Return to Alola

Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon released last month. They're fun. They're Pokemon games. It's a good time.

Now, I'm going to sound like an old man yelling at youths to get off my lawn, but what happened to the third (or fourth) release in a Pokemon game set being a new adventure.

Pokemon Red and Blue: awesome games. Pokemon Yellow: FREAKING PIKACHU WALKS AROUND WITH YOU. You become Ash from the television show, except you don't suck.

Pokemon Gold and Silver: Again, really cool stuff. Pokemon Crystal: Suicune. You win, Crystal.

Pokemon Emerald added the awesome Battle Frontier to the already good Ruby and Sapphire, and Platinum and Black 2 and White 2 changed up its predecessors as well.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm at the point where replaying the same game (which I love, by the way) for nearly 30 hours just to get to the changes is not really my thing.

There's so many other games (on the 3DS alone I have to play Metroid: Samus Returns and Monster Hunter Stories) that asking me to play it twice is kind of a drag.

But you know I'll play it twice. I just probably won't enjoy it as much along the way.

So Many Games, So Little Time

October 27 is a ridiculous day for video games. Sometimes, entire months go by without a major release, but at some point this year, Nintendo, Ubisoft and Bethesda all got together and said, "Let's release our big seller on the same day!" Dumb idea. Not just dumb because it'll cost me an arm and a leg, but dumb because (at least) one of these poor games is going to be forgotten because of volume of releases. Let's take a look at all three:

Super Mario Odyssey
Not going to be forgotten. Reviews came out today and they are...uh...pretty good (see: nearly perfect). This is the one I'm definitely most excited for. It's Mario, but the new capture mechanic looks like a fun new twist on the formula. Also, it looks to sort of revolutionize the series, much like Nintendo did earlier with Breath of the Wild. That game turned out all right.

Assassin's Creed Origins
Never thought I'd say it, but I'm totally ready for a new Assassin's Creed game. I've played every game in the series, and like everyone else, I was getting burned out. The formula got too stale, so the new RPG mechanics and year off have me excited for this series fr the first time in a long time. The revamped combat system also means that when I have to fight people, it won't be mindlessly countering for instant kills, so that's already an improvement.

Wolfenstein: The New Colossus
Wolfenstein: The New Order and Wolfenstein: The Old Blood were great games, and The New Colossus looks no different. They are so over-the-top and really, who doesn't like killing Nazis? Taking the war to a Nazi-controlled America is a cool new way to allow us us to shoot Nazis. Also, it's one of a few modern games to let you duel wield weapons to mow down Nazis. Did I mention I don't like Nazis?

I know I complained about too may games, but really, having so many games come out at once is awesome. I'll always find the time to play great games, but there's just no way that all three games are going to kill it in sales, so some publisher might get angry. Hopefully it's a lesson to them to space these thins out a little better. For everyone's sake.

This Post is Exclusive to Season Pass Owners

Destiny 2 is out now, and it's flooding all the major gaming news outlets. Every time I open any news app, I'm shocked when the first four stories aren't about Destiny 2. Also, as any sports fan will tell you, the (really, really good) live action Destiny 2 trailer has been unavoidable. It's every other commercial during a football broadcast.

How do they afford this huge marketing campaign? At least part of it is microtransactions, apparently. First, everyone was u in arms over Middle-earth: Shadow of War's  policy that the developers had to release a video explaining what it's in-game purchases do. Now, it's Destiny 2. I heard about all of the nonsense going on with shaders, and I wonder why would anyone use any shader now, given how quickly you'll move on to the next piece of gear. Swapping gear is the main draw of Destiny, so why would they be consumable?

NBA 2K has always flirted with Virtual Currency (VC), but I always found enough by playing Play Now or NBA Today games and then stocking points for a while. Now you need VC basically every aspect of the game. What makes this worse is that the $150 version of NBA 2K18 gives players a massive amount of VC instantly, so I see players with huge stat boosts right at the beginning of MyCareer.

At this point, in-game purchases are unavoidable, but boycotting games or yelling at developers (whose publishers likely decided the business models) isn't going to make them go away.

Time to Ketchup

I don't know what to say. I'm at a loss for words. We had the greater numbers, superior training and (most importantly) God was on our side. 

Despite overwhelming odds, we failed. We, the last line of defense in the ongoing battle for condiment supremacy, let everyone down.

