creators were trying to be creatively philosophical but the whole thing came off as confusing and quite frankly ostentatious. If they spent more time focusing on the “great questions of the mind/body/soul” throughout the whole game, maybe this would’ve fit, but instead it seemed pretentious.

All-in-all, The Swapper is a creative twist on the puzzler genre, and I found it challenging, but never frustrating. If you can look past the inflated ego of a story presented to you, then you’ll have a great time with this game. I even found myself wishing it was longer because the puzzles are that fun and do a good job making you think before acting, and experimenting with different methods. I’d definitely recommend this game to anyone looking for a good, cheap (albeit quick) time.

#52GameChallenge Progress: 4/52

#52GameChallenge - DuckTales: Remastered

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 23:05:00 -0500

I recently learned that no matter how long you’ve been gaming, and no matter much you’ve been able to say to yourself “it’s only a game…”, eventually a game will come along and make you not only rage quit, but also throw your controller like a petulant child. For me, it happened to be my third game in the #52GameChallenge, DuckTales: Remastered on the PS3.

Now I knew the original DuckTales for the NES was known for being challenging. I even have vague memories of a younger me playing it and not getting very far at all. However, despite this knowledge and history with the NES version, I didn’t expect the remastered version to be that difficult. Perhaps I expected Capcom to downgrade the difficulty significantly, or maybe I just thought that adult me could handle any game that younger me couldn’t handle. Regardless I was sorely mistaken, and my mental stability and controller both took a beating as a result.

That’s not to say that my overall experience with DuckTales: Remastered wasn’t enjoyable. On the contrary – I found the game to be not only beautifully redone in HD, but the artwork and voice acting were so well-done that I was bombarded with a wave of nostalgia multiple times while playing. Anyone who grew up reading DuckTales comics and/or watching the cartoon will immediately recall some of the tied-in stories (even the weird one about the Terra-Firmians), and I almost guarantee it’ll have you on YouTube looking for episodes to watch.

As stated above, DuckTales: Remastered was infuriating at times, but it wasn’t so all the time. The game is a great platformer at its core, with the added element of having to use Scrooge McDuck’s cane to bounce on enemies to defeat them, and to reach high places. The game gives you the option of making the cane-bounce either easy or hard to use, hard being you have to press a button each time to bounce, and easy being you just hold the button down for continued bounce. I took the easy way and still had a tough time getting through the very first stage. However, once you got the hang of the controls you start to appreciate the challenge presented to you.

Each stage consists of Scrooge trying to obtain a lost treasure, and sometimes rescuing his friends or nephews, and while they sound like simply fetch missions, you’ll be presented with different obstacles in each level that requires you to change up your style of play. For example, the Himalayan level causes Scrooge to sink into the snow when he uses his cane-bounce, something that to that point you’ll become reliant upon if you played any level previously. DuckTales: Remastered does a great job of keeping the game fresh despite a limited range of game mechanics (there are even some DKC-esque minecart portions), which, if taken from the NES edition, must’ve been crucial to the original DuckTales cult success.

Prepare to throw something in rage...

I guess I should talk about my controller-flinging frustration with the game. Really it all boils down to cheap deaths, and there were plenty for me to get angry about. The real kicker for me was the final chapter of the game, but I think my frustration was a culmination of many other cheap deaths along the way. During the minecart sections I mentioned above, if you jump your momentum carries Scrooge along with the cart so he always lands back in it…that is until the tracks end. A few times I simply jumped assuming the momentum would carry me to safety only to plummet along with the minecart to my death. Other cheap deaths were the result of enemies knocking Scrooge back into a pit, and other enemies/obstacles causing insta-death without any warning. It all came to a head when the final level provided not only a spike in difficulty, but also the longest sequence of platforming action to that point in the game. I won’t spoil anything but let’s just say that after a grueling romp to get to and finally defeat the end boss, there are not one but two other platforming sequences to finally beat the game. They completely surprised me and on two occasions I died and had to start over during those two ending sequences. Yea, that’s when my controller got chucked and I rage quit. Thanks Capcom!

Still, through all that I persevered and eventually beat the game. There were fun things to do after beating the game like collect more money for your vault and use it to buy gallery art and music from the game and TV show, but I wasn’t really interested in any of that. Perhaps it was the recent frustrations I’d experienced that turned me off to 100% completion. Regardless, I had a decently fun experience with DuckTales: Remastered. There’s plenty there for masochists who want more of a challenge, but I’m not that person. I will say that I’m glad it was free, because while the nostalgia factor was high, the overall value was not worth spending money on, putting this game in a “rent only” category. At least I got the DuckTales theme song stuck in my head for a week, so I had that going for me, which is nice.

#52GameChallenge Progress: 3/52

#52GameChallenge - Titan Attacks!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 21:28:00 -0500

At a young age I was introduced to the world of gaming. Those who read this blog know that my first console experience was with the Sega Genesis, but what I haven’t expressed is how much arcade games were introduced into my life at the exact same time. I can recall begging my mom at the age of 6 for quarters to play Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ivan “Ironman” Stewart’s Super Off Road (anyone remember those?), and X-Men. Once my parents saw my love for the old uprights, they introduced me to their favorite classics like Joust, Donkey Kong, and Centipede. However, none stuck with me more than the all-time great shooter, Galaga, which remains one of my all-time favorite arcade games to this day.

So it’s no surprise that I would find myself pleasantly surprised when I began playing Titan Attacks! for the PS3 as my 2^nd game of the #52GameChallenge. That’s because Titan Attacks! blends what people loved about classic arcade shooters like Galaga and Space Invaders into a neat little HD package. Where a lot of games (including shoot ‘em ups) are trying to create the next big thing and change their gameplay in new and sometimes bizarre ways, the folks at Puppy Games knew that all a game needs to be fun sometimes is addictive gameplay that’s easy to learn and tough to master.

Well they certainly nailed it with Titan Attacks! It may not be as difficult as it’s forefathers in the shoot ‘em up genre, but it’s still completely addictive and loads of fun. The game starts slow, and I mean really slow, with your ship about as dangerous and deadly as a marshmallow gun. However, it progressively ramps up the complexity and difficulty to the point where you’re making skill shots and avoiding enemy fire without blinking or even knowing how you’re pulling it off. It got to the point where I felt almost unstoppable and wanted the game to keep throwing increasingly difficult scenarios at me until it killed me.

Whoops, wrong "Attack" and wrong "Titan". If only Titan Attacks! had as much action...

Unfortunately, one of the biggest weaknesses of Titan Attacks! is that it’s terribly short. I was able to get through 100 waves and collect all the trophies in a couple of hours, which wouldn't be an issue except that once you hit 100 waves, the game starts you back at the easy levels with your beefed up destroyer of a ship. You can only play the same 100 waves over and over again which doesn't give the game much replayability. I wasn't even that tempted to try and get a better high score, which is one thing Titan Attacks! failed to bring over from its predecessors (I obsess over high scores when I play Galaga in the arcade).

The other major drawback of Titan Attacks! is its difficulty, or rather lack thereof. Once you get to about the midpoint of the game you’ll find some of the waves challenging, and a couple of the boss battles can leave you with barely a shield left when you achieve victory, but for the other 80% of the game it’s closer to “ho-hum” than “IF I BLINK I’M DEAD!” I don’t think Puppy Games did a great job of balancing your potential ship upgrades and the wave difficulty in the latter stages of the game, leaving you feeling overpowered and bored.

Overall, I don’t think I would recommend this new take on the classic shoot ‘em up unless you could get the game for free (or a major cut from the $12 price tag). I did get a couple of enjoyable hours out of Titan Attacks!, and I was very pleased and nostalgic when I saw how it pays homage to great classics like Space Invaders and Galaga. I just wish that the experience could challenged me for more than just a 20 minute stretch of gameplay. It’s certainly enjoyable while it lasts, but the experience is just too short to warrant shelling out the asking price. Instead, I’d recommend finding a Galaga or Space Invaders cabinet nearby and dropping a few coins into that. Support your local arcade!

#52GameChallenge Progress: 2/52

#52GameChallenge - Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 8 Jan 2015 20:52:00 -0500

The first game I tackled for the #52GameChallenge was really not intended. As mentioned in my last post, I recently purchased a Wii U. It was a Black Friday bundle deal that came with four(!) games: Nintendoland, Super Mario 3D World, Super Smash Bros., and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. I started with SSB because, well, it was the hottest Nintendo game at the time. Plus, as someone who sucks at fighting games, the SSB franchise is the only one that I've found moderate ability in, so I was very excited to test it out.

But, like always, my gaming ADD kicked in and I found myself wanting more than of a story or a purpose in the game I was playing. After much deliberation, I settled on Tropical Freeze. This wasn't by accident: I was a HUGE DKC fan as a kid. I owned all three DKC titles on the SNES and reached 100% completion I all of them without the use of a guide. I was obsessed with those games, and to this day they are tops on my list of the best gaming soundtracks of all time.

Thus, I booted up DKC: TF to help the Kong family rescue their island from permafrost. Mind you, this was all before I decided to take on the #52GameChallenge, so the decision was made purely out of desire to play, not to fill a quota (which I intend to avoid anyway during this challenge). Regardless, it was a great decision, as I was not only greeted by a wave of nostalgia while playing, but an enjoyable experience from start to finish.

From my childhood memories, Tropical Freeze plays and feels just like DKC games of old, and why not – if it ain't broke, don’t fix it, right? The combination of rolling and jumping platform action is easy to figure out, but just as difficult as ever to master, meaning I experienced quite a lot of falling deaths as I misjudged distances and momentum. Still, the number of cheap-feeling deaths was minimal and overall I learned a lot from my deaths and was able to use them to build a picture of the whole level in my head, which is key to finding all the K-O-N-G and puzzle pieces in each world.

I appreciate the reference, but Funky Kong is still annoying.

I enjoyed the game visually as well – each world was vibrant, with background animations giving you a sense that you were on an island that was alive with activity. The beautiful worlds were filled with equally beautiful sound and music, which I’d expect from a DKC game (this soundtrack immediately vaulted to the list of gaming OSTs I listen to regularly).

There were some things I found a bit disheartening about the game, though. One of the biggest was that the game did not allow you to use the Wii U gamepad simultaneously while playing on the television. This seemed a bit odd since almost every game I've experienced on the Wii U allows you to use both at the same time. You did have the option to switch between screens while playing, but it would've been nice to just get up and walk away for a minute without interrupting gameplay.

Lastly, Tropical Freeze did tone down the difficulty severely from what I remember of the SNES titles. Obtaining extra lives (in the form of red balloons) was quite easy and you retained those lives when the game shut off, a departure from the earlier titles. I understand that Nintendo is making gaming more family-friendly (something I love about the gaming giant), so in that context I can understand it. I just wish there was a more challenging mode to use right from the start (you unlock Hard Mode after getting 100% completion).

Overall, I loved my experience with Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. For fans of the series, it’ll be a nice jog down memory lane (with a few throwback Easter Eggs hidden in the game to keep you company). For newcomers, it’s a great introduction to the series due to its curbed difficulty. It’s definitely a game that makes me very happy that I finally pulled the trigger and bought a Wii U.

#52GameChallenge Progress: 1/52

#52GameChallenge - My New Year's Gaming Resolution

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 7 Jan 2015 21:30:00 -0500

Happy New Year to everyone! It’s been quite some time since I wrote a new post for the blog, and seeing as how it’s 2015, I made a few gaming resolutions to keep me in gaming shape: to game more than or on par with 2014, pay more attention to Nintendo (already ahead of schedule as I bought the Wii U in 2014), and of course, get back to writing posts for my neglected gaming blog. The first two were pretty easy to accomplish since I love gaming, and my new Wii U is phenomenal, but I was having a bit of a writer’s block over the last week. Even the stuff I wrote or brainstormed seemed flat and unworthy to publish. I was feeling quite discouraged, until just the other day I was scrolling through Twitter and found my muse.

I heard about a little thing called the #52GameChallenge (props to @DoughtyJ for exposing me to this), and it piqued my interest. I assumed it meant that one would have to play a game a week (on average) in order to play a total of 52 games in a calendar year. My assumptions were correct and I thought this would be a great way to adhere to all three of my resolutions. I was already playing a few games and actually had one in the books for 2015 so I figured why not give the #52GameChallenge a go.

