A Gamer's Mind

So as we all know I’ve gotta post at least once every three months… why? Cause that’s when I outline some of the games coming out that people might actually be interested in.

So… for the first quarter of 2010, with a bit of help from GameFAQs:

(Note that this is for North America only)

Nintendo Wii

Jan. 26th: No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
Jan. 26th: Tatsunoku vs. Capcom
Mar. 23rd: Sakura Wars: So Long My Love

Xbox 360

Jan. 5th: Bayonetta
Jan. 6th: Mass Effect 2
Feb. 9th: Bioshock 2
Feb. 9th: Dante’s Inferno
Feb. 23rd: Lost Planet 2
Mar. 2nd: Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Mar. 9th: Final Fantasy XIII

Playstation 3

Jan. 5th: Bayonetta
Feb. 2nd: Gran Tourismo 5
Feb. 9th: Bioshock 2
Feb. 9th: Dante’s Inferno
Feb. 23rd: Lost Planet 2
Mar. 2nd: Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Mar. 9th: Final Fantasy XIII

Nintendo DS

Feb. 16th: Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth
Mar. 17th: Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver

Playstation Portable

Feb. 9th: Dante’s inferno

PC

Jan. 26th: Mass Effect 2
Feb. 2nd: The Sims 3: High End Loft Stuff
Feb. 9th: Bioshock 2
Mar. 2nd: Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Mar. 16th: Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight

I can remember when I first got a DS. It had already been out for about a year and a half and it just so happened that the first New Super Mario Bros. was on its way, promising an experience that mixes Mario’s new moves in an old 2D-style game.  Nevertheless I got it when I had the chance and loved every minute I spent with it. Being an 80’s kid that logged countless hours playing Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3, the game brought back many nostalgic moments from the plumber’s 8-bit glory days.

Despite this, I didn’t know what to think when Nintendo showcased New Super Mario Bros. Wii at this year’s E3 press conference. It could have been the fact that they spent all the time on boasting about 4-player simultaneous half co-op, half competitive multiplayer, but it really took me a while for this one to settle in… In fact, it was only yesterday that I actually was sold on the game by demoing it in single-player. (I’m really the only gamer in the household so it’s really hard to be sold on a game that only offers local multiplayer.) A couple of trade-ins later and I find myself headed home with the game’s bright-red box in hand, ready for yet another classic Mario experience.

Game Overview:
The actual storyline of course is just a shadow to the same old thing. Bowser comes, kidnaps Peach, starts terrorizing the Mushroom Kingdom, yadda yadda yadda… Nothing new there.  Okay, so now that we’re past that… New Super Mario Bros. Wii follows in the footsteps of its DS predecessor by offering a modern Mario game in a classic 2D environment. It’s the type of game that will no likely please just about everyone in one way or another… There’s really just no way I can describe this in greater detail.

How does it play?
With the exception of the mega mushroom, all of Mario’s moves from NSMB can be done here. The controls, assuming you’re using just the remote, (which if you’re like me is the only way to play a game like this) have been simplified down to something reminiscent of an NES game, with a few extra things that require you to shake or tilt the remote, such as spin-jumping or tilting a special kind of platform.  The game takes a lot out of Super Mario Bros. 3 in a way.  The game features the return of airship-style stages, replaces the SMW-style “reserve item” system from the first game with an inventory system similar to 3’s, and even brings back the Koopalings from a long leave-of-absence.  Yoshi also makes an appearance and controls much like he did in his debut nearly 19 years ago complete with gobbling berries, stomping out most enemies in 1 hit, and jumping off his back. (Many times causing him to make noble sacrifices so that Mario can complete his quest.)

Progression is similar to that as in the DS version; Worlds are set out into branching paths and each world contains a castle at the end and 1 or 2 towers along the way. Ghost houses, mushroom houses, warp cannons, and now even enemies that wander the map make a return in NSMBWii. Mario must jump, stomp, and slide his way through to the ever-so-classic flagpole at the end of each level, which obviously opens the way to the next level. He does have the help of a few new powerups along the way; The ice flower works much like the fire flower except that Mario can freeze enemies. This allows him to pick a frozen enemy up and toss it like a koopa shell. The propeller hat allows Mario to fly straight up with a shake of the remote, then slowly float back down. Penguin mario negates the effects of ice and also enhances his sliding ability.

Unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity to try multiplayer yet, though I’m confident that one day I’ll be able to give it a spin… I just need people that I can actually play it with.

Pros:

Cons:

• Stale story. Seriously… I don’t know how many ways you can conjure up a story that has the same result… Princess gets kidnapped, plumber sets off to save her.

