NewNews - Goodbye for Now

Happy New Year, Gamers!  2013 was a fun and surprising year for gaming and so there was a lot to write about.  Unfortunately, after some reflection and thoughts throughout my break in December, I have ultimately decided to stop writing on Superpad Unplugged for the time being until I feel ready to pick up blogging again.  It simply takes too much time out of each day for me to do anything else which is a real problem when writing has always been something done on the side.  I might come back to writing once more someday as I do enjoy it greatly, but my priorities and responsibilities lead me to stop for now.  So for my last post, here is a reflection of last year's games and this upcoming year of releases.

Games I enjoyed in 2013:

10) Battlefield 4 (PC) - Honestly, I'm a little disgusted with myself for even putting this game on the list for all the grief it has given me.  On the first night of trying to start up the game, I spent 2 hours updating drivers, changing settings, restarting Origin and such because the game would either crash, have a display or direct X error, or the game would not respond.  And when the game finally decides to work, it has a lot of glitches, lag spikes, hit-box discrepancy, and imbalances to team match-up.  A lot of the multiplayer maps are designed around dominance with vehicles and leaves little room for infantry battle.  Even single-player has its fair share of problems with glitches.  Despite all that, I have put in 36 hours and still plan on playing multiplayer.  Single-player has a better story and gameplay compared to Battlefield 3 and so I enjoyed that more.  Multiplayer, I felt there were some aspects that Battlefield 3 did better than Battlefield 4.  In between the raging and grief while playing Battlefield 4, there is a sense of entertainment and excitement I get from playing it.  Also, I got the game for $20 which I was very happy about.  I would've gotten Call of Duty Ghosts as well, but it refused to drop below $40.

9) Rogue Legacy (PC) - This little indie project wasn't on my list of games to look out for in 2013, but I saw it on Steam Greenlight and was instantly intrigued by the idea of a Metroidvania game with rogue-like elements.  The game is challenging in both platforming and action aspects with unforgiving enemies and inevitable fact that you will die a lot.  I love Metroidvania games and feel that there aren't enough these days.  Although many Metroidvania type games had released in 2013, Rogue Legacy was one that I got to play that stood out for me.  I'm looking forward to find the time to play Guacamelee!, UnEpic, Valdis Story, and A Valley Without Wind 1&2 as they are also Metroidvania type games.

8) Senran Kagura Burst (3DS) - I was really shocked to see Senran Kagura brought over with the amount of controversy over it and the lack of interest the West seemingly had for it, but I'm really glad they did.  2013 was a really good year for Beat-em-Ups and Senran Kagura Burst was one that I really enjoyed.  Although the presentation isn't as good as Code of Princess in terms of variance, graphics and music, the gameplay is technically better with a larger array of attacks, combos, and abilities that the player can utilize.  Combat is fluid and easy to pick up while the gameplay can still be challenging and difficult.  Besides fun gameplay, Senran Kagura also has a decent story!  That was also a shocker for me seeing how the game boasted itself mostly for its fan service.  It's a shame that a physical copy wasn't available for North American customers, but it was a bold move for XSEED Games to bring it over nonetheless.  Hopefully they bring the Vita version over as well.

7) Dynasty Warriors 8 (PS3) - I wasn't sure how Koei was going to live up to Dynasty Warriors 7 because it was such an incredible experience.  It's a bit tricky to describe how I feel about DW8, but I guess the simplest way would be to say "the presentation wasn't nearly as good, but gameplay wise it's technically better in every way".  The cinematics, voice overs, and interactions between the characters  in DW7 made for an unforgettable story, and DW8 simply doesn't have that.  Yes, all the DW games follow the same story, but they're all told in different ways.  DW8 takes out a significant amount of voice overs in narration and pre-battle chatting.  Cinematics aren't as emotionally involving and free flowing as DW7.  But here's where DW8 shines: alternate story paths depending on the outcome of in-game decisions, more weapon variations = less duplicate character types, the return of musou rage, and a rock/paper/scissor mechanic to change up the way you fight generals and officers.  When I say "in-game decisions", I don't mean to say pick choice "A" or choice "B" in a dialogue, but actual execution of an order on the battlefield such as wiping out an ambush or stopping a siege weapon.  With more weapons, the ability to use musou rage, and utilizing 3 different musou attacks, a number of possible combos and approaches can be made when going into a fight.  The special mode for DW8 also has better replay value and variation than DW7 did.  It's similar to DW5 Xtreme Legend's "Xtreme Mode" where you go into 3 randomly generated battles to further grow in strength, numbers, and equipment without the permadeath system.  Besides all that, there are a few new mechanics to change up the fight such as breaking an enemies focus and unleashing a relentless barrage of attacks on them.  My favorite new mechanic in the game is being able to jump on your horse/mount while running.  So in short, I guess what I'm trying to say is "Dynasty Warriors 8 doesn't have as good of a story mode as DW7, but combat is considerably more enjoyable!"

6) Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (3DS) - I really wanted to find a game for the 3DS that I'd enjoy playing well beyond its main game for long durations.  I thought Heroes of Ruin was going to be that game, but to my dismay the game doesn't have end-game content worth playing.  I was reluctant to get Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate for the 3DS when I heard you couldn't play online.  I don't live near any of my friends who have the game.  After trying out the demo, I found out you get 2 computer AI allies to help.  I love boss fights in videogames, and Capcom is one of the developers who really know how to make amazing Boss fights.  Monster Hunter is essentially a string of boss fights that the player faces back to back.  Each boss take a considerable amount of effort and time to take down and the feeling you get at the end of each one is pretty satisfying.  It'd definitely be more fun to play the game with 3 other friends, but it still passes for a great game to enjoy and kill some time well after you've completed the main game.

5) Path of Exile (PC) - I'm not sure if I'm the right person to really talk about PoE as I've barely scratched the surface of the game.  I have a friend who has poured hundreds of hours into the game from planning and training his character.  At first glance, the game looks like your usual Diablo clone as a top-down, point-n-click, Action-RPG.  However, the main attraction to the game is its skill jungle.  Most games like it will have 3 branching skill trees to choose from and focus on, but PoE has an entire grid players can utilize to make the kind of character they want to the playstyle they enjoy.  It's much like Demon's Souls/Dark Souls where the player can start at any class but ultimately go into any sort of playstyle they want.  Skills can be traded, found, swapped, buffed, and utilized with any piece of equipment that has a slot.  I've been playing the game since last year when it went into open beta and it had tons of changes for the better on its official launch along with a Steam version.  You can have builds where spells blow up around the screen or shoot 7 arrows in a fan with lightning element or decimate enemies with insanely fast attacks.  The game has been praised for its dark atmosphere akin to the original Diablo, its passive skill jungle mechanic, its online play, and for being one of the most high quality free-to-play games out there.

4) Risk of Rain (PC) - I've never heard of Risk of Rain prior to its release, but was interested when it appeared on steam and saw how it looked like a 2D shooter and was described to have Rogue-like elements.  At first, I was shocked and upset that the player only shot left and right and didn't use the mouse to shoot.  But after playing a few rounds, I realized that it worked really well in the way it was designed.  Multiplayer Online isn't very elegant with an archaic means of playing, but when it works it's a really exciting multiplayer experience.  The game is frantic and chaotic with a sense of satisfaction when you're destroying everything.  Surviving is challenging and the enemies can be brutal.  And since levels, item spawns, and enemies are randomly generated, there's a different experience each time you play!

3) Hatsune Miku Project DIVA F (PS3) - I wasn't going to get the game even though I was interested in it and was announced for a Western release.  There have been too many games that didn't seem popular get brought over as a digital download only and I didn't want to support that if I could help it.  Then on release day, I found out that they had physical copies being sold.  I went out and got a copy from the excitement and found out that there was a special controller for it.  Besides the super large, bright, and flashy controller, there was also a mini controller that was being sold online.  They were expensive, but I made the effort to get one.  In the end, it was worth it.  The game is reminiscent of Gitarooman on the PS2/PSP with matching buttons and directions to the ones on the screen.  To my surprise, I enjoyed listening to a lot of the songs and so it made for a fun experience playing the game.  I was afraid I would only like a few of the songs and dislike the rest.  There are 4 difficulty modes and modifiers to make it even more challenging as well as a DIVA room mode.  It's a little weird, but it's essentially like a Tamagotchi mode where you give gifts, interact with the characters, and pet them.  The game is just filled with "happiness", I guess you'd say.  The songs are catchy, the videos are flashy, and the graphics are bright and colorful.  I feel like I've been away from music Rhythm games for a very long time and so this was a welcome entry to the list of games I enjoyed playing in 2013.