For the blog, I’ll try and do a write-up for every game I complete during the #52GameChallenge. I won’t be doing these as reviews since I’ll probably be too busy balancing work and gaming to get the full experience out of every game (e.g. – 100% completion or completing most side quests). Instead, I’ll give a brief description of the game (if needed), why I chose to play this game for the challenge, my overall opinion on the game based on my experience, and some snippets about the games positives and negatives. I want to make this an enjoyable experience not just for me, but for you, the reader, so I’ll do my best to be as concise as possible (I know I tend to get very wordy with my posts).

There you have it: the #52GameChallenge – my New Year’s Gaming Resolution. I encourage every gamer, if they’re able, to attempt the #52GameChallenge. You don’t even have to have a massive backlog like me or go out and spend tons of money on new or used games. There’s plenty of freeware out there you can play on consoles and PC, so the only excuse you have is lack of desire to challenge yourself. I look forward to sharing my experience with you all and to hearing about your amazing journey through the #52GameChallenge in the comments, on Facebook, and on Twitter. Happy Gaming!

The Hiatus 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 12:30:00 -0500

I've been in limbo for the last month. Okay, for the last 3 or 4 months actually. I've been looking for a job and that hasn't been turning out so great. After filling out dozens upon dozens of applications and typing up more cover letters than I’d care to, I've had about 5 interviews, and two call-backs. I’m a very competitive person who hates losing/failing, so that’s not a very good percentage for me. As a result, I started feeling pretty useless and eventually delved into a bit of a depression.

Once depression set in, I didn't really know what else to do but play video games. They've always been my safety new when times get tough. When school work was getting too tough in high school, Final Fantasy was there to help me escape. In middle school, when bullies made life difficult from the bus stop to the classroom and back again, I’d look to Banjo and Kazooie for comfort. Therefore, it’s no surprise that I’d turn to gaming once again when life gets me down as an adult.

That’s the thing about video games – they never quit on you, they don’t judge you, and they allow you another world to dive into when the real world you’re in starts to get the better of you. I used to think this habit was a bit pathetic when I was younger. When I was younger I was always concerned about how other people perceived me and I valued their opinions of me above being and liking myself. This led to me having a poor self-image and self-respect when I used video games as an escape. But they helped me get through tough times, so I didn't abandon them, and thankfully so, because I eventually outgrew that silly idea about needing others’ approval of who I was to be happy. Who knows what would've happened if I did continue to value the opinions of random people who didn't really matter, then I wouldn't have video games to fall back on today when times get tough.

I love you, video games...you understand me!

So as I said, times have been less than stellar for me lately, and I became a recluse. I stopped tweeting for quite some time, removed myself from other forms of social media, and rarely left the house except to go to the occasional interview or social function with friends. The vast majority of my time was spent playing, what else, video games, and I definitely had the backlog to support the habit. I played games on a variety of systems, from the Sega Genesis to the N64 to the Xbox 360, but most of my attention went to the PS3. This was because the majority of my backlogged games were on Sony’s “last generation” console, and it was about time I took care of that.

I’m going to try and do a write up for the games I thoroughly enjoyed, even if they will be shorter in length than my usual style, but I make no promises. Still, since my last blog post two whole months ago, here are, in no particular order, the games I've played and on what systems:

Arkham Asylum (PS3)
Arkham City (PS3)
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (PS3)
NHL ’94 (Genesis)
Mario Party 5 (GCN)
Mario Kart 64 (N64)
Super Smash Bros. (N64)
Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise (360)
Super Mario All-Stars (SNES)
Resistance 3 (PS3)
NHL ’15 (360)
Battleblock Theater (360)
Fez (PS3)
Stealth Inc.: A Clone in the Dark (PS3)
Metro: Last Light (PS3)
Dead Space 3 (PS3)
Dynasty Warriors 8 (360)
Dark Souls (PS3)
Borderlands 2 (360)
Hoard (PS3)
Proteus (PS3)

After compiling that list I’m slightly embarrassed at its length, especially for just 60 days of gaming. But like I said, I’m unemployed and have almost nothing but time on my hands. Still, it’s amazing how much gaming one can accomplish when they’re left to their own devices with limited distractions. Hell, I was even visiting wedding venues with my fiancé over that time period so it’s not like I was distraction-free.

It's only with 10 Gamerscore Points - not worth it.

However, while this experience was enjoyable, it was rooted in a need to escape during a rough time in my life. I would rather have been able to enjoy my gaming without worrying about finances or if I was slowly creeping towards uselessness. I wish that I could have the freedom to play copious amounts of games without the added burden of worrying about paying rent or feelings that my college degrees are just useless pieces of paper. But until the day comes that I win the lottery, I guess it’s nice to know that regardless of whether I’m gainfully employed or can’t land an interview to save my life, video games will continue to be a rock I can cling to and pretend everything will be okay.

Targeting Systems Offline

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 4 Sep 2014 16:24:00 -0400

I've already given my opinion on the treatment of people (aka – fellow human beings) in the gaming industry when people don’t like them or disagree with their views. But recent events involving threats of violence against people in the gaming industry and have made them even scary places. It’s gotten to the point that I’ve considered taking a break from social media and just hiding away in my own personal gaming world until it all blew over, but to do so would be cowardly and wouldn't actually help the situation. So…here we go.

If you've been following the timeline of what is now being called “GamerGate” from Zoe Quinn to Anita Sarkeesian to dozens of other lesser-known journalists, developers, and personalities in the video game industry, you've undoubtedly noticed a huge chasm form between many gamers. There are the GamerGaters, people who believe what they are doing is right and fixes the industry by purging it of those who have conflicts of interests (COI) and use shady practices to get ahead, and those who believe that the targeting and harassment done by GamerGaters is excessive, often illegal, and is founded on white male privilege that is so prevalent in the industry.

I've looked into both sides since things got ugly with rape and death threats, and I've noticed a rapid shift in tone from those who identify as part of the GamerGate movement. While there were (and are still) those who threaten “toxic” journalists and developers with sexual and physical violence, there are many people a part of the GamerGate movement who are trying to expose those with COIs and have them removed from the industry through more civil means. I’m in no way defending the movement – I personally believe this is just a more subtle version of coercion – but it’s worth noting that there are people who still believe they’re doing the industry a favor by ridding it of these “cancerous” individuals.

But let’s be honest with ourselves as gamers for a moment. What is this actually solving in the video game industry? Sure there are big(ger) fish that are targeted like Zoe Quinn and Anita Sarkeesian who may or may not have hidden agendas when they write and create; that’s not for me to judge. But lately I've seen a lot of GamerGaters go after mainly small-time journalists, and, here’s the kicker, the overwhelming majority of them are women.

Perhaps women are just more likely to have COIs and use shady practices to get ahead in the industry, and if you believe that I have some nice ocean-front property in Arizona you might be interested in. Regardless, while some people in the GamerGate movement are using civil coercion to force people to quit or their companies to fire them, there are still a large number of people who use threats of violence to scare them and show them that they “mean business”.

The fact that this has to be reinforced is not a good sign.

Now I know that these people don’t necessarily represent the GamerGate movement as a whole, just like any subset of a movement or group doesn't really define the whole at its core, but it begs the question, where should people really be targeting their efforts to cleanse the world of video games of wrongdoers and those of little to no scruples? Perhaps the bigger problem with the gaming industry and community at large is this belief that if somebody is seen as a threat to our beloved hobby, then threatening them with rape and violence, DOXXing and SWATting them, and overall abusing them is justified. Maybe those who see themselves as white knights for the gaming industry need to clean up their own back yard before complaining about the state of the neighborhood.

It could be the way I was raised, but I see a much bigger problem with fellow humans being forced from their homes because of fear of bodily harm than I see with them writing a review for a game that their friend helped create. COIs, sexual favors, and whatever else people have been accused of doing to gain a foothold in the industry is no excuse for calling their parents with threats and making them feel like their life is in danger. It’s people like that that continue to rot away at the image of gamers and the industry.

I think those in the GamerGate movement need to stop just encouraging people to use more civil tactics and instead target those who continue to threaten people to get their way, because it’s those people who are the more prevalent threat to the industry. They’re the reason why I almost hid away from the industry and community that I loved so much, but they’re also the reason why I decided that I shouldn't just sit back and watch the hobby I love become identified as a bunch of misogynistic loudmouths who prefer scare tactics to being a decent human being.

The Fine Line Between Passion and Abuse

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 20 Aug 2014 11:00:00 -0400

I love being a gamer. It’s one of the few things in my life that I love to do and that I’m actually good at. But the games aren't the only reason I love being a gamer. There are millions of people just like me all across the globe who share this passion. Retro gamers, PC and console gamers, RPG lovers, shooter fanatics, MMO enthusiasts and live streamers: they all lend their voices to the gaming community at large. It’s this same community that I've come to appreciate through the dedicated and fervent gamers I've met on Twitter and the gaming blogs I read regularly. So why is it that gamers from the same community I laud are frequently seen as spoiled, mean-spirited, and full of vitriol by not only fellow gamers, but by the developers of the very games they love?

Phil Fish is perhaps the most polarizing figure in gaming, if not historically then most certainly within recent memory. While his highly successful indie game Fez drew near unanimous praise from critics and fans, the man behind the game seemed to attract nothing but controversy. First drawing ire for the constant delaying of Fez in 2010/11, things haven’t improved for Fish. He’s evolved from gifted developer and symbol of the indie game industry to Twitter rage-quitter to punchline on level with Half-Life 3. If you've followed the chronicles of Mr. Fish (especially on Twitter), then you know that he doesn't do himself any favors with his often brash way of communicating with people and his almost poetic way of feeding trolls. And while it may be easy to just shrug off Phil Fish as a developer who couldn't handle the pressure or who didn't appreciate what he had, I think we as a gaming community need to seriously consider our role in events such as these.

Gamer entitlement is a real thing, but is it wrong? Is it a problem?

Fish may be in the spotlight for lashing out at gamers and the industry at large, but he’s far from alone in his feelings. Indie company Puppy Games recently wrote on their blog about the PR quagmire that all game developers must muck through and its many pitfalls. The post talks a lot about how the gaming community is like a mob and how there’s very little companies can say that won’t excite that mob to turn on them. They go on to speak about the danger of trolls (no surprise here, especially if you’re Phil Fish), but the most telling passage is below (emphasis theirs):

“Firstly, gamers aren't very nice people. Yes, you. You are not a very nice person. Statistically speaking. By which I mean, independent game developers get more nasty shit from gamers than they get praise. Right now you are preparing to lecture me about how I talk to customers, or how I deserve to be broke and unsucessful [sic]. If you’re feeling particularly sanctimonious you’ll tell me you’re never going to buy any of our games again. If you’re especially spiteful you’ll also tell me that you were about to buy one of our games (for a dollar! ho ho), but now you’re not going to.

No matter. What does matter is you’re not allowed to point out when someone is just being a shithead to you because they can. Don’t do that. The internet hates you.”

Perhaps you could view the opinions of Phil Fish and Puppy Games as disgruntled game developers whining about how they are not praised enough, and maybe you’re right. But stories like these just keep popping up, and they’re simply the tamest of examples. Consider the case of Zoe Quinn, a game developer who has recently come under attack due to a bitter ex-boyfriend’s crusade to make her life a living hell. He rallied the darkest corners of 4chan to his cause and before you could bat an eyelash Ms. Quinn was receiving threatening messages and calls, had private photos of herself ripped and posted publicly, and people (most of whom identify themselves as gamers) spewing all sorts of vile things about her personal and sexual life online.

Zoe Quinn has a point. A very good, and crucial point in this saga.

Let that sink in for a moment: a woman who has done nothing but create games for a living and break up with an ex-boyfriend is coming under attack from people who think she deserves this because…why? Because she’s a woman? Because she doesn't belong? Because she asked for it by working in a “man’s industry”? Because if she can’t handle it she needs to get out of the business? All of these reasons have been put forth by the attackers who think it’s okay to send death and rape threats to someone from behind the safety of their computer screen. It’s terrifying and angering all at the same time.

