So while everyone who doesn't have Wii Us are busy playing the just-another-sandbox-game Watch Dogs, us Wii U owners are playing Mario Kart 8. I've only had enough time for two cups so far, but it is a lot of fun! Rather than write a positive piece on how much fun it is, I'd rather leave that to the 1,000,000 blogs doing the same thing right about now. What I'd like to talk about are eight little annoyances I have with the game. It needs to be noted that these are nitpicks and are not meant to be taken seriously, or in a way that this is causing me to like the game any less. I'll always love the Mario Kart games. With that said, let's get start.
#1 No Times in Gran Prix
This struck me as rather odd when I first heard about it in GameSpot's Mario Kart 8 review. I've always enjoyed seeing how close 2nd place was from me and how badly I smashed last place. It was also a great indicator of just how aggressive the AI was being with you during Gran Prix. I've yet to come up with a single positive reason for why the times were removed from this mode.
#2 No Replay, Just Highlight Reel
... What? I only get to see a 10 second highlight real of predetermined actions instead of being able to watch an entire replay? Oh wow... I get to edit it and share it too... Big freaking whoop. No replacement for an actual replay.
#3 The Coin Power-Up
As many of you know, the coins are back in Mario Kart. The more you get, the faster you go. The coins are all over the track. Yet, there's a power up you can collect that gives you ... another coin! Thanks, Nintendo! That's what I've always wanted! I don't need a banana peel to put behind me to ward off the incoming red shell, or a red shell to throw at someone who just passed me! I got my coin! I'm good!
#4 No On-Screen Map
Most people might not care about this, and hey, you get the map on your tablet screen, but I've NEVER liked the idea of taking something that you can easily display on the TV off the TV and putting it on the tablet, requiring you to divert your eyes from the TV to the tablet and back again. Why can't I just have a transparent map that shows the positions of all the other racers? Would make it much easier.
#5 Not Being Able to Pick Up Another Weapon While Holding On to a Shell or Peel
I can see the logic behind this, but I don't like it. When you're having shells constantly flung at you, it's nice to have a peel covering your back while you're picking up another weapon to hopefully get another peel or shell. You can't do it in MK8. You'll have to let it go before you can pick up another one. Hasn't been a big deal yet, but I can see it becoming a problem later on.
#6 Fall Time Recovery
So I fell off trying to access a shortcut earlier today, and I was quit surprised how quickly Lakitu swooped down, caught you and put you back on track. It was literally a second. I didn't even get to see myself fall off screen before I was already put back on the course. I find this an odd thing to do considering Nintendo is trying to promote this game as more skill-based. Falling off the course should be a major penalty, something that encourages skillful driving, not treated as a Mulligan.
#7 Roster
This is obviously subjective, but I do feel Nintendo could have done a lot more work in this area. Sure, there are loads of characters to choose from now thanks to the addition of the Koopa Kids, but that's SEVEN Koopa Kids. If you don't care about them that much, that's a huge portion of the roster you won't ever touch. Also, more babies and pallet swaps. You would think with the HUGE amount of characters in the Mario Universe they could have pulled from, the roster would be a little more varied.
#8 Recycled Courses
I'll catch flack for this one, I know, as again it's entirely subjective. The argument can even be made that it's tradition, but I'm sick of it. I'm tired of recycled courses. I don't care if they've been reworked with the new game's engine and mechanics. I'm sick of seeing 16 track slots taken up with something I've already played years ago. What I would LOVE to see is a fresh Mario Kart with 32 ALL NEW tracks. THEN, they can do 32 retro tracks. This happens every time I play a new Mario Kart. I get so impressed with the track design (and OMG the track design so far has been PHENOMENAL) that I can only help but wonder what NEW tracks I could have been racing on in the second set of cups. Tired of it, Nintendo. TRY HARDER!
Thanks all for reading.
Friday, May 30, 2014
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Guess who's playing Watch Dogs?
Not me, says I. If you guessed wrong, NO COOKIE FOR YOU! Wow, I got a lot of cookies here, because I'm guessing every single one of you thought this would be a blog about me playing Watch Dogs. Well, I wish it was. I really, really wish it was.
So, today is the launch of one of the most anticipated games - and new IPs for that matter - in a long time. Ever since the unveiling of Watch Dogs at E3 2012, it's been a game on everyone's radar including mine. Ubisoft is one of the many companies known for continually recycling existing franchise *cough* Assassin's Creed *cough*, so to see a new franchise spark so much interest was quite refreshing. The game not only looked beautiful, it also looked intriguing. It seemed like the video game equivalent of Person of Interest, that TV show with the Jim Caveizeal....litus or something. That guy who played the guy that was nailed to a cross in that movie all those years ago which was made by an anti semite. Anyway....
I was eager to have this game, but then... something happened. It started closely after the onslaught of media outlets printing stories of the graphics not being what they were promised. "This isn't what we were shown at E3 2012! This is worse!" So, controversy was created and everyone was flinging insults at each other because "#PCMasterRace" and "consoles are bringing down PC graphics". It became annoying. This, atop of nonstop UbiSoft marketing saturation of "This is going to be the best selling new IP of all time" and "Watch Dogs has the makings for a long lasting franchise", and who could forget the 1080p 900p 30 FPS 59 FPS debacle? Half the time, UbiSoft didn't even know WHAT they were doing with the game! Oh, and let's not forget the nine different editions of the game across all regions. It just got to be too much...
About a week or two ago, I started getting a bad vibe about the game. Of course, I knew it wasn't going to be a bad game, but I started getting the feeling that it was going to be the proverbial next best thing to sliced bread that UbiSoft was promising. I decided to play the wait and see approach. I've browsed GameRankings a bit, and so far, the game's doing decent. Not "OMG GOTY ALREADY!" status, but a good game all around. I decided that as of right now, Watch Dogs no longer holds my attention enough for me to buy the game right away. This will make a good 30 dollar game.
Now, not many gamers can exercise this level of self control. When you generate enough hype for a game, it's almost impossible for you to pull yourself out of its massive wake. I have succumbed to many hyped games, and there were several that I could have EASILY waited for and saved a good 30-40 bucks. I have too many games across the PS3, PS4, Wii U, Vita and 3DS to keep me occupied. In fact, the only game I know of this year for certain that I simply must have is Mario Kart 8.
I kinda wish the hyping up of AAA games would die down a bit. It is in fact bad for the industry. Great for business, but bad for the industry. I know it's contradictory, but think about it. How many Call of Dutys have we had to see being churned out every year? How many Assassin's Creeds? How many potentially promising titles have we seen miss the mark because they just HAVE to make that October/November release? Games need to take their time to be truly great. Hell, Watch Dogs has been in development for at least three years, and it didn't even manage to net one single perfect score yet. I'm sure gamers would have waited one more year if it meant that UbiSoft could iron out all the kinks. Gamers need to realize that we have a PLETHORA of different games that we can select from. We don't need to play only the big budget titles.
And going off on a tangent, it seems like the only reason I don't want Watch Dogs now is because of a lot of people are playing it now. Does that make me some kind of hipster? I don't know. Maybe it does. Maybe I get tired of hearing people talk about nothing but the same game. This happened to me with Red Dead Redemption. I actually chose not to buy it (there were three other games that I wanted that game out that day) because I was tired of my XBL friends doing nothing but talking up that game. I also haven't got around to getting GTA V, but that's an entirely different matter. I didn't get GTA V not because everyone was talking about. On the contrary, I put myself on blackout. I didn't want to hear anything spoiled and I decided at that time, I wasn't ready for such a massive game. I'm trying to play ketchup and I'm not doing a very good job of it.
Anyway... I've wanted to do one of these blogspot blogs for some time. Funny, I was going to do a blog at GameSpot.com, but it's apparently down. That's it. I'm no longer blogging there. I'll be here from now on, so if you want to follow me, please do! Thanks for reading!
EDIT: By the way, when I get some time, I'll spiff this place up and make it more appealing to your optic nerves. Until then, enjoy the awesomeness that is white!
So, today is the launch of one of the most anticipated games - and new IPs for that matter - in a long time. Ever since the unveiling of Watch Dogs at E3 2012, it's been a game on everyone's radar including mine. Ubisoft is one of the many companies known for continually recycling existing franchise *cough* Assassin's Creed *cough*, so to see a new franchise spark so much interest was quite refreshing. The game not only looked beautiful, it also looked intriguing. It seemed like the video game equivalent of Person of Interest, that TV show with the Jim Caveizeal....litus or something. That guy who played the guy that was nailed to a cross in that movie all those years ago which was made by an anti semite. Anyway....
I was eager to have this game, but then... something happened. It started closely after the onslaught of media outlets printing stories of the graphics not being what they were promised. "This isn't what we were shown at E3 2012! This is worse!" So, controversy was created and everyone was flinging insults at each other because "#PCMasterRace" and "consoles are bringing down PC graphics". It became annoying. This, atop of nonstop UbiSoft marketing saturation of "This is going to be the best selling new IP of all time" and "Watch Dogs has the makings for a long lasting franchise", and who could forget the 1080p 900p 30 FPS 59 FPS debacle? Half the time, UbiSoft didn't even know WHAT they were doing with the game! Oh, and let's not forget the nine different editions of the game across all regions. It just got to be too much...
About a week or two ago, I started getting a bad vibe about the game. Of course, I knew it wasn't going to be a bad game, but I started getting the feeling that it was going to be the proverbial next best thing to sliced bread that UbiSoft was promising. I decided to play the wait and see approach. I've browsed GameRankings a bit, and so far, the game's doing decent. Not "OMG GOTY ALREADY!" status, but a good game all around. I decided that as of right now, Watch Dogs no longer holds my attention enough for me to buy the game right away. This will make a good 30 dollar game.
Now, not many gamers can exercise this level of self control. When you generate enough hype for a game, it's almost impossible for you to pull yourself out of its massive wake. I have succumbed to many hyped games, and there were several that I could have EASILY waited for and saved a good 30-40 bucks. I have too many games across the PS3, PS4, Wii U, Vita and 3DS to keep me occupied. In fact, the only game I know of this year for certain that I simply must have is Mario Kart 8.
I kinda wish the hyping up of AAA games would die down a bit. It is in fact bad for the industry. Great for business, but bad for the industry. I know it's contradictory, but think about it. How many Call of Dutys have we had to see being churned out every year? How many Assassin's Creeds? How many potentially promising titles have we seen miss the mark because they just HAVE to make that October/November release? Games need to take their time to be truly great. Hell, Watch Dogs has been in development for at least three years, and it didn't even manage to net one single perfect score yet. I'm sure gamers would have waited one more year if it meant that UbiSoft could iron out all the kinks. Gamers need to realize that we have a PLETHORA of different games that we can select from. We don't need to play only the big budget titles.
And going off on a tangent, it seems like the only reason I don't want Watch Dogs now is because of a lot of people are playing it now. Does that make me some kind of hipster? I don't know. Maybe it does. Maybe I get tired of hearing people talk about nothing but the same game. This happened to me with Red Dead Redemption. I actually chose not to buy it (there were three other games that I wanted that game out that day) because I was tired of my XBL friends doing nothing but talking up that game. I also haven't got around to getting GTA V, but that's an entirely different matter. I didn't get GTA V not because everyone was talking about. On the contrary, I put myself on blackout. I didn't want to hear anything spoiled and I decided at that time, I wasn't ready for such a massive game. I'm trying to play ketchup and I'm not doing a very good job of it.
Anyway... I've wanted to do one of these blogspot blogs for some time. Funny, I was going to do a blog at GameSpot.com, but it's apparently down. That's it. I'm no longer blogging there. I'll be here from now on, so if you want to follow me, please do! Thanks for reading!
EDIT: By the way, when I get some time, I'll spiff this place up and make it more appealing to your optic nerves. Until then, enjoy the awesomeness that is white!
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