Animal Crossing

Banjo-Kazooie

Bayonetta

BioShock

Castlevania

Chibi-Robo

Crash Bandicoot

Donkey Kong

Doom

Final Fantasy

Fire Emblem

F-Zero

Game & Watch

God of War

Golden Sun

Halo

Jak & Daxter

Katamari Damacy

Kid Icarus

Kirby

The Legend of Zelda

Mario Kart

Mario Party

Mass Effect

Mega Man

Metal Gear Solid

Metroid

Monster Hunter

Mortal Kombat

Mother/EarthBound

Okami

Pac-Man

Phoenix Wright

Pikmin

Pokemon

Professor Layton

Punch-Out!!

Ratchet & Clank

Rayman

Rhythm Heaven

Shantae

Sly Cooper

Sonic the Hedgehog

Spyro the Dragon

Star Fox

Super Mario Bros

Super Smash Bros

Tetris

Warioware

Yoshi's Island

Thanks once again for your continued support and I hope you all will still be reading my articles even after I reach 100. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

The one thing that I think solidifies this replayability, it's choice. Contrary to what people may have said, Cyberpunk has always had a broad amount of choice; from things like when to take what jobs/gigs, to how to approach completing each task, to the builds your V decides to go with, and everything in between. There is plenty of freedom to be had, much of it leading to very interesting consequences.

Let's look at one such example. In the Phantom Liberty Expansion of the game, the main storyline revolves around a character named Songbird. Over the course of the chain of quests, you learn that Songbird is much like or V: someone that the people in power see as a tool more than human, and that they don't really have much time left. At the mid point of this sequence, you're given a choice: either you betray the party holding Songbird back, or you betray Songbird herself. This is met at a juncture where you are given minimal time to react, and once that choice is made, you either end the quest line quick but lock yourself out of potentially more interactions with the newly introduced cast, or have the opportunity to learn more about both parties and potentially save Songbird from her fate. Choices like these are scattered all throughout Night City, with each one giving you potential decision whiplash, and leaving you feeling either extremely positive or extremely empty. 

This also just underpins the amount of time you can spend just roaming the city streets. Since they implemented an auto-drive system for getting around the city,  I often find myself loading the game just so I can roam with that function enabled, leisurely driving around to spot another point of interest. And sometimes, you might even find another unique fixer gig to tackle.

Honestly, whatever you do in the game, you'll end up feeling like you need to come back and explore more. Maybe look through different neighborhoods, find the next scav fight with the NCPD. Maybe visit a different Ripperdoc to the one you usually haunt, see what they carry. Or maybe try gigs out differently, maybe with Mantis Blades instead of Gorilla Arms. Whatever the case, the experience always calls back to you; just hop back in choom, because you may just surprise yourself on how you approach the City next.

Though my question was why would I want to download these games where I'm being charged $2 to take off ads and have some free type of cloud storage? For me I have not found the answer seeing there is such a thing as classic console emulators and free ROMs of the same classic games in this series along with better touch screen controls. Though big companies like Nintendo have been getting their games pulled from very popular ROM sites such as Emuparadise, but I have still be able to find Genesis ROMs.

Rob doesn't an emulator app and ROMs take up more space on my phone then the games in the Forever series? Well reader I'm glad you asked that question. I downloaded Altered Beast and Comix Zone, both of those games took up 91.24 MB of memory on my Nexbit Robin. After curiosity killed the cat, I have downloaded the Cool Genesis ft emulator from the Google Play store and 16 games, all over that only took up just over 33MB of memory. That is just under a third of memory I am saving.

Emulators and ROMs maybe the bad boys of free gaming, they save space and are for the most part ad free. I have not had a 24 second ad pop up to save my game, so I think emulators and ROMs are the best way to play these nostalgic classic games.

OK, let's back up a bit. I was introduced to Miyazaki's games with later entries, as I started with Dark Souls 3. Over time, I came to appreciate that the main Souls franchise made me bash my head into a wall fairly regularly: it was refreshing to be a "hero" whose initial purpose is unknown with a world to explore to make their own. 

This trend had been masterfully crafted since Miyazaki's initial implementation of the modern Souls-like formula with Demon's Souls, a PS3 exclusive that was lauded for it's brutal difficulty but extremely immersive and rewarding world.

When Elden Ring was first announced in 2019, I was drawn in by it's high fantasy setting and combat that looked familiar, but and somehow both lighter and heavier. On top of that, knowing that the legendary George R.R. Martin was involved in the world building and story telling, and I was already hype, ready to experience it.

When I first got to play the game, it felt familiar, the entry into the world being fairly standard for a Souls-like journey: make your character, be brought through a tutorial dungeon of sorts, face a boss that you can either beat or die to. No matter the result of that fight, you are then thrust into the world that you will then be exploring. And typically, this would then lead into a very bleak, gothic setting.

What I didn't expect, however, was the golden picturesque world of The Lands Between. The moment I was free of the starting cave/dungeon, I let my hands of the keyboard, and admired it all. The golden fields that spanned the map. The ruins far ahead of me, enemies roaming in between. And the greatest sight of all, a gigantic glowing tree I later found out was called the Erdtree.

I was left sitting in my chair, breath taken away by the beauty of the world Miyazaki and Martin had crafted. A world that, while beautiful, also felt very mysterious in it's own right. It took me a few minutes to gather myself, and to venture forth into the world.

The game then continued to do so. With every new biome, I stopped for a minute or two, to stare at each and every environment. From the Gatefront Ruins, their splendor holding despite it's mangled state, to the majesty of the Raya Lucaria Academy, to even the unwelcoming likes of the Lake of Rot. All these locations, and plenty more, gave me pause, as I had to take them in with all their splendor. 

When all was said and done, Elden Ring was my first true experience with being left breathless. Each encounter, each biome brought a host of experiences, and gave me insight into the mind of Miyazaki. It is an experience I don't think I will ever really truly forget. Now, if you need me, I will continue to explore the Lands Between, as there is always something to explore.

Let’s explore Ubisoft’s innovative NEO NPC prototype, learning about its creation, functionalities, and possible effects on the gaming market. We’ll also discover how this revolutionary innovation promises to transform virtual world immersion, narratives, and player-NPC interactions.

What is Ubisoft’s New NEO NPC Prototype

Have you ever wished to converse with an in-game non-player character? An actual conversation carried out via unscripted action and response? To make this vision a reality, a small R&D team at Ubisoft’s Paris office has been working with generative AI. With the help of GenAI, their project, NEO NPC, pushes the boundaries of what a player can communicate with an NPC without undermining the authenticity of the scenario they find themselves in or the NPC’s character.

Ubisoft launched a Neo NPC prototype at the GDC. The prototype enables users to engage with NPCs that have unique personalities and experiences. These Neo NPCs include novel functions that give them the ability to react to players with spontaneous speech, contextual awareness, and real-time emotion and animation. With the use of advanced AI algorithms and machine learning techniques, NEO NPC technology gives virtual characters a higher degree of flexibility and autonomy.

NEO NPCs can create stronger bonds with players by using intricate speech systems, facial animations, and emotional responses. It can significantly increase player involvement and story engagement. 

Overall, the NEO NPC technology from Ubisoft is a big step in the direction of gaming that blurs the boundaries between virtual and real worlds. 

What Could NEO NPC Mean For Video Games?

The launch of NEO NPC technology from Ubisoft has a significant impact on the future of video games. An indication of what it might entail for the gaming industry:

Enhanced Immersion

Because NEO NPC technology creates more realistic and lifelike virtual worlds, it promises to greatly improve immersion. With NPCs showing actions and reactions that resemble those of actual people, players will get even more absorbed in the game world.

Dynamic Gameplay 

Games using NEO NPC technology have dynamic and unpredictable gameplay thanks to NPCs, which can respond to player actions in real time. It implies that gamers will have to deal with a virtual environment that is smarter and more sensitive.

Richer Storytelling

NEO NPCs’ advanced AI skills allow developers to create stories that are more intricate and detailed. Now, characters can have deep conversations, build intricate bonds with players, and make significant contributions to the story as it evolves.

Personalized Experiences

NEO NPC technology uses machine learning algorithms to customize gameplay to match each player’s preferences and play style. 

Increased Social Dynamics

Multiplayer and social gaming experiences are made possible by NEO NPC technology. Envision online environments where NPCs possess the ability to establish connections, rivalries, and bonds with both human players and other NPCs.

Of course, any new protocol will have some pros and cons:

Pros

• Players will feel more immersed owing to the NEO NPC prototype’s more realistic behaviors and interactions. 
• The game is more exciting and surprising when NEO NPCs can adjust to player actions thanks to their advanced AI skills. 
• Furthermore, by providing NPCs with more detailed personalities, motivations, and relationships, the prototype enables the telling of stories that are more intricate and subtle. 
• By offering more memorable and significant interactions, NEO NPCs can help players and characters develop deeper emotional bonds. 

Cons

• Developing advanced NPC behavior calls for a large investment of time and knowledge in development, which could result in longer development cycles and higher development expenses. 
• NEO NPCs’ greater complexity may put a burden on hardware resources, which could result in problems with performance or restrictions on gaming systems with lower processing power. 
• Moreover, the handling of virtual characters and the depiction of sensitive topics may become more ethically problematic as NPCs become more lifelike and autonomous. 
• It could take some time for players to become used to the intricacies of interacting with NEO NPCs. It could cause them to become frustrated or confused at first. 
• Older games or systems, may not support the advanced capabilities of NEO NPC. It makes it inaccessible to a portion of the user base. 

Possible Issues When It Comes to Voice Actors in Industry

When it comes to voice actors in this industry, several potential issues may arise. These may be…

Job Displacement

Traditional voice actors may worry about losing their jobs because of synthesized or procedurally generated voices as NEO NPC technology develops. It can result in opposition from advocacy organizations or voice actor unions, as well as job instability.

Quality Issues

Although NEO NPC technology might have amazing powers, it might be difficult to replicate the emotional richness and subtlety that come from using human voice actors. It could affect the complete gaming experience by making NPCs sound artificial or robotic.

Ethical Issues 

Using synthetic voices without obtaining the appropriate permission or paying voice performers may raise ethical questions. Ownership of synthetic voice data and intellectual property rights may come up.

Diversity & Representation

In video games, voice actors frequently have a major impact on how diverse characters are portrayed. There might be worries that diverse voice actors will not have as many possibilities because of NEO NPC technology.

Technical Difficulties

Effective NEO NPC technology implementation might need a large amount of technological know-how and funding. For voice synthesis algorithms to generate speech that sounds natural in a variety of languages, accents, and emotions, they must be continuously improved. 

Acceptance by Customers

When it comes to voice acting and NPC interactions, players may have different tastes. While some players could enjoy the novelty and ease of synthesized voices, others would value the familiarity and authenticity of human performances. For game producers, striking a balance between these preferences and preserving immersion and engagement may prove to be difficult.

I remember I had Mortal Kombat II on my Gameboy. I played it when we went to my grandparents every weekend. It was one of my favorite games of all time. I even bought the midway collection on my PSP Go just so I could have Mortal Kombat I-III. Now here we are in 2019 with 40+ fighting games on the Switch (though most of those are Neo Geo arcade classics) this is the first time we've seen Mortal Kombat on the system. I was stoked to play this new version of the game. I had played Mortal Kombat XL at my local arcade bar The Cidercade on a Japanese arcade machine that runs on Steam. I just fought the CPU or another person.

With the reveal of Mortal Kombat 11 I was happy to see it come to the Switch. Though this is not the Mortal Kombat of my adolescence. This is something different, this is something that at times triggers my anxiety and makes me very angry. That is what I want to talk about in this review/article. Mortal Kombat use to be a fun escape. Even if I lost I never really got mad. I lost that was it, just retry and move on.

Though with Mortal Kombat 11 there are reasons to win besides moving up the tower.  Now we have daily challenges like I've seen in the Mortal Kombat mobile game. If you complete these daily challenges you earn Kombat Koins that you use in what is called the Krypt. A Shaolin monk temple set up where you open chests for a chance to earn different outfits, soul stones, other kustomizable items, and concept art from the game just to name a few things. YouTuber Boogie2988 made a point about the how a company like Nintendo has stayed away from this microtransactions platform. (Yes there is a fighters pass for Smash Bros Ultimate, though it's only $25 compared to Mortal Kombat's $40 fighters pass.)

I waited to see how this port panned out seeing we didn't get any news on it till PAX East. The game had its downfalls, though it was nothing like we saw with Anthem or Fallout 76. Switch owners had to wait til the 1.0.4 patch to sync to their Mortal Kombat Mobile account. Did the NetherRealm team not do any quality control with Shiver Entertainment?

Even though there are moments of frustration with these non consumer friendly tactics, I love talking my Switch with me and play Mortal Kombat with other people in public. Win or lose I'm having a fun time. Though when I am playing online with other people and seeing how many times they've won and what my percentage is of winning the match I'm not having fun. I'm anxious and if I lose, I get upset, yelling obscenities to a person that can't hear me. I become very frustrated. I don't even get this upset losing at my weekly local Smash Bros tournament. There is something about the way things are set up that cause me to be overwhelmed and frustrated.

I'm not the only one that Mortal Kombat 11 has caused emotional stress either. An developer that was on the cinematic team told Joshua Riviera at Kotaku:  

“I’d have these extremely graphic dreams, very violent,” they told Kotaku in a call. “I kind of just stopped wanting to go to sleep, so I’d just keep myself awake for days at a time, to avoid sleeping.”

Eventually, the developer says they saw a therapist who diagnosed them with PTSD. They attribute this to their work on MK11—not just the content of the game and having to process and discuss its violent cinematics frame by frame, but also being surrounded by the reference materials artists used for research.”

Now with video game addiction being a mental disorder. There are talks about how these live service games are part of the problem. I have to agree the grind in these games are more than most RPGs I play. Though with public outcry NetherRealm has been coming out with 10+ GB patches for the game to make this grind not as taxing as it was at launch. Though PC players are one ones who are getting the updates first seeing it's the easiest platform to update. There are no approval process to go through like there are with the consoles.

I wonder if this digital age has made developers lazy in creating full gaming experiences. With gaming before consoles had a dedicated internet connection games had to be perfect. for the most part they were. Mortal Kombat 1-3 were complete games to me as an adolescent young man. Though I've read that some arcade MK2 and MK3 were sent out "unfinished", and ROM chips were sent out to machine owners to upgrade the games over time. Though were the arcades just as buggy as this new game? Is this standard practice of the NetherRealm team? What I do know is that Mortal Kombat has slowly become inaccessible for me as an abled gamer.

I entered my first Mortal Kombat 11 tournament at Dreamhack Dallas, and what I found out is that the button layouts are not universal. I thought I would do good seeing I could press in the left joystick for block. Though the PS4 version of the game you don't have that option. So I spent hours relearning the controls after I've had muscle memory started to sit in playing the game on the Switch. Though I had some help from Houston Esports pro Handy Savage showing me some new tricks with tournament layouts, seeing I've been playing with casual player layouts.

There is also no option to hold the back button to block like you can in Injustice 2 either. Though I understand there are different game mechanics between the two games, but it would be nice. My hope is that NetherRealm with make a patch where I can hold either joystick down for block or hold back. Though the sad truth is that accessibility for abled gamers are not a high priority for NetherRealm. I'll just have to relearn how to play this game that is a rollercoaster of emotions.

First of all, if you're still here reading my articles despite my absence, you have my undying gratitude. I wouldn't still be writing articles for this site if not for you all. Second, I am personally writing this to inform everyone that is still around that I will be making some major changes to how any of my future articles will be written. This has actually be a long time coming.

The first thing that should be noted is that I will no longer be writing any sort of news articles or recaps of major announcements unless I find something interesting about it in which I can give my two cents on the matter. Keeping up with the constant stream of news is not something I am capable of doing because I have another job and my family that I need to attend to first. Plus the pressure on getting a time-sensitive article out in a quick and orderly fashion is starting to grate on my mental health.

Second, I am going to start writing short stories, poetry and essays every now and then so as to break up the monotony between my reviews and top-10 lists. I know that too much of one thing can get awfully stale and I want to try and avoid that in any of my future articles. Also if possible, I would like to try and up the frequency I've been writing to at least one article a week. I can't make any promises on that front, but I can sure as hell try.

Finally, I am going to be making some major overhauls to how I write my reviews. From now on I will be analyzing the reviewed game in chunks and reviewing each of said chunks separately. As such, I will no longer be giving a game a possible score out of 5 and instead be giving it a maximum overall score of 30, with a possible 5 total points being given to each of the following categories being "music & sfx," "difficulty," "control," "graphics," "originality," and "execution." Also, at the very end of each future review will be a "pros & cons" list that reflect my personal opinion of any other aspects that the game might have. Take what you will from that with a grain of salt.

Once again, I want to thank you all again for sticking with me for this long. I'm sorry for the lack of updates and I'm sorry for the decline in the number of articles I've been writing. I can't promise that I can keep up with the new schedule that I have set for myself, but I can certainly try because I won't be going anywhere any time soon. So until then, I'll be seeing you.

Star Wars: Battlefront Only Launched With Three Servers

According to CultureCrave on X, the launch night of Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection saw over 10,000 players attempting to join the game. However, only three servers, each accommodating up to 64 players, were available, totaling just 192 spots. This limited capacity is reflective of 2004 standards. It did not live up to the expectations of contemporary gaming and Aspyr ought to have fixed it before release.

Fortunately, Aspyr resolved the server issue within an hour by adding more official servers and enabling community servers to appear in the browser. Similar server overload problems were seen with Helldivers 2 recently.

Despite multiplayer setbacks, the single-player modes of Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection remain unaffected and offer engaging experiences covering iconic moments from the original and prequel trilogies. Aspyr has already increased server capacity and fans hope for further upgrades to meet modern standards. 

The Classic Collection, priced at $34.99 and comprising the original two Star Wars: Battlefront games, debuted on March 14, with a ‘mostly negative” rating on Steam, garnering only 21% positive reviews. Many complaints, particularly centered on connectivity problems, have flooded in from Steam and social media users. One user stated, “Was only able to join one Heroes versus Villains match, and the Heroes’ side was completely broken. No one could join the Heroes team which resulted in no one to fight against. I figured this may have been just a Battlefront 2 issue so I hopped on over to play Battlefront 1 multiplayer. There's zero servers up for Battlefield 1. Wow.”

Impact of Server Issues on Gameplay

Early reports from users indicated that there were only three servers available for Battlefront 2 on PC. Each server was capable of accommodating 64 players, resulting in a total capacity of 192 players. With Steam reporting 9,232 players at a given moment, it suggests that hundreds, if not thousands, of players were unable to join servers due to the limited capacity.

Players on other platforms also experienced similar issues, including difficulties joining multiplayer matches or setting up their own servers. In addition to server problems, players encountered other bugs such as game crashes and missing cutscenes.

Within less than a day of its release on Steam, the reviews for the game were deemed “Mostly Negative,” with 1,972 reviews already submitted as of March 14.

This isn’t the first time that developer Aspyr has faced such issues. When releasing Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered, players on the Epic Games Store encountered a “development build with incomplete assets.” Aspyr also faced a class-action lawsuit after canceling the Restored Content DLC for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 on Switch.

The Star Wars gaming community has been facing challenges recently. The cancellation of a first-person shooter based on The Mandalorian also adds to the frustration.

A Mixed Collection

The primary reason for the overwhelmingly negative review status of the Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection on Steam is its problematic online play. Initially, only three servers were available, which was inadequate for such a highly anticipated release. Players also encountered poor connection issues, rendering a significant portion of the games nearly unplayable.

According to a message posted on Aspyr’s support site shortly after the collection’s release, critical errors with the network infrastructure led to high ping, matchmaking errors, crashes, and servers not appearing in the browser. Aspyr acknowledged these issues and stated that efforts were underway to stabilize the network infrastructure.

While some of the initial online play issues have been resolved a couple of days after release, users have noticed additional problems such as the inability to invert controls, poorly remastered or missing cutscenes, and limitations on local play to just two players. Given the $35 price tag, the abundance of issues makes it difficult to recommend the collection until it undergoes substantial patching and discounts.

However, there are still positive aspects to the collection. Having both Battlefront games bundled together in a single launcher is appreciated, as is their availability on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation platforms for the first time. Despite the setbacks, the core gameplay of both shooters remains appealing, and some players have enjoyed experiencing online multiplayer for the first time—when it functions properly. Nevertheless, many feel that Aspyr missed a significant opportunity to deliver a better experience with this revival

Aspyr Reply To ‘Overwhelmingly Negative’ Reviews

With the Steam user reviews now firmly in the “Overwhelmingly Negative” category, it's evident that the launch of the Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection has been a catastrophe. Described by players as “Probably one of the worst launches of all time” within hours of release, the collection has been a major setback for Aspyr following the recent well-received Tomb Raider remasters.

In response to the backlash, Aspyr has issued a notably brief statement acknowledging the issues. They express gratitude for the “overwhelming support and feedback” from the Battlefront community while admitting to "critical errors with our network infrastructure" resulting in various problems like high ping, matchmaking errors, crashes, and server visibility issues.

Interestingly, Aspyr suggests that the problem wasn’t necessarily the lack of servers but rather their visibility due to glitches or other issues. This aligns with players’ experiences of encountering only a few servers despite the high demand.

While Aspyr promises to address these issues and improve network stability, the statement may not be enough to satisfy disappointed players. Many complaints, such as audio glitches and poor controller support, remain unaddressed. Moreover, there's curiosity about the substantial increase in download size compared to the original games, without apparent graphical improvements.

There's hope that Aspyr can rectify the situation. The Battlefront community and the nostalgia for these classic games deserve a better experience, and it's still possible for Aspyr to salvage the situation.

Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection Review Bombing

Despite the current challenges faced by the Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection, there's reason for optimism. Reflecting on the launch of DICE's Star Wars Battlefront 2 in 2017, which initially faced controversy over microtransactions but has since seen a resurgence in players, there's hope for improvement. DICE's dedication to updates and improvements turned the situation around, offering a valuable lesson for Aspyr.

Aspyr can learn from DICE’s experience and prioritize addressing the ongoing issues with the Classic Collection. While the future remains uncertain, there's potential for the game to meet players' expectations with the right efforts and resources. With recent disappointing news about the cancellation of Respawn's Star Wars FPS, fans are eager for positive developments within the franchise. Hopefully, Aspyr remains committed to improving the Classic Collection and unlocking its full potential.

(Please keep in mind that my opinions may or may not reflect your own, this list is entirely biased.)

Yoshi Topsy Turvy (Game Boy Advance)

While I like a fair majority of the games in the Yoshi series, I'm not entirely sure what was going through their collective minds when they developed this abysmal game. There are times in the game where it hardly ever feels like an entry in the Yoshi's Island series and those spirits that give you missions to do in order to up the difficulty don't even feel like they were meant for a Yoshi game in the first place. In addition, the gyroscopic controls are stiff and unresponsive; the motion sensors in Warioware Twisted were of much better quality and that game came out before this one. Luckily they haven't made a sequel to this drek so they must have taken notice of its poor design choices.

Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival (Wii U)

An unusual board-game spin off of the Animal Crossing series, but I honestly think it should've been left on the drawing board. It is a retail game that downright REQUIRES the use of amiibo to play effectively, you only get one randomly chosen board to play on and you can't get a new one without erasing your progress, the minigames (which require the amiibo cards) are non-existent through normal play and can only be accessed from the plaza, and online play doesn't exist which would've helped a game like this even if it wasn't by much. If you still want to get it I can't stop you, but just to warn you I actually got so bored playing this game that I almost fell asleep.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes (3DS)

As you all know, I love The Legend of Zelda series and will often go out of my way to get anything Zelda related, but when I got this entry in the series, I feel like maybe this game might have been nothing more than one expensive experiment. This game seems to focus mostly on co-operative battles and player interaction over puzzle solving which completely misses the point of the series. Plus this game is damn near impossible when playing solo and since its online multiplayer is region locked, finding anyone who will play with me is a challenge in and of itself since I usually only have time to play late at night. That, and the unnecessary inclusion of the "doge" meme, made this a rather unpleasurable experience overall.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star (3DS)

Compared to its successor, Paper Mario: Color Splash, this game was an absolute snore. The dialog was uninteresting and bland and Bowser didn't have a single speaking role throughout the entire ordeal, the worlds were uninspired and just rehashed ideas that had been used in past entries in the main series Mario games, and everything done when in battle were only through the use of consumable items and fights yielded no experience of any kind. I actually got so tired of this game's shenanigans that I basically just did a speed run of everything after the halfway point. Overall, this game was such a disappointment to experience.

Metroid: Other M (Wii)

Metroid has been one of those series that I enjoyed just about as much as The Legend of Zelda and I was quite excited for Other M when it was originally announced, but after playing it again recently, it left such a sour taste in my mouth. First of all Samus's official height in every other entry in the series is 6'3" where as she's around 5'9" in Other M. While not too much of an issue on its own, when I found out that the devs shrank her so she specifically was shorter than Adam, her old commanding officer, I saw that as a stupid and petty design choice that demeans her as a strong female character. And while the gameplay isn't too bad, I think I can pretty much sum up all the problems this game has in one quote directly from the game...

"Samus, activate the Varia feature on your suit to protect yourself from heat damage."
- Adam Malkovich, roughly 20 minutes after entering the sector that requires the Varia Suit

Pokemon Dash (DS)

This game baffled me. It was a foot racing game where the only playable character was Pikachu, and you played by repeatedly swiping the screen in the direction that you want to go. If this game was released for iOS or Android devices for free, people would thing nothing of it, but since this was a retail game on the DS that got very stale and repetitive VERY quickly due to there being only one playable character, there was no reason to keep playing after you beat the first grand prix. Once you've played one map, you've pretty much played them all. Not even the ability to make new maps from the GBA slot could save this one.

Kirby Squeak Squad (DS)

As far as the Kirby series has gone, I've had pretty much no complaints with any game that has been released in this series so far, barring this particular one. Despite the baffling story to the game where it revolves around Kirby trying to recover a stolen slice of cake, it plays pretty much like what you would expect from a Kirby game, but compared to the other games in the series, this game is far too easy, even by Kirby standards. Plus some of the sound effects sound a bit off with the sword being the biggest offender having this horrendously high-pitched ding happen whenever you perform a combo attack. While this is a decent first game for newcomers to the series, this is in my opinion the weakest in the series due to its unchallenging gameplay (by Kirby standards) which ultimately renders this game forgettable to me.

Alleyway (Game Boy)

An attempt at making a Breakout clone with heavy emphasis on "attempt." Unlike Arkanoid, a much better Breakout clone which had been out on NES earlier, this game had no power-ups or enemies to destroy and extremely limited options for gameplay alterations. The stage progression was also very predictable and the difficulty was unfair for what type of game it was. I suggest if you want a good Breakout clone on the Game Boy, just play Kirby's Blockball. It is so much more unique and a helluva lot more fun.