2) Dragon's Crown (PS3) - I played a lot of Beat-em-Ups in 2013: Anarchy Reigns, Code of Princess, Sacred Citadel, Dungeons and Dragons Chronicles of Mystara, and Senran Kagura Burst.  But out of all the Beat-em-Ups I played that year, Dragon's Crown was the one that I really enjoyed and was able to get others to play.  Played similarly to traditional Beat-em-Ups, the players run through a level fighting enemies and take on a boss at the end.  Through that simplicity, it's everything around and in-between the game that makes it so great.  There is a large array of attacks and abilities the player can perform with the character as well as different builds they can go for similar to an RPG.  There are tons of items to buy and acquire.  Progression is story-driven with available side-quests to help in leveling and farming.  Both local and online players can drop in and out to help out, and even if you play solo you can have computer allies help out.  Essentially, there are a large number of factors that goes into Dragon's Crown for a deep and enjoyable experience that breaks the mold of what a Beat-em-Up are generally like.  Local cooperative games are also a rare aspect in games nowadays, so it was quite a treat being able to have a group of my friends be able to play alongside me.

1) Project X Zone (3DS) - I realize that I'm extending this post much longer than I should, so I'm going to have to shorten everything.  If you are a fan of a lot of the characters and where they come from and enjoy the tactics genre of strategy games, Project X Zone is a treat that should not be missed.  The whole game is a huge string of fan-service that makes you excited with each turn of event.  I am so happy that they brought it over.


I was going to add a "Music" category and "Great games I missed" section, but It's going to take me a long time to finish if I do that.  So I'm going to jump straight to the list of games I'm looking forward to this year:

Anticipated Games of 2014
Bravely Default
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Toukiden: The Age of Demons
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2
Tales of Symphonia Chronicles
Thief
Divinity: Original Sin
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z
Dark Souls 2
Titanfall
Infamous: Second Son
BlazBlue Chronophantasma
Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls
The Witch and the Hundred Knight
Dying Light
Destiny
Bayonetta 2
Child of Light
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Drakengard 3
EverQuest Next
God Eater 2
Hellraid
Homefront 2
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle
Kirby: Triple Deluxe
La-Mulana 2: The 0th Body, The 9th Spirit
Mario Golf: World Tour
Mario Kart 8
Mercenary Kings
Murdered: Soul Suspect
Persona 5
Pillars of Eternity
Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Shadow of the Eternals
Starbound
Strider
Sunset Overdrive
Super Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS
Tales of Xillia 2
The Evil Within
The Legend of Zelda Wii U
The Sims 4
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Tom Clancy's The Division
Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6: Patriots
Transistor
Watch Dogs
Wolfenstein: The New Order
Yoshi's New Island
X

And as a bonus, here is possibly the worst game of 2013:
Source: Youtube Channel motdef

Thank you for all the support in the past 3 years, everybody!

NewNews - Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Writing takes up a lot of time, especially when it's something that requires research.  Because of this, I actually produced a lot less work than I wanted to this year outside of writing.  I want to take the time to work a bit on music and art and reflecting on my time with this blog and decide whether I should continue to keep writing in the future or if I should stop and put all my focus on other endeavors.  So for the rest of December, I won't be posting anything new.  If I do decide to continue, I will start posting again in January.  And even if I choose not to continue posting on this blog anymore, I will make one last post to let you all know in January.

Until then, have a fun and safe holiday season!  Game On!

NewNews - Steam Autumn Sale 2013

Official Site: http://store.steampowered.com/

Steam Autumn Sale is here!  And look at the selection for just the first day!  Left 4 Dead 2, Terraria, Rogue Legacy, Sleeping Dogs, The Walking Dead, and Skyrim are all highly notable games while Prison Architect has been working through early access with positive feedback from the community, Anti-Chamber has had many praises for its unique puzzle-solving mechanics, and Outlast for being one of the scariest games to come out recently.  And as usual, there will be a flash sale every 8 hours until the last day December 3rd.  With the sale started and Thanksgiving being tomorrow, I will probably be taking a break the next two days and so should all of you.  Have a safe and enjoyable Holiday and be careful for those going out for Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales.