So why is it that people in the gaming community, my supposed colleagues in the world because of a shared hobby, feel it’s okay for them to personally attack someone? Is it okay to publicly humiliate another person simply because they’re “internet famous” or work for a gaming company? Do these people honestly believe they’re entitled to drag others down with them to the lowest depths of humanity because they didn't like their game, or don’t like that a woman is finding success in an industry “meant for men”? It’s simply disgusting and if at this point you aren't outraged that this happens ON A DAILY BASIS then please consider yourself part of the problem.

Look, I know that gamers are some of the most passionate people around. I myself defend gaming fervently to people who view it as a waste of time or a cause of society’s major issues. There’s often a thin line between fans being passionate and abusive, and when people believe that as a consumer or a member of the community they have the right to personally attack someone, online and/or in real life, then they've crossed that line. Let me make this perfectly clear: nobody, and I mean nobody, deserves to have their personal life a matter of public debate, and nobody deserves to be threatened for just doing their job or living their life as they please.

Looks like I'm not the only one who thinks that devs are also human.

We as a gaming community have a lot of power, it’s true. We have buying power that can make or break smaller companies, and can determine the route larger companies take with their development of current and future gaming titles. But we should never use this power as an excuse to take another gamer, another human being, and make them feel unsafe because they changed a small aspect of a beloved game or simply don’t agree with you. Again, perhaps Phil Fish didn't do himself any favors when he fed the trolls, but maybe we played angry mob to his Frankenstein’s Monster and made him the person he is today. In any case, we certainly didn't help the matter. And maybe it’s true that Puppy Games isn't helping their case by addressing this elephant in the room, but guess what: we’re the ones who created the elephant and need to take responsibility. And in the case of Zoe Quinn, there are no excuses for the way people are treating her and her family. If we as a gaming community don’t start standing up for the victims and against the dregs of society who attack them, then the cycle will continue and people will stop caring what we think, and will only fear what we’ll potentially do.

Graduation Day - Mass Effect 3 (Xbox 360)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 19 Aug 2014 12:30:00 -0400

***WARNING!!!*** POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD ***WARNING!!!***

The Good: Like its predecessors, Mass Effect 3 does a great job of combining RPG and action elements with the ever enjoyable paragon/rebel decision system to create an amazing journey through this very climactic end of the best video game trilogy in recent memory.

The Bad: With a game this big there are bound to be a few bugs such as collision physics issues. The multiplayer feature seems forced and gets old very fast due to its repetitive nature.

The Glitchy: Having played through the entire trilogy as my male Shepard, the decisions you made even as far back as the original have an effect on this final installment, which is a great feature for loyal gamers of the franchise. Also, the decisions in Mass Effect 3 are much, much heavier than the last two combined, especially at the end of it all.

I’ll be straight with you, readers – I’m a sucker for trilogies. Say what you will about their tendency to appear somewhat of a money-grab, and the fact that the majority of them are comprised of a great first movie and sub-par sequels, but I’m a sucker for the triple threat. Doesn't matter if it’s Star Wars, Fable, Jurassic Park, or Indiana Jones, I have a weakness when things come in threes. Mass Effect is no different, and while I’ve played my fair share of trilogy video games (Bioshock, Sonic, and DKC to name a few) this space drama is by far my favorite.

This is in no small part because of the final installment where all your decisions and action across this 100+ hour epic tale come to their climax in what is possibly the most gut-wrenching ending to a series I've ever experienced. Loyal fans who've led their Commander Shepard through hell and back will get their money’s worth, but even those who chose to start their romp across the galaxy later in the series will find plenty to enjoy. Hell, even as a member of the loyalists I found myself wanting to experience the whole thing again, starting with the first installment. Let’s break down why as Mass Effect 3 gets its Graduation Day.

Is this the greatest trilogy in modern gaming history? If not, it's close.

Graphics: I know that with the release of the Xbox One and PS4 recently, a lot of opinions are starting to shift on what makes a game graphically beautiful. Sure, when you stack a game like Mass Effect 3 on the Xbox 360 (which is the platform I played it on) against a next gen game, it’s going to show its fair share of wrinkles. But put this game in a fair fight, and it will impress. For such a massive game that relies on exploring a galaxy comprised of literally billions of stars, it doesn't disappoint with details, scenes, and lighting that are, ahem, out of this world. =3

Character design was always a favorite of mine in this series, and Mass Effect 3 has taken all that practice from the first two games (beautiful as well) and made their characters truly remarkable. From Asari skin to Krogan scars to Turian snarls, every detail is accounted for and expressed with such quality that you’d swear they modeled them after real beings. Honestly, the worst species of the bunch is humanity which pales in comparison, so much so that it made me want to be a Turian because humans just looked so…blah side-by-side. Even ships and planets have a sense of realism, making the Normandy feel as if it could be alive.

But the winners by far are the cut scenes. I guess it harkens back to my Final Fantasy days on the PS1/PS2, but I love cut-scenes for their beauty. They’re few and far between in Mass Effect 3, but they’ll well worth the wait. Still, with a game as beautiful as this, picking a winner just seems to do a disservice the rest of the gorgeous graphics you see throughout. And with rarely a texture out of place, Shepard’s swan song gets high marks for its looks.

An example of a gorgeous, albeit creepy, cut scene.

Sound: If there’s one thing that the trilogy has done just okay, it’s voice-acting. Perhaps I would feel this way if the game wasn't almost entirely scripted around player decisions, but alas that break created in the dialogue as a result just detracts from any quality voice-acting done by the cast. At times the delay was more than noticeable and drew my focus away from the actual dialogue, and while that was disappointing it was in no way the norm. Still, it’s not the worst I've heard by a long shot, and Freddie Prinze Jr. voices a character in the game, so the 90s kid in me has to give the game extra credit on that alone.

The music in the game does a great job of setting the mood, but I found myself completely unaware of it most of the time. This can actually be a good thing when you’re simply trying to play the game without getting too distracted by the OST. This is certainly the case with Mass Effect 3 where the battle field is ever changing and enemies are coming at you hard and fast; there’s just no time to sit and be awed by the music. However, the soundtrack does a great job of setting the mood for action when it’s necessary. You definitely know when things are about to ramp up, and when times get a bit more mellow or even intimate (read: filled with alien sex), the music sets the mood in a way that would make Barry White proud.

Can you guess which one is voiced by Freddie Prinze Jr.?

Controls: If you, like me, have played the previous two installments of Mass Effect, then you know the controls work like a mix between an RTS, a shooter, and an RPG. While this may sound like an eclectic mix that would run afoul of troubles, you’d be surprised. While on the battle field, Shepard and Co. have an array of powers and weapons to take down anyone in their way, and to say combining these to obliterate your enemies is fun would be an understatement.

Whether it’s biotics, weapons, or tech, you can guide the tactics you and your crew use by the touch of a button. Some of your powers can be assigned to a “hot button” for quick use, and you can direct companions to certain spots for cover and/or better shots with the touch of the D-pad. While I didn't find myself using the latter much, it did come in handy when I found the AI to be less than adequate in staying alive on their own.

If, however, you need to combine those powers for better death-tolling efficiency, you can pause the action to bring up an attribute wheel. While pausing the action can seem a bit cheap when in the heat of a huge fire fight, while using it you appreciate that it doesn't take precious seconds away from the action. I found myself on occasion taking upwards of 30 seconds deciding which power(s) to use, precious time that could have been the difference between life and death in a battle with the Reapers. The pause allowed me to take my time if I needed it, and to ensure I made the right choice without rushing and making a mistake.

If you don't have a biotic in your squad, you're doing it wrong.

As for weapon combat and movement, the controls worked smooth most of the time. Bioware went with a style those familiar with the Gears of War franchise will recognize. When the bullets start flying, cover is essential and the game allows you to use a “roadie run” of sorts to reach cover quickly. And while in cover, you can move around and switch areas of cover with relative ease. However, there were two issues I had with the run and cover controls (both controlled by the same button): 1) moving from cover to cover sometimes worked, and sometimes didn't for seemingly no apparent reason, and 2) using the roadie run sometimes caused me to take cover in areas automatically even though I didn't want it. Unfortunately, these were more common than I'd have liked, making both issues impossible to ignore.

Still, despite those two admittedly minor issues (in the scope of a 30+ hour game), the controls handled very well, and at times I found myself forgetting there was even a controller in my hand, which is a sign that the game makes things easy for the player. Seeing as how this was Bioware’s 3^rd game of the series, this was no huge surprise, and I’d be a very disappointed Mass Effect fan if the games controls betrayed me.

Gameplay: Mass Effect 3 is all about one thing – defeating the Reapers and saving the galaxy. But how did Bioware turn their familiar formula of zipping around the galaxy into an overall mission of “recruit or be destroyed”? Quite well, actually. Whereas the last game was all about recruiting the right people on the Normandy for a single-crew job at the end, Mass Effect 3 gives you a crew as you play (most of which is based on earlier game choices) and asks you to complete side quests leading up to the final battle with the Reapers. But these side missions aren't just used to give you a distraction from the main story – they play a very important role in saving the galaxy.

Most side missions involve gathering resources and military personnel that go towards your “Effective Military Strength” (EMS). This is essentially the metric that defines how successful your battle against the Reapers will be to save Earth. The side missions themselves are great, and offer great depth into the ever-evolving relationships between the many advanced species in the galaxy. Helping the Krogan to save the Turians save their planet can go a long way towards saving Earth when those two sides put aside their differences. And keeping with the “Butterfly Effect” themes of the Mass Effect series, quite a few side quests are influenced by past decisions, which makes them all the more enjoyable.

Still, completing side quests doesn't raise your EMS to its maximum. You need to raise your Galactic Readiness in order to make your EMS work for you. The galaxy is split into separate systems and each begins at 50% Galactic Readiness. This means that if you gather a military strength of 5000, your EMS will only be at 2500. This is where one of the weakest parts of Mass Effect 3 comes into play: the multiplayer.

Getting to 100% readiness is more obnoxious than it should be.

The only way to raise your Galactic Readiness, and thus your EMS, is to play hours of multiplayer. This automatically makes online play a chore rather than a fun distraction like the side quests. I found myself waking up to play Mass Effect 3 and having to convince myself to play multiplayer before the final battle with the Reapers. Don’t get me wrong – all on its own the multiplayer can be fun. You and 4 other players team up to fight enemy forces in one of the galactic systems in a series of up to 11 waves to raise the readiness of that system, and thus the overall EMS of your forces. You can choose from a variety of different galactic races, powers, and weapons (all of which you can also earn with credits gained from playing multiplayer).

However, when forced to play these battles over and over again with no variety in maps in each system (seriously Bioware, only one map per system?) and only a few options of enemies and difficulty, the multiplayer seemed like it was slapped together with little fore- or afterthought. If multiplayer wasn't the only way to raise my EMS to a respectable level, I honestly wouldn't have spent more than a few hours on it. As it is, however, I spent more time there than I would've liked just because I wanted to get the most out my game as possible, which seemed like a cheapened experience given I’d played the previous two installments to completion. I think Bioware could’ve used a raised Galactic Readiness and EMS as a means of rewarding dedicated gamers of the series; a missed opportunity in my book.

Story: This has got to be the hardest thing to review about Mass Effect 3, because the story spans not one, but three games (and even a handful of novels). Because I waited over 2 years to finally play the finale of this sci-fi epic, I’m going to try very hard to limit spoilers, but no promises. Regardless, I can’t say enough about how awesome the game’s story is, even as a standalone title. The whole series has led up to this moment for the galaxy: the Reapers have invaded Earth and are starting the assault on the other species, causing panic everywhere. Because Shepard and the crew of the Normandy are the only beings to face multiple Reapers and live, they’re on the top of the list of heroes to end the cycle of destruction.

You’ll be reacquainted with familiar faces from both previous games, as well as a few new ones. If you’re a loyalist and have played the previous two games to completion, then you’re in for a treat. All the decisions you've made in the previous two games will come to fruition (or your possible destruction) in Mass Effect 3. Who you've chosen to save or destroy, who you've befriended or made enemies with, and who you've made your lover(s) all have an impact on the final game. Your previous decisions can impact everything from side missions to who you can add to your Normandy squad for battles/missions, and sometimes it can even influence how much military strength you can build to fight the Reapers in the end. Having such a dynamic story based on over 120 hours of gaming is impossible to review from a specific standpoint, but impressive nonetheless. It would take more than just a few playthoughs to even scratch the surface of all the different experiences you can have in the series.