Wii Fit series (Wii, Wii U)

I feel that a good number of us gamers can probably agree that fun and exercise can mix well when its done right, but one thing I can guarantee is complete and utter bullcrap is Nintendo's attempt at making a fun fitness game. Personal fitness is not a game, nor should it be treated like one. While I agree that if you want to get back into shape that you need to find your own personal workout regimen that works for you with some fitness games sometimes falling under this category, this "game" series is pretty much just torture and insulting to anyone that wants to lose weight or improve their health. The way this game uses your ideal BMI as an "endgame goal" is an absolute joke and it doesn't even take into consideration skeletal build or total muscle mass. You need to have an accurate measurement of all three, otherwise its just a demeaning experience. The fitness games on XBox Kinect look more fun and effective than this.

The Virtual Boy

And the pièce de résistance, the one thing that almost made me completely lose faith in Nintendo's ability to make a fun gaming console: The Virtual Boy. This red and black monstrosity had an astoundingly short lived run and had a library of games that barely exceeded 20 titles in all regions combined. But how could that be? I'll just cut to the chase and tell you that it was the godawful screen colors when you looked into the apertures of the device. On a monochrome screen, you should never EVER use a display color scheme that can induce headaches even after short periods of play. It's just a shame that none of the good games that were released on this thing ever got ported to a later system in Nintendo's repertoire of systems.

Being a hardcore Nintendo fan, these stains and marks on Nintendo's image physically hurt me as I know that they are capable of doing so much better. But I also know that they are only human and they likely learned a lot from making mistakes like these. They took features from Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival and just added them to New Leaf as an update, they built upon Paper Mario: Sticker Star and made a somewhat better entry as Color Splash, and after the failure of the Virtual Boy, they didn't experiment with 3D imagery again until the 3DS. Hopefully Nintendo won't continue make any mistakes this bad in the near future, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

I know this article might come late to you in Europe, but we still have some day light here in the States. In honor of today I wanted to share some of my favorite mobile Skateboard games for Android. So let's get into it.

5. Transworld Endless Skater - Free

When you think endless skater you think Temple Run type game with side view skateboarding where when you mess up three times it's game over. Nope not with this game. This game is see how far you can get in 60 seconds, while trying to achieve three different challenges after another.

The game has pro skaters you can unlock to be like Danny Way, Ryan Decenzo, Lyn-Z Pastrana, and Christian Hosoi just to name a few. Which was one of the reasons why I downloaded the game besides it being free.

The only issus I have is the game is timed this does not seem to be really endless, along with a four point controls this is why I'm putting it at number 5.

4. Epic Skater - Free

Epic Skater looked like a fun kids skateboard game. Though after downloading it I found out how much fun and challenging this true endless skater game is.

The game is just collecting coins while maneuvering through different levels with long rails and huge gaps. Epic Skater has been one of the skateboard games I play daily. Though I have gone through 4 phones in a year I still love getting back to where I left off after every time I reinstall this game.

The controls are super simple and I hope this game helps get kids excited even with the crazy gaps and some unrealistic Tony Hawk Pro Skater type lines you can do. This is a great casual skateboard game that you will find playing over and over again.

3. Skate Lines - Free

Skate Lines is another endless skater game that I found last year that I just fell in love with. This is one of my favorite skateboard games ever made next to Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4 and Skate 3. The game never left beta. It got so popular that developer Agens just put it out publicly with promise for a full game that is now called Skate City. Which is being co created by Alto's Adventure developer Snowman.

The controls are simple. Though being in the beta stage could use some work. I really loved the chill instrumental soundtrack that went with the three levels you can play. This is the most zen skate game you'll ever play. That is why it's my top three skateboard games. This is the game you play after skating all day and are relaxing after a great session.

Even though the game is beta and Skate City has no release date yet. This game is better then 95% of the skateboard games you'll find on Google Play.

2. Skater - $5

I saw a meme that said "Fidget Spinners are fingerboards for posers". For most skaters that is fact. Fingerboards were the first fidget spinners for skaters with ADD and pre-diagnosed autism. So when smartphones first came out there was a fingerboard game called Touch Grind. That game was fun for maybe 5 minutes. I was pissed I paid money for it. As much as I love fingerboards I hate fingerboard games.

Till one day I watched this video from Revive Skateboard owner Andrew Schrock about a skateboard game his company was in called Skater. I was turned off by it being a fingerboard game though I thought I'd try it out when I found it on sale for $.99.

I was really surprised to see how much I liked this game. I just like how you earn stars to unlock boards, shoes and real location. That was a selling point for me was real locations like you'd have in Tony Hawk games. Unlike other fingerboard games you had fake spots that you had to pay for. They have some great compete decks as well from Toy Machine, Baker, Deathwish, Foundation, Zero, and DGK.

This is one of the first games I saw skaters making YouTube videos playing a mobile skate game. The tactility controls are smooth just like EA's Skate games are. Though it may cost you a Starbucks or a pint it's well money spent. Don't feel fooled by other fingerboard type games Skater is the only one you need.

1. Skate Party 3 ft Greg Lutzka - $2

Skate Party 3 is the third skateboard game from Ratrod Studios featuring pro skateboarder Greg Lutzka. Skate Party is the only mobile skate game that plays like Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4, which is one of my favorites out of the series of Tony Hawk games. It had the best real locations, pro skaters, secret skaters, and special moves.

I got just as excited about playing Skate Party 3 as I did playing Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4. To me it's Ratrod's best game yet. It's still playable even a year after it was launched. It has a online vs mode just like Skate 3. It really is the closest console clone to a skateboard game that I've played. From touchscreen Tony Hawk style type controls, to console reimagined graphics, as well as Skate 3 and Tony Hawk type challenges.

This is the best skateboard game made so far. I have not played a mobile skateboard since Skate Party that captures my favorite video game series Tony Hawk Pro Skater. Activision was working on a mobile Tony Hawk game, but then scrapped the game and started making Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5. Though late year after Skate Party 3 came out I was not mad about it anymore. If you love Tony Hawk Pro Skater or Skate this is the game you've been looking for.

Here are a few honorable mentions:

1. Alto's Adventure - Free

Alto's Adventure is a fun endless snowboard game. It's one of the most popular casual games ever. It was even Apple used it as an example for their keynote at this year's WWDC.

2. Halfpipe Hero - Free

Halfpipe Hero is just a fun casual endless halfpipe game that I've found very fun to play to kill some time.

3. Skate City - Unreleased

Like I said earlier Skate City is a game that is being developed by Agens and Snowman. Even though the game is not released this looks like it could be the next best skateboard game ever. Even pro skater Jonny Giger has said that it could be the Tony Hawk Killer.

I linked Skate City's Instagram above. That is where they posted most of the game play videos.

The Wonderful 102

I loved The Wonderful 101. It was one of the few modern games that was able to take me back to my childhood. Now when I heard that Hideki Kamiya, the game's director, had ideas on what to do for a sequel, that got me REALLY excited. This game was extremely underrated and the fact that it was a Wii U exclusive kinda killed any hope for the game to sell well. I just hope that Nintendo sees potential in the series since they own the copyright.

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Director's Cut

Even though Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE was originally on my "to play" list, the censorship controversy that was surrounding it at the time kinda left a sour taste in my and many others' collective mouths. As such, I decided not to pick it up. BUT given the fact that it was on the Wii U, a console that was geared more toward younger players, it might stand a better chance if it were to be released fully intact and uncensored on the more mature-centric Switch, ESPECIALLY if they packaged it with all the DLC (even the hot-spring side story) on the cart. But that's just my theory.

The Zero Escape Saga

Speaking of Mature games, this series is grossly unheard of. I love me some quantum sci-fi and a good murder mystery as much as the next guy, but if you throw in some brain busting logic puzzles and a plot-heavy narrative not too dissimilar to the SAW franchise, then we got the formula for some interesting plot developments. I think these games would benefit best from being released as one whole package as once you start piecing the story together, it starts to become very difficult to put it down. Having them all together in one pack is just for convenience sake.

Solatorobo HD

Another underappreciated game, but for a different reason; its damn near impossible to get ahold of it for a reasonable price. Being a dieselpunk mech RPG set in a world of anthropomorphic animals, this game has a rather interesting concept but the execution is absolutely stellar. The only problem with it like I said is obtaining a copy. While I managed to get a copy on DS, that is the only system it is available for. Re-releasing it on a modern system like the Switch would be able to remedy this and give the game a second chance at life.

Mario & Sonic at the Dream Olympics

Now while I've greatly enjoyed this series, we all know that it has been less than inventive when it comes to making the Olympics fun for everyone, and even though I'm pretty sure the next game in the series (if there is one) is going to be Mario & Sonic at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games (God, what a mouthful), I really hope that they end the series with one final game and just fuse the Summer and Winter games into one pack and set it in both the Mushroom Kingdom and whatever the hell Sonic's homeworld is called nowadays. Maybe that would be the way to finally make the game fun for more than just a niche audience.

Wario Ware D.I.Y. Deluxe

There was one Wario Ware game that I feel didn't get the full use of the hardware it was produced for, and that was Wario Ware D.I.Y. on the Nintendo DS. Making my own music, comics and microgames was a lot of fun, but I felt that maybe it was a little bit limited with how the games were designed. I think if they were to bring this game back, they would need to include all of the content of the original DS game plus the companion game that was released on WiiWare, and give the player the ability to have make games that use the control pad and face buttons. That should drive the creativity options up a notch.

Ultimate Retro Game Challenge

My favorite reality show is Game Center CX on Fuji TV, so when I found out that the games based on that show were actually any good, I decided to pick them up. Now while I've never played the third game in the series as I've heard that it was quite awful, the first two games were some of the most nostalgic and creative games I've ever played on the DS. So what I think the dev of the first two games should do is compile all of the games and challenges from said games in one pack, and make around 8-10 more new games with 4 new challenges for each to justify excluding the contents of the third game. The real challenge would then be getting the game localized as only the first game was ever released outside of Japan.

amiibo Wars

The amiibo situation is starting to get a bit more under control now wouldn't you all think? That's why I think a new free-to-start amiibo game needs to be made to take advantage of this. When you consider the popularity of collectible object-type games in Japan like Kantai Collection, I think a tactical strategy game or a MOBA would benefit from this market the best. They're simple, easy to program, addictive when executed properly, and have great potential for additional content to be added to in the future. That, and I personally just want to see my massive collection of amiibo to get some use outside of unlocking some costumes or special missions.

Scott Pilgrim VS The World Collector's Edition

It was a real shame when Scott Pilgrim VS The World was removed from the PSN and XBLA online shops. It was a lot of fun and stayed quite true to its source material. But if in the event that the licensing issues are resolved in the future, I would want to see the game re-released in a physical format with extra content added. If it were to have all of the DLC, the complete film (and animated short film) in HD, a full color scan of the entire graphic novel all contained on the cartridge and a poster for good measure, I would be more than happy paying $60 for a game that would normally cost around $15-20.

NES Classic Collection

Okay now I know a lot of people, myself included, who were quite pissed when Nintendo ended production on the NES Classic Edition. That's why I propose that they port the contents of that device to the Switch, include digital scans of the manuals instead of scanning a QR code, and package it with a USB NES controller to hopefully give fans a similar experience and give them an alternative to something that was selling faster than a spare kidney on the black market. Plus it probably would be cheaper to manufacture something like that anyway and get away with selling it for $60. Plus if Nintendo really wanted to apologize, they could add another 10-20 games to it.

I continue to believe that the Switch has potential, but like any system on the market right now the games are what sells the system. Unless the console has games that people want to play, then there really isn't any reason to buy the Switch at all. This is still just wishful thinking on my part, but maybe and hopefully someone important in the gaming industry will see this and make some of these ideas a reality. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

What are they?

First of all, amiibo are little figurines that are around four inches tall (or shorter) and feature characters from various video games made by (or approved_2 for sale by) Nintendo. Some of these figures come in series and sets that are designed in a theme from a specific game like Mario Party and Super Smash Bros. Each of these figurines are also set on a small stand that is a little less than two inches in diameter, and the base contains a Near Field Communicator (NFC) pad that can interact with a reader embedded in the Gamepad of the Wii U, bottom half of the New 3DS, or the yet to be released NFC reader for the classic 3DS. Each of these figurines act in one of two ways: as a key to unlock content locked away within the game's code; or as a memory card for amiibo specific game modes. Now before you get all up in arms exclaiming that Nintendo is starting to act just like EA with having content locked away on the disc, just hear me out first. With the exception of Splatoon, the content unlocked by the amiibo's "key" function is often negligible and doesn't offer anything to the full enjoyment of the game. It's just a nice little bonus for people that own the figure and are often considered bragging rights stating that you own it.

Pros

1. They are very well made and extremely detailed considering their small size and they are cast in a very nice, sturdy plastic that doesn't feel cheaply manufactured.
2. Most of them are fairly priced at an MSRP of $12.99USD which is great for people that like to collect many figurines of their favorite characters.
3. They are region free meaning that if you have an amiibo imported from another country then it will still work with your game.
4. They aren't locked for use with a specific game. I.E. specific amiibo that may have been designed for Super Smash Bros can be used with Mario Party 10 or vice versa. This is useful if you like the design of one version of a character but not one of the others.
5. The "memory card" function that is used for amiibo specific game modes allow for a customizable experience that can be continued at a friend's house if you so choose.

Cons

1. Because of their unexpected popularity and Nintendo's failure to increase manufacturing to keep up with the demand, certain specific amiibo are often much more difficult to get a hold of due to the low number of them. Also, retailer exclusive and limited edition amiibo should never have been a thing. It just adds to the difficulty of obtaining one at retail price. I'M LOOKING AT YOU, SCALPERS!
2. The "memory card" function of the amiibo can only be used with one game at a time. If you wish to use the same amiibo with a different game, you'll either need to delete the data on the amiibo you currently have, or buy another one of the same character.
3. Keeping their collector's value is nearly impossible if you want to use them but not remove them from their box as an NFC blocker is embedded in the bottom of the package preventing their use while unopened.
4. While extremely rare, it is possible to accidentally buy an amiibo that that has a broken base or lacks the NFC functionality, and if you bought one from a place that doesn't allow you to return goods that have been removed from their original packaging, then you would be stuck with a piece of plastic whose only purpose is to take up space on a shelf in your room.

Closing Statement

Amiibo are a great little bonus for figurine collectors and Nintendo gamers alike. They have a charm about them that pulls people in to buy them and they are really well designed and priced well (assuming you buy it at retail). They aren't without their faults, but I see that the only real big problem of theirs is availability. If you can get a hold of a few yourself, I suggest you buy them regardless if you own anything Nintendo related that can use them. They are still considered figures and you could treat them as such, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

Bayonetta

It's kind of obvious (for me anyway) that Bayonetta would be the first woman on this list. She's a tall, voluptuous, long-legged British beauty that unfortunately might be described as slutty in the eyes of a less accepting individual, but is her sexuality necessary for her character? Well I believe so for this historical reason. According to this well researched video I found on YouTube, witches of old gained their power through a pact made with an incubus and then copulating with them. Sounds like sexuality would've paid quite a big part there; Platinum just had a little fun is all and sexed her up a bit more than what history would have done naturally.

Dead or Alive Xtreme

Another obvious one, but because the public outcry was much more audible. This game is described by the developers as "A celebration of the female body," but we all know that's bupkis. I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt for transparency's sake, but is the sexuality necessary for this spinoff series? Well, not really. I am willing to admit that the devs have every right to make the game however they want, but focusing almost entirely on T&A with very little gameplay makes it kind of lackluster, especially since this is supposed to be a game, which by definition is, "a form of play or sport, especially a competitive one played according to rules and decided by skill, strength, or luck." All titillation and no play makes DoAX a dull series. I guess not all games can be iconic from the gameplay alone.

Senran Kagura

Not nearly as known as the first two on this list, but it still caused quite the uproar. This series is the definition of "jiggle physics." What is the usual goal of this series you may ask? To play as one of many busty female ninjas (of questionably legal age), and beat the crap out of one or more busty female ninjas while shredding their clothes off in the process. How did this game come about, and for the 3DS as well, you might also ask? Because the creator decided that "one of the things people most wanted to see in 3D were breasts." Can't get more transparent than that now can you? Now the sexuality isn't needed for this series in the slightest, but considering that the game only came about by the revelation of "breasts in 3D," something tells me it wouldn't have sold well otherwise.

Metroid

Now this is a tough one. This series has always had a polarizing view on the femininity of the main character Samus. She's a badass bounty hunter throughout the entirety of the game, but beat the game 100% or within a certain amount of time and you get to see her in her zero-suit or a full on bikini. With the way the game is presented, Samus had never needed to be sexualized, but you are rewarded with a half-naked pose of her if you do exceptionally well? I'm not saying it's not welcome, I'm just saying it's confusing. Samus is sexy, but because of her skill and athleticism, not her tits.

Metal Gear Solid

I'm not against male characters being sexualized; it just needs to be done right. Big Boss from Snake Eater, Peace Walker, and Phantom Pain is a good example of this. He's rugged, strong, intelligent, athletic, and quite the survivalist. Now technically this isn't sexualization of the male form, but he is seen as what some would call a "man's man." The kind of guy you'd want to have as a hunting partner, a drinking buddy, or just someone to accompany you to a strip club (not necessarily in that order). He's basically the ideal outdoorsman; the kind of guy that many men strive to be but rarely achieve. He is kind of a representation of an unobtainable goal, much like how many female characters are presented in games. But just because that specific goal is unobtainable, that shouldn't stop you from trying to get close.

DMC Devil May Cry

And then you have Dante. I am truly baffled at how this guy is portrayed as sexy. To me, his (modern) design gives off an aura of narcissism that just rubs me the wrong way. I get that he is supposed to be a "bad boy" and I know that a lot of women like that type in fiction, but making him look like a stereotypical douchebag with a hairstyle to match is not the best way to go. His only redeeming quality is that his personality is somewhat approachable. It still doesn't fix his hair, but it is a step in the right direction. I guess what people find sexy about him is that nude scene he had at the beginning of the game. I would take a stab that this rebranding is basically gender-swapped Bayonetta, only not nearly as lewd.

God of War

Much like how Bayonetta is sexy because she was purposefully designed to be feminine, Kratos is the masculine equivalent of that. Muscular, shirtless, and strong like it's nobody's business, Kratos is very much eye candy for a female (or gay male) audience just as much as Bayonetta is for a male (or gay female) one. Except compared to her, no-one seems to care about how Kratos is half-naked but will jump down the throat of anyone trying to defend Bayonetta's promiscuous appearance. There are double standards at work here that keep getting ignored and it infuriates me to no end. If men can be sexualized but women can't, then why even fight for equality or freedom of expression? Just let the devs make what they want and if you don't like it, don't play it.

Any Game by Illusion

Now these are just straight up interactive pornography, so the nudity and sex would need to be necessary just to get it to sell. And before you say that those games could sell without it, then think about this: Would porn itself even be considered porn if the prerequisites to make it so were absent? Yeah, that's what I thought. And considering that prostitution (and agriculture) is the oldest known profession in the world, this would basically be the "victimless crime" version of it.

If by now you're confused and wondering where I'm going with all of this, allow me to explain: EVERY SINGLE ONE of these tropes mentioned exists in other forms of media like pornography, stag films, erotica novels, hentai, and even in the news from time to time. But the fact that everyone is getting so bent out of shape because of something that is technically more friendly than violence and gore is appearing in an interactive format is making me facepalm to no end. So to them, and the people that complain about "unrealistic beauty standards," allow me to give my 2 cents on the matter. 99.9% of video games are fictional, and aren't made by the person playing it. As such, they rarely ever match the player's definition of beauty or sexuality perfectly. Just chill out and enjoy what was made before you have an aneurysm. So until then, I'll be seeing you.

1. Stealth is your best friend. The enemies you face may be powerful, but they're dumber than a sack of hammers and are as attentive as deer in the headlights. Be as quiet as possible when approaching from behind and you might be lucky enough to deal a critical strike on them or even steal one of their weapons before they realize you're there, but if you accidentally alert a hoard of them just run away and hide; they'll eventually lose interest.
2. Stalfos are extremely frail. Despite their intimidating nature and powerful weaponry, stalfos of all kinds can be easily dispatched with a headshot from your bow. Be true with your aim and they'll topple like a house of cards.
   
3. Fight smart, not hard. In many cases it much easier to have the environment do your fighting for you. Keep a look out for boulders to push off a cliff into a small gathering of enemies below or something hanging near campsites that will cause some chaos if it is severed from its tether.
   
4. Find the DLC Equipment. The Phantom Armor and Majora's Mask are invaluable very early in your adventure as the Phantom Armor has a combined defense of 24 and each piece in the set raises your attack power by one level, and Majora's Mask makes most monster types ignore you unless they are threatened. Be extremely careful when procuring these pieces of equipment though as they are all found in enemy territory.
   
5. Be confident in your abilities. Unless you are absolutely certain in your skill level and equipment, DO NOT engage a lynel. Early in the game these monsters are death incarnate and many will be equipped with bomb arrows.
   
6. If you own amiibo, use them. No matter what the amiibo is, scanning one will give you a small handful of food or materials that will definitely help later. Even better, if one of the amiibo that you own is Wolf Link, then you have a partner that will help you fight the many beasts that stand between you and your ultimate goal.
   
7. Study your cookbook. Remember when cooking meals or mixing potions that the right ingredients can make all the difference. Combining ingredients with different attributes will cancel them out so be sure to use like-named foodstuffs like "mighty" or "armored." Also, dragon parts are not classified as alchemy ingredients; they're considered seasoning, so be sure to use them in food instead of potions with their horns having the best effect.
   
8. Ancient arrows = death from above. If you happen to find a few ancient arrows on your quest, save them for when you are REALLY in a pinch. With perfect aim and the right bow equipped, these arrows are strong enough to one-shot a silver lynel. However, enemies are instantly vaporized when shot with these arrows so you won't be getting any spoils from them. Plus getting this ammo replaced is a rather expensive endeavor so only use them if you have no other choice.
   
9. Be a shutterbug. After you get the camera rune, take pictures of everything the next time you come across it. If you are having trouble finding ingredients and materials for armor or stealth potions, you can set them to the sheikah slate's sensor so it will ping when you get close.
   
10. The best offense is a good defense. Good shields are a commodity early in the game so mastering the perfect guard is a must. Even a pot lid won't lose any durability if you manage to successfully parry a guardian's energy beam. Also, shield surfing will wear your shield down faster than any form of combat; avoid being Legolas until you can easily get more shields. If you're brave enough, a good strategy would be to sneak into Hyrule Castle while wearing Majora's Mask so you can more easily obtain the Hylian Shield from the Stalnox in the castle's dungeon keep. That shield can last for an absurdly long time, but once it breaks you won't be able to replace it until the Tarrey Town side quest is finished.
    
11. Elemental weapons: Your own personal climate controller. Flame and frost weaponry are not just effective in combat, but when sheathed on your back they can keep you warm in cold climates and cool in hot ones. This is important to know if you run out of meals and potions that give you those benefits.
    
12. Take advantage of weather conditions. While it may be dangerous to travel out into a thunderstorm with a bunch of metal equipment, it may be a good idea to take at least one rusty weapon with you. Since the lightning will be attracted to the metal, you can use this to your benefit by throwing the blade at your victim's feet at the last second and have the gods smite your foes for you. Just be sure you don't get electrocuted in the process.
    
13. Gotta go fast. Even if you aren't going to do the trial the moment you arrive there, activate the shrine anyway. The more fast travel points you have, the better.
14. Ration your weaponry. Never, EVER, throw a weapon at an enemy unless it is a boomerang or it is already getting ready to break. Once a weapon is thrown at your foe, it instantly shatters meaning you now have one less pointy stick to defend yourself with. Also, some enemies like ice wizzrobes and fire lizalfos have elemental weaknesses, so you can prevent a lot of unnecessary weapon damage if you slay these fiends with the blade or arrow that has the element containing the polar opposite of the monster's name.
    
15. Full body baptism. With the exception of lizalfos and octoroks, most enemies cannot swim. If you can somehow lure them to deep water and knock them in, they will drown and die instantly. This feat can be achieved much more easily if you have Kilton's spring hammer.
16. A link to the past. And last but not least, if you've already played through the game on the normal difficulty setting, great! Use your memories of your previous playthrough to breeze though the side quests with ease.

Well that's all the info I can summon from my research so I certainly hope it helps. If you're still having trouble, then I have no idea what else you can do but to start farming for fairies; they might be able to keep you alive for a little while longer. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

Shortly after starting the game, I was beginning to get pulled in by the simplicity and casualness that the app presented itself in. One click, two clicks, three clicks. Just watching that number rise was giving me a weird sense of accomplishment, but like the sugary-sweet addictive flavor of the pastry that the app gets its name from, I needed more. Ten clicks, fifty clicks, one hundred clicks, I couldn't stop. Bake those cookies my little virtual grandmas. Bake until you can bake no longer.

Then out of nowhere, a large golden cookie appears. I clicked the shiny sweet biscuit, then my total started to skyrocket. One thousand cookies, five thousand, twenty thousand. My confectionery greed knew no bounds. This app had its claws in me and I could not escape. I needed to sober up from the game. I tried to leave for a while to do something else, but I had forgotten to close out the window. When I came back I had over one million cookies. I bought farms, mines, factories, anything and everything that would maximize my cookie output.

The Grand Matriarchs were pleased with my performance, but they questioned my loyalty. They demanded I seal a pact with them, to prove I was loyal, to prove I cared only for cookies. I needed time to think, I had billions of cookies and was feeling proud of myself. I didn't feel like the pact was needed, so they bribed me with even more cookies. I looked at the time; six hours I was trapped in this app, but before I could refuse the offer, it had already been done. The pact had been sealed and the horrors of the Grand Matriarchs had been unleashed.

My cookie count went up at an extraordinary pace, one trillion cookies, two trillion cookies, but it wasn't long when their horrid wrinklers arrived from the cookieverse to consume all I had worked so hard to build. I needed out. I needed to escape from this app before it completely consumed my life. There was only one thing left I could do. I pulled the plug. And with that act, I was free. The app no longer controlled me with the promise of digital confections.

Now if you're all scratching your heads in confusion after reading all of that, please allow me to explain. Let my experience be a lesson to you all. Don't let an app or game consume your life. I unknowingly spent over six continuous hours on a program where all you do is watch a number go up while clicking on a digital cookie, but now it feels like something is now missing from my life. I long for that effortless sense of accomplishment again. Hmm... Maybe just one more go...

So then... How does a gamer who takes pride in his real life analyst skills write a weekly article when he takes\r more pride in a single character design (bio type stuff) than anything \r worth money? Well I got thinking and I'm good with weapons and stuff... I\r figured out how to build a Metal Gear and several weapons crossovers \r along with knowing many key vitals on the human organs. So why not look \r at just that. Weapons and characters. Stuff like did Sephiroth kill Aerilth. So, to make it easy I'm \r using weapons that "don't work" in real life so no guns and I may \r explain staves however magic is hard to cover as some spells are \r impossible.

I\r am going to place a note at the beginning here... I'm working around two \r "bases" for the weapons. My physical structure as it is something I can \r work with for using weapons, however I'm also gonna\r use world records for weight lifted and similar aspects. This should \r give a range of most people so because I say I can lift it with \r difficulty don't mean you will struggle. That said I'm male and I'll be \r using male records for consistency but will adapt for female weaponry

All the formalities covered I need a weapon...Metal Gear, Rail-Gun's, HF blades... What's the best to start with? Well... I'm gonna\r look at the HF blade as I like the concept, so what is a high frequency\r blade Its based on real stuff as a blade vibrating fast enough can cut \r anything while moving slow making it look good so far since its had high\r frequency vibrations sent through the blade however this don't work in \r practice. As either the blade would shake too much from needing constant\r vibration or it would cause your hand to go numb.

The\r issue is animals like ants that use similar techniques work because of \r the size and there is a constant source unlike in the games causing \r issues in implementing the theory to reality. However hypersonic \r technology may be a nice work around. The vibration from these is enough\r to help remove the drag and cut objects easier... We have an issue with\r the hand going numb though. You may be able to direct the vibration \r away from the hilt and into the blade however it would be a larger \r hand-guard and may break the blade if you are nanometres out.

It's\r a plausible weapon if done correctly however may need some work and \r bulky blades to be effective on anything without melting your hand. Or \r shaking bolts loose (not a hint for my next article at all.) Leave \r suggestions in my email (addavenye@live.com or gmarshall1996@gmail.com)

#1: Inkling (Splatoon)

#2: Porky Minch (EarthBound)

Now for a not so obvious one. Ever since Porky's inclusion as a Subspace Emissary boss in Brawl, it got me thinking on why he wasn't included as a playable character. I get that he would be rather large in that spider mech he rides in Mother 3, but what about the "Heavily Armed" one in EarthBound? It's a fair bit smaller, 'bout the size of Bowser in terms of relative size, and would provide a much needed villain to represent the EarthBound series. Just give him his attacks and devices from EarthBound and Giygas's "Inexplicable Attack" as a final smash and he'd be set.

#3: Takamura (The Mysterious Murasame Castle)

#4: Krystal (Star Fox Adventures)

Probably one of the best characters to be added to the Star Fox series, and it probably helps matters that fans have wanted her in the game since Brawl. We need more varied Star Fox characters in the games. Fox and Falco are far too similar, and Wolf adds to the pile because of him having the same final smash and special moves as the other two. Krystal would bring some much needed originality through her staff skills and the help of her cloudrunner mount. Plus I don't think anyone could handle another Fox clone...

#5: Paper Mario

Think there are too many Mario characters as is? Nonsense! Besides, Paper Mario is different enough that he could be a rather unique character. Compared to regular Mario who is known for jumping, Paper Mario primarily uses a hammer when fighting. Just make Paper Mario's attacks mostly hammer based and make his specials based around the badge attacks and "curses" from The Thousand Year Door and he would be a perfect inclusion to the roster.

#6: Abraham Lincoln (Code Name S.T.E.A.M.)

#7: Captain Syrup (Wario Land)

#8: King K. Rool (Donkey Kong Country)

#9: Vaati (The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap)

#10: Isaac (Golden Sun)

#11: Black Shadow (F-Zero X)

#12: Ridley (Metroid)

This is the last villain, I promise. Now I know the memes that has spawned from Ridley not being in Smash 4, but there IS a way to incorporate him into the roster and still make him big, but not "too big." The way I see it, Ridley wasn't notable because of his size, but because of his ferocity and primal fighting instincts. Give his movement some girth to it and he could feel big while still being around Bowser's size. I've seen hacks and mods of Brawl that have Ridley being playable and they all make him into a beast because of his heavy claw swipes and footsteps. Sakurai could do the same if he had thought of that as well.

#13: Saki (Sin & Punishment)

#14: Zoroark (Pokemon Black/White)

#15: Simon Belmont (Castlevania)

Well I would like to say that that's the end of my list, but I've had some issues with how some pre-existing characters play and I believe that a few of them could benefit from some minor modifications. So here is an additional 5 characters that are already playable in the games, but I think could use a little bit of tweaking.

#1: Lucina

She is a clone of Marth in the purest sense and to me, that is EXTREMELY lazy game design. Either get rid of her in the next game, or turn her into an alternate costume for Marth. Either or, this is unacceptable in her current form.

#2: Dark Pit

Yet another clone character, but of Pit this time. A slightly slower and slightly stronger variant of an existing character does not a good fighter make. He had so much potential to be good as he had his own exclusive arsenal in Kid Icarus: Uprising with even a weapon named after him. This needs to be fixed in the next game.

#3: Ganondorf

Now even though Ganondorf is technically a clone of Captain Falcon, he's a special case as he's actually a pretty good clone. But given this fact, he's still a clone. Now with the newest games, I don't understand why he doesn't have his sword now, or why his special moves aren't more like his dark magic from Ocarina of Time or any of the games where he's Ganon. It would make him so much more interesting.

#4: Jigglypuff

To be completely honest with you, I am not a fan of this character in the slightest. She plays weird, her final smash is garbage, and Smash 4 doesn't take her new Fairy-type in to account for new attacks at all. She needs a new moveset that takes advantage of her new type; her final smash especially.

#5: Wario

There isn't much wrong with Wario as of right now, but I do have a few issues with a couple of his special moves. His upward special doesn't gain enough air to be a viable recovery move, so why not move his down special to his up one and make it so you can manually charge it? And to replace his old down special, make it is quake punch from Wario Land: Shake It! While we're at it, bring back his side smash from Brawl as well. It's starting to feel like Sakurai is trying to make people forget that Wario was in a series other than Wario Ware.

Well, that's my list folks, if you disagree with my choices, tell me why in the comments and what you would have chosen instead. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

Not only does the remake seem to be incredibly faithful to its source material, but it's also downright impressive just how far Night Dive Studios pushed Unity graphically. The System Shock remake also has the support of industry veterans such as Warren Spector (Deus Ex, Thief: The Dark Project), Paul Neurath (Thief II: The Metal Age, System Shock 2), and Brian Fargo (Fallout, Wasteland 2). Night Dive Studios have also contracted Chris Avellone (Fallout: New Vegas, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II) to help better translate the narrative of System Shock for the modern industry. If all that wasn't enough for you, Night Dive Studios have also employed Robb Waters, the original concept artist for System Shock (1994) and the BioShock series, to re-imagine his own work from 22 years ago.

If you are interested in trying this re-imagining of System Shock for yourself, you can download the Pre-Alpha demo for free from Steam, GOG, or Humble Bundle. If you are interested in checking out the Kickstarter campaign, or even backing it, it can be found here.

Included Content

First of all, here are the individual stats:

Analysis

As you can see, both have their highs and lows. While the NES may have less games than the Mega Drive, half of the 80 games included on the Mega Drive are low quality throwaway games (falsely listed as "Sega Arcade") that were added just to pad out the fluff. The Mega Drive does make up for this with the ability to play cartridges and it comes with two controllers instead of one, but the NES can use its controllers with the NES titles on the Wii's and Wii U's Virtual Console service. Plus if you don't want to buy a second controller, that's fine too as it can also work with the Wii Classic Controllers. The real deciding factor though is tough to determine. As I have stated many times in the past, I grew up with Nintendo games, so I'm a bit biased toward the NES Classic. Yes, it does have less games than the Mega Drive, but they are of objectively superior quality. It's just a shame that it can't be played on an old CRT TV set; retro games somehow look better on those older TV's.

Final Verdict

Even if I wasn't as Nintendo biased as I am, I'm going to have to give the upper hand to the NES Classic Edition. Considering the fact that not everyone owns a CRT TV anymore and most modern HD TV's no longer have support for composite cables, I don't think the Mega Drive Classic Console will be able to thrive in this new plug-n-play "console war" as much as I would want it to. So if you like retro games, get the NES Classic Edition when it is released on November 11th of this year; don't even bother with the Mega Drive unless you were a fan of those games in the past and still own cartridges that it can use, and/or if you own a CRT TV. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

The New Nintendo 3DS

In my personal opinion stat wise and as an owner of this console, it doesn't deliver what it should. At about a $200 price point it doesn't even come with a high speed charger, and stat wise it doesn't actually give much variety. In truth you're really only paying for a slightly larger screen and a smoother feel to the edges. From my personal experience I have trouble with the hinges. They work great for like a month (maybe two) of competitive ORAS gameplay, then they become loose which inevitably affects the power saving option because repeated opening and closing. The 3D and camera is nicer then the original 3DS and 2DS model and the 2DS doesn't offer 3D. That, and about the only other way it differs aside from the improved gyro sensor and an extra hour of game play, is it has the luxury of folding and still being the heaviest of all the systems!

Lets now focus our attention on the original 3DS.

This in my opinion is a delightfully middle of the road system and is still an all time great. Personal feelings aside lets dive in shall we? This system's low-light camera and facial tracking system leaves much to be desired but it is pretty much the same in most categories as its successor the New Nintendo 3DS XL. It has the same battery life, the 3DS XL only has a slightly improved stereo sound component. While the processors are massively different the 3DS XL boasting a 804 MHz ARM11 MPCore quad-core + extra weaker single-core (one reserved for OS) and the original 3DS's ARM11 MPCore 2x at 268MHz (one reserved for OS) 2x VFPv2 Co-Processor, 128MB FCRAM, 6MB VRAM, PICA200 GPU @ 268MHz, Now what does these numbers actually mean when playing your old favorites? Absolutely nothing because the GPU still clocks in at the same speed on both systems not giving the New Nintendo 3DS the edge it should to increase the frame rate on all the classics and most common 3DS games. Its price point is pretty nice and will get better around the holidays so it definitely should be considered.

Now lets focus on the awesome rock star of this article (and my personal favorite) The Nintendo 2DS.

Lets just start off by saying, you really have to try hard to break this thing. I've dropped it on the side walk and it got rained on which it survived and it got ran over by a robust man trying to ride a ten-speed bike which it also survived. Sure freak occurrences happen but I've dropped this thing down a flight of stairs and it survived. Sure there is always the random chance it can break but this thing is built like a child proof otter-box. Cons on this though, it lacks the ability to fold which I don't mind (original gameboy throw back can I get a hell ya) the stereo isn't as powerful but with ear plugs it delivers stereo quality sound. It doesn't have 3D capability but that's more of a style choice in my opinion due to 3D being optional on every other console anyway. Pros, it shares the exact same specs as the original 3DS system but was built child proof and get this, its only $79.99 new at Gamestop with a pre-loaded game $90 at Walmart. It has a dedicated sleep switch, so no problem there. The tracking is practically nonexistent. The camera can be unwieldy but remember its built kid tough. With Christmas being around the corner, sure it doesn't have the ARM11 processor to play the New Nintendo 3DS XL's very limited exclusive game list, but if you've got a family of budding handheld gamers then this is the console to buy. Its battery life is pretty much the same as the original 3DS at around 5-6 hours for 3DS games and 9 hours for DS games. you can essentially get two for the price of one 3DS XL which we know won't make it six months or will get stolen at school and still be able to afford one copy of Sun or Moon. At least then you're not out of a crazy amount of money. When in line for Black Friday or Christmas, aim for this system; you won't be disappointed! It plays all the 3DS games and DS games (excluding their bogusly short list of 3DS XL exclusive games) and also comes with a charger.

To wrap this up, if you want a system with middle of the road specs that will last, get a 2DS. If you want a 2DS that folds and has 3D, get a 3DS original. Want a bulky $200 investment that offers a larger screen, get The New 3DS XL.

Thanks for reading!

-Silvercrow12

Now listen. I know what you're thinking. But seriously, the Wii U Is just about the sickest thing to be sitting in my living room since my elderly grandma (Love you Gran, get well soon xx). 

And I'm not just saying this because I got it back when it was still like $600. Since getting the Wii U, I've accumulated a fine assortment of games; Shovel Knight, Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros.Brawl, Lego City Undercover, Lego Hobbit, Just Dance 3 etc. 

While playing these on and off I got my PS4. I love the PS4 and love . . . most of the games I have for it. . . Around the same time my neighbor got an XBOX ONE. But as many people who got an Xbox or a PlayStation know, the launch title games weren't all that great . . . A lot of issues and a lot of disappointment. Ryse: Son of Rome? More like 'Son of the Bargain Bin'. Watch_Dogs? More like 'I'd rather be Watching my mum get eaten by Dogs'. Sure a lot of people love these games (I myself love the look of Ryse and think it's a pretty groovy game) but the general consensus seems to be one of disappointment. Assassin's Creed Unity, The Master Chief Collection it feels like every game coming out is being disliked by heaps of people.

Here's where the Wii U comes in. Mario Kart 8: Straight upgrade, no complaints. Bayonetta: More of what everyone loves. Lego Hobbit: Great Lego game, open world, fun for all ages. That's one of the things the Wii U has going for it, it's a console for all ages. From Skylanders to Resident Evil, gamers of all ages and skill levels can enjoy it.

The games coming out are so hype. The new Zelda, new Yoshi, new Kirby, XenobladeChornicles and even a new Starfox! This is so fly. Now of course I'm hyped for games like Bloodborne (Sorry Xbox owners) but the Wii U's track record for rad games is consistent. Captain Toad is such a basic idea but it's done so well and it's a heap of fun! Amiibos are fresh to death (even if they're getting a bit costly). I'm getting butterflies in my stomach just thinking about how sweet all this new stuff for Wii U is, and I just don't get the same feelings for many of the games coming to PS4 and Xbox.

Keep in mind I am still plenty excited for a lot of PS4 and Xbox games (I'm sure my neighbour will continue to let me use his Xbox), and this is all just my opinion but the evidence is there. This war is over. N1nt3nd0 izthasikest.

(Inb4 PC Master Race)

I am also excluding games that are already getting movies so I apologize to games like The Last of Us, Uncharted, Half-life, and Portal. The games on here aren't obscure by the eyes of us gamers, but not many of them have been considered for a film adaptation. So you may not see the games you wanted on here.

Hotline Miami

Clearly the developers, Dennaton Games,were at least some what inspired by Drive (2011) starring Ryan Gosling. This bloody, pulse pounding game could transition fairly well to the big screen. I believe it would be important for the actor to play Jacket to not speak, but rather show his emotions through his actions. It would keep the air of mystery around him like in the game.

The soundtrack is one of the best you'll ever hear in gaming and would work for a film adaptation. The story is very well written and is a damn good one at that. It would be preferable that the combat/fighting scenes are as smoothly choreographed as the fight scenes in The Raid and as stylish as the fight scene in the nightclub in John Wick.

Do you like hurting other people?

The Cat Lady

It's no secret that I love this game, but The Cat Lady would still work as a emotional psychological thriller movie. The point and click gameplay that helped make the game unique doesn't necessarily need to be in The Cat Lady to keep the intriguing story and spooky atmosphere. It would basically be the proper Silent Hill movie since Hollywood screwed that up twice.

The actress that would play Susan can not be attractive, or at least can't be extremely attractive like most actresses since Susan is depicted as being unattractive. The overall mood and atmosphere would also have to be perfectly recreated down to a T. Let the scenery do the talking rather than the actors. Though Susan would have to talk, unlike Jacket from Hotline Miami.

Nekopara

Now hear me out.....this explanation could go a few ways so let me explain. I am not a weeaboo. Hell, the only anime series I've ever seen was Pokemon when I was a kid, but the Nekopara Vol. 1 visual novel was very well made. I can definitely see it as either a movie or an anime series. The hentai and other stuff aside, the story was pretty convincing and you do end up caring for Chocola and Vanilla.

Who would play Chocola and Vanilla would be anyone's guess. The humor and drama were well handled..and yes the sex scenes were too, but those probably wouldn't be in a movie or anime series. Maybe a hentai series which would be...interesting. Anyways, Nekopara still has a good convincing that you should definitely check out.....but for the "full" experience you need to buy the 18+ version off of the developer's website. Just a suggestion.

Alan Wake

If you haven't played Alan Wake then shame on you. Just kidding. Alan Wake is a game set up like a T.V. series. Even to the point of having a "Previous on Alan Wake.." narration between chapters. If you've played the game then you know that it has an absolutely amazing story. Obviously taking inspiration from Stephen King. Alan Wake even references him as an inspiration.

It would be fairly easy to adapt Alan Wake into a movie. The model of Alan Wake is based off Ilkka Villi and voiced by Mathew Porretta, whereas Alice Wake's model is based off of Jonna Järvenpää. Having Ilkka play Alan Wake in a movie would be the preferable option andJonna Järvenpää as Alice Wake. The dark and spooky atmosphere of the game would make this film a great psychological thriller. Check out this awesome music video from Poets of the Fall to get a taste of an Alan Wake movie.

Max Payne

Okay, okay. I know that this one shouldn't count, but holy hell, the actually Max Payne movie was so awful. Like really?? Mark Wahlberg as Max Payne?? Nothing against the guy as an actor, but as Max Payne? That was a horrible idea. Max Payne's story is so tragic, but the way he goes on a war path, in the games, for revenge is stylish and awesome. This shouldn't have been a screw up of a movie, but it was. So why not a reboot?

Remedy, the developers of Max Payne 1 and 2, did the same thing with Max's character model as they did with Alan Wake's; they based it on a real actor. He even voices Max in the game. James McCaffrey is the definitive Max Payne and should have played him in the movie. So in a reboot, James,should play Max. With Courtney Cox as Mona Sax since they look alike. The dark noir tone of the Max Payne games would work beautifully on the big screen.

Obviously, I wasn't able to put every game that would work well as a movie on here. Which is why I'd like you to comment on this with your suggestion of a game that would be a cool movie. Hopefully, I can make an updated list with all the suggestions. Until then have a good day :)

So when I picked up my PS4, the first game I decided to give a shot was of course, this. Rocking into remastered edition showed me two things; the graphic capability was beautiful, and two, five minutes in and my heart would collapse from the emotional gut-wrenching tale that Naughty Dog and the IP's Neil Druckmann wanted to tell. Not five minutes in and we're shown the man we're to play; Joel, and the morally ambiguous tale following the death of his daughter launches away!

"I got you this watch so you can count down the minutes til I eat bullets, dad."

I slipped through the game on normal difficulty, marking it for all the right things; the writing, the characters, the believability of the cordyceps infection on its victims. This was why the game was so beautiful, under the construction of several teams, it seemed that Naughty Dog didn't want to just give us a run-and-gun game--they wanted something soul. If not for the little things, the way characters flinch at flashlights, the tiny little comments, or the completely beautiful desolation of the world we're seeing, then the game wouldn't stand on its own merit. Yet, this isn't why I believe it gave a lasting impact on me.

I completed the Last Of Us within two days and I loved every single moment of it as a game. I can understand why it won 240 awards, and did exactly what I expect Naughty Dog to do; make worthwhile games.

Then I decided to give Grounded a shot.

For those of us that weren't illuminated by the brilliance of this game, a little bit of backstory must be given. See, I've played games where supplies dwindle, hope runs out, and you're left to ponder the constant fear of death and destruction from whatever the fuck's coming around the corner to eat your ass like groceries, but this game toppled that effect.

"You think this bothers me? I took on six clickers with a paperclip once!"

When it comes to TLOU, Grounded places the character in the worst case scenario. The entire game sets you up like so:

Welcome to The Last Of Us.

FUCK YOU.

While the game tried to implement a system of dwindling resources against an onslaught of zombies, bandits, fireflies, the environment, Donald Trump, AIDS, and thirst, there was always the feeling of safety in you finding supplies, healing up Joel, and moving onto the next part. However, Grounded cuts down supplies by 90%, lowers health to 10%, and increases the enemies, the AI, and the overall shitstorm of gunfights, monsters, and everything!

While before you could count your twelve bullets of your snub-nose revolver and think "Eh, fuck it, if I miss, I miss," you aren't given such a privileges this time around.

"I can take all of em out if they stand in a line."

You are to completely change your way of thinking. You don't have bullets, you don't have health packs, you have six men coming for you, and you've got a paper-clip, a piece of string, an arrow, a brick, one clean sock, and four nails. Facing people head on is a complete suicide act with the AI hiding behind cover and only coming out to shoot the second you pop out yourself, you're completely outnumbered, underwhelmed, and that is why I absolutely love it.

Joel and Ellie are on the moral ambiguous line of storytelling. We hear plenty of times that he's changed throughout this world; once a dedicated father and hard-worker, he had now become a murdering, flip-flopping smuggler who doesn't acknowledge the right or wrong in the world. Yet, we see him as a complex, real character and from that we empathize, and it makes wanting to see him and Ellie survive so much more that Grounded really gives us the game we're aching for. You feel the desperation in the their situation and story, and when you finally get to the third act of this magnificent tale, you feel like you've been through the same ordeal yourself. You've scrounged up molotovs, snuck around more clickers than a ninja in a nightclub line, and come out of every ordeal by the skin of your teeth, and overcome it in the only way you could.

When those credits finally started rolling, I really did feel like I'd been through one hell of a journey. And from it, my entire gaming perspective changed completely. While going back over old games like Fallout 3, New Vegas, Far-Cry 2--I began to realize that I was running and gunning my way through everything. When looking back to the gameplay of Grounded, it made me appreciate everything so much more. I would look back and completely evaluate every action I would make. When I hopped on Alien Isolation, I'd collect everything, work out every kink, save every piece of scrap, and barely used any supplies while evading the evil bitch. While playing Fallout, my stimpaks wouldn't falter or fade--my guns would be repaired, and I'd be cautious. I would leave settlements in Far Cry with more bullets than I spent, and health too. The Last Of Us completely revolutionized my playing style and made me appreciate the important of both challenging gameplay, style, and story.

Unfortunately now all I can do is throw bottles to distract my family while I search my fridge for food and if anybody asks me how I am, I instinctively smash their heads into cupboards while screaming for Ellie to run.

First, lets start with the commercial itself.

Now as you can see, the commercial starts up with the song Believer by Imagine Dragons. A young man in his home wakes up and grabs the Switch console off of his night stand so he can continue his gameplay in Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Then it switches to a different scene of an older man and his son playing Arms with the Joy-Con controllers in TV mode. During this time, the lyrics of the first half of the first verse are playing.

First things first
I'ma say all the words inside my head
I'm fired up and tired of the way that things have been, oh ooh
The way that things have been, oh ooh

In my eyes, these lyrics surprisingly enough actually have quite a bit of weight to them in this context. The way I see it, this bit represents Nintendo's quiet thoughts regarding the reception of the Wii U. The console did poorly, so Nintendo got "fired up" to create the Switch because they were "tired of the way that things have been."

In the next part, the scene changes to the present the Switch's tabletop mode with the Joy-Cons being used to play some party games with a second person. The second half of the first verse starts to play during this section.

Second things second
Don't you tell me what you think that I can be
I'm the one at the sail, I'm the master of my sea, oh ooh
The master of my sea, oh ooh

To me, this part represents a frustrated Nintendo's response to the backlash of the Wii U. Also, by showing off that each Joy-Con can be used combined as one controller in the first part and as two separate controllers in the next, it mirrors the lyrics' message saying that Nintendo is the master of their domain. No amount of backlash will be able to tell them what everyone thinks they should be.

At this time, the song begins to reach the chorus and it switches back to the young man from the first part. He then proceeds to dock the console so it can switch to TV mode. Right when the TV screen flips on is when the chorus rapidly crescendos to display the feature that the Switch is both a portable system and a home console skipping the song's bridge in the process. The first half of the chorus couldn't describe Nintendo's situation better.

(Pain) You made me a, you made me a believer, believer
(Pain) You break me down, you build me up, believer, believer

This part to me shows Nintendo's struggles with the Wii U over the five years its been out. The Wii U broke them down to the point where they were built back up and inspired by it to make the Switch.

The second half of this part then shows off the Switch's local WiFi multi-player by using Splatoon 2 as the demo. The lyrics presented a nice pun during this part.

(Pain) I let the bullets fly, oh let them rain
My luck, my love, my God, they came from
(Pain) You made me a, you made me a believer, believer

The use of Splatoon 2's gameplay during "I let the bullets fly" was a nice touch, but my speculation is that the other half of this excerpt is Nintendo's way of saying that despite the backlash, they appreciate the criticism that they've had to endure and they're better because of it.

It's here where they skip to the final verse where everything culminates to one final demo reel of many of the games that are coming out for the Switch in the coming months mimicking the lyrics in this part as well.

Last things last
By the grace of the fire and the flames
You're the face of the future, the blood in my veins, oh ooh
The blood in my veins, oh ooh

This last part right here has two meanings to me. It's both referring to the games coming out for the Switch in the near future, and the fans who are what shaped the company to what they are today and likely who will shape the company in the future. If it wasn't for us and how verbal we are, whether it be positive or negative, Nintendo wouldn't be able to survive.

This commercial was so masterfully crafted that I can't fathom how they manged to present such a deep message in a 1 minute 41 second long advertisement (assuming it was intentional). Now this is all just theory and speculation, but I believe it to be true. And if it is true, then you can bet Nintendo has made a "Believer" out of me. So until then, I'll be seeing you.

First of all, for a fan-made remake of a classic of disputable merit, this game is on point when it comes to quality. The world closely follows the same map layout and physics as the original Metroid 2 and fixes OH SO MANY problems that the original game had. Some examples include: a much larger viewing area as Samus's sprite in the original game took up around 2% of the screen (which is quite a bit when you consider the Game Boy's pixel ratio); a map and area landmarks to make it less likely to become lost; and better aiming and enemy AI. And if that wasn't enough, the game was pretty much given the complete "Zero Mission" treatment as additional abilities and skills from other games, new bosses, added puzzles, and new optional areas were added to flesh out the game even more. I particularly enjoyed how the developer managed to fit an escape sequence, a staple in the franchise, into the game; it made it feel more like a true Metroid game as a result. Further in the game, I noticed some of the music from the original was replaced with newer songs, but there is no real loss there as the original hardly had any music in it outside the main SR388 theme, the metroid fights, and the last 4 songs you hear in the game. This was a very welcome addition as the original music was so boring and uninspired; it didn't really fit the "Metroid" vibe. This labor of love is the Metroid game that we dedicated fans have been waiting for since the lackluster performance of Other M. Since it is free it is well worth the play, that is if you can find it now.

Score

All of these good points make me wonder though...Why did Nintendo issue the cease and desist? I get that they have every right to protect their IP by any legal means necessary, but was shutting down a fantastically made fan project after it had been finished really the way to go? Nintendo could have done so many things to protect their IP without stating some legalese to Milton. I have seen quite a few examples where fan projects have garnered attention from the companies that own the IP in question, but they managed to handle it much better than what Nintendo has done. I'll list a few examples:

• A while back there was a fan-made Mega Man game that was being developed by a very dedicated fan and they ran into a similar problem that Milton had where the company that owned the IP had taken notice and contacted the developer about the matter. BUT instead, what CAPCOM did was much better by comparison. They gave this fan their full support AND even helped them by loaning them some software tools to make the project go more smoothly. The finished project, Mega Man X Street Fighter, was eventually finished and released on CAPCOM's fan-site without a hitch.
• Christian Whitehead, the developer of some fan games of his own, was also contacted by a big name dev; Sega in this case. Because of the quality of his work, he and and another dev called Headcannon teamed up and worked with Sega to produce these very well made enhanced ports of the original Sonic the Hedgehog games. And now they're working on Sonic Mania, which is basically the ultimate Sonic fan-game.
• And last but not least, Black Mesa, a fan-made HD remake of the first Half Life game. Similar to the Mega Man and Sonic scenarios where the game was being made and the owners of the original IP caught wind of it and contacted the devs. But instead of going all "I'ma sue you" on them, they allowed them to finish the game AND legally sell it on Steam. Sounds like a pretty good deal if you ask me.

Now with these successful scenarios present, why hasn't Nintendo caught on yet? The fans obviously aren't getting what they want from the owners of the IP in question, so they take matters into their own hands. And what does Nintendo do? They get WAY too protective of their property and inadvertently squash the hopes and dreams of their fans. What they should do is contact the dev and pay him to port the game to one of their consoles like the Wii U or 3DS, but the chances of that happening are slim to none. Now I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on this matter. They're a big company in another country; they likely don't realize how much PR damage they're causing. But even if they did, they probably would still issue the takedown notice anyway because they are quite stubborn in that regard. Now don't get me wrong, this whole ordeal doesn't make me love Nintendo any less; it just makes me frustrated with them, like I would get with a family member. They still have a lot to learn, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

Super Mario Bros.

There is also a way to continue after a Game Over. At the Game Over screen, hold A and when the Title screen reappears, press Start. Do not release the A button during any of this or it won't work.

The Legend of Zelda

There is a way to start the game's Second Quest right off the bat. All you have to do is enter ZELDA as your file name. If done correctly you should see that Link is now holding the Magic Sword. Word to the wise, the Second Quest is not easy, so be prepared for the worst.

In The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, there is a hidden chamber under the castle that contains a large sum of rupees, but you cannot access it by normal means. What you need to do is start at the Sanctuary and use the Pegasus Boots to get to the bush that covers the hole that you entered near the castle at the start of the game as quickly as humanly possible. If you were fast enough to get there, you will enter a cave by falling in from the ceiling. A stone tablet in the back of the room will tell you that the room belongs to Chris Houlihan and asks you to keep it a secret. I guess the cat's out of the bag!

Donkey Kong Country

Quite a few cheat codes were programmed into the game to give you a much easier time with completing the game or just for fun. Most of the codes are entered on the file select screen when "Erase Game" is highlighted. They are as follows:

• Down, A, R, B, Y, Down, A, Y (activates sound test, press Select to cycle though them)
• B, A, R, R, A, L (start the selected file with 50 lives)
• B, A, Down, B, Up, Down, Down, Y (allows you to hijack control in a 2-player co-op game)

A couple stages also have secret shortcuts that let you bypass most, if not the entirety of the level. In the first minecart stage, if you can manage to jump over the barrel cannon and land in the pit close to the cliff wall, you will be launched out of a hidden cannon and transported to the end of the stage. There is also a shortcut in Stop and Go Station. Just head left through the entrance to be warped to the end.

Well, that's it for now. If I find more tips or codes, I'll be sure to let you all know as soon as I can. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

Transcript:

Good\r evening from County Durham in England, I’m Jodis Welch for\r NovoGamer.com and as promised, a special comment following the\r statements made by some in the gaming press in relation to the\r horrific massacre that took place in Orlando, Florida on Sunday 12th\r June.

I\r have held off for a week to do this first because of constant\r re-writing but also because I am of the depleting number of people\r that say that people should avoid politicising tragedies and that\r care should be used before speaking as shock that inevitably comes\r with terrible moments in our lives can make us do or say things that\r are out of character, or ill timed, or just flat out wrong.

However\r the decision on whether or not to respond had in the end been made\r for me because in the majority of cases we do not live in a world\r where people are able to contain themselves in times of crisis and do\r not have the mindfulness, or the empathy, to think before they blurt\r out nonsense either because their lives are shaped by their ideology\r and their ideology demands everything and everyone change to suit\r that specific ideology, or worse still, just doing it for the sake of\r getting as many damned clicks for that damned ad-sense revenue.

While\r I hope that I respond aware of the trappings of shock which I\r experienced not only in the shootings in Orlando but here in the UK\r later that week with the murder of Member of Parliament Jo Cox and a\r personal shock with news of the passing of a former work colleague in\r what appears to be a suicide, I trust myself that I am responding in\r good conscious since I can’t trust anyone else to respond,\r especially without injecting their own political leanings in order to\r try score points against their opposite number and I am certainly not\r doing this for financial incentives.

I’ve\r never been interested in betting on any horse in the ridiculous\r contests between Left and Right and I currently do not get paid for\r what is a side activity on Novogamer. If you happen to see an ad on\r Novogamer or hear one on Soundcloud, I have no control or say over\r that and I do not receive any money from them.

I\r respond this evening because the ideas of Jack Thompson, that we\r thought ceased following his disbarment in 2007, that not only\r threatened to remove harmless material from law abiding citizens but\r threatened the livelihood of game development staff is very much\r alive and well.

Mr.\r Thompson of course was not the first to demonise an entertainment\r medium as being responsible for evil perpetrated in the world. You\r can go back far in human history to find Puritans lamenting the mass\r public reading certain books. It is common knowledge that before he\r could entertain the audience with performances at The Globe Theater,\r the writings of William Shakespeare had to be vetted by authorities\r lest it contained content that could damage or disparage The Crown or\r more ridiculously, The Faith.

However\r it was the crusading antics of Fredric Wertham that started the trend\r of decades being associated with entertainment mediums being used as\r evidence of corrupting the populace, in particular, its youth. With\r Wertham and others in the 1950’s the blame was on comic books. In\r the 70’s music was attacked. The 80’s saw violent movies labeled\r as video nasties as well as the emerging popularity of table-top role\r playing games like Dungeons and Dragons erroneously touted as\r inspiring Satanism.

Video games however have bucked the trend as their demonisation has been\r rolling along for over two decades now. The claims that violent video\r games lead to acts of real life violence began in the early 90’s\r just as gaming was starting to become a mainstream hobby. This\r carried on until around the beginning of this current decade which\r then seamlessly morphed from the religious right positing that gaming\r causes violence to the equally zelotus left claiming gaming caused\r sexism and racism and as if the intention was to validate The\r Horseshoe Theory, they have now come full circle and have embraced\r the long since discredited notions of Jack Thompson and Keith Vaz\r here in the UK and others that violence with guns is perpetuated\r because shooting games exist.

It\r is no small irony that the gaming journalists and commentators that\r promote this theory have in recent years spent significant time and\r in one case, produced a monotone song of all things, to deny that\r they are anything like Mr. Thompson. Just as the irony is not lost\r that the same press, that did do it’s job of joining game\r developers and players in the debate against Mr. Thompson and Mr. Vaz\r and Joe Lieberman and Leland Yee are now attacking developers for\r creating such content and players enjoying said content.

The\r pearl clutching on Monday was first noticed with an indie developer.\r The creator of Braid, Jonathan Blow tweeted saying “The lesson from\r E3: Game studios are working very hard to build fantasies about how\r cool it is to be a mass murderer“. He would then invoke what I\r jokingly refer as Welch’s Law, complaining that after espousing his\r questionable statement on a public forum that the public responded\r using said platform to highlight that his statement was questionable.

To\r you Mr. Blow my question is, what are you credentials in psychology or\r sociology? Your academic history shows studies in Computer Science\r and Creative Writing which is more than relevant and suitable for\r your profession as a game developer. But where, sir, can you show\r superiority over the likes of Dr. Cheryl Olson or Dr. Lawrence Kutner\r or Professor Tanya Byron? Academics and researchers who have said,\r with the validation of their peers that there is no plausible,\r scientific link between violent video games and real life violence,\r that correlation still does not equate causation, 100% guaranteed\r every time.

And\r why should these same academics and other educators or just the\r public at large take you seriously when you act online, like a\r wailing child flailing their arms about because they aren’t getting\r their own way, because the majority are not interested in\r contemplating your quote, unquote question? It is true that academia\r and scientists are always open for questions being asked, for\r theories to be challenged on the premise that there could be a\r mistake in their interpretation or that new data needs to be tested\r and possibly integrated into a theory. However you would think there\r would be some level of understanding that the same academics and\r scientists find it annoying and tiresome that time and energy is\r wasted by ideologues drugging up old theories and notions that have\r long since been debunked.

Then\r came the headline editorials and the tweeting from the news arm of\r the industry. “It’s uncomfortable to be at E3 with all this gun\r championing following Orlando“

“How\r can EA and E3 sell violence after this tragedy?“ as if E3\r organisers, game publishers or developers were directly profiting\r from or were responsible for anything that happened in Orlando, or\r responsible for the attacks at Charlie Hebdo and wider Paris in 2015,\r or the Virginia Tech massacre, or the Columbine Shootings which saw\r Mr. Thompson’s rhetoric reach it’s peak in the early 2000’s..

Rather\r than repeat the previous question, as it is also relevant to these\r alleged journalists my next question is, Where in any product\r released by game companies give suggestions to players that being\r LBGT is a sin worthy of execution? Or that random people should be\r killed because of race, religion or sexual orientation? Can you\r really, with a straight face, point to a specific game or games that\r influence explicitly the exact insane justification multiple shooters\r come up with for carrying out their atrocities?

It\r is as if I really need to point it out, is a rhetorical question\r because no game exists that suggests to players that they should, for\r any reason kill, maim or rape other people in real life. Violent\r characters and situations have been created in all works of fiction\r for centries. It can be poorly written just as much as it could be\r brilliantly executed but in either case the vast majority of people\r that buy these stories know that it is merely fiction and that\r fiction is a completely different entity to reality.

You\r are aware of the difference between fiction and reality are you not?\r As I said the majority of people do and that is why to us the concept\r that by engaging in fiction we will act out the same in reality is\r ridiculous. I do know that some actually say with great certainty\r that you can not possibly separate fiction from reality and frankly\r it goes against any notion of sanity to the point where I have to\r suggest, without cynicism but sincerity seek professional help.

For\r some reason mental health is never brought up by the left or the\r right in these debates, save for a few exceptions. Maybe that is\r where the focus should be. Forget the scapegoating and forget trying\r to change the world and instead to use the effort to help the\r individual out of empathy, not fear. Help before harm. I accept that\r you cannot fully eradicate these event from ever happening but surely\r focusing on troubled individuals before their mind is too far gone to\r save them and others, is more productive than banning nasty material\r from the world around them.

\r Next\r question, why are you ignoring the obvious fact that gaming culture\r is not contained within a vacuum that covers the United States?\r Ignorantly the same shooters that you lament for apparently fueling\r gun culture in the US are also very popular internationally, because\r video games have been a global hobby for quite some time now, even in\r countries that have the gun laws that you wish the US would copy.

I\r can’t possibly speak for every gamer in the UK, let alone Europe\r but I can say with all likelihood of being accurate that European\r gamers are not en masse demanding legislators change our laws to\r match the US Constitution's second amendment because we just love\r Doom, Halo, Call of Duty, and Gears of War so much!

And\r please resist the urge to find a handful of gamers that do identify\r as right wing and do say that Europe should copy US gun laws and then\r claim they speak for all gamers. It’s a flawed method of argument\r that you have been guilty of for the last few years now and it only\r serves to highlight your incredulity and hubris as well as your\r hypocrisy since you, correctly have highlighted your opponents doing\r this in the past.

My\r next question is this, what were you expecting E3 and EA and everyone\r else to do exactly?

Were\r you expecting E3 to cancel Monday and demand everyone else in the\r country cancel other events planned and join in an impromptu national\r day of mourning and apologise for having events even planned? The\r truth is E3 organisers and publishers had obviously no way of\r foreseeing the massacre in Orlando occurring. EA didn’t\r intentionally pick out their shooters to display on Monday because\r “Well a shooting happened yesterday so seems like an ideal time to\r promote them!“ The games in question are already in development\r and are due out within the next year so they would have planned to\r show these games months in advance of E3 happening.

And\r really, no one would have canceled for two reasons. First doing so\r would only give credence to this asinine suggestion that game\r publishers are culpable in all these shootings or that it was somehow\r bad taste to show shooting games following Sunday. If EA was showing\r a game like Hatred, which specifically puts you in the role of a\r psychopathic killer committing mass murder on as many innocents as\r possible, then arguably the outrage would be justified and I think\r enough of us would agree in saying, “We don’t need to see this\r right now“, but that wasn’t the case of course. The games EA\r showed off involving guns was in battle situations where two sides\r were able to shoot back at each other. The situation in Orlando,\r horrifyingly, can’t be anywhere close to being equated the same.

Secondly,\r E3, EA and everyone else carried on as planned on Monday because it\r was the right thing to do! It’s not like the events of Orlando were\r ignored, the flags around E3 were flown at half mast and presenters\r on stages and on streams acknowledge the tragedy and paid tribute and\r then carried on, not out of cold hearted malice and not to pretend\r that the shooting didn’t happen but because getting on with the\r daily routine helps coping with one’s own shock and sadness along\r with with everyone else around you that very likely needs that help\r to cope too.

\r There\r is also the reason of not letting the perpetrators of these crimes\r achieve their goals. It is well established nowadays that acts of\r violence is only part of the sickening plans of those that enact\r terror, attempting to shock the rest of the populous enough that they\r stop doing what they do everyday to exacerbate that terror. Whether\r it is to hold everyone in fear of possible follow up attacks or to\r hurt the country economically or simply just out of the self centeredness of keeping the focus on the killer and what they have\r done. It is only a small victory by not allowing these killers the\r satisfaction of crawling into balls of fear but in terrible moments\r like this where there is very little in the way of victory to be\r found, you take what you can get.

The\r only acceptable reason to shut down E3 on Monday was if authorities\r claimed that they had enough credible intelligence that a similar or\r worse attack was likely to happen at the convention. No one would\r care about time, money or energy lost, making sure that they and\r their fellow humans were safe would be the only thing on anyone’s\r mind.

I\r suspect in the case of these supposed journalists however that they\r would be only thinking about saving their own skin because what\r should be considered from the comedy of errors articles last week is\r that the only reason these people are doing this, is to quench the\r thirst of their narcissism, their own ego. They couldn’t give a\r damn about about the victims in Florida, or those directly affected,\r or everyone trying to deal with the shock, it’s all about them.

“I\r don’t feel right about this, I demand this stops, why aren't you\r doing what I say? You disagree with me? How dare you, show some\r empathy, I’m right and you're wrong, can’t you see I’m trying\r to help you?“

I\r am grateful that E3 organisers and publishers did not give a moment’s\r thought to this megalomaniacal noise. As I’m sure many of you know\r even if you foolishly give in to the demands of these wailing\r children, it is never enough. You can imagine what the follow up\r editorials would be even if the industry had caved in and canceled\r all events on Monday.

“E3\r have canceled today’s events but let me tell why they should still\r hang their heads in shame for even thinking of going ahead with this.\r Forget panels and talks about upcoming games and how to get into the\r industry, put me and my friends on the panels and let us lecture you\r all on how removing all themes of violence will cause all real world\r violence to disappear and how you can financially contribute to my\r program which allows me to tell you how you can be a better person\r like I am!“

There\r would have been much bragging how they managed to stick it to those\r nasty capitalist board of directors and investors and sure, a\r cancellation of E3 on that Monday would have likely caused some stock\r values to drop noticeably but I doubt it would have been enough to\r really make those at the top feel it.

What\r about those that aren't at the top board or investor level? Did you\r ever think about how this might have affected the developers, writers\r and artists. We are in an era where the assumption is developers are\r underpaid for the amount of time they give in order to meet deadlines\r and to meet bonus pay which may go someway to compensate the overtime\r given in a games development. Sure the big publishers could probably\r re-arrange an event to promote their new catalogue of games but the\r developers, already worried about reaching the targets set to obtain\r those bonuses wouldn’t want that worry to be amplified.

However\r that’s developers involved with major publishers. What about the\r indie developers? Those who might have only scraped enough capital to\r be seen on one day at E3, desperate to get the level of exposure E3\r can offer and gain enough sales just to break even. Unable to\r reschedule for another day and missing that potential coverage could\r be fatal to a small company.

Then\r there are the fellow journalists, at least the ones that want to be\r at E3, who have a passion for gaming and wish to share that with\r readers or viewers but perhaps work on one of the smaller sites.\r Those that only got to E3 though the kind donations of the supporters\r of their website even if compared to big publishing backed\r organisations, are small in number. The need to get viewership,\r especially given how volatile and precarious online news media is in\r the current climate, that could obtained from the biggest show in the\r gaming calendar, hindered if they have nothing to talk about.

Then\r there are those at E3 that aren’t part of the industry and take\r whatever minimum wage job they can get that is on offer for a few\r days. Those handing out leaflets, pointing out directions. Whatever\r that role may be for a few days and then hoping they can get another\r few days elsewhere in Los Angeles because they need to earn whatever\r they can to pay this month’s bills.

If\r you had the chance to ask any of these phony moral crusaders if they\r for a moment gave a thought to those who could potentially lose out\r on E3 not running for a day over an argument and charge that is\r obviously a non sequitur. In all likelihood most would not and\r probably would say that they are irrelevant to the quote unquote real\r world saving cause. Afterall reality is very different from the tiny\r narrow world they usually occupy by themselves. To them, that’s a\r problem.

Which\r takes us back to how they are no different to Jack Thompson, because\r it is not just simply due to those in the gaming press using the same\r arguments as Mr. Thompson. It is the fact that they, like Mr. Thompson\r delusionally think they are saving people.

When\r Mr Thompson ran against video games in his mind he was saving\r children from the horrors of mass shootings or becoming the mass\r shooter. Even though the data from academic research or scientific\r testing, or just observable common sense in reality, proved him wrong that those argued against him were, in his mind, morally repugnant.\r Afterall why would anyone prevent him from saving children?

After\r losing what would turn out to be the last suit against a game\r publisher he brought to court, Mr. Thompson would give the judge a\r letter about how they had potential child’s blood on their hands\r for allowing violent games to continue to made available and possibly\r played by children. The Florida Bar decided they were going to nip\r that nonsense in the bud and with his disbarment, we thought we saw\r the end of this crusade against gaming.

We\r haven’t of course and we now see it within gaming itself which to\r some, they might find perplexing but given that most of these\r Thompson-like crusaders have in recent years shown utter disdain for\r games and gaming culture it really should not be surprising at all.\r Just as Mr. Thompson did they crow about how they are just trying to\r save people and anyone that disagrees with them is, if not morally\r repugnant, at least morally questionable.

Yet\r again for failing to understand that gaming is an escapist medium,\r not for people to bury their heads in the sand and ignore all the\r problems in the world but just a chance to step away from the\r troubles for a few fleeting hours, not to mention ignoring the old\r adage of “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat\r it“ these puritans, who are already quickly becoming irrelevant\r with the rise of new media alternatives, will make that irrelevancy\r become absolute.

Which\r leads to my final question. How many more times are we going to go\r through this? It is as pointless as it is monotonous but people still\r insist in raising this debate. Whether you look at the 20 years\r gaming has been attacked for spurious reasons or entertainment in\r general from the 50’s onwards being smacked around as the cause for\r the ills of the world, gamers, academics and commentators are tired\r of this claptrap.

If\r it isn’t the existing studies that have already said that there is\r no link in violent games to real life violence then the sheer numbers\r of gamers who continue to pay for and play violent games will\r ultimately win the argument. I know that has me entering Argumentum\r Ad Populum however the numbers don’t lie. If somehow these moral\r crusaders convinced a company that violence or fun should not feature\r in future titles, gamers will simply take their money to another\r company that won’t cave in to puritan demands, so all that would be\r achieved is a significant number of developers will be out of a job\r and the gaming websites responsible fading into the abyss.

Don’t\r believe me? What happened with developer Tale of Tales? Or how about\r the “megaphone“ who claimed to be the epitome of Games\r Journalism?

So\r why continue to go down this road? History shows that this is a\r fool's errand with the only outcome being academics and scientists\r refusing to take you seriously, becoming the laughing stock and meme\r fodder for gamers and eventually being almost forced to fade into\r obscurity.

If\r you don’t want that to happen, rethink this debate. Leave gaming\r out of it and instead concentrate on something that is more relevant\r to the problem. If you do not want to be likend to Jack Thompson and\r all the trapping that entails, I cannot put this any more succinctly.

Stop\r being Jack Thompson!

Good\r night, and good luck.

Okay so let's start with the number one glaring issue: the controls. I know that Nintendo and Platinum were trying to be intuitive with the Gamepad, but it just winds up being awkward and confusing. I propose going back to the traditional way and just use a standard controller and no motion controls, but if intuitiveness is what Nintendo wants, then I think the picture below says it best.

Inspired partly by Sin & Punishment's controls, this is the simplest and most intuitive control scheme I can think of. It has enough familiarity of the old control styles for anyone to get the hang of quickly and offers a new challenge by needing to control the targeting reticle separate from the vehicle. Oh and while we're on the subject of vehicles, this needs to be addressed. All of the vehicles that can transform NEED to have the ability to do so from the get go. It promotes a greater emphasis on replayability through experimentation. Giving the ability to the player because of plot reasons is sloppy design in a game of this type. In addition, ONE VEHICLE TYPE PER LEVEL PLEASE. Swapping between vehicles in the middle of a mission defeats the purpose of having a stage dedicated to those specific mechanics.

Now onto issue number 2: Pacing. The Arwing and Landmaster stages usually are pretty good when it comes to pacing the action in a stage, but the addition of the Gyrowing in Star Fox Zero kinda flopped. Know why? Because those missions were a play style that COMPLETELY changed the pacing of the game from action to stealth. So if you want to keep its inclusion in the series, here's how to fix it, AKA make it more tolerable: make the Gyrowing faster, and have the enemies be more aware of the vehicle's presence. Or you could of course completely remove it altogether in favor of the Blue Marine, but to be honest I kinda liked those stages. They just weren't meant for fast paced action. While were on the subject of the Blue Marine though, I really think it needs to make a comeback. Instead of giving it the ability to transform, maybe plop the sub in Zoness and have it maneuver through the murky water using a dedicated sonar button? I think it could work quite well if the pacing was done right.

Issue 3: Optional sub missions and branching paths. I think everyone can agree that one of the things that made Star Fox 64 so great was the fact that just about every stage had a hidden secondary mission that, when completed, would change your route and send you on a harder path. This reward system was great. It gave the player incentive to get better at the game and try the harder paths, unlike Star Fox Zero which had a linear path. And if that wasn't incentive enough, Star Fox 64 made it so you could get an extended (and harder) final boss accompanied by a better ending if you always took the harder choice of the two paths given to you. While I'm at it, the short "satellite" missions in Star Fox Zero that were your "reward" for finding the secret path in a stage were boring. This is not how you reward a player for finding secrets.

Number 4: Story. Now I think this might be the hardest thing to do in a sequel to Star Fox Zero as Nintendo hasn't had the best track record when it comes to this series, and because Nintendo completely rebooted the timeline with this game and altered so much (namely the vast change in Venom's size), it might be a bit difficult trying to reintroduce old characters and worlds. But I think I might have a story that could work. Allow me to elaborate. (Keep in mind this treads on Fan-Fiction territory, just bear with me for the moment.)

Set 7-8 years after the events of Star Fox Zero, the few remaining stragglers of Andross's fleet (known as the Venomian Cult) are fleeing from the Cornerian army at the edge of the Lylat System. Believing that Andross is still alive in the alternate dimension he was imprisoned in, Andrew Oikonny (Nephew of Andross and former member of Star Wolf) breaks away from the fleet and researches into an alien artifact called the Warp Stone, an ancient autonomous construct built by the now extinct Krazoa of Sauria, which he believes can open a doorway to that dimension. Some time later, the Star Fox team intercepts a distress signal from Sauria and broadcasts it to Peppy Hare, the new General of the Cornerian Army after Pepper retires. Fearing the worst, Peppy tells them to investigate, but not after having Star Fox enlist two new recruits, Miyu: a lynx; and Fey: a dog (from the cancelled Star Fox 2). After arriving within range of Sauria, the Star Fox team intercepts the being that sent out the distress beacon: A young vixen bounty hunter named Krystal that calls Sauria her home. She explains that a swarm of cybernetic insectoid creatures called Aparoids started pouring out of a portal in the sky shortly after a lone ship landed. Fox and his crew decide to help and thus sets the story in motion.

Now I know this is probably something that might not fit in the new chronology that Nintendo has set up with the reboot of the franchise, but this is just one of many things they could do to reintroduce characters that were erased from the timeline when the canon was reset. They don't have to do this with their next game, I just think this would be a good path they could take. Plus if they did go this route, they could make it so that Andross was assimilated into the Aparoid hive and have the final boss be Andross on the easy path and Andross followed by the Aparoid Queen for the hard path.

Number 5: Game Modes. Hoo boy, this probably made a lot of fans angry when they played Star Fox Zero. The fact that that game had ZERO competitive multiplayer modes, neither local nor online, caused the game's replayability to suffer greatly. This game NEEDS a versus mode in order for it to sustain any kind of life. Here are some examples on how I'd do it.

• Score Attack - First to a specific number of kills wins (Arwing, Gyrowing, Landmaster, up to 16 players when online)
• Dogfight - 3 lives then game over, last pilot alive is the winner (Arwing Only, up to 16 players when online)
• 4v4 - Star Fox VS Star Wolf (Arwing Only, Online Only, must have 8 players to play)
• Warzone - 3 lives then game over, be the last man standing in a 1st-person only tank war (Landmaster Only, up to 16 players when online)
• Ring Race - First to pass through all rings in order wins (Arwing, Gyrowing, Roadmaster, up to 4 players)
• Base Hacker - Whoever has control of the most computer terminals when the timer runs out wins (Gyrowing Only, up to 4 players)
• Bounty Hunters - A handful of enemies spawn hidden on the map and you need to hunt them down, first to a specific score number wins, killing other players penalizes you. (Arwing, Gyrowing, Landmaster, up to 4 players)

These are just a few game styles that could work quite well in the Star Fox series and the fact that Nintendo didn't make a single one for Star Fox Zero is disappointing. Instead, we got some single-player challenge maps. Not bad ones mind you, just underwhelming is all.

Number 6: Bonuses and Extras. If there is one thing that promotes replayability the most, it is usually a bonus of some kind. Star Fox Zero had a couple, but they weren't really all that special. Plus if you had the Fox and/or Falco amiibo, then you didn't even need to attempt to get 100%. In my experience, this is not how you get someone to come back to your game. Yes, Star Fox Zero had an "Arcade Mode" you could unlock where you could go from start to finish in just one go, but that mode should've been the main campaign from the start just like in Star Fox 64. The extras that you get from the two amiibo are nice, but they aren't enough. I think that instead of two new Arwing designs with slightly altered stats, every amiibo should be usable and they should give your vehicles a new paint job based on that figure.

Number 7: Challenges and Collectables. This was by far the most underwhelming portion of Star Fox Zero that I played. Not because they were bad, but because on how they were unlocked. In order to unlock a Challenge Mission, you needed to find and collect medals hidden throughout the stages. Now this is all well and good, but some of these medals were really tedious to collect or were downright unfair. 5 medals per stage is perfectly fine, but there should at least be some consistency on how you find them. Here's what I'd do:

1. Getting a certain number of points by the stage's end (needs to be more fair though, the current system is downright brutal. Remember, this series is played by children too)
2. Keeping all teammates alive
3. Finding 3 specially marked gold rings
4. Beating the stage boss within a specific amount of time
5. Completing the secondary mission to achieve a "Mission Accomplished" at the stage's end

This is consistent, easy to remember, and simple. I didn't really care for finding specific medals that were just hidden throughout the stage. Hide-and-Seek with collectibles does not a good Star Fox game make. You need to earn them.

Final Issue: Something to set it apart from the other games in the series. Besides the Gyrowing (which we already established was implemented poorly), Star Fox Zero really only had one thing going for it, and that was the fact that both the Arwing and the Landmaster could transform into the Walker and the Gravmaster respectively. This is all well and good and I hope to see it again in a future installment of the series, but if Nintendo doesn't take the next game seriously, then I foresee the possible death of this franchise. Now if I remember correctly, each of the past games had something about them to set them apart in the series. The first one was the first console game with full 3D graphics, 64 had the rumble pack, Adventure was an entirely different genre, Assault had a variety of on-foot weapons, and Command was a tactical game. There is one thing that I think might, I repeat MIGHT, be able to shake up the formula enough without completely alienating fans from a true "Star Fox experience" and that is customizable vehicle load-outs. I think giving the player a variety of different laser and bomb types that they can apply to their ship/tank before a mission would bump up the replayability dramatically. It certainly would be a step in the right direction anyway.

Closing Statement

As you can see, there is SO MUCH that can be done to fix this series in the next installment, but unless Nintendo sees this article themselves, the chances of that happening are slim to none. If you agree with the points I made, please share this article as much as you can. Maybe Nintendo will listen if enough people agree with these ideas. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

1. More often than not, when a fan-dev makes a fangame they are showing their appreciation to the company that made the original work. Most of the time they mean no harm in their intentions and just want to show how much they like the game or series that inspired them to make their own with their favorite characters. However sometimes when the fan project gets shut down, it breaks the heart of the fan sometimes even making them think that their favorite game company doesn't care about what the fans think at all.
2. They give potential future game developers a good jumping off point in which they can get into the field of game design, but if the project gets shut down relatively early in its development cycle, it becomes rather dejecting to the fan-dev thinking that game development just isn't for them.
3. Some fangames promote awareness of a franchise or series that might not be selling well or have been neglected by the owners of the original IP. Now this is where things get a little gray. Whether or not if the game gets canned, this still promotes awareness for the series in question. It just happens to work better if the game gets finished first.
4. Fans gain more from the experience of fangames and official works combined than from the official works by themselves. It is actually quite common for a fan to run into a fangame that is of extremely poor quality and makes them appreciate the polish that went into the official series more as a result. But in the event that a fangame is really good, it makes them not only appreciate the original work, but applaud the effort that the fan-dev made to make it as close to the original series as possible and anticipates whether or not if they will make anything original later.
5. Much like video game piracy, fangames WILL happen with or without the IP holder's consent and trying to police this and prevent it from happening is a fruitless effort that not only wouldn't accomplish anything, but would alienate any future game devs from making their own original work down the line.
6. Fan-devs gain more from encouragement than from a cease and desist. It costs nothing to allow them to keep their finished work up for others to play, and more often than not will not affect their sales much if at all. Most fan-devs even encourage the fans that play their games to buy from the original IP holders so as to offset their involvement in making their little project.
7. If a fan-game is good enough, it benefits both parties more if the original IP holders buy the rights to the fan work and/or ask them to port it to a system they regularly develop games for. Non-canonical works by the original IP holders do exist in the video game industry and fangames always fall under this as they have no legal rights to any of the characters, music, assets, etc. that they borrowed from.

Now with the advent of more user friendly game development tools like Unity, Game Maker Pro, RPG Maker, and the upcoming Mystic Searches S.T.A.G.E, it has become much easier for fans to get into game design. So what should the big gaming companies do? First of all the way I see it, STOP BEING SO STRICT. A hundred or so fangames that happen to contain assets from your works is not the end of the world. Your paychecks aren't going to be affected any from a few practice projects. Secondly, if you see one that looks promising, ENCOURAGE THE DEV. A few kind words can go a long way, especially if you can get a profit from it in some way, shape, or form. And lastly (and this is most important), if a popular fangame is of a series that hasn't seen the light of day in over a decade or so, TAKE THE HINT. It's obvious that the fans want that series to come back, but since you're not doing anything with it, they often take matters into their own hands. The only time you should break out the legalese is when a fan-dev is trying to make money off of their game when it contains many assets your company created. This should be done especially if that fan in question happens to work for a rival game company.

Only time will tell if gaming companies like Nintendo will loosen the leash they have on their property. Many gaming companies like Namco, Sega, and Capcom have already become more lenient on these matters, but while this is a step in the right direction, bigger gaming giants like Konami, Square Enix, and Nintendo still need to unclench and treat the fans as fans and not as parasites. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

Condemned: Criminal Origins

Condemned: Criminal Origins or, as I like to call it, "Bum Fighting Simulator 2006" was one of the most unique horror games of its time. Instead of shootouts with ghosts or bare bones melee combat with hellish demons, Condemned opted for something different. Centered around a robust melee combat system, you play as Ethan Thomas, a federal agent trapped in a building with a notorious serial killer and a seemingly infinite amount of insane homeless people. Every hit looks and feels like you're actually hitting somebody in the face with a steel pipe. I wouldn't recommend taking a stroll in downtown L.A. after playing Condemned. You wouldn't want to find yourself in the same situation as Ethan.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Yeah, yeah I know. At this point, Amnesia: The Dark Descent is probably the most overrated horror game, but there's a reason for that. Popularizing flight over fight gameplay, Amnesia: The Dark Descent pitted the player against horribly disfigured monsters in a castle of horrors with no way to defend yourself. On top of that, the player must also monitor their sanity levels and refrain from staying in the dark for too long, entering water, and even looking at the monsters. Certain YouTubers may have ruined the appeal of Amnesia to some people by turning it into a career of grown men screaming like little girls for an audience of 12-year-olds, but the horror and fear factors are genuine. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for its sequel.

Betrayer

Now here's an interesting one. Betrayer is a dark fantasy horror game developed by the lovely folks responsible for No One Lives Forever (1 & 2) and the original F.E.A.R. Shipwrecked on the coast of Virginia in the year 1604, players must adapt or die in a land inhabited by the undead and other ghostly specters. That may not sound all that scary. It's kinda hard to explain, but imagine being Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant except supplement rapist bears and hostile natives with undead warriors and deadly apparitions.

Alchemilla

No list of horror games is complete without at least one mention of a Silent Hill game. Unfortunately, unless you happen to own a physical copy of any of the 4 original games or have your old PS2 lying around, the only way to play an authentic Silent Hill game is to illegally download them from a torrent site (which we do not recommend or condone). Enter the Half-Life 2 mod: Alchemilla, the next best thing. Alchemilla is, more or less, a puzzle mod set within Silent Hill's disturbing world. Can you believe that it took a team of modders to recreate Silent Hill's aesthetics perfectly; something no other professional developer could do after the disbanding of Team Silent? So unless you don't have a copy of the original 4 games and want to feel the magic of Silent Hill one last time, check out Alchemilla.

Slayer Shock

Horror games are one thing, but what game best encompasses the spirit of Halloween the best? That's a subjective question, so my opinion would be Slayer Shock. I've already had the pleasure to have written a review for this underrated gem, so I'll just get right to the point. Imagine someone made a kickass Buffy the Vampire Slayer video game with a surprising amount of depth put into every detail and mechanic included. Then imagine Jack Skellington came to life and produced it. Now that's a Halloween game.

Spooky's Jump Scare Mansion

With a name like that, this is just another YouTube facecam bait game, right? Wrong. Spooky's Jump Scare Mansion is probably the best example of misdirection in a horror game that I've ever seen. Starting off with an introduction from a cute ghost girl, your first spooky encounters will be with child-like ghost cut outs accompanied by loud noises. The player's goal is to survive 1000 rooms of Spooky's mansion. Seems easy enough, especially with an introduction like that, but you'll quickly find the real monsters that lurk in the mansion aren't as cute and friendly. Spooky's Jump Scare Mansion is free on Steam, so you don't really have an excuse to avoid it.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

Did you think you could avoid the early 2000's vampire craze? Well, luckily for you, the boys and girls over at Troika Games were able to put together a "best of" compilation of those dark days. Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines is so good that, even in its broken release state, it's considered to be not only one of the best RPGs ever created, but also one of the best games ever made. So is it a horror game? Is it scary? A horror game, yes. Scary, not so much. There are definitely moments that can make anyone's skin crawl, but they are few and far between to classify it as "scary." Still, the horror vibe is in full effect throughout the entire experience (it is a game about vampires and ghouls after all) and worthy of anyone's time, especially on Halloween.

Outlast

Having the same misfortune as Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Outlast found its mainstream fame from untalented YouTube personalities. Employing a unique "found footage" aesthetic, Outlast also chooses flight over fight gameplay as you try to escape an insane asylum overrun by escaped patients and other anomalies that are best left unspoiled. I've never felt a greater tension than when my only means of seeing in the dark are my handheld camera's night vision mode and the batteries are about to die as I'm being chased by an insane, naked fat man. It also may be a good time to finally play Outlast, if you haven't already, because a sequel is set to release sometime next year.

IMSCARED

I like to think that I'm pretty jaded when it comes to horror in general. It takes a lot of effort for horror in any form of media to actually scare me. IMSCARED was the first game since Silent Hill 3 to genuinely terrify me. Of course, there are unnecessary jump scares, but they are spread out and that isn't even the actual horror of this game. Labeling itself as a "metahorror" experience, IMSCARED will constantly break the fourth wall and make you believe that something is genuinely wrong with your computer. The pixelated art style may turn off some people, but that's the least of your problems when experiencing IMSCARED. Oh, and for the safety of your heart, try not to open strange files on your hard drive after playing IMSCARED.

Of course these ten games aren't the only games you should play on Halloween. There may even be better Halloween-esque games that I've never heard of or just forgot about. The point is: enjoy Halloween however you like. Whether it be staying in and playing videos or going out into the night and experiencing some real life scares. Just remember to play it safe: check your candy before eating it, don't go anywhere with people you aren't familiar or comfortable with, and don't attack the clowns.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

#1: Free Online Play

While this is something that Nintendo has already been doing, it is also something that they need to continue to do. I have personally seen a few friends of mine abandon XBox Live and PlayStation Plus/Now because the subscription costs were starting to drain their wallet dry, and guess where they migrated to as a result? PC, in which they were already paying for internet; and/or Nintendo which has free online as standard. Nintendo, don't let this feature die.

#2: Continued Amiibo Support

This is kind of an obvious one that they should continue as well. With all the amiibo figures that Nintendo has invested gobs of money on for their production, it would be counter-productive for Nintendo to make the Switch incompatible with them. Plus it would make the Switch port of Zelda: Breath of the Wild have less content on it as a result. There is no reason for the Switch to not be amiibo enabled, but I wouldn't completely put it past Nintendo to start from scratch with this system. Keep supporting amiibo, Nintendo.

#3: Joy-Con Mods

Now this is where things get interesting. I think the Joy-Con controllers are fairly decent in design; a bit like having 2 SNES controllers locked sideways onto the sides of a screen. But not too long ago, an interesting piece of concept art made by a rather imaginative fan surfaced in which he suggests that some games could come packaged with unique Joy-Con replacements specific to that game. While Nintendo shouldn't make it so the game can't be played without the custom Joy-Con, it would certainly be one helluva way to reinvent the console gaming scene and I really hope that that concept is more than just a piece of fan-art.

#4: Fair Pricing/Bundling

Now, I understand that a console like this would likely be a bit pricey; Nintendo themselves even said that they weren't going to be selling the system at a loss this time. So how can Nintendo make it appealing enough without reducing the price? I propose that the system's standard pack should come not only with the 2 Joy-Cons, cables, and the dock like Nintendo had already confirmed, but also the Joy-Con Grip accessory and possibly some cheap pre-loaded games and software to show off what the Switch can do. Sell this pack for no more than $419.99 and I wouldn't complain.

#5: No Region Lock

This NEEDS to stop, Nintendo. There is absolutely no reason why your systems have to be region locked and the fact that you keep doing this just makes it harder to enjoy games. Just about anyone can buy a plane ticket so they can go on vacation in another country, but they should not have to pay for another system from said country just so they can play their souvenirs. This makes buying games that they want less enticing because they can't afford the "whole package."

#6: Expandable Data Storage

It has been rumored that the Switch will only have 32GB of storage space. While I'm not pleased about this, Nintendo has been pretty good at allowing their systems to have some kind of expandable storage capacity. Now they did say that it wouldn't be compatible with any kind of usb hard-drive, but micro SD cards are always an option. As far as I know, SDXC cards can go up to 256GB, but I think the 128GB cards are probably the more widely available option. Make it happen, Nintendo.

#7: Enhanced Ports/Compilations

While Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Skyrim Remastered is a good start on this, it is nowhere near good enough. If the Switch is to succeed, it also needs ports of games with all of their DLC pre-installed on the cartridge, and compilations of older games that could benefit from portability or an HD remastering. I would suggest enhanced and/or complete ports of Hyrule Warriors, Super Smash Bros 4, Doom (2016), and both of the 3DS Senran Kagura games; and compilations featuring games that were originally on the Game Cube or Wii.

#8: Better Virtual Console Features

Nintendo obviously wants to keep their classic games alive, otherwise they wouldn't have made Virtual Console. But with the reveal of the NES Classic Edition, people have started to notice that the emulator on it is far superior than what is currently available on the Wii, Wii U, and 3DS. So what needs to be done is Nintendo needs to make emulators that are of equal quality and have the same features and use them for the Switch. And while they're on that, they need to stop making their consumers repurchase all of the games they have already bought. Microsoft and Sony don't do this, so why does Nintendo? I think that if you already have the virtual console games on both Wii U and 3DS, then you should be able to get it for free on the Switch; and if you only have one, discount it. Also, bring back Master System, Mega Drive, Turbografx-16, Commodore 64, and Neo Geo games. Many of those games are awesome and aren't getting the appreciation that they deserve.

#9: Better Marketing

The Wii U's marketing campaign was awful; we all can agree on that. Although, while Nintendo has smartly showed off that the Switch is VERY different in design and feel from the Wii U, there is still that possibility that it could be a repeat of past mistakes. I think a catchy slogan could help boost sales like "Will you make the Switch?" or something like that. The current slogan of "There's no play like it" is good, but I don't think it'll be good enough to sell the Switch. I understand that this is not my area of expertise, but you get the idea. Nintendo needs to advertise the Switch better than the Wii U or otherwise there is the chance that Nintendo could leave the console market altogether.

#10: Connectivity

Connectivity to Wi-Fi and wireless multiplayer are kind of obvious as one is standard in all current gaming systems and the other was shown off in the reveal trailer, but what about the other two systems in Nintendo's arsenal: the Wii U and 3DS? If the Switch is to successfully intermingle with the other two systems that Nintendo has produced, then it needs to be able to talk to them in some way. If Nintendo neglects to implement this feature, then I can expect to see poor long-term system adoption in the future.

The Switch is definitely promising. It obviously needs a strong start, good third party support and good battery life, but I strongly believe that if Nintendo were to implement these suggestions then there might be a better chance at the device's survival. From my experience, hybrid systems need convenience and accessibility in addition to horsepower if they are going to survive long term. Sometimes gimmicks just aren't enough. So until next time, I'll be seeing you.

So what happened to this alleged "middle market?" Well there's a couple of factors that contributed to its inevitable decline. The biggest, and most noteworthy, is the increasingly high cost of developing a video game. There was once a time where you could create a best selling hit with your lunch money. Now, with the advent of photo realistic graphics and the need for marketing, video games are incredibly expensive to develop and market. Games like Destiny and Grand Theft Auto V set records with their astronomical development and marketing budgets. The middle market started experiencing a noticeable decline in around 2009. In 2009, we were well into the PS3 and Xbox 360's lifespan, and that's around the time that video games were becoming "mainstream." What, mainly, appealed to mainstream gamers at that time was graphical fidelity and how many advertisements they saw for said game. If your middle market game couldn't appeal to either of those two things, mainstream gamers wouldn't give you the time of day.

Partially one of the other reasons why the middle market of games is fading away is because of big name reviewers publicly crucifying them. Instead of comparing a middle market game with small budget to a similar middle market game with a small budget, they would compare a middle market game with a small budget to a hyped up AAA game with 20x that budget. Causing gamers to pan said middle market game because it isn't the next Skyrim or Witcher 3, and thus allowing that middle market developer to close their doors because they couldn't turn a profit. "BUT SIMON!" I hear you cry, "you've compared middle market games to AAA games before." The difference? I've only ever compared the strengths of a middle market game to the weaknesses of a AAA game. Which is the only way a review should compare a middle market game to a AAA game. This isn't a two way street. It is absolutely unfair to compare the strengths of a game with a multi-million dollar budget to the weaknesses of a small budget title that's lucky enough to even get onto Steam or consoles.

Now that isn't to say that every middle market game is immediately good just because it's middle market. The same rules of review still apply, but don't go into a game like Bound by Flame and expect Skyrim. Bound by Flame is still a fantastic game, an underrated gem of sorts, but it doesn't have the same scope or graphical fidelity of Skyrim. So it makes up for it with meaningful characters and a deep, tactically based combat system which seamlessly blends with traditional hack and slash gameplay. Along with better writing, RPG elements, armor and weapon customization, enemy variation, and overall combat, but that's an article for another time.

Why is the middle market so important? Because most of the biggest AAA developers today were the middle market developers of yesteryear. Bethesda before Morrowind, Rockstar before Grand Theft Auto 3, and CD Projekt Red before The Witcher 2 were all once unheard of nobodies before they finally made their first breakout hit. Now they're some of the biggest names in the video game industry. Whether or not the quality of each game has dwindled since becoming big name developers is up for debate. The point is everybody started somewhere. No developer just started out as AAA from the get go. Well, nowadays, that's not necessarily true. AAA publishers have really started seeing the potential of indie games. Without naming names, big name publishers will take an indie developer they see potential in under their wing. While there's nothing inherently wrong with that, they've unknowingly created another grey area. Now that indie team has a blank check written to them by a big name publisher as well as the added benefit of said publisher's marketing team. So are they still an indie studio or a new AAA developer? The indie team may still be the same size, but they have the money and marketing of a AAA developer now.

Let's get back on track. Furthermore, the middle market is where you will find the most original games for sale. Indie games are trying to be the next Minecraft without changing much, and AAA games are trying to be the next Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed without changing much. That's because they know those types of games sell and the name of the game is to make money, right? Well yes and no. Of course you have to turn a profit to continue developing games, and money is nice, but is it worth it to sell your soul and originality just to make a quick buck? Ask EA or Ubisoft. Middle market games have found a happy middle ground in this predicament. While it's hard to be completely original when almost every idea has been done to death, middle market developers are at least trying to be original. Not just changing the names of characters or places and tacking on useless mechanics in a vain attempt at "originality." Middle market developers know they can't match the same level of graphical fidelity or scope of story that AAA developers shoot for, so they instead make up for it in other ways such as writing quality or gameplay.

With a title like "The Fall of the Middle Market," you'd think I was implying that the middle market is dead and gone, but that's not true. Even though it's still an endangered species, the middle market is still around. Some of my favorite developers, which are also noteworthy middle market developers, are Spiders and Frogwares. Spiders for their underrated gems such as Mars: War Logs, Bound by Flame, and The Technomancer. And Frogwares for their amazing Sherlock Holmes series of games. Besides both being middle market developers, they have another thing in common. They both have, at one point been under the same publisher: Focus Home Interactive. Focus specializes almost entirely in the middle market, and just browsing through their published games will open you to a world of games you may not have heard of, but will quickly become some of your favorites. Focus Home Interactive aren't the only ones publishing middle market masterpieces. Browse around Steam, or whichever service you prefer, and you'll probably find a world you've been missing out on for years.

Nevertheless, I’d like to start with thanks to novoGamer for allowing me to be here in Taipei, Taiwan! It’s certainly a different than the usual setting in the United States, and it’s very much appreciated. This wouldn’t have been possible without novoGamer funding my trip with the generous fund of $10.53 (I had 53 cents in my pocket). I did, however, run out after the 3 gallons of gas that the fund bought me, so I had to walk across the US and then swim across the Pacific Ocean to Taiwan.

You’ll never know if I’m telling the truth or not, because an alternative is that novoGamer has the funds to fly someone to a convention halfway across the world, and that’s even more unrealistic!

It was a sweltering 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35c) and 60% humidity, which was near unbearable in the pair of jeans I was wearing.

For anyone who’s new, I’d like to extend a warm welcome on behalf of novoGamer and I’d like to remind that novoGamer is USERBASED, meaning that anyone can write an article. It doesn’t have to be a major technology convention; if you find that you want to talk about your favorite game, go for it!

I'm sure you all have already seen online many of the new and interesting things presented at Computex 2016, but of course the most prominent things are those dealing with the cutting edge of the industry. It needs to be remembered that the cutting edge is on both sides of the double-edged sword, so many of the innovations were both ever so useful and there were some odd ones that I couldn’t see much use of having other than just saying you can. Here is a calculator with mechanical keyswitches.

Even with the innovations, there were some common themes that seemed to make their way into several of the exhibits. It seemed like every company wanted to show that they could manipulate a few set technologies, with their own spin on it all.

Probably the number one thing I would list would be customizability. A lot of little things fall under this, stuff I'd noticed that were meant to be relatively easy for the average PC consumer to add to their PC build to make it theirs. There was a lot of RGB RAM, RGB case fans, RGB graphics cards. Lots of different cases stressing modularity and creativity. be quiet! had a case with features like a removable motherboard tray weirdly enough. It was remarked as "Most Modular Case Ever??" in LinusTechTips' video, found here.

Something that truly added to the theme of customization was the use of 3D printing in many of the builds. As not everyone has access to a 3D printer, it seemed like it was all 'just the cherry on top', but likely a lovely addition for avid case modders. MSI had a slot on their gaming orientated motherboards to slip a 3D printed plate into it, which could fit your name or maybe a cool little logo. A game quote, perhaps? Cooler Master, who deserve their own articleon their creativity, had a place to mount 3D printed designs on to the CPU heatsink. How cool is that?!

Closeups on Cooler Master's 3D printed CPU heatsink covers. As you can see, the possibilities are quite endless.

In the following weeks, I'll post articles about notable events at Computex 2016, from Cooler Master's awesome booth to case fans submersible in water to some of the masterfully modded custom cases that were showcased everywhere.

Finally, I'd like to thank the guys at nG again for helping me get access to this great event!

EarthBound Trilogy HD

No matter what forum or gaming site I visit, the one game I've seen that everyone wants on Virtual Console is Mother 3, and to tell you the truth, I'm one of them. I've played through the fan translation in its entirety and I loved it. But don't think that a Virtual Console release is what we need. Because the fan translation patch is already readily available to the public for free, I propose that a collection of all 3 Mother & EarthBound games redone with HD graphics would be the best way to go. It would breath new life into a series that had been neglected for such a long time.

Metroid Prime 4

We desperately need a proper new Metroid game, I think we can all agree on that. Now I'm not saying that Federation Force was bad; I actually enjoyed that game quite a bit. But I do think we need a new entry in the series where you play as Samus. There is so much that can be done with the game on the Switch, especially since both Prime 3 and Federation Force ended in a way that alluded to the enemy hunter, Sylux. I would think that if Prime 4 were made, you could have the ability to switch between the two characters and they would each have their own unique abilities and story line. Just a thought.

Hyrule Warriors Complete Edition

Hyrule Warriors was a helluva lot of fun despite its simplistic gameplay, but I think that Hyrule Warriors Legends on the 3DS was a little lackluster compared to the Wii U version. I think that combining all the features, content, and DLC of both games and releasing it on the Switch would make for a great collectors pack. But then again, since it would technically be the third iteration of the same game, I think a "casual mode" where you gain rupees, materials and EXP at a greatly accelerated rate would make the game much more enjoyable for those that lack the time to do all of that grinding.

Super Smash Bros for Switch

This situation would be similar to the Hyrule Warriors idea from the previous paragraph, but since both the 3DS and Wii U versions of Smash have vastly different content, I propose that having all of the characters, most of all the stages (with obvious duplicates removed), both Smash Tour and Smash Run, and the inclusion of Tag-Team Battles. And while we're at it, maybe bring back the Ice Climbers and Wolf. I was understanding of Ice Climbers being removed, but I was a little shocked that Wolf never came back.

Final Fantasy Hexology

This is another collection much like the EarthBound one I said earlier, but unlike EarthBound this wouldn't require a lot of work to do as the HD remakes already exist. Now the "hexology" I'm referring to is the first 6 Final Fantasy games on the NES and SNES which to my knowledge were all remade for iOS and PC in some form. Just port all of those to Switch and sell it for $40-50 and you're set.

Super Nintendo Land

I'm probably one of the few people that wished that Nintendo would make a sequel to Nintendo Land. The game was fun, so sue me. But as fun as it was, it was kinda lacking in the variety department. So I think a "deluxe" version of the game that has a few more attractions based around other games like Splatoon or Star Fox would probably make the experience more enjoyable in the long run. I personally think there should be around 20 attractions total, even if that means recycling the ones from the previous game.

Bayonetta 3

THIS NEEDS TO HAPPEN. This series is criminally underrated and has been the subject of a lot of unnecessary backlash because people can't handle how the main character looks or acts. But the thing is, the series is one of the most fun, most polished games I've played in a very long time. And since the Switch seems to have a minor focus on paid online play, I think the online multiplayer this time around should be a MOBA of sorts where you make and customize your own Umbran Witch/Lumen Sage and play as them during the great war that happened 500+ years before the series starts.

Kirby Air Ride 2

Kirby Air Ride for the Game Cube was one of the most fun and most replayable racing games I ever owned. There was so much to do despite how little there was actually in the game. Now since the original game had a lot of focus around randomly selected events and challenges, I think a sequel could amp that up quite significantly if they also made the City Trial map and the race courses procedurally generated as well. And of course add more characters, air ride machines, and challenges as well.

Pokken Tournament Deluxe

I really liked the original Pokken; it gave me and a lot pokemon fans what we've been asking for for years. But I am a little disappointed that ONLY the arcade version of the game had been updated with 4 more characters since the release of the Wii U version. So I think the game needs to have a rerelease on the Switch with all of these new characters available, and maybe 3-6 new characters and a tag-team game mode to make it more worth your money to double dip.

Digilux: The Complete Art Style & Bit Generations Collection

I may like my fair share of difficult and challenging games, but that doesn't mean I don't want to kick back and relax with a simple game every once in a while. That's why I think a compilation of all the games from the Art Style and Bit Generation series would be perfect. These games have all but fallen completely off the radar in the past 7 years and I think a revival is in order. There's 15 games in these series each with their own gameplay styles and some of them even have multiplayer game modes; they would be perfect. (By the way, if you're curious about the name Digilux, it was a prototype name that Nintendo was originally going use before Art Style)

Well, those are my opinions on the matter. The Switch has a lot of promise for a great lineup of games, but only time will tell if devs will take advantage of the system's features. While just about none of these game ideas of mine actually do that, they are desperately needed regardless of what features they lack for the new system, even though this is just wishful thinking for me. So until then, I'll be seeing you.

#1: Competitively Weaker

When the Wii U launched back in November of 2012, it was shown to have specs that would out-perform that of the PS3. Unfortunately as impressive as those specs were, they would ultimately be outclassed by the PS4 and XBox One in the following year thus once again making Nintendo irrelevant in the competitive gaming scene, which is a shame because that is exactly what Nintendo was trying to do this time around. They were hoping that they could recapture some of the core gamers that they lost during the Wii era, but they unfortunately failed when they introduced reason number 2 on this list...

#2: The Gamepad

I'd never thought I'd say this, but if Nintendo wanted to recapture their old audience, the gamepad was definitely the wrong approach. It's bulky, it has a short battery life (compared to a traditional controller), it's expensive to replace, and only one gamepad can be linked to the console at any one time. Most core gamers don't care about hardware gimmicks when playing a game. They usually just want to play with a simple controller that has 2 analog sticks, a D-pad, 4-6 face buttons and 4 shoulder buttons. That controller design has been around long enough that tampering with that formula too much is guaranteed to cause some backlash, be it minor or (in the case of the Wii U) severe. Now I love the gamepad and it definitely has its moments, but it is best suited for more casual or party-type games.

#3: Advertising

Now those two things could've have been fine by themselves and it might even have made the Wii U sell well, if not for the fact that they were coupled with such terrible advertising. No matter where I looked, people were confused or angry on what exactly the Wii U was. They were outraged because they thought would be paying $300-350 for a fancy controller, not a console; they were displeased at the system's name exclaiming that it was idiotic and/or childish; they believed that the gimmick of the gamepad was unnecessary and a waste of space and money; and other similar complaints. Nintendo's ad department obviously made some mistakes and they tried to fix them as quickly as they could, but the damage had already been done. The Wii U would henceforth be known as Nintendo's worst selling home console due to their little screw-up.

These three problems by themselves could have been fine if it was just one of them on their own, but the fact that the Wii U had all three of these conundrums playing in conjunction with each other made it the perfect storm for failure. If you want my opinion on what Nintendo should've done; they needed to make the console's specs equal to that of at least the XBox One and have it packaged with the Wii U Pro Controller as standard. Then if it sold well enough, they can follow up with the Game Pad and compatible games as an add-on. But in retrospect, hindsight is 20/20. Hopefully Nintendo learns from these mistakes before the NX launches next year. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

(Only creatures that are non-playable in their source game are eligible for this list. Also, please keep in mind that my opinions may or may not reflect your own, this list is entirely biased)

Lumas from Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2

Pikmin

LocoRoco

Slimes from the Dragon Quest Series

Tamagotchi

Chao from the Sonic the Hedgehog series

Chocobo from the Final Fantasy series

Pichu from the Pokémon series

Nintendogs

Lynians from the Monster Hunter series

Ahem...Well that was my list. If you disagree with my choices, tell me why in the comments and what you would have chosen instead. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to take a sledgehammer to a shed wall in order to reclaim my manliness. Until next time, I'll be seeing you.

Honorable Mention: Viva Piñata

I would've included at least one piñata from this game in the list if it wasn't for the fact that all of them in the game are pretty much equal in cuteness, but only in large numbers. It wouldn't have been fair to just choose one.

Graphics

Now the DS version released in late 2007 was much different as it has fully polygonal characters, enemies, and environments which made everything feel much more alive and vibrant. Plus it allowed for much more detailed character animation which was shown quite prominently from the game's many dancers scattered around the world's many towns and kingdoms (I'm quite partial to the City of Troia myself). Overall, the DS version a much better visual treat than the SNES version.

Music

If Final Fantasy's spinoff series Theatrhythm has shown anything, then the music is just as iconic as everything else in the game. The music in the SNES version is especially good, ranging from atmospheric, to intense, to melancholy and even climactic. It certainly does its job considering the hardware limitations imposed by the console's specifications.

The DS version however is honestly not much different. Aside from having some slightly better audio files for the game's midi tracks, the music is virtually identical. There are a couple of songs in the game where the music is noticeably higher quality than its SNES counterpart (Most noticeably Fabul Castle) which is I guess a pretty nice bonus if you happen to remember what the orginal sounded like. All in all, I'd say the DS version wins this category, but not by much.

Translation

Now because the DS had a much more memory, a more accurate and faithful translation of the original story could be used in the game allowing for a much better understanding of the plot which was also accompanied by cut-scenes with stellar voice acting. In addition to this, more of the story that had been left on the cutting room floor during the SNES version's development period was able to be re-added allowing for even more back story to be told on the game's antagonist, Golbez. Gonna have to give the scoring point to the DS version here.

Gameplay

Now if you want a REAL challenge, the DS version is where it's at. The enemies are much more threatening and items and characters can actually be customized further to better suit your needs. The boss battles are also require much more thought involved as well as many of them either counter half of what you throw at them, or they they are immune to everything else. Also, exclusive to the DS version are special side missions with Namingway, and a special little Eidolon that you can also customize and have fight in place of your summoner, Rydia. This Eidolon can be trained to become stronger through minigames that are played with the touch screen and can also be used in a special one-on-one battle mode with another player a la Pokemon. The DS version is definitely the way to go here.

Overall

The DS version is hands down the winner of this contest. It just has so much more to offer than the original and it really shows. While the SNES version has a special place in my heart, it just can't hold a candle to this exceptionally well made remake. Plus, since it is a DS game, it can be played on 3DS systems without any problem. Don't have a 3DS either? Well there is also a PC version available that is basically the same version as the DS one, minus the special Eidolon and the associated minigames. Not really a big loss, but I like to have my games with as much content as possible. Maybe you do too, who knows? But until then, I'll see you next time.

SNES Score:

DS Score:

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Darklight249/saved/P...

We'll start with a "Gamer" tier AMD PC. It's powered by an AMD FX-6350 clocked at just under 4 Ghz and has 6 cores. It's cooled by the tried and tested Cooler-Master 212 EVO. I run one of these in my toaster of a PC and it hasn't failed me in years. Next we have two 4GB sticks of Corsair Vengeance RAM with a speed of 1600mHz. With all this gear, we need something to mount it to and that would be the MSI 970 Gaming Motherboard. With support for up to 32gb of DDR3 RAM (more than you'll ever need) and crossfire support this will work great for small upgrades. Making our games look bad-ass is an XFX R9 380 video card running at 990 mHz and 4gb of GDDR5 Memory this will be more than enough for most current games to play with decent frames on the higher settings. For the operating system and basic software we have a SanDisk Z400s 128 GB SSD, with its blazing speeds and decent storage at this price point it is perfect for a $750 build. And, of course, for all your games, music and 100% legitimately bought movies is a trustworthy and reliable WD Blue 1TB hard drive at a speed of 7200 RPM. To power all of this is a Corsair RM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Power Supply, and with modular cables your PC will be easy to manage and nicer to look at, and finally holding this all together is a Corsair SPEC-02, with plenty of space for upgrades and compatibility with corsair all-in-one water coolers and multiple other company coolers this will work perfect for multiple upgrades to come, and all of this for just $740!

"Paladin" - Intel and nVidia $900 USD Build

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Darklight249/saved/Z...

Next is the "Gamer" tier Intel/nVidia build I dubbed the Paladin, as to contrast the AMD Devil and to make the point that this thing is really really white and nice looking. Seriously, with its' blindingly white and highly modular NZXT H230 and it's equally blinding but super-reliable 8GB of Kingston HyperX Fury Memory this thing lives up to its title. The i5-4690 from Intel runs this beauty at 3.5 Ghz and 4 cores your computer will run like a breeze. Talking about a breeze, keeping this cool is the Cooler-Master 212 EVO once more. This cooler is just too good to ditch, with its' great price and reliability it will keep your CPU from melting under some of the most intensive conditions (assuming you don't overclock it). Holding this all together is a MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition Motherboard, and other than its' stunning color scheme it blows the competition away with SLi capabilities and support of up to 32 GB of DDR3 (once again, more than you'll ever need). An MSi GTX 960 OC Edition is the video card of choice with this build, with 3.5GB of GDDR5 Memory and a core clock of 1.1 GHz this will run most games at high without a problem. Holding your OS is a 120GB A-Data Premier SSD and your precious, precious library of cat memes and steam games is the WD Blue 1TB HDD once more. And now, finally, powering this thing with juice is a 500W Silencer Mk III from PC Power and Cooling, with a 80+ Bronze certification this thing won't literally toast the components of your build. At $907 USD, this PC costs more than the Devil, but with the undeniable benefits of NVidia software and smoother sailing with an intel CPU, to some the extra $150 is worth it.


"Toaster" - mATX $1650 USD Build

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Darklight249/saved/f..

Now, despite the hot name this thing is anything but a toaster, with a Antec KUHLER H2O 650 Liquid Cooler to keep the 4 GHz Quad-Core i7-4790k processor from melting and a water-cooled XFX Fury X and its' 4GB of cutting-edge HBM Memory to keep it chugging along at 1.05 GHz nice and smoothly. Connecting the dots is the \r \r \r \r \r Asus H97M-E motherboard with support for 32 GB of DDR3 (still, more than you'll ever need) and basic CrossFire/SLi capabilities. Two 8GB sticks of Kingston HyperX FURY Memory running at 1600 mHz keep the machine running smoothly even with Google Chrome open, and with a 120gb Intel 530 Series SSD for the OS as well as the reliable and sturdy WD Black 1TB HDD you will never lose data again. A 550W Fractal Design Tegra M is what powers this box of goodies and to hold it all together the small but sturdy and highly modular \r \r \r \r \r BitFenix Prodigy M. With a total cost of $1650 this is for the gamer/enthusiast who really wants a great portable monster of a PC.

This is only the first part of two, be sure to come back see the enthusiast builds and the almighty BEAST!

We all love drinking expensive perks to help us slay endless rounds zombies, right? Well let's learn a little about some of them. There is currently a total of 12 perks in the Call of Duty zombies universe. Here is a list of the 5 perks are a complete waste of your points and should be avoided each game.

5. MULE KICK

4. DEADSHOT DAIQUIRI

3. DOUBLE TAP 1.0

Want to shoot your weapon twice as fast? Well you can't with Double Tap. Double Tap increases the player's rate of fire by only 33%. Additionally, it increases the weapon's recoil. This can make it extremely hard to control submachine guns and other types of weapons. The main problem with Double Tap 1.0 is that is is the ultimate ammo waster. On low rounds of zombies, Double Tap wastes ammo like no other because the zombies' health is too low. Once players get to higher rounds the perks doesn't seem all that bad, or at least until you pack-a-punch. Pack-a-punching a weapon with the Double Tap perk is like buying an express ticket to no ammunition. Because pack-a-punching a weapon also increases the weapon's rate of fire, adding Double Tap makes the weapon extremely hard to control. The perk only costs 2000 points so it doesn't necessarily break the bank but it will definitely break your ammo supply. Side Note: Double Tap 1.0 was so bad that Treyarch removed it from the game and replaced it with Double Tap 2.0. This new perk can be found in any zombie map in Black Ops II and newer. Double Tap 2.0 fires two shots at the cost of one. Dealing double damage, assuming both shots hit the zombie. Ultimately what it comes down to is, is the Double Tap machine 1.0 or 2.0. Avoid Double Tap 1.0 at all costs. However drink up Double Tap 2.0 and I assure you that you will have a good time.

2. Who's Who

Who's Who? I don't know!! This perk is more confusing than its name. What the Who's Who perk does is once the player goes down, a clone of the player will spawn with the starting pistol and then they have to revive the original player. If the player went down in the first place, how do people expect the new clone player to revive his original self with just the starting pistol. Usually what happens is the clone goes to revive the original downed player and then ends up going down himself. This is where things get confusing (if they haven't gotten confusing already). Once the clone and the original player are both down, your teammates must revive the original player AND the clone. This is because who's who? We do not know which is the original player and which is the clone!! This perk costs 2000 points and can only be found on the map Die Rise (I wonder why). The only good thing about the Who's Who perk is that if a player successfully manages to revive himself, he keeps all of his perks (minus the Who's Who perk). In the end, just avoid all of the confusion and save the 2000 points to spend on a more useful and reliable perk.

1. Tombstone Soda

Tombstone Soda is hands down the worst perk in any zombies map. This perk gives the player a bleed-out option once they are downed. If the player chooses this, a tombstone drop will spawn at the location of their death. Once the player respawns at the start of the next round, they can run to the location of their death and pick up the tombstone drop to receive all weapons and perks (minus the tombstone perk). What makes this perk so bad is the fact that it provides the player with an incentive to kill themselves and let their teammates fend for themselves. Players say, "No!!! don't revive me, I want my stuff back." This player greed ruins the zombie experience and literally screws over your teammates. The perk costs 2000 points and only appears in the map Tranzit. So, maybe Treyarch got the hint that this perk is absolutely terrible. Ironically, Tombstone Soda cannot be bought in solo...

Thanks for reading my thoughts on the top 5 WORST perks in zombies. Disagree with my choices for top 5 WORST perks? Post a comment of your top 5 worst perks or post on my twitter @UwwGaming. Subscribe for more top 5 and look forward to the next article on top 5 BEST perks in Call of Duty Zombies. My YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF1BVKVnGbnZNwItl...

#1: Gallade

Gallade is the male equivalent of the effeminate Gardevoir, but unlike her whose design is based on a ballroom dancer, his overall design appears to be based on sword dancers and samurais. I think a fighter of this type could be a very nice speedy combatant that combines psychic blasts with twirling sword strikes and capoeira like dancing.

#2: Tyranitar

When I saw Garchomp as a playable fighter, I immediately thought of the kaiju Gigan, and because of this, I think Tyranitar who was likely inspired by Godzilla would compliment Garchomp quite nicely. A slow, powerful, tank of a pokemon like that would really add some unusual fighting strategies, especially since most pokemon in the game are pretty quick or rapid-hitters. Just give it Hyper Beam and it would be the perfect Godzilla clone.

#3: Zoroark

Now this pokemon would certainly make for an interesting fighter. Zoroark can use illusions to disguise itself to look like other pokemon, but once it uses its first attack, its illusion is broken. What I think could work with it would be a very technical fighter that would be something similar to Shang Tsung from Mortal Kombat, but with a few specific special moves instead of just transforming into a different pokemon. It's not Ditto after all.

#4: Greninja

Super Smash Bros anyone? Greninja certainly stole the show when it was announced for Smash Bros back in 2014, probably because everyone thought it was actually Mewtwo, but that's beside the point. Considering that it was the only generation 6 pokemon that made it into Smash as a playable character, it makes me wonder why it wasn't considered for Pokken. I think Greninja would make for a very speedy fighter and since there is only one other Water-type fighter in the game, I think it could add some much needed variety.

#5: Heracross

For some reason, there aren't any Bug-type pokemon in this game and that genuinely confuses me. Although, out of all of the bugs in Pokemon, only a fraction really stand out and Heracross is probably the most iconic of them. Since it changes into an entirely different type of beetle when it mega evolves, it could have an entirely different fighting style for burst mode. Definitely could be a fan favorite if executed properly.

#6: Hawlucha

I'm pretty sure everyone would have preferred this pokemon over Pikachu Libre anyway. Being both Fighting and Flying types, it could have a very aerial-based fighting style that could also be inspired by professional wrestling. The wrestling aspect about it could also lend itself to a good selection of grappling moves that could open itself to a more technical close ranged battle strategy.

#7: Swampert

Come on people. Pokken has both Blaziken AND Sceptile, but no Swampert? I was honestly a little disappointed by this. Swampert is a beast of a fighter being both Water and Ground types, and the fact that there aren't any Ground-type pokemon outside of Garchomp would allow it for more visual appeal with moves like Muddy Water, Mud Shot, and Mud Bomb. Plus it would fill in the emptiness regarding Water-type fighters as well.

#8: Meowth

Considering how long the TV series has been going on, it was quite the surprise that Meowth was missing from this game in its entirety. Even though he's a Normal-type pokemon, I feel that he could make for a rather silly fighter that takes his moves from the traps that he and Team Rocket have tried to use to capture Pikachu in the show. Plus he of course could use his species signature move Pay Day to round out his moveset a bit more.

#9: Hitmonchan

Yet another pokemon that I'm sure that everyone wanted in the game because of how obvious he would fit in, but that's because HE'S A WRECKING MACHINE! Why didn't Namco even think of this? Hitmonchan is a natural born pugilist and would fit perfectly within the game's narrative. He's strong, nimble, and can take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. Maybe he'll be one of the first new characters to be added if DLC is confirmed? Who knows.

#10: Abomasnow

Bet you weren't expecting this one were ya? Well you see by my logic, I want to see pokemon that have type combinations that are unusual, and can synergize well on the battlefield. Since Abomasnow is both Grass and Ice types, it can offer an unusual and creative moveset that can take advantage of freezing plant-based attacks to create environmental hazards or by creating makeshift weapons. Plus it can mega evolve, so there's that bonus.

#11: Kangaskhan

Betting you weren't expecting this one either, but hear me out on this. By itself Kangaskhan is pretty generic in terms of move selection in the main games, BUT when it mega evolves, the young one in its pouch jumps out and fights as well. THIS is what I think could be used for its fighting style in the game. It could be pretty slow and generic to start with, but it could charge its burst meter more quickly than the other pokemon allowing it to go into burst mode sooner and fight with a partner. Could DEFINITELY make for an interesting technical fighter.

#12: Genesect

The Team Plasma equivalent to Team Rocket's Mewtwo, and in my opinion, equally cool. A heavily modified Steel/Bug-type with a giant modular laser cannon on its back. This cannon gives it a ton of power that would otherwise be unavailable to it, and its attack type changes depending on which disk is installed into it. This disk-swapping mechanic could theoretically give it a pretty good selection of moves that could mix up fighting strategies quite significantly.

#13: Deoxys

A pokemon like Deoxys that is capable of changing forms each of which that is designed for combat? You bet your ass that it should be in this game; it could probably be a potential boss fighter as well. Because it has four different forms, each based on Normal, Attack, Defense, and Speed-based skills, it could be all four fighting traits as well being Normal, Power, Technical, and Speed respectively. And if it were to be an easy fighter to learn, I think shifting between forms at the press of a button would be the best way to go.

#14: Lopunny

As much as I hate to admit it, if there were to be a fighter based around a kick-boxing style of combat, I think Lopunny would be a much better choice than Hitmonlee. It offers a more unique look about it and it becomes more combat oriented when it mega evolves. Plus it would probably help the non-existent "gender ratio" for the game because of its feminine appearance. You gotta hit all those points for the fans after all.

#15: Hydreigon

Probably one of my favorite fifth generation pokemon, Hydreigon is a monster on the battlefield. Not only is it a Dark/Dragon-type, it looks like a more evil version of King Ghidorah. Plus it can learn one of my favorite attacks that so few pokemon can learn, Tri-Attack. This could be one of the more powerful Power-Based fighters in the game if done correctly, but only time will tell if Namco will actually add more characters to the roster.

Well, that's my list folks, if you disagree with my choices, tell me why in the comments and what you would have chosen instead. Until then, I'll be seeing you.

So why would anybody be against a certain community being represented in a videogame? It's hard to actually discuss this topic without slurs being thrown around like "homophobic" or "transphobic." Which may or may not be true for whoever is against the inclusion of LGBT characters, but just like everything else, there is validity in both arguments. So I suppose this is where I play devil's advocate.

While there isn't anything inherently wrong with LGBT characters in games, it's why developers include them and how. Do you have friends that are apart of the LGBT community? Do they have any other personality traits besides what genitalia they prefer? Not everyone answered yes to the first question, but those who did should have answered yes to the second one as well.

Problem #1 with including LGBT characters in videogames: developers have shown they are beyond incompetent in doing so. Whether it's a problem with preconceived notions or the lack of care, developers seem to think that gay and/or transgendered people exist solely to tell the world what their sexual orientation is and what gender they identify as. There have been a many games over the years that have included LGBT characters, but only a handful of those games have done them any justice.

For example, Mass Effect 3; a game nobody likes for different reasons. Mass Effect is an RPG series, so no one should bat an eye when the player is able to romance members of the same sex. The problem doesn't arise until you meet Steve Cortez, professional homosexual. Or at least that's how Bioware was trying to pitch him to the player. Not even five dialogue choices into meeting this man and he's already telling you his entire homosexual background including the fact that he had a husband. There was nothing wrong with him telling the player off hand that he had a husband, but it becomes so tiring when he will constantly remind the player that he is gay for the entirety of Mass Effect 3.

That is not natural for any human being to act, even if they're gay. It wouldn't have been natural if he were straight and had to constantly remind the player about how he had a wife and how much he just loves female genitalia either.

Bioware are probably the worst offenders when it comes to how not to include LGBT characters in games. Even Dragon Age wasn't safe from that. Anybody who has played the Dragon Age series since its original outing knows of the heavily retconned race, the Qunari. Throughout Dragon Age: Inquisition, the player is constantly reminded by characters of the Qunari race that it is incredibly honorable for them to be transgendered. Again, there isn't anything wrong with that if you had asked a Qunari details about their culture, but Bioware keep going out of their way to tell the player about how honorable and brave it is to be transgendered. Are we playing a fantasy RPG or a social justice RPG?

So which developers have done LGBT characters justice? That's a short list, but let's focus mainly on Naughty Dog and Obsidian Entertainment. The Last of Us, for example, was one of the best games to feature LGBT characters. About halfway through the game, the player encounters Bill, a former ally of Joel who happens to be gay, but never once is it forced down your throat that he is gay. Bill was an interesting character that showed the possible psychological effects on a survivor living in a post-apocalyptic world. When Bill temporarily joins you on your travels, he mentions that he once had a "partner." At this point, that doesn't really mean much because "partner" could just mean that he allied himself with someone who helped him out, but you later find out that he truly was in a relationship with his partner when you find him dead with a note hinting at their previous romance. And that's it. Bill was a well written character that happened to be gay. Thank you, Naughty Dog.

Fallout: New Vegas, arguably Obsidian's most popular game, also had LGBT characters. Most notably, Arcade Gannon; a possible companion for the player. Arcade has quite an interesting backstory and family history that isn't told to the player unless they go through optional dialogue paths to find out, and one of the things you learn about this companion is that he's gay. Of course, like any good character, he doesn't just shout this out of nowhere. You have to get to know him first before he tells you, and he isn't exactly afraid to either. He's fairly open about it when you ask him, but he's smart enough (well written enough) not to randomly tell you while you're both getting shot at by Super Mutants. Thank you, Obsidian.

Now what does it mean to include LGBT characters "properly?" It's simple because it's no different than making any other fictional character seem real. Create a realistically written character that happens to be apart of the LGBT community. People in the LGBT community are no different than any other human being. Their personalities don't solely revolve around the fact that they prefer different genitalia than heterosexuals and/or their gender identities happens to be different than CIS gendered people. Just like how the personalities of people not apart of the LGBT community don't revolve solely around their CIS gendered heterosexualaity.

Problem #2 with including LGBT characters in videogames: developers will sometimes only include LGBT characters for their own personal gain. Some say you should separate the art from the artist, but that can be a difficult task when ideals that the developer doesn't even necessarily believe in are shoved down your throat. It's one thing to take a stand on an issue that you genuinely believe in, but it's another to falsely take a stand for your own personal benefit.

This problems also causes a divide in morality. Developers that contribute to problem #1 at least have their hearts in the right place. Typically they genuinely feel like the LGBT community is underrepresented in video games so they go out of their way to try and fix that. They usually end up making things worse, but they do it with good intentions. Developers contributing to problem #2, on the other hand, only care about themselves and how they look. Allow me to explain. It's obvious that in recent years being politically correct whilst having progressive ideals and morals has become trendy. This trend persists into different mediums as well. Possibly the latest medium for this trend to arrive in are video games. Now on social media and in news outlets, the more progressive you act, the better the person you are (according to them). It's an odd fad that many people still fall for.

Often times it's fairly obvious to see that certain developers don't really care about the LGBT community. The inclusion of those types of characters in games made by these types of developers only exist so the developer can say, "Hey, look at me! Aren't I so progressive!? I'm way ahead of the times compared to these Neanderthals. Buy my next game!"

Like I said, not all developers are like this, but there are so many that are that it becomes hard to tell. You could take a glance at their social media accounts and see what they're whining about now, but that's unfair to them because, like I said, some developers truly do care about LGBT rights and inclusion. The developers contributing to problem #2 have now made it harder to include LGBT characters without gamers becoming upset because of their own selfish vanity.

Now let's wrap this up with a nice bow before I upset anyone else. Of course, in a perfect world, it would be nice to include people of all gender and sexual identities, but due to the nature of human fallibility, we can't live in that world. Developers that continue to contribute to the two aforementioned problems will never see the regular inclusion of LGBT characters in videogames because they've turned the very thought of including those types of characters sour in many gamers' minds. Are there some people that just irrationally hate the thought of anything LGBT related in video games? Of course, but you need not worry about them because all they can do is complain on anonymous image boards. Yet that still isn't the problem that needs to be addressed. There will always be bigotry and hatred in the world, but the developers that include LGBT characters incorrectly or for all the wrong reasons are only making it harder for everybody else.

#1: More/Better Free-to-Start amiibo-Powered games

Nintendo has already done something like this once in the past with amiibo Tap on the Wii U (which I also reviewed), but I feel that it while it works on paper, the overall execution in amiibo Tap is somewhat flawed. In order to fully optimize the functionality of the amiibos, actual games that require amiibo to play need to be made, and I'm not talking like Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival or the amiibo Party game mode in Mario Party 10. I think games like Skylanders and League of Legends could provide inspiration for future free-to-start amiibo-powered games that would actually be worth taking a gander at.

#2: Cross Series/Cross Franchise Data Transfer

With the announcement that the Wolf Link amiibo that will come packaged with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD can use its saved data to do something special with the currently untitled Wii U Zelda game, it got me thinking, "Why Nintendo hasn't done anything like this sooner?" By saving data from one game onto an amiibo and using that data to directly influence another game in the same series or even an entirely separate franchise, it could open up many more customization ideas during gameplay. Imagine if you will a special area in one game that cannot be entered unless you do something in another and save that information onto a compatible amiibo, then you take that saved info and present it in the first game to open up the path. A remake of The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages/Seasons could benefit greatly from this as the bonus missions unlocked from linked play were a real pain in the butt due to its inane password system. Amiibo data transference could solve this problem and that data could be used again in a future game to unlock a bonus later down the line. You know, as an example.

#3: Optional Gameplay Modifiers

I think I speak for everyone when I say that sometimes a little help in certain games is welcome, so when a game suddenly gets too difficult for you to complete it under your own power, where does that leave you? Frustrated, tired, and irritable, with a slowly growing level of seething rage. This is why many games used to have cheat codes in the late 80's and early 90's, but since that trend seems to have all but completely vanished, I propose that amiibo step up to take its place. Kirby & The Rainbow Curse on the Wii U already does something like this with the Kirby, King DeDeDe, and Meta Knight amiibo from the Super Smash Bros set. Scanning one of these amiibo into the game gives you a little boost to help you through a particularly difficult stage, but only once per day. Drop the once per day limit and this could be a very nice alternative to the all but forgotten cheat codes of yore.

#4: More/Better Bonus Content

Everyone loves bonuses in games. It gives you reason to keep playing or to come back to a game after its been finished. So why not make it so that even better bonuses could be unlocked through amiibo? Splatoon has something like this already, but I am talking about something a bit more extravagant. I think some future games should have special versions of NES games that can only be unlocked through scanning an amiibo. Super Mario 3D World kinda already did this once as well where if you have save data of New Super Luigi U saved onto the system's hard drive, you would unlock a special version of Mario Bros that has Luigi as both player 1 and 2. Nintendo definitely needs to do more of this.

#5: Card "Sets"

Amiibo figures are a bit pricey; there's no doubting that. But with the recent introduction of the Animal Crossing amiibo cards, it got me thinking why Nintendo hasn't offered whole card sets as an alternative to the figures yet? The Animal Crossing cards may be sold in booster packs, but I figure that whole decks that would encompass the entire series would make it much more affordable for non-collectors. Here's an example: if they sold them at the same price as the Animal Crossing cards, you could theoretically get all 58 amiibo for Super Smash Bros for less than $60. The only real downside to this is that the cards are much more fragile compared to the figures, and aren't nearly as stunning as them either.

#6: More/Better Figure Bundles

This one is pretty self explanatory. While Nintendo already does this, they need to do it more. Bundle packs of figures sold at a discounted price make it more worth the buyer's time to go out of their way to purchase a few, especially if it is some that they genuinely want. As an example, I think a double pack of Lucas and Ness from the EarthBound series with a $20 price tag would be a fair deal and a triple pack of Kirby, King DeDeDe, and Meta Knight for around $30 would also be pretty fair. Make it happen, Nintendo!

#7: Card "Games"

Amiibo cards are definitely a good idea by itself, but like the figures they don't really have much use outside of the games besides looking pretty. So I propose that "non video game" games be made that can take advantage of the cards. The Animal Crossing amiibo card series already has a good start to this already by having dice numbers and Rock-Paper-Scissors symbols on the cards themselves, but it seems they can only be used in the mini games in Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival. We just need board games and/or rules that can use them properly outside of the video games they're compatible with, and maybe even a board game bundle that comes with a bunch of cards as well. And while we're at it, Pokemon TCG amiibo cards would also be pretty cool.

#8: Multiple Profiles

As useful as the data save feature on amiibo is, it can only save data from one game. That means if you want to use that amiibo with a different game, you would either need to buy a new amiibo of the same character, or delete the existing data on your current one. This has made things a little frustrating for some people, namely me. The thing is, Activision has already solved this problem with their exclusive Donkey Kong and Bowser Skylanders by having them have a twistable switch on their base. This allows them to be used as both Skylanders and amiibo with both settings having their own unique save data. So why hasn't Nintendo taken notice of this and implemented it in newer amiibo so they could store data from multiple games? If they did this some time in the near future, I'm sure it would probably make a lot of amiibo fans like myself very happy.

#9: More Third Party Characters

I'm sure that a lot of you agree that the current selection of amiibo is pretty good right now, but at the moment only seven third-party characters have been confirmed so far. When you consider that that is 7 out of roughly 100 different figures (at the time of writing this), it makes for a rather non-inclusive experience for fans of other series. This is why I think there should be amiibo of other characters for games that will eventually be released on a Nintendo system. I'm sure a lot of fans would love to have a Rayman, Shantae, or Commander Video amiibo. I know I would.

#10: Better "Special Edition" Figures

Special edition amiibo are an odd case. Usually they are just the same characters in the same poses as the previously produced models, but with a different paint job (usually in a shiny variant). It wasn't until recently when a friend of mine put this thought in my head: Why can't they be more like action figures? And honestly, he's right. Poseable figures with interchangeable or luminescent parts, would make for fantastic special edition amiibo. It would give the figure a much bigger reason to use it outside of the game(s) it is made for. Most of the Skylanders Superchargers vehicles have wheels or propellers that can spin in place, and some of their earlier special edition figures would glow when placed on the Portal of Power. It's confusing that Nintendo hasn't implemented these features in there own product; I would assume it is to keep production costs down, but is that really a reason to not do it in its entirety? Nintendo occasionally likes to call themselves a toy company after all. As such, they need start making actual toys then.

Well, those are my thoughts on the matter. At the moment, amiibo only really appeal to hardcore Nintendo fans and avid collectors. They are having a bit of trouble finding the right mix of demographics, but if Nintendo were to see these ideas, I'm sure they would take a few of them seriously (I'm a bit partial to numbers 2, 3, and 7 myself). If you have any suggestions of your own, please let me know in the comment section, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

Video games come and go. Such is the way of life in a\r constantly shifting industry. Back in the day we had two-dimensional games\r where we shot things in the face for points, and now we've got\r three-dimensional games where we can fuck Japanese-Anime sluts for fuckpoints.\r Fortunately, we’re not really here to discuss how many sexy-score we can get\r for Onii-Chan’s Fuk Fuk Adventure although a later editorial may come in handy. \r

"Winkidy wink."

Some say that graphics make the game, others say story√¢‚Ǩ‚I am\r an advocate of the latter. While it’s great to see how defined Master Chief's\r ass is in the remastered Halo edition, I must say that the games that have\r stuck with me throughout my existence seemed to all have the makings of cult\r hits based on gameplay, story, music, and overall atmosphere as opposed to the\r ultimate aesthetics. So I decided that maybe it would be time to show some of\r my favorite games that I believe are as good today as they were when they were\r released eons ago before the fire nation attacked. \r

"Dem pixels doe."

This series will just focus on some of my favorite games,\r and the reasons to why I think they are as great now as they were back then. I love them and continue to play them all on\r account of their story, atmosphere, how well the game affected me, and even the\r gameplay itself. This editorial is what we like to call an opinionated piece, and whether or not you agree or disagree, may I\r inform you that tissues are cheap in this day and age, and if not, you can\r always wipe away your tears with a sleeve, or a sock, or whatever’s at hand. This is a personal editorial on some of the\r greatest games I believe have been made. Whether you agree or not, is\r completely your choice.
\r

RESIDENT EVIL 2

Fear comes around a second time, to fuck you in the ass.

When I was a baby boy, I remembered playing a pirated version of this on my chipped PlayStation 1. Being launched into the fiery abyss of a destroyed truck, to running through the choc-a-bloc streets of Raccoon City with zombies all around, you couldn’t help but just shit your pants as a child. The memories were just infinite; the music upon entering the R.C.P.D with those piano chimes, and the clicking cacophony of feet against the whistling wind of the dead city and the Licker jumping down from the ceiling√¢‚Ǩ‚OH JESUS.

Turn off. Unplug. Wind up power cable. Throw out window.\r Never play again.
\r

Resident Evil 2 was just one of those chart topping, survival horrors that was burned into my fears as a child. I remember it having the same effect as Dino Crisis, with its haunting score and diverse range of enemies; all scary, all shit-pantingly horrific in their execution against the map.

The game was just beautiful in so many ways too though, from the classic conspiracy story, the replay value, and the constant fear of things coming for you all the way to the entire atmosphere of the city to the underground Umbrella base. It was one of the first horror games I played, and one that haunted me for years to come. I always find myself going back and relaying it every couple of weeks or so. It was a classic, straight up in every way; except for that really bad cardboard voice-acting which I don’t miss so much.

"ADDDDDDDDDDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA."

SUPER MARIO LAND

That fucking music.

Doo-doodoo-doo. Doo-doo-

GET OUT OF MY HEAD.

Super Mario Land was the first game I ever played on my original Game Boy way back in the summer of '98. My grandmother bought me it, and from that first level with that music ingrained into my brain so much I’m sure I can still hear it on quiet nights, I was hooked. The gameplay was the core dynamic of a Mario game, all the while being able to play it while in my mom’s car while I wore that flaming dragon shirt and sunglasses, counting how much pussy I was gonna get when I hit that Egyptian world.

"These brothers ain't the only thing with hammers, youknowwhatImean?"

We all knew it. The tiny screen, the hammer brothers fucking you up, and the impending doom as you watch your whole life-count slip away into nothingness. Super Mario Land is the definitive Mario game for me√¢‚Ǩ‚and I know I’m gonna hear some screams about how Super Mario Bros or Super Mario 64 is the ultimate game but to me, playing this at my nan’s house, getting all the way through to the end and dying in a fiery blaze of anger from that one hammer hitting me, well that’s just pure childhood right there.

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

Gotta go faster.

The first console I ever owned was a Sega Mega-Drive (or Sega Genesis depending on where you got the shit but I don’t know, who cares, I don’t) and the first game I ever actually played was Sonic the Hedgehog. It’s safe to say that this was the game that launched my love of video games altogether. Cutting through Green Hill Zone to that beautiful, instant-childhood inducing music, and then Marble Zone, Casino and the others just always makes me happy. I loved Sonic growing up and I still love it now, with the help of emulators and improved technology it’s still a game I play on the go. It’s a classic to me and many others I know. Although I have rarely ever managed to complete it.

"I'm still a good gaymur, right?"

This game just gets mentions on the nostalgia factor. It’s always been a favourite and is still one of them.

BATMAN VENGEANCE

Arkham Beta 0.2

Before we were given the beauty of Rocksteady’s Arkham series, and that one game where Christian Bale actually did voice-work, Batman Vengeance was released on PlayStation 2. I remember getting this game for Christmas and wondering what the fuck was going on with it. After much excitement I played it, and was absolutely blown away by it. I was one of those 90's kids that grew up with the Batman Animated series, would wear Batman pyjamas, collect corpses of dead bats and hide them under my bed√¢‚Ǩ‚

Well, I loved Batman, that’s what was key. The story was an original, focusing on the good and juicy tidbits of the show with familiar faces like Mister Freeze, The Joker, Harley-Quinn and everybody’s favorite caped crusader; Brucey himself. The gameplay was like the original Arkham game, truly, in the fact it had stealth components, Hamill and Conroy as the bitter enemies, and plenty of cool levels, secrets, cheats, and an enthralling story involving Batman and the Joker in a tussle of moral crusades against Gotham. The music and cartoonish style was great. I still play this when I can on my old PS2. The style, story, and overall atmosphere was just like the TV show, except you could fly around and fuck shit up with batarangs way before Arkham’s series made it cool. Take that, mainstream douches.

"Yeah I like it, but you’ve probably never even heard of Vengeance anyway."

MANHUNT

Bagged for life!

I’m somewhat of a Rockstar fanboy. Take me outside, line me up, and pelt me with copies of San Andreas until I die, but that’s the truth. I think their early games were some of the greatest ever created, and none other stands to gain my approval more than the disturbing, gory, and beautifully atmospheric creation that was Manhunt. This game has been widely controversial and was even the focus of a large court case involving a murder which was said to have been implemented due to the games graphic content. The case was thrown out but come on! A game that makes this much controversy must be great. I mean, you can literally suffocate people with a Tesco bag.

“The second Karen turns, I’m going for a three-star kill.

The story centers on death row convict: James Earl Cash, who is sentenced to death, but is given a second chance by a grimy, fat snuff-film director called Starkweather who puts Cash through many trials in the decaying Carcer City for cheap thrills, footage, and monies. The game implemented stealth kills with pretty much anything, including plastic bags, glass shards, baseball bats, and even wires. The voice-acting from Brian Cox is absolutely fantastic, as well as Craig Conner’s score, the gameplay which is a mix of both stealth and all out brain-damaging gore, and the atmosphere pushed the boundaries of improvisation in terms of killing, and the feel of Carcer really puts you in a city that feels real, scary, and full of psychotic chumps waiting to hunt you down and cut you up!

It's got everything from a crazy, dark 80s-type score, a multitude of weapons, brilliant voice acting, degradation, fantasies of snuff, rape, violence, gore, and all for under $15. Bargain blood!

HITMAN 2: STEALTH ASSASSIN

Bald Strategy!

I loved the PS2 gaming era. I loved everything from Ico to Final Fantasy VII. I loved MGS, I loved so many games but Stealth Assassin was just one of those games I absolutely loved to play over and over and over and never got bored. You could be the hitman of your dreams. You could sneak in like a shadow, carefully dressed as the maid, delivering fresh pants upstairs and when your victim ain’t looking you could shiv him in the kidney or strangle the life out of him, dress in his clothes, and walk away like a king. OR you could do it my way and step in there with an MP5 and fucking obliterate all the witnesses; the kids, the dog, the God-damn maid, the bodyguards, that one little frog, the scarecrow, and even yourself if you felt like it with that little sticky bomb.

Stealth Assassin was just a brilliant game from start to finish, from each level showing diverse paths, a multitude of weapons, Jesper Kyd on the drums, and of course Agent 47 himself. I remember going to my dad’s and playing this for hours on end, never really faltering in my attention to detail in making sure every. Single. Person. Was dead. There would be no witnesses in the end. I was the reaper. Eight year old me had the makings of a homicidal, nay√¢‚Ǩ‚genocidal maniac, and we have Eidos to thank for that shit.

That’s it for part 1 but watch this space for other parts as\r we’re in for a sexy, bumpy ride. Do you agree with me, do you disagree with me? Comment and let me know if you think I'm an asshole or a nostalgia-whore. I promise to get back to you! Hopefully more to come in the future!
\r

Disclosure: This is not to be seen as a review. This article is only to tell my experience of levelling a character since the 4.0 changes back in October. However since I am in favour in transparency in articles, I have been a long term subscriber of Star Wars: The Old Republic and have spent significantly in the in game store since the game’s release in 2011.

In October of 2015, Bioware released the latest expansion for their Star Wars MMO, The Old Republic titled Knights of the Fallen Empire. The overall game was updated to version 4.0 bringing significant changes in gameplay with the most notable being the consolidation of role specific stats into one mastery stat and offering a new levelling experience by having max level syncs on planets along with the option to only have to complete main class stories and planetary stories to progress in levels.

Having had a server full of max level characters for quite some time now I figured I would create a new character in order to experience these new changes while also replaying old content that I had not played through for some time.

Although I had already gone through the Sith Inquisitor story twice already, both Sorcerer and Assassin, I decided to go for another Sorcerer playthrough specialising in the Lightning DPS tree. I had used this tree before with my first Sorcerer but had since changed it to the Madness DPS as I felt that suited the character concept. Lightning has always been devastatingly fun in SWTOR (Star Wars: The old Republic) so I was still keen to have a high level Lightning specialisation character. I'd been seeing a lot of Darth Sidious while re-watching a lot of Star Wars media at the time, so I went human male and garbed him in dark cloaks as homage (which is more pleasant than saying rip off) to the signature Dark Lord of the Sith.

The voice of the Male Inquisitor had a familiar likeness to Ian Mcdiarmid’s iconic performance as Darth Sidious, so that helped a great deal with the presentation of the character, although disappointingly there is no maniacal cackling to be heard at any point in the game.
Xanthe Elbrick’s Inquisitor has the better range of being delightfully madder than a box full of mad hatters in one moment, to comedic moments of being aloof or bored while everyone else around is panicking during the introduction to a quest.

By default, exploratory missions (side quests) are not highlighted on the game map with the assumption that players are more likely to stick to the main story quests and the main planet quests to get to level 50 and the end of the original story. I instead turned on the option to see all missions and replay moments such as on Dromund Kass, the single Welsh Imperial Officer in all of the Sith Empire concerned about Lord Grathen’s diabolical ergonomic chairs!

As I was progressing through to the halfway point of Chapter 1, it was becoming clear that I was reaching levels well beyond the max level range traditionally associated with each planet. Whereas before if I was in this position I would be receiving diminishing returns in XP rewards to the point of only being rewarded maybe 7 points, with the new level sync system I was still technically at the max level of the planet and therefore, I was receiving the maximum XP rewards.

Taking inspiration of how game worlds operate in Guild Wars 2, players will be set to the max level of each particular world they visit or revisit should they be beyond that level. Their stats will be set to whatever the max stats for that level are expected for each class provided their gear is beyond that level. What players won’t lose however is powers and abilities so for example, a player that is level 50 or more that is brought down to the low 20’s on a planet, still has access to everything they unlocked at level 50.

When I had completed Alderaan, which is the last planet before the end of Chapter 1, I was level 51! Level 50 was the max level when the game originally came out in late 2011 and you would only ever expect to reach that at the end of the main story if not the original elder game content. Have to admit I was somewhat chuffed about that.

"Power........I have an Unlimited amount of it!"

While previous knowledge of the missions I was completing certainly helped in my progression, having access to powers that I wouldn’t have had a chance to use in previous playthoughs was a significant game changer and I was mowing down mobs with next to no difficulty, so I can understand if people would be put off from how easy the game can become. I of course still needed to keep my gear up to date for this to continue. Currency in SWTOR has remained largely unchanged. The Basic, Elite and Ultimate Commendations which served as the main currency for obtaining armour sets or mods have been renamed Common, Glowing and Radiant Crystals but effectively remain the same with Common Crystals dropping regularly in all content and Glowing and Radiant only coming into play at Level 65 elder game.

Initially I keep my gearing up as I had before by purchasing orange grade gear which allowed customisation of stats by buying the individual mods from vendors on the Imperial Fleet between planets and levels. I dropped this tactic once I learnt of the changes to the Heroic missions on each planet. Heroic missions were standard side quest contact to talk to but the missions ether recommended 2 or 4 players to complete the mission with enemy difficulty ramped up depending on whether it was Heroic 2 or 4. With the new expansion all Heroics have been changed to be Heroic 2’s and with a well ranked companion are entirely soloable.

When levelling, Heroic missions will offer lockboxes as rewards which will contain random Blue rated gear (SWTOR keeps to the MMO standard of Green, Blue, Purple for common to rare items) at the level you have reached at the time of unlocking the box. This meant that I could save time re-modding my gear on the fleet as I levelled up and save on common crystals until I needed them to get the entry level 208 rated elder game gear when I reached Level 65. Given that there is usually four Heroic missions per planet at minimum (some have more) I was not short of quality gear as I progressed through the game.

One aspect of levelling my new character that I was pleased to complete was completing most of the Flashpoints in story order, which I was never able to do with any previous characters. Previously Flashpoints (Four player dungeon like missions) were of a set level range and it was very difficult to get a team together as most players would instead be aiming for max level through quicker, regular content. Now all Flashpoint are set to Tactical which means any player between levels 10 to 65 can join and non 65 players will be boosted to that level in order to complete the mission.

For the Flashpoints that have significant ties to the general SWTOR lore they have also added Solo Mode, similar to the Flashpoints added in the last expansion Shadow of Revan, which greatly boosts the player character and offers a second companion to assist in the event. It meant that in later stories my character would reference the events of some of these Flashpoints bringing new dialogue, while minor, that I had never experienced before.

"A man can have anything.....if he is willing to sacrifice everything" - Emperor Valkorion

As I came to the end of the original main story I was only a few levels away from the max 65. It did not take long to reach that as I progressed through Illum which was the original post story planet. It meant that I could now simply play through the expansion stories and not worry about gearing. This seems to be the theme Bioware is going for with its subsequent releases. Bioware has said that the release of the Shadow of Revan expansion was very successful for them and took this as a message that players preferred more story driven content that Bioware made its name from rather than traditional group based MMO missions.

While I like the approach Bioware have taken to focus on story I do miss teaming with friends doing missions while progressing through everyone’s individual stories. While Shadow of Revan still offered group Flashpoints during its story, Knights of the Fallen Empire feels like you are locked away from everyone else in the galaxy until you reach Chapter 9 and have access to Star Fortress Heroics. There are also plenty of players not happy with no new Operations (8-16 player Raids) tied to the new expansion and no signs of any in the immediate future. The streamlining and new accessibility of all the previous Raids has meant that I have given some of them a go and raiding is something I was never really interested in. However I understand other player’s frustration at not getting new content for their preferred playstyle and I hope Bioware deliver something for them in good time.

The expansion stories are certainly serviceable with good moments but are not spectacularly epic although that can be said about Star Wars in general a lot of the time. Still better than the prequel trilogy though! Replay value is somewhat diminished as regardless of class, the story remains the same other than change in a few details based on choices in dialogue and actions, which many have commented is an issue with the game being an MMO as compared to stand alone games like the previous Knight of the Old Republic, the game world does not dramatically change as a result of player choices.

Overall though I continue to enjoy playing SWTOR and I am looking forward to seeing how the new story line progresses. It doesn’t beat City of Heroes (RIP) as my favourite MMO and I still hope for the day to play a massive online Star Wars game that plays more like the ground gun and Lightsabre combat of Jedi Outcast/Academy and the space battles akin to the X-Wing-Tie Fighter series (I’ll accept Rouge Squadron 2 on Gamecube style too), however there is enough in the game that keeps me entertained and scratches that Star Wars itch (Because Episode 7 didn’t!).

With the new levelling system in place I now have options in how I can proceed with a created character. I can take the old slow burn of story plus side quests but come out with a character near max level at the end and enough crystals to get great gear well before taking on elder game content, or breeze through the story quickly and not care about gear and simply pick that up from story mode operations. In either case I am also more likely to be teaming with friends due to the planets level shifting mechanic and boosts in Tactical Flashpoints. Unable to play with friends more than anything has been a major issue for me in SWTOR due to differences in levels between characters. I am happy that this is no longer an issue.

Now if you will excuse me.

"Your arrogance blinds you Prince Arcann......Now you will experience the full power of the Dark Side!"

DRM, or Digital Rights Management, is a “systematic approach to copyright protection for digital media“ and a way to “prevent unauthorized redistribution of digital media and restrict the ways consumers can copy content they've purchased“.

So basically, due to all the nasty, poor, disgusting people who illegally pirate games and other digital media, a new system had to be created to protect the copyright holders’ content.

Now, I know you’re thinking, “But DRM sucks, especially always online DRM. I’m sometimes unable to play games because of it“. Or “Passive DRM programs like Steam, Origin and uPlay (which all double as digital store fronts) ruin games, and end up being another program running in the background“. But I’m here today to prove to you why DRM is great and how it will revolutionize the gaming industry.

1. It makes sure game developers get paid for their work

Now I don’t know about you, but we live in a capitalist society, where if you make something worthwhile you should get paid for your time and effort.

Pirates, on the other hand, want to unrestrainedly eradicate our capitalist society and believe we should be living in a socialist society where everything should be free, and you know what the next step from socialism is? COMMUNISM. And in a Communistic society, Developers wouldn’t be able to receive a fair pay for a fair day’s work.

2. It makes you feel safe

When you buy a game you should feel safe that no one will be able to steal your game key. DRM makes sure that once your key has been activated, it will stay linked to your account and that it won’t be stolen by criminals.

3. C’mon, it’s 2016

Why would you want to torrent or illegally download a game in 2016? What? Are you a criminal? (As well as sexist?)

4. Pro tip, you can’t anymore

Due to the huge rise of pirating in the gaming industry, a software firm had enough and reached into their code and made Denuvo. Denuvo is literally the greatest thing ever to happen in the gaming industry since pong. It BTFO’s pirates and protects games from being illegally distributed.

5. Quit being poor!

Yes I know, “this isn’t why DRM is great, you’re just reinforcing a sad truth I’m trying to forget about“. But it needs to be said, it’s simple. If people weren’t poor, DRM wouldn’t be a thing!

Remember what I said earlier, that due to poor people pirating digital media like video games, DRM had to be created to protect digital media. Wellif you weren’t so poor, we wouldn’t be having this conversation, now would we? So quit being so lazy! Get off your lazy arse and go find a job! Go to college if you have to! Just do something! You’re hurting the gaming industry!

6. Valve's Gabe Newell has died for your sins!

As it reads in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, No one gets good deals and amazing service except through me“. Gabe Newell died for the sin of illegally downloading games and yet we continue! Was his death for nothing!? We all demand better in the gaming industry, but maybe it’s not DRM that should be blamed but us!

7. I shouldn’t be the one who has to educate you

Seriously you lazy bastards, why do I have to teach you this? You should just know that pirating is bad and you shouldn’t illegally download digital content! What? Do you hate F R E E D O M ?

8. C’mon! It’s 2016!!!

I can’t believe I need to say this again, but I will! Why pirate games when you can just spend your money and buy them! You do realise illegally downloading games is against the law right? You could even go to jail!

9. DRM is paving the way for the future

I’ve already mentioned that DRM programs like Denuvo is already Rekin’ pirates and because of it, it is paving the way for a pirate free gaming industry. Developers will one day be able to put out games whenever they think the game is complete, and at whatever price they believe is reasonable.

10. Listen and Believe

What I have written in this article is THE TRUTH. DRM is great and will revolutionise the gaming industry and digital media. If you follow the reasons listed above, game developers will be paid in full for their honest work and not feel like they need to worry about job security.

And one day, we might live in a world free of pirates trying to turn our great capitalist society into a communist one.

Thank you for reading my informative and objective article on DRM. If you wish to join me in my fight to DE_Stroy DRM, then follow me on twitter “@MrED_What“. And why not read some of our other articles on our profile.

Sources: http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/digital...

Please note, this is satire

This is what ED does when he doesn't have access to his computer...
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Quote from K. Lee Lerner’s Social Issues Primary Sources Collection

In years of internet mud-slinging (because using the word “debate“ would be insulting to everyone’s intelligence) that I have taken part in, I now believe that out of all the cults that think cognitive dissonance is a positive trait, the opponents of the hashtag GamerGate (Anti GamerGate) are now at the top of the league.

Having had the displeasure of being had at by 9/11 Truthers, Creationists, Flat Earthers, Geocentrists, Homeopathy pushers, Anti Vaxers and others, I have been well versed in how much level of ignorance people are prepared to instill in themselves in order to protect their world view from being challenged. Like the others Anti GamerGate and by extension radical Third Wave Feminists and Social (Media) Justice Warrior types will not be swayed by evidence or proof that their assertions are without merit.

As Chuck Klosterman wrote in “I wear the Black Hat: Grappling with Villains“,

“And this, of course, is the central problem with conspiracy theorists√¢‚Ǩ≈†√¢‚Ǩ‚√¢‚Ǩ≈†once you inflexibly accept that something is a conspiracy, any contrary evidence has the paradoxical effect of making your case stronger. Every contradiction deepens the conspiracy.“

What sets Anti GamerGate apart from the rest however is that other proponents of conspiracy theories will at least make the effort to provide what they consider evidence to prove their hypothesis. Of course what they offer is usually terrible and does not stand up to any form of scrutiny, but at least they try and make the effort. Anti GamerGaters however have the unique standing of demanding to be taken seriously and with respect by not offering any evidence at all to prove their assertions. Their mantra of “Listen and Believe“ is more than a catchy saying on a presentation screen.

Some will try and offer what they call evidence by linking a “peer reviewed study“ (Usually not reviewed outside of the circles of the discredited subjects) or an online article from The Guardian (Which is usually just commentary with near infinite click loops to other commentary, not actual objective news) but is presented in a way that is no different than using the argument “The Bible exists, therefore it’s true!“.

That is a rare occurrence for Anti GamerGate though. Normally it is blasphemous to question Anti GamerGate to give evidence for their claims. In fact just even allowing anyone sympathetic to GamerGate’s concerns about journalism in the industry to discuss it at conventions has the opposition cry “Heresy!“

It won’t come as a surprise to me that some of Anti Gamergate will immediately see this and shout “LOL! Irony!“ and claim that #GamerGate itself is just a paranoid conspiracy theorist group. Granted you can find a handful that take the Frankfurt School Boogeyman far too seriously, but let’s take a moment to point out some basic truths.

Fact: Nathan Grayson did give positive coverage to Zoe Quinn’s Depression Quest game without disclosing that he funded the game to the point that he is named in the credits. Anti GamerGate like to use the word “review“ as a way to try and discredit GamerGate since there isn’t one but it is the Anti side that uses the word deceptively, while a handful on the GamerGate side occasionally uses the word mistakenly. Nathen and Zoe’s later affair is only relevant in that the revelation from Eron Gjoni’s Zoe Post was the led to ethical problems being found.

Fact: Collusion between journalists of different publications did take place via the GameJournoPros e-mail list and discussed matters such as blacklisting former Destructoid writer Allister Pinsof in 2013 and how to limit the discussions consumers were trying to have about the industry’s press following the Grayson revelations in August 2014.

Fact: GamerGate wasn’t a sudden flash reaction because of one woman. Concerns with gaming press practices were raised over the years, from the Mass Effect 3 ending debacle, the Jeff Gerstmann/Kane and Lynch incident, and as I covered in a retrospective, it was a point of discussion in Amiga Power 20 years ago. GamerGate was simply the straw that broke the camel’s back following the press’s unwillingness to discuss the concerns of consumers by scrubbing threads and banning users, forcing those concerned about the lack of standards in the gaming media to use a Twitter hashtag as their only forum for a while.

Fact: No arrests let alone charges have been made against anyone using the GamerGate hashtag or being a vocal supporter. For all the scare stories that GameGate is nothing but harassment and a hate group likened to ISIS, there has been no indication of any arrest made due to harassing messages made to anyone that bares the words GamerGate in the message. The only time the FBI has actively done anything publicly known is telling local Washington D.C. police to treat the bomb threat against GamerGate supporters at their meetup in May 2015 was credible and should be treated seriously.

Fact: While it cannot be questioned that prominent names that are opposed to GamerGate have received disgraceful and outright threatening messages, what has never been proven is that GamerGate is responsible for the majority of it let alone any of it. My first Special Comment here on NovoGamer was a challenge to Anti GamerGate to finally show the numbers needed to prove their assertions true. Considering all that has been written over a year of GamerGate existing, it should have been easy for them and I would right now be unemployed. I have not received data close to 200 accounts which would meet Chris von Csefalvay 0.2%. I have not even had data passed to me come to a double digit figure!

However whether it is hubris that prevents them from admitting they got the whole story of GamerGate wrong or they are ideologically driven to smear the movement because their faith demands it, GamerGate’s opposition will come up with some pathetic reasoning to highlight the “dangerous threat“ that is the hate group that never was.

Take Arthur Chu’s article on the Daily Beast claiming that GamerGate was responsible for the Veerender Jubbal photo-shopped image that made the rounds on social media following the 13th November Paris attacks. Cathy Young’s excellent piece counters the false narrative by highlighting the evidence internet diggers found after the weekend showing that the image was originally created in August and that both the creator of the image and the one spamming it were third party trolls.

Days after this was common knowledge however, Rich Stanton of Vice brazenly came out with a piece that doubled down on the notion that the shopped image was perpetrated by Gamergate as a whole because of one person that was clearly a GamerGate supporter based on the conspiracy theorist favorite trick of quote mining, while conveniently ignoring the evidence that other quotes would make the one spamming the image appear to be an Anti GamerGate supporter which would only confirm that it was likely third party trolls responsible for the whole situation.

Arthur Chu would then follow up with an article claiming that the recently successful Netfix show Jessica Jones was written specifically with GamerGate in mind and to highlight the terrible threat they are. The suggestion is made absurd given that as we have established no one has offered any credible evidence that GamerGate is as evil as they say, but in this specific case it is also rendered laughable given that the Marvel character that the show is based off was originally created back in 2001, 14 years before GamerGate began. This level of cretinous thinking gave rise to the GamerGate in jokes of supporters owning TARDISes.

There is irony here that can’t be overlooked. For all the articles from The Daily Beast, mostly from Arthur Chu, that claim that GamerGate has been responsible for doxxing innocent people without any shred of evidence, the site was recently condemned for putting out the personal information of someone that was falsely attributed to the recent San Bernardino shootings. As for Rich Stanton, unlike GamerGate, he has been found to use social media to issue threats of physical violence. Although I am sure he will probably take the cowardly defense of saying he was only joking around.

Huffington Post Canada recently posted a clear click-bait op ed “Women will save the gaming industry. Hear that GamerGate?“ Again no substance offered to back up the assertions that GamerGate is a women hating group other than simply “Because we say it is!“ A choice quote from Natalie Zina Walschots in the piece,

"The average Gater is a pretty sad and lonely human being who sees themselves as marginalized. They perceive something they love being maligned.“

This is an ideal example of the humorous projection that is exhibited by the Anti GamerGate crowd. This is where the claim that they have put on a big screen about whoever they are opposing is actually coming from their own flawed character. When you look into those on the Anti Gamergate side, with a few exceptions, they are mostly white, upper middle class if not so wealthy they enter the upper class level, living in selective areas of San Francisco, Seattle, Uptown New York, or Metropolitan London. The gap between their level of privilege and the oppression they claim to be stifled under is so wide you could build a bridge over the Grand Canyon with their intellectual dishonesty and still have enough road left to reach past the Arizona border.

Those complaining about the gaming industry’s and culture's “diversity problem“ should take a moment to finally do some self-reflection. Take a look at who you will find at a “Progressive“ gaming conference and compare to the crowd at a fighting game tournament held anywhere in world. Much like Winston Churchill warned of those that claimed to be Anti-Fascist turning out to be actually Fascist, those that claim to be Anti Exclusionary appear to be quite Exclusionary.

If you want a further example, take a look at a recent exchange on Twitter where Rhianna Pratchett who co-wrote the successful reboot of Tomb Raider and is a veteran of the games industry for over 10 years now, who has previously stated that those complaining about diversity are making mountains out of mole hills. So naturally a moronic Anti GamerGate male Social Media Justice Warrior who has no ties to the industry knows more than what Rhianna Pratchett does. The fact that he refers to her as an “Uncle Tom“ does not leave much room to wide interpretation.

Because actually it’s all about being supportive and inclusive of women in the industry!

The final bit of cognitive wackery displayed by an opponent of GamerGate I will highlight is another recent article by Alyssa Rosenberg at the Washington Post titled “Donald Trump is the Gamergate of Republican politics“

We are already at Stretch Armstrong levels of stretching here linking Donald Trump with a discussion about the ethical failings of gaming journalists. Keep in mind that the default auto speak of Anti #GamerGate is to say that GamerGaters are right wing. Not entirely surprising given that Anti #GamerGate for the most part are so far off to the (authoritarian or regressive) left that anyone else not with them comes across as right wing. Survey after survey that has been done however shows that the overwhelming majority of GamerGate are left libertarian.

It should not be dismissed that there are right wing libertarians within the movement and a number of them are pulling for Trump in the Republican race. Given his recent comments about wanting to suppress Internet Speech however, that small support that is there will be in danger of disappearing given GamerGate strongly promoting free speech and unrestricted internet. Most in GamerGate of course will be pulling for the Democrats with Bernie Sanders seeing significant support and some bemoaning the fact that Elizabeth Warren is not running in place of Hillary Clinton.

This thought is a very American-centric discussion and one of the aspects of GamerGate that its opponents continue to be ignorant about is the international support the movement has given that gaming is the biggest international entertainment industry at this time. So quite frankly suggesting that all of GamerGate is pulling for Trump is ludicrous not just because both entities do not align up on the political spectrum but also that a lot of Gamergate have no horse in the race, therefore don’t care much in the race because the race is in an entirely different nation.

While I can’t claim to speak for every British or European citizen I would take an educated guess that Trump will be getting little support first due to us Brits still not forgiving Trump for almost destroying a part of Scottish countryside to make a Golf Course, and secondly that whoever wins the US Presidency is meaningless. The message from us to them will be the same. Stop snooping in allied countries business!

Back to Alyssa Rosenberg’s article though. Again the names of noted Anti GamerGate personalities are name dropped as victims without any evidence provided that the majority of GamerGate was responsible. The kicker though comes with the “evidence“ presented of why GamerGate and Donald Trump are linked. She shows a Tweet of Trump giving a message of support to an account identified as a GamerGater supporter. That’s all. One Tweet, one account. Just one.

I’ll remind you of the numbers involved in GamerGate. Chris von Csefalvay’s analysis came up with 100,000 to 150,000 accounts supporting GamerGate and by the time the hashtag got to it’s first birthday it got to around 7.5 million Tweets posted. Alyssa gave one tweet to one account as evidence. Purveyors of religion at least make the effort to cite more than one passage from their alleged holy texts when trying to make an argument.

In closing I will say that it is entirely possible that those who have wrote denouncing GamerGate may not actually believe what they write but they do so only because of the belief it garners attention and clicks. However as I have suggested before, given that GamerGate supporters are big users of Ad Blockers and Internet Archives, the reality is that click bait articles will receive diminishing returns.

For those of the faithful that truly believe the existence of the GamerGate Devil spawn however, their pathetic arm flailing from ether being found with their hand in the cookie jar or simply crying at their increasing irrelevancy as alternative news sites and streaming media outlets increase in popularity simply highlights their hilarious ridiculous public spewings which of course leaves them open to nothing but abject mockery, which I’m sure they will continue and try to call it “targeted harassment“.

This is purely anecdotal, but having shown what GamerGate is about to various contacts from my near 20 years in the education sector who have been curious about the story, their reaction has been that they do not care too much about GamerGate’s grievances since it pertains to video games. However they have ether found the antics of Anti GamerGate to be a source of side splitting amusement and some suggesting that they would use some of their preposterous moments in Critical Thinking classes to show students what not to do as they progress further into their education, to some being concerned that for all Anti Gamergate’s incredulous ranting they are being taken seriously by some sections of the gaming industry and beyond.

It may still take a few years but like all tin foil hat wearers such as the 9/11 Truthers and the Anti Vaxers and all other groups who are based on weak foundations, Anti GamerGate types will fade into obscurity due to being unable to stand against the scrutiny of the Internet because for all the dark mess that is out there, it still does not diminish the bright ideal that the Internet is where religion and bad ideas go to die.

If you will indulge me for one more quote since we are in the midst of a new McCarthy era on steroids, from Edward R. Murrow,

“The speed of communications is wondrous to behold. It is also true that speed can multiply the distribution of information that we know to be untrue.“

\r

Good Night and Good Luck.

(Please keep in mind that my opinions may or may not reflect your own, this list is entirely biased.)

FEZ (XBox 360, PS3, PS4, PSVita, Steam)

FEZ is a puzzle/adventure platforming game made by Phil Fish of Polytron. It has this unique game mechanic where while the game is played in 2D, the world can be rotated 90 degrees to get a different view of your surroundings. It also has a very charming feel and rather calming soundtrack. This has been one of the most enjoyable games I've ever played, and even though many people don't agree with Fish's opinions or practices as of late, you should not condemn the game solely on that fact alone. Remember, it is okay to like someone's work even though you don't like its creator.

VVVVVV (Steam, 3DS)

Pronounced as "The Letter 'V' Six Times," this game is a 2D adventure platformer designed in the style of old Commodore 64 games. While the game has a very retro look, it has a rather interesting gameplay mechanic wherein you cannot jump. Instead, pressing Up or the "jump" button will reverse the pull of gravity. It is a ton of fun and also has a fantastic soundtrack to boot. Definitely download it if you like retro games.

Retro City Rampage (Steam, XBox 360, WiiWare, PS3, PS4, PSVita, 3DS, MS-DOS)

Speaking of retro games, Retro City Rampage is a mission-based adventure/sandbox game reminiscent of the Grand Theft Auto series but presented in the graphical style of many classic gaming systems and computers of the 80's. For the most part the game is entirely open-world; There is a ton of stuff to collect and explore and there are even secret cheat codes that can be found as graffiti. Considering that this game can be downloaded on just about everything, there is no reason why you shouldn't get it.

BOXBOY! (3DS)

This is a rather charming game made by Hal Laboratories, the creators of game series like Kirby and Super Smash Bros. It is a puzzle platformer in which you play as Qbby, the eponymous box boy who has the ability to spawn blocks from his body to help him solve puzzles and traverse the treacherous terrain of his world. This game truly excels at what it does. It gives you one main game mechanic, and gives you so much stuff that you can do with it. Plus it has a rather interesting monochrome presentation that gives it an unusual indie feel to it. Definitely download this game if you own a 3DS.

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved (XBox 360, Steam)

Like arcade-style games? Then you would definitely love this. Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved is a fast paced, twin-stick shoot-em-up that has on occasion been described as being like "Asteroids on steroids." It is action-packed, has a ton of color and flashy graphics, and is extremely addictive. Its simplicity is this game's strong suit; it doesn't need much and it still pulls it off extremely well. Download it whenever you get the chance.

Teslagrad (PS3, PS4, PSVita, Wii U, Steam)

Teslagrad is an atmospheric Metroidvania game with a heavy focus on electricity and magnetism as part of its gameplay. It has clever puzzles and a rather intriguing story that is told via puppet shows in special theater halls that you will occasionally find as you explore. While this game doesn't have much combat, it doesn't really need it as the puzzles and the secrets within the story is what really make this game shine. A must have if you like Metroidvania style games. (Please note that only the Steam version of this game is less than ten dollars when not on sale.

Papers, Please (Windows, Steam)

Not really the most compelling game at first glance, but looks can oft be deceiving. Papers, Please is a story driven simulator where you play as a checkpoint inspector at the border of the fictitious country, Arstotzka. At the end of each day, you are payed five credits for every person you successfully process, but all of that money must be spent wisely on food, medicine and shelter for your family or else they will get sick and eventually die. This makes making choices harder as moral conundrums arise and a rebellion uprising makes itself apparent. If you like story-driven games, then this might be the game for you.

Pac-Man Championship Edition DX (XBLA, PSN, Steam, Windows Phone, iOS & Android)

Pac-Man has always been an addicting game series, but this one takes the cake. Pac-Man Championship Edition DX is very likely the fastest and most addicting classic-style Pac-Man game to date and it definitely shows. It has the same old Pac-Man gameplay that made the series what it is, plus a few tweaks here and there to make it much more interesting and thrilling. Instead of progressing from board to board, the maze changes on the fly as you play, plus the timer makes for a much more interesting experience as you are racing against the clock to get as many points as possible. This game is a lot of fun and cheap to boot.

Noitu Love 2: Devolution (Steam)

To be completely honest, I first heard about this game by watching Steam Train on YouTube, but once I saw it, I was hooked. Noitu Love 2 is an arcade-style beat-em-up with a graphical appearance and presentation that is very similar to games like Metal Slug and Gunstar Heroes. The gameplay is actually pretty unorthodox for a beat-em-up; you move with WASD controls and you attack by aiming and clicking the left mouse button, but as unusual as this seems, it works really well. If you like games like this, this is likely going to give you many hours of fun.

Undertale (Windows, iOS, Steam)

This game was a rather unexpected gem that has spawned a rather large following in a very short time frame. Undertale is a JRPG-styled indie game where you have the option to fight, but have the ability to completely finish the game without ever harming anyone. This has the unprecedented ability to make the player question their morality once they start to stray from the path they started on, because not only does the game give you the power to win by not fighting, but it remembers everything you do, even if you reset the game after you've saved. This game is far too content dense for me to list the rest here, so I will be reviewing it separately at a later date.

BONUS: Any classic game offered by Nintendo's Virtual Console Service (3DS, Wii, Wii U)

Don't like those fancy new games? Why not take a nostalgic trip down memory lane then? With the exception of Sin & Punishment, every game on Nintendo's Virtual Console service is between $5-10 and can offer the same amount, if not more content than many modern downloadable games. Definitely consider this option if you like classic games.

Well I hope this helps. I know it probably would've helped a lot more if I listed more than what I did, but cheap high quality games are really hard to find these days. So while it isn't much, I hope you try out these games anyway, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

Free-to-Start (Examples: Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water, Killer Instinct, Zen Pinball 2)

A Free-to-Start game (Also known as Free-to-Play) is any game that offers a small snippet of the game for free, but after that snippet is finished you would then need to pay real world currency to permanently (or even temporarily) unlock a portion (or the rest) of the game in order to play new content. Now, I can understand why people wouldn't like this. Much of the game would be locked behind one or more pay-walls that you cannot pass unless you fork over some of your hard earned cash. Sometimes (and often without paying attention) you would dump more money into the game than it would theoretically be worth. You would just keep feeding money into the game just so you could keep playing for a chance at new content. I'm guilty of this when I play Nintendo Badge Arcade. The thing is, many mobile games are literally Free-to-Play and the only things that are priced are power-ups that can help you get past an area where you might be stuck. Exactly where does the hate come from then? My theory is because the game might be fair most of the time, but it may spike in difficulty and you would have to pay to gain an additional boost. This might be the case, but who knows for sure...

Freemium (Examples: Team Fortress 2, Star Wars: The Old Republic, League of Legends)

A Freemium game is any game that otherwise offers you the full single-player and/or multi-player campaigns (if not most of them) completely for free, but with a catch. This catch is while a lot of the game is free, much of the game's content can unlocked through normal (but extended) play, but with the ability to bypass this through paid transactions. This includes, but is not limited to: additional cosmetic options to your character, more powerful bonus weapons or characters unavailable in the main game, additional areas or game modes, extra in-game currency, or even items and equipment in the game that you can unlock from normal play. I could see why this would be a hot button issue with many gamers, but I can also understand why this would be a viable alternative. If you are a player that has little time for games and/or are impatient, you can pay a little cash for specific features to help you quickly get the items or goods that you like the most. Although I can also see why many don't like this either. While I occasionally play Team Fortress 2, I don't play it often enough to win any random drops that get me what I want, but I don't want to shell out any of my cash for anything on the Steam Workshop either. It's why the phrase "Pay-to-Win" exists after all...

Pay-to-Play (Examples: Skylanders, World of Warcraft, amiibo)

Similar to Free-to-Start games, a Pay-to-Play game only lets you continue playing as long as you keep feeding money into the beast. But unlike Free-to-Start games, these are almost all subscription or physical media based and more often than not, there might not be a free portion of the game to try. Depending on the game, if you want to continue playing so you can see new content, you will need to subscribe to an online service with regular monthly payments, or buy more physical objects that are compatible with the game in question. These subscriptions and add-ons can drain your bank account faster than anything I've seen, and I should know as I regularly buy amiibo whenever they become available. Games like this are notorious for not only for charging you the subcription/media fees but also charging EXTRA for the main game and any major expansions that become available for it later. These types of games are also the major cause for "subscription fatigue" which is usually why most gamers only have one game of this type (assuming they have one at all). I theorize as time goes on and as inflation gets out of hand, people just start to see the futility of spending money on frivolous things and start to become bitter when they are being charged for every little thing, even if the cost overall is negligible. But I digress...

So with my analysis on these three game formats, only one question remains: Are these types of business practices unethical, or just a necessary evil? Well... Money is inherently evil to start with and it makes them look greedy when they abuse paid transactions to no end, but unfortunately it is a necessary evil whether we want to admit it or not. It drives the economy forward and it makes sure the people that worked on the game still get a paycheck. So if you happen to play games like these (I do all the time), just remember that the money spent on it is more than likely being used to make sure that company that made it stays in business. But until next time, I'll be seeing you.

COST-

Sometimes a special edition may only be an extra $40, but I have seen some pretty pricey collectors editions. Some games even come with different levels of bonuses, for different prices. When it comes down to it, it's the game which will ultimately persuade you to pre-order or not.

BONUSES - 

For me, the best pre-orders are the ones where you get the bang for your buck. Large detailed statues, in-depth art books, the soundtrack of the game, additional content and a cool box it comes in. If a pre-order offers me all that it's a done deal. But more often than not, you'll see maybe only a statue or a coin. It's really personal preference, but there are plenty of people willing to pay $150 for a nice statue. Honestly more pre-orders should offer a copy of the soundtrack, it's not difficult and takes up limited space. I'm sure the game's composer would appreciate more people hearing his work too. Right now 

WHAT ABOUT YOU?-

You need to decide whether or not you're over-hyped. For me, I pre-ordered Assassin's Creed 3 because I was super hyped for the game, I got the game and enjoyed it but don't think I would have paid as much for it as I did. Especially since i didn't get much in the way of bonuses. You need to think rationally. Look at the bonuses and decide whether you really want to pay nearly double for the game for the bonuses.  

FINAL WORDS-

In my opinion, most of the time it's not worth pre-ordering. You can pick up the game on the day it comes out, if you wan't to get it. If you the pre-order is too good to be true: Well priced, Full of neat stuff and you know enough about the game to know you'll like it, then go for it. If you feel at all hesitant, that feeling won't go away. Buyers regret is a pain in the ass.

Also I'm real sorry if none of this applies to anyone, I'm Australian and our video games are really weird . . .

Pride: Kefka Palazzo (Final Fantasy VI)

Never in my life have I seen anyone as vain as this man. He hates everyone below (and above) his rank, despises filth of all kinds, and he thinks so highly of himself that he believes himself to a god. This is further evidenced by the fact that his favorite things are mirrors. He also cares nothing about what happens around him as long as it doesn't interfere with his schedule, and he sees the other people around him as mere worms. He even nearly destroyed the world because of his massive superiority complex and nihilistic attitude toward everything that wasn't him. I feel that this man encompasses this vice perfectly.

Envy: Wario (Wario Land series)

This individual is gross, unpleasant, and overall very greedy. So why you may ask is he labelled for Envy instead of Avarice? Well, that's because he's a notorious thief. As greedy as he is, he primarily only goes for possessions owned by his rivals Mario, and Captain Maple Syrup of the Black Sugar Pirates. He will stop at nothing to make sure that he is rich and his enemies are penniless, even if this means teaming up with unlikely partners in order to get the job done, which he will then proceed to rob. He even stole Mario's castle once while he was off saving Princess Daisy. Needless to say, he doesn't really deserve any pity.

Wrath: Kratos (God of War series)

This man is driven solely by anger to get revenge. He will murder anyone and anything that stands between him and his ultimate goal and he shows little to no remorse for his actions. He despises being deceived, and this further fuels his anger. He's almost like the Incredible Hulk in that regard as it almost feels like he gets stronger and more focused the angrier he gets. Even after he completes his goal in the first God of War game, he still feels the need to maim and kill as he regularly revisits Greece from the top of Mount Olympus to wreak destruction in the name of Sparta. It is extremely hard to feel sorry for this man's tortured past when he won't stop killing innocents to achieve victory against the gods.

Sloth: Snorlax (Pokemon)

There are a lot of lazy video game characters out there, but I guarantee that there is nothing lazier than the pokemon Snorlax. According to its Pokedex entry, Snorlax sleeps the majority of life, never waking up except when it needs to eat. As soon as its done eating though, it goes right back to sleep, sometimes in the most inconvenient places like in the middle of a road. Plus, this pokemon is an extremely heavy sleeper; almost nothing can wake it up save for its appetite or the music of a Poke-Flute. Good luck in moving it out of the way as well; this pokemon weighs 1014.1 pounds (460kg), so simply pushing it out of the way is out of the question. Obviously Snorlax needs to turn its life around.

Avarice: Tingle (The Legend of Zelda)

Obviously not what a lot of people expected, but looks can be deceiving. Tingle is unexpectedly greedy considering his childish demeanor. He tries everything he can to get as much money as he can, and to spend as little as possible. He even purposefully overcharges for services that only he can provide, such as magical assistance and deciphering ancient treasure maps. In fact, in Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, money is his health and he will literally die when he runs out of cash. This even prompts him to try and cheat the people in town to get an easy quick buck. This 35-year-old man-child needs to learn the value of generosity before it gets him into some hot water.

Gluttony: A Tie Between Pac-Man & Kirby

These characters are never seen not eating for very long. In fact, almost every game that they star in, eating seems to be the main gameplay focus. They are always seen stuffing their gullets with whatever is in front of them, be it edible or otherwise. I'm talking about food, enemies, pieces of the environment, and power-ups. And that's not even the whole list! They never seem to feel full for very long, if they ever feel full at all, and in many of the games they're in, eating seems to be their only form of combat. The only real difference between them is Pac-Man eats to get to the next stage and Kirby eats to copy enemy powers. They never seem to gain any weight though, so they must have killer metabolism. I would kill to have that kind of metabolism...

Lust: Larry Laffer (Leisure Suit Larry)

I was kinda hoping that would be able to avoid this one, but then the list wouldn't be complete now would it? If there is anything that is synonymous with this man, it is sexual conquest, which is exactly what Larry does in every single Leisure Suit Larry game that he stars in. He is a dorky and perverted little software salesman that cares very little about the women he tries to seduce. All he cares about is getting some tail, and he often fails hilariously while doing so. He lacks a moral compass as well so this makes this all the easier for him to ignore any and all advice telling him to stop. This however also makes it difficult to determine whether the girl he's hitting on is going to attack him in some way. Karmic justice if you ask me.

Well, there may be no hope to get these numerous individuals to repent, but do we really want them to? These traits, while abhorrent in nature, are what makes these characters themselves and that's how we have come to know and reluctantly love them. So in all honesty, who am I to judge? But until then, I'll be seeing you.