Sony Press Conference Impressions | E3 2014 | Quick Thoughts

The PlayStation conference is over, and, to be honest it was a disappointment...

Earlier in the day Microsoft come out with game after game, exclusive after exclusive. Some really fantastic looking games for the Xbox One. I sat down to Sony's conference to find out why I bought a PS4, I love the games their fantastic studios make, but apart from Little Big Planet 3 and Uncharted 4 (2015) there is nothing that can't be played on Xbox One. 

After today I honestly wish I owned an Xbox One instead of a PS4... 

And the time they spent on stupid statistics and TV was just painful.

Maybe we'll see some PS4 exclusives at Gamescom or TGS...?

Microsoft Press Conference Impressions | E3 2014 | Quick Thoughts

When Microsoft said they were going to talk about games, games and more games for 90 minutes they really meant it. So many exclusive games only available on Xbox One. Forza Horizon 2, Sunset Overdrive, Dead Rising 3 DLC, Dance Central, Fantasia, Fable Legends, Project Spark, Ori and the Blind Forest, Halo 5, Halo Collection, Inside, Scalebound and Crackdown 3 are all games only coming to Xbox One! Let alone the amount of 3rd party games with exclusive content!

I would love to play a lot of these games, but there are 2 that I really want to play. The first being "The Rise of Tomb Raider", a sequel to the 2013 reboot. It was only a short trailer with no gameplay, but I was ecstatic when Lara removed the her hood. She's hardened up from the events from the previous game and she's back to kick arse!

The second is a game called "Scalebound". This is an exclusive Xbox One game made by the crazy Japanese developer Platinum Games. From the short trailer we see a kick arse protagonist fighting against huge dragons. This is defiantly something I need in my game library! 

As someone who doesn't own an Xbox One, I really do feel like I will be missing out on a lot of great games. Hopefully Sony will have a strong showing too, but they're going to really bring their A game to compete with Xbox's showing.

Good stuff, Microsoft.

1 down, 2 to go! Let's hope PlayStation and Nintendo can bring the goods!

NFC Nintendo figures

Late last week during their financial results briefings, Nintendo's president, Satoru Iwata announced that the company will be releasing a line of near field communication figurines (like Skylanders and Disney Infinity) that will interact with games on the Wii U and 3DS towards the end of 2014. Apparently the figurines will be able to write game data "across many titles", so unlike Activision's Skylanders, Nintendo's figurines could potentially all have a tone of applications. 

I think this is a great idea for pushing Nintendo characters to a different audience that would otherwise not pay attention to their games, especially young children. Having these toys on store shelves will give Nintendo a greater presence to the general public and to parents who don't buy videos games for their kids. The Wii U is in an extremely bad position right now and if Nintendo doesn't give people a reason to buy one the company will soon be in a bad place. Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros (my most anticipated games this year) are coming soon, but if they can't give a significant push to Wii U sales not much will, unless the company experiments and comes up with something new. This is a good step towards that, but at the moment that is all we know until E3.

I hope this works out for Nintendo, like Disney they have a tone of franchises and characters that people have a strong connection with. Everyone knows who Super Mario is, he maybe even more recognisable than Mickey Mouse. Now that's saying something. 

The question I have with these figurines is what influence will they have within Nintendo's games? Will they add small features like being able to take a save file to a friends house, contain a download code for a game or add content only available via the figurines? As someone who isn't a kid, I really don't want buy toys to place around my room (even if they are cool Nintendo characters). If I'm forced to buy them to unlock content in Smash Bros I'll be pissed, as will be many other people. I just feel if Nintendo want us to care about these figurines they need to implement them in games we care about, and that worries me. Hopefully they'll come come up with a smart and fair way for them to enhance our gaming experience. Only a month to go until E3!

What do you think of Nintendo's NFC figurines?

My concerns for Mario Kart 8

When Mario Kart 8 was first revealed at last years E3 Nintendo Direct the game looked phenomenal. All the trailers leading to its May 30th release didn't disappoint either. The stages, characters and graphical presentation all look great, but I can't help thinking about the last two iterations in the series and how disappointing I found them. Mario Kart Wii tried new ways to push the series forward and appeal to the Wii's casual audience but ended up being an unbalanced frustration of a game with a watered down battle mode. Mario Kart 7 for the 3DS was a good game mechanically but you could see the short cuts they took in order for them to get the game out before Christmas (not having a quick race opinion is disgrace, especially for a on the go game). 

My favorite game in the series is Mario Kart DS. Sure, some people didn't like people abusing the snaking mechanic online, but the DS title is by far the most content packed game in the series. It featured Grand Prix, Battle Mode, Online races, 8 player multiplayer and brand new mission mode. I played that game regularly from its release in 2005 all the way until 2010 when the 3DS come out. That's 5 years I played that game, the others didn't even last one.

So what do I want out of Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U? First of all I want the items to be balanced during races. 12 player races are back and this issue needs to be addressed, because being hit by shells every colour of the rainbow isn't fun. Second, battle mode needs to be great again. The last two games only had the option for timed matches and didn't let you turn it off. Half the fun of battle mode is frantically racing around looking for that last person to smash them with a red shell you've been saving while not getting hit yourself and time limits take all this away. 

Like most people I'm really hyped for Mario Kart 8. It's a game that has the buying power to help the Wii U move units. I'm just nervous that history might repeat itself, even if Nintendo can't afford it.

Add Drewby on Miiverse @"Mo_Joe" to give him a race when MK8 is released!

Quick Thoughts: Nintendo 2DS

Earlier today Nintendo announced a new iteration of the 3DS called the '2DS'. The 2DS is a cheaper more child friendly version of the 3DS that features a sturdy slate-like design and isn't able to produce a 3D effect (hence the name). The console will cost $150AU which is $50 cheaper then the other 3DS models and will release on October 12th (just in time for Pokemon!).

If any of you seen this coming, I take my hat off to you

If anyone had told me Nintendo would make a 3DS in the shape of a slab and without 3D, I would not have believed them. Even though it looks odd and those of us who use our 3DS XL's on a regular basis would never make the swap, I think it is great for young children who want to play games. The cheaper price makes it the cheapest gaming machine out there (even beating the 8 gig iPod Touch) and the sturdy design is important if small children are going to use it. Also the 3D was a concern for some parents as it is uncertain how children viewing 3D imagery affects their developing eye muscles.

A gaming system that is cheap and gives children access to great games like Pokemon, Zelda and Mario sounds like a good idea to me. Whether you own a 3DS or not, what do you think of the 2DS?

Quick Thoughts: New Pokémon Mega Evolutions

A few days ago Nintendo released information regarding the new mega evolutions in the upcoming Pokémon X and Y. These alternate forms are activated within battle if a Mega-capable Pokémon is holding the correct item in order for it to transform. For example, Lucario must be holding an item called the ‘Lucarionite’ to evolve into its mega form. Each Pokémon receives its own unique boost and bonus when becoming a mega Pokémon; this might be a different move set, ability, increased stats or an elemental type change. Mega Blaziken receives the special ability Speed Boost which makes it faster in battle, Mega Lucario receives an attack stat boost along with the special ability Adaptability and Mega Ampharos receives the special ability Mold Breaker and a change in type to Electric/Dragon.

The new mega evolutions of Blaziken, Lucario and Ampharos 

I think the whole concept of mega evolutions is a great way to mix up the series and give old Pokémon new ways to be utilised in battle. However, I am a little concerned about how they will affect the balancing of the game. If we still want to use a normal Blaziken or Lucario, will it be useless compared to their mega counterparts? If mega evolutions offer an alternate battle strategy, another flavour per say to the original Pokémon I think that could be quite interesting.  Mega Ampharos seems to be this way with only a change in ability and type, but mega forms such Blaziken and Lucario with stat boosts are less interesting to me because they don’t offer any choices, only making the originals less powerful and irrelevant.

Regardless of how they work in battle, they look cool as hell.         

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Drew Agnew is a huge Pokémon fan, if anything could get him excited, it would be new Pokémon titles on the 3DS. Give Drew’s blog ‘Life’s a Game’ some support by popping over and checking out his content and ‘Liking’the Facebook page!!