E3 2010: Additional Game Impressions

Here's My quick thoughts on some additional games that were on display at E3 but not shown off during the conferences.

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (3DS): The N64 classic and self proclaimed best game in the universe will be released on Nintendo's new handheld system. I never played the original game as I didn't get into the Zelda series until Wind Waker. All I've heard about this game is that its really good and the water temple is bitch, which apparently is going to be made a tad easier in this version.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Really..another Kingdom Hearts game? I love the series but they're really just stalling with the third game. We've already got a prequel coming on the PSP and two handheld titles that take place between the first and second games. Its unknown where in the timeline the game will take place in, but I'll probably play and at least the 3DS's analog nub will make the game more playable than the DS iteration of the series that came out last year.

Sonic Colors (Wii and DS): This looks like it takes what worked about the sonic levels in the Wii version of Sonic Unleashed and made them into their own game. Sonic has some power-ups to use that don't seem to impede the gameplay so is shaping up to be a pretty good title...lets just hope that Sega doesn't predictably mess this up...

Marvel vs Capcom 3 (PS3, Xbox 360): I guess this is the Vs. Capcom's series answer to Street Fighter IV. I don't play Marvel vs Capcom 2 that much but I might give this a shot when my fighting game friends get a hold of this.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 (Multiple Platforms): This is just further devaluing of the Star Wars series. The purpose of the first game's plot was to bridge the gap from the prequel series to the original movies so making a sequel to that seems kinda pointless...I did kinda like that game, so I'll check this one out in spite of my bitching...

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 (Multiple Platforms): seems to play more like the DS games than an actual continuation of the original series, but I'm intrigued by the episodic content and my fondness for the series pretty much forces me to want to download this. If I had a choice between Sonic Colors or this, I'd guess I'd go with this one.

Okamiden (DS): I still need to finish the Wii version of Okami before I can even try this, but I like what played in that game and I hope this handheld version doesn't disappoint.

Mario Vs Donkey Kong: Miniland Mayhem (DS): Sadly, this game continues the Mini Mario gameplay that second game used...I want them to go back to the Donkey Kong Arcade style gameplay from the first game.

Star Fox 64 3D (3DS): WooHoo! I love Star Fox 64 and having a portable version of it is a dream come true. I don't know what will be added to the game other than 3d effects but I hope it doesn't mess up with what made the original game.

And so E3 2010 comes to a close...

Sonic Unleashed (PS3)

I’ll get this out of the way quickly, Sonic Unleashed is not a return to form for the series. Neither is it an awful game. It’s a decently made game, built on poor ideas, lingering annoyingly between good and bad in the ‘average’ department. Now, when you consider the pile of garbage that the last main Sonic game, 2006's "Sonic the Hedgehog" was, this is nothing but a good thing. It’s clear to see when hearing about the Hedgehog Engine, or how Sonic Team spent months designing Sonic stages that cover hundreds of virtual miles that Sonic Team haven’t lazed about this time. They definitely needed to prove after Sonic 2006 that they can create a well-produced, non-glitchy game and on that note, they succeeded. As well produced as Sonic Unleashed is, however, it can’t escape the fact that it’s concept, ideas and design are flawed. The game begins with an astoundingly beautiful opening cinematic in which Sonic and Dr. Robotnik are busy having their final showdown. As Sonic corners the Eggman and is about to bring him down, it turns out that the whole thing was a scam by the good doctor, who traps Sonic, corrupts the Chaos Emeralds, turns him into a werewolf and wakes up yet another Sonic Team-created Final Fantasy monster, Dark Gaia. It's as absurd as any other recent Sonic plot, but the difference here is that it never takes itself too seriously, using some childish slapstick and a more cartoon-like approach overall. While not exactly engaging, I enjoyed it...kinda. The new sidekick, Chip, is pretty likable even though his singular gimmick of perpetual hunger gets grating after a while.

