Video: Why so Serious Mark Hamill?

Here is the video I mentioned in my review for Batman: Arkham City.  I know it's not fully video game but it is still awesome nonetheless.  Enjoy!

Super Mario Marathon

Every year a group of gamers get together to play the major mario games.  The catch...they can only proceed to the next level when a certain amount of money is donated.  The money donated goes to Child's Play charity.  This is their fifth mario marathon.  It is fun to watch them play and they seem to be having fun with it.

So check them out at http://www.mariomarathon.com/ and donate.  It is a good cause.

Review: Batman: Arkham City (2011)

By Aaron N

Batman: Arkham City is the highly touted sequel to what many called the game-of-the-year, Batman: Arkham Asylum.  "Arkham Asylum" came off the heels of "The Dark Knight" which amazed movie-goers in the summer of 2008.  It allowed you to become the caped crusader like never before.  It's gameplay of sneaking around was both simplistic yet complex in nature.  "Arkham City" boasted new characters and a grand landscape that players hoped would surpass its predecessor.
Graphics
Batman: Arkham City's graphics were phenomenal.  One pet-peeve I have always had when it came to video games, and even movies for that matter, was the animation of lip movements.  They always seemed off to me.  But "Arkham City" perfected this.  Plus, I loved every character's updated look for the game.  Joker's decreasing health was displayed magnificently, and I still love how much detail is put into the game.  My favorite part was how Batman's cape and uniform became more tattered and worn out as time progressed.  I know this was in the first game, but that much detail needs to be mentioned again.
Story
"Arkham City" begins with the politician Bruce Wayne, yes he's running for office, being kidnapped by Hugo Strange and put into Arkham City.  Arkham City is a huge city that has been transformed into a prison in the heart of Gotham City.  Now why they thought this was a good idea is beyond me, but it happened and there's nothing we can do about it besides have Alfred ship us a Batsuit and suit up.  There are so many sidequests that I am only going to talk about the main story which is unfortunately, surprisingly quick.  As Batman you defeat Two-Face in a courtroom and have run-ins with Mr. Freeze, Clayface, and Ra's al Ghul among others, but there are two main storylines.  One is with Hugo Strange and his bid to control everything.  The other is a little bit more important and that is with the Joker.  Batman's nemesis is dying and he infects Bruce with his poisoned blood.  These two storylines co-mingle at times to give you a complex and at times confusing story.  It concludes with a shocking ending that gamers are still questioning its legitimacy.  Many die-hard Batfans and gamers alike will enjoy the story and will clamer for a sequel.
Gameplay
The gameplay was kept almost the same as "Arkham Asylum".  You must sneak around the landscape and take out bad guys.  Now each battle is different but that basically is it as fighting goes.  You can upgrade your armor and weaponry so hand-to-hand combat is more possible, but sneaking is the best way to go.  The gadgets are roughly the same, sans a few new ones.  They keep the puzzles entertaining but you can get the rhythm down pretty easily.  It is a formula that wasn't broken but I wish that it saw a few substantial upgrades.
Sound
This game begins and ends with Mark Hamill...that's it.  He is the greatest Joker on the planet.  He surpasses Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, and even Cesar Romero, the man is a legend.  Look him up on youtube if you can.  It is a treat to watch him perform his Joker.  In a video, he was asked at a panel how his Joker would say "why so serious?", and his version was so spot-on and spur of the moment that you can't help but be in awe.  The man is a genius, period.  The other voice acting was steller as well.  It seemed that many actors were brought back from the animated series which was brilliant.  They gelled very nicely and it felt natural.  The background music emphasized the eery, dark atmosphere.  The sound in this game is a complete package and top-notch.  It was flawless.
Overall
Batman: Arkham City is a great gaming experience.  The storyline is amazing and the effort put into this game is remarkable.  But the short main story and lack of substantial changes make it fall short of its predecessor.  But with a game as good as "Arkham Asylum" was, that is not much of a insult.  I enjoyed it and I am hopeful for a sequel.

Batman: Arkham City gets a 9/10

Video: First Super Smash Bros TV commercial

Here is a blast from the past commercial.  I remember first seeing this commercial and it was highly entertaining.  Right when Mario kicked Yoshi's shins, my favorite part, you knew something different was coming.  And now after two sequels and countless copies, with Sony now in the mix, it is interesting to see where it all started.  Sing it with me "I can't see me lovin' nobody but you...", that song was connected to this commercial in my mind for a long time.

