An Update on Pokémon's First "Sequel"

Best trailer yet for a Pokémon game yet.

Last time I mentioned Black & White 2, they had just been revealed and I was very intrigued. The thought of the first sequel to a handheld Pokémon game baffled me at what possibilities that could imply. That was five months ago, and since then, the two games have been released in Japan and we have a literal truckload of information on hand.

In short, I'll still be picking at least one of the versions up, but the summary below is purely from my outside perspective.

First, the good. There's seemingly a TON of new features in this game. Enough to be on the level of a whole new generation of Pokémon games, and yet this isn't.

Essentially, the entire world of the first two games has aged two years, storyline included. Some areas have changed entirely, others not so much, and whole new areas are now open to explore too. This definitely does not look like your run-of-the-mill "Deluxe" version of Pokémon, like Emerald or Platinum. There's a whole new batch of Pokémon to collect, and when I say new, I mean that it's not all just 5th generation anymore.

My favorite new features are as follows:

1. Difficulty levels. I am shocked. Technically, you must unlock them first by beating the game on it's standard setting, but a Challenge Mode exists as well as an Assist Mode, which I assume to be an easier version.
2. World Tournaments. Reading up on these reminded me a lot of the standard mode of the old Pokémon Stadium games, and that excites me to no end, because I loved those and miss console Pokémon games like nothing else, and the day I recognize the stadium-like Wii game as anything but a glorified item shop will never come. Basically, there are multiple types of tournaments you can enter that are reminiscent of some of Stadium's modes, like Rental and level capped modes. There's even advanced modes where you fight gym leaders and champions from other regions! Nostaligia does indeed reign supreme in Pokémon.
3. Hidden Hollows. All around the world there are little hidden areas where you can find items and (possibly rare) Pokémon with their special Dream World abilities. This is awesome, because not only is it something you can be keeping an eye out for as you travel through each route, but it gives a nice alternative to the online dream world that requires a somewhat constrained process of saving your game properly and uploading your Pokémon, then spending half an hour playing games and whatnot just to get a chance at finding the rare one you're looking for. At least with this, you're not forced to stop playing the game while looking.

There's obviously a lot more than these here, and you can find them all on Serebii's page. Big props to them for covering the whole game (and all the others for that matter)

Still, aside from all of these nice, awesome new features, we are still yet again left with the bitter taste in our mouths. Yes, it is a Pokémon game. Yes, it does have lots of new things that make it different than even it's predecessors. It even continues the tradition in terms of having the "Deluxe" version, which you can consider good or bad. However, when it all comes right down to it, we are left with the same speechless trainer and the same eight badges and victory road. This is a sequel in where it takes place after it's previous games, but the nagging, picky side of me just wants to wrongly dismiss it as "the same game, but with a few changes here and there so they could call it a sequel". That's obviously not true, but you can sort of see my point.

I've said before that you shouldn't fix what's broken, and Pokémon definitely isn't boring or broken, which is why I'll be buying at least one of these anyway, but to defend myself from being a hypocrite, wouldn't we all like something new? Spinoffs aside, we can all agree that the formula is getting a bit stale, and while having a main series is fine, for Generation 6 (you know it's coming, come on now), let's hope they can pull something amazing off with something new in the world of Pokémon.

More on Ouya

I mentioned last week the Ouya console, which has long surpassed its Kickstarter goal of $950,000 and might just set the gaming world on fire if it succeeds.

This is why, as referenced by their Kickstarter.

1. It will cost $99. Seriously, this is huge. For everything it can do below, it only costs a Benjamin Franklin. If you're a hacker, then it's even more worth it.
   
2. It's being ran by people who care about gaming's simpler days. While I'm fine with many modern forms of gaming, most of us in our early twenties right now remember the times of console gaming in our living rooms. They acknowledge the future with the advancements of technology, but keeping it simple is not only a good approach, but a fine way to blow the console gaming market wide open.
   
3. It runs on the reliable Android OS. Android has proved to be as reliable a platform as Apple's OS, and with the jump to consoles, it's about to give Apple a run for their massive vaults of money.
   
4. It's even attractive for game developers. Normally, if you're a game developer, you must use some sort of outside software or developer kit that usually requires a license you must throw all your money at in order to use. The folks behind Ouya claim that the console itself is a developer kit, so there's no need to spend anything on any software. Anyone from the biggest company to the lone college student can open their creative toolbox and make a game for it.
   
5. It could change AAA game development. This one is bigger than we know. If the console is successful and big game developers find success on this console, then their competition will definitely notice, especially publishers like Activision, Ubisoft, and EA. Making a game on this console means no fees for publishers, retailers, or even licensing. You own what you make and you get every penny you earn. Just think: The days of overpriced, $60 games could get shot in the foot if this thing takes off.
   
