Nintendo E3!!

I've been really bummed out about my launch day purchase of a WiiU.  Prior to MarioKart, I rarely played it.  I mean both Mario U and Mario 3d World and Donkey Kong were all great, but an almost 2 year old console should have WAY more playability than that.   I feel they are starting to finally get in the swing of things.  And it isn't only Nintendo who is struggling with content, but Nintendo has had more time to get things going and haven't.  I was actually a bit worried going in to E3, but they surprised me.. And you know what was my favorite thing that they surprised me with?  I'll give you a hint, it wasn't an actual "big" Nintendo title..  It was SPLATOON.  A 4v4 paint splattering, cartoony, shootem style, fun fest.  So say Mario Sunshine, Nickelodeon's Slime, Rocket Power, Portal 2 and Subway Surfers all mixed worlds and made a game slightly influenced by TF2.  If you don't know what Splatoon is, watch this trailer!

I'm hoping to see a lot of cool maps and game modes for this game.  I hope it has a lot of content to keep it fresh but so far I'm really loving what I've seen.  Sadly we have a while before it comes out.  It has a vague 2015 release date.. Sigh..     

I was a big fan of the creativity that the ZombiU, 2 player, brought to a "shooter" game.  Yes, it lacked in a lot, but overall it was a new feel that gave me a ton of ideas as to what Nintendo COULD do.  The WiiU has so much potential to bring a new style of play to gaming and I think E3 really started to show they are still not giving up on that idea.  They even use it in Splatoon..
With Miyamoto working on 3 new titles strictly focusing on Wii Pad play, I was impressed with what he had to show.  Always a treat to see Miyamoto!  StarFox of course was the only "BIG" title, but Project Guard and that Robot Sumo fighting Game (Sorry the name slips my mind ATM!) both looked like fun games.  Project guard more-so, but both show new ways the WiiU COULD be amazing.  I understand people want big bad graphically brilliant games, but I do enjoy fun games too.  The only problem I have is getting people to play with, and the prices they want to charge for games that aren't really worth 70% of what the big games are worth.  I understand they want to make money but come on..  These aren't EVER going to be the money makers.  I feel these are basically party games.  The things they should all just put together on one disk and sell.  Things to challenge your friends with...  But what do I know?  I happen to enjoy some fun, childish games but I see many people don't.  They want the realistic, story driven, intense action games.... and that is definitely understandable, but it's ok to have fun with cartoony Nintendo stuff, too.  I won't tell. :)  No, but really.... I get it you elitist CoD bros!  Nintendo sucks and is for women, noobs and children.  :/

I'm done being mean.. Sorry!  Must have read too many comments during Treehouse live yesterday.   

We're getting a new Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker game during this Holiday Season.. No actual date because I'm sure they will have to postpone it.  I like Toad and I'm glad he's getting a Puzzle Platformer for himself.  If you Played Mario 3D World you are already familiar with what the game is.  It's those little Toad Puzzle levels where you move around a 3d level trying to collect things.  It utilizes the wii pad a lot to view the nooks and crannies of the level..  I personally sucked hard core at those.  Not sure the game will be worth a full retail price for me, but if it is an eshop cheapo, I may pick it up.  Maybe even if they make it a Mario 3d World DLC pack.  That'd be cool.

They showed a little more gameplay for the Yoshi's Epic Yarn.. I mean the Yoshi's Woolly World game.  Reminds me a lot of Yoshi's latest game for the 3DS.  It's as cute as a button though.  I NEED that Yoshi knitted plush figure.. NOW PLEASE..  I'd buy this game.

The new Zelda open world game they are working on looks soooooooooooo amazingly good.  No release date of course.  I'm pretty sure that will take a while.  I'd estimate next holiday season but I hope I'm wrong..

Bayonetta 2 finally got an October release date.  I must say this game looks beautiful.  Graphics are stunning.  It also features Peach, Metroid and Zelda skins.  Oh and it includes Bayonetta 1 in it.  Nice to finally see some good gameplay.  Not my type of game, but I know my fiance will love it.

X got the Xenoblade Chronicles X title.  I watched it played on Treehouse and thought it was like Monster Hunter.  Not impressed with the gameplay they showed, but the trailer for it looks pretty interesting.  Still not really my type of game though but I saw a lot of mixed reviews about what people thought.  

Hyrule Warriors got an official release date of September 26th!  Wasn't expecting that at all.. Also you can play with Midna.  My personal favorite Zelda character.  It looks really good.  I enjoy Dynasty Warriors so I'm guessing I'll enjoy this game too.

Pokemon really got my hopes up for something on the Wii U.. But no.. It was introducing Mega Evs into the Sapphire and Ruby remakes.. Meh.. I want a wii U Pokemon!

Mario Maker.....................................     '_____'   Not interested.  It's something that should be a free download if anything.  Modders have been making Mario levels for years.  I see this as a quick way to make a few bucks for Nintendo which I'm all for... I guess.  They need moneys.

Amiibos.. Yeah.. What a name.  This is Nintendo's introduction to NFC.  (Disney Infinite, Skylanders) As much as I hate the fact that I'm going to buy every single one of these probably, I seem to think it has a potential to be pretty neat.  It learns your play style and stuff.. Not much was revealed, but they will work with Mario Kart, Smash, Mario Party 10 and some other games.  I'm looking forward to using them.  Best of all they go right on the wii pad.  No portal or anything you have to buy.

