Wii U Finally Ready To Play: Part 2

One of the major concerns the Wii U has had since its launch has been third party support. This problem is even more apparent this year with the Wii U not getting ports of the some of the larger releases such as Call of Duty, Madden, NBA2K, and WWE2K). Its odd for these yearly releases to not have a port developed for Nintendo's console especially when there has been in year's past. Games such as Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and Assassin's Creed Rogue are two examples of games that are fully capable of being developed and run on the Wii U, but for one reason or another were not. This has been crippling for the Wii U. If Microsoft or Sony were ever  in this situation ( or anyone else for that matter) it would be time to count them out, but if there is one thing that separates the Big N from its other two competitors, its their ability to develop their own software. I think  the media as well as some consumer have forgotten about this, which has resulted in a very slow start for the Wii U this console generation.

Lets get ready to SMASH!

With the release of games like Mario Kart 8, which was the first true title to showcase the ability and appeal of the console, the Wii U is now being taken slightly more seriously as for as games are concerned. Thankfully it doesn't stop there. Nintendo is intending on ending this year with a bang, with Hyrule Warriors, Bayonetta 2, Super Smash Bros. Wii U, and later this year Captain Toad's Treasure Tracker Nintendo has the best line up of exclusives this holiday season.

In terms of hardware specifications Nintendo's Wii U my be behind the pack, but as far as console exclusives go they are light years ahead. Unfortunately that was not the case when the system debuted. Honestly, if  either Mario Kart or SSB would have been ready for launch, we might have a completely didnt console race right now. This was major miscalculation on the part of Nintendo, but hindsight is 20/20.

Another weapon Nintendo has in its arsenal is its Virtual Console. Both Microsoft and Sony have their own catalog of older games, but neither comes close to the library Nintendo has at its disposal:
92 NES games, 60 SNES, 21 N64, 15 Master System, 59 Turbografx-16, 54 Neo Geo,  and 21 virtual console arcade titles. Now that is backward compatible. I would love to see a stronger push on the VC, especailly on the 3ds, because there are just so many games out there needing the VC treatment. Its something unique to Nintendo, and definitely something they need to use to their advantage,

E3 2014 was a huge step in the right direction for repairing the damage the Wii U's slow start has done to Nintendo's brand. They have shown that they have not only the games but the variety of games on the horizon. Its key for them to keep up with a strategic release schedule from now until next year's E3 to keep consumers hungry and thinking about the Wii U.  You can be sure that Microsoft and Sony will focus their press conference largely on upcoming games, so its imperative for Nintendo to have more than brief teasers ready for the expo. This means in game footage ( if not playable) for Zelda Wii U. This can and should be the game to steal the show...unless they have a secret Metroid game in development.

I just really like Mass Effect.

 The Wii U isn't the first system to have a slow start, and it wont be the last. Nintendo's own 3ds took months, a price drop, and great software for the handheld to pick up steam( and pick up steam it did!). Let us not forget the PS3's launch was nothing to write home about , but it still picked up steam after awhile. Two years is much to soon to count a new system out, and its only a matter of time before the third party companies that have turned there backs on Nintendo to eat crow. This is Nintendo's time to do what hey should have done should have done before the Wii U's launch, and that is show us why we need the Wii U. They are doing a heck of a job recently, but it has to remain consistent to get the other developers to get back on board. The Wii U will be successful with just Nintendo titles on the shelves, but it can thrive with the help of third parties.

Wii U Finally Ready To Play: Part 1

The Wii U has been out for just under two years, and to say that its time on the market has been rocky would be a dramatic under statement. At its launch the system was plagued with ports of games that had been on the market for at least a year. Games such as Darksiders 2, Mass Effect 3, and Arkham City were all great games when initially released.  Porting these games for the Wii U launch did nothing for Nintendo in terms of generating buzz for their new system.

Nintendo didnt help matters with the line up they had ready for the launch. Nintendo Land and New Super Mario Bros Wii U did little to showcase the systems ability or appeal. Many consumers viewed NSMBWiiU as nothing more than just a port of its Wii counterpart, and Nintendo Land as a fancy Wii Sports Resort. These games, although good on their own, should have been complemented by a big name title from Nintendo. With Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze release being pushed back, and no other big titles expected until at least a year later hurt the Wii U significantly. With out a killer app there just wasn't enough there to justify the purchase of the system. The blame doesn't fall on only Nintendo's shoulders though.