Ketchup lost the first official Splatoon 2 Splat Fest. To make matters worse, ketchup lost to mayonnaise. This news came as a shock to me, but imbalance of ketchup lovers to mayo fiends meant that more than half of my Splat Fest battles were ketchup against ketchup. Those skirmishes were rendered meaningless in the Splat Fest, so I can't say I was much help against the mayo army.

Let this be a lesson to all my ketchup enthusiasts. Don't ever underestimate the ruthlessness of the enemy, even if we vastly outnumber them. Let this also be a lesson for Nintendo. Don't pick such ridiculous options. Half the people I know don't like mayonnaise. I think I've met, like, three people who dislike ketchup. And it's not even like they hated ketchup, they just didn't love it. I mean, they'd eat it with french fries or something, but there are people who hate mayo, so the choice was kinda easy for some folks.

However my fellow tomato and sugar loving friends, fear not. The battle may be lost, but these food wars are not over if the first Splat Fests are any indication (the Splatoon 2 beta was cake (the correct choice) against ice cream).

And as friend of the program* Edwin Starr once said, "War, huh, yeah. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing."

*Edwin Starr is not a friend of the program, but I wish he was. He is dead.

Not Squidding Around

The sequel to one of my favorite Wii U games ever made (there were only like, five ever made, right?), Splatoon, came out on Friday. And yes, Splatoon 2 is off the hook.

Let's start with the reason most people bought the game: the multiplayer. It's fin-tastic. Basically, for the uninitiated, the regular battle mode--Turf War--sees two teams of four try to cover the most ground with their teams ink. Making the emphasis on map coverage instead of splatting (see: killing) your opponents, allows you to feel like your helping out as long as you are inking SOMETHING.

Even as someone who doesn't get a lot of splats in the game, I usually end up Kraken the top two spots on my teams.

The story mode is also sea-cretly good. The boss battles are some of the best in any shooter, and the way you hop from region-to-region within a single stage makes the game feel a bit like Super Mario Galaxy, which is a great thing.

Salmon Run is a new horde mode that has up to four teammates collecting eggs and fighting bosses for up to three rounds. It's ink-credibly tough on higher difficulties and it's pretty dumb that you can't play it online whenever you want to, but it's awesome when it's available.

Is Splatoon 2 more of the same? Yes, definitely. But I don't think it's a problem when so few people ever played the first one.

Arms Has Legs

I'm not really into fighting games. Mortal Kombat is cool because I can rip people's spines out without being labeled as a murderer. Street Fighter is fun because I am undefeated in Street Fighter V with Balrog. You read that right. Undefeated, as in no loses. I'm 1-0 with him. Injustice is neat because it's Batman v Superman without being all mopey and lame.

But all of these games have super long combo lists for each character and ginormous character rosters. As I play, I realize I'll only pull off these combos once in a while through random button pressing.

Despite my aversion to fighting games, I bought Arms on launch day. When it was revealed in January, I'm pretty sure I rolled my eyes. Then I played the Arms Global Testpunch (stupid name, I know) and I enjoyed it so much. Even though I was getting wrecked online, I still found the game to be fun. I only won one game and that was because my opponent wasn't even playing. I'll take whatever wins I can get in that game.

Arms is super tough, but not because there's a high barrier to entry like most other fighting games. It's tough because the AI opponents are ridiculously brutal and have the ability to see into the future, which is frustrating. But when you find the right AI difficulty (like...2) the game is a lot of fun.

Even battling people online is fun, until grab-happy Ninjaras ruin the momentum. Having more than one game mode available in casual online makes the online a go-to destination for me.

Except the two-vs.-two fights are lame. Like, really lame. Hard pass.

Out of the Shadows

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadow of Valentia has been out for a few weeks and it's been quite the departure from traditional Fire Emblem games. It's still the same concept: fight armies on a grid in turn-based battles, but without some of the stuff from the  most recent entries. You can't pair up your troops and make super-powered babies this time or partner up on the battlefield and wreak havoc.

Those features weren't in the original version of this game, so it makes sense they are absent in Echoes, because it is a nicer looking copy of that game, basically. The dungeons are unique to the game and I hope they return in newer Fire Emblem games.

However, keeping this game so true to the original has some setbacks.  The lack of enemy and class variety is a little disappointing, and because the map is more open, you-ll play in the same exact environments over and over again.

Overall, the game is really fun, but I have not seen such false hit chances since XCOM.

I can't tell you how many 80% chances I've missed. One level in particular saw me miss more than half of my attacks, despite having a 78% chance to land them. You don't need to be a math pro to realize that 78% does not equal 50%. An enemy archer also landed five of his six attacks despite having a 32% chance to hit on each one.