NewNews - Amazon Black Friday Sale Week

Amazon: Black Friday Sale

Amazon is having flash sales for their games for this year's Black Friday Sale.  Sure you avoid the physical lines in retail stores, but you'll have to fight the internet speed and refresh rate to nab some of the offers as some are in high demand.  DmC: Devil May Cry might have gotten a lot of critical reviews from the community, but that didn't stop it from being in high demand as it sold out this morning in just a manner of minutes of the flash sale starting.  Check the day and time the sales start and start refreshing the page for that specific game and you'll see a "Flash Sale" button on the right of the page.  As long as you claim a copy before they're sold out, you're guaranteed to receive it as long as you buy it within 15 minutes of claiming it.  Keep in mind that Free Shipping is for a purchase of $35 or more instead of the usual $25.  I'm not certain if this is permanent or if it's just for the holidays, but remember this when checking out and looking for free shipping with the product.  Good luck and Happy Sales to you all!

NewNews - Xbox One Launch Games Line-Up

These are the games you can buy/install and start playing on your new Xbox One:

Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag
Battlefield 4
Call of Duty: Ghosts
Crimson Dragon
Dead Rising 3
FIFA 14
Fighter Within
Forza Motorsport 5
Just Dance 2014
Killer Instinct
Lego Marvel Super Heroes
LocoCycle
Madden NFL 25
NBA 2K14
NBA Live 2014
Need for Speed: Rivals
Powerstar Golf
Ryse: Son of Rome
Skylanders: Swap Force
Xbox Fitness
Zoo Tycoon
Zumba Fitness

Sad to say, but I think the Xbox One has a better launch line-up than the Playstation 4 does.  Despite the flack Microsoft had throughout the year of promoting their system, the Xbox One actually has more exclusive titles that interest me.  Crimson Dragon, Dead Rising 3, Killer Instinct, and Ryse: Son of Rome are among the exclusive titles that interest me.  Still, I don't plan to get an Xbox One and will be getting a PS4 much later.  With the Wii U, PS4 and now the Xbox One out, we can finally step into another generation of gaming.

NewNews - Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate Arcade Announced for Japan

Official Site:
http://teamninja-studio.com/teamninja/doa5/ultimate/
Source: Youtube Channel KOEITECMOofficial

Namco Bandai has announced Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate Arcade, a version of the game specifically for arcades in Japan.  With that, they added one new character to the 29 character roster: Marie Rose.  She is absolutely adorable and is a practitioner or systema, a Russian martial art.  From what is shown, she might be a grappler (grabs and reversal throws) of sorts.  I don't like playing grapplers in fighting games, but she's so cute that I might not care!  The problem at the moment is that no confirmation for Marie Rose being brought to the West or even consoles has been made.  Team NINJA did leave a message on their Facebook page saying:

"Fighters! We see that you’ve discovered our newest character, Marie Rose for the upcoming Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate Arcade. Although this game is a JP exclusive title, we haven’t forgotten about our overseas fighters in the World."

So there's a chance Marie Rose will be released on consoles in the West as a DLC.  I really do not like DLCs, but I'll seriously consider it if it's for this one character.  Japan will be getting DoA5U Arcade sometime this Winter with the addition of Marie Rose.

Sources:

-Joystiq - Marie Rose enters the Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate: Arcade arena

-Shoryuken - Team NINJA Hints at Possible Console Release for Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate Arcade’s Marie Rose

-Dead or Alive Wiki - Systema

NewNews - Playstation 4 Launch Games Line-Up

These are the games you can buy/install and start playing on your new Playstation 4:
Source: Youtube Channel PlayStation

-Angry Birds: Star Wars
-Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag
-Battlefield 4
-Blacklight: Retribution
-Call of Duty: Ghosts
-Contrast
-DC Universe Online
-FIFA 14
-Flower
-Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition
-Just Dance 2014
-Killzone: Shadow Fall
-Knack
-Lego Marvel Super Heroes
-Madden NFL 25
-NBA 2K14
-Need for Speed Rivals
-Resogun
-Skylanders: Swap Force
-Sound Shapes
-Super Motherload
-Trine 2: Complete Story
-Warframe

I'm honestly not very impressed by the line-up of games for the PS4 launch.  Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of great games to choose from this list.  The problem is that a lot of them have been out for a while now or can be played on different systems.  The only games released exclusively for the PS4 are Killzone: Shadow Fall and Knack with indie games Resogun and Super Motherload for digital download purchase.  Even though I might not think this is a great line-up, it's a lot stronger with more choices than the PS3 did.  I just visited my local Target and all PS4 systems and the games for it were sold out except for a few copies of Madden NFL 25.  So the launch for the PS4 looks pretty successful so far.  I'm just waiting on games like Final Fantasy 15, Metal Gear Solid V, Destiny, Kingdom Hearts 3, and a new Uncharted to come out.  In any case, welcome to the next generation of gaming!

