Wii U | Moar Powah!

The Blessing and Curse of Waiting

Jun 122013

Hey all, Travis here writing from hot, sunny LA. I’m currently quite busy with a temp gig at E3 (unrelated to work with Moar Powah, unfortunately), and have managed to pull myself away from my duties for a quick but fairly personal opinion piece on consoles. No I’m not going to go into a tremendously overdone examination of how the PS4 fell into the public’s praise and how the Xbox One was damned by public ire, but what I am going to look into is the issue of longevity, and how waiting for consoles to ripen may be the best way to enjoy them.

The Retrospective: EarthBound

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May 242013

Sitting upon the grand castle of gaming history is a genre that has encapsulated our emotions with in a golden and eternal vessel called nostalgia. I think it’s entirely fair to say that RPG’s capture our understanding of the medium’s history more than any other genre. There’s a reason why Pokemon fanatics are so fanatical despite the series’ lack of significant change or evolution since its conception. There’s just something so timeless about a whole spectrum of experiences that can penetrate our emotional cores without fancy graphics or complex controls, no matter what the modern day Sqaure Enix walking corpse would have you believe.

And yet, with the exception of the aforementioned Pokemon, Nintendo is not a company that capitalizes on this genre too often. Sure, they have their Paper Mario series tucked away somewhere, and Fire Emblem, although a different kind of RPG, is absolutely still a force to be reckoned with, but Nintendo doesn’t rely on RPGs quite like other Japanese developers. No, when Nintendo makes a rare RPG, it’s something to be cherished.

It’s no wonder, then, that a highly vocal group of fans cursed Nintendo’s name for decades, simply because they refused, until very recently, to release the cult classic EarthBound again in the west.

First Impressions: Monster Hunter 3 U

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Mar 262013

Kaushik here, back with entirely too much time on a game I recently purchased. This time, it’s Monster Hunter 3 U for the 3DS and Wii U. I’ll be talking about the 3DS version specifically, here. So it’s the ever-popular Monster Hunter series, making a big splash stateside with the simultaneous Wii U and 3DS release of an updated Wii game, Monster Hunter Tri. Now, my level of experience with this series is actually close to 0 prior to this game, so I’ll try to offer a fresh and fair opinion.

Point of Contention: The State of the Consoles

Analysis, Video Games 2 Responses »

Jan 232013

Let’s say, for all intents and purposes, that all industry soothsayers in their little business suits in their little towers are wrong and consoles are not on their way out. Mobile and PC? Hah. Silly distractions from the true spirit of video games, in which Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are the kings of warring nations and their subjects will fight to the death to defend their consoles choice in the great wars of flame.

Ok, not really. Console wars are dumb and you shouldn’t participate. But in the grand scheme of things, consoles are likely not going to die anytime soon. In my mind there are still legions of consumers willing to shell out for another console, Pokemon will always outsell the bible, and Sony is a profitable, highly rated company with no chance of failure. Any sign to the contrary is a threat to my carefully defensed sentimentality designed by the sadistic devils at Kotaku and the like who wish to destroy the hearts of console gamers everywhere(note: I play PC and mobile games every now and then and do in fact function in the real world and recognize when change is happening).

So without further ado, here’s a look into the current and future statuses of our beloved/cursed consoles. I promise not to be too facetious (not really). Continue reading »

Point of Contention: The Joy of Nintendo

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Dec 192012

Nintendo is an odd creature, and while much has been written about the company over the years, often by far stronger voices than my own, it’s a gaming realm that I consider to have an air of holiness. Holy of course does not equal perfect, and even I will readily admit when Nintendo fails to treat its audience right. But I’m in a holiday sort of mood, and this post will likely be a celebration rather than a critique. Because you know what? In this world of flame wars and pointless console allegiances it might be a nice change of pace. Despite whatever negativity you may feel I deserve for defending the company, I hope it’ll give you a warm, fuzzy feeling of holiday cheer. But that may be optimistic on my part.

Point of Contention: Gearing up for Wii U

Analysis, Video Games 2 Responses »

Nov 142012

Currently, questions flow in the mind of game enthusiasts everywhere. Will the Wii U deliver on its promises? Will there be third party support? Will Nintendo ever learn to incorporate online features that aren’t mindlessly roundabout?