And Finally what EVERYONE was anticipating.... SUPER SMASH BROS! YAY!  Another game I love but absolutely suck at.  The 3DS version was postponed to October 3rd I believe.  WE WANT GAMES NOW!  Hopefully this won't delay the WiiU version a lot too.  I'm rather upset with the graphics on the 3DS but honestly what can you expect?  Some shots of it look good but some look absolutely awful.  I am pumped about the Smash Run mode in the 3DS version though.  A loot crawl through a maze to build up your character stronger than the other 3, and then a final brawl.  That seems really cool.  Wish they'd add it to the WiiU version.  I'll probably get both though.  And if you watched the Smash Tourney, you got to see some actual footage of the Wii U version.  Some new items they added were the Mario Kart shells and a bullet bill.  They both look really sweet and I think I may just head on out to Best Buy tonight to try them out.  Pretty proud that my Smash Character made runner up.. Now I don't feel so bad when I pick the fluffy pink ball of cuteness.  It's the only character I can almost win with!  They also added the mii as a playable.  You can customize their moves too.  Choose between a fighter, a swordsman, and a gun dude.  Looks pretty powerful.  Also I was quite impressed with Wii Fit Trainers moves.  Also Lady Paluntena and Pac Man have been announced. Waka Waka Waka.   Game and Watch was teased.

Hopefully I'm not forgetting anything important.  They will be showing more game plays throughout tomorrow on Twitch so maybe they will show some new stuff.  Good Job Nintendo!  Now PLEASE just give us the games NOW..  Even if it's only Smash!

What I'm excited for from Microsoft's 2014 E3 Presentation.

I really don't get AS excited for E3 anymore as I once did, due to the fact that he last few years have been a little underwhelming, but since next gen consoles are just getting warmed up, a lot of exciting things are happening.  I haven't bought an Xbox One or a PS4 yet, due to the fact that I'm not interested in enough games to justify spending the money.  I can't even promise that after E3 I will, but I saw a few things that are tempting me from Microsoft's Presentation.  Like...

Halo-  Freaking Halo.  Why am I such a Halo Fangirl?  I have no clue.  I guess your first always stays with you.  I mean I loved it so much back in the day that I named my puppy Halo.  It's the only shooter I can say I'm ok at.  And that feel..  That feel of adrenaline pumping through my body as I pull the trigger and attempt to kill someone in online battle..  (No worries.. That feel is strictly related to video games. I actually HATE guns IRL.  I'm not against them.. Just not for me.)  That feel when I'm not dead last at the end..  Anyways back to Newness..  The Halo Master Chief Collection.  Um, yes please! Halo 1 Anniversary, Halo 2 Anniversary, Halo 3 and Halo 4 all in 1080p with dedicated servers on 1 disk.. AND a mini series leading into the story for Halo 5 Guardians.  I'm about to drop the money for an Xbox One right now.   That's pretty impressive.

Sunset Overdrive-  I remember seeing Sunset Overdrive last year at E3 and thinking it looked pretty awesome.  They went a little more in depth with it this year and it still looks awesome, but I'm not sure it will be.  I have such mixed feelings about it.  It seems like it may just be another "meh" game.  I think I mainly was in love with the area.  I LOVE amusement parks in games.  It just feels as if it's missing something and I can't quite put my finger on what it is.  I'd be excited to try a demo maybe.  I just don't want to commit to buying it just yet.

Fable Legends-  I played Fable 1 and 2.  I've always been a fan of the series.  I tried playing Fable Anniversary but on launch day it was pretty glitchy, I thought.  Never really went back to see if they updated it or anything, but maybe I will after seeing the new Fable trailer. It got me pumped for the series again.  Co-op Fable?  That's awesome.  I really enjoy a game I can play with my Fiance.  It'd be really cool if it were a local co-op, but I won't hold my breathe.  If not, I'll pray for a PC release eventually.  I also like that they are allowing one person to be the bad guy.  It seems a lot of games are steering this way lately.  Reminds me of the Super Dungeon Explorer board game.  Haha.  I also saw Mario Party 10 will be doing this as well.  It's fun to screw over your friends!

Evolve- Now I'm really excited for this.  Multi-Class, multiplayer, monster hunting sci-fi shooter game.  It looks awesome.  Reminds me of a Borderlands, Monster Hunter mash up but way different in it's own style.  Oh and you can also be the Monster..

ScaleBound-  I'm pretty geeky so of course a dragon killing catches my eye.  There isn't much revealed in the trailer, but from what they do show, it looks pretty sick.  Something to watch for, for sure.

Mario Kart 8 Review!

I can't even begin to tell you how big of a Mario Kart fan I am.  I was deprived of the fun until Double Dash, but since then I have more than made up for my lack of pre Gamecube Mario Kart time.  Friday Mario Kart 8 arrived on the wii u and I guess I will review it since I have to be at work NOT able to play it.  Separation anxiety anyone? 

Now as big of a fan as I am I will start off saying this game does not get a 10 out of 10 from me.  Sigh.. and it's not (mostly) for gameplay reasons, but for stupid things that were left out of the interface.  Let's go ahead and get the flaws out of the way so I can fangirl over it's awesomeness.. I give it a 7.5 out of 10.   

Number one thing that bugs me which is the main reason it gets a 7.5.  There is no on screen map! (Unless I'm just an idiot and can't find the options which also seem to fail to exist in Grand Prix anyways)  There is a tiny map on the wii pad display but I can honestly tell you I didn't even notice what was on it until after my first race.. Who actually looks down at the gamepad during the race?  Or who even uses the gamepad?  It's a GIANT horn.  That's it.  Maybe there is/should be a way to turn off the gamepad display and display ranking/items people have/a map.. on the big screen like previous versions?  Like in Donkey Kong too.. You can turn off the pad display to save battery life..  This is the only racing game in existence without a map!  I guess they really want to make getting inked impossible, yet it doesn't seem to phase the computer drivers as much as it used to.  I don't know.. It's a big deal for me.  