Do I Like It?
It’s… Mario, and it’s a Mario that just about everyone can relate to.  The presentation is a nice mix of old and new and controls with a similar style to that of the older Mario games. As I said before, I wasn’t sure how much I was going to like this game until I was able to try it out for myself, and once I did it was golden. This game is a must-buy.

Who should buy it?
Everyone that has a Wii. I’m not saying this as a fanboy, or a Nintendork, or an old-school gamer. There is something that will please just about everyone in this game unless you absolutely hate platformers… Or old-school games. (I have yet to be given a valid reason as to why someone should hate an old-school game, though.) People who grew up with an NES will like it for its single-player gameplay, and maybe the young ones will like the multiplayer aspects.

First Impression: Very Good. At this point I don’t think Nintendo could have done better… aside from the story.

So, it’s been a bit of an uneventful third quarter at AGM.  It appears I have come down with severe cases of writer’s block, laziness, and just plain procrastination all at once.

But, without further ado, here are some of the games you can expect between now and the end of the year:

(Note: The following list is only for North America)

Xbox 360
Oct 13th: Brutal Legend
Oct 27th: DJ Hero
Oct 27th: Forza Motorsport 3
Oct 27th: Tekken 6
Oct 29th: GTA4: The Ballad of Gay Tony

Nov 3rd: Band Hero
Nov 10th: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Nov 17th: Assassin’s Creed II
Nov 17th: Left 4 Dead 2

Dec 22nd: Guitar Hero: Van Halen

Playstation 3
Sept 29th: Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2

Oct 13th: Brutal Legend
Oct 20th: Ratchet & Clank: A Crack In Time
Oct 27th: DJ Hero
Oct 27th: Tekken 6

Nov 3rd: Band Hero
Nov 3rd: Lego Rock Band
Nov 10th: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Nov 17th: Assassins Creed II

Dec 22nd: Guitar Hero: Van Halen

Wii
Sept 29th: Dead Space Extraction

Oct 4th: Wii Fit Plus
Oct 6th: Spore Hero
Oct 13th: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
Oct 27th: DJ Hero

Nov 3rd: Band Hero
Nov 3rd: Lego Rock Band
Nov 3rd: Rabbids Go Home
Nov 3rd: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
Nov 10th: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex
Nov 15th: New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Nov 27th: Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles

Dec 22nd: Guitar Hero: Van Halen
Dec 26th: Final Fantasy Chrystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers

(I also believe that Tatsunoku vs. Capcom is supposed to fit in somewhere here, unless I missed something.)

Nintendo DS
Sept 29th: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Oct 6th: Spore Hero Arena
Oct 12th:  Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky
Oct 13th: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games

Nov 3rd: Lego Rock Band
Nov 10th: Band Hero
Nov 10th: Call of Duty Modern Warfare: Mobilized

Dec 7th: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

PSP
Oct 1st: PSPGo [Hardware]
Oct 1st: Gran Tourismo
Oct 1st: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona
Oct 13th: Half Minute Hero
Oct 20th: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Nov 17th: Little Big Planet

(And yes, that’s it for now.)

PC
Oct 13th: Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga
Oct 22nd: Windows 7 [Operating System]

Nov 10th: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Nov 17th: Left 4 Dead 2

So, it’s been a while since I’ve written anything new. I’d write a first impressions on Dissidia right now as well but I’m a bit… “preoccupied” let’s say. So, without further ado, let’s talk about my lack of gaming skill in fighting games, using Dissidia: Final Fantasy as an example:

Yes, this is real footage of me playing Dissidia. I haven’t played it much since Zidane is only level 1 here (I recorded this for a friend, actually) but you can see just how I fail so far.

I like fighting games more nowadays, but I’m always shy around them. I’m a fairly average gamer in skill as it is, but it’s fighting games especially that I don’t do well in. All the unique button combinations and techniques were always difficult to grasp. After constant beatdowns at the hands of my friends in Street Fighter II I thought I’d never bother with it again… until many years later (around 5 or so years ago) when I borrowed my friend’s copy of Soul Calibur II. I think I held onto it for months until I finally got my own copy of the game and gave it back to him, but still… Although I got quite decent playing, I’m still stuck in the realm of fighting mediocrity.

Continue reading I fail at Dissidia… and just fighting games in general.

In case you didn’t catch it on AGM’s twitter feed, a proposition came up that I have decided to take.

Select posts from A Gamer’s Mind will now be featured on the Xanga-run blog Hardest Level. What I’m saying by this is that editors from Hardest Level will scan this blog, maybe select 2-3 posts a week, and syndicate them on the front page with a link back here.  This in turn provides for more exposure for the blog in general, beyond the occasional pingback/trackback that we might get.  That, and the posts are being syndicated on a community that gets quite a bit of traffic.

This in turn means you might see me get a bit more creative and try to keep the blog to its goal of portraying the gaming culture.  I have a lot of spare time on my hands these days, so it’s time to hop to it!

The last time I decided I was going to randomly talk about gaming stuff, I was talking about the DSi, how I pwned my computer, the sheer amount of games that were being added to my collection, and a possible deep connection between an evil defense attorney whose name isn’t Jack Thompson, and an anime angel loli.  It couldn’t get any weirder, could it?

Continue reading Random Ramblings: Vista… Oh that Vista…

If it’s one thing that many older gamer remembers, it’s the little stores back in the days that sold video games, allowed you to trade them in, and whatnot.  Even in today’s age where game retail seems to be dominated by GameStop/EB Games, these small stores still exist.  One said store is GameDeals, a little second hand store in New Westminster (suburban Vancouver) situated within walking distance from Columbia Station along the Expo line.

Continue reading GameDeals Video Games – The Independent Game Retailer Still Lives

It seems that Sony keeps on thinking of ways to show just how much they fail.

When they’re not launching their newest systems to lackluster launches, they’re relaunching them with features that nobody cares about. When they deny a rumor, they come back and reveal that it’s true by the end of the week.

…And when SCEA finally started selling Playstation Network prepaid cards in Canadian retailers, the cards were bogus.

In a goof-up of epic proportions, Sony mixed up their initial shipments of PSN prepaid cards, except those going to EB Games. I have no idea how or why this would make a difference since all retailers technically use the same system, but apparently certain cards only work at certain retailers, and the cards that apparently were supposed to go to Rogers Plus stores ended up at 7-11 and Best Buy/Future Shop.  However, the cards were stocked anyway and as a result, cards purchased from anywhere in Canada except EB Games, although recognized by the Playstation Store as activated, are giving a “The funds could not be added to your wallet” error due to them not being activated properly.

Fortunately, both Sony and the retailers are starting to catch onto this critical error. Over on the Official PlayStation Forums, people affected by the problem are reporting that both parties are cooperating. Sony is asking for proof of purchase to be faxed to them, and others have reported that they had gone back to Best Buy, explained what was going on, and were actually able to get a refund. (Yes, a refund on a non-refundable product) Those same people have also said that the managers have had the bogus cards pulled off the shelves.

Sony has not released an official statement regarding the issue, and there is no word that they will.  I advise my fellow Canadians looking to buy a PSN card to do so from EB games, as the are the only ones that seem to be working. If you have already bought a card from 7-11, Best Buy, or Future Shop that does not work, you can call SCEA Consumer Support at 1-800-345-7669.

UPDATED: SCEA has been manually adding the balance to peoples’ accounts for those that have bought a non-working Playstation Network card. Here’s what you have to do:

1. Call the support line as noted. Give them your PSN ID, the card’s code, and where you bought it. They’ll give you a service request number and a number to fax copies of your card and receipt to.
2. Scan the your receipt and both sides of the card, print them out, write “Attn: Tech Team” along with your service request number, name, phone number, PSN ID and associated ID on the printout.  Fax all of this to the number that they give you. (If you don’t have a fax machine at home, you can go to a UPS store or other courier and it’ll only cost you around two bucks.
3. They will call you back in a day or two to let you know that they’ve added the balance to your account, given that everything checks out correctly.

Update 2: I had faxed them a copy of my bogus card and receipt and they manually added the $20 to my account. That’s quite a relief.

Gimme a couple more weeks and I’ll be back on it. My E3 “coverage” ended kind of abrupt when I went all fanboy over Golden Sun DS.

