Since the days of Wasteland and Fallout, fans of post-apocalyptic wastelands have longed for a new addition to the genre that is even worthy of being mentioned in the same discussion as the masters. Some titles such as Fallout 3, Wasteland 2, and UnderRail have tried with varying degrees of success, but none have been able to properly recapture the same radioactive magic of their elders. That is until now. Beginning life as a Kickstarter project, ATOM RPG is an isometric RPG developed and published by AtomTeam with the sole intention of recreating that sense of wonder and fulfillment that RPG fans haven't experienced since the days of Fallout 2 and Baldur's Gate.

What I love, perhaps, the most so far is the story. Despite the main quest tasking you to investigate a conspiracy that threatens all remaining life on Earth, it's entirely up to you if you even want to go about that. You are not "the chosen one." You are not a fabled hero tasked with saving the people of the wasteland. You are a survivor. Plain and simple. Your goal is to survive. How you choose to do that is up to. Yet, despite all that, if you wish to choose to play as some kind of messiah, you can. Your story is your own. How you want to leave your mark on the wasteland is up to you.

The setting itself is also quite interesting. Instead of the cliche post-nuclear remnants of the United States, ATOM RPG is set in an alternate version of the Soviet Union circa 1986 where both sides of the Cold War settled their differences through a mutual nuclear holocaust. While a post-apocalyptic Russia setting isn't exactly new for a video game, it's still a nice change of pace from the good ol' US of A.

As of writing this review (11/28/17), there are currently over 20 quests in the early access build of ATOM RPG which will take anywhere from 8 or 9 hours to complete. AtomTeam plan on adding much, much more for the final release.

Anyone even remotely interested in ATOM RPG has spent some time with Fallout 1 and 2, and fans of the original Fallouts will find that almost everything, in terms of gameplay, has been either lovingly recreated or painstakingly improved upon; even down to the nearly identical HUD. Turn based combat is very much an acquired taste. It's difficult for people nowadays to come from Fallout 4's borderline Borderlands gameplay to an isometric turn based action game, and there's nothing wrong with that. You just have to know what you're in for. Enemy encounters are just as tactically challenging as they were in Fallout 2. You have to weigh your options against each other due to a limited number of action points per turn. For example, you could attempt to kill a bandit nearest to you, but risk being attacked by his buddies, or you could take cover and wait for an opportunity to take out any bandits in your vicinity, but they may run to cover as well.
If you have a basic understanding of turn based combat, you don't need me to explain ATOM RPG's gameplay to you; you'll do just fine.

Either in 1988 or 2017, graphics have always been the least important aspect of any RPG. The same can be said for ATOM RPG. While the visuals aren't exactly photorealistic, the graphics are serviceable and lend themselves to the authenticity of the Soviet Wasteland. The best part of this, of course, is that if you don't have the shiniest new GPU or CPU, you can still probably run ATOM RPG at 60fps. If you can run Fallout 1 and 2, you can run ATOM RPG.

It's difficult to criticize an early access game because any problems that are observed by the community will more than likely be remedied in future updates. The few issues I did fine are hardly worth mentioning. For instance, you can see the edges of locations you're in as plain grey textures and once you find an AK47, you become a walking god of death. The former can be fixed by simply adding a desert texture overlayed with a green light indicating that you are about to be transported to the map screen to walk to another location, and the latter can be fixed with a balancing patch. Other than that, ATOM RPG is one of, if not the most, stable early access game I've played.

Even in its current early access state, ATOM RPG is a love letter to the fans of the original Fallout games and is, without a doubt, worthy of your time. With a couple of patches to fix simple issues and the future release of the rest of the promised content, ATOM RPG is a great throwback experience for a reasonable price. ATOM RPG is the post-apocalyptic RPG fans have been waiting over 20 years for.
This review will be updated and added upon as updates are applied over time.

2k Games have officially announced Mafia III and will be releasing an official reveal trailer at Gamescom 2015.

"We’re revealing #Mafia3 next week! See the announcement trailer on 5/8/15 at 1PM BST. https://twitter.com/2K_UK/status/62599911035778662.."

√¢‚Ǩ‚ 2K United Kingdom (@2K_UK) July 28, 2015

Not only will a reveal trailer for Mafia III be shown to the public, but a gameplay demo will be shown to the press behind closed doors.

Fans of the series who have been paying close attention over the last few years shouldn't be too shocked at this announcement ever since 2K trademarked the name "Mafia 3" and "Mafia III" and Rick Pasqualone (voice of Vito Scaletta in Mafia II) made this tweet. If the rumored casting call back in 2014 is true, then the game will take place in and around Louisiana/New Orleans.

Gamescom 2015 will be from Thursday, August 6th 2015 to Sunday, August 9th 2015.

For more Mafia news, stay with us at novoGamer.

#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.

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.

(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.

The first expansion for From Software's Bloodborne has been revealed. Entitled "The Old Hunters", this expansion aims to expand further on Bloodborne's original story. The expansion also includes new ranged and melee weapons.

Also, for players who have not yet experienced the original Bloodborne, From Software have also revealed a new physical edition of Bloodborne titled "The Old Hunters Edition"

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.

This stage will be released on September 30th and if past pricing is any indication, then it'll cost $1.99 USD for one version and $2.99 USD for a bundle containing both, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

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.

But as always, if you're pressed for time, I'm here to condense all of that information into bite-sized chunks for easy digestion. Here's what they showed off.

• They started with 3DS games first and showed off Hey! Pikmin which will launch on July 28 along with a band new Pikmin amiibo.
• More light was shown on Ever Oasis. It will launch June 23.
• Monster Hunter Stories was confirmed to be coming stateside this autumn.
• A definitive version of Yo-Kai Watch 2 was announced with the subtitle Psychic Specters. It will also launch this autumn.
• Culdcept Revolt was announced for the series 20th anniversary. It will be released August 29.
• RPG Maker Fes was shown off and will be released June 27.
• Miitopia, an unusual Mii-based RPG, was shown to be getting a localization this year.
• Fire Emblem Echoes was revealed to be getting DLC with some of it being free and some of it being paid. A season pass was also shown as an option.
• Kirby was shown to be getting a lot of love this year to celebrate the series 25 anniversary with the games Team Kirby Clash Deluxe (out now), Kirby's Blowout Blast (summer), and a currently unnamed multiplayer action game (holiday season).
• The final installment of the Boxboy series called Bye-Bye Boxboy! and is out now.
• 3 new 30th anniversary Zelda series amiibo (Majora's Mask Link, Twilight Princess Link, Skyward Sword Link) were revealed for a June 23 release.
• The Smash Bros amiibo series finally revealed amiibo for Cloud, Corrin, and Bayonetta and each character will have a retailer exclusive variant. They will launch July 21.
• A ton of info was revealed for Nintendo's new IP ARMS for the Switch. Character customization is a big feature of the game's main combat mode. A new character, Min Min, was revealed who's left arm is a powerful dragon. Character specific abilities were shown like Spring Man's ability to stay permacharged when his health drops below 25%. ARMS will launch June 16.
• A new Joy-Con color was revealed to launch alongside ARMS; Neon Yellow. Joy-Con battery extenders were also revealed.
• Nintendo showed off some of the online features for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe which will launch April 28.
• Ultra Street Fighter II was shown off and will have both classic and HD graphics and two new characters: Evil Ryu and Violent Ken; along with a brand new game mode where you throw Hadokens with the Joy-Cons. It will launch May 26.
• Minecraft will becoming to the Nintendo Switch on May 11 and will include the Mario Mashup texture pack.
• More Neo Geo arcade classics are on the way to the Switch's eShop with Samurai Showdown IV being release on April 13.
• Sonic Forces showed off some of Classic Sonic's gameplay and teased a potential third character to play as. The game will launch this holiday season.
• In addition, Sonic Mania will launch this summer.
• A new competitive action party game tentatively called Project Mekuru was revealed where you stomp on tiles to claim them for your color. This eShop exclusive will launch this summer.
• Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star was shown off a bit and will launch on July 25.
• The definitive version of Disgaea 5 will launch on the Switch May 23.
• Puyo Puyo Tetris's release date inches closer and to prepare fans for the release in the coming weeks released a demo of the game on the eShop.
• The famous board game Monopoly was shown to be coming to the Switch this fall.
• A definitive edition version of Rayman Legends was announced for the Switch and will launch later this year.
• A shooter game called Sine Mora EX, which is being developed by Grasshopper Manufacture, was shown off and will be released this summer.
• A Battlechasers game based on the comics of the same name was announced for the Switch and will launch later summer.
• PayDay 2 is being ported to the Switch later this year.
• Namco Museum will be coming to the Switch's eShop this summer.
• You will be able to purchase additional Nintendo Switch docks starting on May 19.
• A Nintendo sponsored tournament for Splatoon was announced for the original Splatoon on the Wii U for a limited time.
• New Splatoon 2 info was revealed such as a new game mode called Salmon Run, a co-op survival mode where you and a team of three other individuals go to a run down island and fight a hoard of hostile salmon-like monsters to collect power-eggs en mass. Three new Splatoon amiibo were also announced which can be used to save outfit data and can be summoned in Inkopolis Square to have a companion for your character. Both the game and the amiibo will launch on July 21.

Well that's it for today. Needless to say, my wallet is going to be bled dry this year. I'm particularly excited for the new Smash Bros series amiibo. Getting cheap Bayonetta figurines have not been easy for me. So 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.

(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.

But as always, I will condense as much as I can so you can read it during your busy schedule.

• First of all, all of the gear will be making a return in the same three categories: Hats, Shoes, and Shirts.
• New weapon variations were shown off like the Clash Blaster, the Flingza Roller, the Goo Tuber, and the Dapple Duelies.
• New sub weapons were also shown off like the Autobombs and Toxic Mist.
• Then the new special weapons were given a proper demonstration.
• You can now skip through Sheldon's long weapon descriptions.
• Turf Wars and all three of the ranked battle modes will be making a comeback, but all of the ranked battle modes will now keep track of separate ranks instead of all sharing the same one.
• A bunch of new arenas were shown off with some updated ones returning from the previous game such as Port Mackerel and Moray Towers.
• All battle maps and ranked modes will now rotate out ever 2 hours instead of every 4 like in the previous game.
• The tower in the Tower Control game will now stop at designated checkpoints throughout the match.
• It is now possible to raise your rank by more than one letter grade if you played exceptionally well in a match.
• Squad battles will be making a return.
• Customizing your gear's ability slots is now much easier and new abilities were shown off.
• The new Salmon Run horde mode of was shown to only be playable during predetermined times.
• New Salmonids were shown off like the Steel Eel and Fly Fish.
• There are some pieces of equipment that can only be won from Salmon Run.
• A new version of Splatnet will be coming to smart devices through Nintendo Switch's online service.
• The new amiibo will be used like memory cards to save your gear and weapon loadouts which can then be used to summon a "friend" you can take pictures with at the in-game Plaza.
• Splatoon 1's graffiti mode will be coming back without the need for Miiverse.
• Lan play is possible for more intense battles with minimal lag.
• A rhythm-based arcade game will be available to play using the music from the game.
• Some info about the Single-Player mode was shown off, but nothing new to report other than the fact that Marie refers to you as Agent 4.
• New content like maps, gear and weapons will be coming to the game over the course of around a year through free updates. One of these updates will include a brand new weapon type called the Splat Brella which is a close range scattershot that doubles as a shield, and another one called the Bubble Blower which makes large floating ink mines.
• With Callie and Marie being designated to the single player mode, two new pop idols named Pearl and Marina will be giving the player the news and will host the new Splat Fests.
• Splat Fests can now be played with players on your friend list.
• And finally, the game's first Splat Fest will go live on July 15 between the hours of 3pm - 7pm PT through a special demo from the Switch eShop. The theme will be cake VS Ice Cream.

So that's all I have to report today. I definitely can't wait for this game as I loved the original Splatoon quite a bit. I just hope I have time to play more Splat Fests this time around, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

Tengami is an amazing point and click puzzle game, that uses a stunning pop-up book mechanism along traditional Japanese art and storytelling. While being a short game with only three levels I still logged 2.2 hours of gameplay from start to finish.

With a 3D environment made in a origami style world. This is one of the most amazing games I have played. Along with amazing Dynasty era soundtrack that fits the mood of each level. After an update this game is flawless, there are NO bugs, and everything works perfectly.

The puzzles are fairly easy, and even if you get stumped there is an official walkthrough, along with a few secrets.This game is a great stress reliever, it plays like a virtual zen garden. This game has a great replay value, I have seen others log in as much as 13+ hours of game play.

This is a great debut for Nyamyam, the UK developer of Tengami. I can not wait to see what they come out with next. I see a bright future for them. Released last year on IOS and WII U. Now the game is available on Steam for PC and Mac for only $.9.99.

One question raised is whether PlayStation music will operate like the Spotify program for the PC, or if it will act similar to the mobile app. In the mobile app, the service takes similarities to common radio apps, in which you may listen to radio stations based off of songs or artists, or you can listen to your personal playlists on shuffle. Many people may bedisappointed if PlayStation music is simply Pandora radio for your PlayStation. Do you believe the fusion of music and video games will be beneficial? Or will it lead to more price tags andhassle?

View the official announcement here.

I recommend downloading Spotify if you have a stable internet connection, and want free music.

The video is centered almost entirely around the 3DS, but like always here's the short recap for you folks out there that don't have the time to watch the whole thing.

• Two things were revealed in Pokemon Sun & Moon; Alolan Rattata being one and a special Munchlax as an early purchase bonus being the other.
• A slightly watered down version of Super Mario Maker is being ported to the 3DS that lacks the costume mushroom and the ability to upload stages you made to the internet, but you can make collaborative stages with other people and complete special challenges in the pre-installed stages. It is set to be released on December 2.
• Some more info was shown off for Mario Party: Star Rush. It is stated to have 7 game modes, three of which are entirely different board game each with their own unique rules. The game will be released along side the second wave of Mario series amiibo on November 4.
• Animal Crossing New Leaf was stated to be getting a major update after being out for 3 years. This update will add amiibo functionality to the game and 50 new amiibo cards will be released along side it. In addition to this, a special version of the game, called Animal Crossing: New Leaf Welcome amiibo will also be released this holiday season that will include the update on the cart.
• The 3DS's Mii Plaza was given a new update which adds 5 new games (1 free plus $2.99 for each after or $8.99 for the full bundle), a special quick-start plaza, and a new queue for Mii's encountered via streetpass which bumps the total from 10 to a whopping 100. This update is available now.
• A new eShop exclusive title called Tank Troopers was revealed to be in the works which would have up to 6-player versus and customizable tanks where the abilities change depending on who's manning the vehicle. No release date was shown at the time of writing this article.
• Picross 3D: Round 2 was also shown for the eShop and was launched following the Direct.
• The Nindies Summer Jam started on the same day the Direct aired and revealed that 5 anticipated indie titles would be released over the course of 5 weeks with Axiom Verge being the first game on that list followed by Jotun, Noitu Love: Devolution, Severed, and Azure Striker Gunvolt 2.
• To celebrate The Legend of Zelda's 30th anniversary, four new amiibo were announced being 8-bit Link, Ocarina of Time Link, and a 2-pack that has Toon Link and Toon Zelda. They will all be compatible with Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
• Nintendo also teamed up with Darkhorse to make three new Zelda books with the first being an artwork collection with over 2,000 images spanning the 30 year history of the franchise. The first book is also available to pre-order.
• Zelda: Skyward Sword was also released on the Wii U eShop.
• The New 3DS XL now has a new galaxy themed color and the regular New 3DS has a new Mario themed bundle that comes with Super Mario 3D Land and two sets of Mario themed faceplates.
• Hyrule Warriors Legends showed off a new weapon for Toon Link being the Sand Wand and a new playable character being Toon Zelda among other things like a new adventure map based on Phantom Hourglass.
• Phoenix Wright: Spirit of Justice got a release date of September 8 exclusively for the 3DS eShop.
• Dragon Quest VII for the 3DS release date was revealed as well being September 16.
• Yo-Kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits/Fleshy Souls showed off some new gameplay elements and a special bonus medal for those that buy the game physically. They will both launch September 30.
• Disney Magical World 2 was also shown off with some Nintendo 3DS themes based around it being shown as well.
• Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice for the 3DS finally got an official release date being September 27 with a special launch edition which also includes a DVD containing 3 episodes of the TV that it's based on.
• Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse for the 3DS got a release date being September 20.
• A special version of Yoshi's Woolly World is being ported to the 3DS that will include a bunch of new stages where you play as Poochy and 30 stop-motion shorts featuring the two. Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World will be released February 3, 2017 along side the new Yarn Poochy amiibo.
• The new IP Ever Oasis had some gameplay shown off and will be released for the 3DS some time in 2017.
• Mario Sports Super Stars for the 3DS was revealed and was shown to include 5 different sports being Soccer, Tennis, Golf, Baseball, and of all things Horseback Riding. It will also have the ability to be played online or in local multiplayer. It will release some time in Spring of 2017.
• In a big surprise, it turns out that the Pikmin series is getting a 2D spin-off game on the 3DS. Judging by the gameplay shown, it looks like it might play similar to Kirby: Mass Attack. No official release date was revealed, but it is scheduled for 2017.

Well that's all of it. Out of all these, I'm probably most excited for the Pikmin spin-off, but only time will tell if it is any good. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

#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.

The NES Classic Edition is a miniature replica of the Nintendo Entertainment System that was released in the mid 1980's. While it can't play any of the cartridges that were released for the console, it does have 30 games selected and pre-loaded onto it which are listed below:

1. Balloon Fight
2. Bubble Bobble
3. Castlevania
4. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
5. Donkey Kong
6. Donkey Kong Jr.
7. Double Dragon II: The Revenge
8. Dr. Mario
9. Excitebike
10. Final Fantasy
11. Galaga
12. Ghosts 'n Goblins
13. Gradius
14. Ice Climber
15. Kid Icarus
16. Kirby's Adventure
17. The Legend of Zelda

    

18. Mario Bros.
19. Mega Man 2
20. Metroid
21. Ninja Gaiden
22. Pac-Man
23. Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream
24. StarTropics
25. Super Contra
26. Super Mario Bros.
27. Super Mario Bros. 2
28. Super Mario Bros. 3
29. Tecmo Bowl
30. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Not a bad list if I do say so myself. In addition to that, every game has 4 save states that can be saved at any time when you press reset on the system. Very helpful for some of those games that use a password system.

The pricing isn't too bad; at $59.99USD it could be much worse, but when you consider the fact that the second controller is sold separately for an additional $9.99USD, that can make or break a deal in some cases.

The emulation is top notch; the colors are nice and crisp and the audio is just as I remember it, plus I love that it has the option for a scan-line screen filter, but then again what would you expect from an emulator that was made by Nintendo themselves?

As far as originality goes, plug-n-play systems are nothing new, however the execution is what sells it. High quality games though HDMI output, nice and sturdy hardware and fantastic emulation that rivals the original console from which it is based. If you're a parent that wants your kids to experience your childhood with you, or are even just an enthusiast like me who lacks self control, this is a great gift that won't break the bank. Plus if you're a more daring individual the system can be easily modded so you can add more games, but you won't get any of that knowledge from me. Just be careful when shopping for one online; bootlegs of the console do exist and look just like the real thing at first glance. Be sure to do your research and buy from a trusted seller.

AUDIO

CHALLENGE

CONTROL

VISUALS

ORIGINALITY

EXECUTION

PROS:

• Good game variety
• Sturdy construction
• Not too expensive
• Easy to mod
• Controllers are compatible with Wii/Wii U Virtual Console

CONS:

• Second controller sold separately
• Low availability
• Can't play the original NES cartridges

The latest in the Super Mario Bros series is New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe. The game is both New Super Mario Bros U and New Super Luigi U from Nintendo's Wii U system, now combined for the Nintendo Switch. I haven't played a platform Mario game since Super Mario Land 2 and Super Mario Run. That is what NSMBU Deluxe reminds me of the best and worst Super Mario Bros games put together to make an Ok game. It's not game changing like Mario Bros games from the past. Super Mario Bros 1 helped popularized the platforming genre. Super Mario 3 gave us a way to reply levels and a new structure of gameplay. Super Mario 64 gave us our first open world to the universe that led to some of the best sandbox games we have ever played. The mod community forced Nintendo to create the best Mario game of them all, Super Mario Maker.

Though we are not here to talk about that amazing game, we are talking about a port of a Super Mario Bros game from one of Nintendo's most disappointing console next to the Virtual Boy. NSMBU Deluxe may be easy, this is the first time I've seen an option for an easy mode since Super Mario Land 2. A lot of people have talked about the controls and I couldn't agree more, unlike Super Smash Bros you can not remap these to your preference. Playing with one hand using the pro controller I found it kinda of hard to do things like getting a boost with the flying squirrel power. It was also tricky to do a butt breaker first try.

I know we are in 2019, though it is sad when retro looking indie games look better than a triple-A title like NSMBU Deluxe. I wish they gave us a downgrade option in the graphics to give it more of that classic look. To me, it just feels like Super Mario Run meets Super Mario Bros 2 for NES. The reason why I compare this to Super Mario Bros 2 for many reasons. It's the first time you have the option between different characters since Super Mario Bros 2. There are aspects of the game people love about it, along with dislikes. Though even if there is a love/hate relationship with Super Mario Bros 2, which I found out a few years ago was originally Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic (translated as Dream Factory: Heart-Pounding Panic and usually referred to as Doki Doki Panic) in Japan, and remade into Super Mario Bros 2. You'll always be pleasing the hardcore Mario fans. If you're really good at platformers this is a short experience with story mode.

(History of Super Mario Bros 2 by the Gaming Historian)

There is some ok level design in both Super Mario Bros 2 and NSMBU Deluxe. I feel NSMBU Deluxe will have the same fate as Super Mario Bros 2. It seems like RND took the worst parts of the Famicom Super Mario Bros 2 controls and tweaked them to be even worse for NSMBU Deluxe. Though there are some fun aspects to NSMBU Deluxe. The challenge mode is actually quite fun. It's a great break from the story mode. Though I don't know if it is enough to keep people playing. Like I said there are some great indie platformers that have a great balance and are expanding on the genre for a third of the cost of NSMBU Deluxe. You could get four or five indie titles for the same price as NSMBU Deluxe. Though if you are a lover of Super Mario, this game may be for you. For me, I'll play this off and on throughout the year, though I'm holding out for SNES ports to finally make their way to the Switch.

Like I said in the beginning, I have not played a platformer Super Mario game in a long time. I wanted to see what I was missing seeing I never owned a Wii U because I thought it was a waste of money for me because I could never play the gamepad with one hand. So Nintendo graciously sent me a copy to play. I just hope we see some really good stuff seeing January was not so good with first-party titles and delaying Metroid Prime 4 for a few more years. We believe in you Nintendo, you can do it!

After 16 years of waiting, System Shock 3 has finally been officially announced. Otherside Entertainment are now at the helm of development. Otherside Entertainment are also partnered with Night Dive Studios. Night Dive Studios is a company that are trying to revive old classics. They are also currently working on the System Shock 1 remake.

Otherside Entertainment first launched a teaser site with nothing but an image of a logo that read "System Shock 3. Then, shortly after, the site displayed a countdown timer to what many fans correctly assumed to be an official announcement. After the timer concluded, the site displayed a large green computerized image along with the System Shock 3 logo as well as Otherside Entertainment's logo.

Interesting enough, if you try to save the green image, it will automatically name it to "Shodan." Not much is known so far about System Shock 3 besides that it is in development by Otherside Entertainment.

For more on System Shock 3, stay with us at novoGamer.

Scott Pilgrim Graphic Novel

Scott Pilgrim vs The World (Film)

Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game

Well, that's all I can say about this. If you wish to buy the books or the movie, you can get them from Amazon for pretty reasonable prices and if you wish to buy the game, you can download it to the PS3 and XB360 for about $15USD. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

Graphic Novel Score:

Film Score:

Game Score:

The troops are your main means of getting a large bronze bell from your side of the field toward the back gate so you can proceed to the next stage. Once again, by itself, this sounds fairly easy enough, but you also have that big freaking cannonball to worry about, and it CAN kill your soldiers if you aren't paying attention. However, if you can find it, there is a power-up that can help with this. If your odama is glowing green, not only will it not flatten your army, but it will also turn any enemy soldier that you crush over to your side. This is often necessary as adding more troops to the field will raise your army's morale making them more likely to follow the orders you will eventually and inevitably scream into the microphone.

If it wasn't already hard enough that these two gameplay elements were clashing head to head with each other, there is one last one that pushes the difficulty over the threshold from being reasonably fun and challenging to being a hair pulling nightmare. Each and every level in the game has a VERY strict time limit that results in an INSTANT loss regardless of how many odamas you have left. This time limit bullcrap is the reason why I was unable to legitimately get past the eighth board, otherwise known as The Spider Temple.

While this game is extraordinarily hard, I don't at all hate it. Its challenge is excruciating, yes, but it more than makes up for its short length. It reminds me of those old NES games that were short but had enough challenge to make it worth it. All in all, I suggest you try this game out if you're looking for a legitimately challenging game that is guaranteed to make you rage. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

Score:

So from the get go I noticed that the wireless controllers that came with it used infrared instead of radio waves or bluetooth. It was incredibly annoying to try and play the games like this as the controller needed to be pointed DIRECTLY at the console's face in order for it to properly work. Luckily, I had some wired controllers from a previous iteration of the system that I could use. This is when things started to get weird. While the Flashback lists itself as being a "classic" game console, in actuality there is a small chunk of the 101 pre-installed game on it that are homebrew games (like Chase It, Miss It, and Shield Shifter) that were released within the last decade and a couple of them were games that were never officially released at all (like Tempest, Wizard, and Save Mary). While this is nice, it kinda undermines the "classic" aspect that the system is advertising on the box.

Next is the fact that many of the games in this compilation were designed to take advantage of the manuals that originally came with them. With the manuals being absent, much of the gameplay that was used in some of the games (like in the Swordquest series) is now extremely cryptic or utter nonsense as there is now no way to figure out what they mean without looking up a walkthrough online. Even Atari Anthology on the PS2 and XBox had scans of the original manuals that you could access at any time. This is just lazy.

Finally, we have the fact that a small handful of the games in this system like Off the Wall and Circus Atari are best played with the rotational paddle controllers. Now I didn't get the special bundle pack that already had these controllers, but I wasn't willing to spend an additional $20-30 just so I could play with these cheaply made controllers; they feel like I could break them if I just sneeze in the wrong direction. In addition to this, this console is composite output ONLY. There is no way to get this thing to work on an HD TV unless it already has a compatible input or if you have an adapter of some kind.

Overall, this plug-n-play is baffling to say the least. It calls itself classic even though about 10% isn't, it has games that work best with controllers that it doesn't have (unless you pay extra), and the lack of manuals make the rest of the compilation confusing to figure out. If you already know the solutions to the games then that should make some things easier, but all in all this console is pretty lack luster for the amount it costs. It would make more sense to buy Atari Anthology, so until then, I'll be seeing you.

Score

I love waves. Give me waves of anything and I will destroy it. Especially rats. The Vermin are here and I have been given badass medieval tools to slice dice or blow them apart?!

CAN YOU SAY GAME OF THE FREAKIN' YEAR?

Okay, I may be a little hyped for Warhammer: Verminitde. It's obviously not out yet but this game is shaping up to be a cross between Diablo 3, Left For Dead and Chivalry. And it is about goddamn time.

While Killing Floor 2 has done more than enough (and its still not done!) to satisfy my need for waves of enemies to blow apart, the Warhammer universe brings a new angle and even more craziness to experience whilst slaughtering Skaven.

With multiple classes and loads of weapons both melee and ranged this game takes what Killing Floor does so well and (hopefully) turns it up a notch.

Warhammer: The End Times - Vermintide comes out October 23rd.
Here's to hoping it doesn't suck.

please

Developer Frogwares and publisher Bigben Interactive have unveiled their new entry in the Sherlock Holmes game series entitled Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter.

Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter is a detective crime thriller set for release in Spring 2016 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The following comes directly from Frogwares and Bigben Interactive's announcement:

"Featuring taut action and investigative work, Sherlock Holmes: The Devil’s Daughter, the eighth and latest entry in the franchise, will push your abilities to the limit in a one-of-a-kind interactive experience.

With numerous suspects in each investigation, every choice you make could drive the story in unexpected – and possibly deadly – directions.

• Take on five thrilling and confounding cases.
• Freely roam an expansive landscape of playable terrain.
• Maneuver fast-paced action sequences to challenge your every gaming skill.
• Play a unique blend of game mechanics that lead to an unprecedented experience.
• State-of-the-art graphics bring the streets of Victorian London to life.
• For the first time in his storied career, Sherlock Holmes’ ruthless logic is overwhelmed by family stories, irresistible emotions and an occult revenge."

Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter will be shown exclusively to the press during Paris Game Week from October 28th, to November 1st.

ATTENTION!

The contest has officially ended, but unfortunately nobody entered. However, if you still want to fill out the crossword, I'll leave this article up so you can still do so. The answer key can be found on Fractyl here. I wish you all the best of luck with next year's contest!

In February of 2014, Sega announced Sonic Boom: Rise of\r Lyric, which was to be the first game in a sub-franchise of the ever-popular\r blue blur, tying in with a toy line and a new cartoon. The game was to be made\r with the Crysis Engine, boast beautiful visuals, and provide a gameplay\r experience not unlike classic sixth console generation platformers. The game\r was developed by Big Red Button, which was comprised of experienced developers\r who worked on Uncharted, Jak and Daxter, and other beloved series.

Well, that could have gone better. The game was released with poor sales, critical panning, and scalding reception from fans.

This rough reception sounds awfully familiar, doesn't it?\r Let’s rewind about eight years, to when the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 had just\r hit the market, and Sega was developing a Sonic game that would take full\r advantage of these new consoles. Sonic the Hedgehog (often referred to as Sonic\r Next-Gen or Sonic 2006) was marketed with an epic story, a day to night system,\r and a massive world to explore.

Whoops.

If the Sonic franchise is a classroom, then Sonic 2006 is\r the butt of all jokes, the student with minimal talent, a grating voice, and many\r bugs. People still mock that student to this day, even though he has long since\r left the classroom. At the very least, he was musically adept.

In a franchise as saturated as Sonic’s, with many different\r games spanning a variety of genres, Sonic 2006 has been the laughing stock of\r the franchise, with fans and detractors of the series alike never forgetting\r its massive faults, regardless of the quality, good or bad, of any game to come\r out since then. To a critic, this can seem like an unusual perception. To a fan\r who was disappointed with Sonic 2006, it’s as though the game’s poor quality is\r a residue that has splattered onto every Sonic game to come out since then. It\r is justified to find this unusual. In the mind of this critic, the quality of\r one product does not represent the quality of a franchise as a whole.

The Sonic franchise does not have the luxury of being seen\r this way, as it has far more games than most franchises, and has been a beloved\r part of many gamers’ lives. As such, it can be difficult to look at the series\r objectively. One’s emotions can easily get in the way. This way of viewing the\r series has lead fans to blind themselves from enjoying other games in the\r franchise.

Sonic 2006 and Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric’s similarities are\r clear. They’re critically panned, hated by the fanbase, and are both made fun\r on a memetic level. So what are the differences in their failures? What\r separates Rise of Lyric from Sonic 2006 comes down to their development periods.

Rise of Lyric was developed by a third party\r company, Big Red Button, whereas Sonic 2006 was made by Sonic Team, Sega’s go-to developer for Sonic games. The rumors as to what went wrong during Big Red Button’s development\r of Rise of Lyric have been piling up since the game’s release. Supposedly, most\r of Big Red Button’s staff was fired during development, causing the game to\r suffer. The game was riddled with even worse glitches than Sonic 2006, including a means for finishing the\r game within a half-hour. Further, the Crysis Engine did not work well with the\r Wii U’s hardware, resulting in a significant difference between the game’s\r promotional trailers and the final product (Mind that the HD version of Sonic\r Unleashed, a game with Pixar level visuals, was released on consoles less powerful\r than the Wii U).

The nail on the coffin was that the game did not fulfill any\r of the promises that were made before its release. The proposed character\r development that Sonic was going to go through did not happen, several plot\r threads are alluded to and dropped, returning and new characters alike serve\r little to no purpose, and in the end, little is accomplished to justify this\r new Sonic universe’s existence. Not a good sign for Sega, let alone Big Red\r Button, who might have Rise of Lyric as their only game.

Sonic 2006’s poor release can be attributed to Sega wanting\r to rush the game out to store shelves in time for Christmas, therefore leading\r many game elements to be left on the cutting room floor. Quality control was\r almost nonexistent. The game’s disc didn’t even have hacker protection. It\r wasn’t the first game to suffer from a rushed release. Suffice to say, it won’t\r be the last.

Whether not Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric has the same negative\r impact on the series as Sonic 2006 has yet to be seen. But it shouldn't.

Sonic 2006 represented a problem with Sega’s treatment of\r their flagship franchise, and they would later go on to rectify these problems\r with later games. While opinions vary on games like Sonic and the Secret Rings,\r Sonic and the Black Knight, Sonic Unleashed, and Sonic Lost World, they were\r much more well-received than Sonic 2006. Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations are\r especially praised for appealing to Sonic fans both old and new, as well as being\r quality games in general. Rise of Lyric’s failure does not represent anything.\r It is a bad game developed by a third party company, and that is the extent of\r it.

It seems that the mood of the Sonic fanbase, as well as\r outsider opinion of the series, depends on the objective quality of Sonic's\r most recently released game. Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric has left the fans\r disappointed, turning them somewhat bitter, and there is no doubt the game will\r be used as ammo against Sonic Team's next product. The fanbase should find\r solace in the positively received Sonic Boom cartoon series (Saturdays on Cartoon Network), and Sonic's more beloved recent games. 

If any lesson should be taken from this, it's\r that even a poor product can lead to a positive outcome. Sonic Boom: Rise of\r Lyric, like Sonic 2006 before it, may stand as a memetic failure in a franchise\r with many ups and downs, but it should be nothing more than that. Only time\r will tell if the fanbase will allow it.

The mechanics can be a bit rough without any prior knowledge, since the game can overload you on information. The tutorial can help, but you may find that it's easier to learn on the go, playing a few practice games is the best way to understand the mechanics. Don't be discouraged right at the start. The game is rewarding to learn, and eventually you'll find yourself managing an entire empire AND an army at the same time with a few clicks. 

Endless Legend possesses a fairly powerful non-player AI at its disposal. Past the normal difficulty the AI expands quickly, and falls into their preferred victory type quickly. You'll find that the more militant AI will expand and build armies quickly while the more political will send you compliments or peace treaties, hoping to win by forging good relations with all other players. The competent AI provides an enjoyable and challenging option for players who cannot play online or chose not to. For those who look towards the challenge of real players, you might find that online matchmaking is poor, so you may have to do a bit of searching looking for players. This is a problem all 4X games possess, the time requirement for games such as these means you cannot knock one out in an hour, games can span days or even weeks, depending on settings. Building up a friends list and setting times to play is crucial, since most evenings will end with a save to be picked up later. 

It would be remiss not to mention the flaws in the game. It contains some minor glitches and bugs, such as quests not working properly or minor crashes, but considering the quality compared to more recent releases, they are only minor inconveniences. Considering this, the overall quality far outweighs this tiny issues. The online works fantastic, and rarely do you experience crashes or internet issues that would impede gameplay. 

Easily a top 5 game of 2014, it was easy to miss Endless Legend if you don't actively monitor alphas or 4X games. But I highly recommend anyone interested in joining the 4X genre or just looking for a fresh start try out Endless Legend. The developers are still actively patching and updating the game with new content, and I see a bright future for the series. 

Having recently played ODST for the second \r time, I can still say with confidence that it's my favorite Halo simply \r due to its narrative. Of course, if you were to ask me the before to \r explain why, I'd honestly be stuck in just saying the structure. I \r couldn't tell you why the structure worked so well, the theme it \r carried, and what it does for the player. I'd almost leave the \r impression that you could impress me with that kind of narrative \r technique despite its use. Now, after about five years, I can do all of \r that. But in doing so, I can't help but see where it fell short of being\r something more than just the beatnik of the Halos.

In ODST, the main character is Rookie, the newest member of the \r squad. He is silent through the entire game, and only becomes a vital \r role to the game's sub-plot at the end. Even then, however, his role is \r to simply act as another gun or driver for the more important characters\r in the sub-narrative.

Early on in the game, the squad gets scattered as they drop into an \r invaded city. The Rookie is knocked out for several hours, and wakes up\r lost and alone in the city. The plot, at this point, is simple: reunite\r with the rest of the squad.

As the game begins, the player, as Rookie, is introduced to the city \r they came to. Being several hours after the initial invasions and \r battles, the city is dark and generally silent. Deep neon lights dot \r along buildings in a jazzy green or red that stand out along a lot of \r black, and dark iron. It's a color combination I can only describe as a \r war-torn poetry club. The music adds to this, by clashing with the tone \r of being alone in a warzone with a dreamy piano tune accompanied by low \r brass and strings.

The low tension, yet mysterious atmosphere almost feels disneyesque. \r There's a sense of wonder that comes over the player- a child like \r desire that demands to slowly stroll through the streets and take in the\r low lightning and dark towers as just another mystery to solve. The \r idea of being attacked or harmed is almost out of sight, and the player \r feels more relaxed. They end up craning Rookie's head around, not \r minding the lack of action or speed as they soak in the world around \r them, a world that's all too inviting to tell you a wonderfully \r fantastic tale.

This is when the theme is starting to get pushed. Rookie isn't a \r desperate, scared, and battle hardened vet looking to find his squad \r and save the day, he becomes something smaller and more naive. Rookie \r becomes a child lost in the expansive and dark woods behind his \r backyard. He's lost, but unafraid. He's focused, yet curious. Little \r trinkets he finds, become artifacts from a great warrior from long ago. \r Shadows are mysterious woodsmen or monsters, hiding and watching him as \r he travels through, but scared and hesitant of the strange thing in \r their woods. Everything he finds tells a fantastic story, despite how \r trivial the object may be, and that's where the rest of Rookie's plot \r comes in.

As Rookie wanders the rest of the city, he comes across items of \r interest that relate to his squad. He uses these items to follow\r their trail and eventually reunite with them. Whenever Rookie does find\r an object of interest, the player is temporarily taken out of the shoes\r of Rookie as one of his squadmates to experience what \r happened to them when they were scattered. This tells the story of how \r they came together, and then accomplished their mission from each \r member's perspective. While this does well to serve the purpose of \r fleshing out the squad, and organically giving players the typical Halo \r experience, this could also be interpreted as a part of Rookie's own \r character.

When Rookie finds an object, his interactions with the object can be \r seen as somewhat childlike. He'll get scraps of metal to poke at a \r hanging rifle, he'll jump on a broken turret and aim it around, as a \r child would play pretend. The idea here is Rookie is drawing his own \r conclusions, and while what the player sees during the flashbacks to the\r teammates could be very well how they transpired, they are also in huge\r contrast to Rookie's own situation. There's a lot more shooting, \r explosions, bravado, and drama. The term unreliable narrator comes to \r mind when thinking of these sections. Like how many children would over \r dramatize an object they find, the Rookie could very well be doing the \r same. Maybe his squad didn't kill that many aliens, or had so many close\r calls. Maybe one just took a fall and got hurt, or tripped and lost his\r gun.

It's a journey of discovery where a person can only understand so \r much thanks to the little they find, and due to these findings, their \r imagination runs wild. The game feels less like a war simulator, and \r more of just a lost simulator. Discoveries carry a lot of weight, and \r constantly bring you towards something familiar that's buried in all the\r mystery the city holds. It's a story that illustrates value on what we \r know, and how it can affect our perception of realities. These realities\r can be very fantastic, and exciting. Maybe not true, but the point is \r they cause us to create our own narrative and expand on what may or may \r not be real. And sometimes we need those fantasies to keep moving, and \r to hold out hope for finding our own familiar security- to find home.

Rookie could have assumed at anytime that his squad had died on \r arrival, or killed in action, but he didn't, because he created \r narratives that kept him motivated. They kept him alive.

Now with all of that said, you might be in agreement that Halo: ODST \r did have quite the story to tell, right? Well, it's all the more sad \r that the game abandons this approach as soon as Rookie does find his \r squad. Nothing is talked about, but the currently front-running sub-plot\r of saving a specific alien due to its knowledge. While this plot \r doesn't necessarily come out of nowhere, it does undermine all of \r Rookie's story before hand. Rookie's experience never truly feels \r complete and concluded, despite him achieving his goal. The focus is \r quickly changed to a very forced and cliche love story, as well as the \r rescued alien. And this focus is so strong, it makes me feel like that \r Bungie only did it to remind the players that ODST was a Halo game.

It's such a shame that such a much more interesting narrative had to \r be sacrificed for the sake of the source material, which did well to \r simply act as a base for the rest of ODST and Rookie's story. It's \r almost offending how quickly Rookie is tossed aside for two much less \r developed sub-plots.

If Bungie had somehow kept to Rookie's story of simply finding his \r way home, I think they would have been able to make ODST stand out more \r in the Halo crowd. It was the first game to not feature Chief, and \r instead emphasized on the struggles of the human characters. This let us\r get closer to Rookie already, and his journey felt much more human than\r anything else in the franchise. Maybe it wouldn't be considered the \r best game in the series, but I believe many more people would appreciate\r it, had it stuck to the path.

It's a bit ironic, and also quite sad, that a game about being lost, ended up lost in the shadow of it's older brothers.

But I can hear your clamor, "It has a seamless storyline, so what? It's a video game, there's more to it". I couldn't agree more my hypothetical straw-man gamer, but would you believe me if I told you that wasn't all there is to this game? Gamers of old had to have started playing somewhere, and if you were like me it was with Jumpman 'Mario' Jumpman; And if you remember playing that game, don't worry, we're not that old yet. The controls of this game are as clean and simple as they get, you can jump, you can dig and hit things with your shovel. Gathering treasure is still important to shovel knight apparently because there's a tonne of it wherever you go, and you'll want to pick it all up; because who doesn't .There's some extra power ups, but otherwise there are no combo's you need to memorize. It feels clean, plays like a charm on any platform (and every platform). Shovel knight has made it to pc on steam, to the 3DS, to OS X, Linux and will be coming to playstation 3, 4 and vita (I'm looking at you xbox one).

These days, platformers have made a return through indie games. A strong return too, as well as pixel art. So if you like that, this will blow your mind. The art is easily one of the games strengths. Each level is crafted with awesomeness, from the plague infested castle of the aptly named plague knight, to the icy landscapes of polar knight. It's glorious in all it's pixely splendor. The music on the other hand, is amazing. Every tune is beautiful, and the best thing is their collectible. They really set the atmosphere for every level, its like actually being there; and if you stayed for the retro art style then you'll stay for the chiptune goodness that is crammed into every second of this game. The music is easily my favorite aspect of this game and I think Yacht games hit this nail right on the head.

So if you find yourself with a couple of hours with nothing to do, and have an affinity for retro games and a flair for odd weapons. Then you'll love digging yourself into this game.

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

The BFG 9000 from the DOOM series

With a name that is literally an abbreviation for "Big Fucking Gun," you can just imagine the kind of sheer force that is expelled from the barrel of this monster. The BFG 9000 fires highly concentrated bolts of plasma that explode into an immensely powerful concussive shockwave vaporizing anything unlucky enough be to within range. The BFG also appears in the DOOM film that was released in 2005, but it was renamed as the Bio Force Gun.

The Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device from the Portal Series

While not a weapon per say, the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, otherwise known as the Portal Gun (or as I like to call it, the ASHPoD) is used primarily for opening miniature wormholes to get you from point A to point B much faster. This also makes solving the puzzles issued by the psychotic GLaDOS during her little "tests" much easier as just about all of them need the Portal Gun in order to complete them. Plus if you happen to know a thing or two about physics, you could turn all of those cubes that you have to lug around into catapults using gravity alone.

The Needler from the Halo series

Unlike most people, I happened to like the Needler from the first Halo. If used properly, the weapon's explosive glass needles would deal a ton of damage against whoever was unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end. I suppose the only real downfall is the fact that its shots moved through the air at a snail's pace, but in my opinion, the homing feature makes up for that. Plus it can be dual wielded in Halo 2, doubling the amount of explosive crystalline fury at hand.

The Super Scope accessory from Nintendo

Unlike every other gun on this list, the Super Scope was a real accessory that was made by Nintendo for use with a small handful of games on the SNES. It was calibrated with a sensor that was placed on top of your TV set and was powered by six AA batteries. Because of the impact this particular weapon had on the gaming community (and because of how cool it looked), this weapon was revived in the Super Smash Bros series, but instead of it being a harmless toy, it instead fired bolts of light that could be charged up for extra power.

The Scarborough Fair from Bayonetta

While this weapon is technically four separate handguns by the names of Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme, the Scarborough Fair instead feels like one gun as they are part of Bayonetta's fighting style called Bullet Arts. She grips one gun in each hand and the other two are strapped to the heals of her boots. They are made of a demonic alloy that makes them virtually indestructible and are used for killing angels due to a contract she made with a demon called Madama Butterfly. These guns are replaced by a blue variant called Love is Blue in the sequel, but I think these guns are more cleverly named and look much better as red.

The R.Y.N.O. from the Ratchet & Clank series

Bought by a shady looking merchant at the end of an alley on a distant planet, the R.Y.N.O. is a portable auto-targeting rocket launcher with multiple barrels making it obscenely powerful, especially considering that "R.Y.N.O." is short for "Rip You a New One." It also changes its appearance in each game, but that doesn't diminish its power in the slightest. It's just too bad that it is the most expensive weapon in the series, often costing millions of bolts to purchase.

The Morph Gun from the Jak & Daxter series

This gun, which is given to Jak by Krew as payment for an important delivery, has the ability to be quickly modified on the fly into one of 12 different weapon styles. These include a close range shotgun, a rifle with a laser scope, an arc cannon and even mini nuke launcher. This was one of the best and most versatile weapons in any game I've ever played, and the games were also good enough to back that claim up.

The Crossbow from Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath

This is probably one of the most unusual firearms I've encountered, but also one of the most unique. This crossbow was custom built to be used by a bounty hunter known as the Stranger and is mounted on the back of his right hand. The crossbow itself is nothing special on its own, but the ammunition it uses is very unique to be sure. Unlike most crossbows that use arrows or short bolt-like darts, this one uses creatures picked up by the Stranger as he's on his hunts. Some of these creatures are zappflies, stingbees and fuzzles and each one is unusually dangerous despite their names.

The Peanut Popguns from the Donkey Kong Country series

These wooden handguns first appeared in Donkey Kong 64 and are wielded by Donkey Kong's nephew, Diddy Kong. Despite the fact that they are made of wood and their ammunition is peanuts of all things, they are surprisingly powerful and have left quite an impact on the series as they reappear in later Donkey Kong Country games whereas the weapons of the rest of the DK crew didn't. They are even used by Diddy Kong again in the Super Smash bros series where the ammunition will sometimes drop shelled peanuts that can be eaten to regain health.

The Blazefire Saber from Final Fantasy XIII

Okay, I'll admit this is cheating a little bit, but the way I see it is that even though it is technically a sword, it can still fire live rounds which effectively makes it a gun. This weapon (and variations of it) is used by Lightning in the Final Fantasy XIII saga and in Dissidia 012. Because it is also a sword, if it happens to run out of ammo (which never happens in the game), you can still use the blade for melee strikes. This gun also appears in the game The 3rd Birthday as an unlockable bonus.

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.

This app will allow you to be the overseer over your very own custom vault. You can manage the Vault Dwellers to keep them in high spirits and send them out to scavenge for supplies. You can also breed them and defend your vault from internal and external threats like, radroach attacks, vault malfunctions, and raider attacks. You can collect special lunch boxes to win prizes and items to supply your vault. This app is FREE to download and there is no "freemium" elements. The only thing you'd need to sink your money into is the special lunchboxes to get a little extra supplies every once in a while. 

Once again this is free to play and download, and available now on iOS. The Android release is sadly a bit late, but hopefully they release it soon. 

Windows 10, the Next Big Thing for Microsoft

First of all, the release is July 29, next week. Excited yet? You should be. Not only are we getting a complete update for the famous operating system free for Windows 7 and Windows 8 users, but also the much anticipated release of the phone assistant, Cortana, for specific phones. Windows 10's release not only offers benefits for PCs, but also for the Xbox, Windows phones and tablets, and other interesting devices like virtual reality headsets.

How To Get It

First off, Microsoft has made Windows 10 more accessible than ever before. The home version can be bought at the price of $119/£99/€135, but that's not the thing that's making people happy. It's the fact that anyone with Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 can update their OS to Windows 10 for absolutely free. Notable, however, is that this offer is only available for one year, so don't slack on that (though I don't expect that many will). Another thing that is absolutely notable is that this is update from Windows is quite special. It's the reason why I've been calling it an update for most of this article: it's more of an update than an entirely new OS. Not only is this slightly different in changing Window's philosophy to versions of Windows, but it's almost an extension of a previous Windows version. You can download and install this Windows without losing any of your data at all, according to Microsoft.

There are in total seven total versions of Windows 10 that cover many different systems, including Home, Mobile, Pro. Though those aren't all, those are the ones eligible for free download under the deal of upgrading from a previous version of Windows. Others include Windows 10 Enterprise, Education, Mobile Enterprise, IoT Core.

New Features

Windows 10 offer many functions that vary depending on the version from a better alt+tab to a better computer search to being able to schedule restarts, but for the sake of discussion, it could be most closely related at an improved Windows 8 in both appearance and functionality. While it's absolutely true that the release of Windows 8 wasn't exactly world-shattering in revolution – in fact, it was more of a step back in usability upon initial release – Microsoft has listened to the pleas and overhauled the entire thing, even skipping the number nine this time around.

Compared with Windows 8, Windows 10 has been stated to offer a more usable interface for multitasking and the return of the start menu verily. From the start (pardon the pun), the start menu employs Cortana, the assistant from Microsoft's Halo series who we all know and love. Stating that her integration will bolster capabilities in multitasking or general use through day to day activities, it's something quite new to see in an OS. While Apple has employed an assistant to some success, they've never spanned into desktop computers or anything larger than a tablet. Cortana will be the next big competitor, facing against already popular assistants like Siri and Google Now. Though I'm not usually one to touch the digital assistant, I'd be pleased to see what potential she has.

Because Microsoft has released their line of more portable devices, we've seen a blend in the styles between tablets and phones to those of down to earth desktops. Though the initial introduction of such a design in Windows 8 led to an experience of staggered usability, Microsoft has tried to learn from their mistakes and implement what are truly the best of both worlds. While there are features like "home" view, we still manage to have the tried and true start button amongst many other details that we might've been missing from Windows 8. As seen, one could imagine Windows 10 being a modernized Windows 7 and use it at that alone.

Another line of usability that might be drawing from tablets or phones that have the ability to directly multitask through separate windows is the fact that Windows 10 allows you to have multiple desktops. No, not multiple windows using the alt+tab, but actually multiple desktops with independent windows and applications open. This might be the most useful when you are doing two significantly different tasks, such as discussing a business plan on Skype and reviewing the Excel spreadsheets on one desktop while reading novoGamer on the other.

Something that is interesting is that, while in recent years security for devices have meant fingerprint scanners, swipe locks, and other neat things, that all changes with this new Windows. Not only does Windows 10 offer support for fingerprint readers like most devices do now, it also is planned to implement infrared face scans, 3D cameras, and iris scans. Yes, it is the future! Now we just have to wait for devices to actually have infrared cameras, 3D cameras, and iris scanners.

You might be reading this and find it underwhelming, the new features, but in total there are way too many to cover in one article. Microsoft has been slowly releasing the features behind their tech quite slowly, but that's only been adding on to the anticipation of it all. I believe we won't have a full grasp of what's to come until we actually use it for the first time – or we find out a year afterwards some amazing feature that would've come super handy had you known about it earlier.

Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge? What's that? You may be scratching your head that you've never heard of one of Microsoft's biggest features for Windows 10, and that's just how they want it: Microsoft Edge is the new Internet Explorer. That's right, Windows 10 will feature the new browser with a new name, no longer associating itself with the shoddy, slow one we love... to hate. Under the name Project Spartan until now, Microsoft Edge is reportedly completely redesigned. This might be your next favorite browser! That's right, favorite! Because the browser will be built into the OS, it will be able to operate at higher speeds, better efficiency to its already substantial performance, and will even feature Cortana. Yep, she's everywhere, even giving tips whenever you pose for a selfie on how to smile... not really, I hope.

One thing of note is that IE is still there, but not as a traditional browser. When certain plugins or third party programs are needed, Internet Explorer still serves a role.

How Windows 10 Is Going To Change Gaming

For gaming, Microsoft 10 is coming with DirectX 12. Yes, you heard me! No more DirectX 11, but a more powerful API with much stronger performance on all aspects. This is expected to expand the limits of PC gaming quite a bit, especially with better 3D modeling and such required games. The new technology is claimed to have better manipulation of graphics cards, "unlocking" their potential, as well as having backwards compatibility to DirectX 11 cards. GameSpot recently provided a test which results can be seen here:

Click on the image to see GameSpot's full article on the matter. Other features that Microsoft claims to be evident in the new DirectX 12 is a 50% power consumption reduction and just general higher performance for a better experience with gaming and more efficient computers. Because of this, it might be possible that this starts a new generation of graphics cards, and Microsoft has already been working with Nvidia to produce promising results.

The DirectX 12 release should also help Xbox users to see a boost in performance, as that console implements it as well for its graphics processing. It should be noted, however, that many Xbox developers have stated that they don't have high hopes for the new technology, in contrast to PC users. Microsoft's Xbox division boss, Phil Spencer himself stated:

"On the DX12 question, I was asked early on by people if DX12 is gonna dramatically change the graphics capabilities of Xbox One and I said it wouldn’t. I’m not trying to rain on anybody’s parade, but the CPU, GPU and memory that are on Xbox One don’t change when you go to DX12. DX12 makes it easier to do some of the things that Xbox One’s good at, which will be nice and you’ll see improvement in games that use DX12, but people ask me if it’s gonna be dramatic and I think I answered no at the time and I’ll say the same thing.“

Even so, we here at novoGamer believe that DirectX 12 will allow for a larger space for game developers to work with and also hardware specifications to expand. As Mr. Spencer said, we may not see a huge difference, but one may appear over time.

Another big thing for Xbox users, Windows 10 offers something pretty huge in the gaming industry. You know what gaming device is also owned by Microsoft? That's right, the Xbox. According to sources, Windows 10 is offering cross platform play between Windows and Xbox. While it's not clear how many games will be supported, Microsoft invited a few developers to create games to get the ball rolling and initial results have been reported to be successful. While it's not clear how usable the games are with the physical limitations of using a keyboard and mouse over a controller, it's certainly the next step with using cross platform play with the PC. Nevertheless, this will make the console/PC war a bit more literal.

Another interesting feature that will be featured in Windows 10 is supposedly Microsoft's Windows Holographic. Debuted earlier this year, Microsoft is trying to literally offer a Window (get it) into the virtual reality world. Very credible names like Oculus have already been invited to try to make games for the new device and, from early reports, it's working out well. What's amazing is that support will come with Windows 10. No downloads from their website, no extra programs.Virtual reality may become the next big thing for gamers at home, surprising many.

To pair with those awesome features, Microsoft will be releasing what they call Hololens: a full PC, packed into a small headset, completely standalone. During Microsoft's presentation of the technology, they featured the someone wearing the virtual reality headset building a small drone with 3D software by Microsoft named Holo Studio, similar to what you might expect from AutoCAD. Afterwards, they actually brought the drone on stage: she had been building it real time with a 3D printer backstage, which only goes to show the detail that can be managed through the 3D view. We can only hope that the same detail provides a crystal gaming experience when that very same headset will be undoubtedly used to stimulate virtual reality. One factor that will probably be necessary is that you may need to connect it to an actual desktop PC if you wish to play beefier games, but we might be able to see implementation of technologies like Steam's broadcasting service for wireless use.

Something interesting, however, is the thought that you have a 3D headset, right? And you also have Microsoft's shining, smart, blue A.I., Cortana. That's right, something you could very well expect is an actual holographic projection of Cortana coming out as your digital assistant. If that doesn't happen, it's almost guaranteed that someone will make one!

Last Windows Version

This will be the last version of Windows. Worried? You really shouldn't be. Because of how this Windows is being written, there won't be any big updates like this one anymore. This is what Microsoft is saying, but I wouldn't be too surprised if something pops up later in life. However, the reason why there doesn't need to be any more updates is because Microsoft is gearing towards smaller updates. Updates a little more like how Apple handle updates. When an Apple computer updates, it's something you do overnight or even just while you're out grabbing lunch; suddenly your computer is running OS X Yosemite and you're good to go for the rest of the day. Compare this to Windows, where every version is a purchase, a new install, and what feels like a new computer. No more of that now, as Microsoft is planning on making itself more of a service, meaning that it will provide small updates and improvements.

Microsoft states that this is all possible by making stuff in the operating system modular. Confused? It's really quite innovative. If you imagine a car, Microsoft has taken the mentality that you replace the outdated things, the parts that have been broken, the parts that can be taken out relatively easily without replacing the car. By using this metaphor, if you imagine that Microsoft would be able to fix the start menu, or maybe the desktop, or maybe Microsoft Edge, without updating any major changes. However, a car is likely to need to be eventually replaced, which is why I say that I wouldn't be too surprised to Microsoft 11 or Microsoft 12 jump out at us within the decade.

Remember to mark the date, everyone, July 29th!

As there has been no statement from developer or publisher, many are left with speculation with the main theory being that WB Games consider the sales numbers for the PC version to be poor and have decided to not to invest further with that version. Many have been quick to point out that sales of the PC version are likely to have been affected due to the bug heavy port on release and while patches have since cleared the problems the PC version had, many have voiced disillusionment over WB Games’ PC support when also factoring in the infamous PC version of Batman Arkham Knight that still had problems following its re-release.

At least six games were teased in the trailer for the system being Skyrim Remastered, an untitled NBA game, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, a currently unnamed Mario title, and what appear to be enhanced ports of Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon. Only time will tell if the remastered games are truly remasterings or are just proof of concept for the system's hardware. Additionally, a rather impressive list of developers (written below) have also signed on for supporting the Switch long term.

• 505 Games
• Activision
• Arc System Works
• Atlus
• AudioKinetic
• Autodesk
• Bandai Namco
• Bethesda
• Capcom
• Codemasters
• CRI Middleware
• DeNA
• Electronic Arts
• Epic Games
• Firelight Technologies
• FromSoftware
• FrozenByte
• GameTrust
• Grasshopper Manufacture
• Gungho Online Entertainment
• Hamster Corporation
• Havok
• Inti Creates
• Koei Tecmo
• Konami Digital Entertainment
• Level-5
• Marvelous
• Maximum Games
• Nippon Ichi Software
• Parity Bit
• Platinum Games
• Rad Game Tools
• RecoChoku
• SEGA Games
• Silicon Studio Corporations
• Spike Chunsoft Co
• Square Enix
• Star Breeze Studios
• Take-Two Interactive Software
• Telltale Games
• THQ Nordic
• Tokyo RPG Factory
• TT Games
• UBbisoft
• Ubitus
• Unity Technologies
• Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
• Web Technology Corp

I personally can't say if Nintendo knows what they're doing this time around, but the concept of the Switch is certainly promising and quite unique. I just hope that it has a decent battery life. The Nintendo Switch will launch in March of 2017 and I assure you I'll definitely be one of its early adopters, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

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

Bravely Default is a newer game for the Nintendo 3DS made by JRPG genre veterans Square Enix and follows in the footsteps of Final Fantasyby having many of that series staples like a team of four, job classes, and turn-based combat. Unlike that series though, it has two features called Default (an action similar to defend in which you give up that character's turn to store one point for future use), and Brave (an action in which you use up that character's saved Default points to attack multiple times in one round). This made battles much more strategic as you had to think of the best times to use these commands in order to win, especially in more difficult fights.

EarthBoundis the second game in the Mother trilogy of role playing games made by Hal Laboratories and APE inc of Nintendo. Going outside of the tradition of having games of this genre set in a medieval setting, EarthBound breaks that trend by having the game set in a modern setting more analogous to the United States set in the mid 90's. Another feature that made this game stand out was its health bar system. Whenever a character got harmed, their health would slowly roll down like the numbers on an odometer. This caused a level of tension and urgency that was not common in turn-based JRPG's of that time and it was a nice way to change up the tired formula.

While this series originally started off without this feature, it eventually became a series staple when Final Fantasy IV came onto the scene. This battle mechanic made it so that turn-based combat was completely phased out in favor of performing your action when your turn meter is filled. Enemies could also do this and attack before your turn can begin making battles much more tense as your character could potentially die before you get a chance to finish casting a spell or using an item. I've always been more partial to normal turn-based battles, but this is a nice change of pace.

Pokemon is probably the biggest cash cow that Game Freak and Creatures inc has created for Nintendo. It has literally hundreds of monsters that you can recruit and train for battle against other monsters that have been trained by the opponents you will face in the game. Now because you can literally make your own team of six of these beasts, they had to be designed with unique qualities about them. These qualities, called "Types," causes them to resist or falter against attacks of specific types that clashes with their own. Since each pokemon could have a mixture of any two types, it creates a large array of strategy that made the turn-based combat very interesting, especially since attacks got a power boost when they were used by a pokemon of the same type as the attack.

This game is a rare gem. The entirety of the game is focused around time travel and the exploration of two separate timelines created by the main character early in the game, but that's not what I'm going to be focusing on. This game had a rather unique battle system where all the enemies were placed on a 3x3 grid and could freely move around in the space that they had control of. Now because a lot of your attacks would be AOE-based instead of just attacking an enemy straight on, you could push, knock aside, or grapple enemies so they would all reside on the same square so you could attack and finish them all off at once. This made battles much more involved as it made the player think of strategies that could vanquish foes as efficiently as possible.

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door hold a very special place in my heart for its fantastic story telling and surprisingly engaging battle scenes, plus it had clever ways of implementing the game's art style into the gameplay which hadn't properly been taken advantage of since then. My favorite things about the battle scenes though would probably have to be the Stylish Commands. These actions could be performed at specific times during attacks, but because a prompt doesn't show up for the right time to perform them, they are often overlooked and difficult to time correctly. Successfully pulling off a Stylish Command however excites the audience and gives you more stage appeal which charges your special meter much more quickly. I had a lot of fun with this feature.

Chrono Trigger is masterpiece among the JRPG genre. It had a fantastic story that flowed naturally and had organic character development for its time. Even the music was perfect for setting the atmospheric tone of each area and time period in the game, but the gameplay was rather unique among JRPG's around the same time. Instead of the standard four party members on one side of the screen and the enemies on the other side, you had three party members that could stand anywhere on the field assuming there was solid ground. This was also featured in a few other JRPG's around the same time, but no other JRPG (at the time) had the Tech system that Chrono Trigger had. In addition to each character having their own special attacks that use up Tech Points, characters could also team up and unleash Dual and Triple Techs that would be far more useful that the sum of their parts. This made battles much more interesting and had a very unique strategy about it.

Golden Sun hearkens back to the golden age of JRPG's when they were just starting to get popular. It has a simplistic combat system and a story that was compelling, but easy to understand, but the customization with the game's collectible Djinns was what made the game interesting. In each of the three games, there was a multitude of small creatures called Djinns that you could find and equip onto each of the characters in your party. Each one would boost the stats of the character that it was applied to and would also grant them access to certain spells. In addition, while in battle you can activate one (or many) of the Djinns at the cost of the bonus stat boosts they offer and it will perform an action like attacking the enemies or healing your party. This gave combat a very nice risk/reward mechanic that I wish would be implemented in more games.

Now this is an interesting title. Pier Solar and the Great Architects is a much newer game made in the style of JRPG's from the 90's and released physically for the Sega Genesis (Mega Drive) and Sega Dreamcast, and digitally for many modern consoles. It had the same tropes of JRPG's of that time like turn-based combat, element-based spells, and random enemy encounters, but what made this game stand out was it Gather command. This ability, that all party members could perform, caused the character that used it to gather energy for increased power or to use specific abilities, or to transfer to another party member so they can use a specific skill earlier. This strategy of saving and sharing power among teammates gave the game a much better appreciation toward the characters as a whole as they all play important parts in battle and would help each other to get the job done more efficiently.

This game was an unusual one, and probably a little overlooked as this was the only game from this series that was released overseas. Magical Starsign was a space themed JRPG for the Nintendo DS with heavy emphasis on the use of magic spells. Tapping the character that just cast a spell at the right time increased its effectiveness, and spells act in accordance to an element wheel that is similar to Rock-Paper-Scissors. But what really made the battles interesting and fun was the mechanic that caused the spells to change their area of effect depending on whether the character that cast it was in the front or back row. Spells cast from the front row would only target one, but if it was cast from the back row, it would target all in the area. This would make changing rows a strong priority as many enemies were immune to, or could be healed from certain elements and this would cause trouble for the player if he/she didn't take immediate action.

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.

Daybreak Games (Formally games under Sony Online Entertainment) have today launched cross platform support on the EU servers of DC Universe Online (DCUO), meaning that players on the Playstation 3 and 4 version of the game will be sharing the game world with PC players. The US servers are also due to merged this week.

The announcement of cross platform play was originally made during DCUO’s 5 year celebration week. Other announcements include DCUO coming to XBox One in Spring 2016, Water as a new Healing powerset (All powersets have DPS trees as well), a 4^th colour pallet for costumes, access to unlock gear or costume styles for alternate characters and new signature characters for Legends PvE and PvP modes based off the recent debut of the “DC Legends of Tomorrow“ TV show on The CW Network.

Where do I begin? Lawbreakers is an arena shooter that really brings downright fun to the table. It is slightly reminiscent of old school shooters of its genre like Quake or Unreal Tournament, with a modern shooter twist to it. Lawbreakers can be summed up in a couple of words: dazzling, but lacks a bit of luster (hopefully these things will be fixed by the time of the full release). But where does it fail? Where does it succeed? Well first off, Lawbreakers fails at a couple of things that I noticed right away.

CONS:

For one, the classes seem to be really unbalanced as of now. I started off playing as the assassin and being completely new started cleaning house without even knowing how to effectively use my specials. The reason being is that the two daggers you have seem to have a ton more reach then they should. All the other classes are okay and have problems but they work to how you would expect.

Another is the game mode they offered for the often beta, which was great except for one detail. For all of you that don't know, this game mode is charging a battery that both teams need to fight over and who ever charges this battery first will win. This is where the problem lies. In this game mode the battery cannot lose charge. So say red team has the battery charged at 98%, but the blue team comes in with three of the Titans, come busting down your door and all activate their special and shock the shit out of everyone, steal the battery bring it back to their base and by the time everyone has spawned they've already won. Might seem unlikely but it happens!

PROS:

Now for the positives! One thing I would like to say is to say how thankful I am to Boss Key Productions for really working with the Alpha community and listening to the problems we have had and actually fixing them to our satisfaction. Sure there is a ton more that still really needs to be fixed, but just seeing the forum and seeing them to respond to almost every single one of the pleas is fucking amazing. You guys should really pat yourselves on the back.

Another thing, the game's atmosphere is goddamn gorgeous. The visuals are amazing, everything is animated very well, you name it and it looks great! The only thing I would say that is wrong with the visuals is the more photo-realistic art direction than one more cartoon-like which would have made the game a lot more timeless. It would have fit the game a lot more in my personal opinion.

The game-play is great. Shooting at your foes, finding a way to sling behind them with your grappling hook and go for the kill is so much fun. I have to admit here that over time I really start getting angry with PvP games. This one however really didn't do that. I was very shocked at myself that I wasn't getting mad at the game; everything really seemed like it was all out of good fun! Honestly I really like that about this game because when you die, you can only really blame yourself for what happened because there are so many ways to avoid death. There are heath stations on the map where you can stand in and get healed to get back into the fight. There are also so many different ways to escape combat that you know you cannot handle alone. Zero-G is where the game gets fucking crazy now. There are these anti-gravity zones that seem to randomly appear through out the arena and really change up the way combat works. Almost all the classes have one special dedicated to how you move. This really comes into play as you are drifting about in zero-g, you really have to rely on that to keep you moving and dance your way around your foes before you run out of juice. When the cool-down starts you feel hopeless. Just trying to defend yourself in any way you can 'til you can get the hell out of there.

Verdict:

Overall, while I enjoyed my experience with the alpha, there are a lot of minor adjustments that do NEED to be fixed. I would really recommend this game to be tried as of now. Boss Key said there will be more Alpha tests down the road! So while you can, I would try to squeeze your way into that Alpha before it's to late! Expect a better review when it's released!

Game Director Jeff Kaplan replied to a post on the Overwatch Battle Net forums about highlights and had this to say: "The game will temporarily archive 5 highlights from your last play session. Playing only one game will only result in one highlight. Highlights are not currently saved if you close the game and come back. Our hope (and what we're working toward) is to allow players to save highlights or export them to a video format someday."

And this one on D.Va : "Yes she gets taken down quickly if she is fighting multiple targets, unlike Winston/Reinhardt because of their barriers. When I say she is difficult to kill its speaking from a smaller skirmish standpoint, which she can usually set up due to her Flight ability. There was a time, when she was first implemented, where she had more damage than she does now. The way that played out is that she would fly into someone's face, destroy them, and fly away. There was little that person could do because her mobility. As I said I think she can use some help in other areas, but I don't have anything concrete yet. The goal is that she should be a viable aggressive initiation tank, much like Winston can be right now, rather than some sort of beefy flying assassin. So any changes will likely be helping her in that direction."

Principal Designer Geoff Goodman replied to a post as well asking McCree to nerfed : "I've been watching McCree carefully since we've released. McCree's flashbang plays an important role in being a strong option against very fast/agile teams (tracers/genjis/etc)....That said, its probably a bit too good at dealing damage to higher health targets such as Tanks and barriers. I don't have any concrete changes yet, but I'm going to be testing some things internally to see how he plays....Right. I think I wasn't clear enough. By saying 'its probably a bit too good at dealing damage to higher health targets' I mean his flash/fan combo, not the flash itself. Fan is more likely to see changes than flash at this point."

All of these were from yesterday, May 31st. Overwatch's Principal Designer and the Game Director himself are already working with gamers to make their experience better. All at no extra cost to the consumer. What really makes my controller vibrate though, is this sentence from Mr. Goodman right here: "I've been watching McCree carefully since we've released."

Now I've never been a part of a game development team but since when has a Principal Designer ever only focused on one character? Which means you can reasonably assume that he has been closely monitoring all 21 heroes. What else are they thinking about updating and patching?

Blizzard is saying all the right things, hopefully we will see their ideas blossom with Overwatch for years to come.

Which hero do you think should get the nerf hammer?

INITIAL THOUGHTS-

For those who loved the original resident evil this game is a god send! For those who never played it, even more! The game is new and improved, featuring updated sounds, graphics, lighting and even some new puzzles.

VISUALS-

The game looks stunning, the lighting is gloomy and fits the tone well. This is the type of game I would love to get an art book for. The redone textures look amazing and the player models look great too.

CONTROLS-

When starting a new game, players are given the option to play with the original controls or the remastered controls. People have described the original controls as 'tank like' and I agree, but don't think it's a bad thing. You adapt to the controls and the it puts you on edge during intense situations. The new controls allow for easier use of the joystick and I feel take away from the experience. It allows for faster and more precise turning and overall more accurate movement. However if you were put off from playing because of the original controls are recommend using the new controls, so you can still enjoy the experience.

COMBAT-

Scary. The encounters with enemies are few and far between until later in the game. Making every new room you enter your possible final resting place. You may think you've got the controls mastered, but when you hear the sound of a zombie shuffling towards you, your hands will become a water park of sweat, and the controller will slip and slide around in your hands like no ones business. You will be on edge. And when you think you're safe. Ka-POW! You're dead.

COMPLAINTS-

- The addition of new puzzles might confuse fans of the original.

-Lack of understanding at the beginning of the game can have major consequences later, and this might turn players away.

-Zombie models repeat each other (not really a complaint but could have been easily changed).

OVERALL VERDICT-

Excellent game. Fans of the original will want to replay it, new players will love playing it. Would recommend!

I've recently learning a lot aboutTurtle Rock Studio'snew gameEvolve. One of the first games that I watched was hunt mode, I thought the concept of hunt mode was awesome. In the game after the monster reaches max level it is able to attack the reactor. After watching about a dozen matches it always ended with one of the two teams dead and the reactor mostly untouched. My first though was entire addition of the reactor was pointless and stupid, but after thinking about it the game can't work without it.

A hunt match takes ten minutes to play max. If both sides are still standing at the end of the matchTurtle Rockmade it so the hunters will win automatically. In doing so there is no reason for the hunters to attack the monster. As long as they can avoid the monster for the ten minuets they are in no trouble and can win without engaging the monster. Because of this they added the reactor so the hunters "avoid strategy" is useless. If the hunters choose to avoid the monster, it can attack the reactor instead.

The reactor itself can't regenerate lost heath and the monster could solely attack the reactor and win knowing every hit he made is permanent and he knows the hunters can't kill him quick enough to stop it, butTurtle Rockwas cleaver in their solution.Whenever the monster wants to damage the reactor they approach it, press a key and let the animation do it for them. If the monster would take any damage during the animation, it would stop. Because of this the monster can't damage the reactor whenever the hunters are nearby, preventing the monster from getting a cheap victory.

The sole purpose of the reactor is to kick-start the final confrontation andto make the hunt meaningful. The reactor draws both sides to it to kill each other. If ether side fails to show they would lose. The high stakes ending that makes the game fun to watch wouldn't happen because the hunters would avoid the monster the entire match and walk away victorious. And the reactor give purpose to the hunt because the hunters don't want to fight a max level monster. The hunters willactivelysearch for the monster while it's low level and try to kill it before they areforced to fight the monster because they need to stop it from destroying the reactor.

Sources:

https://www.turtlerockstudios.com/

http://evolvegame.com/media/images

Image URL:

http://downloads.2kgames.com/evolvev3/images/uploads/markov-hunter-evolve-1024x576-0042.jpg

Following these patches which are announced to be released quote, "We expect these updates to be ready at the end of October", the company plans to re-release the PC version to the general public.

The PC version of the game was originally removed from sale due to many user reports of performance issues to the point that the game was unplayable resulting in Steam's biggest high profile use of its refund policy since the introduction of the service earlier this year.

The majority of the comments responding to WB's Steam post, understandably perhaps, have not been kind.

Brief commentary:

I am curious on people's views on the two main debates that came from this indecent. First over the culture of Pre-ordering and whether it has as place in the digital age and is it just an early cash grab for publisher's?

Second, is the debate of whether PC players were being screwed over or not based on the expected quality for their choice of version and if developers should develop on PC first then scale for consoles, or remain as is it which is most of the time console first then scale for PC.

Debate away in the comments.

Although the news of the existence of a System Shock remake isn't exactly new, this is the first video that has been shown to the public. Built on the Unity Engine, System Shock: Remastered Edition is Night Dive Studio's attempt at both a 1:1 remake and a re-imagining of the original System Shock. Some features, such as the user interface and graphics, are getting a completely overhauled redesign in order to feel fresh for fans of the original game and to be more viable to a new generation of players.

Stick with us as news of System Shock: Remastered Edition and System Shock 3 develop further.

That was the beginning paragraph of the editorial called "Pound of Flesh" in issue 53 of Amiga Power magazine, just shy over 20 years ago in September 1995. It would be accurate to say that this editorial is only infamous for gamers in the UK save for a handful of Amiga enthusiasts overseas. Even then it will only be known for those of us that were in households that either chose to have an Amiga 500/600/1200 as their gaming machine, or in the case of myself, a household that couldn't make enough money to get into the console craze that Nintendo or Sega were offering at the time and had to settle for the option of getting a cheap Commodore machine where budget games could be bought for as little as £2.

However for those few of us old gaming fogies who were avid Amiga Power readers, their commentary in September 1995 has been coming back to our memories at this time , probably more so given that we are now over year of GamerGate happening.

The two page spread (Which you can view a scan of here) took a sarcastic tone to the subject of collusion and conflicts of interest, not as a way of dismissing the notion that there were issues between news outlets and publishers but simply because everything Amiga Power did was with a mocking tone. It was what made them popular with readers. They were rebels without a cause and openly, brazenly in fact, mocked and jabbed at everyone else in the Amiga community even their big sister publication Amiga Format, which was under the same publishing arm of Future Publications.

While reading a quote from the piece "after the meal, Binary Magician Interactive's PR guy Gary let me drive his Testarossa to the office. He's great, and we played the game for an hour while chatting about getting hammered together that night" it is obvious that the line was made for comedic effect and not to be taken too seriously as an actual example of what went on with reviews. With hindsight of the last 20 years with what we have since learnt about some the practices that have gone on between reviewers and publishers, there is an element of truth to AP's comedic statement.

In fact if you take selected moments of the article two decades on, you can match them with incidents that have been reported or at least speculated within the last decade.

This still remains one of the main talking points and concerns with consumers. How much influence is exerted on reporters and reviewers as a result of being "wined and dined" by publishers? William Usher talked about this three years ago in an article for Cinema Blend. John Walker wrote a blog about this subject in October 2012

If the words of former editor of Official Australian PlayStation 2 Magazine Richie Young are to be believed, one does not need to have to become close to a developer that an affair can happen. If you want sex in exchange for positive coverage, publishers have allegedly been willing to go that route!

"And it shall pass that the reviewer can't get off level one. And he shall not care for the game, or want to play it for more than 20 minutes. But lo, he shall be fearful of the software company dropping advertising and missing him off the free create of beer list at Christmas, and he shall tremble and quake mightily as all rival mags have given it a high score. So he shall give it a score low enough to dissuade potential buyers, yet high enough to pacify the software people. And that score shall be the NUMBER OF THE BEAST, and it shall be 73%."

The scoring of games has become such a messy debate that it is surprising that not many review magazines and websites have abandoned scoring games altogether. Putting aside the asinine reaction of the small set of readers who are offended that a game they place all their hopes and dreams on only getting 7 out 10 and not 9, the lack of trust in publications giving scores without any influence from game publishers has been greatly noticeable for a number of years now. Not to mention the inadvertently created horror that is Metacritic which has shown the complete disconnect between reviewers and consumers and much worse, led to the culture of developers struggling to gain employment because companies demand that they have a profile of games that score 90 or above on the website.

The most famous incident of impropriety between publishers and reviewers over the score of a game is still Jeff Gerstmann losing his job at Gamespot in 2007 following his review and average score awarded to Kane & Lynch Dead Men while Eidos was paying for game to be heavily advertised on Gamespots? website.

" These graphics would be remarkable enough on a PC 486DX, so they're truly astounding on a CD32' is a euphemism for The Amiga version's still three months away from completion, so we've played the PC version on a 486DX, even though it features texture mapping and gourard shading far beyond the capabilities of the Amiga and therefore gives a completely false impression of the game. But hey, we've got the much vaunted and meaningless exclusive" And you think we're making this up.

For the moment I would say that it would only be speculation that this still happens today. I have yet to see a review of a multi-platform game that did not disclose which version was used to review the game. I had some notes of allegations of this happening more recently on websites but those links turned up as smoke however do not construe that as me dismissing that it would ever happen. If anyone does have examples to offer, please post them in the comments section below, I will be happy to edit later.

Take more quotes from the article and you can likely think of a similar incident that has been reported or alleged within the last five to ten years. I would be easy to argue that it is cliched to use the phrase "The more that changes, the more things stay the same", however given what we have seen in the twenty years since AP's editorial is that it can't be considered cliched, if in fact it is proven to be true and accurate to say about the state of the gaming press.

The fact that we can look back two decades ago at this article and say today that the same things have been happening in the industry, solidifies the argument that GamerGate was not a sudden explosion from one moment of impropriety. It was the straw that broke the camel's back from twenty years or more of abuse by the media that was suppose to be advising and protecting the consumers. Amiga Power might have been able to find humour in it back in 1995. Today with the industry worth an estimated $80 Billion, consumers do not find it funny anymore.]]> 55LJJjRD4V7 Thu, 08 Oct 2015 09:02:00 +0000 https://novogamer.com/articles/review-star-fox-zero-Z8QgwLBV56 The wait is finally over. After nearly a decade after the release of Star Fox Command, we are finally treated to a brand new Star Fox game that isn't a re-release or an enhanced port of an older entry in the series. HOWEVER, it unfortunately isn't a new addition to the story as it is a full on reboot of the series' timeline. In addition, I have also had an unfortunate lack of self-control as I often found myself reading early reviews of the game before its official release, and almost all of them say the exact same thing: They "disliked the game's gimmicky controls" or it is "failed to recapture the spirit of the original." Well I played it thouroughly and in this review, I intend to disprove those so-called professional reviews that likely never gave the game a chance.

JUST A HEADS UP
Unlike my past reviews, this one contains major spoilers to the game's rebooted story.
If you do not wish to be spoiled on the game's altered plot, please stop reading now.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

Now as I was saying, Star Fox Zero has been completely rebooted and everything in it was re-imagined from scratch. Shigeru Miyamoto has even described it has being neither a sequel or a prequel, so I guess that would be an apt enough description. The game for the most part has the same design as the previous games where you would either fly down a predetermined path and shoot anything that impedes your progress, or have free-range flight where you need to actively hunt down your targets. But an additional level element was added to the game to make it feel a little more cinematic: Target Mode, where the target enemy is always the focus on the TV screen. This is where the game's new control gimmicks come into play.

Unlike Star Fox 64 or Star Fox Assault, Star Fox Zero has a brand new control scheme that tries to take advantage of the Wii U GamePad as much as possible. The GamePad's screen always has a first person view from the cockpit of the Arwing, the radio transmissions from your squad-mates and enemies only come from the GamePad's speakers, and aiming the targeting reticle is primarily done with the GamePad's gyro sensor. In addition to these GamePad gimmicks, the controls were mixed up a bit as well in an attempt to try and emulate the controls of a fighter jet (all steering is on the left stick, thrusters and rolling is on the right stick, and the ship's guns and bombs are on the ZR and R buttons respectively). And if that wasn't enough, there are three vehicles that each have different controls with two of them having the ability to transform which alters their controls even further. With these new controls and gimmicks, it makes the game feel a bit awkward and confusing to play, especially during the Target Mode segments where the camera focuses entirely on the enemy. It all makes it feel not fun...AT FIRST.

You see, this game had a very unusual form of Stockholm Syndrome on me. After I did a few missions in the game (about 2 hours worth) and played through some of the alternate paths, it all suddenly clicked for me and the controls finally started to make sense. From that point on, I was starting to enjoy the game much more than I was previously. The action was fast and exciting, the varied gameplay styles were a nice change of pace, and the environments were creative and colorful. I was even able to finally enjoy the music as well as most of them were remade from Star Fox 64. The amiibo features were also quite fun; playing as the Retro and Black Arwings gave the game a new challenge to it I was hoping for. It's just a shame that after I had gotten used to the controls that there is no multiplayer (local OR online) outside of the local Co-Op Mode (which is basically a Han & Chewie mode where one pilots the ship and the other mans the guns).

Now the story and level progression is where this game takes an unprecedented turn. Unlike Star Fox 64 which is where Zero gets most of its inspiration, the game is mostly linear with branching paths having little to no impact on the ending of the game. This is a rather big oversight as Star Fox 64 had a great reward system where in most stages if you did an unknown additional task during the level such as killing a certain number of enemies before the end or by keeping a certain character alive, you were given the opportunity to take a harder path which would lead to the true final battle and the canon ending of the game. Because that is no longer the case, there is now a lack of motivation to unlock the alternate paths (even though I did it anyway). In addition to this, many of the stages from the original game have been renamed, removed or completely changed to fit the new story. The Nebulae Sectors are now Alpha, Beta, and Gamma instead of X, Y, and Z; Area 6 has been replaced with a new Sector which appears to be a black hole called Sector Omega; Aquas, Katina, Macbeth, and Bolse are completely absent; and the biggest offender, Venom has been reduced to the size of a small moon and remodeled to be a Death Star like device. This last bit right here is why I can safely say that Zero is a reboot and not a re-imagining; it makes the plot of Star Fox Command completely null and void. That being said, I still really liked the level design and I loved the boss fights.

Now the post-game content is probably where a lot of players will get the most enjoyment assuming they stuck around long enough to beat the game. Finishing the main story once will unlock Arcade Mode which is a one sitting play-through of the game with no system map, and only ONE life. You can collect three gold rings to store an extra life for later, but they unfortunately don't stack. That means, one extra life is all you can keep at any one time. This, and the fact that the game keeps track of your high-score and all of the different flight paths you take during a single run is what Miyamoto was talking about when he and Platinum were trying to make the game as replayable as possible. And every time I beat it, I can't help but shed a tear whenever I see that dedication to Iwata in the credits.

All in all, Star Fox Zero is quite fun, but only after you get the hang of the controls. As such, I will not be giving this game a star score like I usually do since it is very much an acquired taste due to the steep learning curve. The remade story completely changed the timeline for the earlier made games, but if Nintendo were to continue the series, I'm sure they could figure out how to reintroduce old characters and worlds. Now the physical version of the game also came with Star Fox Guard as a bonus, but I'll cover that another time. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

While attending this year’s New York Comic-Con, I\r had the rare opportunity to use the Oculus Rift for the first time. The Oculus\r Rift is a three dimensional video gaming device that tracks the motions of your\r head in order to control your character’s movements. The game system’s technology utilizes a\r strap-on visor and headset in order to immerse the player into the world of the\r game with a full range of vision and surround sound capabilities. The game I played was a flight simulator\r based on Dreamworks’ “How to Train Your Dragon.“ As my character flew over the ocean, I was in\r awe of the spectacular graphics and accurate motion tracking capabilities of\r the visor as I looked in all directions.\r The experience was so immersive that an attendant had to tell me to “take\r it easy on the controls.“ In those two\r minutes I spent playing, I had become more immersed in a video game than I had\r ever experienced in the countless hours I have spent on other console and\r computer games. This technology heralds\r a new era for the gaming industry. In\r only a few decades, video games have gone from 8-bit graphics to complex three\r dimensional worlds. With the Oculus\r Rift, the concept of virtual reality gaming now seems feasible, and with it, a physical and mental evolution of the gamer.

I feel that the goal of gaming has always been to\r immerse players in a new world, inhabiting another person’s body, and\r experiencing physical and mental challenges that may not be possible in their\r own lives. Games as they are now rely on\r joysticks, buttons and triggers in order to carry out an array of functions\r such as running and picking up items.\r These factors ground the player in reality and keep them detached from a\r heightened experience of gameplay. Basic\r motor functions are carried out by pre-programmed functions and animations\r within the game. What if these functions\r depended upon the player’s own physical actions in order to be performed (beyond the motion sensor capabilities of the Wii and Kinect)? What if video games immersed the player\r through senses such as touch, instead of just sight and hearing? Any person is sure to notice a distinct\r difference between swinging a sword using the B button on a controller, and\r holding the simulated weight of a sword in their own hands. Physical stimuli evoked from a video game\r would have major health benefits for players.\r Playing video games would no longer be limited to problem solving and\r hand-eye coordination. It would be an\r experience that requires players to engage their minds and their bodies in\r order to complete challenges, resulting in a new form of exercise. The adrenaline released from this exercise\r would serve to increase a player’s overall physical health and mood. Enjoying all of the fantastic experiences\r some games would have to offer would be dependent upon how much a player is\r willing to improve upon themselves both mentally and physically. "Achievement unlocked" would no longer be a generic means of praise for the players doing what they are supposed to do in the game, but a true sense of achievement from pushing their minds, bodies, their entire being, in order to accomplish their goals. Eventually, this same feeling will inspire gamers to push their limits in other parts of their lives, such as their careers.

However, I believe it is important to remember that\r games such as this must also be designed to accommodate physically challenged\r individuals, as basing a game’s functionality on complete body control would be\r discriminatory toward the handicapped.\r While some might like the idea of complete physical control of a\r character in a game, there might also be individuals who enjoy the prospect of\r complete mental control of a character.\r What this would entail is using a person’s brain activity and thought\r patterns to control video game characters.\r Joysticks only have so much accuracy when aiming at a target or changing\r direction, but future technologies might be able to calculate a character’s\r movements based on factors such as a player’s eye movements and focus, creating a new level of\r precision control. Complete mental\r control would also provide handicapped individuals with realistic simulations\r of physical functions that may no longer be available to them, since thoughts\r would dictate actions. There is always the fear that individuals might become dependent on this type of escapism, choosing to experience simulations of a fully-functioning body more often than experiencing life in their own limited ones. However, if video games can be programmed to react to brain stimuli, who is to say they cannot be programmed to respond to the brain with stimuli of their own? The clash of swords could replicate the feeling of an amputee player's arm tightening. The sensation of running could simulate the feeling of weight pressing on the feet of a paraplegic person. Eventually this technology might yield advancements in the production of prosthetic limbs, electronic eyes, etc., allowing the brain to recognize these appurtenances as part of it's organic makeup.

In USBB you have more range than up and down. You have full 360 degree movement along with the classic fighting power move. I'm not going to say this game is easy, though the more I played the game the more I felt like Esports master.

The game has ten characters to choose from, all with different stats and abilities. Just like Street Fighter, every character has a backstory on why they are at USBB which gives the player that desire to win to see the outcome of each character. You will not get bored trying to master your favorite few, or the whole roster.

I've seen USBB on sale a few times over the summer, so you might want to put this on your wish list for that next time you are looking for a fun game to play that may become the next Mario Tennis Aces killer.

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.

Original Post

Mercy Covington is 41 years old and a mother of 3, so it is exceptionally important that she is brought home safe. A Facebook profile was also created in hopes of finding Mercy called Findmercy Covington. This profile hosts as much information possible on the mother of 3 for anyone who may have seen her and a number you can call if you have any information regarding her disappearance. So, if you have ANY information regarding the disappearance of Mercy Covington, please call (214) 200-5693 (you can even remain anonymous, if you would like to be). Please help bring Mercy Covington home.

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.

Although, this isn't an announcement of a sequel (Alan Wake's American Nightmare excluded), it's worth noting that in the DLC for the original Alan Wake entitled "The Writer", Alan Wake writes a book named "Return."

A sequel to Alan Wake has never been out of the question. In fact, the creative director at Remedy Entertainment, Sam Lake, had this to say about a potential sequel in April 2015:

"For Alan Wake, from the get-go, we assumed there was going to be a sequel and we mapped things further out when it came to character, story, details and focus changes," said Lake. "We knew we would have to iterate and refine, but there was always a rough road map there.“

Stay tuned as the story develops further...

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.

Bloodborne is the latest upcoming game from FROM soft, the developers of Dark Souls and Demon Souls. Dark Souls is my favourite game of all time so it's no surprise that I am super hyped for Bloodborne. And I think you should be too!

YOU MAY BE THINKING-

• I was disappointed by Dark Souls 2, how can I trust FROM soft to deliver a good game?
• There are two different teams in FROM soft, the A team and the B team. The A team has the genius Hidetaka Myazaki, who is working on Bloodborne. The B team does not have Myazaki :/
• Dark Souls was hard, I don't want to be punished for playing a game!
• Suprise! Myazaki has said that he wants to make it more open to casual players. Man up and grab the game by it's balls
• But I haven't played any of the previous games, how will I know what's going on?!
• This game isn't even a part of the Souls series! (Though recent theories on r/Bloodbornethegame would tell you otherwise). The lore will all be fresh and groovy, dive in!

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT GAMEPLAY-

Listen, this game is faced paced and bloody. It's risk and reward. It's a lot more forgiving than the previous games but no less hard. New weapons that have multiple different set-ups (We're talking swords that transform into even longer swords, hammers turning into swords and one knife, into two knives! This means you can changing your weapon setup while in combat! No more shields but you get a gun now. Time your shots right and you'll stun an enemy, leaving him open for a brutal counter attack. Character customisation has been hinted at but not confirmed (I have high hopes though).

THE WORLD-

Souls games have always been rich in lore. Bloodborne should be no exception. A world filled with mystery and misery. Beautiful Gothic architecture and bright dancing flames adorn every alley and plaza. The enemies that inhabit it are frightening and dangerous, very spooky and will keep you edge.

FINAL WORDS-

Look these kinds of games aren't for everyone, but seriously if you like the look of any of the screenshots and like the look of it,, check out some gameplay!

Last month Starbreeze AB: an independent creator, publisher and distributor of high quality entertainment products; announced their agreement with 505 Games to acquire the full rights to the PAYDAY-franchise. The consideration for the acquisition amounts to 10.9 million B-shares in Starbreeze, equivalent to 30 MUSD.

Along with creating new DLC for PAYDAY 2, Starbreeze partnered up with CMUNE (UberStrike) to create a mobile PvP multiplayer game set in the Payday universe. This 2-8 player game let's you for the first time choose whose side you want to be on, the heisters or cops. Challenging your enemies in iconic locations from the bank to the Golden Grin Casino.

If you where at E3 for the past few days you may have passed by booth #F5A and have had the chance to play OVERKILL's new PAYDAY 2 DLC; The Biker Packs, along with the PAYDAY: Crime Wars demo. Please comment below seeing I was not there unfortunately, so I have no review of the demo Expo goers had a chance to play. Though I do know it will be out on both iOS and Android devices with a release date TBD.

I am very excited that this game is coming out. Like many mobile gamers, I have been waiting a long time to see PAYDAY crossover from a PC to a mobile platform. I hope I can get my hands on it soon, maybe even test drive what looks like to be a very will thought out crossover.

Ah, the MMO...

A genre seemingly dead, yet somewhat alive; In a coma would probably be the best way to describe it. Why? Well, could do with the standstill and/or the lack of innovation, and the easily accessible multiplayer games out there, such as RUST and ARK of the survival genre. But that innovation thing is the big problem. You see, for those who are living on a rock in the middle of the Indian ocean, World of Warcraft dominates MMOs. While some MMOs started and stayed small time players in the market working hard to keep their niche player base, others just sort disappeared as quick as they existed, almost like bubbles. MMOs and their fans really haven't moved in the past decade and a half. EVE Online and WoW just sorta are the kings; they were early adopters of the MMO genre and people flocked to them, and back then showed new and wonderful things.

But there is a new player here to have a go at recreating the MMO...

Introducing Chronicles of Elyria.

Started as a dream in a bar almost ten years ago by a handful of game developers, the people at SoulBound Studios have poured their time, effort and dosh (roughly a million) into creating the player-run MMO of dreams. Calling the features and mechanics ambitious would be an understatement... unimaginable would be a closer word. Chronicles of Elyria is a MMORPG with a story and economy run by the players. NPCs are simply extras to help mold your characters' ripple on the world of Elyria and push their epic with some engine generated storylines; We'll get to that later.
Here is my understanding of what the game will be like:

SKILLS, LEVELS AND CLASSES

The game lacks an overall level and classes and replaces it with overall skills which umbrella over specific skills;

-Combat: which covers unarmed, one-handed, two-handed, thrown and ranged as well as duel wielding and sneak attacks.
-Survival: which is specifically the skills of surviving out in the wilderness. It covers finding food and water, tracking prey, bandaging wounds and navigation.
-Crafting: the art of turning raw goods into useful items, covers producing meals and drinks, armors and weapons, furniture and fine jewlery.
-Gathering: the skill of being able to procure raw goods from various sources covers identifying and handling organic materials (such as plant or animal based items) as well as inorganic materials (such as ore, stone, metals and gems)
-Deviant: the skills of thievery and stealth. This skill allows pickpocketing, purse cutting, crafting false identities, disguises and forging documents.
-Bardic: the skills and arts of academics and performing. This allows characters to play music for buffs and entertainment, reading forgotten languages on ancient documents, performing forensic actions to hunt down criminals and the art of map making.

These skills are taught by either books, NPCs or other players. Someone who has never done smithing will always fail and must procure some style of training to begin. Once someone has learned basics they will be of Novice level. Continuing learning and grinding of skills will eventually bring them to Apprentice, then Journeyman, Expert, Artisan, and eventually to Legendary if enough dedication is given towards a skill. Specific combinations of skills will create player made classes; perhaps you want to become an explorer and map the world? Survival and Bardic would be your best bet. Or perhaps become an assassin? Deviant and Combat would do the trick. But no matter what, it is for you to decide.

CHARACTER CREATION, SOULS AND PERMADEATH

On the subject of skills, I must talk about those learning it; your character.
From my understanding there are two separate entities when referring to "you"; your soul and your avatar (or character).

Your avatar is the physical embodiment you play as in the world of Elyria. You are born either as a ward of the state or into an actual player family (each of these have their pros and cons). Your character will develop skills, battle scars, physique and a story over your life time. They will eventually die of wound or old age, depending on how physically damaged they are or how many times they have been forced to "Plane Walk" (past KO, before perma death. Similar to WoW were you have to walk to you dead body). The average played life span is between 80 and 120 in game years, and each in game year is 4 IRL days (And each of these days will be a different season). But your character will die, and you can't stop it. When you die, you have the chance to pass on your belongings in a will. Perhaps, if you have a family, it will be your next of kin played by another person or yourself? It's up to you.

Your characters body will die, but your soul will live on. Your soul will have passive skill attributes given to it by default and over the course of multiple lives, affinity (basically karma) and talents; bonuses in specific skills and special abilities such as magic or the ability to soul walk when one pleases. Achievements are things that players do over time that are bound to a soul over the course of lifetimes; Maybe you were once the champion of the arena for a kingdom, maybe you were the master and founder of a very successful guild, or an adventurer who chartered far off lands never seen before; what you achieve is up to you.
Each soul is also given a "destiny" which can be unlocked by doing specific tasks unknown to the player. Once these tasks are completed the player will then be able to follow their destiny, and once completed will have changed the world of Elyria forever in some way. Perhaps it is your destiny to adventure into a deep dark ruin, battle great beasts and retrieve the blade of kings? Or perhaps it is your purpose to FORGE the blade of kings?! You'll never know unless you trigger it. Every soul is also given a soul mate. You don't know who they are, but they share a bond with you like no other soul; their destiny is the same as yours, their talents are identical and their skills are yours if you find them. You won't know who they are unless through pure luck you find them; you can tell if they are near you through some undisclosed mechanic. And if you're forced to plane walk while you're near them you will most certainly be able to find your body with ease and plenty of time. But of course, there is a catch; your soul mate may develop to become your rival through either affinity or politics (such as guilds or kingdoms)

Oh, by the way, there is a weird soul-based subscription system..? Apparently once you perma-death (which is no easy feat) you have to cough up around 30 USD to start a new character? I don't really know, I'd love someone to clear this up for me, but a "Spark of Life" apparently should last as little as 3 months and 3 weeks to as long as a full year, which is good value since that's roughly 7 USD per month if you last as long as the minimum

TRADE, CONTRACTS, CRIME AND "OPCs"

Chronicles of Elyria removes the well known trade system and market houses and instead picks to go with contracts and player based couriers or merchants. Trading is done in two ways; face to face where you simply exchange goods or services to receive goods or services, nice and simple, and there is over trade agreements.
You sign a trade agreement (or contract) with someone when giving them a task or making an order/promise for items with a written document to prove it to them or authorities. Say, for example, you are a mercenary and have been tasked to protect a merchant shipment or cart, and in return you'll be paid. You both sign the document, you do the task and you receive your payment. But what if they want to swindle you? Then you have a document to prove it and can be given a bounty token, which depending on the laws of ye kingdom will allow you to have authorities go after them, to rob their house in compensation or to brutally murder the goy. Or perhaps YOU swindle them? Well they can do the same and go after you for not delivering, and you'll have to either flee or change identities through the use of forgery and disguises. However, what if you want to set someone up? With the skills of forgery you can trick authorities into allowing you to go after the poor bastard and stealing his stuff with a fake document.
And how would you get caught? Well, someone with forensic abilities might be able to identify a fake document, and will have you jailed or executed by authorities for your vile ways; as you should be, criminal scum!

What happens when you go offline? You don't disappear, you become a "Offline Player Character" or OPC. You can "code" your OPC to do specific tasks, such as act as a vendor or guard a specific area. But what happens if you die when offline?..I actually don't know. But it's safe to assume you'll either want to go somewhere safe in the middle of nowhere or be guarded by other characters.

EDIT- OPC deaths while the player is away will begin your Spirit Walk on your next log in. Permanently die after ~30 IRL days if you don't log in

CITIES, BUILDINGS, MAPS, RESOURCES AND RUIN

From my understanding of the game this is how it is; there are finite resources, but items that aren't so easy to replace such as metals can be replaced at a 1:1 ratio via a smelting process. Cities and buildings are also made by the players of CoE in a style that I'd say is similar to Starwars Galaxies and RUST or ARK. But the finite part of environments creates dilemmas and problems; people demolish a forest and don't plant new trees? Well the trees won't be coming back naturally. People manage to flatten an entire mountain? It won't ever be coming back either. The Soulborn engine, an engine that creates the stories, recognizes player developments and other dynamic things, and will work server side and separately to the Unreal Engine, with the ability to recognize new towns and cities through different criteria and account for them. For example, a leader has amassed enough people and resources to start building a town, then a city and eventually a kingdom. The game will start to work around this, marking on a server side map this creation. Cartographers begin creating new maps marking this city with the name of "Derginsaw" and the engine will recognize this and so on. But the city is one day attacked and razed mostly to the ground, and is left forgotten. Eventually cartographers will start not marking this place as a city, or not marking it at all and the engine will eventually turn it into a dungeon of sorts for adventurers to explore for ancient treasures and, more importantly, more old maps which will show the way to other ruins. But let's say Derginsaw was captured by a different faction, and the king wants to rename it to "Krathlanaw"? Well, he'll have to pay a huge amount of cartographers to update their maps with this new name and make it the mainstream name (like Constantinople Istanbul) and eventually the Soulborn engine will recognize this change on the back end. Oh, by the way, maps are created by players, which means people will go out of their way to map new areas, then detail them with different things such as forests and names, and then sell these to people so they can be copied or used for navigation. This hefty job will be most valuable to tacticians, adventurers and anyone who likes knowing where the hell they are. You will also have to rely on sun dials to reliably get the time of day,use a compass to find north and use astronomy to find where you are at night. Players also have a "Sensory" mini map which will show temperature, smells and sounds heard by the character, allowing you to notice finer details impossible with current technology, such as the smell of wood and cooked meat from a nearby camp that you haven't seen yet whilst hunting for bandits.

Farewell, and I hope to see you in the lands of Elyria!

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!"

Along with watching movies, I found myself playing video games in the same vein. I was introduced to them by my buddy Dylan who had become a YouTube gaming content creator. One of the games he made a series on was Layers of Fear from an indie studio called Bloober Team out of Poland.

If you didn't know the gaming industry is really big in Poland. So big in fact that the Prime Minister gave President Obama a copy of The Witcher II as a gift. Some of my favorite indie games like Layer of Fear, GoNNer, and Butcher have been ported to the Nintendo Switch are from Polish developers.

Bloober Team solidified themselves as a studio who could sit at the adult table with Layers of Fear. Now with Observer, there are talks that Bloober Team could be one of the studios to remake Silent Hill. That's only if Konami wants to follow the trend set by Capcom with the Resident Evil 2 remake.

Observer takes the theme of a futuristic Poland where cybernetic enhancements are a common medical practice after the last world war. You play as Observer detective Daniel Lazarski (voiced by Rutger Hauer of Blade Runner) who gets a strange call from his estranged son Adam. Like in most horror games taking place in one place. You find that Adam has been living in a rundown tenement building (which is a real building that one of the developers live) where drug and hologram addicts live.

(Screenshot taken from Nintendo Life's video on making the Observer)

You get yourself in Adam’s apartment, which has been ransacked. You find a body with its head cut off, which triggers a security shutdown to the building. Without being able to get a positive ID on the body Dan has to find a way to get out of  Adam’s apartment to find the killer. This starts the more core mechanics of the game. Opening and scanning everything you can, searching for clues, and hacking into keypads. Once you override the security system to the apartment you roam the halls trying to find a way out. Along the way, you have the opportunity to interview the other tenants.

With clues leading you to other dead bodies, you use your title as Observer to link into their memories to find out who and where the killer might be. Though linking up doesn't just give you access to the victims past, your past with Adam as a boy mixes in with those memories. The way these memories play out is where the horror and puzzle aspects of the game shines. With winding hallways, and puzzles where if you take the wrong turn you are back at where you started. Observer builds on what Bloop Team learned with Layers of Fear and ramped it to 11. This time around you have villains, the murderer and this rag doll monster that looks like something out of the movie 9 that you have to sneak by while trying to find an exit.

The story is well thought out. You have multiple people this time telling their side of how they either fought against Chiron (the mega-corporation that took over Poland and started the Fifth Polish Republic) or those who were apart their cybernetic experiments and the people who are addicted to drugs and/or holographic stimuli. If Layers of Fear deals in psychological horrors of a painter in the 1920s, Observer deals with the psychological choices made in a future where we can be anyone and have anything, though it may cost us our life.

That is the real horror about this game. That this fantasy could someday be our reality. This game may have been overlooked, but this game is just as brilliant as Detroit Become Human, and if you just own a Nintendo Switch longing for an immersive thought-provoking game, Observer is that game. This is already a cult classic, why not let us make it a critical success.

The game is still in development, with no release date set. But for those who enjoy the kind of games where the action is mad quick, the pain is real and the points don't matter. Then you should keep your eye on this one.

As clickbait-y as that little subtitle seems, it's true. Although this hasn't been covered before by novoGamer, it's not news in the gaming world that Nvidia has recently been under fire for false advertising regarding their GTX 970. The class action lawsuit was filed more than a year ago, in February 2015, over the fact that the card did not have the 4GB of VRAM that was claimed, but only 3.5GB.

This settlement not only goes for people who bought reference cards, but also cards from EVGA, Zotac, MSI, or whatever other company the card was purchased from. This is because of how the card is designed from the ground up.

Jen-Hsun describes the issue in an Nvidia blog, "GTX 970 is a 4GB card. However, the upper 512MB of the additional 1GB is segmented and has reduced bandwidth. This is a good design because we were able to add an additional 1GB for GTX 970 and our software engineers can keep less frequently used data in the 512MB segment. Unfortunately, we failed to communicate this internally to our marketing team, and externally to reviewers at launch."

Funnily enough, Nvidia's rival AMD poked fun at the lawsuit, implementing the slogan "4GB means 4GB" while advertising their R9 290 card. And, if it is to be understood, AMD recently went above and beyond the call of duty by advertising some of their Rx 480 cards to have 4GB of memory while they actually had 8GB.

Details on how to claim the $30 to get your 0.5GB of memory's worth have not been revealed yet. More info here on nG, or the Nvidia blog.

But every game has it's flaws as much good as I wanna say about Hotline Miami. One of those things would probably be that while playing Hotline Miami you die a lot. The game play is extremely fast paced and doesn't pull punches. Getting hit once with a weapon or by even one bullet will kill you in this game. If you mess up for even a split second you're likely to die.

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Regardless I like the challenge and the fast paced gameplay. I'd definitely reccommend playing this game if you're looking for something to take up your time when you're bored and have nothing else to play.

All in all I rate it 8.5/10

Now because the last direct was exclusively Pokemon themed and announced the new Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon games, this one had no Pokemon related news to speak of. Instead a bunch of equally exciting information was shown off.

• Star Fox Zero was shown off again and was officially announced that it would be released in tandem on April 22 with a secondary game called Star Fox Guard. The Fox amiibo was also shown off in the game to show that it would unlock the Retro Arwing for play.
• Splatoon will be receiving a balancing patch on March 8 along with some new weapon sets that will be released in two separate updates in the near future.
• Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games was shown off a bit with the addition of a release date for both versions. Wii U is June 24 and 3DS is March 18.
• New construction features in the form of Pink Coins, Keys, Locked Doors and Skewers will be added to Super Mario Maker in its next update (Still no sloped platforms though...). In addition to these, a new Super Expert 100-Mario Challenge game mode will also be added which can be played to try and earn new Mystery Mushroom costumes.
• The Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem crossover game for Wii U now has an official English name and a release date. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE will be released June 24.
• Paper Mario: Color Splash was unexpectedly revealed for the Wii U and will be released some time in 2016. No other specifics such as amiibo support or a demo were announced for it.
• Pokken Tournament recapped some if its features and reconfirmed its March 18 release date.
• Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge was revealed and would be released as an early access title, with the purchase of a compatible amiibo, on March 25 and with a free public release on both Wii U and 3DS on April 28.
• Super NES titles were announced for Virtual Console on the New 3DS and will be incompatible with the older hardware.
• Hyrule Warriors Legends was announced to be getting a Season Pass of DLC and a free downloadable character in the form of Medli from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. The Season Pass will be released on the same day as the game on March 25.
• Monster Hunter X was revealed to be coming stateside with the name Monster Hunter Generations and was shown to have Fire Emblem DLC as well. It should be released some time in the summer.
• Metroid Prime: Federation Force showed off some new gameplay and some details about the game's story was explained. It has a projected release of late spring.
• Fire Emblem Fates had some DLC shown off in addition to the final downloable story line, Revelation.
• Dragon Quest VII was announced for a stateside release some time in 2016.
• Bravely Second: End Layer was announced for an April release with the addition of a rather impressive collector's edition to pre-order.
• The Free-to-Play Lost Reavers was announced to be released as an open beta on April 14 with the full version being released two weeks later.
• A rather unusual new game called Pocket Card Jockey by Game Freak was announced for the 3DS and will be released in May.
• Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 was announced for a summer release on the 3DS eShop.
• In addition, Disney Art Academy was also announced for the 3DS. It will be released on May 13.
• Rhythm Heaven Megamix was announced to finally getting released overseas after being in Japan for nearly a year. It will be released some time in 2016. I'm estimating a summer launch.
• A brand new Kirby game for the 3DS called Kirby: Planet Robobot was announced for the 3DS and will include amiibo support and a brand new sub-game called Team Kirby Clash. In addition to this, a brand new series of amiibo based on the Kirby series was announced. The game will be released on June 10, but the release date of the amiibo has yet to be confirmed.
• And finally, the My Nintendo loyalty program was officially launched and will also allow you to preregister Nintendo's first smartphone app, Miitomo.

Being the Nintendo fan that I am, I will most definitely be trying to get most of these games and I am extremely excited for the new Kirby game that will soon be released. I wish I didn't have to repurchase all of those SNES games though, but I'm sure My Nintendo will be able to remedy this in the future. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

Momodora: RUtM (Reverie Under the Moonlight) is a game about a small priestess named Kaho who comes across the lands to a foreign kingdom where a dark magic has been slowly encroaching into hers. Kaho is no ordinary priestess though; she wields a small maple leaf that doubles as a sword/fan/thing? She also wields a bow, of which she is seemingly a master at. Her travels bring her to Karst City, the home of the kingdoms queen and hopefully an answer to where the curse is coming from.

Don't Ask me to explain. It's magic, there is none.

The games art style is obviously pixelized, but it makes the game look very charming. Combined with the music it can be very atmospheric at times. Mechanically the game works very well, combos feel satisfying to land, multiple times in a row with a few shots from the bow for good measure. But the thing to tie it all together is the dodge mechanic. A short and simple roll in one direction is by no means exciting on its own, but with a quick paced combo'em up style combat system it makes everything feel tighter. Granted your i-frames won't always save you. The game also packs a few upgrades/items that make things a little bit spicier. As well as the staple healing item in the form of 'Bellflowers' that work on a charge system (reminds me of orange juice for some reason).

Its obvious that Momodora: RUtM pulls inspiration from several sources, being a metroidvania, but packs quite a unique feel that sets it apart. It is however fairly short, and is possible to finish in one sitting (including all item collection, if you really wanted to). But has an NG+ system along with several hard to get achievements for those completionists out there. If you're experienced with metroidvania styled games you'll find this one easy enough to progress through, with just enough challenge to keep you trying again and again. If its too easy you can ramp up the difficulty all the way to hard, you masochist.

Beware amazing chest, in short try attack.

In my opinion the game was a blast; a short little gem packed with action and some good ole-timey exploration. However I feel like it could have been so much more. More enemies, more bosses, more challenge, more areas, more more more! But having played the previous iterations of the series I can say for damn sure that this is by far the best, in every way.

The story however for me is the most lacking aspect. Characters in the game operate similarly to those in Dark Souls where you'll encounter them at certain points of the game if you aid/interact with them. Dialogue is sometimes weird in English (likely a byproduct of translation), and the story arcs are a little confusing sometimes, but it's a minor gripe.

Whatever you say, Sans.

Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is now available in the Steam Store for 8.99 Euro, 9.99 USD. A reasonable price when you consider its replayability.

Recommended? Yes, definitely for those who enjoy the metroidvania genre. And for some if their looking for a game to pass a couple hours with and not have to get completely stuck in.

A solid 7/10. Hopefully enough incentive for another one to be made.

http://www.bombservice.com/momo4.html - Dev's Website.

To celebrate the Pokemon series 20th Anniversary in Japan, Nintendo announced that the 7th generation Pokemon games, titled Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon, were in development and would be released by the holiday season of 2016. In addition to this, they also revealed that the eShop versions of Pokemon Red Version, Pokemon Blue Version, and Pokemon Yellow Version would be compatible with Pokemon Bank so you could transfer the pokemon you trained in those games to Sun and Moon when they're released. Here's hoping for a great new addition to the Pokemon series, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

Developed by id Software and published by Bethesda, Doom is a first-person shooter with a nostalgic feel. This is the fist major installment in the Doom series since 2004 and has been anticipated by the loyal community. After playing the early access Doom beta, I thought the newly releasing game has a lot of potential but still isn't quite there. What I mean by this is that there were a lot of aspects of the game that didn't quite seem fully developed. Obviously this is a beta so the game isn't finished, but it still is a good representation of what it could look like when the game launches on May 13. Here were my initial thoughts after playing the beta for a couple hours:

Pro Features:

-Graphically looked absolutely stunning

-Movement felt very smooth and fluent

-Lots of customizable features for your character and weapons

-A brand new game that contains a nostalgic feel when playing

Possible areas of improvement:

-The guns seem VERY week and take a ridiculous amount of shots to kill an opponent

-The demon is extremely hard to kill and quite rare to obtain

-Weapon choices are very limited (most likely due to beta stage)

-Only 2 maps and 2 game mode (also most likely to to beta stage)

If you have not played the beta yet I recommend you download it and play it while it is open. The beta is open from April 15-17 and the full game launches on May 13. If you want to learn more check out my gameplay video on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF1BVKVnGbnZNwItlH50I2A

YouTube sensation Brent Black, who is better known as Brentalfloss from his video game songs with lyrics videos, has announced that he launched a Kickstarter for a brand new comedy-based party game that he and one of his friends, Julian Spillane, have been working on.

Much in the same vein as The Jackbox Party Pack and QuipLash, Use Your Words! will display the game on a main screen or monitor and input will be through a compatible device's web browser like a smart phone, tablet, console, or PC. The Kickstarter only needs $35,000 to reach its minimum goal and judging by the video it looks extremely promising; I hope that the stretch goals are reached as well. You can pledge whatever amount you want here, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

DISCLAIMER:

I have not been paid for this article, but I have donated some of my own money to the Kickstarter.

Well, it seems that we may now have possible confirmation of a remastering of Skyrim on current gen consoles. Retailer Base.com have listed 'The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - The Definitive Edition' for PS4 and Xbox One with a release date of November 23, 2016.

Considering this is a "Definitive Edition", it would be safe to assume that the three pieces of DLC released for Skyrim will be included. Seeing as Fallout 4 recently got mod support on consoles, it is also possible that the same will be implemented for the Definitive Edition of Skyrim. This has yet to be confirmed though.

We still have yet to see an official confirmation of this remasterings existence, but E3 is just around the corner. And with Bethesda holding another conference, we may get its official reveal there.

It's also worth noting that, most recently, games such as BioShock: The Collection and Batman Return to Arkham were also rumored and then leaked by a retailer listing them too early. The same could have just as easily applied to Skyrim.

For more news and E3 coverage, stay with us.

In memory of the late David Bowie, Square Enix has decided to give away free Steam keys of Omikron: The Nomad Soul to those who "buy it" through their store.

You can go directly to Omikron: The Nomad Soul's North American store page through this link, and you can go to the European store page through this link. Just remember to use the promo code "omikron" at checkout when asked to, so you can obtain it for free.

We recently wrote an article discussing Omikron: The Nomad Soul after the unfortunate passing of David Bowie. In it, we discussed the good and the bad of Quantic Dream's first outing as a game developer. If you haven't already, check it out. David Bowie also had story input, cameos, and composed the soundtrack for Omikron: The Nomad Soul.

Prey for the Gods is a game where the scale is you=ants. Action is fast paced, and the world is brutal and unforgiving. Your survival hinges on killing the gods that you pray to.

Prey for the Gods is currently in Kickstarter and is being developed by No Matter studios, a team consisting of only 3 developers and composer Ian Dorsch. So far the game looks absolutely stunning, and promises to play with the tight controls of Bloodborne, the scale of Shadow of the Colossus, and an open world several times bigger than the bosses (I jest of course).

Brought to my attention by the Gods over at Indieformer, Prey for the Gods may very well be the next BIG game (heh). Currently 6k from the 300k goal with 19 days to go and a whole host of stretch goals we might get to see this game get made.

This has been a public service announcement, thank you for your time.

Links:

Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/802508750/pre...

and for more games in the works;

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHFDtPdTc-ymerPwh...

Noble Team are the stars of Reach. The squad consists of Carter, \r their commanding officer, Kat, their technician, Jorge, their explosives\r and big arms expert, Jun, the marksman, Emile, the close quarters \r specialist, and finally Noble Six who is the rookie of the group, and \r the player character. Of course, Six is unnamed for the sake of the \r player's immersion.

The chemistry the group has is done fairly well thanks to dialogue \r that helps the soldiers be more than just their jobs. Carter often\r has to check in with command to get green lights for ideas from his \r squad, making him a very by-the-books kind of leader. Jorge acts as a \r translator for the group, speaking and comforting some refugees they \r find in the story. He becomes the gentle giant. Kat is protective of her\r tech, and often challenges Carter's authority, befitting her name as a \r rather "catty" character. Jun seems to be a bit shady, and maybe a bit \r cocky? Emile appears to be the violent, but silent type. Notice how the \r descriptions of each character got shorter and more uncertain.

The time spent with each character is far too short before they begin\r to be killed. This causes a few problems as well. With how early the \r deaths come, the player already knows what to expect. The player will \r have less interest in caring for the squad if he already expects them to\r all just die for one reason or another. Another issue this causes is \r taking screen time away from development and shoveling it into each \r dramatic moment, which isn't even done thoroughly anyway. And of course \r with the characters being shot down like flies, they don't even get the \r chance to develop enough to care about before they die. You can even see\r the developers and writers trying to compensate for this by giving the \r next person on the list to die some extra screen time.

Jorge had his moment with the refugees, and the scientists before \r dying. Kat had her confrontations with Carter before dying. Carter had a\r confrontation with Halsey, the head scientist before dying. Emile had a\r final stand moment with some powerful enemies before dying. Jun didn't \r even die, the guy just left, leaving his part of the story \r hanging. All these sequences do, is prepare the player for their \r inevitable death, it doesn't make them want to live, just guess when.

But let's get into a bit more detail with the actual deaths.

Jorge sacrifices himself to blow up a starship. There's a wonderful \r scene where he tears off his dog tag, holds Six's hand, and carries him \r to the edge of the ship before tossing Six out. As Six floats through \r space and back into Reach's atmosphere, the ship explodes with Jorge \r still inside. This all occurs while in the first person perspective, as \r well. It's a great scene that's timed so poorly, the effect is drained \r almost entirely. With how early this takes place, it makes it feel \r pointless, and undermined by the idea that there's simply more of this \r to come. The fact that the act of blowing up the ship did little for \r them plot-wise doesn't help either. Of course this could be used in a \r powerful way, a motivation to try and make Jorge's death not in vain. \r But we already know it is, so the whole scene feels hallow.

Kat is the second spartan to die. And her's is perhaps the most \r offending of the lot. As the team is running through a corridor, she's \r shot in the head by a sniper in a ship above them which flies off. She \r falls, the dramatic music kicks up, and there's a long shot of the team \r waiting for a ship to arrive, presumably to take her body away as one of\r them holds her in his arms. The entire sequence is so brief, and sudden\r it makes it feel like the developers simply decided to cut time here \r for the sake of the rest of the game. Even if we did have plenty of time\r to grow to love Kat as a character, we wouldn't even get a chance to \r grieve.

Jun leaves. As one of the two least characterized Spartans, we aren't\r even humored with his death. Jun simply leaves the squad at some point \r with orders to protect a scientist. His part in the story is over, \r nothing comes of that. He just leaves.

Carter is next. The scene starts with an AI the squad has demanding \r he seek medical assistance. Blood is on his armor, and his helmet is \r off. The ship he, Emile, and Six are on is being shot at, and he's \r piloting. Telling Emile and Six to abandon ship, he says he'll draw fire\r and give them air support. There's no real suspense here, the scene is \r set; he is going to die. With as much death as there's already been in \r the game, any idea of tension of him maybe shaking the enemy off and \r surviving is simply laughable. You're just waiting for him to blow up at\r this point. Later in the level a Scarab stands in Emile's and Six's \r path. Without a chance to get around or handle it another way, Carter \r quickly throws himself and the ship into the tank-like opponent. With a \r corny one-liner, and brief encouragement from Emile, he's gone.

To a level, I don't mind the dialogue here, however. They are \r soldiers, after all. They do expect to die and give their lives for what\r they need to do to win. So, instead of making Carter's last moment one \r of hatred, anger, and sorrow, they let it be one of victory and bravado.\r If there's any bones I'd throw at Bungie through this, that's the one. \r It makes sense, it feels right. Too bad the timing and set-up, is again,\r way off. It's just another “there goes another one“ moment for the \r player.

Emile's death is another mix of some good and some bad. The timing \r isn't bad, and the set-up isn't awful. While sitting on a large cannon \r to shoot at incoming ships, he's overwhelmed by some powerful enemies. \r He's stabbed and mauled before taking some down on his own. Six has to \r go to the gun himself to use it just as Emile was, and when you do get \r to the cannon you come across his body. This is important. This gives \r the player a moment to mourn. Despite how little I knew of Emile and how\r little I cared, coming across his body still had an impact. It made me \r stop, and my heart dropped just a bit. And after a heavy sigh, I \r continued. It was so close to being a great moment, stolen by the fact \r that when I did stop, I didn't have much to reflect on when it came to \r him.

After five characters, and Bungie has only scratched the surface of \r the emotional shock a death should have. After Six man's the cannon, and\r the VIPs get away to trigger the rest of the events in Halo, he's left \r alone, his objective complete, and his teammates dead. Reach is lost, \r but thanks to him and his team's sacrifice there's still hope for \r humanity to win the war. Their role in the rest of the universe is done.\r The credits roll.

But Six's own journey hasn't yet ended. Once the credits fade out, we\r find Six standing in the middle of some torn down buildings. An enemy \r ship passes by overhead and drops off a group of aliens. The player is \r back in control and an objective is presented: Survive. With nothing \r left to do, no one left to protect and fight for, Six has only this \r instinct left. He won't make his last stand for humanity, for his team, \r for a future, or a past. He won't fight for Reach, or even just because \r it's right. Six's last stand is for him, and him alone. It's a moment, \r one last moment, to just be who he is: a warrior. A warrior in its most \r purest form.

With enemies coming from all directions, the player is able to live \r and experience Six's last moments of being a solider. The player fights \r for as long as he can, killing as many as he can, and running for as \r long as he can until he's finally overwhelmed. It's a moment of \r catharsis for both Six and the player, to just let loose and kill \r everything just because they can, just to prove how strong their own \r resolve is; counted by bodies.

When the player finally submits to the onslaught we have a scene \r where Six falls to the ground as aliens surround and overcome him. Some \r are shot or hit away, until one is able to deliver the final blow. \r The scene is drawn out, and doesn't provide hope, but instead a point. \r It doesn't try to be dramatic, because you wanted to live. It's \r dramatic, because you want to keep fighting, you want to keep standing, \r you want to survive. And when you die both Six and the player feel the \r sword pierce into their heart, punctuating the end of Halo: Reach.

The post-credits final stand of Noble Six was a perfect example on \r how to handle a protagonist's death. It's a moment where the player and \r character finally meld together. Their motivations are the same, and \r held in fiery passion. Together, Six and the player have one last moment\r to truly test their skills, ambition, and will.

Obviously, I found Six's death to be the strongest part in the game, \r and maybe even one of the best deaths in video game history. It's just \r such a shame it took Bungie five characters to figure it out.

Following the popularity of Aeon of Strife, WarCraft III's release in mid-2002 brought the creation of Defense of The Ancients, or DoTA for short, thanks to a modder by the name of Eul. The new developer of Defense of the Ancients incorperated much more complex systems into his creation, adding in a "jungle" between the lanes filled with more powerful, yet rewarding monsters that spawned every minute, and items to pick up and buy from a store at the very back of either team's base. Shortly after DoTA's creation, Eul decided that his own work was done, and left the modding scene for good. As Eul had left no legacy, or people to assist, modders came from all around to try and create their own evolution of Defense of the Ancients, dozens of different and tweaked versions popping up all over the place. After the release of WarCraft III's expansion, known as "The Frozen Throne", a person known as Meian made a variant that, although closely resembling Eul's original map, featured the best community made heroes of the time, and was named DoTA: Allstars. A few months following, Meian left as well (Yeesh, reported for AFK), however, unwilling to repeat Eul's mistake, granted the rights to DoTA's legacy to Steve Feak, also known as Guinsoo.Guinsoo had his own batch of changes for the ever-changing game, and helped proper the popularity of DoTA even further.

Guinsoo spent over a year adjusting, recreating and making the game the best that he could, as well as vastly re-imagining the map's layout, before finally stepping down, handing over development to a good friend of his, by the name of Neichus. After barely a few weeks, Neichus felt unworthy to carry the torch of DoTA's already popular legacy, and stepped down to hand development over to a modder named IceFrog, who changed nearly everything about DoTA: Allstars excluding the heroes, editing the mechanics, complexity, item diversity, as well as other factors. (At which point during development the pinnacle of difficulty and complexity, Invoker, was spawned, I can not say, but he's a real monster to try and play - trust me.) IceFrog's changes made him quickly loved by the community, and, with the creation of a DoTA forum and website, active users were reported to have reached above the one million mark. One. Million. People. All playing the same mod.

2008 marked the true beginning of the MOBA genre, with Gas-Powered Games releasing a full-priced game known as Demigod, featuring both player-versus-player combat and offline play against the computer. A free flash game called Minions was also released, instead focusing on simplistic visuals and a much easier gaming experience. However, neither of these could even get close to DoTA's near-total domination of the genre at the time, Demigod being rife with bugs and glitches to hamper the gameplay experience, and with Minions lacking the deep complexity and variation that DoTA had, with a mere six heroes, or eight if you bought an additional pack.

Heroes of Newerth was also developed to completion in 2010, developed by S2 Games as a almost entirely faithful adaptation of DoTA: Allstars. However, due to sale concerns, the game was shifted to the free-to-play model which is so prevalent in MOBA games today. Other heroes were added by S2 Games, making Heroes of Newerth it's own beast entirely.

Competition only heated up in 2009, with Riot Games' (founded in 2006 by Brandon Beck and Mark Merrill League of Legends finally showing up on the scene. This project was headed by Steve Feak, also known as Guinsoo, who had his own hands in DoTA's production. Riot Games themselves coined the term MOBA as the genre, short for Multiplayer Online Battle Arena. In the same year, Valve hired the stillambiguousIceFrog to work for them and help create a sequel to DoTA: Allstars.

League of Legends was a breath of fresh air into the MOBA genre, myself logging a rather disgusting amount of hours played in the few years I myself picked the game up for(2556 hours, according to a stat-tracker. I should really get a life). League of Legends was made with much less complexity than DoTA, but still managed to keep the fun and steep learning curve that DoTA prided itself upon. League of Legends has a new champion added roughly every month or so, and is as ruthlessly addictive as you might expect from a MOBA. DoTA 2, however, had finished completion in 2013, first announced in 2010 by GameInformer's website. (The resulting interest in the sequel's announcement crashed GameInformer's website - talk about a loyal fanbase!), and DoTA 2 was completed with Valve's insane level of polish and attention to detail, even enlisting Eul (the one and only) to help out with development. Between Valve, IceFrog and Eul, DoTA 2's creation was widely accepted, and the two titans of the genre have butted heads ever since.

Both League of Legends and DoTA 2 have a fierce fanbase, who constantly seem to wish to remind the other party of which game is better. In all honesty, which game you prefer is entirely up to you. There is no true better game, and which is better for you is entirely determined on your own tastes. I personally play both DoTA 2 and League of Legends on a regular basis, and greatly enjoy theseparateexperiences of both games. DoTA 2, League of Legends, and Heroes of Newerth are absolutely free to play, and are a blast to play once you get used to them. The MOBA genre is great fun, and you're thoroughly missing out if you don't play one of these in your lifetime.

This is hopefully the first of many articles for "Zerg Rush!", a weekly article not just focusing on the background of genres, but the reasons for their popularity, fanbase, and overall sales values, as well as poking a bit of fun at the gaming community if given a chance. MOBAs are pretty great, guys.

November 4^th marked the release of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, the most innovative of the franchise, and in turn one of the worst of its series. Sledgehammer Games has made some changes to how players move in Call of Duty via what is called an Exo Suit, but have failed to tap the potential of these new movement options.

Before in Call of Duty games, players could only walk, run, duck, crawl, jump, and climb. Advanced Warfare expands on these movement options by giving players what is called an Exo Suit. The Exo Suit more or less acts like a jetpack, reinforcing the futuristic setting the game is in. On top of what has already been stated, players can now slide in any direction, double jump, hover, and dash in the air.

• By expanding the movement players have by so much, the rest of the game should be built around these new movement options. Maps should include more verticality, be wider, and give players several paths both vertically and horizontally to encourage the use of the Exo Suit. The size will also allow players to plan their approaches. However, the maps in Advanced Warfare feel as small and congested as ever.

• The Exo Suit seems only allows players to find each other and kill each other even faster than they already could before. While maps have generally lower buildings now for players to jump up to for vantage points, they are also very open. Teams can move across the map, getting around and behind defensive positions so quickly that players are more inclined to keep running in circles to try and keep up with the chaos rather than hold back and let it come to them. Also when players respawn after dying- spawning being the act of being replaced in the map after being killed- they usually are immediately greeted with more conflict, having no time to strategize their next move.

• Despite how conflicting the elements are, the goal is more or less achieved. The Call of Duty franchise does highly value constant high impact action. The Exo Suit makes conflicts almost impossible to avoid, appealing to audiences who love the constant engagements. However, this can also turn off a lot of players who want to take the military genre more true to its name with tactics, strategies, and a playstyle that emphasizes survival over kills.

• After several hours of trying to adapt to the new movement and ever increasing speed of the game, I find myself turned off by the emphasis on reaction and lowered value on strategy. Due to this, I believe Advanced Warfare's addition of the Exo Suit was bold, but hardly considered when creating the rest of the game. I just hope that Sledgehammer will make maps in the future that will better utilize the changes they've made.

Military shooters are no stranger to World War II, Vietnam, modern day terrorist insurgency, and even the far off future, but what about World War I? Well Verdun has come to consoles to show that you don't need gimmicky gadgets and killstreaks to make a great shooter, but will the transition from PC to console affect the quality of the game?

Being that Verdun is multiplayer only, you would think that there is no story. That isn't necessarily true. The story of Verdun is WWI itself. Now that may sound like a cop out for writing an actual story, and it is and it isn't. During loading screens, there will be a short paragraph either stating little known facts about WWI or quickly summarizing the battle that was fought in real life on each map you are loading into.

Although I am already fairly well versed in the history of the first world war, I still found these loading screens to be incredibly interesting and overall helped bring the maps to life. If you aren't too familiar with the actual history of WWI, then Verdun is a great starting point to get you interested as well as being nearly 100% accurate. Who would have thought that a gritty first person shooter could be considered an educational game?

A game touting itself with a realistic setting and story needs equally realistic gameplay. Thankfully, Verdun delivers precisely that. In an industry where firearms have the penetration power of an airsoft gun on Viagra, it's so refreshing to play a first person shooter where guns behave how they're supposed to. Your enemies will go down in only one or two shots depending on the gun, and so will you. The amount of recoil each weapon gives off seems to be accurate to their real life counterparts, and they just seem like they have a certain weight to them while moving around.

You will have 3 game modes to choose from: Attrition, Rifle Deathmatch, and Squad Defense. Attrition is similar to team deathmatch in that whichever team gets the most kills wins, but in Verdun, each team has a set amount of "tickets." Whenever a player is killed, a ticket is deducted. The team with tickets remaining wins. Rifle Deathmatch is the standard free for all where there are no teams and everyone must kill everyone. Squad Defense is similar to any horde mode in other games. You and 3 other players must defend various positions on a map from waves of the enemy AI. This is the only mode that can be played solo. Attrition quickly became my favorite since it's the closest to an actual battle in WW1. Squad Defense was my least favorite due to the enemy artificial intelligence lacking any intelligence.

It may not seem like it, but Verdun is actually a tactics based game. Each team and subsequent squad have to work together to win. The team that has players running around trying to shoot everything that moves is very noticeable and will quickly lose to a well coordinated team. Your best option would be to use a headset as the leader of a squad to issue orders to other players, but you can also issue orders in game. Not everyone listens though, so you could be the only one working hard for victory whilst everyone else on your squad is running around looking for enemies.

Picking your squad, class, and weapons can be a bit of a pain. To do so, you must first pick which squad you want to join, choose which squadmate you want to play as, choose your weapon for said squadmate, then you can play. Problems arise when you want to play as a certain squad member or use a certain weapon, and another player is already using them. You can ask them in game if you can play as that character, but you will more than likely be ignored. It's not a horrible system, but perhaps being original isn't the best option in this sense. Creating a loadout for whichever team you're on has proven to be tried and true.

Artillery and phosgene gas mix things up in the heat of battle. As soon as you either hear or see the tell tale signs of artillery coming down, it's time to run, usually into the longing arms of your enemy. Same goes for running into phosgene gas, but you has a gas mask to help in that situation. The only drawback is that the mask significantly obstructs your view. I'd say that's better than destroying your lungs and dying painfully though. The frame rate does suffer a bit due to both of these. Whenever artillery rains down or you find yourself in a yellow cloud, there will be noticeable dips. Nothing too severe, but something worth noting and looking out for.

Verdun actually looks fantastic for an indie game. Weapons, clothing, and items look incredibly realistic, the firearms especially. The amount of "little details" is a work of beauty as well. Whenever you reload, you can actually see your character press the magazine release, watch the magazine release slide into the gun, and pull the magazine out. I've never seen that level of detail in a first person shooter before. I was actually so impressed that I had to constantly reload to take the best possible screenshot. See for yourself. Being able to turn off the HUD entirely to either take screenshots or to add to the realism is a welcome touch that more developers should consider implementing.

Sadly, environments don't get the same level of detail though. Dirt, grass, and foliage look alright, nothing special, but you can't inflict any damage to them. And I'm not talking about there not being destructible environments, which there aren't. I'm talking about just cosmetic details. Shooting anything in the environment won't yield a little cosmetic bullet hole. It may only be me, but that's something that really stuck out to me in an otherwise gorgeous game. An exception also comes in the form of the fire effects for the flame thrower. The fire looks so bad that it actually affects gameplay because it's often too hard to tell where your flames are going and how close you need to be to your enemies. Explosion, screen, smoke, and gas effects all look great as well. The blemishes the graphics have aren't enough to poison the well though. Verdun can be just pure eye candy at times.

Now just how authentic is this realistic WWI first person shooter? In a word: very. All weapons and armors are all period accurate and associate with the right military and nationality.

You won't find an American soldier with a German weapon here. Each nationality speaks the correct language and you can even shout orders to your teammates in that language.

Every map is based off a real battle fought in The Great War. The trenches give off claustrophobic feelings that triggers a sense of paranoia that an enemy could be right behind you at any moment. Given how authentic Verdun is, there is no flashy over the top action. Almost every battle will be in a trench whilst attacking or defending a part of the map. This will no doubt be a turnoff to those looking for cheap thrills, but those of you that can take the time to appreciate the authenticity of Verdun are in for a great and original time.

Verdun was already a fantastic game on PC, so it's a pleasure to see it translated near perfectly to consoles. Verdun doesn't need lensflare, dubstep, or cartoonishly over the top action to be a great game set in World War I. As cliche as it sounds, Verdun has a heart and soul that will be nearly impossible to recreate by another game. Simply put, Verdun is well worth your time.

South\r London Police also revealed that all three victims died due to “Head\r and Neck Injuries.“ Police were already treating the case as murder before the bodies were formally identified.

Sian\r Blake will be more known in the UK for her part as Frankie Pierre\r in the long running BBC soap opera Eastenders in 1996-97. Her other\r credits include another BBC drama Casualty,\r ITV\r drama The Bill and Channel 4 drama Skins.

Her\r last credited role was in video games as the English voice of Yugiri in Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward,\r the first expansion pack for the Realm Reborn MMO released in 2015.

Police\r are currently searching\r for Sian Blake's husband, Arthur Simpson-Kent, who originally alerted\r the police of his wife and children's disappearance, for further\r inquiries. Since making the disappearance report however, Mr. Simpson-Kent has himself disappeared with the South London Police\r contacting Ghanaian\r Police authorities following reports that Mr. Simpson-Kent may have flown to the West\r African county.

Scotland Yard has also referred itself to the Independent Police Complaints Commission following concerns that the case was not escalated within reasonable time.

Guitar Hero was put on an indefinite hiatus back in 2009 when sales weren't meeting expected goals. Guitar Hero was also beginning to leave the eyes of gamers until February 2015 when rumors of a new Rock Band and Guitar Hero game surfaced. As of today, April 14th 2015, Activision has officially announced the reboot of the Guitar Hero series.

Many aspects of the familiar Guitar Hero formula have been changed for better or for worse depending on your opinion. Most notably are the changes to the guitar controller and the game's visuals. 

The crowd is live action as well and their reaction is determined by your guitar playing abilities. If you're good, then they will rock out. If you aren't, then they will make that known and begin to boo. 

Your band mates will also let you know if you need to start preforming better by doing things like glaring at you for hitting the wrong notes.

Now the controller has six buttons on the fret board. Three on top and Three on the bottom. The three on the top are all black and the three on the button are all white. 

The new fret board is actual a much better representation of an actual guitar than the previous Guitar Hero controllers. It seems the new developers are going for a more authentic and personal experience in the music world through Guitar Hero Live.

Guitar Hero Live will be coming to PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, PS3, and Xbox 360 Fall 2015. 

I came across this game called Sisters: Faye & Elsa Episode 1, a puzzle-driven horror game. You play as Emmanuel Burke in the year is 1993 in Willahauk, Massachusetts. Your Aunt Faye has gone missing and you get locked into her house only to discover it may not be so empty after all.

The game is very creepy, there is no background music, only ambient sounds of your surroundings. I found a few of the puzzles so challenging I had to watch a walkthrough on YouTube. There were no hints throughout the game so you have to look for a puzzle within every interaction. I think if the game had some hints I could have enjoyed myself a little more. I found myself frustrated to the point where I couldn't play the game for a few days, though I am invested enough in the game that I want to finish the series.

The gameplay and the immersive environment that Otherworld has created in this game is astounding, and definitely worth the $7 price tag. This is a full 360° game unlike some other games I've played where you only use about 180° of the range to play the game in. It really helps give that horror atmosphere you would get from a PC or console game.

Pre-Word

So it seems like (for me at least) the general consensus about Assassin's Creed Unity is that it was a major hit and miss. All the reviews and message boards Iv'e read through have said similar things ranging from moderate praise to downright hatred. Iv'e even tried talking to people who haven't even played the game themselves and I hear a lot of complaints. As I was blessed with a seemingly perfect copy of the game and never experienced any graphical issues or game play issues whatsoever (Playing on PS4) I think I can give a pretty good summary of the game as a whole!

BRIEF BACKSTORY-

Assassin's Creed Unity is the latest game in the Assassin's Creed series and is set in Paris during the French Revolution. This is a bloody and dark time period, full of strange characters that were really alive during the time period. The main character Arno Dorian is a handsome, young man who after the death of his father was raised by the Grandmaster of the french Templars. Thirteen years after his fathers death, Arno is framed for the murder of the Grandmaster and sent to prison in the Bastile. Arno is accepted into the Assassin's order after being trained by the assassin Pierre Bellec in prison and the plot of the game begins.

INITIAL ANALYSIS-

What sticks out like a sore thumb immediately is the similarity's between Unity and AC:2. Arno and Ezio are very similar, both womanisers, masters of romance and quick to get into a fight. But as the story progresses they become more mature and focused. These similarity's aren't a terrible thing, AC:2 is considered by many to be the best in the series, and I really appreciate Ubisoft's efforts to bring the series back to it's roots. With the introduction of ship battles in AC:3 and then the pirate simulator that was Assassin's Creed Black Flag, the series seemed to get off course (pun intended). Black Flag barely had anything to do with Assassin's and Templars! The side missions are all interesting and hold a lot of content, the Characters you meet are all really cool to look at and have their own identities. It brings the series home and does it well!

THE WORLD-

The world looks beautiful. The colours are all very vibrant and everything is textured well.

 Broad open cities with so much going on in them. Side missions and collectibles that will keep you entertained between story missions. They've introduced random encounters throughout the city. People getting extorted for money, fights between citizens and royalists. These seem to pop up whenever you start to get bored and makes for some interesting scenarios. It's so easy to just zone out and run around Paris, getting into fights and doing side missions.

COMBAT-

The combat in Unity is personally the best it has ever been. Moving away from the one hit kills and chained combos in favour of a brutal, sophisticated combat system. Three buttons are utilised: Roll, Parry and Attack. A bar above the enemies heads represents the timing at which to either roll or to parry (depending on the enemy type). Getting into fights with large groups of enemies can be devastating and only gets harder. Enemies can throw flash bangs, knock you to the ground, shoot at you and parry your attacks. Combat becomes a wild dance as you dart around enemies, picking your targets and desperately trying to hold your ground. Button mashing is a thing of the past.

CUSTOMISATION-

A really neat addition, and the game is better for it. You can customise Arno to look however suits you (using the possible combinations). By adding in this customisation, it's much easier to feel like you're progressing through the game and getting stronger. Weaponry is varied and interesting, and allows for many different styles of play.

MULTIPLAYER-

Multiplayer is excellent when you are playing with your friends or with expierenced players. I advise to avoid the Multiplayer until you are pretty far through the game, as I encountered many players who simply wouldn't cooperate and had little experience with the new elements of the combat. There is no real way of communicating with other players without a mic, except for a Portal 2 style 'Go Here' marker. The Multiplayer missions are really interesting and add alot to the game, definitely play through them all if you have a couple of friends on Skype to play with.

FREE RUNNING-

Not much to say on this topic other than it's been improved simply by adding a 'free run down' feature. This new feature allows you to vertically climb down buildings, giving a lot more control to the player

MICRO TRANSACTIONS-

I have little complaints about the micro transactions. Micro transactions are really only used as a way of getting to content before you have enough in game currency to do so. I personally never felt like they were being shoved in my face or that I needed to spend money to play the game, the option is just there for people who might not have enough time to get all the in game currency required for items.

COMPLAINTS-

- The story goes on for a little too long, and it became a drag to play story missions towards the end.

- Some of the 'Legendary; equipment in the game is locked. You can only unlock it by participating in big multi player events which are confusing and often difficult to complete. 

-Towards the end of the game, almost every enemy can shoot at you and this is a major issue. When you try to run they will never miss, and the only way to dodge is to roll when in a combat situation. Getting shot will take major chunks out of your health.

-Glitches. I didn't encounter any but many people did. Frame rate drops and graphical glitches are all possible while playing.

- One of the major selling points of the game was its massive crowds, but the game doesn't really really pop them into existence until you get really close, which creates a really distracting effect. Major complaint, has been slowly getting better each patch but is still an issue.

OVERALL VERDICT-

I love Assassin's Creed Unity, it is by far my favourite in the series. It does everything AC:2 did and better. I personally don't believe in putting a number to something but I would absolutely recommend at least borrowing it from a friend, if not buying it yourself. With the amount of people trading it in, it will probably be really cheap, really soon!

First review ever really so,tell me if I should never write anything again?

Luigi isn't in any way perfect. He's a coward, he resents the brother he looks up to, and he is often the subject of ridicule. But I like Luigi all the more for it. Adversity builds character, and if The Year of Luigi is evidence enough, he may someday become even more popular than the brother he holds in such high regard. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

Before I begin, I'd like to explain that I previewed/played the Xbox One version of The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited beta. So any and all problems I found within the beta may be resolved before the game's official release date of June 9, 2015.

That being said, I found the controls to be fine. I never found myself tripping over the controller trying to remember which button does what. You still use the left stick to move, the right stick to move the camera, Left Trigger blocks, and Right attacks. Those are the controls that need to stay the same to keep the game playable, and they are the same. 

I couldn't shake the feeling of how strange the first person camera feels. It feels....wrong. Like it isn't meant to be in the game. It's clear the developers put more time and polish into the third person camera, which works well.

The graphics for ESO on Xbox One can be very pretty at times, especially far off vistas. Standing on a mountain over looking Tamriel is a good example of that. ESO definitely has the look of a Bethesda Game Studios Elders Scrolls entry. The textures are a bit of a different story though. 

If you run up to an NPC or any texture in the world too fast then you have to wait a second or two for that texture to fully load. This is especially apparent when you run up to an NPC to open up dialogue and turn in a quest. And even with the texture fully loaded it isn't as pretty as the Elder Scrolls has been before. 

Though, I suppose this is excusable considering it is an MMO with a huge world and dozens of players with you at times. If ZeniMax Online tried to implement Skyrim level graphics into a game of this magnitude then it would more than likely run very poorly. Fortunately, ESO runs rather smoothly. One thing I have to commend ESO for is that there are no load times going into major cities. Similar to Morrowind. This was minor annoyance in Oblivion and Skyrim so it is nice to see it ironed out in ESO. The load times going into buildings is near instantaneous, which on console is a rarity so it's a nice touch. 

Magic also isn't as streamlined as it was in Skyrim. Your melee attacks are interrupted to use any magic attacks which are mapped to the face buttons. I found myself not using magic attacks at all really. Strangely enough, magic doesn't seem to be as important in ESO as it was in previous entries even though the game still encourages you to play with a magic style. Though, this didn't bother me very much because I rarely use magic in Elder Scrolls games; a lot of players still enjoy playing in the Mage class, but here it feels watered down.

In there attempts of being WoW, ZeniMax Online, have watered down the Elder Scrolls experience to the point where it, sadly, feels like a generic MMO with an Elder Scrolls coat of paint. 

Some things are strangely taking out of ESO that were in previous Elder Scrolls game. Like being able to loot all bodies, not in ESO. Only certain bodies can be looted. I suppose it's to help preserve the economy of the game so players can't farm the same types of enemies for hours. Not being able to read every book is gone too. Now, you can only read "lore books" which, yes, are still nice to read if you are into the lore, but there aren't many of those. Also, how is "The Lusty Argonian Maid" in ESO when it was written by an Imperial in the Third Era? I know this sounds like I'm really nitpicking, but it just furthers my concern with how canon this game is when the developers can't even get Bethesda's original lore right. 

You can't loot every object in the world either anymore. So no more stealing goblets and plates to sell for a few gold each. Strangest yet, no more sitting down on chairs and benches. Why this was taking out? I have no idea. Why couldn't the developers go for a more original experience rather than a WoW clone? It's the Elder Scrolls. It was one of the most original games back in the day.

If you aren't an Elder Scrolls fan, this isn't going to be the game that converts you. I am, however, a huge Elder Scrolls fanboy so I can still see myself getting lost in this game for hours upon hours when it officially releases despite these flaws. But again, like I said, this was a beta so everything I just said could be completely different when the final game launches. Maybe, and hopefully, all these issues and concerns are ironed out in the final product. 

I also recorded some gameplay if you are interested in watching the beta in action:

A big thanks to ZeniMax Online Studios and Bethesda Softworks for allowing me to participate in the limited access beta of The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited for Xbox One.

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...

Now because of how new this app is and because no-one knows whether or not more game demos will be added to it in the future, it's only really best used as a "try before you buy" type program, but you can't really "try" unless you have enough amiibo to unlock everything so you can play them "before you buy." All in all, it is only really good for people like me and have a large collection of amiibo to use. Maybe you'll get some amiibo yourself so you can use this app, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

Score:

After all this time... could it finally be happening?

THE ANSWER IS YES. IT'S FUCKING HAPPENING. BETHESDA GAME STUDIOS HAS FINALLY OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED FALLOUT 4.

On June 2nd of 2014 Bethesda Game Studios posted a link on their Twitter that led to a very familiar screen with a timer.

Now, for fans of the series this was an obvious hint at something Fallout related.

When I saw it I had my doubts. I mean we all remember thesurvivor2077 hoax that raised our hopes and dashed them so extravagantly. But this was the real deal.

When the timer on the site reached zero, this time God smiled upon the fans. An official teaser trailer featuring game play was released and by god. It was beautiful. Being an avid Fallout fan, it was like pure concentrated Viagra and every other stimuli to me. I immediately went into an insane babble and started throwing things on the floor when I saw the amazing graphics, bustling cities, and prewar cinematics that I've been wishing for as long as I've been playing the game.

For now there isn't much information on the game except for the minor script leaks pictured above, and that the location of the game will be set in Boston after Fallout 3 takes place. But rest assured when more info is released, my fellow novoGamer pals or me will continue to keep everyone updated. Till then I'm gonna go watch the trailer fifty more times.

We've done it! With the help of our thousands of dedicated, passionate, and generous backers we've raised over $1.3 million dollars to bring System Shock back to life!

These last 30 days have been a wild ride but we've enjoyed every moment of it. From reading your comments, answering your questions, and interacting with you on Discord and Twitch it's been an experience we've enjoyed more than anything else. It's clear from the overwhelming outpouring of support that System Shock means so much to so many people and we're extremely honored that you've chosen us - and entrusted us with the monumental task of remaking one of, if not the greatest game of all time. No
pressure!

From everyone here at Nightdive...Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! We couldn't have done it without you and look forward to having you join us as we embark on our return voyage to Citadel Station!

Again...from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!

Stephen Kick CEO - Nightdive Studios

After over 20 years of waiting, perhaps this is the System Shock remake fans deserve. System Shock is expected to launch by December 2017 for PC, Xbox One, and PS4. Stay with us for future news on System Shock.

Rejoice Fallout fans! Because Fallout 4 may have been indirectly confirmed through a few sources. But, as always, this should only be seen as a rumor or speculation unless otherwise confirmed by the developer (here; Bethesda Game Studios). So let's start from the beginning:

A freelance 3D artist (who's name will not be revealed because he's probably already in huge trouble) who's previously worked with Mirada Studios, Blur Studios, and Microsoft Games posted his job experience and for what game and studio [As seen on the right]. His experience includes cinematic work on The Avengers, The Elder Scrolls, Forza Motorsport 5, Far Cry 4, and something rather odd... He claims experience on a "Fallout 4 cinematic trailer" which he claims he worked on for 4 months.

Did he actually work on said Fallout 4 cinematic trailer? Let's dig a bit deeper. Soon after people began discovering this bit of information, the Fallout community started getting very excited. Then an unconfirmed party forced the freelance 3D artist to remove the Fallout 4 cinematic trailer from the public view of his experience.

Now the last piece of evidence comes from game journalist site, Destructoid, where they were one of the first to run this story. Mirada Studios (supposed studio behind the Fallout 4 cinematic trailer) reached out to Destructoid and demanded they pull the story due to a break in a non-disclosure agreement. [As seen below].

What are your thoughts on all of this? Is Fallout 4 confirmed? Or is this nothing more than a simple mix up and it isn't confirmed?

#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.

This new gameplay mechanic for Arkham Knight is called "Dual Play." Dual Play will allow the player to seamlessly switch between Batman, Catwoman, Robin, and Nightwing in free-flow combat. It has not yet been confirmed if this feature will be usable anytime other than specific moments in the game. 

With his back against the wall, Batman turns to his closest allies to help him save Gotham City from the clutches of Scarecrow and the Arkham Knight’s army. A familiar face also returns to give The Dark Knight a message he cannot ignore

Batman: Arkham Knight will be released on June 23, 2015 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. 

Gameplay

The Pokemon Rumble games are somewhat unique to the Pokemon franchise. Unlike their predecessors, they do not use the traditional Pokemon gameplay mechanics. For those of you who are unfamiliar with how the classic Pokemon games are laid out (you poor souls), the traditional game always has you play as a brand new Pokemon trainer who must choose their very first Pokemon and set out on a grand Pokemon adventure. During your adventure you must capture and train your Pokemon and then use them to defeat gym leaders, crime syndicates, and eventually The Elite 4. Pokemon Rumble World, on the other hand, is essentially nothing like this. Instead of playing as the young hero of the Pokemon world you will be playing as your Mii, as well as a variety of wind-up toy Pokemon. In Pokemon: Rumble World you will have to unlock hot air balloons in order to explore new and exciting dungeons, most of these balloons are purchased with poke Diamonds that can be obtained in game or by purchase with real money. Once you have traveled to a dungeon you will use A and B to hack, slash and bubble beam your way through hoards of Pokemon, this is quite different from traditional Pokemon games which utilize turn based combat. There is also a dramatic change in how new Pokemon are acquired; instead of throwing a Pokeball at that lowly weakened caterpie you will have to rely heavily on luck and a little bit on timing to put it into a "wobbly" state and then KO it. You are only able to befriend Pokemon that have been knocked out while wobbling or sparkling. Aside from the dungeon crawling aspect of this game, there is a King who will provide you with daily quests. These quests vary, and they range from more dungeons with a boss that must be defeated to an arena style match where you must defeat all of your enemies in a limited amount of time. By completing the Kings quests you can earn diamonds which can then be used to purchase hot air balloons. One of the more unfortunate aspects of this free to play Pokemon game is that it is entirely funded by micro-transactions and this, as a result, heavily influences the pacing of the game. For example: the hot air balloons have cool down periods, that range from a couple of minutes to over an hour, during which they cannot be used, unless you use diamonds. Once you have used your hot air balloon you will be randomly placed in one of several levels, each of which have unique Pokemon, but it is often the case that you will play every level except the one you want, possibly several times (this becomes incredibly frustrating with the cool down times that are over an hour). In the non-free Rumble games levels can be selected, this is likely because they do not utilize micro-transactions in the same way that Rumble World does. The online features in this game are also minimal. Streetpassing with players who also play Rumble World will generate the passed players Mii in a dungeon, you will then have to complete the level while keeping the rescued player alive. Once the level is complete you will see the rescued Mii's in the kingdom where you can then talk to them, sometimes they will offer to take you to a specific stage for a small amount of in-game currency. You can also set rescued Mii's to play the roles of the characters in the kings quests. The short and sweet of the gameplay for Pokemon: Rumble World is simple but addicting. 

Story

There is a minimal amount of story used to progress Rumble World, the biggest driving factor that will keep a player going is their desire to collect as many Pokemon as they can. Non-collectors will grow bored of this game quickly. At the start of the game you will be introduced to a king, who's only Pokemon is a pikachu, and basically this king is jealous of a magician who has more Pokemon than he does and so he asks you to upstage the magician by obtaining a bunch of Pokemon. The rest of the quest narratives are of a similar nature.

Aesthetics

All in all this is a good looking game for what it is. Now we can't expect Witcher 3 quality graphics from a free to play Pokemon game, but given the context the visuals work well. While I was playing through Pokemon: Rumble World I got the sense that this was a playful game that did not want to be like other Pokemon games, and instead of trying to address deep questions like whether or not forcing Pokemon to fight was ethical or not (Pokemon Black/White) it simply wanted to be fun, cute, and a little bit whimsical. During my play through I was brought back to my childhood and the games I used to play with my little Pokemon figurines, and I believe that this is what the developers of this game intended. As for the dungeons, I found the map layouts to be fairly simple, but the maps looked good for a free to play game.

Overall Impression 

Overall there are some less than amazing aspects to this game. The story is lacking and the game play is simple. There are some redeeming qualities however. I personally enjoyed the cutesy sprites and the simple levels. One of the biggest turn offs for me was the waiting in between balloon uses, but I am also the kind of person who likes to binge watch/play/read just about everything. Despite its flaws I did enjoy Pokemon: Rumble World enough to play for over 10 hours, and enough to consider buying other games in the Pokemon Rumble series. This is not a game for someone who is looking for a heavily detailed narrative, this is not a game for someone who needs complex gameplay to enjoy a game, this game is for someone who has a Nintendo 3DS and no money who really wants to catch all of the Pokemon. 

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided's story is as follows:

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided directly follows the aftermath of the Aug Incident, a day when mechanically augmented citizens all over the world were stripped of control over their minds and bodies, resulting in the deaths of millions of innocents. The year is now 2029, and the golden era of augmentations is over. Mechanically augmented humans have been deemed outcasts and segregated from the rest of society. Crime and acts of terror serve as a thin veil to cover up an overarching conspiracy aimed at controlling the future of mankind

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided will be released on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. 

Now since we are still in this current generation of games, only time will tell if gamers will eventually reconcile their differences and focus more on what the future of video games has to hold. With the Oculus Rift, mobile games, and indie games being funded by Kickstarter, we can only hope that the future will shine. And come rain or shine, sites like novoGamer.com will provide info on games old and new. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

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

Alex Kidd in Shinobi World

Mario Sports Mix

Injustice: Gods Among Us

Mortal Kombat Series

Poker Night at the Inventory

Wario Blast

Pokemon Conquest

Battletoads & Double Dragon

Disney Infinity

Project X Zone

Samurai Warriors 3 (Wii)

Mario Kart Arcade GP Series

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate

Fortune Street

Street Fighter X Mega Man

Dissidia: Final Fantasy

Kingdom Hearts

Capcom's "VS" Series

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games

PlayStation All-Stars battle Royale

Soul Calibur Series

Kratos from God of War

Professor Layton VS Phoenix Wright

Sega Superstars Series

Super Smash Bros. Series

Well, that's my list folks. It has been a long road to get this far and I really appreciate you reading the entirety of this article up to this point. Thank you for your continued support, and until next time, I'll be seeing you.

Acclaim also acquired an Austin Texas developer Iguana Entertainment. With the growing popularity of the first person shooter genre, Acclaim gave the team at Iguana a chance to turn Valiant's dinosaur Hunter into an FPS for Nintendo's upcoming home console the Nintendo 64. With a few months of delays Turok: Dinosaur Hunter was released to the North American market on March 4, 1997. The game paved the way for the FPS genre on the newest home console, selling 1.5 million copies and boosted sales of the N64.

After three sequels, one reboot, and three Gameboy games Nightdive Studios acquired the rights to the game and put out a remastered port of the N64 version on PC in 2015, then last year the studio ported the game to Xbox, now in 2019 Turok made its way back home to the Nintendo, and all I have to say is I want more N64.

Growing up my next door neighbor Ryan had the latest consoles so when he got the latest thing from Nintendo I was over at his house play the N64 after school, weekend and all summer long. I played Mario 64, Wave Racer and when Goldeneye 007 came out I tried to play it, though being disabled with only one good hand to use I couldn't due to the control layout itself and the mapping in the game. I wasn't able to play an FPS until I got a PlayStation.

So this is my first time playing a classic console FPS. Even though the game has retro graphics, primitive controls, and game play, I have been able to enjoy the game. I've enjoyed it so much I'd love to see more classics like Turok 2, Doom 64, and Quake on the Switch.

If you have never played Turok you play as a native American named Tal'Set, who is the protector of the barrier between Earth and the Lost Land. The Lost Land is a primitive world where time has no meaning, it's inhabited by a variety of creatures, from dinosaurs to aliens. Along with weapons from bows n arrows to staffs that shoot a lasers. 

The game is everything I'd want from an N64 port, mappable controls, cheat codes and a way to do away with the things like fog people complained about when the game was first released. Though we have to wait for the second game to get everyone's beloved multiplayer feature. Besides that, and no true save state to start the game where you left off, this is a great first N64 FPS port for the Switch. 

With this new budding relationship with Microsoft and Nintendo, we may be able to see a Perfect Dark port from Rare. Though Nightdive is the leader of the pack and they are not stopping with just one. I hope to see as many classic games they can get to bring back to life for us retro gaming fans. For $20 this is worth the price for this classic FPS. Pick it on the eShop or right here online.

Following the plot from Soldak Entertainment's previous titles Zombasite and Din's Curse (both of which are not necessary for following the plot of Din's Legacy), the lands have been afflicted with zombism causing a schism in the Orc population and creating the Mutated. You are a Mutated under the service of the God Din tasked with unifying the lands and quelling the madness. 
Sound simple enough? Well, with the inclusion of many varying gameplay factors as well as a plethora of difficulty adjustments, your quest may come to an abrupt end sooner than you may think. You know your game experience will be difficult when the lowest difficulty is Normal and the highest difficulty is four tiers up at Ultimate.

If you're the kind of person that enjoys making life needlessly more difficult, then Din's Legacy has you covered. There are player difficulty modifiers that can make your experience all the more challenging.
Hardcore, which implements permanent death on your character. Semi-Hardcore, which causes your base health to be lowered upon death - not unlike Dark Souls II. 
Then there are difficulty modifiers for each game world you generate. 
Exploration, which features less monsters for more exploration of the world. Dangerous Monsters, which also features less monsters, but boosts their health and damage points. Overrun, for those who felt their weren't enough monsters in the world. Raging Hordes, which also includes more monsters than usual, but their health and damage points are lower than normal. And less stress, where harder quests are no longer offered to you, but you will earn less experience points overall.
All of these options are amazing to have, but a novice player will still have a difficult learning curve to overcome in order to progress and enjoy Din's Legacy. To them I give this most welcoming set up: Normal difficulty with the Exploration modifier enabled. While still not perfect for those new to action RPG's, that set up should be enough to keep you from throwing your keyboard through your monitor in frustration. 

Soldak Entertainment are no strangers to sophisticated leveling and role-playing mechanics, and Din's Legacy is no different. Din's Legacy features 39 playable classes with 8 of those classes playable from the get-go and the rest unlocked through certain conditions and/or challenge completions. These classes range from what's to be expected from any RPG to classes that are unique solely to Din's Legacy such as Reaper, Black Guard, Minstrel, and many, many more. With each class comes with base passive abilities, special attacks and the type of armor you can wear. This is where we enter mutations.
As you progress and complete certain actions your character will unlock mutations; be it positive or negative. These mutations can either boost already unlocked abilities or grant all new ones. For example: early into the life of my second character, I unlocked Extra Lungs which gave a permanent 15% boost to movement speed. That may not sound like much, but Din's Legacy can be much harder without positive mutations to give you a boost in battle. So here's another tip for the action RPG novices out there:
Pick the Necromancer class for your first playthrough. Once you've gathered up enough experience, unlock the Blight ability and use it as liberally as possible. Couple this with an NPC companion and you will be nigh unstoppable on your quest for Din. 

Just as your own character, enemies can also possess varied passive and status mutations and abilities that could even possibly match your own, and these aren't just bosses. Even regular enemy types can possess these abilities and kill you relentlessly until you've leveled up your own abilities to surpass them. Admittedly, this does sound frustrating on paper, but in practice it's actually a genius concept that's even better executed. Having standard enemy types that are genuinely on par with you in terms of abilities and combat prowess creates a natural difficulty curve that encourages the player to continue playing and leveling up in order to progress to the next area. 

Once you've created your character, you will be prompted to generate your world. Again, don't let this scare you. Din's Legacy does feature procedural generated worlds, yes, but each world you create is almost indistinguishable from a handcrafted world. There you can adjust pretty much everything to your liking including the world's pacing. Want a slower, more layed back paced game? No problem. Just set the pacing to Very Slow, but you will earn less experience points as a trade off. Are you awake at 3 in the morning on your sixth bottle of 5-Hour Energy and want a fast paced game? No problem. Just set the pacing to Very Fast, and you'll even earn more experience than you would on Normal Pacing. 

Many other developers boast about having a dynamic game world influenced by the player's actions, but so far Din's Legacy is one of the few games to actually live up to this promise. Each region you generate comes with unique win/loss conditions, typically being to keep your town safe and to push back the enemy, and your foes are plotting against you just as you are against them. Quests sometimes have certain parameter that must be met in order to complete them. Should you fail to, for example, kill an enemy boss, that boss' army could grow in numbers and make it much more difficult for you to defend your town and continue on your ultimate quest. From fortifying their defenses to initiating raids on your town, your enemies are just as cold and calculating as you are. 
War and Diplomacy are crucial to your success. If you are unable to strike up an uneasy cease fire with the enemy through quests, you may quickly find your town burned to the ground from an inevitable raid. Of course, every time one of these events are triggered, you will be notified and given the chance to defend your town, so you aren't completely blindsided when you return home and find only a single NPC left alive. 
Your character's world can quickly escalate from bad to very bad in a matter of moments with just how dynamic enemies and quests are. Should the enemies feel like it, they very well could commence a raid on your town the second you spawn into your world while you helplessly try to defend yourself and your town as an under-powered level 1 nobody. While uncommon, this certainly can happen. 

While Din's Legacy provides everything I, and many others, want out of an action RPG experience, there are some issues. Namely the difficulty and quest system. With the difficulty, some people will have a hard time getting deep enough in Din's Legacy to become hooked. As someone that played Diablo II to death years ago, even I had issues with constantly dying, failing quests, and ultimately watching my town burn to the ground and the game ending. I had to figure out which class, weapons, and abilities were over powered enough to get me through the difficult starting areas and eventually play the game as intended. While I do not mind a challenge, I can foresee this being an issue for some potential players.
This leads into the quest system. With a procedurally generated world, there are bound to be a few quirks. During my time with my first character, I was handed two quests to complete that were, unbeknownst to me, bugged. I was tasked with the killing of two mini-bosses, but once I arrived where these bosses were located, I realized they had spawned out of bounds and there was no way to get to them or bring them to me. Just to make sure, I scoured the surrounding lands to makes sure I wasn't in the wrong area, but to no avail. Sadly these were the only two quests I could take even with the entire map searched, and with no way to progress, I had to abandon this character and create another. I hope this was an isolated incident, but be wary should you choose to venture into Din's Legacy. 

Through the good and the bad, Din's Legacy is absolutely worthy of your time and money. Truly the most unique action RPG in over a decade? Yes, I would say so. Din's Legacy is just another example of just how great a game can turn out when it is made from the love and passion of a dedicated developer rather than for the corporate obligation of a AAA studio. There are certainly issues present, but the good far exceeds the bad in Din's Legacy's case. From the incredibly in depth role-playing mechanics to a truly dynamic world, Din's Legacy is unmatched in pure content for an indie game. The most heinous crime surrounding Din's Legacy is just how underrated it is. Do yourself a favor and check this one out. 

I have been coming to terms with the fact that my childhood was short lived since I have been employed for the majority of my life in one way or another ever since I was ten years old. I have had little time for games and being destitute during that time meant that if I wanted any kind of games, then I had to pay for them myself with the money that I earned. This made me appreciate the games I bought even more and I carefully chose which ones I would be purchasing. But I guaranteed you, nine times out of ten, the game would always be something from Nintendo. They always put love and care into every game they made and it made them all the more special to me when I actually learned a life lesson from them. They were like the Father I never had, and that's why it greatly pained me to find out that the great Satoru Iwata, CEO of Nintendo and master programmer for many great games like Balloon Fight, EarthBound, and games in the Kirby and Pokemon series, had passed away.

When I found out this news, I was distraught. It was like losing a family member that you secretly loved the most and I didn't really know how to cope. He was an inspiration to me and his charm, humor, wisdom, and overall likability made him very much a father figure in a time where I didn't have a strong male influence in my life. His soft spoken demeanor gave me a sense of comfort that I desperately needed in times of great stress and he was always so apologetic even when things didn't go as initially planned. Listening to his voice always calmed me when I was feeling annoyed or enraged because it gave me the feeling that everything was going to be alright. Now that he is gone, I really don't know what to do now...

So, as a tribute to the late, great Satoru Iwata, I have prepared a Haiku in his honor to help me grieve in this time of great stress. I hope you will all appreciate it.

One of the greats, gone,
Now, forever a legend,
Now we understand.

Thank you for reading, and I wish you all to leave luck to the heavens.

Fallout 4 will be released on November 10, 2015.

This release date is not too far off from The Great War date in the Fallout universe, which was on October 23rd.

Todd Howard also revealed a collector's edition of the game.

You can watchthe Bethesda E3 Conference stream with commentary from halomike, Jolgier, and myself here:http://www.twitch.tv/halomike/b/669190029

With the new generation of video game consoles comes change, do you appreciate the changes to old characters, such as Reptile's "bone man" look? Or does a traditional, green-ninja look suit the series better?

The game appears to run far better than MK9, now with a steady 60 frames per second. As fans, do you appreciate NetherRealm's moving of Mortal Kombat towards a more traditional fighting game feel? Or will the clunky, block-button fighter always be the way to go?

News of Uncharted 4's delay broke out when the two directors of the game, Neil Drackmann and Bruce Straley, officially posted their statements on the PlayStation Blog informing everyone of Naughty Dog's decision.

Their statements are as follow: 

"Since we showed you our first gameplay reveal of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, more of the game and story have come together, and it's become clear to us that this game is much more ambitious than we originally envisioned.

After spending so many years with Nathan Drake, he means a lot to the team, and telling the climactic chapter of his adventures is a task we don't take lightly--this game deserves every bit of the attention to detail, precise pacing, and nuanced storytelling Naughty Dog is known for.

So we've made the difficult choice of pushing the game's release date. Giving us a few extra months will make certain that Uncharted 4: A Thief's End not only meets the team's high standards but the high standards that gamers have come to expect from a Naughty Dog title."

This is both good news and bad news for gamers. Bad news because now we have to wait an entire year to play the concluding chapter of the Uncharted saga. Good news because Uncharted 4 will not be rushed and Naughty Dog can have all the time in the world to polish Uncharted 4 to perfection. We must all remember a quote from the one and only, Shigeru Miyamoto:

The game plays almost exactly the same as the God of War franchise so if you know how to play those games, you'll be able to pick up and play this one without much trouble. However, while the game is virtually the same as God of War in terms of gameplay, the environment and atmosphere is vastly different and where this game really shines. The music is one of the most atmospheric details about this game. It has a very demonic feel to it and it sends chills down my spine when it starts to crescendo at the right time and place. And don't get me started on the environment. The depictions of the various levels of Hell and the eldritch horrors that occupy them is extremely detailed and imaginative, ESPECIALLY with the fight against Cerberus. I have never seen such a unique interpretation of the 3-headed hellhound in my life.

In conclusion, I had a lot of fun with this title mostly from the atmosphere alone, but if you want to play it for yourself, I highly recommend that you get one of the console versions as the PSP version has quite a bit of content cut from it in exchange for a digital comic which really isn't worth the amount of game that was removed. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

Console Score

PSP Score