Another kind of annoying thing is when you complete a race the automatic selection is view highlights.  Not next race.  I usually have no interest in watching my highlight reel.. Unless it was something awesome.  Like my first mushroom acceleration to avoid a blue shell.  But sadly that didn't make the highlight reel?? I just think NEXT RACE should be the default first thing.

1. A minor thing.. There are no times after you complete the race.  I like to see how much faster or slower I was than my opponents.  Unless it's also on the gamepad, which I don't think it is.. But anyways  I happen to use a pro controller.  Much easier.  And is it fair one person has the opportunity to look at a map while everyone else who doesn't have a gamepad doesn't?  I mean not that you're actually going to look at it.  Or are they trying to promote the gamepad?  Can you even buy standalone ones yet?  (No..)  Would you want to? (Probably Not..)

Small issues that just bug me..

They definitely nerfed take off boosts.  I just feel like it's a lot slower of a take off than previous games, but on a side note for this, the fire boosting out of your car looks awesome.  Very detailed.  I didn't take off anything for this, it's more of just a personal thing here.   

The piranha plant powerup is pretty useless.  For me anyways.  It seems to boost you but somehow doesn't.  And usually I can never get close enough to anyone to use it and it just seems to screw my rhythm up.  

And lastly they give you a lot of kart customizations (Karts, Wheels, and Parachutes) to unlock, many of which have the exact same stats.  And I feel there weren't enough characters to unlock.  Especially since there is no King Boo!  :(  Take the million "baby" characters out and put more classic players in.  I'm honestly tired of "baby" everything.

And now for the good.  Typical Mario Kart awesomeness.  Mario Kart is the best ever.  It cheats you so hard but you just can't stop.  Gotta get those stars.. Gotta 3 star every cup.. 

Mario Kart in HD is the best thing ever!  I can't even begin to describe how crisp and awesome it looks.  The 16 new levels are all really cool.  My favorite has to be Mount Wario.  It's a segment race down a ski slope.  I also like the Cloudtop cruise level a lot.  150cc races still screw you over in every way possible!  I did finally manage to star all the cups to unlock mirror mode though.

The Karts are all very interesting and unique looking.  My favorite is the carousel Kart.  It seems to be a pretty solid Kart too which I'm pumped for because I LOVE carnival stuff.  I also like the cool parachute options.  And tires are tires..  I go with the button ones more than anything.  The trike seems to be my second favorite car just because it handles drifts like no ones business.  (I'm a heavy drifter)

So cool customizations, and cool new levels (Both Rainbow roads are too easy though!) The game runs very smooth except a small amount of lag in the menus when switching characters..  Not sure what is up with that.  I haven't tried online mode yet.  Was too focused on unlocking everything for our Mario Kart party this weekend.

The boomerang powerup is useful if you have good aim.  I was hit and miss with it.  It will take some time getting use to I'm sure.  Overall I like it.  I also like how you do get some better powerups even in 2nd or first place.  It's normally a coin (which are used to unlock Kart customizations), but you do get some better stuff more often than previous titles it seems.

And for the last thing that's what seems to be the main feature Nintendo wants to display.. Highlight reels.  It's cool you have the option to upload your awesome moments straight to youtube.  I actually had a pretty sweet finish and was able to upload it right from the gamepad.  Baby peach was annoying me all race, but I took her out with a fireball right at the finish line and won!  It's cool, but I'd rather a better interface than social network focus.  Still cool though.  A nice way to gloat your awesomeness to friends.   Here's my video.

Mario Kart 8 Nintendo Direct Opinion

Was a bit surprised to see a new Nintendo Direct this morning.  I really wasn't going to watch it because Nintendo has been a bit disappointing lately.  I'm pumped for Mario Kart 8 and all, and will buy it regardless of my current opinion on Nintendo.  As a matter of fact I have had it pre-ordered for a long time now.  Also Kirby and Mario Golf on Friday!  Thumbs up for a weekend of gaming!

Anyways Mario Kart is gaining just enough new features to keep it fresh.  Here's a list of the new things worth noting..

Powerups:

Super Horn- You'll now be able to block blue shells with the Super horn or spin out all nearby opponents.  I can't wait to use it honestly, but I really don't want it to be used on me...  Spinning out is too frustrating.  

The "Crazy" 8-  Similar to the 7 in Mario Kart 7.. You get 8 random items to use.

Piranha Plant-  It attaches to the front of your car and snags bananas or other obstacles in your way including other racers.  

The boomerang-  It's the boomerang suit from the recent Mario games.  It gives you 3 chances to boomerang an opponent and knock them out.   Pretty useful but once again not something I'm looking forward to being hit with!  But that's the game!  It's so much fun!

Gameplay:

In anti gravity mode, knocking into players will spin boost you.  You can keep spin boosting off of other Karts in anti gravity giving you tons of boosts.  It's like infinite drift boosting.  Pretty cool!

Players:

Baby Rosalina, 7 of the evil koopalings, and Pink Gold Peach.  

There are also a lot of new Karts they show.  I really like the Peach "carousel" horse Kart.  I'm really into carnival things though.

And now, for my favorite part of the ND... A FREE WII U GAME WITH PURCHASE......  YES FREE.

Well you register your game on Club Nintendo and get a code for a free Digital download of Windwaker, Pikmin 3, Super Mario U, or Wii Party U.  About time Nintendo rewards you for all of the suck.

But other than that, it looks as if you can finally play with your friends online!  Will make it nice when we have our Mario Kart parties.  Also Tournaments seem interesting.  And if you can beat certain developer times around the track, they reward you with special stickers to use on Miiverse.. If you actually use it.. Which I don't.  I'm just not really in to social features so much when it comes to gaming.

The only thing that bothered me is that they are releasing yet another freaking bundle of awesome that I don't get to have because I have been a devoted fan and buy the first edition of everything and get screwed out of fancy special editions.  I just need to stop.  Buying the Wii U on launch day was the worst decision I've ever made.  Luckily the dust layer is becoming thinner..  Finally getting some content.

  

And.. 40 levels into RCT 4 Mobile..

I tried to give this game a chance in my LAST POST when everyone else refused... but.. Looks like this game is entirely pay to play..

My 3 dollars has obviously run out.  They want more money from me.  But No.  I will not pay more money for a game that is an endless money pit.  I'm better than that and have more self control than some people obviously.  Who really spends those ridiculous amounts of money for IAPS??  What happened to one time pay only.  Ughh.. IAPS killed mobile gaming.

I don't get it obviously! :/

So after level 33 I started struggling.  Everything starts costing a bunch of tickets and coins and the building takes like 36 hours now or costs a million tickets/coins.  I also noticed now at level 40, my XP doesn't move.  It's either broken, maxed out, or you need a lot of xp to level to 41.. Plus you only still get like 400xp per goal which doesn't budge the xp bar...  You also have to have a lot of other friends to gift to and hope they gift back to you.  Goals start to require you to have friends.  Side note.. I have no friends.. That's why I mobile game and cry to the internet.  Duh.  Anyways my friend code is h2xddx.  Please feel free to add me.  I'll gift you.  I had to sell a few coasters just to get coins.  But here's a little hint.  Tycoon people love Pizza and Ice Cream.  They seem to be my 2 biggest incomes.  Also I have a goal that I feel is completed, but no.. It isn't apparently.  3 loops after a steep hill.  It says I have 3/4 complete.  I have a steep hill, and 3 loops.  Why is that only 3/4?  I also don't feel like spending more tickets/money on re-constructing it if it's going to be wrong still.  Oh plus I'd have to wait another hour for it to be complete.  And no changing the clock ahead doesn't speed anything up.  As much as I want to play this game, I don't see me playing for long because I refuse to spend more money on a game I already paid for.  I guess I'll hang on to the hope that RCT 4 for the PC will be the same old RCT we all love.  If not, there is always Theme Park Studio to watch out for.

Need Coins?? ***Sell stuff you have upgraded to give yourself a lot of coins.  But I think it makes your park value decrease into the negative billions.  Because that makes sense.  This game gets better everyday.  <--- Sarcasm.  Anyways.. I've come across yet another goal that doesn't work too... Build restrooms next to the centrifuge.  I upgraded my Centrifuge so I'm currently waiting for just a normal centrifuge to complete..  So many broken elements is making this game really easy to hate on.

  

24 levels worth of Roller Coaster Tycoon 4 Mobile Review!

RCT 4 Mobile $2.99 iOS only for now.

IN APP PURCHASE PRICES

It was a pleasant surprise when RCT's Facebook page announced a mobile version of RCT4 would be launching soon.  And not even a month later, it arrives!  iOS only for now.. Booo.  Now the mobile game norm anymore is to have a bunch of expensive in app purchases.  RCT4 Mobile is no different.  HOWEVER...  In 24 levels, I have not had to pay a single cent extra to proceed in the game.  I haven't even been close.  

COIN TRUCK OF AWESOME!

   

Food Rush Mini-Game

There is a cool little thing under specials in build called Food Rush.  It's a food truck that holds inside a super amazing burger making mini-game which will level you up super quick, giving you lots and lots of coins and tickets in the process.  (It becomes less useful the more you level because you need a stupid amount of xp to level!)  

EXAMPLE OF GOALS AND THEIR REWARDS

Now how the game works...  It's kind of like Simpson's Tapped out.  Not nearly as awesome or customizable as the other RCT games, but rest assured, a PC one is due out soon!  CHILL OUT PEOPLE!  Anyways.  You start off with around 45 tickets.  Tickets are the things you use to speed up the build times on your attractions and build certain rides with.  For instance say I build a swinging chairs ride.  It will take about 2 real time hours to complete OR I can pay 2 tickets to get it now.  But in spending those 2 tickets and completing any "goals" I am rewarded with more tickets than what I spent a lot of the times.  What I'm trying to say is that I get a lot of tickets rewarded to me so I don't see having to buy any through IAPS.  At least so far.  I'm up to like 86 tickets now and I speed up everything over a 5 minute wait.  Yes, I'm very impatient! The most tickets I've run in to having to "pay" for so far has been 8.  

DON'T HIT THE RED X TO DELETE A TRACK PIECE!

AND BECAUSE I WANT TO COMPLAIN TODAY.. THE CONS..

The coaster builder is super annoying.  In the middle of building the coaster, if you accidentally hit the giant red X instead of the tiny garbage can delete, you cancel out all of your progress of building the coaster.  No warning, no nothing.  I've done it like 5 times by accident and had to start all over rebuilding.  :/  I also can't get my haunted house gift code to work.  The one they emailed me for subbing to their emails.  It says invalid code.  Come on guys!  I'm at the point now where I can just buy it..   I also don't like having to "collect" coins from every shop I have.  "I ain't got time for that." You also can't change the view. 