Source:
-Joystiq - These are the 23 games in the PlayStation 4 launch-day line-up

NewNews - Buy 2 Get 1 Free Deals (2013)

Every year for the past 2 or so years (maybe more, not sure), Target has had a "Buy 2, Get 1 Free" Deal for videogames right around Thanksgiving time.  It's back again and it's a great deal for those buying the new Playstation 4 and Xbox One since all games count for the deal and people can grab 3 games for $120 instead of $180.  Amazon is having a similar sale for Playstation 4 games on their site.  For those not buying games for the new console, there are plenty of choices for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, Wii U, 3DS, and PS Vita at Target for you to choose from.

Target: Buy 2 Get 1 Free On Select Games across all systems
Amazon: Buy 2 Get 1 Free On PS4 Games


Source:
-Joystiq - Target's buy two games, get one free sale spans all consoles
-Joystiq - Amazon offers buy 2, get 1 sale on PS4 games starting tomorrow

NewNews - Taking a small break

I'm taking a break this week for personal reasons and should return next Monday.

NewNews - Steam Sale Dates For 2013?

Whether this is purely rumor or a convincing prank, it's pretty evident to most steam users that there will be a seasonal sale around Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Well it seems that one of the developers that Valve has notified about the upcoming sales to have them put a discount price on their game, which happens to be a greenlit game, has leaked a picture of the message stating that:

"Valve will hold its Steam Autumn Sale from November 27 through December 3, followed by a Steam Holiday Sale between December 19 and January 2."

As excited as I am to know the dates, this causes some problems for people.  For other publishers and developers, letting the public know the exact dates may lower the profits and sales they could've made before.  That may not sound like a great deal for us because the customer wants to save, but we must keep in mind that developers and publishers are trying to break even and make a profit off their hard work.  As for us customers, this leak can cause several changes.  The dates won't change because that's a huge problem, but prices of discounts may change to compensate for the public knowing the dates of BOTH sales.  So instead of having the same sale price for both sales, we might not get as good of discounts during the Autumn sale if the publishers/developers decide to change them and will drop them lower in the Winter sale.  Or they can decide to not have as big of a discount for both sales because there will be people who plan on getting certain games during the sales no matter what the discount is and the price can still be kept somewhat high for the publishers/developers.

In any case, I'm ready for Steam sales.  There's a lot of games I'm looking forward to getting and playing.  I just hope Valve doesn't do something drastic like cancel the Steam sale.  Although, the backlash from the community due to the lack of a Halloween event for Team Fortress 2 and DotA 2 riled people up, so I'm sure Valve doesn't want to cause any more of that.

Source: Joystiq - Rumor: Upcoming Steam sale dates leaked

NewNews - 3 Year Anniversary

It's been 3 years as of today since I started this blog, it's crazy!  I wasn't sure how persistent I was going to be with writing so much from day to day, but somehow I've been doing this for 3 years!  Through these 3 years, we have seen Keiji Inafune leave Capcom and recently start up his campaign for Mighty No. 9 which raised over $4 Million.  We have seen the rise in popularity of indie games and MOBA.  We experienced the return of Fighting games back into the main stream community of gamers.  Tons of MMOs turn Free-to-Play and Valve launches the Steam Greenlight program and lots of games get brought to steam.  A lot has happened and it's kind of wonderful to be part of it.  I wonder how long I'll be able to keep this up.  In any case, thank you for all the support for those who have visited and a Happy third year anniversary to this blog!

