Game Fails of 2011

I was just tweeted this video of Rooster Teeth “Game Fails of 2011” and I was laughing through it all, there are some hilarious clips due to bugs, glitches or just dumb gamer moments.

The 2011 Gift Guide for Gamers

Not sure what gift to get? Well, since Christmas is around the corner here is a guide  of games that I think are exceptional, some of the best games released in 2011 and should be in (nearly) everyone’s library of video  games.

Of course this list is based off of my opinions and if the receiver does not like/appreciate the gift, I can’t be held liable!

If you happen to live in Kuwait, click on the console name next to the game you want and you’ll be sent to a great online gaming store called Digumz.com, so shopping is made even easier. If you live elsewhere, Amazon is your best bet!

Platformers

• Rayman Origins (Wii/Xbox 360/PS3)
• Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
• Kirby’s Return to Dreamland (Wii)
• Sonic Generations (Xbox 360/PS3/3DS)
• Portal 2 (Xbox 360/PS3)

Role-Playing Games

• Skyrim (Xbox 360/PS3)
• Dark Souls (Xbox 360/PS3)
• Mass Effect 2 (PS3)
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Xbox 360/PS3)

Note:I know Mass Effect 2 has been out for quite a while on Xbox 360, but it was just released this year on PS3.

Racers

• Forza 4 (Xbox 360)
• Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
• MotorStorm Apocalypse (PS3)

Shooters

• Battlefield 3 (Xbox 360/PS3)
• Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (Xbox 360)
• RAGE (Xbox 360/PS3)
• Resistance 3 (PS3)

Action/Adventure

• Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception (PS3)
• Batman: Arkham City (Xbox 360/PS3)
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (3DS)
• Cave Story 3D (3DS)
• Shadows of the Damned (Xbox 360/PS3)
• Assassins Creed: Revelations (Xbox 360/PS3)

*Updated list to add Assassins Creed: Revelations.

What was Mario’s original name?

It’s-A-Me Super Guido!

I was watching Pawn Stars and this gem showed up, thought it was pretty amusing, especially choice B Guido. What I particularly like about this show is that throughout a specific segment they’ll reveal tidbits of information about the item that is being negotiated and even though I knew everything they revealed about Super Mario it was still pretty cool.

The answer is A.

Feel like you’re part of Skyrim with this [Headgear]!

My brother linked me to this website which was originally called the Dragonborn Helmet but has since been renamed to the Viking Helmet but we all know what this mask is suppose to look like:

Having this mask on as you play Skyrim will definitely make you feel as though you’re actually exploring part of Tamriel yourself, who needs motion controls & HD graphics for extra immersion when you can have this?

You can go over to TheVikingHelmet.com to order it for $39.00!

Quick Thoughts: Skyrim, TLoZ: Skyward Sword, Cave Story 3D

THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM

Time spent playing – 62 hours

I knew Skyrim was going to be an improvement over Oblivion, but I didn’t realize it was going to be such an impressive jump. Visually speaking the game is breath taking, the environments are beautiful to the point that I just enjoy looking around and forget what quest I’m on. I’ve only done 5 main storyline quests and I can already tell it’s a huge improvement over Oblivions, there’s no comparison. I also think the Thieves Guild missions are an improvement, but I think the Dark Brotherhood took a step back, I’m going to hold on my final judgement of that quest line until I’m done with it. The fighting mechanics are improved, but not extensively, sometimes I’ll be attacking an enemy and doing damage, but it doesn’t really feel like I’m hitting anything at all, but I’m usually so immersed into the game that it’s not a major gripe for me. I also like the new changes made to your characters stats, its simplified, but the perks add some depth to the system. I particularly like the Smithing skill, it’s quite useful, extends your usage of armor or aweapon you like by being able to upgrade its stats by finding the right materials. Fighting dragons is hit or miss, just because some dragons are too easy to kill, but I have noticed a gradual increase in difficulty, then again, I have a harder time killing a snow bear. I love the music it just adds to the epic feel of the entire game and I also love some of the choices you have to end up making in the game because they’re not black and white options, this is especially true for the Civil War quests between the Imperials and the Stormcloaks. All in all I can see myself playing this game for a long, long time.