Frustrating, but fun. A sentence that can describe every Fire Emblem game at some point.

Living on a Prey-er

Prey came out. Lost in all of the talk about Prey's publisher-imposed-late-reviews is the fact that Prey is a really good game. It reminds me a lot of games I already love.

It's got the atmosphere and tense gameplay of one of my favorite games ever--Alien: Isolation. Much like BioShock, it's setting is deep (Get it? Because BioShock is underwater? Deep? Deep!) and full of interesting lore to find out.

It's also similar to Dishonored in that each area and story mission can be completed in a number of different ways. Also, the GLOO Gun is an awesome weapon--it's basically a freeze ray. I was a big fan of the first Prey and I wasn't too fond of what the sequel initially looked like, but I'm glad they managed to reboot it all, and the result is pretty great.

The game's got a lot more RPG elements than I initially thought, too. It has side quests and the map is one giant open space station. You can explore the exterior of the station as well and relive the sickness you felt when watching the movie Gravity.

Walking around not knowing what's an enemy hasn't gotten old yet, and it keeps the game tense.

My one major complaint in the game: it practically discourages you from getting the game's coolest abilities, like turning into a mug. Yes, turning into a mug is a cool thing and probably the highlight of experience life so far.

Star Wars Battlefront II...Again

Star Wars Battlefront II's first trailer was released last week--officially and unofficially, given the leak a few days before the reveal. The story-heavy trailer showed off that you'll be playing as an Empire-splinter group that bands together to keep fighting the good--erm, bad fight after the Death Star gets blown up. Again.

I know EA and Dice's original Battlefront reboot was divisive. I love the game, but I agree that it needed more content. I wasn't too concerned about the game's lack of a single-player story considering that I rarely played the original Pandemic-developed Battlefront games solo anyway.

The reboot needed more maps and locations. It needed easier access to hero characters. It needed more heroes. The Season Pass fixed a lot of these issues, but paying a total of $110(!) for a single game feels gross.

Despite it's flaws, I loved Battlefront and I'm super excited for Battlefront II. The inclusion of every era of Star Wars history is great. With a class-based system for multiplayer and the elimination of vehicle pick-ups in favor of vehicle access being similar to another popular DICE online-focused first-person shooter, Battlefront II seems to be headed in the right direction.

A cool story mode about a time we don't know much about just it makes it even better.

The second attempt at a fusion of Battlefield and Star Wars could be a beautiful thing.

Basically Banjo-Three-ie

The collectathon genre says hello again with the release of Yooka-Laylee.

It's set in a completely unique world filled with completely unique characters who are unlike anyone from any game you have ever seen before.

Obviously I'm joking when I'm talking about the uniqueness, as the game is basically a Banjo-Kazooie clone. That is what the developers promised, after all. Oh, and a 3-D Shovel Knight is there, which is DOPE.

The game takes me back to my childhood where the only two games I would play on my Nintendo 64 were Banjo-Tooie and Kirby and the Crystal Shards. I always got lost playing Banjo because I couldn't remember (see: didn't care enough as a youth) to go to each objective I was told about.

Now that I'm older and closer to death, the finality of how few games I'll actually have time to finish has hit me, and I'm determined to finish this game before I die. Well, that and I find the game incredibly fun and addicting.

I'm also much wiser than I was when I originally played Banjo games, so I won't get lost. I'll just get distracted by every shiny object I find.

If you like collecting things and/or love Banjo-Kazooie or Banjo-Tooie, you will like this game. If you never liked those games, then there's not much here to win you over.

Destined for Sequels

So there was a Destiny 2 pre-order sales pitch reveal last week. You probably saw it. It had a funny Cayde-6 rallying other Guardians while Zavala did the same, just in a more serious manner. Yeah, I thought the Cayde-6 monologue was amusing, but as famous fictional scientist Dr. Alan Grant said in Jurassic Park III, "No force on earth or heaven could get me on that island." The island being Destiny 2 in this case.

And yes, I'm fully aware that Dr. Grant ends up going to that island, but he was promised a lot of money. If someone paid me to play Destiny 2, I'd be down.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Destiny. I bought it three times and played all of the expansions. However every time I finished up an expansion, I left feeling robbed. Destiny (and presumably) Destiny 2 is all about the grind. It's got more grinding than a Tony Hawk Pro Skater game or an awkward high school dance.

Destiny never really got it's hooks into me like it did for so many others, and that's fine. But there is a pretty big divide between those who love Destiny and those who hate Destiny. It seems like a game everyone loves or hates; there is no middle ground.

Destiny 2 will probably double down on everything the original Destiny was about, which again, is great for its fans, but probably won't do much to win over new players. Over the life of Destiny, almost none of my concerns (and the concerns of many, many others) were addressed. Bungie seemed to cater to those who loved it already--which is a huge number of people--without addressing some key concerns.

The reveal obviously won't tell us too much, if anything, but before I consider playing Destiny 2, I'd need to know a lot of information.Will the game become more streamlined instead of hiding interesting lore and ways to get new loot behind a lame second-screen experience like the Destiny app? Will the enemy variety be better? Will there be an interesting story?

The game box lists its "Cinematic Story Campaign" on the back of the box as a selling point. I've yet to see that "Cinematic Story Campaign." I don't believe it's there. Maybe it's hidden somewhere in the Grimoire cards.

The biggest thing I took away from the reveal? The different editions the game will launch and the different pre-order incentives. Hopefully the game lives up to everything Destiny's hardcore fans want it to be.

A Journey 600 Years in the Making

Mass Effect: Andromeda is out, which means I get to dive right back into one of my favorite video game franchises. I think the original Mass Effect trilogy is a near perfect set of games. The amount of time you invest in your team rewards with you all the personal interactions, and that's always been the main draw for me. 

Once I boarded the new ship--the Tempest--I instantly felt like I'd arrived in a Mass Effect world. Is the game perfect? No. But I still really enjoy the game, which means the game overcomes it's shortcomings for me. I love this game, even if the reception has been pretty divided, and that's okay.

Between this and Breath of the Wild, I don't know where I'll find time to sleep.

The new characters are interesting, including Jaal, who is from a new alien race. These new aliens are pretty uggo, but they are interesting, so it balances out. Liam is a cool bro to talk to, Vetra is a cool...mom-like character, and Peebee brings some levity to an otherwise serious game. I left out Cora, because I don't trust anyone with the last name Harper in Mass Effect (I'm looking at you, Illusive Man). 

Mass Effect is a continuation of what has been, so far, one of my favorite years in gaming already. Resident Evil 7, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Mass Effect: Andromeda have all been exactly what I hoped for. 

Hopefully the rest of the year can continue to give us fun experiences.

Breadth of the Wild

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is...wow. It's everything I've ever wanted from a Zelda game.It takes the best elements from every open-world and every Zelda game and combines it into a masterpiece.

I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this game.

Everything from roaming the open world to solving individual puzzles feels exciting and new--something that's hard to do for a series that has been around as long as Zelda has. There is so much detail and love put into this game, that I understand--for the first time--why this game was delayed so much. It's missing nothing and so well polished.

The Zelda series is known for it's consistency, but Breath of the Wild somehow manages to raise the bar even more for the series. This game truly lets you experience the most complete open-world experience I have ever played. And I love the heck out of The Witcher: Wild Hunt.

I've had more memorable moments playing Breath of the Wild's first 10 hours than I did in the entirety of 2016 (including Dishonored 2's excellent Clockwork Mansion).

The game manages to feel like a Zelda game while still deviating from Zelda traditions in so many ways. It's a masterclass in open world game design and game design in general, and I can't wait to go play a lot more.

For Shame, For Honor

Torn. It's a perfect word to describe my feelings on For Honor. When I'm not lagging out of a match or getting destroyed by an opponent (including bots?!) who spams the guard break, I enjoy the game. When I'm playing the average--but appreciated, given the lack of single player modes in most online-focused games lately--I'm enjoying the game for what it is.

However, the game has so many issues that it often seems like it doesn't want you to enjoy it. For example: yesterday, I played 10 matches with friends online. I attempted to play 15 matches. In other words, at least one of us lagged out in nearly a third of our attempted matches.

Gear levels also do a great job of quickly unbalancing the game. At least the game tells you that the other team has better gear that you right away, so you can process and come to terms with your imminent death. Or you can leave the match. I won't judge.

I haven't been so frustrated with a game's multiplayer since Gears of War 2. Interestingly, Gears 2 multiplayer is one of my favorite multiplayer games ever. I can't say the same about For Honor. Like Gears 2, the moment-to-moment gameplay is generally intense and a cause for anxiety super frustrating. The high-stakes feel of each duel makes the game's flaws stand out even more. Constant lag (peer-to-peer match hosting in 2017?), cheap tactics and some of the least helpful tutorials ever made make playing the game a pain at times.

