Take that Do Gooder!

Being a hero sucks! You have to save the princess over and over and over again. Its the same old thing and sure there's fame but theres no money in it. Everyone expects you to do good twenty four hours a day. You never get a break. You don't even get a fun laugh or anything!

Well, forget all that! Lets be the Villain instead.

Nefarious, by Josh Hano, is a 2D platformer where you play as a villain. You kidnap a princess and try to escape with her. It looks totally crazy and a lot of fun. How often do you get to play as the VILLAIN in a video game?! Ok, there's Grand Theft Auto but thats not a Whwhaha sort of villain. I'm talking Bowser-like villain. Over the top, kidnapping princess, taking over the world sort of villains. This game is going to be nuts. In a very good way.

It doesn't come out till Next Fall though. What?! Wait a second...I have to wait THAT LONG to be a villain. Nooooooooo. (aside: I wouldn't be a villain in real life. That leads to jail. You don't want to see me in jail right?!)

sigh. Ok, at least it'll give them plenty of time to make this game super fun. In the meantime, look at these awesome screenshots from the Official website:







I love the total Saturday morning cartoon look its going for. And that last pic...looks like you have MINIONS! Alright!

Oh and here's the super cool trailer:

This game looks excellent. Thanks to @JonGryphon for telling me about it! If you want to read more about Nefarious, check out the official site here:  http://nefariousgame.com/                                                                       

Get A Clue!

Today's Indie Preview is of a game that MIGHT come to Wii U. The developer is a Wii U developer now. They are currently working on this game for other systems. I really hope this one comes to Wii U though because it looks fun and I am not a PC gamer whatsoever.

The game I'm talking about is Jenny LeClue and the developer is Mografi.

LeClue stars a girl who is trying to solve a mystery. Sort of Nancy Drew but with a twist. The twist is that the (made up) writer of Jenny's story is in the game too! So the player interacts with the writer too and that helps change Jenny & the writers story. Think 'Choose Your Own Adventure' books. Thats what this game is going for. It sounds really fun. It looks like an adventure that kids and adults could enjoy.

And I think it would fit well on the Wii U. The Adventure genre is a perfect fit for the gamepad. Touch screen interaction, using the gamepad for inventory, etc. There are so many possibilities. 

I also love LeClue's art style. Its like a really well done 2D cartoon. Take a look at these screenshots (from the official site):







And here's the awesome trailer:

I'm crossing my fingers for this one. It would be a great all-ages addition to the eshop. Nintendo loves all-ages games. Thats what they create! Jenny LeClue should be an excellent game. Hope its not too long till it makes its way to Wii U.

Thats Very Odd

" Follow me! "

I remember when I first met Abe. He was always telling people to follow him & farting. Lots of farting.

Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee for Playstation One was a unique, quirky game. I had never played anything like it. It wasn't an easy game. You had to get Abe's lackeys to do stuff and those guys, well, they were not so bright! It was a fun game though. I liked it a lot.

I'm not sure if I played the second Oddworld game. I did play Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee on Xbox. It was an ok game. Not as great as the first one. THEN I played Oddworld Stranger's Wrath....

Oh man. Stranger's Wrath was so very different from the other games. It was a first person shooter set in the Wild West with a character that had no connection at all to Abe. It didn't even look like the Oddworld world. But, man, Stranger's Wrath was a GREAT game. I actually beat the game too. From start to finish, I loved Stranger's Wrath.

So why am I telling you about all this? Have I gone off on a non-Nintendo track again?

Nope. The first Oddworld is being remade and it's going to be on the Wii U. This version is called New 'N' Tasty. It looks pretty good. The graphics have been given a major upgrade.

That said, its Stranger's Wrath, also coming to Wii U, that excites me the most. I love the game and really can't wait till it appears on the system. My only worry is that recently the developer said that they have put Stranger's Wrath on the backburner for now. I wonder if they will actually ever bring it to the system. Perhaps they want to see how well New 'N' Tasty does. What if it doesn't do good? Then they might not bring Stranger's Wrath....sigh.

In any case, both Oddworld games would be so great to have on Wii U. I hope both of them appear on the system and do very well.

Here's a trailer of New 'N' Tasty:

Its great to see Abe back again. Actually now that I think about it, you know what would be more exciting then both New 'N' Tasty and Stranger's Wrath?! A NEW Oddworld game. I hope it happens. Its an odd game universe, but it sure is a fun one to visit.                                                                                                   

What I'm Thankful For (Game Related)

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in America. I've decided that I will take tomorrow off. Yes, there will be no new blog entry tomorrow.

That said, in honor of Thanksgiving, I wanted to tell you all what I'm thankful for in games (and in the games community). There is, really, so much to be thankful for this year.

Nintendo, most of all, has been putting out so many great games. The Wii U lineup is better than ever and the 3DS lineup is amazing.

I'm also thankful for the Indies are who are supporting the Wii U and 3DS. You guys are great. I wanted to, especially, point out some people that I think are awesome. The Wii U/3DS eshops would not be the same without them:

-@rcmadiax. He has released several games for the Wii U eshop now. All of them are low cost, low budget games but the quality, as far as I'm concerned, is high. These are really addictive games. My two favorites are Shut the Box and Blok Drop U. He has more games on the way. I'm not sure what the eshop would do without him. Thanks for all your hard work sir!

-@RenegadeKidLLC. Mutant Mudds Deluxe on Wii U and many great games, like Moon Chronicles on 3DS. Plus they are always working on new games. Fantastic developer.