Gameplay is roughly split in two halves, with Sonic the Hedgehog performing speed runs through daylight stages, and Sonic the Werehog tackling Gaia monsters in a platform brawler style at night. The Sonic levels are similar to most Sonic games. Sonic will smash through enemies, jump from rail to rail, home in on airborne enemies to cross chasms. It's all somewhat enjoyable once you get used to it. Smashing the square button to ram Sonic through a pile of enemies was a real rush, and being able to drift properly (when I was actually able to do it without dying) is a great accomplishment. However, irony rears its head as Sonic actually runs too damn fast sometimes and as a result, you’re not able to see obstacles and bottomless pits in time to react, unless of course, you know it’s there in the first place. It doesn't help that the levels suffer from poor design choices that hold the speed stages back (and get progressively worse as the game goes on).

The controls were not designed for intricate platforming, and the piss-poor design of some of the stages doesn't help matters. In fact, just after checkpoints one of the more broken levels (Spagonia's Rooftop Run Act II), you are given an extra life that appears every time you restart. The very fact that Sonic Team had to put that life in indicates that they knew how broken the stage was. Covering your own ass like that doesn't make up for the fact that the whole level is shattered in terms of design. Yet the game is able to make up for itself with such stages at Rooftop Run Act I, which is, to be honest, beyond breathtaking. There are moments in Sonic Unleashed where I felt absolutely magnificent, and as Sonic hits 300 in-game miles-per-hour, blasting through stages, leaping from spring to spring and running along walls, I found it hard to stay mad at the game. Until, of course, yet another broken section rears its ugly head.

As for the Werehog, he actually isn't too bad. Like Sonic's gameplay, The Werehog's game is also roughly split between enjoyment and hatred. At its core, the nighttime stages make for some simple but pleasant brawling, with Sonic able to pull off some great moves. However, the Prince of Persia like acrobatics simply don't work. The controls aren't responsive enough for these platforming sections, and I often found myself falling to your death thanks to sluggish movement, poor camera angles, or both. More often than not thought, the Werehog stages work pretty well as a brawler. The Werehog has access to some powerful and impressive moves, and also has an "Unleash" meter which, when filled, gives him a little extra edge in battle. It's certainly not as much fun as something like Devil May Cry, but it's fundamentally solid action.

I think I covered everything I wanted to. I had a lot of complaints but I was hoping not to sound like I completely hated the game. Odd mistakes and ignorant design choices have dashed this game's hopes of being anything more than a decent outing at best. By all means, I'd say play this game just to experience the high points, as they are worth experiencing. But this is one of the most Bipolar games I've played in recent memory.

Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing

I feel bad for ignoring this game for as long as I have. I mean the game has two kisses of death upon it: it heavily features Sonic and its a kart racer that star Mario characters, but the game actually manages to join the extremely small group of kart racers that could give Mario Kart a run for its money. The large cast of characters from Sega's history is delight despite the fact that I'm only familiar with the more recent franchises and it actually makes me wish that Nintendo would do something like this with their characters. The only downside to character selection is that the 360 version gets a third party bonus character in the form of Banjo-Kazooie, the Wii and PS3 get Miis and absolutely nothing, respectively. Also there are roughly 12 franchises on display in the form of playable characters, but there are 24 tracks to choose from and they only comes from the series of Sonic, Billy Hatcher, Super Monkey Ball, Samba De Amigo, Curien Mansion and Jet Set Radio. It's too bad that more series didn't have their own tracks and Sonic has 9 of em (all taking after Sonic Heroes) while the others have 3. It's not too big of a deal though, because these tracks are actually very well designed. Each one is unique and feels like the game their representing (like the loops in the Sonic tracks, or crazy twist and turns on Monkey Ball tracks) and all of them are a lot of fun to race on.