Gaming giants EA and Ubisoft have had plenty to do with the Wii U's weak start. They claim their games wont sell on the console, but that can be attributed to them sabotaging their own titles. EA released Mass Effect 3 on the Wii U with no plans of porting all the dlc over. Then they follow this up by releasing the Mass Effect Trilogy on every console excluding Wii U and include all dlc up to that point in the box. Ubisoft loves to delay games to the point that gamers either forget the game exist or buy it on other consoles( looking at you Watch Dogs). Ubisoft released Watch Dogs back in May, while Wii U owners are still waiting for the game in November. Ubisoft even had the nerve to not include all the dlc in the  Wii U. Lets not forget the game wasn't well received by the public anyway. Its sad really, I remember when the game was first announced, I was more excited about this version than the Xbox/PS counterpart. This type of self sabotage is ONE of the reasons third party titles have not sold as well on the Wii U.

If Nintendo had to rely on third party games they would be in terrible trouble, Thankfully they have the in house studios to develop amazing games on their own. This is exactly what Nintendo has done this year. Mario Kart 8 proved the Wii U has potential for amazing games, both single player and online multi-player, and also helped give the system a tremendous sales boost. Since then the console has seen sales steadily increase as fans anticipate the arrival of Super Smash Bros Wii U. The game is going to be everything Nintendo has sorely missed these past two years. With games like Hyrule Warriors and Bayonneta 2 recently released, and Captain Toads Treasure Tracker on the horizon, the Wii U is making a name for itself based on the quantity and quality of its exclusives.

Nintendo is looking to have an amazing holiday season this year on the back Super Smash Bros Wii U/3DS, and based on the games we know are coming in 2015, the trend should continue into the future.

Many people were counting the 3DS out for its bad start and look at the handheld now. Its much to early to count Nintendo out this generation. The 3rd party companies will hopefully rethink their stance on the Wii U. Even if they don't, Nintendo will still be there to develop amazing software for their console. All three of the consoles are headed into the new year with great games on the way. It just makes the wait for next year's E3 that much harder.

Here is a list of some of the announced games expected sometime in 2015.

Legend of Zelda Wii U (working title)
X (working title)
Project Cars
Devil's Third
Mario Maker
Yoshi's Wooly World
Kirby and The Rainbow Curse
Nes Remix Pack
Splatoon
Mario Party 10

My Time With Destiny So Far

September 9th has come and gone and so has he release of the super anticipated Destiny. Looking at reviews as well as just player opinions of the game, the responses are surprisingly split. The gamers that enjoy the game truly love it , and those that don't really dislike it. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions its just that for a game as universally hyped as Destiny, you wouldn't expect such a divide in the community. Thankfully, I wasn't one of the people that were excited for this game. To be honest, I really didn't care about the game until I played the beta. Then I fell in love.

The brief time I had with the beta introduced to me a an amazing world crafted by the brilliance of Bungie. I'll let it be known that I hate Halo, and until I played Destiny was not a a fan of the developer. This game has definitely changed my opinion. Technically, you wont find a more polished game released so far this year. The game is gorgeous to look at and plays just as good as it looks. I haven't finished the main story yet( I'm only level 16), but what I have experienced so has been solid if not great. Gamespot recently gave the game 6/10 in their review, and I just don't understand the score. Now let me be clear, this game is far from perfect. I think for many people, they were expecting the game to be flawless. The greatest game ever developed. This it is not, but what it is is a great game, better played with others. Destiny is not built for single player play. Of course you have the option to, but its obvious Bungie intended for this game to be enjoyed with others. Its a FPS on the outside, but a MMO at its core. The game requires lots of grinding and this is easier to accomplish with other players on your fireteam.

The criticisms the game is being hit with unfortunately are justified, however these flaws in no way break or ruin the game. My main concern with the game is it repetitiveness. Anyone who has played a MMO, knows that sometimes to get certain loot or levels, some areas require multiple play throughs. This should be expected. That being said, the story mission structure does get tiresome occasionally. You fight through hordes of enemies, your sidekick( called a ghost) then unlocks a door or hacks a terminal. This normally sets off alarms and you have to hold off another horde of bad guys and then proceed to a boss. Rinse and repeat. If that was all Destiny had to offer I wouldn't be enjoying the game. There is so much more to see and do in the game besides the main story to keep you AND your friends busy for hours. There are the strike playlists to go through, the crucible( which serves as the game's player vs player portion), as well as the massive world Bungie has created for you to explore.

