Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

E3 Greatest Games

I don't want to do a "Who Won E3" article, because those are stupid. No one "wins" E3. So, I've decided to just share with you five games I was most impressed with at E3 2014.

5. Splatoon (Wii U)

Splatoon is an interesting little game. Just announced this year, Splatoon features not a single existing Nintendo character. This new franchise is a third-person shooter with online capabilities. Teams of four wage war against each other, and shoot paint at every single thing on the map, living and not. The ultimate goal is to have the most paint on the battlefield and to destroy your enemies while they attempt to do so. What increases the appeal of this game even further is that Nintendo Network online play is still free! Splatoon will be being released during the first half of 2015.

4. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4)

The Uncharted franchise has long been hailed as one of the greatest in gaming, and the trailer for Uncharted 4 looks simply stunning. Although no gameplay is shown, it does show Nathan Drake recovering from an apparent fall he just took and walking into a mysterious jungle where dozens of skeletons lay in rotting cages. It certainly sets the mood for what is sure to be a grand adventure. The release date is sometime in 2015.

3. Halo: The Master Chief Collection (XB1)

Although Halo 5 was at E3, the remakes end up taking its spot on the list. Halo: The Master Chief Collection contains Halo 1,2,3, and 4, all in 1080 p on the XBOX One. The game is slated for a  November release this year, and players that decide to pick up a copy are rewarded with not only the game and a live-action series, but also a key to the Halo 5 Beta! All for just $60, Microsoft really nailed it with this bundle.

2. Legend of Zelda Wii U (Wii U)

Legend of Zelda Wii U was officially announced for the first time at E3, and it revealed a few things. Such as the art style, which appears to be a toned down version of Skyward Sword Link, and Aonuma described what it would be like playing in that open world, stating that "you can approach any area from any side" leading to even more brain-wracking puzzles. The game is set to come out n 2015.

1. Tom Clancy's The Division (PS4, XB1)

Tom Clancy's The Division looks better and better each time I see it. The open world game dazzled fans at last year's E3, and they had even more gameplay to share this year. Although nothing new was shown, it just cemented the quality of the game while showing off its very impressive graphics. Tom Clancy's The Division releases in 2015.

So Close, But Yet So Far...
While deciding which games would make the list, I had to cut out a few games that were really close to making it. Here they are:
  • LittleBig Planet 3
  • Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
  • Super Smash Bros. for 3DS
  • Assassin's Creed: Unity
  • Halo 5: Guardians

"E3 Most Looking Forward To" Retrospect

A couple of days ago, I had an article about what I was most looking forward to at E3, and now in retrospect, I would like to see how those dreams of what was going to happen held up.

3. Star Wars Battlefront

I was REALLY hoping to see gameplay, and what I got was only kind of gameplay. The trailer was basically a bunch of people at DICE saying how they all love Star Wars and this new Battlefront is a game made by Star Wars fans for Star Wars fans, and blahblahblah, a bit of "early in-game footage" and a lot of shots of people in the original locations where the original Star Wars trilogy was shot.

DID IT LIVE UP TO ITS EXPECTATION?
NO

2. Halo 5: Guardians

Just like Star Wars Battlefront, I was hoping to see some gameplay, I mean that would only make sense, right? They had a teaser trailer last year, so why would they have another one this year? Well I don't know why, but they totally did. The trailer showed Master Chief doing a bunch of stuff we've already seen him do throughout his previous campaigns, and then at the very end of the trailer, it shows that mysterious Spartan watching Chief on a whole bunch of TV screens. Making him Master Chief's... GUARDIAN

DID IT LIVE UP TO ITS EXPECTATION?
NO

1. Legend of Zelda Wii U

Now, for Legend of Zelda, it had a bit more slack than the other two. This was it's first E3, so I was anticipating a teaser trailer, and then it had an actual trailer, albeit not with gameplay footage, but I at least got to see what the game looked like. The art style chosen is an interesting one, as it appears to be that of Skyward Sword, but toned down, and I have to say. I like it. It works, he doesn't look human-like, but he's not Skyward Sword derpy. Also in the trailer, Aonuma talked about how huge the game was, and it most certainly is. It's massive and I can't wait to see more, whenever that may be.

DID IT LIVE UP TO ITS EXPECTATION?
YES

Nintendo Digital Event Happenings

The Nintendo Digital Event this morning packed a lot of stuff into a small amount of time, but the majority of the news was great. A lot of stuff happened. Actually, too much happened and I don't really care about some of it, so here is what I cared about: (to see the complete list of games announced at Nintendo's Digital Event, hit up e3.nintendo.com)


  • A new third-person shooter for the Wii U was announced called Splatoon. It looks like a hell of a lot of fun, and I will be for sure getting it very near release, which is the "first half of 2015"
  • Nintendo's NFC figurines thingy was named Amiibo. There will be 10 figures for you and me at launch, which is Holiday 2014. It will be compatible with Smash Brothers and will be eventually incorporated into Mario Kart 8, Mario Party 10, and more.
  • A new game called Mario Maker is coming out in the first half of 2015, which will allow users to create and edit their own Super Mario Bros. levels, spawning koopas, goombas, pipes, and pretty much every Mario-related thing that you could think of. Courses can be then played in either the original Mario Brothers graphics, or you can switch to the HD graphics of New Super Mario Bros. U.
  • Hyrule Warriors was given a pretty new trailer and they announced Midna from Twilight Princess as a playable character. This game will be hitting shelves on September 26th of this fine year of 2014. And, I am still split on how I feel about this game. It's cool because its Legend of Zelda, but... I'll probably just get Legend of Zelda Wii U.
  • CAPTAIN TOAD GOT HIS OWN GAME AND IT'S CALLED CAPTAIN TOAD: TREASURE TRACKER AND I WILL DEFINITELY BUY THIS THE SECOND IT IS AVAILABLE WHICH IS HOLIDAY 2014
  • There is another Mario party coming out, for Wii U. This installment is the 10th, thus it is called Mario Party 10. Up to five people can play, where four players play as Mario and his gang, and the fifth player plays as Bowser. It's pretty wild because some of the mini-games pit the gang against Bowser in a 4v1, and it certainly looks plenty interesting. It will be available in 2015, so I've got plenty of time to decide whether I want it or not.
  • Yarn Yoshi now has an official name: Yoshi's Wooly World. Yoshi is now composed of yarn, but the core mechanics appear unchanged. Yoshi can trail eggs behind him to throw at enemies, but some eggs now have special abilities, like when you throw one, it leaves a walkable trail behind it. And there is many more abilities, and it looks like plenty of fun, although I'll need more time to decide if its a game for me. The game will be ready to buy in the first half of 2015.
  • Sonic Boom didn't receive a trailer, and I'm not really sure what all is new with it, but it's still a thing. Also, it comes out this November. I will not be picking it up.
  • Kirby and the Rainbow Curse was announced and has a 2015 release date and to be frank... it looks kinda awful. The game revolves around the gimmick that Kirby is a little clay ball, and to move him the player must draw lines on the GamePad to roll him around. If you happen to lick the gimmick, just get Ivy the Kiwi?, it's three bucks at GameStop.
  • Legend of Zelda Wii U was officialy revealed with no release date or anything. Some pictures were shown and for some reason, the trailer isn't on Nintendo's E3 site, but if you want to view it, it is here. The game features a massive open world and plenty of puzzles, I'm sure, but we might even have to wait for next year's E3 to get some real news about this game.
  • Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire was given a release date of November 21, 2014, and I am definitely picking this up on release day. The remake of gen 3 features the same graphics engine X and Y used and new "primal devolution"
The following two links will go to two Wii U games that are very popular, apparently, but I have no opinion on or feel like talking about.

I'll post more later today about other E3 stuffs, so stay tuned.

Monday, June 9, 2014

Quack Attack Trailer has Arrived

I've been talking about it for quite some time, and now it is finally here. Quack Attack. My five minute show that discusses all of the latest Nintendo happenings. The video I have published is just a trailer, but I will have an official Quack Attack up by the end of the month, so look forward to that! Below, I'll put the link to YouTube, so watch it up and anticipate that first episode.





Sunday, June 8, 2014

Pokemon Omega Ruby Alpha Sapphire News

So while I was caught up in Mario Kart, those Japanese magazines were hyping Pokemon without me. Basically there are mega evolutions for Swampert and Sceptile (and Diancie) now too, and there are Pokemon called prehistoric Pokemon, where you devolve them to become their prehistoric selves. This is the case with Groudon and Kyogre. Also, these games will be at E3, so make sure you watch E3!


Prehistoric Groudon and Kyoge on the Box Art



New Mega Evolutions


Franchises I want to see at E3

I've already told you the games I am most looking forward to at E3, but there are some other games I want to see but have not yet been announced. To see my list of games I want to see, scroll down a bit. And now, three franchises I want to see at E3 (that hev not yet been announced to be at E3)

1. Metroid

Poor Samus Aran. She hasn't had an outing since 2010 with Metroid: Other M, and even that was a little underwhelming. But I really think that it needs to come back, hardcore. I mean Retro Studios is free again, now that they've finished Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, so... don't make another Donkey Kong, make another Metroid. Because they do that REALLY well. Honestly, I wouldn't even mind an HD treatment for Metroid Prime. Just give me Metroid on the Wii U and I'll be a happy camper.

2. Paper Mario

Paper Mario had a new game for the 3DS in 2012, but he hasn't had a proper outing since 2004. Paper Mario has been around since the Nintendo 64, and then he has had games on every console since (and the 3DS), so it only seems natural we'll see him sometime. But I don't want to see another overused gimmick, like in Sticker Star. I want an honest-to-goodness Paper Mario game. If you want to know what that means, play Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door. It is a masterpiece. Actually, it is the greatest game I have ever played. And, just like Metroid, I would even be willing to take a Thousand Year Door HD remake. Or, y'know, just put GameCube games in the Wii U Virtual Console...

3. Kid Icarus

Kid Icarus also had a 3DS game in 2012, and it was awesome. To this day, it holds up as one of the greatest titles in the 3DS game library. So, this one isn;t about making another good one, it's about making another one in general. The Wii U could solve Kid Icarus Uprising's worst problems; unnatural controls to name the primary contender. And Pit getting the HD treatment would be glorious.

I'm sure Nintendo will thrill and excite at this year's E3, and I really like the line-up they have so far, but if any of these titles make it, I will be ecstatic. E3 is June 10-12, and you should check out Nintendo's website too: www.e3.nintendo.com

Also, I am THIS CLOSE to getting videos to this blog. So stay tuned. See you later, duckling enthusiasts.