The A.I. is actually pretty smart as they are competitive and not only know how to use items, but they sometimes take short cuts too. Also unlike Mario Kart, it doesn't feel like A.I. is cheating...too much. Like every other kart racer, you can pick up items to destroy your opponents. The items are decent put there's nothing too special. There's a missile which locks on to your rivals, a boxing glove (kind of like the green shell from Mario Kart), and mines which you set behind you. However, each character has their own All-Star move which you only get if you're behind and can be used to catch back up. For instance, Sonic gets the chaos emeralds which he uses to turn into Super Sonic and knocks everyone out as he runs into them, Ryo ditches his motorcycle for a forklift and tosses everyone in the air. The main effect is mostly a boost but each have a unique side effect and the All-Star move in general is surprisingly not as unbalanced as you might think. One more thing this game offers is drifting, which you use to turn corners easier. Holding down the drift button will put you in a drift and will charge your turbo which gives you a boost upon release.

The game has some decent replay value thanks to the online option. It's fairly easy to jump in and play a few races, but I do have some problems with it, though. First off, there is a lobby and host system for the online, which feels completely unneeded. Second, you can only choose the course you want to play if you are the host. Why couldn't they have done what Mario Kart Wii does and let everyone vote on the track we all want to see? Also, the All Stars Special moves are not online for some reason. I don't know why, it would of been a nice option. Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing is an incredibly fun game and probably the biggest surprise I've had in of my expectations of a game.

Sonic Advance (Review)

The first Sonic game to be released on a Nintendo system and quite possibly one of the last great ones. As opposed to most of the post-Sonic & Knuckles 2-d outings in the 90s whose stages were nothing more than a linear rush to the finish, this game emulates the refined gameplay of the Genesis games, and does it very well. All the basics of a Sonic game are are in place: run around to the end of the level while collecting many rings, avoiding all sorts of hazards, beating the boss, then freeing the animals captured by Robotnik. It may not be quite as fast, but the fact they achieved so much is praise worthy. Just like the classic Genesis titles, Sonic Advance is heavily reliant on pinball physics and multi-tiered level design. Running through any stage, it was surprisingly easily to find at least two alternate paths to the end of the level.

While the levels are splendid there happens to still be a slight problem. That problem is that this game has only a few sparse levels and the game has relatively little challenge. At times I simply just ran to the end of the level, jumped when I saw an enemy, collected the rings, and then I beat the level in a minute or two. Luckily, the game has a bit of replay value in the form of additional characters to play as and the standard hunt for the chaos emeralds, which unlike most Sonic games, is actually kinda fun to do. The Special Stages, amazingly enough, are actually playable and I actually got all 7 Emeralds which I wasn't planning on doing. Sonic Advance is one of the more successful attempts of recent years to capture the spirit of what made the franchise so much fun. If you like Sonic, and especially if you been disappointed in his 3d outings, it's definitely worth checking out.

My Weekend at AWA 2009

This past weekend I unexpectedly went off with a large group of friends to Amine Weekend Atlanta (AWA) in... well Atlanta. AWA is some kind of 3 day anime, video game, pop culture convention that one of my friends go to every year and this year I was invited to go with him and his friends at the cost of 70 bucks. So I figured "what the hell", I've never been to anything like this before and it's been years since I've been on anything even remotely resembling a vacation. What followed may as well have been the most fun I've have all year.

("Part of my motley crew")

There were 12 of us on this trip, a few I've met before (most of them only a week ago) and we plowed into 2 vans and spent about 5 hours on the road heading to Atlanta. The hotel we spent our weekend at was ritzy, but cheap, charging five dollars for some stupid bottle of water and fifteen bucks a night for an internet connection. While in our conjoining rooms, I slowly but surely started bonding with these people. We all had similar interest and attitudes and just had a blast screwing around with each other. The day before leaving I bought the new Mario & Luigi game with intention of playing it when there was dull down-time between events, but I barely touched the thing as I was spending all my time laughing and messing around with my new friends in the room and during the convention itself. ("Various Kingdom Hearts Characters" )
("Angry Video Game Nerd Vs. Nostalgia Critic" )

The main attraction to this convention is seeing a bunch of people cos-play as bunch of different characters. Over the course of the weekend I saw a lot people dressed as my favorite characters: Mario Bros, Zelda, Pokemon, The Joker, and even The Angry Video Game Nerd and The Nostalgia Critic. The thing I learned from all of this is that cos-play is less about people actually wanting to be these characters and more about people just wanting to show off some cool stuff that they made. One of the only things my friends complained about that I noticed more towards the end of the convention is that the cos-players showed an over reliance on certain franchises. Well over 80% of the people dressed up as characters from Bleach, Naurto, or Kingdom Hearts. It would have been nice if there had been more variety of franchise representation.

(It's Over 9000!!!!)

(The Comedian(Justin) and Rorschach)
(The Mario Sisters)

There was quite a full list of events planned at this convention from watching various anime to pokemon trivia contest to cos-play 101, but I didn't attend most of them. Usually the lines to these things were too long for me to tolerate, so I usually spent most of time with one of my friends in the dealer's room where you can buy rare Japanese merchandise. There were action figures, DVDs, video games, dolls, and swords. I managed to walk out there with a Dragonball Z and Sonic the Hedgehog figure, a Kirby doll, and a couple of Mario Galaxy cards. The downside was that everything was overpriced, a side effect of most of the items being imported I suppose.

(Rikki Simons: the voice of GIR)

(Set phasers to stunning)

The place I spent a huge chunk of time at towards the end of the convention was the artist room where people can go and view and buy fan art. Nathan and I spent too much time and money here, but all of the drawings were just too good to pass up. The coolest thing we managed to do in this room was meet Rosearik Rikki Simons who did the voice of GIR from Invader Zim. We got pictures with him and he autographed some pictures and it was just too cool for words. I really wished I had job so I could buy some more stuff. (I think I just rediscovered my love of Pokemon)
(A yeti eating chris's head, a flamer, and Nathan)

Come Sunday afternoon it was time for us to depart this wonderful locale and head back to our dull reality. Overall I had a blast and have come to find the friends I roomed with as people I can't wait to see again. Nathan and I made plans to go another convention in November, but I seriously doubt that would actually come to be. I'll definitely go back to AWA next year if these people go as well.

Sonic and the Black Knight (review)

Sonic and the Black Knight is the 2nd game in the pitifully named "Sonic Storybook Series" following from 2007's Sonic and the Secret Rings. I remember enjoying Secret Rings on my first playthrough, it was the first 3D Sonic title to focus solely on Sonic and his trademark speed. As time went on, the game's flaws became more apparent, but I still noted the game to be a step in the right direction. Sonic and the Black Knight decides that instead of simply improving on Secret Rings' flaws, it will give us a sword-swinging mechanic that proves to be fairly entertaining, while keeping some problems of the previous game.

The sword play is manageable, despite being executed in a second rate manner. The swordplay is simplistic and there are not a lot of advanced swordplay techniques added in. You'll mostly be doing the exact same move over and over again to defeat the numerous enemies that lie in front of you, most notably the buzz saw move. Whichever way you swing the remote results in the exact same attack patterns with 2 results: you'll either send Sonic spinning forward killing everything(awesome) or you'll just pull him to a dead stop and get jumped by an enemy (Lame).

The missions you play through are short and unlike Secret Rings, seem to have some remote plot purpose. The thing that really bugs me is the ranking system. Like every other Sonic game since Adventure, Black Knight rates you on performance. The problem is that the game doesn't tell you what you need to do to get 5 star rating resulting in 2 to 3 star ratings even when you defeat every enemy and finish the stage in record time. The only exceptions to this are boss stages where 5 stars are rewarded for not taking damage. This mis-communication transfers over into other areas of the game: mostly the QTEs in the boss battles.

The game is split into 2 parts: Sonic vs the Black Knight and a follow-up part that I won't spoil here. The second half of the game is more interesting than the first and the game itself seems to think so as well since it feels like more a lot more work went into it. The overall game won't take more than 4 to 5 hours which is kind of a blessing because the premise, while fun, runs thin by the end.

