Downwards Compatible

Review: Pushmo

2012-02-15T20:18:00.000-06:00

Developer: Intelligent Systems
Publisher: Nintendo

There is a right way and a wrong way to make a downloadable game. The wrong way is Sakura Samurai's way: Cool concept, lackluster execution. The right way? Pushmo. Cool concept, great execution, and a whole lot to do.

Read more

Review: Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword

2012-02-14T17:47:00.001-06:00

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo

Nintendo is finally making downloadable games for the eShop. It's taken them long enough, but they're finally trying something new, and good for them. It's important to show the other guys how it's done. However, Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword isn't a good way to do so.
Read more

Weekly Playlist (Sick Again Edition)

2012-02-13T16:00:00.000-06:00

I wish I wouldn't have caught the stomach flu. I'm going to curl in a ball now kthxbye.

Civilization 4 (PC): I've cranked up the difficulty a notch and discovered, after six years of playing this game, that I've been doing combat all wrong. Gah.

Mega Man X (Wii): Still waiting on Mega Man X2, Capcom. I can wait as long as you can.

Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii): I've been dabbling with this one a bit. My only complaint so far is that when I want to play a game, I don't always want to be waving my arms in the air like a lunatic. That's all.

Adventures With Digital Distribution

2012-02-09T09:00:00.000-06:00

As of right now, there are only two digital distributors worth dealing with: Good Old Games and Steam. The interesting thing is that both of these distributors are based on one guiding principle: Trust.
Read more

Weekly Playlist (Very Late Edition)

2012-02-08T10:00:00.000-06:00

I'm about a week and a half late with the latest Weekly Playlist. So sue me. It's been a busy week and a half, I'll tell you that much. Warrior needs nap... badly.

Civilization 4 (PC): I've had some misadventures recently with digital distribution that I'll share shortly, but suffice to say: I paid real money for Civilization 4 about two years ago, and I went back to install it. My product keys and activation methods don't work. I kid you not: I had to pirate Civ 4 in order to get it to work. Ridiculous.

Sakura Samurai (3DS): Some positive reviews encouraged me to get this, but I find it bland and uninteresting. Review will come probably early next week.

Downwards Compatible's End Of Year 2011 Game-Stravaganza

2012-01-27T09:00:00.000-06:00

"The only End of Year Awards that wait until after the year is over."

This year was a disappointing one here at Down-C. Since we usually play in the Nintendo sandbox, there wasn't much going on. The 3DS started slowly. The Wii barely had any releases. The DS is on its last legs. Some of these games ended up as year-end greats only by default.
Read more

Nintendo's Bad Year

2012-01-26T17:00:00.000-06:00

Nintendo released its financial results for the year. It doesn't look good. Some quick hits:

They had a net loss of 600 million dollars.
They had originally planned to sell 15 million 3DS units during this season. They sold 11 million.
They expected to sell 10 million Wiis. They sold about 9 million.

The glass-half-empty people say this: This is their first loss in 30 years, and it happened after they released their crappiest handheld ever, then cut the price almost in half. The Wii is weak and no one wants to make games for it. It's time for Nintendo to go third-party.

The glass-half-full people say this: This is their first loss in 30 years, so they have a long time of being profitable behind them. The 3DS is rebounding after a sluggish start, and while the Wii has seen better days it's still sold 95 million units overall. Plus, they have a new console coming out in 2012, so Nintendo will be fine.

So what's the truth? It's a little closer to the latter than the former. Nintendo screwed up during the launch of the 3DS. No one denies this.

The Wii is also poised for an awful year. There are only two games of note that are coming out in NTSC territories: Rhythm Heaven Fever and Xenoblade Chronicles. People still buy the things, though, and new users have quite a few games to pick from.

Nintendo's outlook for fiscal year 2012 may be ugly, is what we're trying to say. Does that mean that Nintendo's screwed? Well, no. A loss is bad, but this is after the end of 30 years of profit. Nintendo's got money squirreled away in spades.

The knee-jerk reaction with news like this is always to jump to worst-case scenarios or rush to defend Nintendo. Look, Nintendo doesn't need your pity, scorn or any other emotion. They'll be fine. They've been around for about 100 years, doing their own thing. One bad year isn't going to bring the whole company down.