6. The controller looks pretty cool. It looks a little modern, but the 4-button approach is standard now since the days of the Super NES, and the two sticks are a modern touch that most if not all games use today.
   
7. Hackers are welcome. You can basically take this apart and do whatever the hell you want without voiding your warranty. It's like a computer you built yourself, only it's being sold to you built as-is and you're told you can have a field day with it. Make your own peripherals with USB ports or Bluetooth. They don't even care.
   
8. Android is Android. That means any app on any Android device works on this thing. Games, apps, E-Books, whatever! You could watch eSports on Twitch.tv on this thing according to their claims! (my favorite)
   
9. The console is no bigger than a rubix cube. Holy crap. Not only is that awesome, but it's very conveniently stored on a shelf, next to a TV, or even in a backpack or bag!
   
10. They appear to be professionals that want to do good for gamers and gaming in general. They want to change the monotonous system that we have grown tired of year after year. They want money to get production started, and they're even a good amount of the way done with designs! They just need our help! They even plan on doing their own game development in-house!

I really, REALLY want this thing to become big, and I'm sure I'm not alone. If you're looking to help change the gaming industry as we have known it, head over to the Ouya Kickstarter page and join in on the more than fifty-thousand that have pledged money towards this little creation.

Ouya

The implications behind this little device could change the future of gaming as we know it.

With a Kickstarter underway and about twenty days left, over five million dollars has been pledged towards the creation of this little miracle.

All information can be found on the project's Kickstarter page here, and while these guys have some serious balls for inviting hackers and free games onto a television console, if they can pull this off, then the future of video gaming is significantly brighter than I initially thought.

He'd Kill Me if I Didn't Post About it

I'm here to forcefully...I mean, post with an obligation towards a new video game coming out. It's about everybody's favorite Merc with a Mouth, Deadpool, and it looks awesome.

But seriously, it looks ridiculously awesome.

Not only does the game's trailer look amazing, but already the marketing strategy behind this game is awesome and hilarious. The real Deadpool seems to have created his own Facebook page, his own Twitter account, and he even reads his own press release in his own style and finesse.

Below is the uncensored trailer, and holy hell, I laughed, cried, and crapped my pants at the same time.

 

All other information you can find at his website, and you should probably go there, because not only does it have it's own humor and awesomeness as well, but because...well, because Deadpool.

If you don't, he'll probably find you and punch you in the face until you do. So do it. NOW.

Near Perfection

I've gone on and on about how much I love Valve and everything they do, own, and are, but I must admit that even I don't think they're perfect. Nothing ever really is perfect after all, and that's just a hard truth.

Still, for everything that Valve does, from appealing to all of their fans to holding massive discounts on PC games through Steam (there's a Summer Sale going on right now, by the way), they somehow manage to infuriate the masses one way or another. That's not to say everyone else has done it too in some way, but let me introduce to you the concept of "Valve Time".

Valve Time is a term coined by fans that refers to their seemingly always-inconsistent release windows. In other words, if they announce a Fall release date, it will probably come out at the end of next Spring.

Now, I'm not here to kick Valve in the balls for being inconsistent, because delays always happen (especially in the gaming industry) usually due to unforeseen circumstances, and we as loyal customers should give them the benefit of the doubt in theory. However, the great minds working for Valve somehow can't relay any messages other than vague reassurances ("We are working on it" or "It will be here soon") whenever fans query them for answers, which we rightfully deserve in my opinion seeing as how loyal we remain to the wonderful games they produce year after year, especially considering the unfortunate delays we patiently wait through.

However, we never really get any until it's either too late or at the last second. It's always an announcement, an apology, and nothing else. No reasons or explanations.

I understand that a company such as Valve must remain private in several ways, considering they are pioneering what could possibly be the future of cross-platform gaming with Steam, and their secrets in marketing and their figures are very important to them. However, I still believe that they could be a little more upfront with their customers, especially when it comes to game releases or customer complaints and issues, public relations aside. They do so much to show that they really appreciate us and that they really understand what being a gamer is supposed to be about, and yet this one imperfection rears its ugly head whenever one of their game releases rolls around or rumors swirl about what they're working on. Being honest and transparent with us would make them not only one of the most professional companies I know about, but probably the best game developing company I know (unlike some others).

Somehow, I made it through this entire post without mentioning Half Life (Episode) 3.

...Wait, shit!

Heavens to Hades!

Kid Icarus: Uprising is a game that was released several months ago by Nintendo. You know, Nintendo. That one game company in Japan. The one that is infamous for their wonderful franchises and their endless repetition of games.

Well, it's refreshing to see something new finally come out of Nintendo, for once. Well, technically it isn't new, because Kid Icarus is yet another Nintendo franchise, but it hasn't had a game in 25 years since its original game on the NES, and from Pit's popularity on Smash Bros. Brawl, it seemed like a proper foreshadowing of his own modern game.

Now that I've played through it, I can give my opinions. Personally, I love the thing to pieces, but it does have its own problems.

First, the good. The style that Nintendo put in this game alongside some of the marketing done before the games release is just to die for. The humor and dialogue is treated very much like a dubbed anime (almost as if the game was made in Japan or something, go figure), and I was very surprised to see a product like this come out of Nintendo, which usually goes along with the voicelessness of Link or Mario. Most of the jokes and humor was pretty cheesy at times but something I really adore is the fourth wall, which was practically dead from the get-go.

The gameplay is pretty fun, and there's no shortage of content. There are tons and tons of weapons to collect of several different types, online PvP which pairs you up in a team of 3, three different achievement boards and unlockable "trophies" similarly to the ones found in Super Smash Bros., and adjustable difficulty levels for those who want a challenge. A fair warning on the difficulty though: 1 is simple and easy, and 9 is the fires of Hades filling you with burning agony and pain.

Now the not-so-good. Although I really liked the gameplay itself, I can see why many professional critics are citing it as a problem. The controls are a little bit weird, and they are comparable to a previous Nintendo title, Metroid: Hunters. You aim by sliding your reticule around the touch screen with your stylus, move around the screen with the control stick, and fire with your L or R button. It sounds simple in theory, but these default controls are basically making you steer and fire with one hand while aiming with the other, and in this third-person game, it can feel very sticky or unnatural at times. You can change to a couple other control schemes, but trust me when I say that the default one is probably the best out of the three available, unless you think you can steer with the lower D-pad or with the ABXY buttons (i.e. you probably can't without growing another arm).

Aside from that, there would be times when random things would happen in the story for no apparent reason that nobody saw coming, and Pit would have to deal with it for the level while the main plot's characters stood aside and talked/cracked jokes. Granted, you probably don't play Nintendo games expecting a lot out of story progression (except maybe a modern Metroid game like the Prime series) or character development for that matter, but to have all this dialogue with heroes, villains, conflict, and an actual story that's different from "hero saves girl from bad guy", I came out of the game wanting a little more. All that is essentially here is our hero, Pit, flying off with the aid of Palutena to defeat Medusa and the army of the Underworld over 25 levels, and yet, about 80% of that is either flying off to get some macguffin item to help them or defeating some other secondary enemy that just so happened to pop up at this very moment.

Overall, I can see why many find Kid Icarus: Uprising to be a mixed bag. It certainly has the traditional Nintendo flair strewn about it, and it does feel like a lot of effort was put into this game. The kinds of issues I have with it hold it back from me playing it over and over and over despite it clearly having lots of content within that give it a lot of replay value. However, I can appreciate the work that Nintendo put into this game considering that the last installment was 25 years ago, and the type of anime-esque, fourth wall humor is something I really like personally. I had fun playing it, and I don't regret purchasing it. Give it a shot if you wish, because honestly, you're probably going to end up buying the next Mario/Zelda game anyway, so something actually refreshing from Nintendo is something you don't see every day.

Streamy Stream

I have a stream now. I'm having some difficulty making it work, but I'm usually online in the evenings and sometimes afternoons playing League of Legends and sometimes other things.

Come and watch!

I Didn't Think I was Wrong

In my second post ever on this blog, I referred to the artist known as Skrillex as dubstep. I would graciously like to reinforce this statement, as well as add some additional information.

Dubstep is a form of electronic music that has many, many noises happening all at the same time, but relies mostly on heavy bass beats, occasional guitar-ish noise, creative drum styles and patterns, and clips / samples of melodies or even other pieces of media (for example, the above. OH MY GOSH)

Right now, Skrillex specifically is being referred to as "brostep", a sub-genre of dubstep that is basically the result of American localization of the genre. According to Wikipedia, it features more emphasis on the middle-range sounds rather than the bass sounds, as well as almost robotic-sounding melodies and patterns.

This makes sense. If you compare Skrillex to other electronic artists such as deadmau5, you can clearly see a different pattern. While there is still the robotic melodies and bass beats, the patterns in brostep, let alone dubstep, are a little more varied and aggressive.

It's really interesting how these men can create such amazing music without the need of classical instruments, or arguably the traditional process of writing a song. Big name bands take years to write an album's worth of songs solely because of their talents with their instruments and writing lyrics, and yet these gentlemen have gotten their genres down to a science, cranking out dance beats like factories.

Controversial, but I can appreciate a world where a catchy song not only doesn't have to have lyrics, but it doesn't have to involve any actual instruments. :)