The game presents itself well. The graphics are top Wii fare, the opening in particular is a thing of beauty. The animatic like cutscenes are a tad more lively than Secret Rings and are wonderful to watch. Sega also seems to finally understand how their characters should act. Sonic's style and quirks captured almost perfectly. It's wonderful seeing Sonic act this. His remarks and jokes are well done as there are some humorous arguments between Sonic and Caliburn, and the cast really shine throughout the dialogue.

I'm glad I rented Sonic and the Black Knight, the game is too short for a $50 dollar purchase. That said this game is much better than Sonic and Secret Rings. The controls are slightly improved and I enjoyed the small bits of fan service (like the use of Sonic Adventure 1 & 2 theme songs). Sonic games always seems to suffer from rushed developments and that hasn't changed here. If Sega had really put some extra effort into this game, it really could have been some special, but as it stands, Sonic and the Black Knight is just another average outing for the hedgehog.

It's Hard To Be A Nintendo Fan

So a couple of weeks ago Nintendo released a list of about 120 games that will be released on the Wii and DS over the next few months...and it it completely pathetic. out of the 120 games on this list, I found 3 of actual interest: The Conduit, GTA Chinatown Wars, and the re-release of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (Which I missed on the Gamecube). It is worth noting that 2 games that I want, Mad World and Sonic & The Black Knight, weren't on the list possibly because at the time this list was unveiled, the 2 games were about a week from launch.

So if you count those 2 games, then the total number of Nintendo games I want has been bumped up to 5. The remaining 115 games are complete and utter garbage, even from a casual gaming perspective their list is just pure crap. The Wii and Ds started off really strong, producing top quality games for both the casual and hardcore crowds. However, since early 2008, both consoles have produce nothing but garbage for both casual and hardcore. Sure every one in while we get something great like Mario Galaxy or No More Heroes, but their just way too far apart.

Nintendo also seems to be getting incredibly lazy as well. This week marked the launch of the Wii Play Control series, a group of GameCube games revamped to take advantage of the Wii's motion-sensitive controls. Now I know I said I was getting New Play Control Donkey Kong Jungle Beat and some people think that some old Gamecube games are a perfect fit for the Wii controls, but I just think this completely ridiculous and that more time needs to put into new original ideas.

I love Nintendo, but it getting harder to support them when all they do is half ass everything. I understand the casual angle is making them embarrassingly large amounts of cash, but at the very least they could start putting some effort into even those games. But of course they know as long as give us a new Mario and Zelda game every couple of years, we'll stick around.

Gaming Quiz

1. What are your Top 5 Gaming Companies?

1. Nintendo
2. Square
3. Capcom
4. Rare
5. Konami



2. What are your Top 5 Favorite Consoles?

1. Super Nintendo
2. PS2
3. Wii
4. N64
5. Game Boy (Orignial & Advance)
(Nintendo fanboy much? )


3. For each console you voted, what are your 5 favorite games on each?


A. Super Nintendo
1. Super Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars
2. Super Mario All Stars
3. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
4. Chrono trigger
5. Kirby Super Star


B. PS2
1. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
2. Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2
3. God Of War 2
4. Sly 3: Honor Amoung Theives
5. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater


C. Wii
1. Super Mario Galaxy
2. No More Heroes
3. Super Smash Bros Brawl
4. Mario Kart Wii
5. Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2


D. N64
1. Banjo-Kazooie
2. Super Mario 64
3. Star Fox 64
4. Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time
5. Paper Mario


E. Game Boy (Oringial & Advance)
1. Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3
2. Pokemon: Fire Red Verison
3. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
4. Kirby: Nightmare In Dreamland
5. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins


4. What are your Top 5 Favorite Games of All Time?
1. Super Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars
2. Super Mario Galaxy
3. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsensal
4. Banjo-Kazooie
5. Super Smash Bros. (Melee or Brawl)

5. Within your top 5 favorite companies, what are your favorite series from them?

A. Nintendo
1. Mario
2. Zelda
3. Kirby
4. Metroid
5. Pokemon


B. Square
1. Kingdom Hearts
2. Chrono Trigger
3. Final Fantasy
(That's All)


C. Capcom
1. Devil May Cry
2. Ace Attorney
3. Street Fighter
4. Marvel Vs. Capcom
5. Mega Man (Nes)



D. Rare
1. Banjo-Kazooie
2. Donkey Kong Country
3. GoldenEye 007
4. Perfect Dark
5. Conker's Bad Fur Day


E. Konami
1. Metal Gear
2. Castlevania
3. Contra
4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
5. Tiny Toons Adventures

Let's Play Catch Up

My new years resolutions? Update this damn blog more often...I'm might not succeed at that.So starting with my last post about my life, let me play catch you up on my recent events.