Such dedication, much accomplishments! Wow!

Now for the elephant in the room: despite all the decisions you can make and conversation topics you can choose, the game will have the same ending. I believe this was one of the biggest issues gamers took umbrage with, and from an objective view I can understand why. At the end of the game, someone who has only played Mass Effect 3 (about 30 hours) will receive the same three choices to end the series as someone like me who has played all three games with the same Shepard (about 120 hours).

This can be insulting to those who feel like all their hard work led to nothing more than a very scripted ending that they could’ve just played one game for. Creating your Shepard and playing with him/her through three games is a very immersive and personal experience, and people take it personal when a game takes all that time and all those emotions and boils them down to a generic ending tree.

Still, I personally was not insulted by the way the series ended. I understood that the time I spent with my male Shepard was special, and all the decisions I made, all the agony over who to love and save and befriend, created a unique experience that almost nobody else would have with the series. It’s a special thing when a game can take a character and a story, and make the game feel an actual part of it all, as if they themselves are a part of this universe. It all felt very real to me, and I’m being completely honest when I say that the final choice in Mass Effect 3 was the most I've ever agonized over a decision in a video game ever. I've never felt the weight of a decision in a game so much on my shoulders, and while the game and its worlds and creatures and implications are all fictional, it felt real to me, and this is why I and many other people consider the Mass Effect series to be the best example of video game story-telling ever.

Choices so intense, the agony they cause needs to be shared.

Final Thoughts: The Mass Effect series is one of the finest examples of interactive story-telling in a video game, and its conclusion certainly contributes to that truth. As a huge fan of the series I commend Bioware on all the hard work they put in to making the player feel the weight of the decisions from each previous game in Mass Effect 3. While the controls had some minor issues and the multiplayer felt forced upon the player if they wanted a more completionist playthrough of the solo expedition, the rest of the game hits the mark in a big way. Everything from the battles to the decisions to the cut scenes is bigger in scale and impact, and I’m very pleased with how Bioware chose to end their sci-fi epic drama. Mass Effect 3 certainly graduated with honors.

Final Grade: 9.2/10

Graduation Day - King's Knight (NES)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 8 Aug 2014 01:54:00 -0400

If you were to ask me what game companies I associate with quality, Squaresoft would be at the top of my list. Sure, they’ve merged and now go by Square-Enix (Squenix, for short), and perhaps their quality of games has waned a bit since the PS1 days (my opinion…but also fact), but when I was a kid, Squaresoft’s talent rivaled that of the good folks over at Nintendo. I mean, Squaresoft was behind some of my favorite RPGs of all time, like Final Fantasy 9 and Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.

So you can imagine my excitement when I snagged a small lot of NES games to find a game from Squaresoft I’d never heard of before, King’s Knight. Surely I had found an old-school RPG gem from the 8-bit days! Forgive my naivety at the time – my main experience with RPGs comes from the 16-bit era and beyond – but I truly couldn’t fathom a game from the days of Squaresoft could be bad. How wrong I was…

The Good: The box/label art is awesome. All in one place you’ve got a pink-haired princess being protected by a knight in golden armor, and a dragon carrying a wizard and some prehistoric-looking child on his back. Not to mention it’s got that old-school anime look going for it so bonus points.

The Bad: There’s no direction whatsoever, no motivation to care, random characters, nameless and faceless enemies, an apathetic soundtrack, and to top it all off, the difficulty is brutal. Plus, I’m not even sure this should be classified as action or adventure as the game states.

The Glitchy: You lose health by getting hit by enemies, but in a bizarre twist of gameplay mechanics, also by collecting “down arrows” that can somehow litter the screen when you destroy the environment.

First Impressions: Well, thing’s started out innocent enough with the title screen. Then all of a sudden I was transported to some forest where my guy was scrolling upwards towards enemies and I had no idea what to do. No intro, no text, and not the slightest hint at what the hell I’m trying to do. It just wasn’t a great start at all, especially for me because I promptly died about 10 seconds in. I’m not one to shy away from difficult games, but this is just brutal.

Graphics: Look, it’s an NES game. I can barely remember my time playing TMNT or Mario on the NES as a kid so it’s hard for me to compare it to anything except later generations. I will say that I recall TMNT and Mario having a bit more detail, even when TMNT when to a top-down look (which is all King’s Knight utilizes). But, the game came out in 1989, before Squaresoft pulled itself from the brink with their Final Fantasy franchise so I’ll give the graphics an…average?

Trust me, the cart is more interesting than any game screens.

Sound: Not great. There are very basic sound effects for shooting your weapons…or whatever, and for when you destroy things and get hurt. There’s also a little riff going on in the background, but it all seemed just very unaware that there was a game going on. Sure the sounds matched up with their respective events, but if you’re asking me to hum this tune from memory, forget it.

Controls: Again, this is an NES game: D-pad for movement in all directions, and use of a single button for firing your weapon. Pretty simple stuff, I guess, and it’s responsive so things are par for the course in this category. Nothing more to see here, move along.

Gameplay: It must have been freeing to develop games “back in the day” (in this case, the 80s), because there wasn’t a lot of pressure to fit your game to a formula that had proven successful yet. Sure there were popular games, but there wasn’t that air of “Simpson’s did it!” in the industry. Because there was still so much uncharted territory, companies were free to try new things out.

Unfortunately for King’s Knight, this culminated in some odd concepts. First off, you shot projectiles/energy up the screen to destroy parts of the environment and enemies. This wasn’t a foreign concept in 1989, but then again your characters weren’t planes or spaceships – they were people (or in one case, a monster/dinosaur thing…more on that later). It just didn’t fit when a knight or a thief could shoot projectiles. A wizard, sure, but come on Squaresoft – I only have so much reality I can suspend for one game.

Second, your character could lose life by being hit by enemies or their weapons, but also from random down-arrows that appeared on screen from destroying things around you like trees or rocks. This is very confusing at first because of the lack of explanation, and I initially thought these arrows controlled the screen’s scroll speed. Needless to say, this is why I died quickly on my first playthough.

But the oddest thing is how you’re supposed to “beat” the game. This isn’t anything I figured out on my own because I never even got close: I had to look it up. Apparently you play as 4 warriors tasked with saving a princess or save the world or something. But since they don’t bother to explain this ever, it doesn’t really matter, now does it? You have the knight, the wizard, the monster, and the thief, and each has to collect certain items and then enter a dungeon of sorts to defeat a mini-boss, then at the end each character fights the main boss and things happen.

That last sentence is so boring I almost fell asleep writing it, and that’s about how much you’ll care about this in a game that is not only brutally difficult but has given you direction or clue as to what you need to do whatsoever. Plus, when you need to fulfill a series of tasks or events in order to beat a game and there’s no way of you knowing what those are, that game will soon be finding its way to the bottom of a trash can.

Story: I gave this away above multiple times, but there’s no way to figure out the story or plot unless you look it up online, or maybe beat the game, which is impossible. Trust me, it’s not worth the effort either way, so just come to terms with that and forget all about this game.

Final Thoughts: <sigh> I really had high hopes for this NES Squaresoft game, but they were for naught. This “action/adventure” romp to kill baddies and save…stuff did nothing but frustrate and confuse me. I guess if there’s one positive thing about this whole experience it’s that I know the great things that Squaresoft eventually went on to do in the gaming industry.

Final Score:

2/10

Games of Our Fathers

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 25 Jul 2014 14:44:00 -0400

Father’s Day has already come and gone, but I didn't have a chance to write a post about my father due to my travels outside of the country. Now that I’m back and have trusty wifi and a laptop, I want to take some time and write about the man who is not only my role model, but the reason I’m the gamer I am today. I encourage all of you, regardless of the day, to thank your fathers and mothers as often as possible, especially if they had a hand in you becoming a gamer.

As a gamer well into his 20s, it’s interesting to look back at my past and think about the beginnings of my love for gaming. It may have been nearly 23 years ago that I first popped a cart into a Sega Genesis and began what would become a lifelong hobby and passion, but to this day I have vivid memories of my earliest experiences as a gamer. Still, no matter how many times I look back at my history with video games, there seems to be one constant: my father. Without him, I wouldn’t be the gamer I am today, for it was he who taught me how to hold a controller; it was him who introduced me to the likes of Sonic and Mario; and it is him who, to this day, still games with me.

Sadly, as the years go by, my father and I seem to have less and less time to game together. Still, when we finally find the time, I always have flashbacks of my 5-year-old self with my father sitting at my side in front of an old CRT as we save imaginary lands from evil and build memories that will last a lifetime. As a way to thank my father for all those wonderful memories, I decided to write letters from each stage of my gaming life as I’ve grown to be the gamer I am today.

Preschool Gamer

Dear Daddy,

Thanks a bunch for getting that Sega Genesis! It’s really, really fun to play with you when you get home from work. I like playing NHL with you, especially when I get to play as my favorite team, the Red Wings. I also really like playing Sonic the Hedgehog. He’s really fast and cool, plus he’s my favorite color! He is the best character because you call me your little hedgehog when you carry me on your shoulders. My favorit-est game is Toejam & Earl cause we get to play together a lot. The aliens make funny noises and do crazy things when they open presents, but it’s really hard to play all by myself. I really need you to help me get all the spaceship pieces, and it’s cool when we get to sit for a long time and play together. Thanks a lot for letting me play games with you. It’s the best part of the day.

Love,

Timmy

Elementary Gamer

Dear Dad,

The SNES you bought is really fun to play. I really like the new games we have. Every morning I wake up and play Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars before I have to catch the bus. Sometimes I almost miss the bus because I’m playing too much and you don’t like that, but it makes me very happy to play before school. I know that you don’t like RPGs as much as I do, but thanks for helping me beat that boss early in the game. Oh, and thanks taking me to Blockbuster every week to rent Earthbound. I’m not sure what’s going a lot of the time, and it’s really hard to play, but I want to play it all day and all night. I wish we could play these games together like we used to do, but RPGs are for one player only. But if you ever want to play games with me we can rent a two-player game. Or I can play my games while you watch. I like that, too, dad. I also like Command & Conquer on the computer, but I’m not that good at it so I like watching you play that more, especially when Tanya blows things up. Okay, I have to go play Earthbound.

Love,

Tim

Middle School Gamer

Hey Dad,

Firstly, the N64 is awesome! The graphics are so cool, and Mario is in 3D! Of course you already know this because you watched me play Super Mario 64 for the first time when we brought my N64 home. It took a really long time to save up enough money from my paper route to buy my very own console, but I did it and I was so happy to play it for the first time. When I asked you to buy me one and you told me to get a paper route, I thought I would never own an N64, and I was a little mad at you. But I worked really hard, and you helped me a lot by driving me around to houses when weather was bad. Remember when we got a few feet of snow in winter and we delivered the papers together in a blizzard? It was hard but we did it, and to celebrate you bought us some pop and meat sticks and the corner market. That was fun, even though I was super tired.

Still, I got good tips that day and was able to save up the $200 to buy the N64! And the best part is you can play a lot of games with me, like Wave Race 64. I’ve been practicing really hard to beat all your times and win all the races, so I hope you’re ready to play when you get home from work. Well, it’s time to practice my stunts in Glacier Coast as Dave Mariner (“Fatboy”).

See ya!

Tim

High School Gamer

Dad,

I don’t have as much time for video games as I used to, what with working at Dairy Queen a lot these days, but let me know when you’re done with the PS2 so I can continue playing Call of Duty. I didn’t know that shooters were so fun, but those D-Day missions really sucked me in. I didn’t think anything could drag me away from Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec or Burnout 3, but I’ve found myself playing Call of Duty and Black more often. It seems that our schedules are opposite one another a lot these days, plus my girlfriend wants to go out a lot (and she has a knack for calling when I’m in the middle of a gaming session). Still, I’m hoping one day we can continue trading missions in SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs. I know it’s not co-op like we usually do but I enjoy the way you play. You’re a lot more patient and prefer stealth, but I just can’t help but go in with guns blazing.