Overall I like the game as a mobile game.  It's no substitute to RCT for the PC for sure.  It's worth 3 bucks.  I really hope they include more mini game things though.  Or ways to make some extra coins and gain a lot of XP.  

PvZ Garden Warfare Variety Pack DLC

I haven't been able to play as much of this game as I want to, but I figured I had to squeeze it in last night, being that they released new DLC.  Best part about the new DLC?  It's price tag.  Zero Brains. That's right, FREE DLC.  Here are the major patch features thanks to the official Plants vs Zombies Facebook Page

"Major Features:

- New Map: Chomp Town – playable in Garden Ops, Team Vanquish and Gnome Bomb. Yes Crazy Dave IS riding a Chomper… Why??? Because he’s CRAAAZYYY!

- New Game Mode: Gnome Bomb – be the 1st team to destroy all three gardens or graveyards with the explosive new Gnome Bomb.

- Pirates have invaded Port Scallywag and Sharkbite Shores in Garden Ops

- New Abilities for all characters – new character abilities are tucked away in the sticker shop (hint: Crazy Pack and higher are your best bet to get them! Supremium Pack, Incredi-Plant Pack & Vengeful Zomboss Pack have the highest chances to get them)

- 125 new customization items added to the sticker shop – spread across all characters/rarities…

- Added Doom-shroom potted plant consumable for plants

- Added Barrel Pirate, Treasure Map Pirate consumable for zombies"

Now the patch also fixes a lot of little glitches and bugs.. However I still get kicked a lot..  They seem to be working on it though, supposedly.  I've had issues with being kicked since day 1.  Mainly with Garden Ops, but now it's everything.  It isn't super bad, just a bit annoying.  Also..  Do any other adults play this game?  Haha.  Maybe kids are just super fascinated with making noises and calling everyone stupid on their mics.. 

Anyways the new game mode Gnome Bomb is pretty cool.  Always nice to have a new mode to play.  Now come on Titanfall.. It's your turn!   I had a lot of wine while playing so I wasn't very good at it.  I played sniper Cactus.  I do LOVE me some Cactus snipe-age.  Probably my favorite character to play.  So yeah...  The new DLC is worth the freeness.  Hopefully they get their servers sorted out soon and they launch it for PC too.  I really want to play it on PC!

Yay for the Year of Luigi!

My Club Nintendo gift finally arrived!  Only 5000 pieces in the world and I was lucky enough to get one.  I mean I had to spend some extra money to get enough points to get it, but oh well!  It's awesome and I couldn't have passed it up.  Here are some shots of it!  I LOVE it!

5 Games I'd love to see revamped.

With the gigantic selection of beautiful, graphically inclined, games that come out these days, it's hard to want to look back at all of the graphically impaired, messy, blocky piles of cartridges stored away in a bin somewhere in your mom's basement.  Call me nostalgic, but I just miss some of that simple fun.  With all of the newer ways to get games out there today, I'd really LOVE to see some classics I used to play as a kid, revamped.  Not just re-released on Virtual Console either.. I want new!  Now I didn't always have the popular titles as a kid, so don't hate on my selection, but here are 4 games I think deserve a new life.  

1.  Duck Hunt- I thought for sure with the release of the wii, I would once again be able to enjoy my favorite NES classic of all time.  They released so many accessory guns and I just waited and waited.  I'm still waiting today.  I understand that Wii Play tried with the target shooting, but it just wasn't even close.  I'd even be ok with an NES remix game that had SOMETHING to do with Duck Hunt.  I mean it's iconic with the bright orange NES Zapper gun and the laughing dog you tried so hard to shoot.  And now...it all just sits there.. Useless due to new televisions.  It can't be hard to re-release this in 3d with some nice graphics and some added content.  Even if they release it as a download only game on the e-shop, it's still something.  I just feel it's too big of a game to just fade away into the abyss.

2. Q*Bert-  I never played much of the arcade version/nes version, but I grew up on Q*bert 3 for the SNES.  They released a theme-able version of the original for ios a while back, but it got taken off the app store and even if you still own it, you can't actually open it.  I think even if they only release a mobile version, it would still be really fun game that they can add so much to.  They've already done so much to pac-man, and the idea of Q*bert is a little more in depth.  I'd just love to see something more like Q*bert 3, even if it is the same game with new levels.  @!#?@!

3.  Streets of Rage- I really miss the side scrolling, button mashing, beat em' up games.  Streets of Rage had it all.  Mainly Streets of Rage 2 that is, but I'd love to see the series revamped.  It was one of the most beautiful games of it's time.  Bright colors, detail, fun scenery and also a character who roller bladed.  Not sure why, but I was always Blade.  All around "cool" game.

4.  Congo's Caper's-  I'm sure a lot of people have never played this game, or don't even know what it is, but let me tell you... This game was awesomesauce!  Giant dinosaurs, devils, monkeys, super crazy flashy super jumping congo, slot machines, drunk cavemen... What wasn't there to like.  This was one of the few games I had for SNES,  and I'm really glad I had it.  I would have been out experiencing a true gem.  The game is all around fun.  I'd really like to see the series come back, but I know it will never happen.  One can only hope though.

5. Secret of Mana-  I got this game with Congo's Caper's actually.  I took over Congo, my sister took over this one.  I always admired the beauty of this game though.  The box contained a beautiful map and poster.  Actually I found it on google.. ----> That's the poster.  So green, so erie, so peaceful..  I was never good at this game when I was young.  I didn't really ever get what to do.  But I loved watching my sister play it and when I got older, I played it.  This series needs a definite revamp.  With today's graphics it'd have the power to be one of the best looking games of all time.  