Two games in the same franchise, released on the same consoles (Oblivion 2006, Skyrim 2011), what a massive leap for Skyrim and what a difference five years can make.

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: SKYWARD SWORD

Time spent playing – 8 hours

Where to start with this game? Visually speaking the game is really nice to look at, the art style is superb and pretty timeless, in the same sense that if you look at Wind Waker today it doesn’t look visually out-dated. The controls are spot on, it’s quite amazing what an improvement the Wii-Motion Plus is over the regular Wii motion sensor, I haven’t had any issues where I needed to recalibrate my Wiimote. The sword fighting is a lot of fun with these controls, wildly swinging your Wiimote wont work with the majority of enemies you fight and I find that killing normal enemies has a more strategic approach compared to past Zelda titles. The music in the game is beautiful to listen to, it’s hard to believe that this is the first Zelda game to include a fully orchestrated soundtrack because it works so brilliantly in-game. Everything in Skyward Sword works well, it’s as perfect as a game can get (so far), my only real complaint is that the side-quests seem slightly bland compared to the main quest and that they mainly seem to be “fetch” quests, they’re still enjoyable, but I can’t help but feel they could have been better. I’m really enjoying my time with this game and I get this feeling of dread knowing that this game will eventually come to an end.

This video was posted after Gamespots inaccurate review came out, exposing the reviewers lack of understanding of the controls.

CAVE STORY 3D

Time spent playing – 2 hours

I previously wrote about Cave Story and Daisuke Amaya’s success with the game and ever since I heard that a 3DS version was in the works I’ve been patiently waiting for it to be released and I’m extremely pleased with what I’ve played so far. The game reminds me a lot of Super Metroid, from the way the environment is laid out to the hectic movement of your enemies to the massive bosses. This is a great thing, because I consider Super Metroid to be one of the greatest games ever made and there hasn’t been anything like it since, the only game that comes close is Konami’s Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. I really like that the game offers you choices are you’re playing that branches out the story, but you don’t really know you’re making a choice until after you’ve made it, which adds a lot of replay value. The music for the 3DS version was reworked by Danny Baranowsky, who previously worked on the indie-smash hit Super Meat Boy and the music is another positive aspect of the game. The 3D effect is subtle and gives a lot of depth to the environments you’re in, which looks really nice and if you don’t like the new polygon look of the characters you can switch to their original pixelated look, which I think is a nice feature and they look great in the new environments. There is a slightly superficial problem with this game, it doesn’t seem to translate well into screenshots or videos, the game looks much better compared to what I’ve seen online. All in all, this is a perfect game for a portable console like the 3DS.

The Super Mario indie flick & Shigsy’s Birthday!

Today is Shigeru Miyamoto’s 59th birthday and I was trying to figure out what to post to celebrate one of the most influential video game designers of our time. Then I found this:

Probably one of the coolest “fake” movie trailer I have seen, a Super Mario indie flick. It’s funny, dramatic and pretty intense.

Happy Birthday Shigsy!

Robin Williams, The Legend of Zelda Spokesperson?

When Ocarina of Time was about to be released, I posted an advertisement Nintendo put out featuring Robin Williams and his daughter Zelda, since then Robin Williams has been featured in a few more Zelda related ads, this one being the most recent:

The Game that Kills You (with fun): Dark Souls

Prepare to Die

This is what it says in a haunting typeface on the back of the Dark Souls’ case. While many developers choose to imprint encouraging words of solace on the back of the box, From Software decides to boldly state the worst thing you could think of, possibly stave off potential gamers, or, on the other hand, pique the curiosity of one.

But that’s Dark Souls – it does things the hard way, the incredibly difficult way. Before getting into the game there is a fact you have to face and come to terms with; you will die countless times playing this game no matter how skilled of a gamer you are. There is no avoiding it.

That being said, you might want to ask yourself:

why should I play this?