Review: Batman: Arkham City

2012-01-26T12:27:00.000-06:00

Developer: Rocksteady
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive

Arkham Asylum was the best superhero game ever. The only other one that came close is the original Spider-Man game for the PS1. I'm pretty confident in this assessment, and a lot of other people agree with me.
Read more

Prince Fielder to the Tigers

2012-01-24T15:00:00.000-06:00

So Prince Fielder is a Tiger now. Surprising, but not completely out-of-left-field.

First, Detroit is pretty close to the Milwaukee area. By all accounts, Prince loves the Midwest, so that's a good fit. Second, the Tigers are a pretty decent team already. He's not going to have to sit through another long rebuilding process like he would in Toronto, Baltimore or other possible destinations. Third, he'll have plenty of protection in the lineup with Cabrera batting nearby him. If he's having an off day, he knows he's not the only one who has to score.

All in all, all of us Brewers knew Prince was leaving and hoped he wouldn't be going to an NL team, or even worse, the Cubs. This is about the best possible arrangement for everyone involved.

Good luck, Prince!

GOG.com Replay: Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri

2012-01-24T07:00:00.000-06:00

Each month, we'll review a game from GOG.com's copious collection of games and provide you with a rundown of how good it is. At the end, we'll tell you to "Buy It," "Ignore It," or "Think About It." This month's entry is Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, developed by Firaxis and released by Electronic Arts.
Read more

Weekly Playlist (4:30am Edition)

2012-01-23T09:43:00.001-06:00

My lovely wife, who, I must stress, is exceedingly lovely, has been waking up at 4:30 in the morning for several mornings straight. She falls back asleep immediately afterwards, but not after waking me up. This has made me very, very tired. C'est la vie.

Batman: Arkham City (PC): Just finished this one on Saturday. It was good, but definitely not as mind-blowing as Arkham Asylum. I'll have a review up for it soon, promise.

Pushmo (3DS): Sometimes I don't like games that make me think too hard. For example, I like to play Professor Layton games, but I need total silence in order to concentrate. Pushmo is different. It's hard enough to put up a fight, but easy enough that I don't have to break my brain playing it. Good stuff.

Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii): I finally bit the bullet and continued onward with the story. So what if I leave some quests behind? It's not the end of the world. Is it? No. It isn't. Or is it?

Review: Mario Kart 7

2012-01-17T09:00:00.000-06:00

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo

You probably already know whether or not you want Mario Kart 7. Mario Kart, as a series, is still about the same as it was when it launched back in 1993. You pick a Mario character, race around a track, and get occasionally raped by the computer players. It's an enduring template.
Read more

Weekly Playlist (Oustered Edition)

2012-01-16T11:27:00.003-06:00

So this is what's happening to Wisconsin sports teams, huh? You play your hearts out in the regular season and then collapse in the postseason? YOU'RE BREAKING MY HEART.

At least the Bucks are around. THEIR suckiness is at least CONSISTENT.

Playlist in 3... 2... 1...

Batman: Arkham City (PC): So this is fun, I suppose. It's not blowing my mind as consistently as Arkham Asylum, but it's still good.

Okamiden (DS): I really like this, but it made me think: Why haven't we seen an Okami remake for the 3DS? Do you have any idea how awesome that would be? Do you? I don't think you do.

Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii): My completism is really getting the better of me here. I'm terrified to continue onward with the story lest I miss a quest. I know in my heart of hearts that I won't miss any quests. I know this. And yet... I just want to see everything in this world.

Six Reasons Steam Works

2012-01-10T09:00:00.000-06:00

According to this article from Kotaku, the amount of users on Steam has more than doubled for the 7th straight year. At one point this year, Steam had 5 million users actively playing at ONE TIME. Surely, that means that digital distribution is the way to go, right? I mean, if Steam can pull it off, anyone can, right?
Read more

Weekly Playlist (I Am The Night Edition)

2012-01-09T03:00:00.000-06:00

To the playlist!

Batman: Arkham City (PC): Don't get me wrong, I like this game. It's just that it's missing whatever made Arkham Asylum so great. Maybe the looser narrative? Dunno. Still good, though.

Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii): After 50+ hours, I finally discovered a new feature. I was collecting tons of items and had no idea what to do with them. I finally discovered that you can give them from one party member to another and increase their friendship level. The amount of detail in this game is staggering.