NewNews - Steam Greenlight Games Everywhere 10-30-13

Steam Greenlight: October 16th Batch
Steam Greenlight: October 29th Batch

Steam games are coming out so fast you can't count them all!  I just know that Steam Winter Sales is going to be killer on my wallet this year.  The support behind Steam Greenlight is extraordinary as some games that has just been recently posted already got greenlit.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised that games such as Ikaruga got greenlit so quickly.
Source: Youtube Channel TREASURE Channel

I am surprised that Vanguard Princess got greenlit just as fast though as most people might not have heard of the game.  I've known about the game for quite a while now and have played the Japanese version and thought it was a pretty fun game.  With the English Version making a push to be put on Steam, I immediately upvoted it in hopes of supporting it when it releases.
Source: Youtube Channel Throneful

I'm also happy to see Eryi's Action FINALLY get greenlit after a year of waiting.  I mentioned the game over a year ago in August.
Source: Youtube Channel NyuMedia

Although I mention a bunch of Japanese developed games, there are definitely a lot of non-Japanese indie games worth checking out such as Ravensword: Shadowlands.
Source: Youtube Channel josh presseisen

Steam always has great sales for the games on their platform, so money isn't so much an issue right now.  Finding the time to play all these great games is what's really difficult to manage.

Source:
-Kotaku - 130+ Games In Two Weeks? Time to Slow Down, Steam

NewNews - Halloween Special 2013!

This will be one Halloween some gamers will remember.  You know what came out today?  Battlefield 4.
Source: Youtube Channel Battlefield

You know what else came out today?  Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.
Source: Youtube Channel AssassinsCreed

It's weird because both games were talked about so much and so often this year it seemed like it was so far away before their actual release, yet here they both are!  There's also one other thing: Steam is having their annual Halloween Sale going on right now!  157 games are selected and discounted for the sale along with the usual mid-week madness and daily deal sales.  What a fun Halloween season we have this year!

NewNews - Humble Weekly Sale Focus Home Interactive

Official Site: https://www.humblebundle.com/weekly
Source: Youtube Channel Humble Bundle

The new weekly bundle began today and it features games from Focus Home Interactive!  There's something almost for everyone: Simulation, strategy, Action, Role-playing, and Adventure.  Unfortunately, a lot of Focus Home Interactive's games under their name don't get very high scores from critics and players and some of them are pretty bad.  But don't let that discourage you for there is a reason why I am posting about this.  Out of the games they are offering:

-Cities XL Platinum
-Blood Bowl: Legendary Edition
-Divinity 2: Developer's Cut
-R.A.W. Realms of Ancient War
-Game of Thrones The Role-Playing Game
-Confrontation
*Wargame: European Escalation
*The Testament of Sherlock Holmes
   -*Pay more than $6 for these

I have played Divinity and R.A.W.  I haven't played the other games, but I would recommend the bundle just for Divinity 2: Developer's Cut.  I never beat the game or even got far into it (boasts over 100+ hours of gameplay), but I enjoyed this game a lot.  I've played a lot of games similar to this genre: Open-World 3rd-Person Action-RPG.  The story is pretty interesting and the gameplay is unique.  I have never heard of the Divinity series before playing Divinity 2 (I played the Dragon Knight Saga and was then given Developer's Cut for free) but was very impressed with what I played.  R.A.W. wasn't as bad as the critics claim, but it wasn't exactly a memorable experience either.  It was mildly entertaining for what it was.  I got the bundle to try out Cities XL, Game of Thrones, and I've been wanting Confrontation for a while now.  Besides Divinity 2, I think Wargame: European Escalation has the highest score from critics out of the bunch.  If you're looking for a game to put a good amount of time into that provides a fun 3rd-Person Action-RPG experience, I would recommend Divinity 2 mainly because most people don't know about the game.

And if you're a fan of the original Divinity, it's not the same.  If you want something similar to the original Divinity, the developers are actually working on a new Divinity game that will be like the original.

NewNews - Treasure puts up Ikaruga on Steam

Greenlight: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=183195387
Source: Youtube Channel TREASURE Channel

I might have mentioned this before, as I tell the story often, but one of my biggest regrets in gaming was not picking up Ikaruga when I saw it for $20 new for the Nintendo Gamecube at a wholesale store.  I would have not guessed that a shoot-em-up would become so rare on the Gamecube and so sought out.  I searched for years after that for a used copy and never found one.  A few years back, I was with a friend at a Gamestop and he grabbed a game and looked and me saying "look what I found".  I was excited and ready to buy it right then and there, and then he said he was going to buy it...But of course he invited me over to play with him as it supports 2-player cooperative play.  Still, I never got to go through the whole game and I'm not close by my friend's place no more.  So it was only natural that I was very happy and excited to see Ikaruga show up on Steam Greenlight front page.

