If you ask me, Nintendo has really dropped the ball with this generation of Pokémon games.
According to Nintendo Life, Game Freak director Junichi Masuda hinted to watch the upcoming episode of Pokémon Smash, a Sunday evening Pokémon television program in Japan, when asked about sequels to Black and White. There have been plenty of announcements for Pokémon games since Black and White launched last year and each one has disappointed me more than the last.
After the last post I wrote about online passes, I feel that it’s necessary to clarify my position on used games, because a lot of feedback I got through comments and other avenues has given me the impression I failed in communicating my point.
I have absolutely zero problem with used games or renting games. I have a GameFly account myself and have purchased several secondhand games through them, not to mention the large amount of used games I bought during my years of working at GameStop. The right of first sale doctrine gives you the right to sell a game when you’re done with it. People who buy and sell used games are doing nothing wrong. My only issue is when people think that publishers owe them anything when they buy used games.
The gaming community is throwing a bit of a hissy fit about the rise of “Online Passes,” one time use codes packed in with new games that essentially lock out part of the game for those who buy it used. They act like it’s game companies ripping off customers and it’s an injustice we shouldn’t stand for. I think those people are dumb and game companies have absolutely every right to implement such things.
(Before I get started though, a short note: I like to keep things pretty lighthearted here at PK Bloggin’!, and for good reason: I feel the internet is an entirely too negative place. Writing this article made me angry because I think the whole thing is just so intellectually bankrupt. Still, I wanted to say my piece. Hearing what I have to say IS why you’re here, isn’t it?)
You’d sell your soul for this game
Even though fighting games are enjoying a new renaissance of popularity — a “second coming,” if you will — updating a popular franchise still carries a healthy amount of risk. Change too much and risk alienating your loyal fanbase; change too little and you’re mid-90s Capcom, famous for pseudo-sequels that added more subtitles than content. Project Soul chose not to err on the side of caution this time around, and its newly renovated franchise fares quite well in its newest instalment.
SoulCalibur V, at first glance, is a radical departure for the series, gutting its roster and replacing nearly half the cast with fresh new faces. If your favorite character from past games is gone, don’t fret, as the majority of the new characters inherit the move list and play style of an absent combatant. The game takes place 17 years after the events of SoulCalibur IV, so in some cases it’s a character’s child taking their place.
Read the rest at Push Square
How many do you remember?
The PlayStation brand has been around for over 15 years, and during that time Sony has cemented itself as a powerhouse in the world of video games. From its humble 32-bit beginnings to 1080p HD and stereoscopic 3D graphics, PlayStation is synonymous with progress.
In the spirit of new beginnings here at Push Square, join us for a look back at several notable firsts from PlayStation’s first 15 years.
First PlayStation Concept: SNES-CD
It’s common knowledge that the genesis of the PlayStation hardware lies in a CD attachment for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, making for a fairly robust opportunity for “what might have been.”
To introduce you to the team we’ve put together here at Push Square, we asked each team member for two PS3 games they considered absolutely essential. Here, Joe Walker from our US review team tackles quirky blocks and irrepressible spirits.
3D Dot Game Heroes
3D Dot Game Heroes is an “homage” to the original The Legend of Zelda, if “homage” means “complete rip-off.” Combining tough-as-nails old-school dungeon crawling with eye-popping art direction, it’s also genuinely funny, not just video game funny. Sometimes frustratingly difficult, the challenge only serves to temper your determination to conquer the bosses that await you at the end of each dungeon.
The name says it all
It’s incredibly difficult to review Double Fine Happy Action Theater with a traditional review system. It’s hardly a game at all; there’s no challenge, no goal, no direction. Calling it a “game” is, honestly, hardly appropriate – it’s more of a toy than anything. Toys and games are both designed to be fun, though, and Double Fine Happy Action Theater gives you a lot to play with.
The mad scientists at Double Fine have already shown they can make a fantastic Kinect game that’s targeted at children but still fun for adults with their charming Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monsterand they do it again with Happy Action Theater. Happy Action Theater contains 18 “games” (we’ll call them games, it’s easier that way) that make use of the Kinect technology in clever, inventive ways. While many will simply write them off as little more than tech demos, Happy Action Theater’s offerings are a surprising amount of fun when approached as things to be played with rather than beaten and conquered.
You want Haunt
While Kinect has had a handful of really great games over the past year, the stinkers have all had the same problems: poor controls and general lack of charm. Developer NanaOn-Sha comes along to save the day with Haunt, which controls wonderfully and drips with so much charisma it forms a very likeable puddle on the floor.
Haunt, with its first-person perspective, has you exploring the haunted mansion of Benjamin Muldoon who, for reasons not immediately revealed to the player, has lost his physical body and can only communicate by possessing the paintings hanging through his poltergeist-infested abode. In order to help poor ol’ Benjy, you must traverse three different areas of the mansion to retrieve “phantaflasks” which will restore him to corporeal form.
Don’t you hate it when one simple design choice ruins an entire game?
As a 3DS Ambassador, I got 10 free Game Boy Advance games via download, including Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones. I haven’t played much Fire Emblem despite owning both Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, but James, editor at Nintendo Life, asked me if I’d review it as my first Nintendo Life assignment. I agreed.
I’m not super into strategy RPGs, but I do love me some Shining Force and Final Fantasy Tactics, and I’d always wanted to really get into Fire Emblem. I liked the look of it and the “rock-paper-scissors” weapon balance was super fun. The writing was good and I loved the character designs. Things were looking good!
I had a post in mind that I wanted to write tonight, but I’m changing it because I just found out that Ben Paddon is ending his GameJournos (AKA GJAIF, or “Game Journalists are Incompetent Fuckwits”) blog after two years, and that saddens me.
I don’t remember when I first heard about GameJournos but I know I’ve been following it loyally since I first discovered it. Despite my desires to enter the field, I’ve felt for a while that the majority of the game journalism universe is fundamentally broken (luckily I’ve made several friends and written for places that buck this trend!), and Ben Paddon has been there pointing out when game journalists screw up.