PvZ Garden Warfare Review!

I've been waiting for this game since I initially heard about it at E3.  I've always been a huge fan of the series and when you put the series into a 3rd person shooter/ tower defense game, you can definitely count me in.  I pre-ordered this for PC, but couldn't wait until whenever they decide to release it, so I bought it for the Xbox 360.  I'm still waiting to buy a next gen console.  They just don't seem worth it right now.  Anyways.  I played PVZ GW a lot over the weekend.  I won't say that the game lived up to my expectations of it, but I'd definitely say it's worth picking up.  My biggest problem with the game is the lack of game modes.  I'll briefly run through the modes.. 

Garden Ops- This is a 4 player horde/wave mode.  You are the plants defending your garden from waves of hungry zombies.  There is a pretty neat slot machine feature to this mode that spins to choose what larger zombie doom you will have to endure.  You can also get a jackpot which will give you a lot of extra coins to spend on upgrades.  I can't wait to play this with friends.  

Welcome Mat-  This is where you go to learn the game without being slaughtered.  It really is just a training mode and so I don't really think it counts as a full mode.

Team Vanquish-  This is Plants vs. Zombies.. whatever team gets 50 "vanquishes" wins.  Like Team Deathmatch.  Simple as that.  Reviving your teammates will also take a kill away from the other team, so make sure you revive!  I don't think many people realize this for some reason. 

Gardens and Graveyards-  This is your typical capture a base and move on.  There are I think 7 bases that the zombies must capture from the plants. 

There is also a "classic" mode to each mode which doesn't allow upgrades.  And that's it..  

So 3 modes.  I personally found Garden Ops to be the funnest, followed by Gardens and Graveyards and then Team Vanquish.  I just feel they need more modes because the game will get boring after too long cycling through only 3 modes.  

Now where the game excels.  It's beautiful, really fits into the PVZ world, and plays really smooth.  There is a lot of content for characters too.  You can upgrade a lot and make your character look and play awesomely.  You can also use your earned coins to buy a pack of cards that give you reinforcements that you can plant in pots around the level to help your team out, or that help unlock new characters.

The characters include 4 classes on each side with several (maybe 5?) variants of each.  Unlocking them all will take a lot of time though.  You have to get pieces of each variant in the card packs until you get all of the needed pieces to unlock the character.  There are cheap and expensive card packs.  The expensive ones are of course the ones that will give you the best things.  You can gain more coins by completing little challenges such as 3 revives or healing someone 3 times.  

Overall my experience with the game was good.  There seem to be a few bugs (no surprise for a new game), but I'm not sure if they are happening with everyone, or just me.  After a defeat or completion of Garden Ops, before any score or anything is shown, I am immediately kicked.  I'd like to see how I did, but no.  Kicked straight to the main menu.  I also had a lot of trouble being able to join a Garden Ops game.  I'll try again soon though and hopefully they fixed it if it was an issue.  I'm also not sure how balanced the characters are.  

My zombie of choice would have to be the Mad Scientist, and my plant of choice has to be the Cactus.  Now I haven't unlocked many additional characters, but I plan to soon.  I just need a few more hours in the day or less games to play..

Final Verdict.. 7 brains out of 10. 

Diablo 3 Patch 2.0.1!

If there was an award for the one game that has consumed the most amount of my time, it would probably go to Diablo 3.  I won't say that all of that time was well spent, due to the fact that the game was super broken pretty much since launch, but I will say that I'm glad I've stuck it out because the newest patch has fixed 90% of everything that was wrong with the game.  With The D3 expansion, Reaper of Souls, set to launch on March 25th, I'm actually enjoying getting my character ready.  You can view the full change log HERE,  but I want to share my favorite changes.  I play as a Wizard and a Witch Doctor, but mainly a wizard named Jofftin!

So the first thing I'll go over is that they got rid of Nephalem Valor.  NV was one of their first attempts to fix the game/add more playability after you maxed out your level, granting 1 stack (up to 5) for each boss or event you beat.  It then boosted your magic and gold find and supposedly increased your chances of better loot.  Umm did it though?  You also lost all of your stacks if you changed any of your skills and you needed full stacks to pursue the keys for infernal machine quest (now only in Torment mode).  I never seemed to get any good loot from having 5 stacks of NV so it will bring me to my next favorite change.

LOOT 2.0!  Where have you been all my life?  This introduces "smart" loot.  Smart loot gives you a REALLY high chance to get your class items.  No more constantly getting stuff you can't use.  I played about 4 hours last night and got about 80% Wizard stuff.  The loot is also stuff you can use or just barely under!  WHAT?  Yeah I was able to use a lot of the stuff I picked up along with 3 legendary drops!  Yes 3 legendary drops in 4 hours.  One from a random small chest, one from a dead body, and one from the Skeleton King.  My fiance got 3 legendary items and a set item in the same time.  It's so fun playing when you are rewarded with items that are actually going to help you.

They also changed/fixed/boosted class skills and runes.  I really think it is a lot more balanced now.  They got rid of some skill runes and replaced them with better ones so definitely check out your skills and see what new ones there are.  Check the full change log for explanations and stat changes.