If you've never heard of the game and wondering why so many people are getting excited over it, it's one of the most finely crafted and challenging vertical shoot-em-ups that featured a polarity system where players were encouraged to run into bullets of the affinity they are switched to.  It also didn't have that many prints go out for consoles which is why it became so rare.  From what it says on the Steam Greenlight page, the steam version of Ikaruga will be an updated version of the Xbox Live Arcade version which was already updated from previous versions.  Besides its simple but innovative polarity game mechanic and its challenging nature, the game was often praised for its beautiful visuals as well.  The Steam version will have vertical screen mode (Do you have a wide-screen monitor that can be switched sideways?  It's perfect for shoot-em-ups!), 2-player cooperative mode, Xbox 360 controller compatibility (WHY?  I'm okay if it's that AND other controllers, but it's ALWAYS only Xbox 360 controller!), and Double Play mode for the most extreme shoot-em-up players where you play two ships on one controller (yes, at the same time).  Besides possibly only being compatible with a Xbox 360 controller, I'm pretty excited about getting Ikaruga on Steam.

NewNews - Mighty No.9 Documentary Episode 0

Kickstarter Page: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mightyno9/mighty-no-9
Source: Youtube Channel 2PlayerProductions

It was already mentioned that 2 Player Productions was going to document the development of Mighty No. 9 and keep the supports, fans, and followers of the game up to date with its progress.  This particular episode was recorded before the game was announced and before the Kickstarter was launched.  Speaking of which, there are 4 days left to back Mighty No.9.  Also, the development team has reached out to the public to choose, out of 9 designs, which concept should be finalized as the Heroine "Call" for the Mighty No. 9 game.

Mighty No. 9 is an Action-Platformer led by Keiji Inafune, who has worked on titles such as the Megaman series, with his pool of talented, veteran game developers.  The game is set to launch in 2015 and was announced earlier this month which has reached out to over 45,000 backers to support this project.

Source:
-Kotaku - One Of These With Be Mighty No. 9's Heroine. You Decide.
(I think most of us know Mr. Fahey meant to say "Will" and not "With").

NewNews - Indie Game Stand

Official Site: https://indiegamestand.com/store/

There are a lot of digitally distributed game sites out there, but a lot of them don't always reach their target audience.  I didn't know about GreenManGaming until one of my friends told me about it and how he got Borderlands 2 for $36 pre-order.  GoG is often mentioned on multiple gaming news media sites.  I found out about Desura from the Humble Indie Bundle.  Thanks to Joystiq, I now know of one other site that distributes indie games!  IndieGameStand has indie games that haven't reached other platforms such as Steam and Desura and are still in Beta or even Alpha stages so that fans of indie games can grab them.  Steam keys and Desura keys can be given if available and become available whenever they get officially on a platform.  The site also often gets sales and even has a Pay-what-you-want sales in 96 hour durations.  Even if you're one of those who wish to wait until the game is readily available on Steam and get it off there directly, you can skim through the site and see what indie games there are that need your support and upvote them on Steam Greenlight as the Steam Greenlight page itself can get quite messy and convoluted.  So if you like Indie games, lots of sales/discounts or want to find specific games to support on Steam Greenlight, IndieGameStand is a good site to visit.

Source:
-Joystiq - IndieGameStand launches developer-focused online store

NewNews - Tokyo Game Show 2013 Highlights

Official Site: http://expo.nikkeibp.co.jp/tgs/2013/en/
GameTrailers: http://www.gametrailers.com/tgs

Today's the last day for the Business side of the show while there are two more days over the weekend for public viewing for this year's Tokyo Game Show left.  There hasn't been any announcement that has surprised me or made me excited yet, but there are a lot of videos and news on games I was already looking forward to.