-@ImageForm. Steamworld Dig is amazing. I love it on the 3DS and I'm so glad its on the Wii U. And their upcoming game, Steamworld Heist, looks amazing. I'm torn between getting it on the 3DS or Wii U. Maybe both? Thank you so much guys. Hope we see many more of your games on Wii U & 3DS.

-@curvestudios. Stealth Inc 2 is Wii U exclusive. Wow. Thats amazing. Not many developers want to do exclusive games for Wii U. Plus they've bought the Swapper to Wii U and soon Thomas is Alone. Curve makes great games. We are really blessed to have them on Wii U.

@HullBreachGames. Put together the cool SDK Paint program, plus they are working on a lot of other games for Wii U. On a personal note, they are one of the few developers that took me seriously and added me to their press list. Thank you so much guys. Looking forward to seeing more projects from you!

@MovingPlayer. They produced one of the coolest, hardest games I've ever played. Plus they added me to their press list. Very cool people. I can't wait to see what else they come up with on Wii U!

And there are many, many, many more Indies that I'd like to thank. But then this blog entry would be WAY too long. Gah! Love you all. Thank you for your hard work. Here's to a great 2015 full of fun Indies games.

And finally, I'm really thankful for these people too:

-@ShigeruNews. For letting me review games and keep me writing so much.

-The whole Shigeru News gang. You guys are great! Enjoy working with you.

-@NintenDaan. A great reviewer, wonderful tweeter. You make me want to be a better reviewer! Thank you Daan.

-@ShawnLong85. Love those Week in Review & Rant videos! One of the coolest Nintendo journalists/fans out there. Another person who inspires me to be a better reviewer/journalist. Thank you Shawn.

-@NINTENthusiast.  One of my favorite Nintendo fan sites. The Nintendo fan community is very lucky to have them!

@Trev_G1. Has given me a lot of encouragement and gave me some very good advice for one review I did. A great game journalist to boot. Thank you for everything!

@Eric_Weichhart. Who helped me on my Pixel Paint review and is a great guy. Thank you!

And there are a ton more people. I know I'm forgetting someone! Thank you Nintendo game community. We have our disagreements. We all have things we like and dislike. We rant about Nintendo. But in the end, its how much we love Nintendo that bands us together. 2014 was fantastic for Nintendo game wise. 2015 will be amazing!

Steamworld Heist Gets Even Better

I just had to write about Steamworld Heist again. Today, Image & Form announced that a music band called Steam Powered Giraffe would be doing the music for the game!

I had never heard of this band before. Image & Form provided a Steamworld Heist music video. I watched it, expecting not to like the music. As it turned out, I loved it! Steam Powered Giraffe's Heist music video is awesome. Excellent music and wonderful new gameplay footage.

Here! Check it out:

I went ahead and looked into some of the group's other music. It is, without a doubt, perfect for Steamworld Heist. And its very cool on its own too.

This is super exciting news for this game. I just had to write about this. I also posted about it Shigeru News too. My excitement is high. Can I have this game NOW? Can't wait.

My Smash Bros Wii U Impressions

I'm addicted to Smash Bros. Wii U.

As I sit here writing this, all I can think is: I wish I was playing Smash Bros right now. The game is THAT good.

Nintendo has produced, without a doubt, the best fighting game ever (or so far if you prefer) with Smash Bros Wii U. Its got everything you'd want. Tons of characters, lots of stages, multiple modes, AND....the online is AWESOME. It works so great right now. I say right now, because the game is only out in America at the moment. When the rest of the world joins the game, thats going to be the true test of Smash Bros online.

Still, at the moment, the online multiplayer rocks.

Other things I love about the game:

-So many great characters! My favorites are the Villager, Little Mac, Kirby, Yoshi, and Duck Hunt!

-Amazing gameplay modes. I have a hard time picking a favorite.

-The stages look fantastic!

-The graphics are jaw dropping. This is, in my opinion, the best looking game on the Wii U. Heck, the best looking game on ANY SYSTEM right now. There, I said it.

-amiibos. Some people have said that they don't like amiibos on Smash. I like them! I think its fun leveling up your character. I have the Villager and Link amiibos so far. Hopefully I'll get even more in the future.

Of course, not everything is perfect. Here are things that I think could be better:

-I wish there was more to the stage builder. Also I can't wait to see what people did build with it. The Share mode can't come fast enough.

-I wish it was easier to unlock new stages.

-Some of the Events in Event mode are INSANE. Whew.

And um...I don't know what else to tell you. This game is just about perfect. I really love it!

Ok, now I'm going to go play it some more. I'll be back tomorrow with another Indie preview.

Battling Miner

On Friday, I told you about Cube Creator for the 3DS. Today, I want to tell you about a game that's similar but its out RIGHT NOW.

I have not played Battle Miner by @WobblyToothLtd but its looks very good.

Much like Cube Creator, you can make things in Battle Miner. You collect resources (Mine) and then build stuff, like weapons. There is an open world to explore and Ants to fight. Sounds like you may have to rescue someone too.

Graphics wise, it looks a lot like Cube Creator and Minecraft.

Here's a trailer for the game:

It seems like we'll be seeing a lot of games like this on 3DS and Wii U. I'm sure not all of them will be good. Which one do I think looks the best right nwo? Both Cube Creator and Battle Miner look good. Hopefully I'll get the chance to play both. If I do, I'll do another blog entry talking about them and which one I like better. Who knows? Maybe their both good! We can hope.

I'll be back tomorrow with my thoughts on Smash Bros Wii U so far.

A Beautiful Soul

There are not very first many first person games on the Wii U. Call of Duty and Master Reboot are the only ones I can really think of. There may be more but nothing is springing to mind. That second one I mentioned, Master Reboot, is from Wales Interactive (@WalesInter). They will soon be bringing another first person game to the Wii U and it looks amazing.

Soul Axion is a first person sci-fi adventure game. It plans to take you deep inside of the main character's soul to find out who the character is and what secrets the person is hiding.

And it is a really beautiful looking game. The graphics are so stunning.

Here's the trailer for the game:

And here's the official website with the full story and screenshots: http://www.walesinteractive.com/#!soul-axiom/c1q1m

Soul Axiom very impressive looking. It almost looks like a retail game! I hope it'll be as good as it looks. We'll see.

I'll be back tomorrow with another Indie Preview. Then on Monday....my thoughts on SMASH BROS Wii U.

Creating Cubes

I talked before about games where you could create things. Today, I want to tell you about a game thats coming to the 3DS. Its called Cube Creator and its from developer @BigJohnGames!

Cube Creator is much like Minecraft. You'll be able to create different things in a cube-like environment and take on different challenges! It looks pretty cool. Its not the first game of its kind of 3DS. That would be Harvest Moon. But this game doesn't have the addition of farming. Its focused on the creation & exploration aspects.

I like how the game's inventory will always be available on the bottom screen. The graphics look cute too. I hope the gameplay is fun. We won't have long to wait to find out. There is supposed to be a FREE demo of Cube Creator in December. I'm really looking forward to trying the game out!

Here are some screenshots (from the developer's twitter account):







and here's test gameplay footage:

Looks neat right? Here's hoping its as cool as it looks! 3DS could use games all about creating things if you ask me!

I'll be back tomorrow with another blog previewing an Indie! Sorry this blog entry was so late. Blame Smash Bros Wii U. :)

Why I Write About Indies

I was going to do another Indie game preview today, but I thought I'd talk about something else instead. I talked about yesterday why I love Nintendo. Today, I thought I'd talk about why I'm writing about Indies instead of just Nintendo games all the time.

I don't get paid to write any of these blog entries. I might seem like maybe I do because all of my preview articles are so positive. I never write about any Indie games here I don't like. So why do I do it?

First of all, I think its great that Indie companies are supporting Wii U when a lot of the bigger AAA companies have abandoned Nintendo. I think they deserve someone spotlighting their games. They support us Nintendo fans, we should support them.

Second, I think there's enough negatively in the Nintendo community. Nintendo fans & critics alike seem to always be talking about stuff THEY DON'T like. Nintendo is doing this wrong, Nintendo is doing that wrong or third parties suck or man, look at that terrible Indie game on the Eshop. I'm tired of it. I want to write about games I'm excited about or interested in. I want to be positive and provide a positive place to show off Indies that look good. And there are a lot of Indie games coming that look incredible. There is more GOOD coming then BAD. We should always keep that in mind.

I'm not saying its wrong to criticize things. Look at my reviews at Shigeru News. I've given some Indies some pretty bad scores. I will continue to be honest in my reviews about what I like and don't like. But on this blog, I want to keep things positive because, as a Nintendo fan, its nice to have a place that focuses on the positive more than the negative. (an aside: I'm not saying I'll never have a rant here. I might. I'm just saying I want the previews to be positive).

This is not a blog to advertise for Indies. Though, if thats a side effect for good games, I'm ok with that. I write about Indies because I like indies A LOT. I'm happy to talk about these wonderful people who are supporting my favorite systems.

Thats why I write about Indies.

And now I want to put out a call. IF you are Indie and you have a game coming to the Wii U or 3DS and you want me to spotlight the Indie here, then send me an e-mail at df2506@yahoo.com. I can't promise you I'll talk about your game. I'm looking for games that are interesting visually and gameplay wise. What makes your game unique? Heck, even if you're not an indie and you just know about a cool game I haven't talked about yet, send me an e-mail. I'll look into it.

I want to write about more Indies. I search high and low for 3DS and Wii U indies to write about. It would be cool to have a little help.

I also review games here and at Shigeru News. So if anyone wants me to review their game, please e-mail me.

I'll be back tomorrow with a preview of 3DS game Cube Creator!

Why Nintendo is My Favorite Video Game Company

I spent years playing games with great visuals, cool gameplay, and lots of cutscenes. Many of them I loved. But after awhile, some of the games got old.

I'm thinking, especially, of games like Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto. When I started out playing those games, they were fun and unique. These games didn't change with the sequels though. And they stayed dark and very depressing. I'm sick and tired of first person shooters and open world mobster games now.

I still like games that tell a story, especially rpgs, but story isn't as important to me as it once was. As I get older, I realize there's one thing I really want out of a game: I want the game to be fun!

And thats why Nintendo is my favorite video game company now. They produce FUN GAMES. They don't worry about the story too much. They don't produce lots of cutscenes. Instead, they focus on making their games fun. I'm not going to say that they never make a bad game. Once and awhile they do. I won't say that some of their games don't get repetitive either (New Super Mario Bros series I'm looking at you). Nintendo produces many fun games that I really love though.

Another thing I love about Nintendo games is that they are so colorful. If you look at the games that Xbox One and PS4 are producing right now, most of them are darker, muted color games. Nintendo goes for bright and cheerful. I really do think thats the main reason Wii U games look better than Xbox One or PS4 games this generation. Nintendo is really showing off their graphics, while PS4 and Xbox One are mostly hiding their graphics in darker colors.

The 3DS, meanwhile, might not be as powerful as the Vita, but it produces more games and brighter games that are focused on the fun. Vita wants to give you a console experience on a handheld. The 3DS wants to give you a handheld experience. There are games, like Fantasy Life, that you can play for hours if you want too. But you can also just play for a little bit and then come back to it later. There are tons of 3DS games that give you the chance of playing a long time or just playing a little. Vita wants you to play a long time period. At least, thats my impression of the system. I could definitely be wrong. Vita just doesn't seem as handheld friendly. 3DS is pretty awesome though and gets better all the time.

Overall, I find Nintendo so much more fun these days. They make games that people of all ages can play. Meanwhile, the competition is making games (mostly) for Adults. Its very rare to find a good all ages game on PS4 or Xbox One. The only great All Ages game I can think of from Sony is LittleBigPlanet 3 and I can't think of one for the Xbox One. Nintendo is producing tons of games for everybody though. But also, they are starting to produce some games for older people too. Bayonetta 2 and the upcoming Devil's Third are focused toward Adults. Hyrule Warriors wants to grab Teens and up. So Nintendo is trying to offer older players something cool too.

Oh and if you don't want to play Nintendo games, you can find a bunch of awesome Indie games on the eshop. These games are aimed at everyone from Casual Gamers to Adult gamers. There is an excellent variety of games and more on the way all the time! The Wii U and 3DS eshops are really amazing places to visit right now.

I love Nintendo. The Wii U and 3DS rock!
-----------------

I'll be back tomorrow with another Indie preview blog entry!

The Xbox Years

There is something I forget to mention in yesterday's blog entry...

Before I owned a PS3, I had an Xbox and an Xbox 360.

I remember the first time I was interested in the Xbox. I was reading an issue of Game Informer and they had a big article about Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

Now, I love Star Wars. And I also love rpgs. KOTR (as I'll call it from now on) looked great. At the time, though, we didn't have the money to buy an Xbox. Instead, my dad rented an Xbox and KOTR. I loved it. What did I love about it? KOTR had a great story, a cool battle system, excellent graphics, and lots of places to explore. It was (and still is) the best Star Wars game. I beat it when I was renting it but when we had the money to get an Xbox, I still wanted to buy the game. I had so much fun with it. I played the second KOTOR too and liked it. Though, it wasn't as good as the first game.

Another big standout for me was Oddworld Stranger's Wrath. I loved the old west setting and the unique main character. The game was pretty short overall but man, what a fantastic game (I'm still hoping it'll make its way to the Wii U).

There's one more original Xbox game that I'd like to mention and that game is Psychonauts. Double Fine's mind-bending platformer was so great. It was strange, weird, and incredibly fun. One of my favorite original Xbox games for sure.

I also played Halo and liked it. There are other games but I can't remember them. And like I said, I also owned an Xbox 360.

I was tempted to get a PS3 but it was too high at the time. The 360 also seemed like the better choice. I got Halo 3 right away. I choose it over Bioshock. I learned later that I should've went with Bioshock. Don't get me wrong, Halo 3 was good but Bioshock, oh man, Bioshock was amazing.

I finally played a demo of Bioshock. I loved it so much that I traded in some games the very day I finished the demo and bought the full game. I still think the first Bioshock is a masterpiece from beginning to end. Excellent gameplay, jaw dropping graphics, and above-all, a fantastic story! " Will you kindly kill Ryan? " Whew.

The only other game that really sticks out for me 360 wise is Burnout Paradise. I loved the Burnout games. I've never been too great at regular racing games. But games like Burnout (and Mario Kart) are definitely games I like a lot. They are all about the fun.

Overall, I enjoyed my time when the orignal Xbox and the 360. But I ended up going back to Sony when I saw how amazing Ratchet & Clank and Uncharted looked on the PS3.

Tomorrow, I'll be back to tell you why I think the 3DS and the Wii U are the best systems out now. Why do I think they are better than Sony & Microsoft systems?! You'll find out.

I never owned a Nintendo 64

When I was a kid, my dad bought us an NES. Then, when the SNES came out, we bought that too (still have it in fact). So when Nintendo announced the Nintendo 64, we knew we had to have it.

A friend of my dads, though, told us that there was a better system out. He wanted us to come over to his house and see it. So we did.

This was the first time I ever saw the Playstation 1.I don't think I knew much, if anything, about it. I know I hadn't seen a commercial. Maybe I'd heard about it in passing. I can't remember. In any case, my dads friend showed off several games for the system. We saw Tomb Raider, the first Resident Evil, Tekken, and a game called D. We were not impressed at all by Tomb Raider. It just didn't look good to us. Resident Evil, however, looked amazing. It started with a Live Action sequence and then went into some very impressive 3D gameplay. Tekken looked excellent too and so did D.

We knew then that we had to have a Playstation. And since we didn't have a lot of money, we had to make a decision. It was hard for us, being Nintendo fans, but....we went with Sony. I owned a few games for the PS1 and still have most of them. I become a huge fan of the Final Fantasy games, I enjoyed Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and many more of the cool games the Playstation had. I didn't pay attention to Nintendo much.

I did see a Nintendo 64 at Walmart a couple of times. I got to play Ocarina of Time a little and Majora's Mask too. I played Star Fox 64 at a Blockbuster Video Store. I got to borrow the system much later from an Aunt. I played Super Mario 64 and Diddy Kong Racing. I did, of course, play a few more 64 games when they were released on the Wii. And thats pretty much my association with the 64.

Do I regret not owning a 64? No, not really. I love Nintendo, but, at the time, the Playstation 1 was a lot better than the 64. I loved the PS1. I was a big fan of the PS2 also. I did love the Gamecube and I look back and I think about how some of the games were better then some on the PS2. But the PS3 was a ton better then the Wii overall. I loved the PS3.

Now I'm back. The Wii U and the 3DS are my favorite systems. I am a complete Nintendo fanboy now.

But for awhile...I left Nintendo largely. I don't have the nostalgia for the 64 that many Nintendo fans have. It was great finally getting to play some of the games on the Wii, but I don't think I missed much. I loved my time with the Playstation.

Changing the World With Colors

Coming this Winter for Wii U, Nihilumbra, by @BeautiFunGames, is a really beautiful platformer. Not only that, but players can use colors to transform the environment and aid them on their journey. This is a very unique, interesting game.

Here's how the game's plot is described by the official website:

" Discover the beautiful world of Nihilumbra and join Born on his adventure to find himself whilst trying to escape from his inevitable curse. 
Born was created from the absolute nothingness: The Void. But somehow he separates himself from the black emptiness and appears in the world. This is where his long odyssey begins, in which he will learn how to use the colors around him to gain powerful abilities and transform the world.

However, his experiences come at a high price. The Void must be one. It seeks to reclaim him and will never stop chasing him, destroying everything in its path along the way. 
To survive, Born will have to condemn the earth he walks to its inevitable obliteration by The Void..."

Could be a fantastic story. And wow! Look at these screenshots (from the official website):







Amazing right? Plus: here's a trailer for the game:

For more screenshots of Nihilumbra, check out the official website here: http://nihilumbra.com/                    

There's also a playable PC demo there if you're into that sort of thing.                                                                  

I'll be back tomorrow with another blog entry. Not sure what it'll be about yet.                                                       

Behind the Game Reviewing Curtain

Now that I've been reviewing games a lot lately, I've come to appreciate reviewers more. Its very tricky reviewing games. You want to be honest, but fair. You want to find good, even in the worst of games (sometimes you can't). And you don't want to just praise your favorite game and thats it. No game is perfect. I'm not sure how reviewers can give out 10s so often.

I haven't been able to give a game a 10 yet. I always find something wrong with a game, even if its a game I like a lot.

I'm sure if I reviewed Animal Crossing New Leaf, I'd probably end up going on and on about stuff I didn't like. Sometimes it feels like I'm being too critical.

So you may wonder (or maybe you don't) what my review scoring looks like. What does each score mean to me?

Here's a quick, dirty, and simple run down:

1 range-This game is awful

2 range-This game is not good.

3 range-Well, there are a couple things I liked but it could have been a ton better.

4 range-Interesting, but man, it needed more work.

5 range-Hmmm. Could be better, could be worse too.

6 range-Hey, this isn't bad.

7 range-Pretty good

8 range-Really good

9 range-This is such a great game!

10 range-There is no game better than this one

Thats what the scoring means to me basically. Well, in simplistic terms anyway. I didn't break it down to the point ranges (ex: 9.5) or anything. Boy that would be a task!

In any case, reviewing is hard! Scores are even harder. Sometimes, I want to leave the scores off (I did, in fact, leave the score off one game. thats another story).

I hope my reviews are interesting. I hope they help people make decisions on games. If they don't, thats ok too. If you disagree with my reviews, thats fine. Reviews, in the end, are just the reviewers opinion of a game. Different people like different things. If we all liked the same thing, man, that would be BORING.

I'll be back tomorrow with another Indie preview. I'll try to have some more reviews on this blog soon.

Made of Clay

I talked about a stop motion game in a previous blog entry (Ghost Lights). Today, I want to talk about another one. This game, Armikrog by developer @penciltestinc, is a stop motion animated game that looks like its made out of clay. The game was created by Doug TenNapel, the creator of Earth(freaking)worm Jim. Or just Earthworm Jim I suppose. I guess....

Armikrog is a point & click adventure game! Thats perfect for the Wii U and I'm so glad this game is coming to the system. It looks just as strange/bizarre and fun as Earthworm Jim too. Oh and the game is fully voiced. One of the people doing a voice in the game voiced Pinky from Pinky & the Brain!! Narf!

My excitement for this one is high. It just looks so awesome.

Here! Look at this amazing Wii U trailer:

As Stan Lee would say " Nuff Said! "

Steampunk All the Way

Teslagrad, from developer Rain Games, has been out on the Wii U eshop since September. I haven't had the chance to play this game yet and I suspect thats a giant mistake. 

Teslagrad is a 2D puzzle platformer. There are a ton of puzzle platformers on the eshop right now but man, oh man, Teslagrad's graphics are amazing.

Take a look at this screenshot:



And this:



I really love how very steampunk influenced this game is. I also saw a screenshot showing off how the game uses the gamepad and I approve!

Take a look at this amazing launch trailer:

I really need to play this game sometime. I'd love to review it. Eventually I will. Teslagrad looks like a can't miss game for sure.                                                                                                                                   

I found the above photos from this website: http://jgghgames.com/?reviews=teslagrad-wii-u . There's a review of the game there too. I will not read the review because I want to make up my own mind eventually. Others may want to check the review out though.

I'll be back tomorrow with another Indie game for Wii U.

Smash It!

My Christmas presents are preordered. Its no surprise this year.

I'll be getting Smash Bros for the Wii U, a Gamecube controller adapter, and Villager amiibo.

Why would I want those for Christmas?

Smash Bros Wii U looks like a ton of fun. I love how many stages, characters, and modes it has. The graphics are so beautiful too.

I want the Gamecube controller so that my dad can play the game with me. He loves playing Smash with the Gamecube Wavebird controller (which we, thankfully, still have).

As for the Villager amiibo, well, I'm a huge Animal Crossing fan. There was never a doubt in my mind that I'd get the Villager. I can't say for sure if I'll ever get any of other amiibo's though.

I know this isn't much of a blog entry today, but I couldn't help sharing my excitement for Smash Bros. Wii U. Nintendo is putting together an amazing game for the system. Still...

I'll have to wait till Christmas to play it! sigh.

Inside Her Head

What would it be like to enter the mind of a Goddess? Red Goddess, an upcoming game for Wii U, will answer that unique question.

Red Goddess, by developer @YanimStudio, is a Metroidvania style puzzle platformer (with fighting). The art style is really beautiful.  The game looks like it'll be a very interesting Wii U experience.

Here are some screenshots from the Kickstarter page (its already fully funded):

 

And here's a trailer for the game:

Doesn't it look amazing?! Wow! Hope its not too long till this game is out.

For more information about Red Goddess, check out its Kickstarter page here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yanimstudio/red-goddess-inner-world

Harvest Moon The Lost Valley Impressions

Last week, Harvest Moon The Lost Valley for 3DS came out.

I've played it a bit, plus I've been helping my mom with the game. Here are my impressions of Harvest Moon so far
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The Lost Valley, like all Harvest Moons, focuses on farming for the most part. The farming is fun and made even easier because you don't have to switch your tools like other HM games. You just go up to a plant to water it, go up to a tree to cut it down, etc. I like this a lot (and so does my mom). That said, farming isn't the only thing you can do in Harvest Moon.

Lost Valley introduces a new mechanic to the franchise. This time around, the player can reshape the land. There is now a special menu that lets the player dig down into the ground and also build up the land too. This is Harvest Moon meets Minecraft.

Before the game came out, developer Natsume was saying that players wouldn't have to use the building mechanic if they didn't want to. Well, thats not really true. When the game starts, the Valley is mess. There's no way to go to the other side of the river. The way to the goddess spring is a confusing maze. You really do have to use the building mechanic to get around in the game. Thankfully building isn't too hard once you get the hang of it. I actually found it a lot of fun and hope to experiment with it more soon.

Other things I like about Lost Valley: the graphics are cute and the gameplay, overall, is really fun.

There is one main thing that bugs me about Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley though. The name of the game is Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley 3D. But....the game doesn't have 3D. Turn the slider all the way up on the 3DS and you get nothing. What happened?! I guess the game is called Harvest Moon 3D because of the 3D environment, but....this game IS on the 3DS. 3D added to the title would make you think the game is in 3D. Its not. Thats a shame because this game would look really good in 3D I bet. I wonder why it wasn't included...

Anyway, the Lost Valley is a really good game so far. I haven't played it a lot because its my mom's game. She loves it. She is very addicted to the game. Its definitely an improvement over the last Harvest Moon, A New Beginning, which we both found WAY TOO HARD. Lost Valley makes things easier, while also adding a very cool new toy for gamers to play with.
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And those are my impressions of Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley so far. I may or may not do a review of it here in the future. It depends if I get to play the game some more. Also I'm pretty busy with blog entries and reviews at the moment.

I'll be back tomorrow with another blog about an Indie. See you then!

Collecting Tons of Treasure

I've written about developer Renegade Kid a couple of times before. Moon Chronicles is the best (maybe only) first person shooter on the 3DS. Xeodrifter is a cool, upcoming Metroidvania style game.

Renegade Kid has one more title in the works that I know of though. That title is Treasurenauts and its for the 3DS.

Treasurenauts is a 2D platformer with combat. The goal of the game is to collect TONS of treasure. Why are you doing this? The main characters are stuck on an island and a pirate will give them passage off the island...for a price! Players will be collecting treasure like crazy, but watch out for the enemies. They can knock some of the treasure out of the heroes! The game will have multiple characters players can unlock and then play as, such as Max from Renegade Kid's Mutant Mudds! It will also have multiplayer, so players can team up with a pal to collect all of the treasure.

I can definitely see myself downloading this and getting my dad to download it too. We'd have a lot of fun with this one.

Here's a trailer of the game:

I have no idea when Treasurenauts is coming. Renegade Kid has to finish Xeodrifter and then they plan to get the rest of Moon Chronicles out too. Hopefully we'll see Treasurenauts next year! I'll let you all know if I hear more about this one.

Tomorrow I'll have my first impressions of Harvest Moon: the Lost Valley on the blog.

Its A Kefling World

Awhile back, when my local Walmart still had an Xbox 360 demo station, I played a demo of a game called A World of Keflings. I had no idea what it was at first. Pretty fast I got that it was a a strategy game where you were helping to rebuild the home of some elves called Keflings. I thought it was a pretty neat game and that it was too bad it wasn't on a Nintendo console.

On November 13, developer Ninja Bee is bringing A World of Keflings to the Wii U. This could be an excellent game for the Wii U. It really depends on how the developer is using the Wii U gamepad. Will gamers be able to use the touch screen to control their character and place new objects?

I have no idea! I really hope Keflings gets more than just a simple port. It was neat on 360, but it could be amazing on Wii U. We'll see.

For now, take a look at this Halloween themed trailer:

Pikmin 3 Demo Impressions

On Wednesday, Nintendo brought out a demo of their game Pikmin 3 (for Wii U). I have never played a Pikmin game before. I have always been meaning to but some other game would come out and distract me. I knew that I had to play this demo though. Read on to find out what I thought about it!
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I love the Pikmin 3 demo. Let me get that out of the way.

I LOVE THIS DEMO.

Wow. Everything about this game is wonderful.

First of all, the game's graphics are even better than they looked in videos of it. Pikmin 3 is a beautiful game. It really shows off what the Wii U can do. From the environments to the characters and everything in between, Pikmin 3 is jaw dropping. This is a game that I want to share pictures of on Twitter. I love that it includes a camera mode to take pictures!

Gameplay wise, Pikmin 3 is really fun. I played using the touch screen (and analog stick to move the main people) & loved it. I've heard that the touch screen control method was patched in. I can't imagine this game without stylus control for the Pikmin. It just works SO well. Its a lot of fun tapping to throw the Pikmin and to call them back.

Another thing I love about this demo is that its REALLY LONG. Wow. I have to be honest and say I did not finish the demo completely. The demo kept saving so I really hope that when I go back to it, my place will be saved. We'll see.

Overall, Pikmin 3 is a blast. I enjoyed my time with the demo so much. And the demo has 30 tries! I have to go back soon and play this demo more. Even if I have to restart it, I can't wait to play Pikmin 3 again.

I hope I'll be able to buy the full game sometime!
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And those are my impressions of the Pikmin 3 demo. Wow. Thank you Nintendo for putting out this demo. I may have never played this game if they hadn't. Now I really, really, really want this game. Not sure when I'll get it, but I will!

I'll back tomorrow with a focus on another Indie game. Haven't decided which game yet.

My Direct Impressions

Yesterday, Nintendo had a Nintendo Direct focused on 3DS and Wii U tittles. Today I'll have give you my opinions on their announcements.
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I'm both happy and unhappy with yesterday's Nintendo Direct.

Let me get the unhappiness out of the way first. I don't like to focus on what I'm unhappy with too much, as people who read this blog regularly know I mostly focus on games I can't wait to play.

My unhappiness comes from the 3DS announcements. I was really hoping that Nintendo would take this time to focus on 3DS a bit and announce a few new titles for next year. Instead, they announced ONE new title and showed Codename: Steam (announced at E3) again. This was really disappointing to me. I felt like this was the time for 3DS to finally shine again. I guess Nintendo didn't feel the same way.

The new 3DS title announced was Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D, a remake of the 64 Zelda title. Majora's Mask is probably my least favorite Zelda game. I know a lot of people want the game remade but I was not one of them. I was really hoping that they'd never do it and focus on NEW Zelda titles instead (I loved A Link Between Worlds). So the announcement of MM was super disappointing to me.

As for Codename: Steam, I had mixed feelings about it at E3. The new footage looks better but I'm still not sure if Steam would be a game I'd want to play. I hope Nintendo releases a demo of it before it comes out so I can see if its a good game or not.

Overall, the 3DS part of the Direct was so short and just awful to me. I hope that Nintendo will have a Direct early next year where 3DS will be the ONLY focus. I want next year to be the year of 3DS and Wii U.

That all said, let me focus now on what I loved about the Nintendo Direct.

I love everything they showed for the Wii U. The games coming for the Wii U look amazing.

Captain Toad looks better all the time. Smash Bros. Wii U looks wonderful and I'm really amazed Duck Hunt will be coming to the Wii U Virtual Console.

Ambiios look fantastic and I wish I had more money so that I could just buy them all. I will try to get the Villager Amiibo sometime anyway.

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse looks fun. It'll be coming in February. Its nice that at least one game got a date out of this Direct.

Splatoon is looking a lot better than it did at E3. I know everybody was so very impressed with the game at E3. I thought it looked alright but really not much was shown about it there. Now with this Direct, we know that the game will have Online multiplayer and a single player campaign. Pretty awesome.

My favorite moment of the entire Direct though was Xenoblade X. It looks so amazing! The graphics are jaw dropping and the new areas shown in the trailer look like they'll be fun to explore. I really want this game. Hope I can get it!

The Indie games section of the Direct was very short but interesting. I love Indies, as this blog should prove. I'm glad Nintendo took the time to focus on them.

And finally, I love the surprise of TWO demos coming out yesterday. The Pikmin 3 demo was GREAT. The Sonic Boom demo for 3DS was fun too.

I'd say, overall, the Direct was fantastic for Wii U and not so great for the 3DS. I'm hoping next time we'll see a bigger focus on my favorite Nintendo portable system. Still, its very nice to see so many fantastic Wii U games are on the way!

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And there's my impressions of the Nintendo Direct. Sorry the post was so long today. Hope you enjoyed reading it.

I will be back tomorrow with my Pikmin 3 Demo Impressions. Then I'll be talking about Indies on the weekend.

SDK Paint (Wii U) Review

I'm not an artist. Still, I do like art programs and I think the Wii U is a great home for them. The Wii U touch screen lends itself very well to art programs. I liked Art Academy by Nintendo. It was a neat app. I did not like the more recent pixel art focused, Pixel Paint.

SDK Paint by HullBreach Studios (out tomorrow) is yet another art program for the Wii U. Is this one better than the rest? Here's my review.

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When you load up, SDK Paint, you are presented with four options: Painting, Gallery, a mode connected to upcoming HullBreach games and a Share mode.

The painting mode presents you with a blank space to draw on and your tools on the right hand side. If you are left handed, you can switch the tools to the left side. A very cool nice feature.

The tools section has various brushes, colors, and other tools you can play with. For the expert artist, SDK Paint will let you play with layers to create a complex looking painting (and according to Share mode, you create 3D paintings!).

There is no tutorial telling non-artists how to use this program. The games manual doesn't help much. As stated earlier, I'm not an artist. I was able to create a very simple painting but didn't know how to work any of the more complex art features. There didn't seem to be many colors but I may have been missing the place to switch the colors. That said, I enjoyed my time painting and loved seeing it shown off in a gallery.

Gallery mode lets you go into several different environments, like castle and a studio, and look at your artwork hanging on the walls. During this mode, you walk around in a first person mode. It reminded me of an older Doom game control and graphics wise (just no weapon to shoot with of course). I really enjoyed this mode and can't wait to draw more paintings and have them hanging on walls. Also once you create a painting, you'll see it on the TV when on the main menu.

Other modes include a mode thats connected to upcoming HullBreach games, where you can paint in some blueprints and a mode where you can share the paintings you've created. These two modes don't do much yet but its nice to see future features for this app are already in place.

SDK Paint looks simple graphics wise but has a lot of features and interesting future features ready for updates. Artists and non-artists alike may be interested in this program. SDK Paint will be $2.99. A good price!

I recommend SDK Paint. I wouldn't say its as great as Art Academy but SDK Paint is a program with a lot of potential. I can't wait to see what other future features the program presents us with.

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MY SCORE: 8/10

Not again! Eshop Doom Continues

I have to say that I'm getting REALLY tired of this. How can the Wii U possibly handle this many games?!

Yes, thats right. A bunch of games are coming to the Wii U eshop AGAIN. This system is getting way too many titles! What about the other systems?! THINK OF THE OTHER SYSTEMS!

*ahem* Here's a list of this Thursday's Eshop Titles:

Pier Solar HD (by @watermelongames): Wow. This game looks amazing. I love that new rpgs are starting to come to the eshop!

The Swapper (by @curvestudios): Curve Studios again?! WHAT?! These guys just won't stop releasing games! Somebody HAS to stop them! (not really. They're awesome). Swapper is a puzzle platformer and looks really good.

Shuttle Rush (by @TakusanWorks): This game has big Metroid-like environments but theres no time to explore them because you have to run through the levels very fast (while avoiding enemies). The game has you on a timer. The game looks interesting but I'm not sure I'd like a game this fast paced!

Sportsball (by @TOO_DX): This game looks very strange. Its being compared to the Atari game Joust. This post from Nintendo Enthusiast:  http://nintendoenthusiast.com/news/sportsball-retro-style-indie-modern-twists-lots-potential/ explains the game more.

SDK Paint (by @HullbreachGames): Another paint application for the Wii U. This one sounds better than Pixel Paint though. One of the unique features is that it'll interact with upcoming games that Hullbreach will be releasing! I also like how you can walk through a castle setting that has your paintings hanging on the walls. This could be a really good app.

Virtual Console Title:

Super Mario Advance: This is the version of Super Mario Bros 2 that was released on the GBA. Mario Bros came with this title too. Never played this, so I don't know how it differs from the original game. Thanks to @JonGryphon for mentioning that this was coming out tomorrow.

And those are all the games I know about! As always, there may be even more games coming.

I'll update this list if I hear about some more Wii U games coming this Thursday.

We are all so doomed.

The Pixel Will Save Us

With most video games, we have to wait until the next game to see how much the main character has changed graphic wise.

With the upcoming Wii U game, Adventures of Pip (by @TicTocGames), we'll get to see the hero go through three graphical changes in the SAME GAME.

Our hero Pip starts out as just a single Pixel.


As he collects pixels from his beaten enemies, he changes into his 8-bit form and as he collects even more, he changes into his final, more detailed form.

This is such a unique, cool concept for a game! Its definitly a different take on the side scrolling action platformer.

Here's the kickstarter page with more info (its also where I got the above image):  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tictocgames/adventures-of-pip-pc-mac-nintendo-wii-u

The game has already been funded for Wii U. So we will be seeing this game sometime in the future! I'll be keeping my eye on this one. Adventures of Pip looks like a really fun game!

I dig it!

I wrote about @ImageForm's upcoming Steamworld Heist but I've never written about Steamworld DIG.

I just want to say, first of all, that I love Steamworld Dig. LOVE IT. Image Form created a really fun world with Dig. Let me tell you more!

Steamworld Dig takes place sometime in the future. There are no humans in sight. Instead, steam powered robots are in charge. The game's setting is very Western inspired. The main character, Rusty, is Clint Eastwood the Robot. Rusty goes home to check on his uncle and ends up saving a town.

More important than the story, though, is the gameplay. Rusty digs into the earth, grabs jewels, and uses those jewels to gain more and more powerups throughout the game. He'll need the powerups because there be enemies in that there mine! The enemies will attack poor Rusty and if he's killed, he'll be sent back up top for repairs (and lose all of the cool jewels he got). Don't let him be killed! Dig deeper and deeper. Its very addictive and a lot of fun.

Also, I should note that Dig's graphics are awesome. It has a bit of a steampunk cartoon look. I can't do it justice, so I'll just throw a screenshot at you here:




Steamworld Dig is available on the 3DS, the Wii U, and other systems (there are other systems?!).

I highly recommend the game. Dig it now!

Breaking News: Zombies Attack Wonderland!

I know Halloween is over but I couldn't help writing about a zombie game.

On Thursday, @akaoni_jose's Zombie Panic in Wonderland DX was released on the 3DS.

Zombie Panic in Wonderland is an on-rails shooter. Basically, the game does all the movement, while the player focuses on the shooting. The player can play as several different characters (some need to be unlocked), including Dorothy (from Wizard of OZ), Alice (from Wonderland), and Snow White. The goal of the game is to, well, shoot zombies. The game does have a bit of an anime look to it, which I usually do not care for. Zombie Panic's graphics looks very nice though.

The game had previously appeared on the Wii. I did not get a chance to play that version but my mom had played it and loved it. This new version has more content and the graphics look even better. My mom is planning to get the 3DS Wonderland as soon as possible. If I get a chance, I'll borrow it from her and give my impressions here another time.

In the meantime, take a look at this trailer: