Happy Birthday to me!

I tried to mix things up a little this batch of games...

The xbox version of Morrowind has become super expensive so I had to go with the pc one.  I know that most people would probably call me insane for wanting FF XIV, but I really like XI and I wanted to at least try it out a little while there were still people playing it.  I believe I bought the European version though so we'll see if it works on my computer.  Have already played Kid Icarus a bit and it's awesome.  ...and when I walked into Gamestop to pick up KI, War in the North was staring me in the face with it's newly dropped price of $20 new.  Figured it would be a good one for some online co-op with the brother(s).

Life without Master Chief

Anyone who’s been perusing the big game sites the past month is sure to have come across stories concerning the next xbox and how there is going to be some type ban on used games, probably involving codes packed in with the games in the same manner as pc games currently use.  At first I blew this off as not something that any sensible company would do, however, the internet exploded with anti-microsoft rants and not a single MS exec has come out to say that these rumors are false.  So at this point I’m going to assume that they are, in fact true. 

I’m not sure if it’s just because I’m old, but I still enjoy going to a store, looking through thousands of options, trying to find a jem or two, and talking trash with the employees.  Does that make me old?  My children seem to enjoy coming along with me on these trips but they’re pretty young.  Would the teenagers/twenty-somethings rather just download games from their couch than deal with the old store?  I can’t image this to be the case, but maybe I’m wrong, and if I am, gamestop will soon be a thing of the past.

In any event, we’ll soon see.  If the rumors are true then it will be interesting to see how many people continue to support Microsoft.  It seems to me that they are getting a bit too cocky and ignoring the core group that supported them, a lot like sony seemed to be before the PS3 launch.  My hope is that MS is the only one of the “big three” that take this approach, and that they fail because of it.  I know that if my options are a xbox 3 that bans used games and a playsation 4 that continues to support them, then I will be buying a PS4. 

Life will be tough without Master Chief, but I’ll have to learn to deal…

Review: Super Mario 3D Land

 Since this is the first review I'm posting on the new site, I wanted to cover a few points before I begin.  In general, I'm not writing reviews of a critical nature.  There will be some exceptions, however I'm only going to review games that I've actually completed, and unlike your industry sites around the web, I'm only going to be playing games that are good.  So no scores or anything like that, just my thoughts about the games I play that will hopefully be some conversation starters once I actually manage to get some followers.  Also, I rarely buy full price, new games, so expect some classics from the previous year and some oldies but goodies.  All that said, here we go...

Super Mario 3D Land, the reason for owning a 3DS.  What can be said about this title that hasn't been stated a million times over?  A Metascore of 90 on metacritic now that everyone has had a chance to weigh in. 

As usual, Mario destroys the competition.  The plumbers have their usual style and personality, and of course are once again tasked with saving Peach from Bowser, a surprise to no one I'm sure.  Only this time around Mario does something else as well, he makes 3D worth it.  The other games that I've played on my 3DS fail to impress me with their 3D visuals.  Once the wow factor is gone over the fact that the glasses-free 3D looks good, I have yet to play any other titles that I actually like the 3D effect enough to leave it turned on after my first session.  Mario is the rule breaker, not only does the 3D look great, but it actually effects the gameplay as well.  The effects range from kind of cool level design where areas in the "back" are not reveled until you look at them from the right angle, to totally "wow" moments when Mario is dropping/falling hundreds of feet in well designed gigantic outside levels.

The game does deserve some criticism.  I would compare this game more with the recent "New" Super Mario games, rather than the 3D adventure games, most recently the "Galaxy" games.  As a follow up to New Super Mario Bros Wii, the actual gameplay here does take some steps back.  Considering the wifi connectivity of the 3DS, why is there no multi-player?  And a few more playable characters would nice.  Where's Yoshi?  In 1986 Mario games had multiple playable characters that played with different styles.  It seems as though it should be a requirement in 2011. 

These gripes are minor however, considering two main points...
1)  This game DEFINES what a platformer should be using 3D, or at the very least, on the 3DS.  It makes the decision of making the new DS 3D worthwhile.  In this respect it's heads above every other title on the platform, and will be looked at as the example of how this is done right on every game made from this point forward.
 2)  The only competition that compares to this game is previous Mario games.  We also recently got Sonic Generations around the house, which is a good game and was well received critically, however it has a total of about ten levels, with different goals to accomplish on the same levels to help out with replay.  Compared with Mario's 100+ consistently well designed levels it's a joke.  Rayman Origins would be a close second, but just doesn't have the perfect feel and control that Mario has nailed.

It's not perfect, but this is one great game, and is a good reason to get yourself a 3DS.

The Evolution

Over the past few years I have made several different attempts at talking trash over the internet with people about videogames.  I've tried all the major sites and their communities/message boards, my own website, and of course facebook.  I've had a tough time striking the correct balance of trying to have real discussions with adults about videogames while not boring the 99% of friends and family that I socialize with on the internet.  So here is the next attempt.  I'm moving videogames off my personal website altogether and putting my thoughts on a public blog so that other nerds out there with similar interests may be able to find me.

Here we go, from my head to the internet.  The tragic thoughts of a thirty-something family man who is still obsessed with videogames.  Enjoy!