Why doesn’t everyone think it’s cool? Why does anyone think it’s cool? Everyone has a position, negative, positive, or mildly skeptic. Any trek into gaming site articles concerning the shiny new white/black box is tainted with strong opinions and decisive indifference. Reminds me a bit of 2006.

In the end, the trajectory of the game industry is going to be shaped by what Nintendo does, for better or worse. In fact, it’s already happening. Microsoft’s Smartglass incorporation and Sony’s PSVita planned connectivity likely wouldn’t have ever been considered had Nintendo not gone in it’s peculiar direction. But whereas these features are implemented simply for Microsoft and Sony to market their consoles as having checked off features from Nintendo’s oddball toy (see Kinect and PlayStation Move as examples of this in the recent past), the Wii U was built from the ground up for tablet integration. It’s not an add-on feature. This is the axis by which the console lives or dies.

Let’s talk about it.

Point of Contention: My Gripes with Multiplayer

Analysis, Video Games 2 Responses »

Oct 242012

Like many social outcasts who don’t tend to jump to further social interaction when attempting to escape social interaction, I play almost exclusively solitarily. My introversion can be such a strong force that even in games that are renowned for their multiplayer I nearly always choose to play with or against computer players. As it just so happens, I’ve sunk hundreds of collective hours into Left 4 Dead, Empire: Total War, Civ 5, Sins of a Solar Empire, and Battlefield 2 and the times in which I connected those games to other human players most likely numbers under ten. To me, multiplayer options often feel unreliable and rigid, on top of being shoehorned into games that could have potentially been stronger single player experiences had the multiplayer development money gone into the main campaign. This, of course, directly opposes the opinions of most, as many games, I understand, are bought solely for their multiplayer, be it competitive or co-op. I know, though, that there are those, like myself, who are distant from this realm. Here, in as friendly a manner as I can muster, is a guide to creating multiplayer modes that even I would abandon my solitude to join.

Laevatein Goes to New York Comic Con 2012, Or How Waiting In Line for Firefly Panels Is Always Worth It

Commentary, Television, Video Games No Responses »

Oct 152012

[Note: as you may know, I have no photo-taking equipment, so don't expect any pictures.]

Hey everyone, Laevatein here, with another exciting con blog. This time, it’s NYCC 2012. I should start off by saying that I was only able to go on Saturday. Also, I barely saw anything anime related. Surprisingly, I wasn’t able to see much gaming stuff, either. I got to try out the Wii U. While the controller felt a little awkward at first, it starts feeling quite natural. To be honest, I was worried I’d snap it in half, but the controller feels quite sturdy. Still, I’m not too keen on the face buttons, but I guess that’s something to get used to. The two Wii U games I played were Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and Tank! Tank! Tank! I’ve never played a Monster Hunter game before, but I thought it’d be similar to Dark Souls. Boy, was I mistaken. While I never quite grasped what I was doing, in an intense action game like Monster Hunter, I never found myself really fighting the controls or anything. I thought the controller felt like a natural fit, which is a pretty good testament to the actual viability of the Wii U controller. T!T!T! felt more like an older arcade game rather than something that could be released today. It was pretty fun, but I’m not sure if it’s worth the full purchase. Continue reading »

Point of Contention: The Wii Was Good

Analysis, Video Games 2 Responses »

Sep 192012

I really enjoy writing posts like this. Too often we get consumed with our desire for the next big thing that we forget how lucky we are for what we already have. Thus, let’s take a look back at Nintendo’s little endeavor from 2006 that exploded into the most commercially successful console this generation (on a somewhat relavent side note, I recently played Ico for the first time. It’s awfully good! I’m surprised people so easily forget about it and its wonderful soundtrack) But yeah, back to the Wii. My own experience with the white box was inconsistent at times but I can safely look back and say that the time I did spend with it was warm and friendly. Nintendo may not have captured every game enthusiast’s heart this generation, but here’s a few reasons why perhaps overlooking the console entirely was a gross error.