Child of Light Review

Written by Joey Carole

Hey! diddle, diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon;
The little dog laughed
To see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.

~Mother Goose

We have all heard a Mother Goose poem wether we've realized it or not.  "Three little pig's" or "The little old lady who lived in a shoe" is probably the most well known.  The reason I'm talking about Mother Goose is because Child of Light feels like the essence of a Mother Goose book morphed into a turn based, real time, open world RPG.  This is because most all of the dialogue has a rhyming scheme, and there is a fairytale theme present throughout. It's a wonderful downloadable game that looks like a watercolor painting sprung to life, it forego's your traditional strong male hero for a young princess on a journey to save her father.  Her name is Aurora and she looks like the type who needs saving instead of one which you play as, making her memorable and the perfect hero for this game. Some of the unique companions who join us through our journey include a depressed jester, a romantic mouse, and a stumpy wizard.

We gain the ability to fly very early on in the game, allowing us to zip along this art-gallery of a world.   Running into a monster on the way, brings us to another screen where the fighting takes place.  The fighting is best described as turn based which is usually kind of boring to me, however Child of Light does it in an enjoyable way.  

There is a timeline at the bottom of the screen and several icons on that timeline to represent each character in the fight.  As the icons near the end of the timeline a list of abilities pops up for us to choose from specific to the character.   Once the icon reaches the end our ability is cast.  If we damage an enemy as they attempt to cast an ability we can interrupt them, sending them backwards on the timeline.  We are only allowed to control two characters at a time but we can swap them out mid-battle. Sometimes we must face up to three enemies at once, forcing us to be timely and strategic with our abilities.  Casting an ability at just the right time to land an interruption is key to victory.  This requires planning 2-3 moves in advance and really keeps things interesting. Game's with this type of combat often suffer from overly complex battle systems.  Child of Light seems to strike just the right balance between simplicity, and complicity.

We are also given three "skill trees" for each character which might focus them towards, healing, spell casting, giving damage, or taking damage.  All the basic RPG elements are here, you have your healers, tanks, and DPS.  But because we are only allowed control over two characters at a time, we are forced to rotate our companions during the tougher battles.  Were also collect a variety of gems through-out the game that give us different perks.  There is a crafting system that allows you to combine smaller gems to make larger gems with better perks.

As the game begins your joined by Igniculus, a glowing blue sprite.  You can move him around the screen using the right thumb-stick or a friend can take control of him with a second controller.  In a way, Igniculus is sort of like tales in a sonic game.  He is used to collect HP, and MP that float across the screen and can also be used in combat to slow enemies and heal allies.

Child of Light is heart-warming and poetic. A relaxing adventure into an interesting world filled with a crew of characters who defy the stereotypes were used to, and are more memorable for doing so.  Ubisoft has plans to make another game set in the same world.  Child of Light is certainly not the most exciting game I've played, but its still well worth the time and money.

9/10

Mario Kart (Review) X Animal Crossing DLC.

Written By Egan Click

Racing really doesn't seem as cool as it used to be.  Racing boats, cars, toys and legs when I was a child seemed like an adrenaline rush and an award to hang myself over other peoples hopes and dreams.  But imagining it as an adult, the idea of sitting in a car for a whole bunch of laps seems boring.  Is it the racer that won or the machine that he piloted?

Visiting my old hood

Mario Kart leaves all the fine tuning simulations in the dust and always has. They skip the technical aspects of racing, and capitalize on an all out brawl ideology.  The fun of racing games isn't in the simulation of real racing for me (if I wanted to race, I would just race) but in the immediacy of a single race.  MK for short gives you randomization in weaponry to use against the other eleven racers.   

Banks and Balls

MK has also been out for over 20 years.  It's been a staple franchise for Nintendo since the SNES and has been released on every consoles since, except the Virtua Boy.  Each one has had huge leaps and bounds over the previous and as a whole.  They all have their delicate specialties for the Kart purist.  Double Dashes co-op, Wii's motion control or WiiU's gravity?

Most uneventful win in online history

Mario Kart for the Wii U is a superb game.  It offers you 32 race tracks from the start.  A grand prix mode where you play the computer for fake cups.  A Time Trial where you battle online leaderboards of fastest laps and races.  A Custom Racing mode where you play locally up to 4 players in longer tournaments.  Then the online where you can play with friends, in tournaments, regionally and worldly.  The races are shorter in this one (2 minutes) and really makes each race feel unique.  Did you hit the short cut in time?  Did 3 people get hit by a blue shell or bomb-omb to help you pass and get 1st?  Outcomes to a race can be a blowout to a hair even when you are racing with the same people online.  You can be great at the game but taking it online is putting yourself in an arena of painful entertainment.

An Inbetweener

A few downsides to the core game haven't been issued in patches so the negatives really show you the mold that Nintendo was going for with this specific title.  First is there notorious angle on Online games.  The Wii U controller has a mic built right in it but good luck finding a game that uses it.  You can talk to friends only online during race intermissions and only in custom matches.  So if I'm playing regional with my brother, I can't talk with him.  If we are racing, I can't chat with him.  I get it, I get that Nintendo doesn't want kids talking to strangers which is fantastic.  The world is a vampire.  But now I gotta use my cell phone to only talk to ONE of my brothers.  It's a shameful bummer.  The only other downfall is the battle mode.  Only 8 tracks are featured and it's just the race track.  It's not built at all like the old battle maps.  It's more of a big game of chicken since 6 of the players start by going mirror and the other six don't.  It can still be fun but it seems neglected.

Wish, Wash, Reheat

The DLC is reasonably priced.  Actually it's a great deal since the maps they give you are top notch.  They look really vibrant, they feel fresh, and race amazingly.  I think I paid 15 for the bundle of both packs but it might of even been cheaper.  It's that good that I don't even remember and don't care to check (it's 12 dollars -ed).  It comes out as maybe 1 dollar per track but you get way more then that.  In the newest pack, animal crossing is featured.  Last one they feature the Legend of Zelda series.  You get 3 new characters in this one as well (villager, animal crossing character and dry bowser.)  A new kart and bike, new wheel, new parasol and you also get that in mirror too.  

I got a finger trigger and a plan

The new tracks really help end this game on a high note.  Baby Park (a remake from the gamecube) changes the formula from all the other tracks because it's 7 laps and it's just a small, tight circle.  Can be trouble because you start passing the pack and items can come back and haunt you (I remember you banana peel!)  The Animal Crossing track is a great tribute to one of Nintendo's staple franchises.  The track has four environments for each passing season.  Resetti makes an appearance and it's just a nice smooth track around your village to the beach to the mayors office.  Really hoping for a Wii U game :) .  Ribbon Road is fantastic remake of a GBA track that I don't remember playing.  Hardly any boundaries and the level is bending and waving in all directions.  It's a close court the whole race through as you are tapping people and getting that gravity boost.  Big Blue is my favorite because it's another no lap race.  It's just one giant race and you are constantly going down and spiraling and water is a barrier that you drive through and from.  

Drop the bananas, spin me around, while I go on the offense

As a surprise, Nintendo also released a free update to everyone for 200 cc.  200 cc is AMAZING.  It feels like F-Zero X but with items and still no boost.  Each drift feels like you could pass everyone in the tightest cornering of anyone's life or a miscalculation into the abyss of Lakitu.  It also provides you with new grand prix's too.

Score

9.9

+Everlasting Fun

+Solid Matchmaking

+Wholeheartedly Round (SP, LP, MP)

+Great DLC

-Battle has been KIA

Console Wars

Written By Joey Carole & Egan Click

When I first heard news of the Playstation 4, Xbox One, and Wii-U I was extremely excited.  What gamer wouldn't be? In the past hardware updates gave us great strides in graphics, innovative ways to play, and they allow developers to give us bigger, better games.  So as each company unveiled their new systems I immediately started weighing the differences to see which one I would use to usher in the next age of gaming.  Each company entered the console war with a different approach, Nintendo is clearly the innovator of the bunch by making the gamepad an integral part of the system.  Microsoft wants more then just a game console, they want your Xbox to play tv, music, and games with ease.  Then there's Sony, putting the vast majority of its focus on traditional gaming, and new exclusive IP's.  So which one is the best you ask? Well, read on to find an extensive breakdown of the features that set each console apart from each other.

PS4

Sony has had the best sale's numbers in the group, beating out Xbox-One and the Wii-U in console sales almost every month since launch.  The User Interface remains pretty close to the PS3, its easy to navigate, fast and responsive.  There are some cool new features such as Share-Play, Remote-Play, and Playstation Now.  Share-Play allows you to invite a friend to take control of any game your currently playing.  You'r friend can take control of your game for 60 minutes at a time allowing them to try it out, help you get passed a particularly hard part of the game, or even play against you in a local multiplayer match if the game allows it.

Remote Play requires you to have a Playstation Vita portable system.  This feature will link your PS4 and your Vita together with a quick sync.  This only needs to be done once and you can now enjoy streaming your PS4 games to your Vita.  A strong WiFi network is needed for this to work fluidly.  This feature still works if your Vita is on a separate WiFi then your PS4, it can even be connected to an LTE Hotspot.  But for a fluid and non disruptive gaming experience you will most likely need to be on the same WiFi network as your PS4, or have substantially good internet.

Playstation Now is Sony's new game streaming service.  You can either pay $20 per month, $45 for three months, or pay per game.  The prices have a very wide range on pay per game rentals, from $2 for a 4 hour rental, all the way up to $50 for a 90 day rental, and those prices change depending on the game... Really confusing but thats because the developers have some choice over the price points.  Just like Remote Play, Playstation Now requires a pretty solid connection to play fluidly.

The Dualshock 4 controller is my favorite part about Sony's new system.  It fits the hands comfortably, features a rechargeable battery, light-bar, speaker, touchpad, and a share button.  Sometimes the light-bar correlates with the game your playing, for example if your injured maybe your light-bar will pulse red.  Otherwise the only purpose it really serves is a cool accent, Sony said it will act as tracking function for their Virtual Reality headset "Project Morpheus" said to be released in the first half of 2016.  The touchpad is also a nice addition, games might have you swiping back and forth on the touchpad to open a door, or complete a more complicated action instead of just pressing "X"  Some developers put this feature to good use and a lot of them ignore its existence all together.  A quick press of the share button will let you save a screenshot or a 15 minute clip to your hard drive.   You can easily transfer these to an external hard drive and do whatever you want with them from there.

Playstation Plus will cost you $50 for a year,  Keep your eyes open and it's pretty easy to get a deal.  I got a year for $20.  Absolutely worth the price with all the free games they throw in every month.  Sony just tried it's hand at its first playstation exclusive original tv series "Powers"  which you can watch only if you have Playstation Plus.  It received mixed reviews so who knows if/when we will see another attempt at a tv show for Playstation.

The only real complaint I have is that PS4 could be a better and more friendly home network media hub.  I used to stream movies and music from my laptop to the Playstation 3 through my WiFi network flawlessly, no wires needed.  PS4 doesn't have any features to help in this department.  To sum it up PS4 is a younger, faster, stronger, version of the PS3 with some neat new features.  As cool as these new features are, they really are only cater to those willing to invest a lot of time and money into their  set up.  The monthly subscriptions can add up quick now a days and not everyone who owns a PS4 owns a Vita to go with it.

Nintendo

The Wii U has been out the longest out of the consoles and probably by now has the lowest amount of total sales.  Critics think Nintendo is in the dust riding the coat tails of the Wii and it's massive win last generation.  The main menu is identical to the Wii and also the 3DS.  It's really easy to navigate, to go online, chat on Facebook and the best part about it is I can do it from my controller.  The main menu is all tile formated in which all your apps/games are a button lined up with all your other junk.  I prefer it over the other two because it's all right in front of you after logging in.  You can move them around or put them in folders.  Since it's across all their platforms, I am completely used to it.  

Their online services are free.  So things like Miiverse, online multiplayer, and wiiu voice chat cost you no money.  The kicker is that their is no chat function in games unlike the other two where you can set up a party and talk to your friends while gaming.  The decision for it to be in the game is up to the developer and they must design it.  Certain games have used it fantastically like Monster Hunter 3 and Trine where you just have it on all the time.  Other games like Mario Kart you can only talk to people on your friend list while waiting for the next race to start.  Even though I like to chit chat with my brothers while I game, leaving it up to the developers has really opened up a discussion about the usefulness of voice chat.  Anytime I'm playing the other two systems I don't use it anyways.  Online games chat is rarely strategical or even game related.  More often its used to get a rise or a laugh, it's attention seeking behavior that never adds to the game.  I do get bummed out about it for specific games but there is so many other ways to communicate that it doesn't really matter.  The microphone is in the controller so no more uncomfortable headsets.

I was hoping for a wider game library.  Most importantly some sort of RPG to soak up a lot of time.  A few are coming out eventually but nothing that is really grandoise.  I always refer back to the Nintendo staples of Mario Kart and Smash which I am fine with.  Nintendo gets flack for releasing the same titles every generation but it works, the games are nearly perfect (no bugs/glitches/framerate issues.)  When they do publish a game that is new, like Bayonetta 2 or Xenoblade, it receives a lot of attention and is slow to be forgotten.  On average the critic reviewer scores is much higher on Nintendo exclusive games than exclusives on the other systems.  Games on Xbox One and PS4 are just starting to see high review scores that the Wii U has been sitting on for years now.  The graphics aren't as high quality but plenty of games like Lego City Undercover, Pikmin, and Bayonetta 2 have really been jaw dropping.  Especially when I get to use the controller as a first person camera in a game.  Hello VR, we've already met.

Their reward system outranks the other consoles as well because its free.  RIP Club Nintendo.  To those who weren't aware of its supremacy let me give you a run down.  Buy a game, get a code, register that code and take a survey and get points.  Wait a week and take a post play survey and get a few more points.  These points can be spent on a revolving, monthly, prize contest where you can get free games and/or physical goods.  These are mostly virtual console games (games featured on previous nintendo consoles) or t-shirts.  Once a year if your points stack up, you get a status.  Elite member, gold member, silver member. You get rewarded for buying games that you wanted in the first place.  These yearly prizes can be collector items that are only obtainable through this or digital games that are great.  They are closing it down this year and it's sad because it was way to good and a gesture you don't see enough in the gaming industry.  

Nintendo also has started implenting downloadable content in their games which has the community in desperate lockdown mode.  I've found it pleasantly alright.  I've gotten suckered into season passes in the past when the content is lackluster and the price break of 20% off is still too much.  But I first got into it for Hyrule Warriors because it was 20 for 4-5 packs.  I got it discounted from my job to under 50 so I figured why not I've liked them game after playing it the first day.  The packs are humongous and make end game content nearly infinite.  They are so daughnting that i haven't really cracked them.  I need a second person so if you are a person plz help.  SOS.  Mario Kart gave 200 CC for free and I paid 12-15 bucks for 16 new tracks, new characters and karts.  Worth it in my eyes.  Each map can be played 5 different ways (50,100,150,mirror,200.)   Sure it's still stuff that should be ingame but if it extends the shelf life of a game I love playing in house, out of the house, and online, why not?  I don't second guess it and I just buy it.  I have trust in Nintendo.  This generation might have gone by to fast but their is still some gunpowder still left in the canon.  

I like where Nintendo has went.  It helped me get out more since titles aren't holding me inside making me play them.  There has been a few games that cracked the 100+ hour mark and other games I beat in a sitting.  It has a little bit of everything and priced accordingly.

Xbox One

The XboxOne want's to be the only device left on your entertainment stand.  With the capabilities to watch live tv, stream music, play games, access app's, and even Skype it has all the features to do the job it sets out to achieve.  You can even snap the screen in to two parts so you can change the music track without interrupting your gameplay, or keep an eye on your sports game while your using Skype.  Xbox One also hosts Ea Access, not available on either of the other two systems.  EA Access is a pretty cheap $5 month or $30 a year (on top of your xbox live gold fee) to allow unlimited access to the EA vault of games.  Don't be fooled though because the "EA vault of games" doesn't include every EA game ever, they have a list somewhere of EA games that come in the vault.

Xbox's "Game's with Gold" program provides free games each month and special discounts, It is pretty much the equivalent to Sony's PS+.  It give's pretty great value and is worth the year subscription just for some of the games they give away.  If you own either Playstation or Xbox I would recommend getting Xbox Gold or PS+.

In order to watch your TV through the Xbox One your cable box or satellite has to be plugged in through the back,  So unfortunately you can't get rid of that cable box entirely.  You also must have both the cable box and the Xbox turned on so your essentially using twice the electricity to watch TV.  The voice commands are pretty cool when they work properly.  Its nice to just say pause or mute if you get a phone call instead of fiddling with a controller.  Some channel changing commands rarely work properly and its easier to do some things manually.  The "One-guide" is the Xbox One's version of a TV guide.  Depending on your cable provider this might work great or it might be really buggy.

The User Interface on the Xbox One is set up with "Tiles." These tiles allow you to set up your home screen how you want by assigning whichever applications you want to whichever tiles you want.  I like having optional customization but we only get one basic layout for these tiles and no matter how I set them up it doesn't seem to provide any extra convenience.  I find the menu navigation a little more confusing then the other systems.  The response time is also pretty poor,  I usually find myself waiting a few seconds after trying to open up my friends and achievements lists, or trying to send a party/game invite.  The other consoles seem to handle these tasks instantaneously.

I've tried using the feature to split my screen up a couple of times.  I only found it distracting while gaming but It's nice to have in case I ever do want to use my XboxOne for Skype or maybe keeping an eye on a sports game.  Xbox One also lets you save screenshot's and clips, however these can not be relocated to an external hard drive and must be uploaded the the Microsoft OneDrive (which you must have xbox live gold to use).  The controller is pretty light and can either be plugged in to a micro-usb or run on two triple A's.  It's a pretty standard video game controller, two thumbsticks, d-pad, triggers, and four main buttons.  Microsoft didn't really add anything new here.

Overall the Xbox One can carry out the broadest range of features.  It's nice to have so much going on in one box but I feel like its a little unnecessary if you already have any of the several different tech products available to us that carry out these same functions.   If Microsoft can iron out the little nuisances and glitches allowing these features to work together just a little more cohesively, the Xbox One could be king.

Recap

So if you actually made it through this whole article,  hats off to you.  You probably realize there is no sure-fire best console.  It's a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, and as gamers we are extremely fortunate to have this many unique options.  Not too many years ago  the controller and the games were pretty much the only differences that separated one game system from another.  My personal console of choice is PS4, I love what they've done with the controller, I get a lot of value from PS+ and I enjoy the Sony exclusive titles more than Nintendo, or Microsoft.  My co-writer Egan chose the Wii-U because of it's innovation's, rock solid franchises, and free online services.  Xbox One has the potential to take the throne in my eyes, but I need to see some work on the User Interface and a few more great exclusives before it's there.

Bloodborne Review

(This video review contains footage of some boss fights, if you consider this a spoiler do not watch and check out the written review below!)

Gamer's have a love/hate relationship with games developed by From Software.  Their newest title, BloodBorne, is no exception.  If you need any proof that the two emotions are entangled, it waits for you here.  As you die, die, and die again endless grief fill's the space between the tv and yourself.  Only to be washed away in relief as you strike down the boss who killed you far too many times to keep track.  Such is the cycle of BloodBorne, "We are born of the blood, made men by the blood, undone by the blood."  A quote from the game, that to me, symbolizes what its all about.  Overcoming the extreme difficulty of From Software games feels incredibly rewarding and that's what keeps people coming back.  The mentality here is, "If I can beat BloodBorne, there's no game I can't handle."  Package all of this into a dark, gloomy, nightmarish version of Victorian London labeled Yharnam and wrap it in a psychological cryptic narrative.  The result is a game that betrays the rules of basic game design and is much better off for doing so...

Essentially a darkness has enveloped the city of Yharnam, the only citizens not turned into monsters are hidden from sight, leaving you to clean up the city and occasionally fight other Hunters like yourself.  I have mixed feelings about the story.  Nothing in this game is explained to you.  You are fully expected to figure out everything for yourself.  The only thing in this game I found even resembling a tutorial were a hand full of notes in the main hub area, called The Hunters Dream, explaining which buttons are used for attacking and which button is used to dodge.  In some ways this is refreshing and in other ways its frustrating, the same can be said for so many things in BloodBorne.  Overall letting the player figure it out for themselves work's and I only would have changed this approach with the narrative.  Yharnam appears to be so intricate, and have so much depth.  But by the time the credits scroll you still know very little about the insanely awesome bosses or characters you met in your journey.  I think a lot of RPG's are cluttered with boring lore and backstory that I usually end up skimming or skipping all together.  In BloodBorne I was hoping to find these tidbits of lore and they never came around.

The Art design in this game is stellar, from the scenery, to the monsters, to the weapons.  Gamers have been fighting monsters for decades and the ones presented for us to slaughter in BloodBorne are top notch terrifying.  The weapons are cool and unique, each one has two fighting styles that can be switched in and out mid combo.  Some of them are traditional swords or axes while others turn into maces or have guns built in.  The combat is done very well, in all of my many deaths I never really felt cheated in a way where I felt as tho I didn't deserve to die.  A feeling I'm sure many gamer's are familiar with.

The polish can be seen in every single stone that makes up the city of Yharnam.  I only wish there was a little more diversity in the area's of the game we visit.  One section has you fighting through a creepy forest which was neat but other then that the entire game feels like different rooms of the same dungeon.  The color scheme consists of grey.  Grey castles, grey bridges, and grey sewers.  There is other colors used but even the blue's in the water and on some creatures seem to have strong undertones of grey mixed in.   Red appears in the form of blood but thats about it.  This isn't a horrible thing, the game still looks great.  I understand the developers were going for dark and beautiful but I don't think that point would be lost with just a touch more color or a touch less grey.  There is also some stuttering frame rates if you happen to be fighting too many enemies at once.  

Enemies are defeated by studying the attack animations.  Each one has a variety of strong and weak attacks,  sometimes stringing them together to throw you off.  Once you learn how they move it becomes slightly less difficult to chip away at there health bars between attacks.  Even near the end, monsters I fought in the beginning of the game were able to take me down if I made a mistake.  A lot of enemies are slow enough to run past if there's a safe area on the other side but any attempt at blindly hacking and slashing your way through this game will be met with grim results.  Bosses require specific strategies and like to change up there move-sets mid fight.  I was only able to beat one boss on my first attempt while most others took me between thirty minutes to an hour.  A couple of them took me even longer.

There are so many nooks and crannies in this game that you must explore or risk missing out.  I believe nearly half of the bosses are optional and could be missed, there is no indicator if a boss is guarding the path you need to take or if they are just guarding a dead end.  Most bosses are guarding some type of reward so it's worth taking down each one you come across.  There is no map included in this game so you must try to remember which area's you have explored already.  A challenge in itself considering everything is gray.  There is multiple endings to this game, and if no one told you that you might never know.  Various actions in the game can change things and none of these actions seem to have any impact at the time.  My advice is to be cautious with the choices you make, and do not kill non threatening npc's.

There's a tricky co-op system that requires some in-game currency called insight which you use to ring a bell, if someone else is in the same area as you and also happens to be ringing a bell then they will join your game.  I asked for co-op assistance for two of the boss battles I was having issues with.  BloodBorne also contains a New Game+ mode for post game content and randomly generated dungeons for you to explore if you need a break from the main areas of the game.

Final Thoughts

The first few hours of BloodBorne will make you feel like a scared little boy lost in a busy city with nothing but a runny nose.  By the time you're finished you will be the Karate Kid.  It's a great feeling to have conquered this game, allowing you to turn each corner with confidence, but it take's time and patience to get there.  The scenery is gorgeous but lacking in diversity, weapons and creature design is top notch.  The narrative is cryptic, and ultimately really interesting, but it's so vague in it's explanations that it's very hard to appreciate in just one play-through.

Pro's

+Challenging game provides great feelings of great accomplishment

+Incredible Monster and Weapon design

+Excellent responsive combat.

Con's

-Not enough scenic diversity

-Vague narrative

-Challenging game provides great feelings of deep frusteration

Score

8.5/10

Nintendo Direct 4/1 Impressions

Written By Egan Click

Nintendo has been having an uneven year so far.  The 3DS is having a stellar year and it looks like it will keep that pace throughout with such LONG titles like Monster Hunter 4u, Xenoblade Chronicles, and countless other rpgs that take a lot of time to complete.  It also got an new version which is fantastic.  But as a Nintendo Fan Boy, I've felt out of touch with my Wii U.  Sure there are a few eshop games here and there that raise my interests but the two Nintendo published entries (Kirby and Mario Party) did not.  I felt like both those games are already showcased in other games.  There is the Wii U Party Game and Wario for party games (plus a few eshop titles too) and platformers are every where on the console.  So I already went into the Direct hoping for more focus on the Wii U.  I need a game on here that deserves some serious attention and long play sessions. All I'm using my Wii U for at the moment is to chat with my brother while we play MH.  Did I get what I was looking for?

Kind of.



What I got that is actually definitive and hard set were updates to games that I already own.  Some free and others paid content.  Mario Kart's new courses got pushed up a month which is unheard of in game development.  It's coming out on my birthday (the 23rd) and looks great.  Nintendo is also giving out a free update for 200 cc which looks like F-Zero X when you are driving.  So fast and is an easy purchase by me to get the two new dlc packs.  16 new courses between the two and new characters and karts seem like a good buy for probably 15-20.

Also Super Smash is getting updated with two new dlc characters.  Mewto and Lucas.  This is pretty neat but it's paid content.  I might get Lucas and I already get Mewto for owning both copies of the game.  I wish they would add other stuff too like maps and whatnot.  Hopefully that's in the update that comes along with the new characters.



They finally showed this game but with no release date or even time table.  It looks like an anime and I really enjoy both series so this is a must buy for me.  It looks like a turn based rpg but it was mostly a trailer that had little game play segments in it.  Keep your eye on this one.

Mario Maker got pushed into late summer early fall for Mario's 30th anniversary.  Hopefully a demo comes out for me to justify paying 40 bucks for it.  Making levels seems like a fun activity to do with friends but will any of my friends care to?  Probably not.

Yoshi is coming out in the fall and the new amiibos look adorable.  The game looks cute and co-op will be really intimate.  Date night anyone?



Splatoon is getting amiibo support too.  If they pull it off right, this game is looking to drag my Wii U into the summer along with Mario Kart.  4 v 4 third person shooter.  The game play is unique and fresh.  Team work is essential.  Going to make my mouth water thinking about Gears of War - Annex (King of the Hill mode).

Fatal Frame is getting localized and looks really crisp.  Will work perfectly with the game pad because now you can actually take pictures with your controller.  Must buy and will probably scare me out of my pj's.

Some cool looking indies like Starwahl but no dates so nothing worth talking about.  Also virtual console stuff like N64 and DS but I want NEW.

The only thing I really wanted to hear about was localisation efforts on X which is coming out in Japan at the end of the month but nothing.  Same with Star Fox and Zelda and Devil's Third.

There's a new Pokemon freemium game coming out for the 3ds which is going to be in the Rumble series.  Whatever.  I just got the shuffle and it's alright.  It's better then street pass but it's still just time filler waiting for my bro to get on MH.

New animal crossing game where you design houses.  Amiibo like cards are launching with it.  Seems kind of strange.  I love the series but am not really interested in the house design element.

New Fire Emblem that is coming out in 2016 looks amazing as I was expecting.  You are the main character, 2 alternative paths to choose from.  Must buy and will be excited.

Puzzle & Dragons is coming out in May and it's two separate games in a 30 dollar package.  If you like bejeweled or puzzle fighters then this is your type of game.  Reminds me of the customization from Shin Megami too where you can rank up your minions continuously throughout the game.  Going to play the demo before I get more for my 3ds.



Last game I'll mention is Attack on Titan.  I guess this is an anime.  It looks like a 3rd person action adventure.  The thing that really intrigued me is it's 4 player coop online.  Probably a must buy if I can convince one of my brothers to get it.  We will play any coop game.

Final Impressions

+ Variety of games coming out
+ Free updates and reasonably priced DLC
+ Splatoon and Xenoblade!

- Strange gimmicky games for very niche markets. Pokemon Rumble freemium and Animal Crossing
- Not enough Hard Dates.
- Most of this was expected.

Score
7.7