Speaking of guns blazing, I’m still angry with you for not letting me buy GTA III. All my friends are playing it and I still don’t think it’s that big of a deal – I mean, I played Mortal Kombat as a kid and I turned out alright. However, you say you’re doing it for my own good and you have to draw the line somewhere, and there’s really nothing I can do about it. I still love you even though I’m mad at you, and maybe one day I’ll understand your reasoning, but it just doesn’t make sense to me right now. Aw crap, the girlfriend is calling me again – and I was just about to go play Final Fantasy X. She’s probably going to ask me to sell my games again…as if! Thanks for at least understanding that gaming is important to me (unlike some people).

Later,

Tim

Graduated Gamer

Hey Papa,

I can’t believe that time flies so fast. It just seems like a few years ago we were lighting the lamp in NHL ’94 and saving up to buy an N64 together. Yet here we are, you about to retire and me engaged to the woman I love, about to embark on another adventure in life. It’s been a long and rocky road to this point, and while girlfriends, seasons, schools, hairstyles, and just about everything else has changed or gone completely, I wanted to thank you for the one constant through it all – video games. Now I know that you’ve given me so much in my life, and believe me I’m grateful for it all, but gaming was really the one thing that has helped keep me sane over the last 20+ years. Growing up as an only child isn’t easy, particularly when the summers hit, and I often turned to video games as a source of comfort and companionship. I knew characters like Sonic, Ness, Mario, and Cloud better than I knew a lot of my friends, and while many people may think this is sad, it actually helped me find a place in this world.

As the years went on and I was able to get out of the house more, I still turned to video games to get me through tough times. When I had a tough day at school, the struggles of Zidane, Dagger, Vivi, et al to save the world put things in perspective. And when I needed to de-stress after a long session of doing homework, I could find that relief by dodging cops and competitors in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. So you see, video games give me a good outlet for emotions and tough times.

That being said, the most important thing I got out of gaming was the bond between me and you, dad. You did it right and started me out at a young age. I know the stigma that video games have faced through the years and that your method of bonding with me through gaming probably wasn’t a popular one, but trust me, it was the right call. Some of my most vivid memories are of us playing games like Toejam & Earl and Road Rash. I can recall sneaking peaks at the screen as you played Doom, even though I wasn’t supposed to, and of playing Command & Conquer because you did. And to this day, one of my favorite memories is of you beating that damn crocodile mini-boss for me early in Super Mario RPG for the SNES. I don’t know if you remember it, but I’ll never forget it as long as I live because it meant so much to me at the time. You know what they say – the smallest gestures can make the difference to a child.

And as I grew up I know that we had our fair share of fights and disagreements (GTA III, anyone?), and we grew apart a little during the high school and college years. Still, through those tough times I went back to video games as a source of familiarity, safety, and comfort. Even at our worst moments when it seemed like we’d never speak again, I had a connection to you that I could never sever. Whenever I boot up the N64, the SNES, or even the PS3, I’m booting up a long history of gaming that I wouldn’t have without you.

So thank you, papa. Thank you for opening my eyes to the world of gaming at such a young age. Thank you for teaching me a valuable lesson in responsibility by having me buy my own N64 (and then playing it with me). Thank you for looking out for me and trying to protect me from explicit content, even though I disagreed with you at the time. And thank you for continuing to game with me to this day. And even though sometimes we’ve been hundreds of miles away playing Battlefield 3 over Xbox Live, it still feels like we’re side by side, playing Sonic the Hedgehog for the first time all over again.

Your Son,

Tim, aka – Graduated Gamer

Graduation Day - Ni No Kuni

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 9 Jul 2014 13:00:00 -0400

Out of all the gaming genres, RPGs are nearest and dearest to my heart, particularly JRPGs. While many gamers are turned off by common JRPG conventions like grinding, grinding, and grinding, I can’t help but fall in love with the traditional JRPG elements like classes, summons, world-destroying villain, and yes, even the grinding. It is with this in mind that I finally took the dive into the world of Ni No Kuni.

To be honest, I really took the plunge because of two reasons: a) I finally bought a PS3 a few months back and b) a friend of mine lent me the game for free. This isn't to say that I didn't completely and utterly want to play this game! When you’re an arguable hardcore JRPG fan and a game like Ni No Kuni comes along you don’t just shrug and move on with your life. It’s the same reason why I regret never finishing Final Fantasy VIII or Legend of Dragoon – games like those speak to the very essence of who I am as a gamer: obsessed, stubborn, old-school, and willing to sacrifice personal relationships for something that nobody else really cares about (okay, that last one is harsh, but do you really think the world gave a fuck that Cloud saved them from Sephiroth?). But how exactly did Oliver and his band of familiar-wielding (aka – summon-wielding) pals sit with the late-20s me that may have a teen version of me trapped inside?

To be brief, I loved it. Not in the, “Oh yea, I love the visuals and the action!” way of loving it that so many gamers seem to have these days (forgive me if this offends but as of writing this I've had a rough week and I have the urge to speak my mind – seriously graphics aren't everything, people!). I’m talking, “I wish I didn't have so many distractions in my life like a job, bills, loved ones, and the so-called ‘real world’ so I could grind to my heart’s content and get all my familiars up to level 100” type of love. It’s an obsession, and that’s what, to me, JRPGs are all about. The reason IMO that JRPGs fell out of favor with people in the 2000's is because people got lazy. Again, this isn't a problem with gamers as much as it is with the industry for not recognizing their consumer trends to not want to grins for dozens of hours to beat a few middling bosses. Gamers were screaming for more western RPGs and FPS games like Fallout 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Gaming styles aside, the industry responds to what sells, and that’s what the industry has churned out en masse the last 10 years of so. However, as with fashion and history, things go in cycles and we’re now seeing a Renaissance of the JRPG, and I couldn't be happier.

So back to Ni No Kuni – what exactly was it about this game that dragged me back into the rabbit hole like Earthbound and Super Mario RPG did to me before? Well, first of all, it’s the likability of the characters. For Ni No Kuni, the star of the show, Oliver, is what I’d like to focus on. When I play a JRPG, for some reason I’m drawn more towards the characters that exhibit a bit of pure idealism, which some can also call innocence. Take Earthbound for example – you have a young kid who embarks on a massive adventure to save the world from an all-powerful alien being on a whim because he truly believes that his psychic abilities can do the trick. If that’s not innocence I don’t know what is. However, with the advent of Final Fantasy VII, popular characters and heroes became darker, edgier, moodier, and essentially Dariah-esque. While it did great to bring JRPGs back into the mass public’s attention, that anti-hero, emo archetype took away a bit of what made the genre special in some ways.

Some cartoons just want to watch the world burn.

But Ni No Kuni brings us Oliver who is on the “Ness”-end of the hero scale. The journey has the feel of something straight out of Calvin & Hobbes. A boy running around with his stuffed animal friend and a stick for a wand just screams innocence and harkens back to the child in gamers like myself who grew up in awe of the magical worlds we were fortunate to explore. His sense of wonder and desire to do what’s right by the world and his friends is inspiring, and while it’s corny at times, it never gets over the top.

Still, no game is complete with just great characters, One of the best things about Ni No Kuni is its balance. You have a choice of two difficulties – story-focused, or easy, and combat-focused, or normal. You get the same story either way, but one gives you an added challenge. This essentially boils down to grinding, but any JRPG fan would be remiss to select easy. I say this because even while playing on normal difficulty, I never felt extremely overwhelmed to the point of frustration. Sure there are times when a boss fight is tougher than others, but it’s not to the point where you have to grind for hours to beat it. Either you need to grind a bit more or you simply need to change your battle strategy.

And this is where Ni No Kuni has its best innovation but also its greatest flaw. The battle system allows you to take control of any party member and their familiars (more on them later), but you also dictate how your other party members should battle. Should they attack the weakest enemies? Should they act as a healer? Or should they not use abilities and only use physical attacks? This is great for many battles as the party AI is good for straight up attacking normal beasties. I rarely had issues with my party failing to contain a randomly encountered mob.

"Oliver, promise me you'll never set your AI to do what they like!"

However, boss battles are where the AI loses its luster. I found myself having to focus too much on keeping my team alive or out of danger because they did a terrible job of doing anything else but head-strong attacking. Setting a member to a healer means they heal when they feel like it, and it’s so random that it can hardly be called intelligent. Most of the time a healer would die in between heals because they rushed into the battle irresponsibly. Also, the team AI doesn't know when to retreat if their health is low, meaning they keep putting themselves in harm’s way leading to quick deaths. Eventually, I started treating boss battles like solo affairs and just ignoring my team members. While this strategy works, it’s frustrating to stretch a battle that should take 10 minutes into one that takes 30 minutes. Regardless, it’s forgivable for how infrequently it happens.

Now on to the most addicting aspect of the game – familiars. Think non-turn based Pokémon with armor and weapons, and you've got the gist of it. The world is full of familiars that you have to battle, and early on you’re given the ability to capture familiars and level them up. Each familiar has 4 evolutions, 2 of which are a choice between the 3^rd and final form. Believe me when I say that familiar hunting and leveling becomes a game in itself. The addiction factor is high, and the cuteness factor even higher. I can’t tell you how much I've agonized over which final form to choose with some of my favorite familiars. When you've spent over 30 hours with the same creatures, you start to develop a bond. It’s akin to that feeling you have when your little Charmander finally evolves into a Charizard. It’s easy to get lost in the world of familiar hunting and leveling, but it’s a welcome distraction when you need a break from the overall adventure.

I choose you, you adorable sonofabitch!

I could go on about how the game looks great, but it’s on the PS3 so you know that already. I could go on about the story, but it’s a JRPG so you know it has a hero saving the world. All of these things are secondary to the best aspects of the game I mentioned above. The point is that Ni No Kuni harkens back to JRPG forefathers like Earthbound, earlier Final Fantasy games, and Super Mario RPG. If you’re like me and love the feel of exploration, with a dash of innocence and a hint of Pokémon, then you’ll love Ni No Kuni. It may take you 50+ hours to beat (not complete), but you’ll enjoy every minute of it. I know this will be a game I’ll come back to years later, pop it in, and have major feels about the first time I played it, and that’s when I know a game is something special.

Reliving Past Glory

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 13:00:00 -0400

One of the greatest things about video games is that you can play them again and again. Okay, so that’s also true for a lot of things like movies and songs, but there are things that you can’t experience again and again…like important life events such as a wedding or the birth of a child. I guess that argument fell apart a bit there, whatever. Regardless, video games are awesome because they have replay value, even if they’re the same every single playthrough. I've recently been thinking about games I’d love to play again, and I decided to put those thoughts down into list form. I hope you enjoy a walk down my memory lane, and feel free to let me know about games you’d love to play again on Twitter or in the comments.

1) Super Mario RPG

You aren't fooling anyone, Bowser!

This was one of the most memorable experiences I've ever had playing a video game. I can still recall days waking up for elementary school, throwing on clothes, and running to the living room to play this classic before the bus came. I’d be lying if I said I didn't miss a few of those buses because of this game. I was a huge Mario fan as most (S)NES children were growing up, and when Squaresoft combined Mario’s world with the RPG genre it was like crack. You couldn't keep me away and I loved every second of it, so much so that it inspired me to try some more of Squaresoft’s work (like that little Final Fantasy series they make). It’s been years since I stomped on baddies heads with the likes of Mallow, Geno, and of course emo-Bowser (his best role ever), and now that I have the Wii fired up, it’s time to rectify that.

2) Earthbound

The creators of this game definitely weren't on acid.

Where Super Mario RPG made me fall in love with Squaresoft, Earthbound is the game that made me fall in love with RPGs. I first rented this cult-classic from a Blockbuster, back in the days when it was kind to rewind, Nintendo hosted Donkey Kong Country tournaments, and the rental also came with the game guide/manual (how it didn’t get stolen I’ll never know). I remember the whimsical nature of the game that seemed driven to not take itself too seriously, and I also remember how absolutely unforgiving the game could be, especially to an inexperienced child. I rented Earthbound 3 times but couldn’t beat it…at least not until I bought a used copy from a Funcoland (remember those!?) years later. Sadly, I eventually sold that copy, but recently picked up another cart at great cost, and will one day save the world with the precocious and heroic Ness.

