• 9Jul 11

  Ocarina of Time 3D

  I really can't believe it's been 13 years since OoT was released for the N64. I remember being 9 years old and walking into Sam's Club with my parents and seeing that game on display for the very first time. My jaw litterally dropped. There was a huge line of people waiting to play and by the time it was my turn, the people ahead of me had already managed to make it to Castle Town. I walked around that area for what felt like hours and explored everything. I had never been more impressed by a game in my entire life. I stepped out onto Hyrule Field and I think my jaw dropped again. I felt like I had just discovered a new world where I could live the rest of my life just wandering around and discovering new things.

  I nearly cried when I had to give up the controller but that Christmas, my parents bought me that game and I had never been happier.

  13 years later here I am with a remake of that amazing game on a brand new system. Though this game is not nearly as impressive now due to other action games (even new Zelda games) surpassing it, I'm still having a blast playing it. Seeing these familiar areas with more detail makes me feel like a kid again, discovering all sorts of little secrets. The temples aren't nearly as challenging as I remember them being and all of the bosses have been a peice of cake. Still though, this game is brilliant and every gamer, young or old, needs to experience this journey. These are the kind of games that made me the gamer I am today and I commend Nintendo for making such a great game feel new and fresh again.

  • Posted Jul 9, 2011 12:47 pm GMT
  • Category: Games
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• 13Jan 10

  Natal

  It would seem that ever since the Wii was released, Sony and Microsoft have been hard at work trying to emulate the big N's success. Project Natal is Microsofts answet to this, but can it really be the next big thing? This author thinks not.

  With the Wii, players are able to immerse themselves into a game more than was possible before, due to the motion sensors in the Wii remote and Nunchuck. This works out well because on top of that, there are buttons to press which makes the hardcore user feel right at home here. But with Natal, things don't work quite like that. The entire Natal concept is hand and body gestures which woulde be quite a bit different than the Xbox user is accustomed to.

  Microsoft consistently says that the hardcore gamer will not be forgotten when Natal is released but I'm not so sure about this. When playing a fighting game, would anyone really want to stand up, punch, kick, block, etc? I know I wouldn't, not all the time atleast. And what about people with tiny living areas? Punching and kicking would result in breaking everything in the house. What about shooting games? Project Natal would overly complicate things and people that were once into console shooters wont be too fond of this change.

  With Nintendo's big success, every company agrees that gamers want motion controls, but this isn't true at all. The only games that have ever benefited from motion have been games that compliment the control scheme with simple, easy gestures. Ex. Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3.

  Fully taking out the controller doesnt seem to be a good idea, which is why Nintendo smartly made the choice to add motion to the already established controller.

  I'm a big fan of Microsoft and I loved the original Xbox and most of what the Xbox360 has to offer but I'm worried that Natal is going to end up being one of their biggest mistakes. It would no doubt be cool to surf the Xbox menu with your hands and I'm sure that Natal will have a few great games, but I don't think it will last in the long run. More importantly, I don't WANT it to last in the long run. I like the way games are and how they've been for over 20 years. A controller in your hand. The EyeToy didn't make it and even though Natal is a more advanced version of it, I hope it goes the same way.

  What do you think?

  • Posted Jan 13, 2010 5:21 pm GMT
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• 2Dec 09

  The Wii after three years.

  The Wii has been around for a little over three years now, so the momentum has gone down tremendously. Everyone I know owns one and loves it, including myself. There has always been alot of hate for the little white box from the gaming community, but now days I really feel it's not justified.

  First off, lets take a look at some of the best games on the system.

  1. Mario Galaxy - This game is easily one of the best platformers ever made and takes the number one spot on my list for the best game on the Wii.

  2. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - This was the first big game on the Wii and it just so happens to be one of the most incredible.

  3. No More Heroes - One of the best third party titles on the market. Great story, gameplay, etc. It has it all, and it's for a more mature audience.

  4. The Conduit - It's not easy to make a game on the Wii and have it compare to a 360 title, but High Voltage studios did just that.

  5. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex Edition - Yes, it's late to the party but this is just a flat out great Wii game.

  There are a ton of other great games from Nintendo and third party developers including: New Super Mario Bros Wii, Mario Kart Wii, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Metroid Prime Trilogy, Wii Sports Resort, De Blob, A boy and his Blob, Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles/Darkside Chronicles, Resident Evil 4, Mad World, Deadly Creatures, Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 and so on.

  So the complaint that there are no good games on the Wii has pretty much been laid to rest.

  So now, lets look at what the Wii has done with it's online component.

  The Virtual Console is just flat out great. There are a ton of old school games from the NES to the N64 and downloading them doesn't even hurt your wallet. You could go with roms, but nothing beats playing a game on a TV with a controller with these old classics.

  Wii Ware also has it's share of great games, and there are plenty of new releases each week. I wasn't looking forward to the Wii Ware option at all, but there have been some really good developers over the past few months that have come out with alot of great games for the system.

  Also, the Wii's internet channel is one of the best internet browsers on a console. It's fast, easy and doesn't feel clumsy. The Wii remote really works well here.

  There are a vast amount of games that deliver some great online play too.

  Among those are these titles: Mario Kart Wii, The Conduit, Medal of Honor: Heroes 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex, Animal Crossing: City Folk, Excite Bots, and more.

  Unfortunatly, for the most part, the online experience when playing against random people on Super Smash Bros Brawl just doesn't work. If this was to be fixed, it would probably make it the most played online Wii game.

  Also, Wii Speak has been introduced and used by some developers to give players the option of speaking to other Wii gamers in multiplayer games or through an online channel.

  As you can see, there are a ton of great games on the Wii offline and online plus a bunch of downloadable games that are worth your time and money. But whats in store for us in the future? Well, here is a little list of things to be excited for in the coming years.

  Some new games coming out soon are: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers, Epic Mickey, Zelda: Wii(WIP), Super Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid: Other M, Monster Hunter Three, No More Heroes 2, Red Steel 2, The Gridner and there are sure to be many more. I may have even left some out.

  Plus, Nintendo still hasn't updated some of it's biggest games yet such as Star Fox, Kirby, Pikmin, Earthbound, Kid Icarus and so on. These are sure to be AAA titles.

  Also, Nintendo has made plans to let users directly watch movies from their Wii in the form of a new channel. This should be released next year sometime.

  Overall, in the three years the Wii has been out, the game library has increased in quality, online play has been added to some major titles, the virtual console and Wii ware are flat out great and new games are coming out all the time.

  The only flaw I have with the system is the vast amount of shovelware on the system. Too many developers are trying to make a quick buck off the Wii so for casual gamers, it's hard to find a good game on the system sometimes. But thee more times goes, the more the library of games increases with some truely great games.

  2010 already appears to be a great year for gaming and there are sure to be alot more suprises coming our way. The Wii will live on for years.

  • Posted Dec 2, 2009 12:00 am GMT
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