So with E3 2012 starting up very soon, I figured I’d jump on the bandwagon and write up a list of what I’d like to see. Not really predictions, though it will be interesting to see what does and does not match up. Just a list of a few things I’d really like to see. Obviously this isn’t everything. Rumors abound of new console reveals, and the ever maddening possibilities fans dream up. This is simply a short list. My short list, of seven announcements, reveals, and the like, that I want to see. Enjoy.
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Soulcaliber V Review
I have never been a big fan of Fighting Games. I’ve always placed the genre below Action Adventure, RPG, and FPS games in my own preferences. That said, I have always been exposed to them. Growing up, my brother was a pretty big fighting game fan. I can vividly remember growing up with Street Fighter, Tekken, and Virtua Fighter alongside Zelda, Sonic, and Mega Man. And I do enjoy some of those fighting games, though I’m certainly not the best at them.
Soulcaliber is definitely a series that has earned a place as one of my favorite fighting game series. While I’ve never had the chance to play the first game in the series, Soul Edge (AKA Soul Blade), my interest was almost instantly grabbed by the first Soulcaliber game for the Dreamcast. A fighting game which gave it’s characters weapons. This was what really caught my attention- a fighting game where every character didn’t simply punch and kick their way to victory. In addition to the new variety in fighting style, Soulcaliber also introduced (I believe) the 8-way run 3D environment.
It was those games which paved the way for a successful and generally very well-recieved series. So how does this, the Fith-numbered (eighth overall), game of that series hold up?
Marvel’s The Avengers (Theatrical Review)
Amazing. Really, I’m not sure all the words I will be typing here are necessary. I don’t know that any more needs to be said beyond that this movie is amazing. Haven’t seen it? Go see it. Have seen it? Might want to see it again. Of course, I’m getting a bit ahead of myself. I will say that this movie has set a very high bar for the following summer action movies– especially the upcoming comic book movies– to follow. “The Avengers [Assemble]” also manages to do some justice for a character that desperately needed it. Unfortunately it would be rather difficult to get into a meaty review without hitting on at least some mild, if not major spoilers. So once more, here’s the spoiler-free version:
This movie is amazing. Go see it.
FULL REVIEW (WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW)
Mario Party 9 Mini Review
Mario Party 9 is the 12th entry (in America) in the Mario Party series, which I consider to be one of the best not-actually-a-Mario-game series to carry the Mario branding. For the unfamiliar, they are “party games,” obviously, in which you play a Mario-themed board game filled with mini-games in which the players compete for Coins/points. And like any good board game or board game simulator, if played properly you can and will hate all of your friends by the end of the game. Most of the games revolve around collecting the most Stars, which you must pay Coins for, in the number of turns allotted. The primary method of gaining Coins is via the mini games and certain spaces on the board. All of this makes for a pretty fun time, at least with friends.
Unfortunately almost none of that applies to Mario Party 9. This game bucks at the trends of it’s forebears, much to it’s detriment. First of all, the entire party travels the board together in a… vehicle of some design. Thus virtually eliminating a good portion of the purpose and fun of board games, getting ahead of your friends. You still have turns, during which your character takes their turn at the wheel of your whatever-this-level-has-stuck-you-with. Furthermore the actual goal of the game has changed, as you no longer collect Stars or Coins with which to buy them. Instead you collect Mini Stars, which are acquired in the same manner as Coins were in previous installments, while making your way to the end of the board. That’s right, they switched the boards from being circular/cyclic to a Start-to-Finish format, and at the same time eliminated your ability to reach the ending first– winning being done via Mini Star count.
If that sounds like a horrible idea for a board game, or in this case a board game simulator, that’s because it is. Adding to the list of bad ideas, the number of items you have at your disposal has been reduced– in part due to place-changing items being rendered pointless. Now the only items are special dice, of the Low Roll (die with only 0 and 1 or 1-3 on the faces) or High Roll (10 sided die and die with only 4-6 on the faces) variety. Finally, the variety of level/board gimmicks has been replaced with only one mechanic, where an ‘event’ of some sort will happen to the person currently in charge of the vehicle, usually resulting in the loss of half your mini stars (a bob-omb counting down to explode, for example).
This only leaves the Mini Games to be the saving grace of this malformed sequel. And yet, the game disappoints once more. Not to say that the mini games are really bad, as they are indeed the best part of the game– not that that’s saying much. They are, however, mediocre and fail to live up to some of the greats from past games in the series.
All in all this game is a disappointment, in case you couldn’t guess. It does not live up to past entries, such as Mario Party 8 and Mario Party 5, both of which I do recommend picking up. I sincerely hope that these changes do not stick with the series.
A Beginning on Endings
So for over a month now I have been mulling over what should be the first article on this site. Because beginnings are important, even if not always memorable in the long run. They create first impressions and set the tone for what is to come. It may seem an odd choice for the first item on a review site to not be what you would normally call a review, but I don’t want this to be a standard review site. So instead this, my site’s beginning, is to be an article on endings.
There has recently been a lot of talk about story, most especially endings, in video games due to the ‘controversial’ [Read: terrible] ending of Mass Effect 3. Now I’ll state right now, upfront, that I have not played Mass Effect 3. In fact, at the time of this writing I have not even played my way through Mass Effect 2. This is because I, unlike what often seems to be the entire rest of the gaming community, did not think Mass Effect [1] was absolutely the best thing ever. But that is a topic for another article. Suffice it to say that I have kept up on the story of the Mass Effect games, and I have seen the ending.
NOTE: AS THIS ARTICLE COVERS ENDINGS, SPOILERS ABOUND BEYOND THIS POINT. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. »Read More