Column: Nintendo at E3 2012

By Aaron N

The aspect of E3 that I look forward to watching the most every year is Nintendo.  Some of the greatest moments in E3 history came from Nintendo.  This year there was much hype surrounding Nintendo mainly because of the inevitable focus on the upcoming Wii-U system.  But, like many others, I felt let down by Nintendo this year.  There were plenty of positives that came out of E3 for them but somehow I actually am less excited about the new system than I was before it.
There are many reasons for this let down.  Firstly I feel like Nintendo set themselves up for failure when they announced that they would be having three different press conferences.  One would be before E3, the second would be the major press conference that they hold every year, and the third would come in the form of a press conference solely about the Nintendo 3DS.  They did this because they were promising that they had too much information to be told in just one press conference.  This became a problem because there did not seem to be enough information to warrant the three different conferences.  One of the main things to be revealed, which was the Wii-U pro controller, was revealed in the pre-E3 conference online.  Then with the third press conference being exclusively about the 3DS, it meant that the main televised press conference would not reveal much about that system.  This is a problem because much of Nintendo's fanbase stems from the 3DS and they will be let down when they watch the major press conference and they only touch quickly on a few games.  This also leads to another problem because they opened the big press conference to have major reveals for the new system.  This brought expectations very high and could only lead to disappointments when they do not have many big reveals. 
This leads me to the major televised press conference itself.  It started out great with the announcement of Pikmin 3, which gamers have been begging for since the Gamecube.  This started things out on a high note, but unfortunately as a viewer at home, things did not stay high.  With the announcements of a new WiiFit game and "Sing", they continued to focus on the broader audience as opposed to the hardcore fanbase that they promised to focus more on with the Wii-U.  They also showed some third party games that will be on the Wii-U.  Games like "Batman: Akrham City" and "Mass Effect 3" would finally be on a Nintendo system.  But instead of quickly going over games that have been out for almost a year, they spent about ten minutes showing how different their version of Batman was then what is out now.  This was a horrible decision when they should be focusing on new ideas.  They then proceeded to show two "New Super Mario Bros" titles.  One for the Wii-U that did not show how the Wii-U would change gaming, and did not show much improvement in the graphics category.  The other one came in the short 3DS segment and also seemed to downplay the Wii-U and it didn't bring anything new to the table besides even more gold coins.  This would bring them to the big reveal that usually ends the press conference.  I was most excited for the end because I expected this would be where they would bring out something big, maybe a new Star Fox, a Metroid, or something big to bring some excitement to an otherwise dull conference.  But instead they showed a new game called "Nintendoland."  Which is a theme park style game that will help you gauge the new system.  It reminds me of what Wii sports was.  This is a fine game but only if it comes with the system like the aforementioned sports game.  This should have been shown in the middle of the conference as it underwhelmed me and much of the audience.
There were some positives to E3 from Nintendo.  I am glad to see that the new Luigi's Mansion 3DS game got a launch date.  ZombiU continues to stun people, and it's use of the Wii-U gamepad is unique.  But my favorite thing was "Project P100".  This game is a superhero game mixed with Pikmin.  You control a group of heroes and they save the world.  I am really looking forward to this game.  But this brings about another problem as the most exciting thing to come from Nintendo debuted on television on SpikeTV during an interview.  This should have shown at the press conference and it would have had people talking in a good way.  I hope that Nintendo can learn from its mistakes this year because the Wii-U can definitely change gaming much like the Wii did, but they need to find a good way to promote it or else it will become more like the Gamecube.

Video: Project P100

The most interesting thing to come out of E3 this year for me was an untitled game codenamed "Project P100".  This game was announced in a sit-down interview on SpikeTV.  It looks to be a unique game that blends many different aspects of existing games.  

Here is the video of the interview.  Video courtesy of www.gametrailers.com and SpikeTV

Review: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (2011)

