Saturday was a big day for Pokemon fans. The first 3DS native Pokemon game was released! Titled X & Y respectively, the two games brought Pokemon into a new era, and boy are things different. The artwork is different, there are some new systems, and of course there are a bunch of new Pokemon to play with.

I've been playing nearly nonstop since Saturday. I haven't been this obsessed with a Pokemon game since Sapphire came out on the Game Boy Advance. It's been a lot of fun to jump back into things and explore the new game. Everything is new and exciting, especially since I've been gone for so long.

The internet features are awesome. It helps knowing that to battle and trade all you need to do is click a button on the touch pad instead of making your way all the back to a Pokemon Center. The passerby feature is pretty neat too. You're never actually alone when you're connected to the internet. You see people from all over the world. For me, I've seen people primarily from Japan and South Korea. Pretty cool, no?

The new Pokemon are pretty cool, but let's be honest here. Nothing beats the original bunch. Thankfully it seems that Nintendo realized that and gave you the ability to get an additional starter, one from the very first bunch of games. That made me way too excited. I still remember the days when I was six years old, playing the original Pokemon Red on my Game Boy Pocket.

Pokemon is that one franchise that reminds me of my childhood. I get all nostalgic when I see the cartoons, or the cards (of which I have a huge bucket), and of course where it all started, the games. It's to Game Freak's credit that these games are still just as fun to play now as they were when I was a kid.

If you guys wanna friend me on the 3DS my friend code is: 3668-7897-3762. I hope to see you out there!

This is probably the fourth time I've written about saying goodbye to Ryan. It's weird, because before September or so of last year I didn't even know who Ryan was. I'd heard of Giant Bomb and I'd heard of Jeff (and Brad here and there). But it wasn't until I'd completely run out of podcasts on my iPhone that I decided I wanted MOOOORE to listen to. The Bombcast was perfect for that. It always takes some getting used to when you start a new podcast. New voices, new people, new opinions, etc etc. Even so, it only took me about three episodes to figure out who was who. This was probably due to the fact that they were roughly three hours a piece.

That was something I loved about the Bombcast. I loved that it went on for what I wished was forever. From there I got to know the GB crew as if they were my friends. I followed them on twitter, the site, and the podcast. Ryan was a part of that. He was funny, his laugh one of the most infectious I've ever heard in my life. He always had something interesting to say and god damn did he have perfect comedic timing.

I had the pleasure of meeting Ryan Davis back at PAX East. It was only for about fifteen minutes - maybe less - but it's definitely something I'll remember. He was an absolute pleasure to meet. We spoke briefly about the panel they'd held the night before (I missed it unfortunately) and some of the games we enjoyed from the show thus far. Despite our meeting being so short (I believe he had an appointment at Supergiant) he seemed genuinely pleased to speak with me.

No matter how he went, I'm sure he's looking down on all of us with a smile, and something sarcastic to say about it too. He was an awesome dude, one that won't ever be replaced. It's a crime that he died so young and after such a momentous occasion in his life. It's a cold and scary realization that people so young and happy are taken from us. It's reminded me to cherish those I know and to go out and meet more people. As Ryan did, I hope to make as many people happy as possible. It's the least I could do.

I say farewell to Ryan Davis. You will be missed and I'm glad I had to chance to know you - for however brief it was.

Man of Steel is not only one of the most anticipated films of the year, but one of the most anticipated films by superhero fans alike. Superman has been a tricky beast and not since Superman 2 have we gotten a film that's really done him justice. Does Man of Steel live up to the hype? Yes, it most certainly does.

Directed by Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen), produced by Christopher Nolan (The Batman Trilogy), and written by David S. Goyer (The Batman Trilogy), Man of Steel had all the big names on its team. But there was still cause for worry, and rightly so. Superman Returns isn't remembered fondly by fans and Snyder isn't exactly known for his quality films. But with Nolan at his side and Goyer writing the story, there was some faith to be had.

Man of Steel gives us a different kind of Superman. It's nothing like the Donner films we've come to know and love. Here we have Henry Cavill (Immortals, The Tudors) as Clark Kent, a man searching the world for who he is. When we come up on him he's a greenhorn on a crab fishing boat. In the next scene he's working as a bartender in some Alaskan dive bar. Clearly this isn't the Clark Kent we're used to.