Bought The Killers Day & Age CD. Loved it! Easily their most addictive release since their Hot Fuss debut. My 3 favorite tracks: Joyride, I Can't Stay, and The World We Live In.

My great grandmother passed away round the second of December. My only remaining great family members include 2 great aunts on my father's side. I never spent time with my great grandmother so I wasn't affected by her death, but my mother was devastated, which affected me.

I said in early post about my college classes that maybe a miracle would happen and I would pass my Algebra course. Well the miracle happened, I passed that class and my micro-economics course, but I failed the legal business course. No big loss, the teacher of that class was actually fired for receiving too many complaints from students. Works just fine for me.

Christmas was pretty good. I got a couple of surprise gifts like a new jacket and Guitar Hero 3. Among my gifts was Sonic Unleashed for Wii which, while not perfect, was easily the best 3d sonic game since Sonic Adventure 1 & 2.

New Years came and went without much interesting happening. The only thing that really hit me was how quickly the year went by.

I enjoyed the Wii version of Sonic Unleashed so much that I had to purchase the 360 version (which for those who don't know is actually a different game from the wii version). I enjoyed it, but it not as much as the wii version. The overall level design of the 360 was more varied than the wii but a lot less well put together. The only really big thing the 360 version has over Wii is more content and a better balance between the number of sonic and werehog levels. On the wii you get 3 to 4 werehog levels for every one sonic level. All in all though, I really enjoyed the game.

Lastly I started my next semester of college. I only have 2 classes this time and they are at night on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The classes I'm taking are extensions of one another: Small Business Management and Marketing Management. Same teacher for both classes and hot guys in both classes. The best part about this that these classes are really really easy. The teacher pretty much tells us exactly what will be on test. A nice change from my last few semesters.

Well that's it, that's everything that's happened since December. Like I said before, maybe I'll actually post more often.

Sonic Quiz (TAG)

Game Related:
Favorite 2D Sonic Game: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles.
Favorite 3D Sonic Game: Sonic Adventure 2.
Least Favorite 2D Sonic Game: Sonic The Hedgehog 2
Least Favorite 3D Sonic Game: Sonic 360.
Favorite Game Overall: Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Least Favorite Game Overall: Sonic Rider Series
Favorite 2D Stages: Death Egg, Spring Yard Zone, Wacky Workbench, Flying Battery Zone
Least Favorite 2D Stage: Sky Sanctuary
Favorite 3D Stages: City Escape, Prymaid Cave, Cannon's Core, Final Fortress
Least Favorite 3D Stage: Mad Space

Character Related:
Favorite Sonic Character: Sonic the Hedgehog.
Least Favorite Sonic Character: Princess Elise.
Favorite Character to Play as in the 2D Sonic Games: Sonic
Least Favorite Character to Play in the 2D Sonic Games: Amy.
Favorite Character to Play as in the 3D Sonic Games: Sonic the Hedgehog.
Least Favorite Character to Play as in the 3D Sonic Games: Big
Coolest Character in Sonic History: Shadow
Funniest Character in Sonic History: Dr Eggman
Favorite Character in Sonic History: Sonic
Most Annoying Character in Sonic History: Big
Favorite Couples: Sonic & Amy

Voice Related:
Original or 4Kids: Doesn't Matter
Favorite voice for Sonic: Jaleel White
Least Favorite voice for Sonic: Junichi Kanemaru
Best Voice in Sonic History: Deem Bristow as Eggman.
Worst Voice in Sonic History: Chip's English Voice.