-Chaos Rings Sigma
-Dark Souls 2
-Deadman's Cross
-Deep Down
-Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z
-Final Fantasy Agito
-Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
-Final Fantasy X|X-2 HD
-Kingdom Hearts X
-Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
-One Piece Romance Dawn
-Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+
-Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures
-SoulCalibur: Lost Swords
-Tales of Xillia 2 (Trailer up top)
-Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call
-The Evil Within

NewNews - Hiroshi Yamauchi Passes Away at 85

Image Source: BrooklynKing

Hiroshi Yamauchi ran Nintendo as its president from 1949 to 2002 and contributed to the revival of Videogames when the industry was at its lowest point.  In other words, he helped save the Videogame industry with the introduction of the Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom in Japan).  He was a business man at heart and so he may not have been directly responsible for all the games and memories we had of playing them, but it's undeniable that he was a driving force towards the industry's influence in the world.  After Satoru Iwata succeeded Yamauchi's position within Nintendo, Yamauchi stayed with the company as an adviser.  It's been reported throughout the three decades of Nintendo's existence, since it became a videogame company, that Yamauchi was a hard man to work with and that he was a force to be reckoned with.  He always sought out change and innovation and was rather adamant on his decisions, be they good ones or not.  But because of that, Nintendo continues today to innovate and deliver new entertainment.  Despite that, Nintendo has been viewed as being stubborn on change throughout the years as the game industry becomes more involved in online and social aspects.  Yamauchi's influence in Nintendo hasn't been prevalent ever since stepping down as president in 2002.  And now that he has passed, it is entirely up to the new generation to shape, adapt, and change to keep Nintendo relevant in the industry.  The sales of Nintendo's newest Wii U console hasn't been doing the best it could have done, but things could change.  Despite the N64 having a lot of great and memorable games on it, it actually sold pretty poorly and it was the Gameboy and Pokémon that saved Nintendo during those times.  The Virtual Boy was a complete failure.  The Gamecube also have a difficult life-span.  But despite all those hard times, the Nintendo Wii was a revolutionary hit and had changed the game industry in terms of their target audience.  Many would argue that it had ruined Nintendo's reputation within the community, but change and risks must be taken if any sort of innovation is to be made.  Yamauchi made many decisions for change and took lots of risks, some of which were pretty bad.  But Nintendo probably wouldn't be where it is today as one of the most influential, if not THE most influential, company within the Videogame industry were it not for those decisions.  Hiroshi Yamauchi certainly made his mark in the industry and world and his legacy will continue in the name of Nintendo.  R.I.P. Hiroshi Yamauchi, thank you for your contributions.

Yamauchi passed away earlier this morning after a battle with pneumonia. He was 85. -Kotaku

Sources:
-Huffington Post - Hiroshi Yamauchi Dead: Former Seattle Mariners Owner And Nintendo President Dies At 85
-Kotaku - Longtime Nintendo President Dies Aged 85
-Kotaku - Nintendo President: We Will Carry On The Spirit Of Hiroshi Yamauchi

NewNews - Ghosts 'n Goblins Online is Back!

Steam Greenlight: Ghosts 'n Goblins Online
Source: Youtube Channel 씨드나인 게임즈

Ghosts 'n Goblins Online has been around for a while and has been talked about in the game community and then it was canceled.  Apparently it's been canceled twice already.  Well it's back again with a chance to release stateside through the help of Steam Greenlight.  With news of this, every major media is spreading the word and hopefully getting people to upvote it on Steam Greenlight.  The main concern for a lot of GnG fans is that the game looks too easy.  Looking at the gameplay, I'd say that it's because it's a completely different gameplay mechanic from what most people know about the GnG series.  The game is still a 2D Action-Platformer, but rather than a straight up Action game where you move forward, die in two hits, and have limited amounts of way to attack, there are a lot of RPG elements such as an open world to explore, stats to improve, lots of skills to attain, etc.  You could say that it's Maple Story in a GnG universe.  There seems to be different classes with an array of skills to learn, the ability to play cooperatively with other players, raise stats and attributes to improve survivability, damage, and ability power, and play in competitive PvP arenas.  There seems to be a mode called "demonic dimension" where you die in two hits (classic GnG style life system: Armor->Underwear->Dead).  There's a trailer showing some of the gameplay:
Source: Youtube Channel 씨드나인 게임즈

With this, yes the game will be easier to accommodate an online gaming experience as well as a more general audience.  Still the game looks to be very interesting and is one I'm willing to play.  A lot of people are also hoping that the attention and success of this game might bring about the resurrection of Megaman Online and bringing it over here.  I'd be very happy about that.

Source:
-Joystiq - Ghosts'n Goblins Online resurfaces at Steam Greenlight