And after an epic prologue involving General Zod (Michael Shannon) and Jor-El (Russell Crowe) duking it out over the fate of Krypton, that shouldn't come as a surprise. In fact, Man of Steel comes off almost as more of a sci-fi movie than it does a straight up superhero movie. In the case of Superman (a term used sparingly in the film) that works.

Cavill brings an appropriate weight to the questions of Clark Kent. Who he is? Not only as a physical being, but as a person? He has all these abilities, but are they a gift or a curse? How would humanity react if someone like him outed himself to the world? These questions plague Clark for most of the film. Even when he reveals himself to the world, he finds himself wondering if he made the right choice. Not even with the guidance of his parents (Diane Lane and Kevin Costner) does he find what he's looking for.

To answer those questions comes Lois Lane (Amy Adams). She continues to be the tough as nails reporter we've always known her to be. But this time around Adams gives her an emotional weight that Lois has been missing for some time. Her and Cavill are great together on screen and some of her scenes with other characters are great to watch as well.

Instead of Lex Luthor, Snyder and co. smartly decided to go with a villain that Superman could face off against physically. Enter General Zod, an imposing figure and easily the most menacing incarnation of the character we've seen. In tow is his commander, Faora (Antje Traue).

Shannon is an amazing villain. Gone is any sort of the camp that we saw in Superman 2. This is a man on a mission, one he truly believes is his calling. There's nothing scarier than a villain who thinks that he's in the right. He also makes Clark question himself. Could Zod bring about the salvation of Krypton and bring Clark back together with his people? The film does a wonderful job toying with these questions.

The action, always the hardest part of a Superman film, is superb. Finally, now that we have the technology, we can see the true physicality of Superman. When he jumps or flies, nature bends around him. When lands or punches through a wall, craters are made and shock waves are felt. This is especially true when Clark goes against the other Kryptonians. When he battles Faora in Smallville and General Zod in Metropolis, the scale and power with which they fight will leave you in awe.

Now be forewarned, there were changes made to the Superman "lore" for this film. Some of them are minor, but there were definitely some major changes. The climax of the film will no doubt leave fans arguing with each other until the earth implodes. That said, I thought they were great changes. Each of them earned their keep, some of them were even powerful, meaningful in context of the plot.

Overall Snyder, Nolan, and Goyer did the impossible. They brought Superman to the screen in the way he was meant to be seen. He is powerful, flawed, exciting, but most importantly, he is interesting. And despite the fact that the film may feel slow after the first hour, there's always plenty to keep you going. All of this punctuated by Hans Zimmer's modern and epic score.

Man of Steel is without a doubt the best Superman movie made yet.

5/5

The Swapper, developed by Facepalm games, is one of the greatest puzzle games you’ll play all year.

In a style similar to Portal, you have a gun (referred to as the “swapper”) that has only two option. You can create clones of yourself, or you can swap to and take control of another clone. The thing is, these clones all move in tandem with you. You go left, they go left. You jump, they jump. The only way to get rid of your clones is to get them against a wall and have them “stack”.

The Swapper gives you control over a mysterious astronaut. They don’t talk throughout the entire game. In fact, most of the story is given to you through memorial terminals highlighted on your map. Add in some garbled, fragmented thoughts of alien rocks, that’s all you have to go on.

That said, the story manages to be interesting despite the simple ways it’s told. It asks some heavy questions in regards to humankind’s expansion into the stars and human experimentation. Are these clones humans? Are they tools? Who are we to say? By the end, it may be up to you.

The puzzles of The Swapper are fun and rarely make you feel too frustrated. The few times I looked at a guide for a hint, I found myself embarrassed. The solution is always way easier than it seems. That’s the fun of it though. Figuring out these puzzles – especially the late game ones – makes you feel like a genius.

The aesthetic is something worth noting. Everything is made up of simple household items. Your ship for instance, is made out of a tin can. Couple this along with the game’s astounding lighting and you easily have one the most beautiful games in the past few years.

There’s little to say about The Swapper that’s isn’t praise. The game is about as long as it needs to be, clocking in at around four hours. For only $10, it’s easily an experience worth having.

4.5/5

Well, E3 is finally over. Okay it's actually been over for some time now. But it was such a big show that I wanted to make sure that I took everything in and knew what I wanted to say. Even now I imagine I'll forget to talk about a game or two. There are simply too many to keep track of.

Not that I'm complaining. You all know how it is, with past E3's there's always been that one game that steals the show. Last year it was Watch_Dogs (and deservedly so). But this year there were plenty of surprises and noteworthy games to keep everyone talking about something.