The games presentation is amazing and its depth staggering. I often catch myself just staring off into the distance admiring my surroundings.  Like I said the game is technically sound. The amount of hard work and polish that went into the game is obvious just by looking at it. If there is on thing I wish the developer had focused more on was the lore. The story being told is extremely vague. Its almost as if the history of the world is on a need to know basis, and my character doesn't need to know. What is my characters motivation? I'm hoping these things are expanded on before I'm done, or at least touched on in some capacity in dlc.

Destiny is definitely going to get better with time. We waited weeks just to play GTA Online, we can enjoy the content that is there until Bungie releases some expansions. My time with Destiny has been great, not without its frustrations, but great nonetheless. I think I'll cut this short and get back to my level 16 warlock. Strike playlists here I come!

Let The Games Begin!

Its almost September 9th, and unless you have been under a rock the past year or so you know exactly what is going to happen that day. The launch of Bungie's Destiny! But not only is it the release of probably the most anticipated game of the 2014, its also marks the first major release of the second half of the year. The last 8 months hasn't been the busiest as far as blockbuster games, and that is why September 9th is so important. 

Starting with Destiny gamers are about to be suffocated with the amount of awesome games there are to play across multiple platforms. Yearly favorites such as Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed both have major releases later this year, and the next gen versions of Grand Theft Auto 5 is rumored to drop on November 18th. And lets not forget the much anticipated Super Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS. This Fall there will definitely be a little something for everyone.

Since I'm not made of cash I will have to suffer through playing only a handful of these titles, and for the last month or so I have been making a list of "must-have" games. Below is that list...don't judge.

1. Destiny
2. Super Smash Bros
3. Grand Theft Auto V
4. Assassins Creed Unity
5. Call Of Duty Advance Warfare

Those are the five games I'm for sure going to be burning cash for. The next ten games(in no particular order) are ones I would love to play but can wait for...maybe

1. WWE 2K15 (I said don't judge)
2. NBA 2K15
3. Dragon Ball Xenoverse
4. Dragon Age: Inquisition
5. Watch Dogs Wii U
6. Ultimate NES Remix
7. Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution
8. Hyrule Warriors
9. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
10. Pokemon Alpha/Omega

Who am I kidding? I WANT THEM ALL!!!! This list could be so much longer if it included games coming out early 2015 as well. One thing is for certain, next week marks the first in a long line of r amazing games going forward with no sign of slowing down. It might be time to make a list of anticipated games for next year. This generation started out slow but it has definitely picked up some steam.

What games are you looking forward to? Sound off in the comments below.

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The Dragon Ball Z Game We Deserve?

When I first saw screen shots of Dragon Ball Xenoverse I was extremely skeptical. And why shouldn't I be? Every game with DBZ in the title has been pretty average to terrible since the release of Burst Limit.

The most recent release, Battle of Z, was plagued by horrific team AI and mediocre gameplay. Needless to say it sucked, but for some reason when I read about Xenoverse it gives me hope and fills me with excitement. An excitement I haven't felt since the original Budokai games. Probably because this game is being developed by DIMPS, who were the masterminds behind some of the best DBZ games ever made. To anyone that has been following this franchise since the beginning this is awesome news. I have no problem putting faith in the development team to put together a DBZ game where the fighting lives up to its name. They've done it before. The big question for me is whats going to be new? As with all anime/manga based games they will attempt to cram as many characters in the game as possible for fan service, but what else will DIMPS do to make this feel like a new experience? I think the answer will come in the form of the new "what if" story mode being used in Xenoverse.

What we know so far is that Trunks send your created character back in time to intervene in different parts of the DBZ timeline. This is a creative way of keeping the story line fresh and new for gamers used to the normal story telling routine. The showstopper for me though is the character creation. This isnt Ultimate Tenaichi's shallow attempt at a create a character mode. From the available screen shots of the game the creation process is surprisingly deep.

It might be hard to see from the above picture, but just on this screen you can customize your character head, body size, eye shape, pupil shape, nose, mouth and ears.

Upper Costume, Bottom Costume, Hands, Feet, Z Accessories( sword, cape?)