They revamped difficulties too.  No more dumb monster power,  No more Normal, Nightmare, Hell, Inferno.  Now you get Normal, Hard, Expert, Master, and Torment 1-6.  I played on Master and was rocking through it pretty fast.  I also gained about 4 levels of paragon.  They added Reflection Pools which boost XP by 25% for a set amount of time or until you die.  They also added Nephalem Glory like they have in the console version which gives you more damage and is stackable up to 3 times.

They updated the graphics a little by adding reflections.  It fixed the weird motion blur I was having, but then again my video card updated too so I'm not sure what happened but it looks amazing.  Also I'm not sure when it happened, but there are now fancy maps and waypoints.  :)

Took off enrage timers on bosses!  (Except in torment mode)  YES!  Nothing was more annoying than fighting the butcher when the entire floor just caught fire after 2 minutes.

They made changes to crafting materials where you don't have a million different ones now, and it also changed actual crafting to where you will have a way better chance to get stuff you need.

Elite and Champion mobs have like 5 new effects such as portals (wormholes I believe) and these little lightning shrine things.

All potions are just potions now.  60% to life.  No different sizes.

And last but definitely not least PARAGON 2.0!  Paragon is now shared between all of your account characters.  There is no cap on it and with each level you gain a skill point.  SKILL POINTS?  Yes, finally skill points.  The game always seemed way dumbed down without skill points.  Diablo 2 revolved around them and 3 felt so lame without being able to add points into areas that you felt you needed.  And also no worries if you already had a bunch of paragon levels.  Go to the inventory menu and click on paragon in the upper left.  You can add all of your points there.

Overall I feel a sense of accomplishment after playing the new patch for 4 hours.  Something I have not felt in some time.  I got some new items, I wasn't getting frustrated with way under leveled drops/ drops for everything but wizards, and I found legendaries which always add excitement.  They added/fixed enough to make me want to play a lot again and have me really excited for the expansion.

So is it too late, or do you think Blizzard may be able to redeem the lost fans with the new patch?  I haven't had a chance to read the hater comments yet, but right now I'm not regretting pre-ordering Reaper of Souls anymore.      

My Favorite Android Customization Apps

Lock Screen with Dashclock
and Hangout extension

Home Screen UCCW Widgets
and Tiny White Icon Pack

One of the many reasons I absolutely love Android is because it allows ridiculous amounts of customization!  After spending 5 years "learning" graphic design, I have of course developed a kind of obsession for neat layout and cool fonts.  Android's Google Play Store offers what they call "Launchers".  Launchers are applications that replace the stock interface or "UI" of your phone, with a more advanced one allowing new customization and basically giving you the freedom to make your phone look amazing.  I have received so many compliments on my home screen setup.  Now a Launcher is only your first step towards a great layout, but I'll kind of guide you through what all you will need.  And this is all without root.

The launcher I use is Nova Launcher Prime.  It's $4.00 I think. (Use those Google Rewards Credits!)  There is also a free version to try it out.  And I also use the Tesla Unread extension to show my unread email count.  I've sampled a few different launchers.  However I have not tried out Next Launcher 3d Shell which costs $16.99!  There is a free version though so maybe one day I'll give it a try.  I like the simplicity of Nova and how it is easy to use and offers a lot of great options.

Now on top of a Launcher you will need an app to make widgets with.  I myself use UCCW (free in the play store, but you really should donate because the app is fantastic!)  It takes a bit of time to learn how to use it, but once you do, the customization options are almost endless.  You can add any font from your Mac (using Android File Transfer) or PC too, which really has the potential to make your phone look great or "themed".  There are also a few pre made things to choose from.  You can also head over to mycolorscreen.com and possibly find some pre-made ones from the very creative community. You'll also be able to edit those and make your own.

If you don't really have the time (took me 3 hours, but I am a perfectionist!) or maybe you are intimidated to try and design an entire custom screen, then I advise using the Launcher "Themer".  It's in Beta still, but it allows you to use certain mycolorscreen layouts without having to make them yourself.  I tried out Themer and it wasn't very easy to change things around or add your own icons in..  I found it more satisfying to just start my own from scratch.  Themer is a really cool launcher, it just isn't my style I guess.

Finally the last thing you will need are icon packs.  You can find a lot of them in the Play Store.  My personal favorites are Stamped Purple (Also comes in other colors) and Tiny White Icon Pack.  This will allow you to change the icon of almost any app you have,  to match everything.

Also, If you would like a neater looking lock screen, I suggest enabling widgets on your lock screen and using the app "Dashclock"from the play store.  You can also add extensions to Dashclock which will really make your lock screen more useful.

My Gaming PC

Well it was my first build and it's almost 2 years old now!  Time really flies!  I built this PC especially for Diablo 3 on a poor woman's budget.  I bought parts every pay until I finally had a computer.  It has been a really great computer and I'm thinking about upgrading her real soon.  I actually have a fan going bad so it's a perfect time to do it.  It ran the Titanfall Beta very well, though.  So just in case you want to know what I play most of my games on.  It's this.

Before all of the messy wires!

Here's what's inside.

- ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX AM3+ ATX

-  AMD FX-6100 BLACK ED CPU

- ASUS NVIDIA GEFORCE 560 ti GPU  EVGA NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 960 2GB

- 8 16 GB CORSAIR VENGEANCE PC3 12800 1600MHZ DDR3 SDRAM

- CORSAIR ENTHUSIAST SERIES 650-W 80 PLUS BRONZE CERTIFIED PSU

- CRUCIAL 64GB SATA 3 INTERNAL SSD RUNNING WINDOWS 7 64-BIT

- HITATCHI DESKSTAR 500GB 7200RPM SATA III 6GBPS HDD

- RAIDMAX SMILODON EXTREME BLACK/GREEN ATX CASE WITH MB FOLDOUT

I highly recommend the case I used.  It folds out for easy access to everything!  Made building so easy. 

