Checkpoint: Resurgence Edition

The Game Awards have improved dramatically. So much so that I am considering watching more of it next year. I caught a very brief glimpse of it and I was impressed with presentation and production; it actually resembled a normal awards show. Congratulations to Geoff Keighley.

The two announcements that were of note to me SoulCalibur VI and Bayonetta 3. I hear SCVI is channeling the original Dreamcast release which is something that tickles my fancy. As far as Namco fighters are concerned, I have a stronger affinity towards this sword swinging fighter than the King of Iron Fist Tournament. Bayonetta 3 is coming out exclusively for the Nintendo Switch. It’s truly amazing to see Nintendo go out and just grab this former multiplatform character action game and treat it like one of their own.

I will undoubtedly pick up the third installment but what about the upcoming Switch re-releases? I very much enjoy the idea of having the entire trilogy on one platform – especially if they all run at a near faultless 60 FPS. If I end up picking up Bayonetta 1+2 again, this would be the third copy of Bayonetta 1 that I own and the second copy of 2. Who am I kidding? If Bayonetta 2 ends up being a superior version of the Wii U exclusive, I think I’ll just pull the trigger and pick both up.

Capcom is on the upswing with a handful of announcements that’s slowly restoring my faith in the company. They’re making Mega Man 11 and it doesn’t look like a pure nostalgia grab like the 9 and 10. It looks a bit weird at first glance but I am warming up to the chosen art style. They’re also re-releasing all the Mega Man X titles on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Switch. I love the idea of owning all the X games on the Switch. If it’s a quality port, I might just pick it up there.

The same can be said for the 30th Anniversary Collection of Street Fighter which includes arcade ports of 12 Street Fighter games excluding IV and V. I understand not including Street Fighter V but what about IV? I would even pay closer to $79.99 for a version with that game included.

And finally, Street Fighter V actually piqued my interest this past Sunday with the reveal of the third season’s cinematic opener. Sakura, Blanka, Cody, and Sagat make their return and Capcom looks to be injecting some serious effort into the single player portion of the game. I don’t know if I would go as far as to buy this game again but I’m happy to see Capcom still trying with it.

I am still marching towards full completion of Super Mario Odyssey. By and large, I am enjoying the hell out of Super Mario Odyssey; there’s a lot to love but I am losing steam collecting Moons. Huge swathes of the moons feel like tedious collectibles like feathers in Assassin’s Creed. But for every frivoulous Moon, there’s a charming or clever one that makes it worthwhile. I think I’m ready to write up my review of it.

I started Uncharted: The Lost Legacy last week and it’s a bit of an eye opener. Going from playing Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to playing Uncharted highlights some glaring communication issues with Naughty Dog’s otherwise excellent game. Uncharted (and games in general) speak their own languages and despite years of playing Uncharted, I still mess up and drop to my death on occasion. My girlfriend asked: “How do you know where to go?” and I had to explain the subtle cues and other signposts that a hyper detailed game like Uncharted uses to her. It takes time to learn and adjust to the way games like this communicate but once you do, games like this become a cake walk.

Checkpoint: Post E3 2011 Edition

checkpoint-post-e3-2011-edition

E3 2011 is over.

For me it was a nice E3 filled with pleasant titles and a steady year or so of gaming. Nintendo’s Wii U won’t be out until sometime in 2012 and with what they’ve shown, it’s a bit tough to get excited for it at the moment. Meanwhile,  the PlayStation Vita seems to be in its own little world. Much of it was exciting from the mindset of a $250 handheld, but I didn’t see anything that would compel me to pre-order one as of yet.

This E3 was about games and there were plenty of promising titles — many of which I pre-ordered via FutureShop’s awesome promotion:

  1. Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PC) – Aug. 23, 2011
  2. RAGE (PC) – Oct. 4, 2011
  3. Forza Motorsport 4 (360) – Oct. 11, 2011
  4. Battlefield 3 (PS3 & PC just in case) – Oct. 21, 2011
  5. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception – Nov. 1, 2011
  6. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (PS3) – Nov. 8, 2011
  7. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PC) – Nov. 11, 2011
  8. Mass Effect 3 (360) – March 6, 2012
  9. Ninja Gaiden 3 (PS3) – Q1 2012
  10. BioShock: Infinite (PC) – Q2 2012
  11. Halo 4 (360) – Q3/Q4 2012
  12. Far Cry 3 (360) – TBA 2012
  13. SoulCalibur V (PS3) – TBA 2012
  14. Diablo III (PC) – TBA – *
  15. Max Payne 3 (PC) – TBA – *

* – Not shown at E3, but part of the promotion

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SoulCalibur IV Character DLC Coming

posted in: Game News 0

Surprise! Darth Vader will be availble for the Xbox 360 version of SoulCalibur IV and Yoda will be made available for the PlayStation 3 version.

It’s not a cheap addition either. It will cost you, approximately, $5 for each character. That’s asking a lot for what could essentially be downloadable key to unlock on-disc content.

Super lame, Namco. Scamco.

The downloadable content is scheduled for October 23rd.

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