Seriously, the game does a terrible job at explaining its mechanics and systems to you. I haven't had to look outside of a game to find information on the game I'm playing since Destiny. It's that bad.

Now, I don't think it's a bad game. It's tough, but I imagine it feels good to master a character--I wouldn't know, I suck--because the learning curve is so steep. It does something so new that it's worth playing just to test the experience. But for anyone who values their sanity or has blood-pressure issues, they may want to look elsewhere.

Almighty Overwatch

Overwatch is a beautiful thing. In so many ways, it takes the things I love about multiplayer shooters and mixes them up with things I hate about playing online. Despite getting as frustrated with the game as I did with Gears of War 2 online, I still can't put the game down almost a year after its release. If that isn't the sign of a good game (or that I like to punish myself), then I don't know what is.

The problem I have with Overwatch--really any objective based multiplayer game--is teammates. If they're not picking useless characters, they're not playing the objective. Now, I know I'm not in a place of power or skill where I can tell people who to play as. Everyone just wants to have fun with their favorite characters. I get that. But no, we DON'T need a Hanzo and a Widowmaker while we are on the attacking side. Few things are as disheartening as breaking through enemy lines, getting to the point, holding your own and taking down a few enemies only to see four teammates fighting on the other end of the map.

NOTE: I don't think I'm above this type of issue. I'll occasionally get wrapped up in killing a guy and lose focus of the objective. I don't do it too often, but I'm still working on it. As Hannah Montana once said: "Nobody's perfect."

Despite the problems that occur within Overwatch, the core gameplay and the uniqueness of each character make the game almost impossible to quit. Every character is usable in certain situations, and the speed of each game means that you'll never be stuck with a losing team for too long.

I think the thing that makes Overwatch easy to get into is that the game never explicitly tells you your kills-to-death ratio. By showing eliminations, you'll always feel like you're contributing in some way to the cause. The events also offer enough new skins to make me want to go back to earn them. Overwatch is here to stay, and we are all better off for it.

Nintendo's Big Switch

While Nintendo's latest console, the Switch, has been  divisive, I am certainly excited for it. Honestly, I was going to go out and pre-order one the day after the event, regardless of what was shown. And while the launch lineup leaves something to be desired, there's at least one game we are ALL looking forward too: 1-2 Switch. Right? Oh, and there's that new Zelda game, I guess.

Seriously though, until they announced the release date for Breath of the Wild, I was disappointed in my choices at launch. I'm looking forward to Bomberman R, but it's Bomberman. I know what I'm getting. A new Zelda is enough to sell a console at launch and keep people entertained until Nintendo's next big release. And what a game to launch with. Breath of the Wild looks amazing, even by Zelda's already high standards. And that trailer was so, so good. So, now that we know more about the Switch, here are the three things I'm most excited for:

1. Games: Nintendo knows their biggest mistake with the Wii U was lack of consistent releases (along with poor marketing). So, Nintendo showed off games that will release throughout the year, hoping that there won't be months of nothingness between games. In 2017 alone, we have Zelda, Splatoon 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the thirteenth  release of Skyrim and Super Mario Odyssey. While the beginning of the Super Mario Odyssey was jarring, I can't wait for the game. It looks like it combines the best parts of Super Mario 64, Galaxy, Sunshine and 3D World.

2. Portability (kind of): Realistically, I don't see myself taking the Switch on a plane ride or a long car ride or...are trains even around anymore? If they are, I won't be on one with a Switch. The 2-6 hours of battery life are not very good (see: bad), but everywhere I envision myself taking one has outlets, so I don't see it as an issue. I can't wait to take it to someone's house and throw down on some Bomberman or Mario Kart. Having two controllers that can act as one is so unique that I think I only pre-ordered the system because of it. Speaking of the controllers...

3. Controllers: I love the Joy-Cons. I think separately they may be a little small, but the shoulder button expansion and strap seems to alleviate that issue. I don't like the way the Joy-Con controller looks, but if it works fine, I won't care. Having approximately 84,523 ways to use the controllers is awesome and is a big reason I can't wait to take the system with me wherever I go.

Of course it's not all great. That battery life is weak and I don't know how many people are going to be willing to pay for Nintendo's online services (which would hurt a game like Splatoon 2), but I'm more excited for the Switch than I ever was for the Wii U.