Mobile Gaming - Top 5 for February

Who doesn't enjoy a mobile game every once in a while?  They hardly take any dedication and allow us to really pass time when we need to, which is perfect for anyone who works a full time job and hardly finds time for console gaming.  My top 5 mobile games for February are, in no specific order:

Flappy Bird!  Haha Just kidding.  You've all probably heard enough about this game!  So I'll spare you my feelings on it and I'll just say beat my 167!  :)

5.  Adventure Time: Card Wars  iOS and Amazon Kindle (for now) $3.99
This game is based off of an episode in the series of Adventure Time if you live under a rock and don't know that.  I personally enjoy AT a lot and was stoked to see that not only one of my favorite board game creators was making a board game of this, but also that it was going to be an app too!

The game is pretty simple to learn.  It has a lot of the Adventure Time feel to it which I personally love. There is a lot of content and re-playability.  Basically it's a deck building/ CCG mixed together.  But it's pretty simplistic.  I personally LOVE deck building games and this is as basic as you can get.  You place terrain that you summon monsters/ your army to.  You can boost them with buildings and you can floop which is a special ability that each card has.  You have magic points to spend on laying out your attacks.  One of the best features in this game is the ability to block attacks and critical hit by using a spinner.  I'm really curious on how the physical copy of this game plays so I'll be picking that up as soon as I find it in stores.  Here is the link for the physical copy if that interests you at all.  Cryptozoic Adventure Time Game 



4.  Riptide GP2  Google Play and iOS $2.99
This may be the most beautiful game I have ever seen on my Galaxy S4.  It is so smooth and the graphics are crisp and the water is so watery looking.  Oh.. Anyways this game reminds me of Wave
Race 64.  It's a Jet ski racing game.  You can level up your character and learn new stunts by winning races and earning xp.  There is a multiplayer mode that works well, and doing tricks off of the jumps is just really amazing.  I am a sucker for good non traditional car racing games and I loved Wave Race 64.  I actually used my Google reward credits to buy this.  I normally like free apps, but why not spend free money?




3.  An Alien with a Magnet  Google Play and iOS FREE
I can't really recall any games of this kind similar to this one.  If that makes any sense at all..  You are a cute little alien in a cute little saucer with a magnet that allows you to orbit close to planets and collect star coins and power ups.  The levels get harder and new challenges are added like running out of power.  There are 3 gems to collect in each level and you spin around planets launching to other planets without hitting anything and then you find the finish line and go to the next level.  It's simple fun.

2.  Dungeon Highway  Google Play and iOS
Kind of an endless runner with a dungeon crawl/retro feel to it.  You can shoot enemies and pick up different power ups and weapons along the way.  You have to avoid running into monsters and walls of the dungeon while trying to kill as much stuff as possible to gain points.  It's a simple concept that is pretty fun.  I also really like 8-bit type games.  And dungeons..

1.  Hot Donut  Google Play and iOS
You're a super hero donut rolling, dashing, and launching through hills and over water while collecting fireflies.. Or to me they look like bees.. You earn stars based on how well you do and earn crystals that you ca
n use to purchase upgrades.  It's another really simple fun addictive game that is great to pass time.

Now Playing - Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze!

Actually as I sit here at my desk typing this, I am also currently on a 319 streak in Draw Something 2 where I am trying really hard to draw a "snowplow".  I'm in no way good at drawing but I do find it fun to, every once in a while, take a stylus and pretend I'm an artist.  But enough about Draw Something.. Onwards!

My most recent and most exciting game that I picked up is Donkey Kong Country : Tropical Freeze for the Wii U.  I grew up a HUGE fan of the DKC series.  I used to play them all on Super Nintendo.  And actually besides Super Mario World, It was one of the only games that I owned at the time so I pretty much mastered them all, many times.

Tropical Freeze has that nostalgic feel that puts me right back into my childhood home, sitting about 2 ft away from the TV in a beanbag chair playing my SNES for hours upon hours!  However, this game is really hard!  I like to think I'm pretty good at video games too.  Especially Nintendo games.  Now the problem I think I was having was trying to play this co-op.  It's one of those co-op games where you can't really get too far away from each other and you have to spend more time working together or dragging/waiting for someone who maybe isn't that great of a player.  I also wasn't too fond of having to swap different Kongs for different levels just to get all of the extras in the levels.  In single player it gives you the right Kong for every level from what it seems.  Single player was much better IMO but I only played like 3 levels in Single Player Mode.  The graphics are absolutely stunning.  The music is a bunch of the older tunes from the previous DKC games remixed, along with some new tunes that sound equally as awesome.  It really adds to the nostalgic feel.  Also MINECART level!  There are other little easter eggs such as Cranky Kong's Phonograph from the original DKC too that just add to the total WOW of the game.  If you're a Nintendo fan or are maybe even contemplating this game, just get it.  It is awesome and challenging and I think it's a good pick for any gamer.  

*Brittany's best DK anger quote so far..  "oh good, just barrel roll to f**king China."

Welcome!

Welcome to my newest and hopefully more content-filled blog!  With the extensive list of video games coming out soon, I figured what better way to reflect on them while working a boring 9-5?  Reviews, pictures, some "cool story bros" and who knows whatever else I'll come up with.  From the newest games to mobile games all the way back in time to retro games, I'm sure you'll find something here in time.  I will also be adding anything techy that interests me..  I hope you enjoy!