3) ToeJam & Earl

Spaceship hunting is hard work.

Today, multiplayer gaming is the norm, and can be done across oceans with the press of a button. But if you’ve been gaming long enough, you know well enough that the multiplayer gaming experience used to be scant and involved having multiple controllers plus a good friend down the road. My first experience with multiplayer gaming was with the Genesis classic ToeJam & Earl, playing for hours with my dad trying to help those funky aliens rebuild their spaceship and escape in the insanity of planet Earth. At the time, the highlight of my day came when my dad and I would sit on the floor together in front of the old CRT and enjoy a game just inches apart. Good times, simpler times.

4) Road Rash II

TAKE THAT LAWSON, YOU BITCH!

If you’ve ever played any of the Burnout, Need for Speed, or even Twisted Metal games, then you owe the Road Rash franchise a big thank you. Back in the Genesis days, Road Rash made battle racing extremely enjoyable, and they did it on motorcycles! There was just something so satisfying about pummeling your competitor with a police baton or metal chain so much that they crashed, then outracing a cop to the finish. I actually got my first experience with the 2^nd iteration of the series on Sega’s little black box, and I loved it so much the first time that I rented it 3 more times from Blockbuster. Oh, and Road Rash was also one of the first video games to have a soundtrack with popular bands and allowing gamers to access them via a jukebox feature.

5) Jet Force Gemini

I barely remember these bugs but damn was this a fun game.

If you were to ask me why I love this oft-forgotten gem from the N64, I’d have a hard time telling you why. All I know is that as a kid I was blown away by the game and was deeply saddened when my copy of the game froze. Perhaps it was the sci-fi theme, and I know for sure that I was impressed by the assortment of weapons you could wield in the game (upon reflection, Jet Force Gemini has a lot of things in common with later games like Jak and Daxter and Ratchet and Clank). Regardless why I loved it, I would love to go back in time to the day I popped this little known cart into my N64 for the first time just to know the feels.

6) Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

Classic box art is classic.

I know some of you may be wondering how/why a Super Mario Gameboy game made it on this list ahead of a Pokémon game, and I have a good reason for it – Super Mario Land 2 was the first Gameboy game to feel whimsical and make Nintendo’s super handheld system a must-have wherever I went. Before, the system was something I borrowed from my mom between her Tetris sessions and my Super Nintendo games. However, once I started Mario’s hunt for those golden coins in Gameboy’s glorious shades of green, I couldn’t put it down. It was soon afterwards that my mom realized that the Gameboy would have to be borrowed from me, and it’s because of this game that classics like Pokémon found their way into my game library.

7) Final Fantasy VII

My sentiments exactly, Cloud.

Okay, so this one is probably on a lot of lists out there, and while I’ve made it no secret that Final Fantasy IX is my favorite installment in this celebrated franchise, the first time I ventured into Shinra as Cloud Strike & Co. was an experience that any RPG lover will never forget. While I was certainly no stranger to RPGs at the time (see above), the dark and brooding nature of Final Fantasy VII was a deviation from the bright, vibrant worlds of my previous experiences. Plus, I nearly dropped my controller on the floor with my jaw whenever Sephiroth did, well, anything badass like he does. I mean, very few villains have made me want to buy a sword quite like that silver-haired sociopath. Hell of a salesman.

Final Fantasies and Emotional Realities

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 30 Apr 2014 13:00:00 -0400

Many gamers develop feelings for the games they play. Love, hate, and everything in between can be elicited by the characters, genres, and fictitious worlds we cherish so much. As a young gamer, my emotions were mainly kept to a minimum in gaming, usually surfacing in little bits and snippets, like when I’d complete a certain level that seemed cheap and impossible to beat. It made me proud, and I’m sure everyone can relate to these feelings to a certain degree, but for me it took some time until one game actually made me feel, and the impact was so great that to this day it causes me to stop and reflect on the time I spent playing it in the spring of 2001.

I’m referring to the classic Final Fantasy IX from Square (don’t tell me to put the Enix there because I won’t do it). The gaming world was still experiencing a rejuvenation and new-found respect of JRPG titles, thanks to the worldwide hit Final Fantasy VII, and I was definitely one of those gamers who fell hard for the dark and angsty world of Cloud and Co. However, the seventh installment of Square’s flagship series failed to move me on any level further than an outburst of “WOOHOO! I just beat Sephiroth!” Perhaps I was a bit too young to fully connect with the characters on an emotional level. Or perhaps I just didn't care that much about the story as an 11 year old. Whatever the reason, little did I know my experience with Square’s medieval-esque fantasy world would change me as a gamer and a person.

Sad? No. I was PISSED because I leveled Aeris.

While my last statement may’ve seemed a bit extreme, I think it’s time to express my outlook on the importance and validity of video games as more than just a way to pass time. For hundreds of years before television and video entertainment, humans looked to other forms of media to inspire and shape them. Authors wove brilliant tales of faraway lands and dashing heroes while splicing in themes and motifs that morphed the minds of the young and old (and continue to do so today). Thespians would perform for kings, aristocrats, and common folk alike to not only give them an escape from their troubles, but to also teach them about important issues in their society and the world at large.

Whereas literature, theater, and art have prevailed for centuries, people in the modern society still look at media, like video games, as just an escape, something that people do for nothing more than simple pleasure. And many still believe they hold no real connection or significance in today’s world like those aforementioned activities did in the past. However, I (as I’m sure most of you reading this do as well) believe that video games are increasing in importance, not only as artistic mediums, but as tools to help the general public progress into a new era.

Now that that’s out of the way, back to Final Fantasy IX. By the time I opened up my copy of the game, I had spent over 200 hours in the world of Final Fantasy VII. I had also attempted to play Final Fantasy VIII, but alas, a faulty disc caused the game to crash about halfway through completion, and I've never had the heart to pick it back up since. Regardless, I had a basic understanding of what to expect for FFIX; however, I had no idea the kind of impact this game would have on me.

Around the same time I was going through a personal transition from boyhood to manhood. And before you stop reading, I’m not going to go into any weird biology here. What I mean is, I was moving on to a new realm of my life, one where I’d start attending high school, driving, dating, having more freedom, etc., and in the midst of this process I was attempting to find out more about who I was as a person. I know now that many people experience these events multiple times throughout their lives, especially during college years (been there, done that, graduated with more questions than answers…), but this was my first foray into the makeup of what made me, me. And compounding this complicated stage in my life was the loss of an aunt, the first death in my family I’d experienced, and the exploration into questions of religion and an afterlife. So as you can see, 2000/01 was a very intriguing time for me.

Still, you can’t keep a good gamer down enough to separate him from his habits, and while I was busy soul-searching, I began my quest to kidnap a princess, fall in love, and eventually save the world. But throughout my journey I started to relate to the themes and characters in Final Fantasy IX in a way I’d never done before. Particularly those of mortality and purpose expressed through my all-time favorite FF character, Vivi Ornitier. Vivi’s past is initially shrouded in mystery, and it takes the loss of a loved one to inspire him to explore the world and discover more about himself. And through his journey with the main protagonist, Vivi grapples with serious issues of his own transience, why he exists in the world, and if he was inherently good, or destined to be evil. (Some of these themes are also expressed through the lead character Zidane, but I identified more with Vivi, possibly because I love black mages more than thieves.)

Not sure if philosophical or emo...

Throughout the game, I became entranced by many of the cut scenes, especially those that involved Vivi’s storyline (and there were quite a few). His struggle to take his questionable existence and place it within the reality around him struck a chord within me, because of my desire to know where I, myself, fit in the world. When Vivi learned of death and how he too may quite possibly die one day, it played with my emotions particularly because of the recent passing of my aunt. And when Vivi questioned whether he had any control over his destiny in life, and if he controlled the ability to be good or evil, well, I think that’s something many people in this world can relate to at one point or another.

Once I attached myself to Vivi and his band of misfits, I stopped being just a player and observer – I began to feel for them, and at many times laughed and cried alongside them. But it wasn't until after all the battles had been won and peace was restored to the world that I truly realized how much this game had affected me. As the credits began to roll, the song “Melodies of Life” began to play, and I just lost it. All the hours spent relating to these characters was really a part of my own self-discovery, and when it was all over I didn't know what else to do but sit and cry as the text scrolled and the FMVs from my 70+ hour adventure played. Call it whatever you want, but I truly believe that my adventures spent with Vivi & Co. helped me back then and now, years later, to grow as a person.

But as time passed, the emotional connection to Final Fantasy IX somewhat faded. Don’t get me wrong, it still remains my favorite FF game of all time (and my favorite video game OST of all time, period), but I no longer cry or tear up at the sound of “Melodies of Life.” I don’t need the experiences from this game to carry me through life anymore, even if I’m going through another personal exploration. Still, I can’t deny the emotions that game invoked inside me and the hold it had on me over 10 years ago. And while many other games have come along since then and affected me emotionally on many different levels, I’ll never forget the first game to cause me both joy and sorrow in such a meaningful way.

Graduation Day - The Wolf Among Us Episode One: Faith (Xbox 360)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 18:44:00 -0400

Telltale Games has made a name for itself recently in the gaming world. It’s no secret that their game based on The Walking Dead was hugely successful, which likely had a hand in the studio’s ability to snag the license to make a game based on Game ofThrones. However, when Telltale Games’ “in between” series The Wolf Among Us was being wildly hyped and praised by every person and gaming site with an outlet, I still had no intention of buying the game.

There are a number of factors that contributed to this decision. For one, I played the first two episodes of their game based on The Walking Dead and while I thought it was a great expansion on the universe from the show (I never read the graphic novels so don’t even bother with the distinctions between those and the show), I never really got into the decision-making aspect of the series. I know that it’s a great concept to have your decisions affect how the game plays out (like one of my favorites, Mass Effect), but I still felt like a passenger in a story masquerading as a game. I prefer to be more engaged and active rather than passive in a game, and while the quick time events were interesting at first, they weren't enough to make me feel actually engaged. Second, I don’t like this new trend of games coming out in “episodes” or “parts”. To me, this is just a ploy to get your money for a game/series that you have no guarantee will be great down the line. It’s like blind-dating for video games, but you feel obligated to date every person that comes next even though they may turn out to be an unhinged psychopath. Yea, no thanks. And lastly, I had no time to dedicate to another series, nor the patience to wait for each episode to release.

Why does this feel like a scam?

However, fate forced my hand when late in 2013 Xbox Live offered the first episode of The Wolf Among Us for free. Never one to pass up a free game, it was on my hard drive and sat there waiting to be played until I finally had the time a few months later. I had just finished up playing a number of RPGs and shooters, and thought a change of pace would be great. Besides, the game would only take a few hours to beat from what I’d heard and I could certainly spare the time. I fired it up and awaited greatness.

Sadly, the short trip I took with The Wolf Among Us was a rough ride filled with too many technical issues to see the potential greatness beyond. Things start promising enough, especially with the game’s major strength, its storytelling. You’re Bigby Wolf, or the Big Bad Wolf (Bigby, or Big B…get it?!), sheriff of Fabletown. Your job is to protect the now displaced Fables living in New York from humans and one another. After a fairly routine disturbance, things escalate quickly with a Fable ending up murdered, and it falls to you to solve this mystery. The story really is the star, and it is told with brilliant voice acting. I never thought I’d enjoy seeing childhood story characters curse, drink, and smoke like sailors, but I’d be lying if I said a smile didn't cross my face when the likes of Mr. Toad channels his inner Samuel L. Jackson and tells his kid to go the fuck to sleep. Things have clearly gone downhill for these Fables since leaving their fairy tale lives, and while things in Fabletown are seedy and generally in bad shape, it adds a brilliant twist to childhood memories for adults playing the game.

Speaking of awesome characters, you room with a smoking pig. Yup.

However, just like Fabletown, there are more dark alleys than happily-ever-after’s to The Wolf Among Us. The first things that annoyed me were the loading screens and times. Now I know that even in today’s advanced gaming age that loading is a necessary evil. However, we aren't talking about a game like Skyrim or Mass Effect here. While The Wolf Among Us is a beautiful looking game, we’re still talking about a game spanning just a few hours and doesn't have a massive, sprawling world to explore. I know that a lot of the quick time sequences require the game to react in real-time to your input, but they’re still scripted events and shouldn't require more than 30 seconds to load.