And the reasons are simple. It’s fun and satisfying. Yes, it may be difficult, it may be frustrating, but once you finally clear an area and once you finally beat a boss that has killed you, three, four, eight times, you will feel like you have actually achieved something. It’s a feeling that most modern games lack. The fighting mechanics add a great deal to the game: button mashers will be punished, a person with a more patient, strategic approach will be rewarded. If the fighting mechanics were off in some way, this game would probably be boring and broken, but they’re not and they’re easy to get a hang of.

There are a few things that add quite a bit of depth to the game. First off, when you start a new game you can choose from multiple classes that you would typically find in a role playing game, giving you multiple ways to go about playing the game. Weaponry also adds a great deal of depth to fights – there are countless of different weapons that attack differently and have different effects, you don’t want to be swinging that great sword in that narrow corridor, your enemies will take advantage of that. The game instills this feeling of anxiousness as you play, especially when you don’t know what the next room or open space holds. I remember exploring a very beautiful, serene forest only to come upon a giant piece of armor on the forest floor. I went to get a closer look, thinking it was a relic of the past only for it to come to life and I came face to face with an iron giant that demolished me with its giant sword.

The world of Dark Souls is gorgeous. One of the first areas you can explore is this cavern that holds a massive lake. It’s a very tranquil but haunting area. You’ll come across some very breath-taking scenery as you fight your way through the game. I fought my way through a castle filled with the undead before reaching a spectacular view of a valley with the sun shining through some dark clouds, but even underneath that glorious sun, I still felt uneasy, knowing there was bound to be a difficult fight coming up. Despite this, I wanted to push forward – to explore the world some more and to discover what lay ahead.

The game will give you little to go by. Tutorials are kept to a bare minimum, there are no directions on where to go or what order to do things in. Just hints – leaving you to explore the open world on your own. You can go anywhere you choose, but you’ll be punished for venturing into an area that you’re not prepared for. When you kill enemies, you collect Souls which is basically the currency and experience points that you can use to level up your skills or buy/upgrade your weaponry and armor. It’s not necessary to do so, but you can make things less challenging if you choose to grind as you play. It’s not necessarily a tedious, boring affair since fighting in this game is entertaining.

The game also features quite a unique and interesting online component. As soon as you start your Dark Souls adventure, you’ll be connected to everyone else who is playing the game. You’ll see messages left by other players, either warning you of danger, pointing out a secret treasure or even trying to trick you into thinking you’re safe. While you play the game you’ll see “phantoms” running around – these are actually players, going through the area you’re in. You’ll run across bloodstains on the ground that you can interact with and can view how the player who left the bloodstain died. You can also summon players if you need help, or choose to be summoned if you feel helpful. On the other hand, you can invade (or vice versa) another players world and kill them for their souls.

I believe one of the reasons I got attached to this game is because it reminds me of Castlevania. I would consider this a spiritual successor to the 2D Castlevania games – from exploring a magical world to the gigantic, epic boss fights. Dark Souls is a gripping intense experience that will have you come back for more. It will urge you to discover more about the world it’s set in, and you will feel a powerful urge to beat that boss. It’s a beautiful, haunting game that deserves the recognition it’s getting from the gaming community and should be a strong contender for Game of the Year.

Feast your eyes on this live-action Skyrim trailer

Live action trailers seem to accompany most major releases after becoming quite a popular feature with the Halo franchise. Now there is this (quite short) live action trailer for the upcoming release of Skyrim, it features a dragon (of course) and the Dragonborn, dragon hunter saving a town, or about to save one, the trailer ends when he confronts the dragon.

Exclusive editions, getting exclusively silly

We all love exclusive stuff when we buy our games, but it’s been getting slightly ridiculous lately, with some games coming out with more then one “special edition”. Just take a look at Assassins Creed: Revelations, seven editions and not one comes with all the features, not even the Ultimate Bundle or Ultimate Edition.

What’s the reasoning behind this? Greed? Indecision? Why take advantage of gamers and make it difficult for the fans of the game to get what they want? Have three editions at most and at least one that features everything. I’m a fan of Assassins Creed but after seeing this I might just buy it used.