Metroid Fusion (3DS): You ever forget how good a game is until you play it again? That's Metroid Fusion for me.

Criminally Overlooked Games: The World Ends With You

2012-01-05T09:00:00.000-06:00

JRPGs are funny things. Copy the same swords-and-sorcery template laid down by Final Fantasy, and you risk having your game completely mocked by critics and ignored by gamers. Stray too far from the template, and you risk critical adulation but a tepid response from gamers. JRPG designers almost can't win.
Read more

Weekly Playlist (6 TDs Edition)

2012-01-02T10:00:00.000-06:00

Wow, Matt Flynn had a great game yesterday! He made himself a lot of money on that field, I'll tell you that much.

A playlist approaches!

Bastion (PC): I've been dying to play this for a long time. It's... weird. It looks fantastic, though, the music is great, and I love the narrator.

Rock of Ages (PC): I have a fascination with games that are a little left of center. A game where you play a giant rock with a face that bowls over artifacts fits the bill.

Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii): I fell back in love with XC, though I keep losing during the same two battles over and over again. This is the first time I've had to grind some levels to continue onward after about 50 hours of playtime. Not bad.

You have defeated the playlist!

+6 EXP, +3 GP.

You found a chest! Inside was a Antidotal Herb. Lee takes the Antidotal Herb.

Most-Played Nintendo Games: 2011

2011-12-27T11:33:00.000-06:00

One of the most awesome things about new Nintendo systems is the fact that it records how long you play every game on your system. With that in mind, every year we're going to give a rundown of our most-played games on the Wii and 3DS. Note: Some PAL games, such as Xenoblade Chronicles, will not appear in this list.
Read more

Weekly Playlist (Day Off Edition)

2011-12-26T12:16:00.001-06:00

Finally, a day off! I have a sick wife too, so I have to play servant for the day. Ah well.

Jamestown (PC): I'm really bad at shoot-em-up games, but the music makes this one worth playing, I suppose.

Mario Kart 7 (3DS): I haven't even unlocked all the characters yet. I'm just having too much fun playing the multiplayer to play the single-player.

Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island (3DS): WHEEEEEEEE

Your Song For Today

2011-12-22T20:11:00.002-06:00

William Shatner's rendition of "Common People." Enjoy.

Ranking Nintendo's Systems: Part 9

2011-12-20T09:00:00.000-06:00

We continue our look at Nintendo's best and worst systems. Click to read part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7 and part 8.
Read more

Weekly Playlist (Exhale Edition)

2011-12-19T12:00:00.000-06:00

After a long, stressful few weeks, I finally have a chance to exhale a little bit. There's still lots of work to be done in the house, but it's coming together now. Playlist time:

Jamestown (PC): The best shoot-em-up starring a laser-flinging Sir Walter Raleigh against the combined forces of Spain and Mars I've ever played.

Bit.Trip Runner (PC): Something about this game wormed its way into my head. I think it's the combination of the great music plus the trippy visuals plus the platforming aspect just makes me happy.

Mario Kart 7 (3DS): Some of the best multiplayer in a Mario Kart game I've ever seen. Sure, there's rubber-band AI in single-player, but that's gone when you're in multiplayer. Nintendo answered almost every complaint people had about online multiplayer in this game. It's great.

Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island (3DS): I still love this game.

Ranking Nintendo's Systems: Part 8

2011-12-15T09:00:00.001-06:00

We continue our look at Nintendo's best and worst systems. Click to read part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6 and part 7.
Read more

GOG.com Replay: Arcanum: Of Magick and Steamworks Obscura

2011-12-14T09:00:00.000-06:00

Each month, we'll review a game from GOG.com's copious collection of games and provide you with a rundown of how good it is. At the end, we'll tell you to "Buy It," "Ignore It," or "Think About It." This month's entry is Arcanum, developed by Troika and released by Sierra Entertainment.
Read more

The GBA Ambassador List Revealed?

2011-12-14T08:37:00.000-06:00

We may have the full list of Ambassador Games! According this article from Kotaku, it appears that the GBA games are launching on December 16th, at least in Japan. Here's the possible (completely unconfirmed) list:
Read more