And as for those quick time sequences, they’re amazing in theory and practice…when they work. Unfortunately for The Wolf Among Us, this was the exception, and I frequently found myself frustrated and plain disheartened when the engine failed to keep pace with the quick time events. This caused me to miss key moments to dodge objects or pull off awesome moves in a fight scene. And it didn't just happen once or twice. Outside of the first scene in the game, I encountered significant slowdown, stalling, and on one occasion a scene completely “freeze” in the middle of a quick time event. I could still manipulate the camera but all the characters were just standing around as if they were waiting for something to happen. That’s just unacceptable, especially when I did nothing unique or odd as far as I could tell but simply provide inputs as prompted by the scripted event. That’s just poor QA and there’s no excuse for that in a game this short.

Lastly, as I alluded to there are significant framerate issues, especially during the quick time events and, surprisingly, right after loading. This was particularly frustrating because after a 30 second wait time I’m ready to get right into the game, but it feels like I had to go through a secondary load time as I waited for the engine to catch up to the game (or is it vice versa…?). After this happened for the 4^th time in a row, I sadly gave up any hope of having a smooth running game.

The framerate issues are enough to turn anyone into a Big Bad Wolf.

If you can get past the long load times every 20 minutes, and the framerate issues that cause you to miss quick time events and even cause the game to freeze, then you’ll find a beautifully detailed game with an amazing story and brilliant voice-acting. Unfortunately, I’m not one of those people that can take a dark cloud simply for the silver lining, and the frequent slowdown left me with a game that was a chore to finish rather than a fulfilling experience to remember. I certainly hope that Telltale Games can work out the bugs with their series for the remaining episodes of The Wolf Among Us, because if not a lot of gamers will be disenchanted with a series with a lot of potential to be phenomenal.

Note: After speaking with some friends, I've come to understand that the Xbox 360 version of the game that I played is known to have major issues with framerate and slowdown. Unfortunately, that’s the version of the game I played for this review, so you PC and PS3 players should take that into consideration and ask around for other opinions. And for you Xbox 360 owners, I’m sorry. =(

Ever the Anxious Gamer

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 6 Feb 2014 20:55:00 -0500

Gamers are indeed a unique bunch. We spend billions of dollars a year to enjoy a form of entertainment that many to this day consider to be a waste of time and aforementioned money. We sacrifice time, sleep, and sometimes sanity for the sake of this passion and frankly, we don’t give a damn what people think. However, most of us (including myself) would be the first to admit that this lifestyle can sometimes be costly to our mental foundation.

Personally, I believe my early years of gaming were a catalyst for some of my OCD tendencies. What today is expressed by my extreme umbrage with improper grammar, odd numbers, asymmetry, and various other things in life likely began with the need to hit the highest point of a flag pole in Super Mario Bros., grind for hours in Earthbound to easily defeat bosses the first time, or collect all party members and complete all side quests in Final Fantasy VII. Maybe I’m over analyzing things a bit here, but there’s something to be said for the nature of games and the pressure they put on gamers to strive for “perfection”, particularly retro games where high difficulty was the norm, not a setting. Still, gaming is a stressful event; maybe not all the time, but from time to time we all get to a point where that controller is one small break in our self-control away from becoming a projectile.

BOOM nailed it! And only on my 20th try!

Still, these feelings have been with me since the advent of my relationship with video games. What I found recently was a new feeling of mental anguish that afflicted me while playing during my week of marathoning while sick with the flu. It filled me with a paralyzing feeling that can only be described as a mix of guilt and fear. The guilt came from thinking I was wasting my time gaming when I should’ve been doing “more productive” things like checking email (i.e. – working), and the subsequent fear was that I was not only wasting precious time but that it was somehow making me a worse person to spend it playing video games. I can’t quite explain why, but I started judging myself harshly for playing video games for so many hours. Combined, I was riddled for almost 2 straight days with what I like to call gamer anxiety.

From my childhood child well into my college years, I never considered gaming to be a waste of time. Sure it distracted me many times from doing homework, but I always made responsible choices and made time to do homework. Gaming was a part of who I was, and homework got in the way of it, not the other way around. However, somewhere between graduation and now my brain has been tricked into believing that gaming is no longer the part that deserves the lion’s share of attention. Now I’ll be the first to admit that dealing with adult and work responsibilities will always take more time than gaming, but that doesn't mean that gaming is any less a part of who I am now than it was when I was growing up. I now realize that a schism occurred in my brain, and now, for whatever reason, gaming is being treated as an enemy more than ever.

Visual representation of my brain schism [not to scale].

Perhaps some of you are familiar with this feeling. It doesn't take much – take a gamer, throw him/her into the real world with a job, maybe a relationship, and bills to pay, and you've got the recipe for gamer anxiety. Still, many of you may be still be free of such burdens and may think this is a foreign subject to you (which you should seriously cherish…CHERISH IT DAMMIT!). However, gamer anxiety takes many forms, and this one affects approximately 87% of all gamers*: backlog anxiety. Admit it, you've been there, playing a game that you’re enjoying, maybe even for the second or third time, and you glance over at your stack or shelves or walls of games left unplayed and thought about what an awful human being you are. Seriously, you should be jailed for neglecting so many worthy games. Why don’t they deserve the same amount of time as the game you’re playing now? Besides, you've already played Earthbound four times in your life, why do you need a fifth playthrough? And how much money did you spend on those games just for them to become dust collectors? You’re holding your games hostage and forcing them to watch you enjoy other games. Sicko.

Okay, that’s all a bit harsh, but those are the kinds of thoughts that run through my head when I’m playing a game, even one I’m enjoying immensely, and I look at my backlogged games. I feel like a parent whose chosen a favorite child and made no attempt to hide it from the rest of the kids. But why do I do this to myself? Am I trying to sabotage my good times because of some deep issue with self-destruction? Am I just so ADD that I must move on to another game after a certain amount of time spent on the current one, yet at the same time feel guilty for not finishing the current game? Am I simply just annoyed that my backlog keeps growing because no matter how much I play I’m never making a dent? Hell, if I knew I’d take steps to stop this ridiculous feeling.

...and I keep buying them but not playing them.

Alas, maybe it’s simply how a gamer’s brain works. Maybe it all stems back to those early days of OCD gaming as a kid. Seriously, I have no clue and won’t pretend to offer any shred of real help in this area. Right now, I guess I’ll have to accept this newfound strain in my life until I can properly sort it out. Still, despite my gamer anxiety, I’ll never stop gaming, because at the end of the day an email will eventually be deleted and purged, but the memories from gaming will last a lifetime. Besides, I’m glad that gaming means so much to me as to elicit these feelings. The day that gaming no longer makes me feel anything is the day I should just pack it all up. Game on.

*This was taken from a scientific study of 1000 randomly sampled gamers… just kidding, I made it up because that’s just too much work. SCIENCE!

Graduated Gamer Reviews: The Stanley Parable

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 17:07:00 -0500

[SPOILER ALERT…? – I try very hard to exclude any and all spoilers from this review. The joy of playing a game like The Stanley Parable is the exploration, discovery, and mystery within it and I would hate to spoil that for anyone. I did not include anything in detail in this review pertaining to endings or Easter Eggs one can find in the game. I simply discuss the merits of the game, its uniqueness, the gameplay, a bit of the plot, and some of what makes the game amazingly worthwhile for a short and cheap title. You've been warned, but I doubt you’ll feel cheated out of any experience by reading this.]

I can honestly say I've never played a game like The Stanley Parable before. When people say it’s hard to define this game, they aren't kidding. I was very unsure what to expect when diving into this game. I had heard all the accolades from expert reviews and fellow gamers alike, but I like to think for myself sometimes and actually try a game out to see if it’s as good or bad as people say. However, to say that I take a chance on an experimental game like this regularly would be a lie, especially one for the PC. Given that games were a luxury growing up for me, it’s still hard to this day to drop any amount of money on a title that I’m not 100% sure I’ll enjoy. However, sometimes I surprise even myself, and it’s a good thing too because The Stanley Parable surprised me in how amazingly enjoyable it was.

One might expect that a $15 game won’t get you much. Well that all depends on what defines entertainment value for you as a gamer. If you’re looking for a sprawling game that will eat up loads of your time like an RPG, you won’t find that here. If you’re looking for something that’ll scare you senseless or make you feel like a badass with big guns and explosives, then this game may not appeal to you. However, if you’re looking for something that is as funny as it is engrossing and unique, then you won’t find a better way to spend $15 on Steam.

Stop lying to yourself - you know you'll enjoy this game.

Let’s get the boring stuff out of the way first. As for length of play, The Stanley Parable is a short game, and depending on who you are or who you ask the game takes anywhere from 3 to 12 hours to complete. I’m a bit of a slow-paced gamer and like to explore a lot more (I blame my RPG upbringing), so all-in-all I completed the game in just over 10 hours. And when I say I completed the game, well that’s a bit of a subjective term with a game like this. One does not simply complete The Stanley Parable without wondering if there’s more to it, but we’ll save that for a bit later.

The plot of the game is simple – you’re Stanley, a worker whose job at a large company is to push buttons on a computer every day, all day. However, one day you show up to work and hours go by without a single command to push any buttons. Upon exiting your office you realize (with the help of your ever present narrator) that you’re the only one at the office, with all your co-workers having seemingly vanished into thin air. From here, the game puts control in your hands to tell the story of Stanley in the way you see fit. Early on the driver in the story is this simple plot, but after a couple of times through the game, the plot no longer matters and takes a backseat to your whims.

Which door will you choose to enter?

The reason the plot takes a backseat is because the gameplay is all about choices. Throughout the game, there are typically two or more choices that you can make that dictate where you’ll go and what your fate in the game will be. It’s a genius tool that other games have used before, but because The Stanley Parable is such a short game the choices don’t have the weight they would in a huge game like Mass Effect or The Walking Dead. This is a good thing, because it gives the player the feeling that they can make choices on a whim without having to angst over whether their decision was a good one or a bad one. You’ll find out the consequences in a matter of minutes and shortly thereafter have the option to make a different decision.

You might think that this would make a game monotonous and dry after about the 4^th or 5^th playthrough, but you’d be wrong for a number of reasons. The first of which is the design of the game, which over time can actually morph or change depending on the choices you've made and/or how long you've been playing. This was brilliantly done to allow me as the player to feel as if I was actually affecting the game with the choices I made, but also gave me incentive to keep playing again and again. What started as a quick playthough turned into a 3 hour session after which I was sad to shut it down. Replayability for The Stanley Parable isn't just high, it’s essential in order to get the most fulfilling experience.

Possibly the calculation for the ending you'll receive.

Still, for me the replay value wasn't influenced as much by the gameplay and choices as it was by the hilarious narration. As I mentioned earlier you’re adventure comes with its own narration. This begins as a way to help guide Stanley on his way to discover what’s amiss with his empty office, but it quickly morphs into a hilarious sort of dialogue between your actions and the often snarky narrator, voiced brilliantly by Kevan Brighting. It’s not often that the true star of the game is the narration, but this is the case with The Stanley Parable. I found myself on numerous occasions laughing out loud and grinning like an imbecile because of the narration. And the best part of all this is that your actions can have a huge impact on what the narrator says and when. Without giving too much away, I’ll say this: just because you did something once before in an earlier playthrough doesn't mean that the narrator’s response will be the same every time. Talk about a deep script!

Lastly, if you've heard anything about The Stanley Parable it’s likely about the various endings the game has. There’s a reason why such a big deal is made about the game’s multiple endings. Sure they add to the high replay value of the game, but it’s the uniqueness of the endings that makes them something to write home about. There are some endings that follow along with the universe you’re introduced to from the start and play into the story of Stanley and his company. But once you experience those few “simple” endings, you’ll want to find the purely absurd, sometimes depressing, but almost always hilarious endings that will keep you playing for hours just to see if you can discover a new one this time around. I won’t spoil any of them for you, and it’s easy enough to find them all with a simple Google or YouTube search, but I highly recommend you spend the first hour or two exploring on your own without any guides, as the game was intended to be played. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

TSP may or may not have a rankings system.