By Aaron N

One of the most anticipated games of 2011 was The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.  "Skyward Sword" promised to change the Zelda series forever as it was set chronologically as the first story in the series.  It would give us the origins to the main three characters, Link, Zelda, and Gannon, as well as give hints to the origins of other characters in the heralded series.  It seems like making a Zelda game is a double-edged sword.  On one hand you have a huge fanbase that will love the game.  But on the other hand since you have made games like "Ocarina of Time" and the other Zelda games, it becomes a huge task to create something new and match the already high standards set by the previous games. 
Graphics:
"Skyward Sword" ditched the realistic graphics of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess in favor of more colorful and bright cartoony graphics.  With that said this game was beautiful.  They took the best aspects of cell-shading from past games like The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker and added a more mature look to it.  The characters are stylized but not too stylized that it takes away from the visuals.  "Skyward Sword" features weird and different characters so the graphics have to show that.  This is where this game succeeds.  Even when you enter the spirit realms where it consists of mainly black and white shades, the graphics stand out and it remains a beautiful game.
Story:
As I mentioned earlier, "Skyward Sword" takes place before every other Zelda game.  In this game Link and Zelda are childhood friends, they are portrayed as just friends but also a possibility of a budding relationship that many of the other games are known to portray.  You begin on a land in the sky called Skyloft.  Here they worship a goddess who helped defeat the evil entity known as Demise.  After passing the final trials you gain the use of your giant bird that you fly around the sky with.  A hole in the clouds opens and Zelda is sucked through it and you must jump through the hole to the gound where no one has gone before.  Here you go through three different areas, a forest, a volcano, and a desert.  While you proceed you are confronted by Ghirahim who is also chasing after Zelda.  You are given the Goddess Sword which is inhabited by a spirit known as Fi who guides you through the game.  Eventually you follow Ghirahim to the Temple of Time, which is not entirely built yet.  Zelda is pulled through the portal of time by Impa who has been guiding her through her quest.  Before she goes through the gate, Zelda throws her goddess harp to Link.  The whole story is guided by a prophesy that foretells a hero defeating the great evil and everybody has a part in the story that will unfold.  After the temple's portal is destroyed and a battle with Ghirahim, you have to find three flames that turn the Goddess sword into the Master sword and you use the new christened sword to open up a second portal to the past.  Upon passing through it you find Zelda who now reveals that she is the goddess reborn.  In the present you fight a being known as "The Imprisoned" who is actually Demise breaking his seal.  So in the past Zelda has to keep the seal active by going into a slumber.  Link returns to the present where you must find the Triforce in Skyloft and use it to make a wish to seal Demise forever.  After doing this you venture to the past again where Ghirahim kidnaps the awakened Zelda and plans to use her to revive Demise in the past.  After a victorious battle with Ghirahim it turns out that you were late and enough of Zelda's life force was given to Demise and he reawakens ready for a final battle with the goddess' hero Link.  You travel through a portal to another realm where you must defeat Demise and fulfill the prophesy.  After an epic battle you deliver the final blow.  But before Demise meets his demise he puts a curse on Link and Zelda's bloodline where Demise's evil and anger will be reborn.  Thus creating Ganon and Gannondorf.  Link and Zelda decide to stay on the ground instead of returning to Skyloft and they begin what becomes Hyrule.  There are many more side quests and aspects to the story including an old woman who turns out to be Impa and Groose who goes from a bumbling jerk to a hero by the end of the game.  The story is vaste and the biggest in the Zelda franchise.  But it is told magnificently and it does not become confusing.  It is a fitting way to tell the origins of everything in the franchise.
Gameplay:
Nintendo was proud to unveil the new gameplay for "Skyward Sword".  The wiimote is used as a 1:1 aspect ratio to Zelda's sword.  Your movements match up almost perfectly with what is on the screen.  While mistakes do happen I was very pleased with how the controlls worked.  The giant bird you have control over in the game, known as a Loftwing, takes the place of Epona.  Flying is not a tedious task and it is a huge improvement over the sailing from "Wind Waker".  When you venture to the place that will become Hyrule, you do not travel between the three areas.  Instead you enter each through a hole in the clouds.  The areas are not too big so going from one end to the other is not a long task.  My only complaint with the gameplay and with the whole game actually is the harp.  When you use the harp you do not play the song manually like you did with the ocarina.  Instead it plays the song it is supposed to play.  I feel like the harp did not add anything to the game and it muddles up the flow of the game.  They could have used something else in place of the harp or if they were set on including a musical instrument, they should have made it more useful and engaging.
Music:
What can you say about Legend of Zelda music that hasn't been said before?  There is a touring orchestra going around the country just playing Zelda music.  It really has a following all its own.  But I feel like they somehow raised the level for "Skyward Sword".  As a whole I feel like the score of this game is one of the best ever made.  The score is comprised entirely of orchestral music.  The game's main theme was the Ballad of the Goddess, which turned out to be Zelda's Lullaby in reverse.  The sheer fact that they took a great song, reversed it, and made an even better song out of it shows how great the music was for this game.  There are plenty of memorable songs that I will be listening to for a while.
Overall:
While the hype surrounding The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword was immense, the game did not fall under the pressure.  It brought about a much needed beginning to the saga, and it added its own elements to the series.  While the game is not perfect, it is quite a masterpiece.  "Skyward Sword" will be talked about by gamers for years to come and it deserves its place in history.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword gets a 9.5/10