Let's get started with the obvious stuff: the press conferences. While I plan on talking about some games individually, it's important to note the overall tone of the conferences. They tend to inform the rest of the show and as you all know by now, they did more than just that.

After Microsoft's Xbox One reveal, they said that come their E3 press conference they would show nothing but games. And to their credit they followed through on that. They even managed to gather some third party exclusives in the shape of Ryse and Dead Rising 3. Hell there was even a trailer for a new Halo game.

It's worth noting briefly that that Halo game wasn't called "Halo 5". I do wonder why that is since they called the last game "Halo 4". It seems odd to break the numbering scheme now.

I also feel the need to mention the large technical difficulties they had during the show. I can only imagine how all the people back stage are freaking out, trying to fix it before it becomes too awkward. Alas, they never managed to fix the sound issue for Crimson Dragon and they simply had the cancel the Battlefield 3 demo. My heart goes out to those guys, nothing has got to feel worse.

Lastly, there's the price. What can be said? It's $500. I bought a PS3 when it was $600, but that was also seven years ago. Nowadays I spend my money different ways and on different things. Microsoft's game offerings along with their attempt to take over the living room aren't enough to pull me in.

Overall though Microsoft's press conference was was fine. With the exception of Metal Gear Solid V, nothing truly blew me away. Unfortunately MS' conference was still stained with all the recent press about their used-games and online policies. This led to most people being a bit down on the conference, as they were expecting some mention of the elephant in the room.

EA took the stage next and showed off a lot of stuff I wasn't too interested in. Sports just aren't my thing and I don't care too much for Dragon Age. Despite that, Titalfall looks pretty fun and I'm excited for Mirror's Edge 2.

Of course we were all frothing at the mouth over Battlefront. Now that DICE is developing it I'll definitely be keeping an eye on that one. Too bad it's only just started development though. It's most likely something we won't see until 2015.

Ubisoft was easily the most boring conference of the day. With the exception of "The Crew" and "The Division" there wasn't much to pay attention to. We got some CG trailers for Watch_Dogs and Assassin's Creed 3, but nothing too exciting. I was impressed the most by "The Division", something I'll talk about in my next post.

I think that Ubisoft could improve their conferences by getting rid of their celebrity hosts. Sure, Aisha Tyler knows her stuff. But nothing says pandering like hiring a celebrity to host your conference for you. All of the companies have one of the higher-ups host and that works out pretty well for them.

And to close out Monday night, we had Sony. Their conferences are always the longest one and this one was no different. They began with some brief mentions of the PS3 and all of the cool games coming for that system. Unfortunately we did have to suffer through Sony's brief attempt to get people excited about their media offerings. Their only problem was that they chose someone who had clearly never been on stage before, or read any teleprompter of sorts. It slowed the momentum and no doubt made several people stop watching outright.

But then came the PS4 stuff. First off, we saw the box. It's finally there for people to look at. Personally I never understood why everyone got up in arms over Sony not showing the box back in February. The Wii is one of the ugliest consoles I've ever see and the WiiU looks like nothing more than an external harddrive and people still buy them (well, they bought the Wii). For what it's worth, I do enjoy the look of the box, but I don't think that would ever made my decision for me.

We got our look at AC3 and Watch_Dogs from Ubisoft. We got some amazing trailers from Square Enix, and a slew of indie games. By the end, everyone was already stoked. But then Jack Tretton came out and laid down the final blows. He announced Sony's used games and online policies for the PS4. Simply put: there are none. The crowd went nuts. It's amazing too, because Sony managed to turn the tide against Microsoft by simply leaving things alone. By not changing something, they accomplished way more than anyone expected.

It didn't end there obviously. Tretton then proceeded to announce the very comfortable price point of $400. Despite having a job, I am a college student which means I still trade in games. So coupling that with the exclusives Sony has down the line and the great price, I see no reason to make the PS4 my console of choice. In fact the next day I went out and preordered one myself.

Sony's conference was one filled with excitement. From the time they started talking about PS4 games to the time they announced their price, I was thrilled. It was the most excited I'd been since Gabe Newell came out and announced that Portal 2 would becoming to the PS3. Surprises like that don't happen very often in the industry anymore and it's always a pleasure experiencing those.

In my next post I'll discuss Nintendo's E3 briefing along with all the games I saw and enjoyed from E3 2013.