Anyway, it’s that time again. Let’s take a look at what to expect from the gaming industry in the next quarter:

Again, help is always appreciated identify worthy games-to-come

NORTH AMERICA

Xbox 360:
July 1st: King of Fighters 98: Ultimate Match
July 20th: King of Fighters XII
July 22nd: TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-shelled
July 28th: Gears of War 2: All Fronts Collection
Possibly near the end of July: Marvel vs. Capcom 2
August 14th: Madden NFL 10
August 25th: Batman: Arkham Asylum
September 1st: Guitar Hero 5
September 8th: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, NHL 10
September 9th: The Beatles: Rock Band
September 22nd: Halo 3 ODST

Playstation 3:
July 20th: King of Fighters XII
August 14th: Madden NFL 10
August 25th: Batman: Arkham Asylum
September 1st: Guitar Hero 5
September 8th: NHL 10, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
September 9th: The Beatles: Rock Band
September 22nd: Need for Speed Shift, Katamari Forever

Wii:
July 7th: Tales of Monkey Island
July 26th: Wii Sports Resort
August 14th: Madden NFL 10
August 24th: Metroid Prime Trilogy
September 1st: Guitar Hero 5
September 9th: The Beatles: Rock Band
September 15th: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, NHL 2K10
September 29th: Dead Space Extraction

Nintendo DS:
Today: Megaman Starforce 3: Black Ace/Red Joker
August 24th: Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
Sometime in July/August: Flipnote Studio (DSiWare)
September 1st: Duke Nukem Trilogy: Critical Mass
September 15th: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, Scribblenauts
September 29th: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Playstation Portable:
August 25th: Dissidia: Final Fantasy
September 1st: Duke Nukem Trilogy: Critical Mass, Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny
September 8th: Disgaea: Dark Hero Days
September 15th: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
September 22nd: SMT: Persona, Need for Speed Shift
October 1st: PSP Go

PC:
Today: GTA PC Trilogy
July 1st: Street Fighter IV (Fight pad bundle on the 7th)
July 7th: Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 1
August 25th: Batman: Arkham Asylum
September 27th: Need for Speed Shift

EUROPE:

Xbox 360:
August 28th: Batman: Arkham Asylum
September 9th: The Beatles: Rock Band
September 17th: Need for Speed Shift
September 22nd: Halo 3 ODST
September 24th: Metal Gear Solid Rising
September 25th: Dead Rising 2, Tekken 6

Playstation 3:
August 28th: Batman: Arkham Asylum
September 9th: The Beatles: Rock Band
September 18th: Need for Speed Shift
September 25th: Dead Rising 2, Gran Tourismo 5

Wii:
July 10th: The Conduit
July 24th: Wii Sports Resort
September 9th: The Beatles: Rock Band
September 25th: Red Steel 2 (Remember for this that WMP is MANDATORY for this game.)

Nintendo DS:
September 25th: Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box
This is seriously the only thing coming out on the DS in Europe in the next three months that actually looks good.

Playstation Portable:
September 11th: Dissidia: Final Fantasy
September 18th: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
September 25th: Gran Tourismo PSP
October 2nd: PSP Go

PC:
July 3rd: Street Fighter IV, World of Goo
August 28th: Batman: Arkham Asylum
September 18th: Need for Speed Shift

JAPAN:

Xbox 360:
July 30th: Gears of War 2 (Wow… this late?)
September 24th: Halo 3 ODST
Most of the good Japanese stuff are just existing games being relaunched as platinum titles.

Playstation 3:
September 17th: Tales of Vesperia
Once again, most of the good stuff is just be relaunched as greatest hits titles.

Wii:
July 23rd: Punch-Out!!
August 1st: Monster Hunter 3
August 6th: EA Sports Active
September 17th: House of the Dead: Overkill

Nintendo DS:
July 11th: Dragon Quest IX: Hoshizora no Mamoribito
August 6th: Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (You mean they actually went through with localizing that piece of shit?)
September 12th: Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver

Playstation Portable:
July 2nd: Hatsune Miku: Project Diva (Yes, I know…)
July 16th: Ys I & II
August 6th: Tales of VS. (a.k.a. the date that Namco Bandai says they have no intention of localizing the game anywhere outside Japan, as usual.)

PC:
July 2nd: Street Fighter IV
There’s also a crapton of other PC games that I don’t think I could care about on this side of the Pacific, although with my understanding of Japanese I have to laugh because a lot of them seem to be part of the “Eroge Text Adventure” genre.

That rounds out the games to watch for this quarter, and hopefully Arkham Asylum won’t end up in my Q4 post three months from now. This is only a warmup for what’s to come, though.  Come the fourth quarter, everything’s gonna be jam packed!

It was a short conference, but Nintendo definitely learned from its lesson after last year’s weak showing. This year, they pulled out all the stops and announced something for just about everyone this year, and it’ll have hardcore gamers dusting off their Wiis in anticipation.

Nintendo’s press conference was pretty much rattling off game after game after game, a lot of which the core gamer will enjoy.  There’s a full list of what they announced after the jump, but be warned, it’s LONG.

Continue reading E3 2009: Nintendo Press Conference – HOOOOOOOOOOOOLY CRAP