This game is looking great so far, unfortunately there is not a release date set for it as of yet. We do know that it will be available for Xbox 360/One and PlayStation 3/4( no mention of Wii U...). As a huge DBZ fan I'm stoked for this game, and I'm hoping that the character creator is as deep as it seems from these screenshots. With DIMPS at the helm we should be getting a game that plays as good as it looks,and if the new twist on the story mode is as exciting as it sounds we might finally get the Dragon Ball Z game we deserve.

Credit goes to SaiyanIsland for posting and translating the screenshots.

The Death and/or Rebirth Of Capcom?

I love Capcom, but the company has become a shell of its former self. Lately the only thing we can count on from Capcom is a new variation of Street Fighter 4, and while that is one of the greatest fighting games ever it is also a six year old title with at least six iterations. No amount of of additional characters sprinkled on is going to make this a new game. Besides Dead Rising 3 I cant think of another notable release from Capcom that was not a re-release or a hd remastering of an older title. They've recently announced they are remastering the GameCube version of Resident Evil, which itself is a remake of the PS1 original RE. I wouldn't normally have an issue with this, but since there is zero original content coming from Capcom at the moment, the fact that they are doing a hd port of a port is kinda annoying.

 Why not remaster Resident Evil 2 then? Its the only one of the original titles that has yet to be redone, so why not go that route? Im hoping that this maybe their way of attempting to bring the franchise back into good graces with the fan base, and maybe somewhere down the line well get an announcement for a new RE with a new direction from the previous games. The series is in desperate need of returning to its roots(before RE5), as RE6 almost killed the franchise. And speaking of killing franchises, what the heck is up with Capcom's dislike for Mega Man? Yes, they have been releasing the classic Mega Man games on Nintendo's Virtual Console with regularity, and Mega Man is one of the combatants in the new Super Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS, but there hasn't been a new game in the franchise since Mega Man 10 in 2010!Lets not forget all of the scrapped Mega Man projects over the last 5 years like Legends 3, or Mega Man Universe. Thank goodness for Keiji Inafune or we would never see another "Mega Man" game again. Mighty Number 9 needs to be the swift kick in Capcom's ass we all want it to be, hopefully proving to Capcom that there is still a market for these types of games, and that the fans will support them. 

One of the more interesting stories to come out from Capcom's financial woes are the rumors and talk of potential buyouts from other companies. Like Nintendo. When I had first heard about the idea, I didn't know what to think, but after a quick Google search I saw that there are a ton of places talking about this. Nothing official of course, mainly just fan discussion of the idea, but what an idea it is! Why not? If the situation over at Capcom is as dire as the media has made it out to be, then it is only a matter of time before someone made a move, and this is an opportunity Nintendo definitely would not like to let slip through its fingers.

Hey bro, lets team up!

For a company historically known for having the least in 3rd party support, what better way to fix that than to have one of the largest 3rd party companies in the world working only for you? Capcom has been digging their own grave these last few years by doing their best to destroy the image of its most popular character, Mega Man, ruining the iconic Resident Evil franchise, and beating the hell out of the dead horse that is Street Fighter 4, but we've already touched on their poor use of those properties, lets take a look at how Capcom could possibly help Nintendo as it wages war against Microsoft and Sony. 

Lets start by resuscitating the Mega Man franchise with new games on both the Wii U and 3DS.  Capcom is already re-releasing a ton of the older Mega Man games on Nintendo’s virtual console, this is the perfect time buyout or not to release Mega Man 9 and 10 as downloadable titles on both Nintendo's systems. Street Fighter 4 was released as a launch title for the 3DS, how about you take one of those 100 different versions of the game and put one on Wii U? As far as fighting games go, there isn't much of anything to compete with ( Smash Bros. isn't out yet), so why not release one for Nintendo's home console? Same thing goes for Resident Evil. The last game in the franchise to hit a console for Nintendo was Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition, which by the way was one of the better received versions.

If a buyout does happen, no matter who ends up doing it Capcom will no doubt be much better off.  But, if it does, and Nintendo comes out on top, this could be great for Wii U owners everywhere. This is, however, a rumor, and one that I'm taking with a huge pile of salt. Its just fun to think about the possibilities the idea presents. One thing is certain, Capcom needs to go back to the basics, and start releasing great games again. Find a way to reignite the spark in the Resident Evil franchise the same way RE4 did ten years ago, and find a way to make your number one blue bomber relevant again. His appearance in the upcoming Smash Bros. is a good start to introducing Mega Man to a new generation, and reminding the rest of us why he is such an iconic character in the first place.