I have three keys to give away.
Edit: Down to one key.
I have three keys to give away.
Edit: Down to one key.
I'm using Chrome and it seems that I can't edit my lists if I move any of the items' position. I can add things to the list and it will save just fine, but if I try to move them around the list never saves.
The announcement of a new Pokémon game coming is no surprise. When Nintendo announced they were doing a Nintendo Direct specifically about Pokémon, what else could it be. The trailer, which is embedded below, blew me away and makes me more excited than I should be.
When Black 2/White 2 was announced I had my doubts that the Pokémon games would ever move into full 3D. Luckily, Game Freak has my back and finally everything will be polygonal. Ever since I played Pokémon Stadium back in 2000 I have dreamed of this. Don’t get me wrong. The sprites in Black/White look great and animate well, but they don’t express nearly as well as the models do in Stadium. When my Nidorino gets hit by a low kick launched by my opponent’s Machop, I want him to be affected by the attack instead of just standing there in some idle animation. It adds a lot more excitement to battles and will surely increase replay value.
Game Freak has definitely gotten more inventive with their level design since they started using 3D elements in the background starting with Diamond/Pearl, but now that they have thrown sprites out the window and embraced polygons they should really be able to cut loose. I can’t wait to see what they’re cooking up. In the trailer, they show the protagonist swinging across a pit on a vine. Hopefully, this is an indication of some light platforming, which could help traversal be a little more fun, and not just merely an animation that asks you beforehand if you want to swing on the vine or not.
The one thing about the trailer that failed to impress was the starter Pokémon for this generation. They look super generic, but I suppose after coming up with 600+ monster designs it becomes a little difficult to do something truly different. Hopefully, their final evolutions look more awesome. The two legendary Pokémon they showed looked appropriately legendary and on the nose about the game title. Game Freak obviously isn’t taking the same route as Black/White in respect to the Pokémon included in the game won’t be all new. The only new Pokémon they showed were the aforementioned starters and legendaries beside classics like Psyduck and Magikarp.
That’s about all the concrete information one could glean from the trailer, but I’d like to throw some speculation out and see what you think. One of the first images of the game is of the main character looking at himself in a mirror. This image reminds me a whole lot of making and customizing a sim, you know, in the Sims series, so maybe we’re looking at being able to alter your character’s appearance. Being fully polygonal would make that easier to accomplish. That would be really neat if that’s a feature and would help make the adventure feel more like it’s your adventure.
Also, this is a first-party Nintendo game on the 3DS, so it has to have some StreetPass functionality, right? I have no idea what that could be, though. There have been some really crap StreetPass features, I’m looking at you Resident Evil: Revelations. But, Fire Emblem shows that it doesn’t have to be completely lame. Hopefully, it’s not something forgettable like getting a berry. I think it could be cool if they did something like Super Street Fighter IV. Maybe let you set up a team of Pokémon and they’ll battle anyone’s team that you encounter via StreetPass. That’d be neat, right?
As I said before, I’m more excited for Pokémon X/Y than I really should be. I’ve been playing Black constantly since the trailer came out, trying to fill in the blanks on my collection. Is anyone as excited as I am? I’d love to hear someone else speculate about possible StreetPass features or just game in general.
@ZombiePie: Wow, I'm such a dork.
(There are Mass Effect 3 Spoilers in this post)
I’m back from another illness fueled hiatus. Instead of dicking around like last time, I went to the doctor this time. I was told I had strep throat and was given a prescription for some antibiotics. This was a good choice. I was feeling better by the next day. I didn’t get any game playing done during this sick period. I just laid in bed and drifted in and out of sleep for a few days. I’m glad I got being sick out of the way since I’ll be going to PAX East. With any luck, I won’t get sick again.
I finally beat Mass Effect 3 this week. I’m going to get right to it. I don’t think the ending was that bad. I really don’t understand what was so terrible about it. I haven’t looked into what was so appalling too thoroughly, so I don't really have any counter arguments to make. I had fun with the game with the exception of the last few combat scenarios which were a pain in the ass, but that was my fault for playing on insanity. My only major complaint is at the end when Shepard, Anderson, and The Illusive Man are talking together. The last conversation wheel in that dialogue has a paragon and a renegade choice, but I couldn’t choose either of them. The renegade option I understand because I hadn’t made any renegade choices, but the entire game I did everything paragon. I also did everything I possibly could in the game. It’s unfathomable to me why I couldn’t choose that option. As far as I know, if I had been able to choose that option I wouldn’t had to do a renegade trigger pull to stop Martin Sheen from killing Shepard and Anderson. The requirements for that choice seem a little extreme given I was a nice guy throughout the entire game and still couldn’t choose it.
After putting 200+ (probably easily 300+ because multiple playthroughs) into Mass Effect as a whole it feels weird that I’m finally putting this Shepard to rest. I still have my female Shepard to play through, but that will probably be awhile from now. Maybe next year, who knows. I can’t wait to see where Bioware will take the universe next. I hope they go in an unexpected direction. Like a stealth action game as Nihlus or a member of the STG. Or a tactical RPG would be pretty baller. As long as it’s not a kart racing game. Please don't do a kart racing game.
Since completing my journey through the galaxy, I decided to focus my time on the Wii launch title Twilight Princess. The obvious next step, I know. When I first booted it up I was blown away by the graphics, not in a flattering way. My repulsion only lasted until I remembered that it was technically a Gamecube game. I’ve completed two dungeons as of this writing, so I'm still just getting into it. I’ve been having fun with it. There’s not really been any huge surprises outside of Sumo matches against Gorons. I laughed seeing Link in a traditional Sumo outfit, slamming his leg down on the ground. My only complaint, which I’m sure won’t be surprising, is the waggling that must be done to swing the sword. It’s just not precise. Whether I execute the full chain of hits seems to be up to chance. Regardless, I’m sure I’ll complete the game and enjoy doing so.
I feel like I’ve really neglected Marvel over the past two weeks. If you compare license card from this post and that last one that will be evident. I’ll probably hop into some of that after I get this posted. With me going to PAX East this week, I might not write a weekend update or if I do it will most likely be later in the week. In any case, maybe I can start doing this with some regularity after this week.
So I was totally sick last week. Because of that I didn't do an entry for my weekend update. I was halfway okay with that because the previous week was rather uneventful anyways. I got Mass Effect 3, but didn't really play it much that week because of work and life. I called in on Monday and Tuesday and got some quality time with Bioware's latest while enduring what I think was some form of influenza.
So far, I'm enjoying the game. I think I'm in the second act just by the feel of what's going on with the story. I've been frustrated by the combat a few times, but that's because I'm playing on insane and all the enemies have infinite grenades. I can't tell you the number of times I've rolled to the side only to jump on top of an exploding grenade. You might say it's my fault for playing on the hardest difficulty, but it's unlocked from the beginning and there's an achievement related to it. How do you expect not the go for it? Another thing that kind of bugs me, but at the same time I dig is the amount of fan service. I bugs me because I can tell they only put stuff in there for me to be like, "Yeah! That guy!". I love the universe so much that I get excited even though I realize this. Sometimes I just want to race to end to see what this noise about the ending is, but that's not how I play. Hopefully, I'll have it finished before the week's end. In case, anyone is interested I'm helping the Quarians out right now.
I still haven't touched I Am Alive, but I didn't get a little time with Street Fighter X Tekken. That is a fun game. I didn't even worry about the gems. A couple of friends and I just had fun playing some local versus. The Street Fighter characters feel right at home and I'm not really a Tekken guy, so it took me a bit to get used to them. Actually, I would say I never got used to them. When I ended up with a Tekken character, I lost. You know who I won a lot as? Zangief. I really like Zangief. He's fun to play as in most games he ends up in and I'm proud to say that he is great in SFxT. The command grab throw range seems really stupidly large and to top it off his super charge move is a throw. This throw has hyper armor as well. My favorite way to use it is when I notice someone jump towards me. I just start charging it and Zangief puts his hands in the air. They'll hit me coming down towards me and Zangief will just shrug it off. As soon as their feet hit the ground, I let go of the charge, unleashing his devastating throw. I was totally ready to throw down $60 to play some more, but then I heard about the online issues and just how basically everything outside of the fighting itself is kind of a mess. I guess I'll just stick to Marvel. Marvel is always fun.
During breaks at my job, I've been enjoying some Rhythm Heaven. That game is goofy and simple, but at the same time ingenious. Essentially, you're either tapping the screen, holding that tap, or flicking the stylus. Somehow with those simple motions, this game is made into a compelling rhythm game. It also has hooks in place that make you want to retry previous stages and do well, maybe even get a perfect. The game is addicting and I have one of the songs stuck in my head as I type.
May 15, most of the time that's a date no one cares about. May 15 just happens to be my birthday. This year, it also happens to be the release date of a major game that I'm looking forward to. Diablo III, anyone? What a perfect gift for me. Thank you, Blizzard. Before this point only Max Payne 3 was the only game coming out and no one seemed to want to mess with Rockstar as its release was going to be unchallenged. If there's a company that doesn't need to worry about other games being released, it's Blizzard. I wonder if this changes the expectations of how Take-Two thinks Max will perform. I know beforehand I was on the fence about getting Max Payne 3. Now, I could care less because I'll have Diablo to play.
This next week is going to be awesome. As I type I'm on my way to see the Black Keys perform, and on Tuesday one of most anticipated games of this year, Mass Effect 3, will be released. I'll probably spend the majority of the 6th saving the galaxy. Unfortunately, I won't be able to pick up Street Fighter X Tekken right away, but if I'm lucky my brother will be coming over and I'll get some hands on time with it. I Am Alive will be available the day after and I plan on buying it as well. Hell, I already aquired the Microsoft points for it when I bought Alan Wake's American Nightmare. Mass Effect 3 will probably take up all my time that week, so most likely I won't want to play Ubisoft's most recent downloadable title until the week after.
I finally finished Alan Wake's American Nightmare, well I completed the story mode. I'm into Remedy's use of their faux-Twilight Zone, Night Springs. I'm a fan of everything they've done to present the story. They still got the usual manuscripts (presently a little differently though), television sets, and radios, but I also randomly found a telephone which had me listening to Alan Wake talk about a horrifying scene that stuck with him. My roommate didn't even see that throughout his playthrough. Little things like that really incentivize a player to explore. FMV is also used a more extensively, the beginning, some scenes in between, and the ending are all in FMV. The combat is just about the same as the original. Shine your flashlight on the enemies to take away the darkness that shields them and then smoke them with one of the various firearms at Wake's disposal. Combat is a little more exciting since you have more than three enemy types to deal with. It's not amazing by any means, but it's alright for filler between more story. This title's focus on combat over story is a little disheartening because story is where Remedy excells and getting a taste of that just makes me want a proper sequel. I tried a little bit of the arcade mode, but it just isn't my cup of tea. The combat isn't fun enough by itself to keep me going.
I still haven't played any more of Resident Evil: Revelations and I didn't play Reckoning at all this week. Both of those games are alright, but you can easily get burned out if you play it too much. It doesn't help that I have more entertaining things to play like Rock Band 3 and Super Street Fighter IV.
With the coming of this week I have another game to add to my pile of shame, SSX. I enjoyed playing Tricky and SSX 3, so I was really looking forward to playing the newest entry. With Febuaury and March being so full of games I gotta budget my time and money and I knew with Mass Effect 3 and Street Fighter X Tekken coming out a week after I wouldn't get back to SSX any time soon. Hopefully, I'll be able to catch up on it later in the year.
How about that new Assassin's Creed setting? Colonial American is an awesome place and not enough games take place there. I'm really curious how the game will handle guns. There were guns in Ezio's time, but they weren't so that every soldier would have one. It'd be kind of silly if none of the enemies had them, and instead fought you with melee weapons. I still need to play Revelations to catch up on the story threads. I didn't really have any drive to do so before I heard about the new setting. The thought of stabbing dudes in the neck and face with George Washington by my side is so appealing. George isn't confirmed, but a man can dream, right?
The last thing I want to do is mention Patrick Kelpek's article about harassment in the fighting game community. It's definitely a serious issue that needs to be dealt with. I don't really have any ideas about how to deal with this other than penalize people for unsporting conduct like they do in other sports. I just wanted to mention it and raise more awareness. Does anyone think that kind of behavior is alright? I kind understand if it's a personal setting. I can have a pretty sick sense of humor sometimes, but I understand social norms and how to treat people with respect, so I wouldn't say anything like that in a stream that's promoting Capcom's newest game and the fighting game community itself. They're making us look like a bunch of assholes and I don't like it.
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