While speaking with a friend the other day, he stated that The Stanley Parable isn't for everyone, and he was glad that the game’s humor spoke to him so he could enjoy the ride. This is essentially what the game’s enjoyability boils down to – if you love the dark, snarky, and sometimes bizarre situations and narration you’ll experience in the game, then you’ll love it. Still, some people will simply not enjoy the game for one reason or another (a friend of mine played it and just found it too strange and kept “expecting something to happen”) and that’s okay. The Stanley Parable is still worth your time and money, because it’s a unique game that doesn't come along very often, and should be experienced just for the sake of curiosity. Just remember – you can’t always trust that voice in your head, no matter how funny it may be.

A Week of Infectious Gaming

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 22 Jan 2014 13:30:00 -0500

I grew up in Michigan and there’s an old joke/saying in the Great Lake State: “We only have two seasons – winter and construction,” because both are unavoidable and seem to last forever. Well, I’d like to add a third season to that list – flu season. For the past 3 years I've gotten flu shot, and the past 3 years I've contracted the flu, including this year’s unpleasant batch of virulent hell that nature unleashed upon my system. Still, I’m rarely one to be both down and out, so while I took 4 days off from work, I decided to see what my life would be like if I spent an excessive amount of time playing video games like I used to do about ten years ago.

Back in my youth, particularly my middle school days, I used video games as an escape. It wasn't really a way to escape the real world because I was miserable. I didn't need video games to help me forget troubles at home or school, and I had friends to keep me company from time to time (especially during all-night 4-player split-screen Goldeneye and Mario Party sessions). No, my escape into video games was mainly because summer vacations can get pretty lonely when you’re an only child. When mom and dad went off to work, I’d get up at the crack of noon, grab a bowl or three of cereal, and head down to the basement to rock some N64, PSX, or PS2 action. It was a way to pass the time until my parents came home. Then, when night fell and my parents went to bed, I’d grab some Doritos and pop (yes I’m from the Midwest and yes it’s called pop) and settle in for a gaming marathon into the wee hours of the morning (usually using my father’s alarm clock for work as an indication to power down).

The absolute best way to spend a childhood.

It was during these blissful years of my youth that I gamed for an average of 10 hours a day when I didn't have to step foot outside. Was it a blast and did it get me through what would normally be a boring summer? Hell yea! Was it healthy? Shut up, nobody asked you! Still, those years have long since been gone, but with my sick week ahead of me I had the opportunity to go back in time to my teenage years and play games the way they were meant to be played – in huge marathon sessions in dark rooms while ignoring the fact that anything or anyone else exists. On the docket this week were two games I've been deeply invested in the last couple of months: Fallout 3 and Battlefield3. Sure they’re both a bit dated, but Fallout 3 is one of my favorite RPGs of all time, and ever since my dad got me hooked on playing multiplayer Battlefield 3 I've been nothing short of an addict. Combined, since mid-December I’d logged almost 100 hours of gameplay before my sick week, so gaming marathons shouldn't be a problem for me.

Now bear in mind that this week, while fun and freeing in terms of gaming was also partly miserable due to the fact that I was running a fever for nearly 72 hours and my bones and joints felt as if they’d each done an Iron Man event recently. Therefore I know that this little excursion down memory lane isn't entirely indicative of what a true week in gaming would be for me (not to mention the full-time girlfriend I live with, who, while cool with my gaming habits still requires attention from time to time). However, until I’m unemployed I won’t have a better shot to record my “findings” than this, so here we go.

I yearn for the days when this used to happen on the regular.

Gaming marathons as an adult suck. Holy cow, that was difficult to do, but I’m serious – it’s awful and I’m not entirely sure why, but it’s the truth. Before I get too far into the details, allow me to backpedal a bit into my experience:

Day One – I play Fallout 3 for about 4 hours straight, during which I’m trying hard to keep it out of my mind that I likely have about 300 unread emails in my work inbox despite the fact that everyone knows I’m sick. During that time I've felt guilty about “wasting” a beautiful morning “just playing video games”. After a little lunch break with the girlfriend and watching a couple of episodes of Wilfred (amazing show, BTW), I turn on some Battlefield 3 and jump into an online multiplayer session. During this session, I feel bad about not doing any laundry and wonder if I should’ve at least helped pick up a bit. After a few more hours of guilt-ridden and/or frustrating play on BF3, I pack it in for the night and opt to watch a few more episodes of Wilfred.

Day Two – Not much else different here; I felt guilty for being a lazy slob (although I did shower during the day) and gave myself more stress by not checking my email inbox which by this point must be in the thousands. I’m also not getting any better from the flu, despite drinking my weight in water and pomegranate juice, so that didn't help. Also, Battlefield 3 was just full of what can only be described as ass-hats most of the day, which didn't quite make my online foray enjoyable.

Day Three – I didn't spend as much time playing today. While averaging about 8 hours the first two days, my guilt got the better of me and I checked my email (which was thankfully only in the mid-100s) and journeyed outside of the apartment to run a couple of small errands with the girlfriend. I did still manage to play a few hours of Fallout 3 and an online session of BF3 with my dad, but I only clocked about 4 hours, and that was attributed to adult responsibilities more that the flu.

Day Four – I caved and went to work. I shouldn't have gone because I still had a slight fever, but dammit that inbox full of emails must’ve meant that I was important and needed at work more than the Capital Wasteland needed me to help get Project Purity back online (a stupid conclusion that I obviously blame on the fever). After work I squeezed in a measly hour of online time with BF3 then went to bed vowing to get better and go to work on Friday, only to have fevered, nonsensical dreams during a rough night of restless sleep

Day Five – I decide that my health and Project Purity are more important than work, and decide to ride out the end of my flu with my Xbox 360. Fallout 3 is the game du jour with a sprinkling of Battlefield 3, but I still could help but feel guilty, like I could be doing something more productive.

"Hey there boy! Want to protect me from myself?"

So now you have my synopsis of gaming during a week with the flu, and if it isn't painfully obvious already, the week was a bit bipolar from the perspective of a gamer. I thoroughly enjoy gaming, and have spent countless life-hours devoted to this “little hobby” of mine; however, it appears that my time as an adult (aka – the last three years) has severely altered my ability to get lost in my gaming. Having responsibility is a bitch. Bills need to be paid, paychecks need to be earned, and student loans need to be repaid. It all comes down to one universal truth – growing up means that people expect you to grow the fuck up and stop playing with toys and carry around a briefcase.

Okay, maybe I’m a bit bitter about the real world as of late given that I've been experiencing a bit of gaming anxiety, but the real world is not necessarily gamer-friendly. Unless you’re one lucky bastard and have the skill and/or luck to work for a company like IGN or develop video games for a living, playing video games is seen as a vast waste of time when you could be out there doing so much more, like selling your soul for a paycheck working for an evil corporation. This isn't a knock at corporate America, but rather a knock on the stigma that’s still inherent in America (and the world as a whole) towards gamers, and I felt the guilt I felt as a gamer this past week as I tried to enjoy something I love so much.

My brain's logic when deciding the merits of gaming.

So in a week where I was running a fever and had every right to sit in my PJs and play my Xbox 360 like I did for so many summers as a child, I was riddled with thoughts that I should be doing something better with my time. Being an adult comes with some awesome perks, like freedom to make any decision you want without someone else telling you it’s a bad idea and the money to buy anything you desire provided you have a steady income. The thing that I wish someone had told me growing up, though, was that it’s all a lie in one way or another. Even though you don’t have a parent telling you what to do, they've been replaced by something worse – a nagging voice in your own head telling you that you’re a terrible person for not being more adult. And even though you can afford more games than you ever could as a kid, you have very little free time to play them and it leads to huge backlogs and something that can only be described as gamer anxiety. So in the end, my week with the flu and many hours of potential gaming ended up being another rough lesson in how the real world isn't made for gamers. Maybe I should have spent my time more wisely, like inventing a time machine to go back to a better time, when gaming was the greatest thing in the world, and responsibilities were for fools.

The Year Ahead in Gaming: My 2014 Wishlist

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 8 Jan 2014 12:30:00 -0500

As gamers, we've developed little quirks, preferences, and (let’s face it) obsessions over the years of playing. Whether you started playing beloved platformers like Super Mario Bros. 3 or are a more recent gamer and stick to your guns in Call of Duty or Battlefield, you’re likely looking to the gaming industry to give us newer and better things every year. In a year that gave us 2 amazing new consoles in the Xbox One and PS4, 2013 was far from disappointing in the realm of exciting things. Console innovations like the Ouya and Oculus Rift are proof that video gaming is in the verge of a revolution where game development will be more open to the public to create and share, but gameplay now has the potential to immerse us into an experience we've dreamed since the term “virtual reality” was coined.

As we look ahead to what promises to be an amazingly exciting year in gaming, I’d like to share some things that I hope to see (and not see) in the next 365 days or so. With new consoles, tons of amazing games, and even some new and potentially annoying innovations on the horizon, there’s plenty of room for opinions all around. So please, enjoy mine:

Continued Support for the Xbox 360 and PS3

If there’s one thing that the lifespan of the PS2 taught the gaming world it’s that a console can live a long time after a new generation of consoles is released. The unusually long tenure of the PS2 was due in no small part to the fact that developers still gave the little black box attention years after the PS3 was on the market. Sure, it may not have had any of the flashy new series like Uncharted or Resistance, but people who loved sports titles like Madden or were interested in Japanese ports had plenty of reasons to keep their PS2 plugged firmly into their TVs. If Microsoft and Sony wish to please their customers, they’d be wise not to shift all their attention to the PS4 and XB1 too soon. Personally, I’ll be hanging onto my Xbox 360 for another year or two, and until I jump to the next generation of consoles I’d love to see plenty of support for those still hanging onto their beloved 360s and PS3s.

Seriously, nobody has that many hands!

Gaming Industry to Stop Shoving Peripheral Gaming Down Our Throats

This post has nothing to do with people using their Androids and iPhones for playing mobile games. By all means, have fun playing Angry Birds, Candy Crush, and Temple Run on the toilet – I won’t judge. Instead, this is about the latest, and in my opinion most obnoxious and pointless push by the gaming world at large to get every gamer out there to use their smart phones, iPads, Kindles, FitBits, and anything with a wireless signal to play console games with their friends or when away from home. I’m not opposed to playing mobile games or playing with friends, but so many next-gen games are touting this new functionality to play games on both the console and a tablet when it seems like nobody really asked for it. If Sony and Microsoft are trying to piggy-back off of the WiiU, they’re missing the mark IMO.

Fewer “Gamers” and More Gaming

Seriously people, let’s all just get along. If you play video games, you’re a gamer. This has irked me for some time, not because I've come under any scrutiny myself, but because I hear this argument far too often from other gamers, mainly online. Anonymity makes even the nicest people IRL dicks online, and it seems that priority #1 is trying to make other gamers feel like they aren't “real” gamers. Before I turn this into a full page rant, I’ll just point you to this amazing post by Yamilia over at Twinfinite who sums up the ridiculousness of this “debate” quite nicely.

Never underestimate the power of nostalgic gamers in large numbers.

Extended Appreciation of Retro Game(r)s

For years people have been clamoring on about an HD remake of the NES classic DuckTales, and in 2013 they’re patience and passion was finally rewarded. On top of that, Nintendo released a lot of classic (S)NES games to their Virtual Console on the cheap to satiate the appetite of those rabid retro gamers. This trend needs to continue into 2014. The video game industry didn't get to where it is today overnight. Over the last few decades it’s been built on the backs of dedicated gamers, classic consoles like the 2600, SNES, and Dreamcast, and people’s nostalgia for their now-classic games. Rewarding those fervent fans with re-releases on XBLA, VC, and/or PSN, or even better with HD remakes is like saying thank you to their tireless dedication over the years. Besides, it’s not like they’d have to give the games away – they priced DuckTales Remastered at $15 and it’s sold pretty damn well so far. We aren't asking for much; just a little appreciation.

There you have it – what I’d like to see happen in the world of gaming in 2014. What about you? Have any burning desires for the New Year? Any awesome games you’d love to see announced or amazing innovations you’d love/hate to see? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter.