E For Everyone

    
I was in Walmart today looking at the Wii U demo stand when a guy and his kids came along. The guy knew nothing about the Wii U and I was trying to explain what the console was. He mentioned that he had a regular Wii at home and his kids loved it. Then he added that he liked his PS3 more even though he had less games for it. It saddened me a bit hearing a gamer cast the Wii aside as a system 'just for kids' and the way he was looking at the Wii U, made me think that he was already labeling it as yet another system his kids would like more than him. When did Nintendo become the kid only company?

When I was younger, I played the NES and SNES. As I got older, I moved over to just the PS1 and PS2 for awhile. I missed out on the N64 but came back to Nintendo with the Gamecube. At the time of the Cube though, we saw a lot people taking Sony seriously and not really talking much about the Gamecube. Sony brought to the table different types of games than Nintendo had. Where as Nintendo had a bunch of core characters geared toward everyone, on Sony you could find a wide of range of games directed toward many age groups. The PS1 and the PS2 offered so many great games and people loved Sony. Then, another company joined the field. Microsoft's Xbox would bring in some new types of players.

The first Xbox was popular but I would argue that Microsoft's Xbox consoles didn't reach their height of popular in the U.S. until the 360 arrived. I won't try to figure out why the 360 is as popular in the U.S. as it is. I just have no clue really. I did own a 360 for awhile and enjoyed it. That said, I think the 360 and the PS3, somewhat, have changed how people look at gaming. On both systems you find games that are darker, more violent than what you traditionally find on Nintendo consoles (though that is starting to change a little---see Zombi U).

These games, most of which are first or third person shooters, are what quite a few people in the U.S. think of as Adult games. When the so-called "hardcore" gamer looks at Nintendo, they see kiddy games or "baby" games. Mario is for kids and Call of Duty is teens & older. But why is this so? Mario games and some other Nintendo games are not labeled K for Kids, they are labeled E for Everyone.

Do Adult games have to be shooters? Do they have to have a dark & depressing storyline? Why can't some adults take games like Mario, Zelda, or Animal Crossing seriously? The truth is that while Mario is a game that some kids enjoy, older players can enjoy it too. Zelda is the same way. Animal Crossing, while it has cute graphics, is a simulation game and not all kids will have the patience for that type of game. Nintendo tries to create games geared toward Everyone. We don't see that as much with Sony (anymore) or Microsoft. In fact, when Sony or Microsoft do create Everyone games they tend to make more K for Kids games. Why isn't there a middle ground with some video game companies and gamers? Why can't some games be for kids AND adults? Or heck, why can't some games be bright, colorful and full of wonder and be for Adults only?

I'm tired of playing first person shooters or games like Grand Theft Auto. These days I find much more enjoyment in games like Animal Crossing City Folk and Lego City Undercover. I don't understand why some older games just want the same old shooter or the same older dark depressing storyline. I'm not saying you have to run out there and play a game you don't like. I'm just saying I wish gamers realized they had more choices and I also wish they had even more choices. Surely there must be a way to make a game clearly for Adults that isn't about killing.

I think some smaller developers have tried, for instance Journey and Unfinished Swan, but you don't see Ubisoft or EA or Sony and Microsoft trying to make a game that isn't dark & full of violence for Adults.

Isn't there enough killing in the real world? Is that all we really want out of our gameplay? As I said earlier, I think the PS1 and PS2 were systems that spoke to kids, teens, and adults. Then the first person shooter and the darker gameplay of Grand Theft Autos became hugely popular in the U.S and Europe somewhat. Now we have two extremes, the everyone \ and the Mature and not much in between. Personally, if the only two choices I have while playing games is to either A-Be An Adult or B-Be An Everyone than I'll choose B.

Its just more fun.

An Open Letter to Nintendo

Here's my Rebuttal to the recent letter that Nintendo Life published:  
An Open Letter to Nintendo

A Nintendo Fan’s Point of View

　

Dear Sir or Madam,

I bought a Wii U in February. I was a little late to the party and I was buying the system when many were reporting that it had low sales and not enough games. I had expected to wait longer to get a Wii U but the chance came along to get the system sooner and so I did.

I do not regret that purchase for one second. The Wii U is such a great system. I hear, almost nonstop these days, about how “well” the system is selling and how it needs more games, etc. Yet, you don’t hear about what the system does have and why people should be buying it. Wii U is a fantastic game system. I know, you know that, but I don’t think people tell you it enough.

I’m very happy with the gamepad, Miiverse, all the apps included, and the plaza. Yes, the load times between menus are a little long but I’m happy to see that’s changing next month. I’m also excited about the addition of new features in the update and other exciting developments, like the Virtual Console!

Wii U has a bright future. The update looks to add some great stuff and I see that you have another update coming in the summer. Great news. Also, Lego City Undercover is my favorite Wii U game yet! I love it. I think the other games coming this year, like Wonderful 101 and Wind Waker look great too. I wish people would be more patient.

The Wii sold a lot and quickly but what people seem to forget is that HD consoles don’t always do as well so soon. With HD comes higher prices and that can be a turn off for some people and make them want to wait longer to buy a system. Look at the PS3, it took forever for that system to sell well and it also hardly had any good games at launch. The 360 sold good but its launch lineup was terrible too. Not every system is going to sell as well as the DS or the Wii right away. That said, I have faith that the Wii U will sell more later this year.

Keep doing what you're doing Nintendo. Hang in there. Don’t drop the price. I’m serious. Do not listen to the people who say if it has a lower price, it‘ll do better. You have some great games coming this year and the system will sell more. People need to remember the past and be more patient. I believe in the system.

Please don’t change Nintendo! The 3DS and the Wii U are my two favorite systems right now. I’m having a ton of fun and expect to have a lot more this year. Thank you for all your hard work. Can’t wait to see what you do next!

Signed,

Daniel Lee Fugate

@df2506

Video Games

Wow. Well, its been a long time since I've written in this blog. Sorry about that. I really don't have a good excuse for not writing this since I haven't been busy. I guess you could say I just haven't been inspired to write in this blog until now. The year is almost over and now I write in the blog. Hmm.

Anyway, I wanted to write a blog entry tonight to say that I'm going to refocus this blog on video games. I will probably retitle the blog too. I may turn my Ign blog into the multi-purpose blog. We'll see.

I'm a huge video game fan, especially of Nintendo (3DS, Wii) and Sony (PS3). I will be writing about those systems, plus the 360, Wii U, and Vita.

I'll post reviews of games I've played, news I've heard, my thoughts on upcoming games, etc.

I will most likely start with my thougths on Animal Crossing 3DS. Its out in Japan and I've seen a lot of footage. What are my thoughts on the game? You'll find out soon! :)

Till then, thank you for reading this & any thoughts on video game topics I should cover in the blog would be great. Take care.

Heroes of Ruin Impressions

SquareEnix is on a roll with the 3DS. If you like rhythm based games and Final Fantasy, check out Theatrhythm Final Fantasy. If you love Kingdom Hearts, check out Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance. And if you love Dungeon crawling action rpgs with local & online support...

You should without a doubt check out Heroes of Ruin!

Heroes of Ruin is a really good action rpg. Why? Well, lets start with the basics. The combat is pretty basic, but very addictive. You go into dungeons, beat up enemies, level up, gain more skills, grab lots of loot, finish quests and then go off and do all that again. Its a lot better than it sounds here and its especially good if you have friends to play with either locally or online. Single player wise, the game can get a little boring. But with a team mate or two or three or four, its a blast. Finding secret areas, new weapons, armor, etc and just beating up the enemies with your friends is all really fun.

The games graphics are not the best on the 3DS, but they are really good and get better as you go (the Frost Reaches is my favorite so far).

The 3D during gameplay is not a must, its just OK there, but during the artwork cutscenes, the 3D is a MUST because these cutscenes are multi-layered (depth 3D) and look awesome.

The game also has voice-acting during cutscense (the artwork ones and the non-artworks ones) and its good voice work.

There is only one thing I wish was different about the game: the load times. Heroes of Ruin has some really LONG load times for a cart game. Loading into a new area takes more time than it should. Thankfully there isn't any load times once you're into the area, but really there shouldn't be that much load time in the game anyway. This is a cart game, not a disc based game. That said, the game is well worth the time you wait to get into it. Just wish the developer had taken a bit more time to make the load times shorter.

Overall, Heroes of Ruin is a really fun game. Its also the best online experiance you can get on the 3DS so far and imo, the local multiplayer is even better. Its a must buy if you love dungeon crawling action rpgs!

Kingdom Hearts 3D Dream Drop Distance Impressions

I remember when Kingdom Hearts 1 came out on the PS2, I loved it. Then I played Kingdom Hearts 2 and loved that even more. SquareEnix and Disney got together and created two really great games. The combination of Disney & Square characters just worked!

After that, I didn't get to play the Kingdom Hearts on the Gameboy Advance, but I did play Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and thought it was just OK. The gameplay was good, but the worlds were all the same worlds from Kingdom Hearts 1. The game ended up being very stale.

I missed out on Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep because I did not have a PSP when it came out. I remember hearing good things about it though.

Enter the newest Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance for the 3DS.

While the basic gameplay is similar to Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2, new additions like reality shift & flowmotion really add to the experiance and make it seem fresh again.

Thankfully, though, new gameplay additions isn't the only thing new to KH3D. This time around, there are NEW worlds and a couple of returning worlds that are pretty different.

The story in KH3D is also very interesting. Plus you don't just control one character in this game, you control two characters, Sora and Riku. You switch between them by "dropping". Basically one character falls asleep and then you take control of the other character. There is a drop meter, so if you're not careful, time will run out and you'll be "dropped" into the other character. I've heard this can be annoying, but I've been careful and make good use of the 'Drop-Me-Not' items (items that add more time to your drop meter) when I'm getting close to dropping into another character and wanting to stay in the world I'm in.

I actually like the Drop feature quiete a bit. I also like sending one character into one world and another character into another. It adds quiete a bit of variety to the gameplay and story.

Oh and there are two other things I'd like to talk about: graphics and music.

Kingdom Hearts 3D has some of the best, if not the best, graphics on the 3DS. It looks amazing. And the 3D is fantastic. I hardly ever turn the 3D off. It just looks so good.

As for music, the game has a bunch of great tunes, some familar and some not. The Fantasia world, of course, has the best music of the entire game. Wow.

Overall, if you're a fan of the series, I think you'll love this game. If you've never played any of the games before & you're a Disney fan, I think you'll love it too. Kingdom Hearts 3D is a great game for the 3DS. Its my favorite game right now too.

The Dark Knight Rises---Spoiler Free Review

      There isn't a lot I can say about The Dark Knight Rises without giving something away, so I'll keep this short.

Everyone is this movie is brillant, but Anne Hathaway and Joseph Gordon-Levitt's characters are the best. Those two actors/characters pretty much steal the movie. That said, Gary Oldman & Micheal Caine were so brillant in this movie and the other two movies. And Bale. HE is Bruce Wayne/Batman. I'm not sure how anyone else is going to do any better than his Bruce Wayne/Batman.

  The story is also excellent. Dare I say it, but its the best Batman story of all three. Tom Hardy's villian is nowhere as great as Ledger's Joker, but the story here is better in my opinon. That is saying a lot too since the Dark Knight had a great story!

Overall, the Dark Knight Rises is the perfect ending to a great Batman trilogy. 

Wish I could say more, but I don't want to ruin this movie for anyone who hasn't seen it yet! Its a MUST see.

Grade: A++

Rainbow Moon First Impressions

I wanted to write something long and detailed as my first impressions for Rainbow Moon, but to be honest, thats better left to a review (I'll try to have a review after I've beaten the story at least).

For now, I just want to say: If you love turn-based rpgs and/or turn-based strategy rpgs and have a Playstation 3, you MUST buy this game. GO GET IT NOW. Why are you still reading this? GO!

If thats not a good enough first impression, let me add these thoughts:

-The graphics are old school (think Final Fantasy Tactics or Vandel Hearts), but old school meets HD. You'll get a classic looking rpg experiance but with much more detail and just overall a great looking game.

-The battle system is like FF Tactics or Diseaga. You can only have three party members in battle though.

-While this is a strategy rpg, you don't just go from points on the map like FF Tactics. Instead, like a regular rpg, your character wanders around from towns to dungeons and there are some enemies shown, but there are also optional random battles. Yes, you heard me right. You can skip random battles if you want. That said...

-Even on Normal, the game can be challenging. You're going to have to level up. I hear you'll have to do even more leveling up on HARD mode though.

-Story? Don't worry about a story! The fun in Rainbow Moon is the battles and exploring the different areas you go to. Don't worry though, the game does point you in the direction of the next "plot point", so you won't be lost. But you can still do some looking around in the different areas. Believe me, you won't get bored. There are so many quests to take on, so many items to find, new enemies to fight, basically just suprises around every corner.

-This game is addictive! You'll have a hard time putting it down.

Rainbow Moon is a fantastic game. I really love it. I recommend it to all turn-based rpg/strategy fans. You'll have a blast!