Nintendo 3DS

I recently got a 3DS last month for my 21st birthday. It wasn't something to get on launch release due to lack of actual games to pick up and as a matter of fact, the 3DS games library is still lacking. You might be thinking why I got a 3DS when there's hardly anything out yet and to be honest, I couldn't think of a whole lot for birthday ideas. The most I asked for was CDs, some T-Shirts and the 3DS.

Even if the 3DS is having a slow start, I want to pick one up anyway for the upcoming games. And besides, the 3DS comes with a handheld Virtual Console which is great to catch up on any old Gameboy games you missed out on. I never had a chance to play Kirby's Dream Land nor Super Mario Land so I was very pleased when I bought them from Nintendo's eShop. Metroid II (which I had originally on cartridge but found it unplayable due to no backlight on my old GBA) and Super Mario Land II are on their way so the Virtual Console is worth looking out for. The 3DS shopping service also comes with DSiWare games so if you never bought the DSi due to how pointless it was with a brand new handheld coming out in two years time, now is the chance to see which games from the DSiWare that were worth a damn. All I've picked up so far is the Rayman port which found itself to be a piss easy version from the other variations (you're given six/ten hit points as opposed to three/five).

One of the main "features" for the 3DS is of course the 3D effects on the top screen. As someone who isn't bothered about 3D movies, 3DTVs or whatever other variant of 3D effects, the 3D effects on the 3DS "without needing 3D glasses" wasn't a selling point for me. Sure, I've used the 3D mode a few times to see what it's like but you know what, the 3D effects on the 3DS are crap. Maybe I'm just not seeing it properly but I've seen better 3D effects on cheap merchandise from the 90s. The fact that Nintendo put this much effort into the 3D gimmick is sad since it's nothing that actually enhances the look of video games and only makes itself a distraction. The production cost of the 3DS is a little over $100. How much would it be WITHOUT the 3D gimmick? My guess it would be at least 25% cheaper if it didn't come with the 3D effects. Let's just leave the 3D craze back in the 90s when 3D cinemas at theme parks were using it and actually looked cool.

Now, considering the video games available for the 3DS. Right now, the range of games for the 3DS is very poor. The best I can name from the released games so far are Ocarina of Time 3D, Ridge Racer 3D and Super Street Fighter IV. One of them is a remake, one of them has been a launch game fodder since the original Playstation and the other is released on pretty much every platform out there in the seventh generation. The starting point for games on the 3DS looks as bad as when the PS3 started out. Both aren't consoles to pick up right away and only to get them when some big games come out (MGS4 for PS3 and the upcoming Mario games for 3DS). Like I said on the E3 recap, there should be enough to keep the 3DS alive later on with the new Mario games, Kid Icarus and Luigi's Mansion 2 but I can't help but think Nintendo will have to do more if they want to make the 3DS a huge success.

Recently, the 3DS had a price drop worldwide. Although the handheld was very expensive to begin with, having to cut the price within six months of release isn't a good sign. Nintendo must have known how badly the 3DS was doing at the start if they're having to cut the prices. At least with the DS there was Super Mario 64 DS and Warioware: Touched. Their biggest selling point right now is remaking Ocarina of Time and... that's it. For those who bought the 3DS before the day the cost is reduced, there's the Ambadssadors extras which I am liking. Being given 10 NES games and 10 GBA games FOR FREE is a nice treat, even if I already have Super Mario Bros. and Metroid Fusion. Hey, it's hard to complain about freebies when Nintendo could have given the early customers jack shit and say "Hey, thanks for spending so much on our 3DS, LOL!" so I appluad Nintendo for this move. However, some still complained about that and Satoru Iwata had to make an apology statement to everyone... What?!

In conclusion, the 3DS is not entirely bad but it's had a very slow start. The 3D gimmick is worthless and the small amount of games gives very little desire for most to pick up a 3DS so they need to make a push with the 2011 holidays. The price drop is suggesting a bad sign but at least the Ambassador makes up for early customers of the 3DS and anyone who wants the handheld now won't have to pay as much. The Nintendo eShop will prove itself to be more and more useful as they release more handheld classics as well as showing what we may have missed out on the DSiWare.

Spyro the Dragon

This is a subject I've wanted to rant about but there were some things that stopped me from covering the Spyro franchise. As a kid who grew up with the Playstation, Spyro is of course one of many games I've played. Well, to be honest it was only Spyro 2 and 3. I didn't even have the first Spyro game and never even finished Spyro 3. I was unfortunate enough to have a pirated copy of Spyro 3 and that game resets your save when you face the final boss (similar to Earthbound where it deletes your save when you confront the last battle). That was a total blow for me and ever since I've never wanted to touch a pirated copy of a game with a ten foot pole.

I never owned the first Spyro game on the PS1 back then but I keep meaning to get either on PSN or getting a copy on eBay someday. With so many games to play you lose track on things but this game should be high up on my priority list. This leaves with Spyro 2 and I actually did 100% on this game. It was the one Spyro game that I got most fun out of and I only wish to re-experience it whenever the hell I actually play Spyro 1.

Of course, after Spyro 3, Insomniac Games and people have been saying Spyro has never been the same since or how the only good Spyro games were the ones by Insomniac. You're probably guessing I'm going to make a rant on how things have gone to shit ever since Insomniac dropped Spyro to make way for Ratchet & Clank but you know what, I'm not. I have absolutely nothing to say about post-Insomniac Spyro nor Ratchet & Clank, although I was hoping to pick up the free game on PSN which I left too late. Still, even if everyone else says post-Insomniac Spyro sucks, how do I know it's bad? Same goes for the Crash Bandicoot games after Naughty Dog handed the rights over except for Crash Bash (I wasn't highly impressed like I was with the other games). I'll also apply the same thing for Final Fantasy XIII which I still need to play. Sure, many have said the game is bad and have stated why but I'll only know if it's bad once I find a good time to play and if I happen to enjoy the game, that's too bad. Not to say I will enjoy it, though since the outcome can go either way.

What I will rant on regarding Spyro is the upcoming game Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure. The first thing that will come to mind if you're aware of this is the new appearance of Spyro. I believe I speak for everyone here by saying Spyro looks fucking ugly. He doesn't look like the adorable dragon from the original games, he looks like a purple goblin with wings. His face certainly suggests that. Maybe it's not a beauty contest for video game characters but there's a reason why mascots like Sonic, Crash Bandicoot and even Spyro have (or had) their own time under the sun and they were appealing to the younger audience at the time. I mean, would Sonic even be a success if this was his appearance for the Mega Drive games (hideous looking animation and disturbing yet it's still hilarious):



The other issue gamers have with the new Spyro game is the use of the action figures and how it seems to be a money grabbing technique from Activision. Yes, we've heard Activision's ways of milking their franchises and even if they're doing it to Spyro now, this idea could have been good. To be fair, if they did a similar idea for the original Spyro games and the interaction with the action figures and the video games worked well, this is something I would have eaten up so fast and probably have my parents denying to get all the toys for me. There are 32 figures in total and 29 of them are sold separately (I assume they have set releases for a batch of them every so often). They're supposedly $10 each and all of that would come to $290 just to get all the toys. It's understandable why the use of toys is getting criticised for being a milk factor but hey, at least the money isn't going towards a virtual hat. The main issue might be a biased one but the problem is the appearance they've given Spyro. It's not an adorable looking dragon as he should be and kids deserve a lot better than this.

Of course, with Spyro's new appearance and the feature using action figures to enchance the video game, there's been a backlash over the new turn for Spyro. The majority of them are of course fans who enjoyed the original games. A lot of us have the right to say why the change of direction for Spyro is a bad turn but some apparently went too far. Some were so enraged and stupid that they felt they had to send death threats to Activision and the developers who are working on this game. To those who actually said they would kill the companies over this game, YOU ARE FUCKING IDIOTS! Did any of those morons stop and realise for one second that they were taking on Activision, one of the richest (maybe THE richest) gaming companies around and with all the money Bobby Kotick is swimming in, he'd probably have enough money to get lawyers down their asses? If anyone's arrested over death threats towards a multi-billionaire company (even though that's highly unlikely considering how little seems to have been done against cyber terrorism), no sympathy should be given out.

In conclusion, Spyro had his golden days and they were over and done with ages ago. Not much can be said about the later games due to not playing them but the upcoming Spyro game is not for the better judging by Spyro's goblin-like appearance and the expensive set of toys to collect them all. The kids who are unfortunate enough to experience Spyro in a hideous form and actually want to collect all the figures better save up their pocket money. Sadly, Spyro doesn't seem to be coming back to his true form and seem to be done just like Crash... Wait, they haven't done any major titles for Crash for a few years now. What do they have in store for him next?

Capcom and Used Games

Capcom are the latest gaming company to be thrown in the ring for a recent move they wish to take. It seems Capcom have a huge issue over a thing called used games. I don't know everything about finance in games but I cannot see used games harming Capcom badly. I'm sure many would rather get new copies since they're more accessible during date of release or are certain to be in working condition unlike used games.

If anything, I'd rather buy new games since I know the game will be in perfect working condition. I don't know about you but I've had a few bad experience with used games and they actually came from high street stores and not from a shady eBay seller. I'm with a copy of MGS3: Subsistence that doesn't have the main disc working (thankfully I still have the original MGS3 release on PS2) and a Final Fantasy IX copy that has badly scratched discs that was actually sold to an independent game shop. Sucks I was so desperate to play FFIX at the time and after the discs deteriating where FMVs were FUBAR, I had to pay £40 for another used copy of FFIX on eBay which fortunately is in good working shape. I had to vent out my frustration here over those two broken used copies which is why I'd much rather buy new games than used copies, unless it's from the scum that is Activision.

Unfortunately, used games are hard to avoid, especially when you want to hunt down an old game you really want to play. A great example for me would be the countless PS1 games. Oddly enough, I still have plenty of games to catch up on for that one particular console that came out 17 years ago and it's always nice to catch a copy of a specific PS1 game on eBay. For these cases, I am not against used games providing the seller is not trying to sell off a game that's not in good shape.

What Capcom are wanting to do with their games is having only one game file and having no option to reset the game data, particularly with Resident Evil: Mercenaries on 3DS. I don't know how much replay value this game has but NO GAME should ever force you to stick with one save file forever. Whoever bought the damn game should have the freedom to play through whatever game they want to play as many times as they want. The majority of us want to re-experience their favourite games simply because they are fantastic games that deserved to be played through time and time again. Capcom should know their classic titles such as Mega Man 2 and Resident Evil 4 will always be revisited because they're that good for some. It would suck if there was only one game file for those games (OK, Mega Man 2 has passwords but that's besides the point) and there was no option for any replays except for buying another copy of the same game.

Another thing that's really bad about Capcom's move is if you're wanting to buy an older game like the PS1 titles I still need to hunt down (the original Spyro is one of them), if they only had one save game that couldn't be erased, I'd be shit outta luck simply because PS1 games are no longer in print and there'll be a point in the gaming world where PS3 and Xbox 360 games will no longer be in production so the odds of being able to play Resident Evil: Mercenaries on the 3DS will be extremely low. This is what I hated about Pokemon Pinball. I bought a used copy of the game and there was no option to reset the game at all so I couldn't start from scratch and having a better experience that way.

In conclusion, Capcom's move to counter used games is a terrible idea. Unless you move this all to digital, having only one save copy for a game that can't be erased destroys the ability to replay your favourite game and this should not be allowed at all. Not only that, making the game to not be sellable as a used game will make it hard to hunt down later on, unless you move this to digital but there are those who prefer retail copies of games just like I prefer CDs over MP3 downloads. I seriously hope Capcom reconsiders this because this will easily put them on my gaming blacklist which is only occupied by Activision right now.

PSN Outage

Yeah, I know this is a bit old at this point but I wanted to hold off my thoughts on the whole incident with Sony until it was all over simply because I'd be making several rants on the same subject. However, if any major incidents happen again, I'll post something much sooner rather than much later.

As we all know, the Playstation Network was taken offline for around a month. They were forced to take it offline due to a hacker breaking access into the servers. So much frustration was caused with players and even gaming developers and publishers. It was worst of timing for Sony since not only was Portal 2 and Mortal Kombat 9 released on the same week as the incident happened, we were all without online PS3 gaming for Easter. Thankfully I was focused on other things at the time so the PSN outage wasn't a huge issue for me but I can imagine and understand the frustration from others.

The real purpose for the PSN outage was to add extra security after Sony discovered personal information of their customers were leaked including real names, addresses, PASSWORDS and quite possibly credit card details. OUCH! It's hard to help but think Sony's security wasn't good enough to keep these details safe. This is the kind of stuff that should be protected in the same way as defending the privacy of the president or prime minister of a country. The confidence with Sony's handling of private details is heavily damaged and although some will have forgiven them at this point, others will be unsure about trusting Sony with their personal details and quite frankly I don't blame anyone for selling off their PS3 and getting a 360 for their console online gaming pleasure.

What really put Sony in the wrong was how long they took to mention that personal details may have been compromised. They should have warned us right away that some criminal scum may have obtained credit card details and such and that would have given us all a head start but no, it took them a week just to inform us.

After their month outage, they returned and eventually gave us the welcome back offer to make up for the troublehip for those who paid for it already was a great idea but I felt they could have done better with the games we could have picked. Although I'll take the free PS3 games for granted and get InFamous and Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty, I think the more ideal way to make up for the PSN customers is some credit for the store. Something like £10/15 to go towards anything you want would have been more convenient for choice as well as those who may have owned all the games on offer already.

In conclusion, the PSN outage was a heavy blow for Sony and it seems they're putting pieces back together bit by bit. Although private details have been violated, hopefully there'll be much tighter security everywhere (despite the hack attacks after this) and we don't have to go through this again. The welcome back offers were fine and at least Sony did something to try and make up for the huge inconvenience. Here's hoping the hacker who thought it was a good idea to ruin entertainment for many will pay the ultimate price.

E3 2011 (Part 2)

Welcome back to the second part of the E3 2011 recap. This time we will cover Sony and Nintendo. Sony was next up on stage and the first thing they had to mention was the PSN outage from a while back. Can't blame them, though since it was a hard time for Sony, the third party publishers and the players and they wanted to take the right opportunity to apologise for the inconvenience (my rant on Sony is on its way). They said what they were going to show at E3 would hopefully bring back those who gave up with Sony after the PSN outage but asides from Uncharted 3, I wouldn't feel at loss if I sold my PS3 after the incident (which I wouldn't since I'm not hasty with getting rid of consoles). Sony provided such a dull show once again and there isn't any new exclusives they announced at E3 to look forward to asides from one game.

What we'd expected and dreaded from Sony's conference was more 3D crap and more PS Move. Neither are anything worth of great value for the console and can easily live without. Sony did mention the prices for their 3DTV products would drop in price but not even that is convincing. I'm happy enough with having a 23" HDTV in one of my bedrooms. The other boring stuff from Sony was the Playstation Suite and this was something to do with having Playstation stuff on mobile phones? Sorry, I'm not a user of these new mobile phones and only have a standard Nokia phone so I switched off here.

The only games that stuck out to me were Sly Cooper and BioShock Infinite. The former I hadn't even heard of the series before while BioShock Infinite will be multi-platform. However, it may be that I'll get BioShock Infinite on PS3 after the disaster that struck BioShock 2 with Games for Windows Live login and being a broken piece of shit. As for Sly Cooper, not knocking the game here but chances are I may not even look into this until five years time. I'm far too slow with gaming these days. Although Infamous 2 was shown at E3, the damn game came out the day after the conference so what was the point of even showing it? They may as well show Duke Nuke Forever which came out on the same day in Europe as Infamous 2. Why was this shown instead of a single second clip of the new Twisted Metal game? Surely that's one of Sony's most anticipated games right now.

Most of the games Sony showed were rather bland. We had Resistance 3, some space shooter game that I refuse to even remember due to blandness, a new Star Trek game that blends in with these games and some Harry Potter reject for the PS Move. Too much of it is forgettable but at least there's less to catch up on. I feel I'm falling behind with new releases too much already.

The big announcement for Sony's conference was of course the new portable named PSVita. Quite a bad name if you ask me considering its similarity to Vista. Name aside, this seems to join the trend with iPhones and such so I'm not sold. I want to see some games worth getting for the PSVita since there wasn't enough on the PSP to justify a purchase for it. Sure, the PSP had some Metal Gear Solid games, some Final Fantasy (especially Tactics remake) and Silent Hill: Origins but half of them migrated to console and I think more will follow eventually. Maybe if there's enough games that are worth a damn on the PSVita besides the Uncharted game, then I'll consider the PSV.

Overall, Sony's conference was boring as hell. The 3D advertisements, PS Move, PS Suite, PSVita and most games were nothing but a snorefest. All that caught my interest were Uncharted 3, Sly Cooper and BioShock Infinite. Sure, there's Twisted Metal to look forward to from them as well but they didn't show the fucking game there! On the bright side, the small amount of games to look forward to shall give me time to catch up on Uncharted 1 and 2 and any other big PS3/360/PC titles I've missed out on.

And last but not least is Nintendo's press conference. Like Sony, Nintendo had something big to announce so I had high expectations for what they were going to offer. To starts things off, Nintendo opened up the show with a full orchestra and to be honest, it was pretty cool to hear and much better than Sony's 3D wankery that was only good for those who were there. Shigeru Miyamoto announced 3DS re-releases of Link's Awakening, Four Swords on DSi (hopefully on 3DS as well) and most of all, Skyward Sword is said to be out for the holidays this year. I should be excited but I still need to finish off Twilight Princess. Still, this is good news assuming there won't be any delays.

Nintendo showed some 3DS games and I'm liking what I saw from them. Mario Kart 3DS is an easy buy providing they don't include too many stupid baby characters from Mario Kart Wii, Starfox 3D is a possible like and should be a step up from Starfox Command while Luigi's Mansion 2, I never played the first one and although it didn't look bad, it's a possible miss considering my slow pace of gaming. The biggest announcement was Super Mario 3DS. What really caught my interest was how it looks like a hybrid of Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario 64. I'm sure this will be a better combination of gameplay style than the floptastic Metroid: Other M. These games alone give enough light for the 3DS, especially when we'll get some of them this year!

And now for the big announcement from Nintendo. Their new console which is to take serious competition with the PS3 and 360, having HD graphics and is to appeal to the hardcore gaming community. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Wii U... What, seriously? That was the best they came up with naming their new console? At least it's better than just naming the new console Nintendo as previously claimed by Game Informer but this name is still dumb. It sounds like a Wii parody and doesn't even suggest it's the eighth generation of gaming. The Wii U just sounds like a console to catch up with its competitors now that Microsoft has Kinect while PS3 has PS Move.

The controller doesn't even suggest it appeals to non-casual gamers as previously stated. Infact, it looks like a fucking iPad and if you slapped the Apple logo on the handheld (sorry, I meant Wii U controller), sales would skyrocket. The whole idea for having a huge screen on the controller is ridiculous. Not only would the cost of the Wii U be extreme, if Nintendo were going to make such a big controller with a screen, they may as well made this the new handheld console instead of the 3DS.

Surely a new console has new games to look forward to, right? Asides from a few titles that most would be playing on the 360 or PS3 such as Arkham City and Battlefield 3 which will come out before the damn console does, they've got a rocky start for third party titles already. They already announced games may be miles better than all the shovelware crap that filled up the Wii's retail shelves but come on, these are games that many will play already on other consoles beforehand. Just add some good bonus content and we might be good. As for first party games, all they've confirmed so far is a new Super Smash Bros. game (as well as on the 3DS)... You know, I actually hate Super Smash Bros. these days. I can no longer stand the franchise and the third party character suggestions are going to be a pain to hear over the next few years. If anyone dares to say Naruto or Vegeta should be in Super Smash Bros. 4, please allow me to scream like a lunatic.

I'm hoping these are just first impressions and the Wii U will improve from this. The game lineup isn't that promising right now and the price for the Wii U console and controller combined will need us saving up.

Overall, Nintendo's conference was actually the best out of the five. Sure, the new console is very doubtful right now but hopefully things will get better for it. As for the new titles, it's all sounding good except for new Super Smash Bros. and the lack of a new Metroid game (especially the almost forgotten Metroid Dread) is a disappointment but that's just me. Hopefully I will pick these games up somewhere down the road as they deserve the most attention out of everything that was announced from these shows, even if two of them may be just yet more Mario games.

In conclusion, E3 2011's press conferences were all bad for the most part except Nintendo which although offered a console that's giving many gamers huge doubts, at least they're giving the 3DS a good lineup which is what the new handheld really needed. Games worth hyping for is what Sony needs for the PSVita if they want to be competitive in the handheld industry. Ubisoft and EA are hit and miss with their performances but at least some games are on the horizon. Sadly, Microsoft still gives me no interest from what they offer, especially when their last two press conferences have been mostly about the Kinect but at least I saw some footage of Tomb Raider 2011 and hoping it might be worth a damn. Well, same time next year for E3 2012. Can I improve my gaming habits by then? Only time will tell.