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repentantsky · 3 years

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9 Things I’d like to see at E3, 2021

So E3 2021 is a thing. It’s gonna be all digital, and several companies have already signed up to join, sounds like a good deal, but the question is, will it be what we normally expect out of E3, or will it be more like Summer Game Fest Last Year, where everything that looked like it was gonna be great, but just turned out to be okay? Who can say, but I have some...suggestions, that might make it better, along with some game announcements, that might make it all it should be cracked up to be.

9. No low quality, at home interviews during the main show

E3 has had a history of doing interviews during game shows to try and break pace a little, and keep people from being too excited, only to potentially be let down later. However, possibly the worst problem with Summer Game Fest last year, was the at home interviews, which broke pacing during game announcements in a way I can’t imagine was on purpose, and for many, was the time to take a bathroom break, or simply look away for a while. It’s important of course to hear from developers about their projects, and they can divulge some interesting information about games, that either puts something confusing into context, or is accidently leaked, but when we watch shows about game releases, we want to see the games. Interviews should be held in between shows, or better yet, the days following the conferences themselves.

8. Nintendo finally talks about the big three

While it’s safe to say Nintendo has done some banger numbers over the last year espeically, due to better console availability, which I never thought I’d say about Nintendo but here we are, it’s also safe to say that fans have been waiting for literal years on Bayonetta 3, Metroid Prime 4, and Breath of the Wild 2. While some have been more patient than others, and of course I understand there’s a flipping pandemic going on, Nintendo told us far too long ago about these games, or the restart of their development, and Breath of the Wild 2 was promised to at least get an update this year, and E3 seems like the best place to do it, especially after their last direct, one that was more than a year in waiting, and left so many people disappointed. And this is coming from someone who had literally only hoped to be excited about one thing, and it didn’t happen The future of how they present games, almost feels like it’s in question after such a show, which did not justify itself, so hopefully, they can finally let everyone walk away happy, and talk about the projects that have been generation the most excitement, for literal years now.

7. Space things out better

You might now know this, I only made one list about it after all, and literally no one reacted to it, but I’m a huge wrestling fan, and one of the promotions I watch, is WWE. Now, WWE is about to launch WrestleMania, their equal to E3 in a lot of ways, and are splitting it up over two days, and that goes for their third brand NXT as well, because they have a history of making the show sometimes 8 hours long. For fans of video games, watching The Game Awards, which can be two to three hours long, is arduous, and tiring, and E3, can also have that same effect. I remember in 2019, I literally fell asleep watching Bethesda’s conference, because I was so tired trying to write about the previous shows in between them, never mind actually watching them, that I was burnt out. Since E3 is going fully digital this year, and everyone is going to be in that same boat, it would be nice if we didn’t have too many shows, spanning over a near 12 hour period, which was happened before, making people stay up late to enjoy what they want to, or you know, work, which is free promotion for whatever gets announced. Spacing the shows out to no more than three a day, and giving people enough time to get their thoughts together, would just be really nice.

6. Devolver Digital, tries a different style

Look, I don’t hate Devolver Digital’s approach to talking about games at E3, but what I do hate, is them telling the same jokes over and over again, and expecting everyone to laugh, because you know, it’s so funny when something that’s already been said, or shown, is modified ever so slightly for years on end. I’m not saying they can’t still tell jokes, please do, E3 is as much a good time as it is stressful depending on who you are, so the change of pace can at times be a lot of fun, but the last time they had a “conference”, it was a slog, and generally left me feeling annoyed, and I can’t help but feel I’m not the only one. They want to be different, I say that’s great, but they need to do it in a way that for one, is actually different, because their style has become a cliché in and of itself, and where they don’t spend time talking about fake games, because it’s hard to know at times what’s real and what isn’t. I honestly thought the last time they did one, the final game they talked about was just a play on the “one more thing” trope conferences have, and when I later realized it wasn’t, I never got that first sense of hype, and so lost interest, and that’s not a good business model. We don’t even know at this point if they’re going to declare for E3, and since it was announced late, it might be too hard to get a show at all, but if they do show up, or even when they next do a conference, it would be nice if they considered this line of thinking.

5. Drop the “Exclusive Online Portal” idea

Yeah I don’t know what the ESA was thinking with this one, but they mentioned that E3 will be streaming from an exclusive online portal, and not only do we not know what that means, but no one flipping cares! We’re all going to watching it on YouTube, Twitch, or dare I say it but it’s possible, Facebook Gaming, and any other platform is completely useless. We are all tired of hearing, download a new program to do a thing you can already do on other platforms, PC gamers especially, stop releasing new flipping launchers and...sorry, that’s for another list in the future perhaps, but the point stands. You might get streamers to download, or go to whatever site they need to, to watch the shows, but everyone else, is either going to watch those streams, or as it often happens, watch the highlights at a later time, so to add a potentially extra step to that process, is just not going to go anywhere, and since E3 will be free to watch, it’s not like this is going to be a good way to make money, unless you do plan to do the following...

4. Throwing flipping ads at everyone between shows or otherwise

Look, I get it, even an online show that’s going to be talking about games costs money to make, and so money must be made by other means, many of which are not available to the ESA without people actually being present, but the thing about E3 is, as much as we all love it, it is one massive ad, and even though it’s an add we like, it’s not one that needs too many ads thrown at it beyond what it already has. There are other, less annoying ways to make money, like having products from the games announced be available at a store online that people can access, that sees them getting part of the profit, or something of that nature, but this portal that was mentioned, seems like a place where the ESA can just throw ads at people all day, and that just seems like a horrible idea. A lot of people don’t see E3 as an ad, even though it absolutely is, and blowing away the smoke and mirrors that it’s not, by throwing countless ads at people for the sake of trying to make money, might be the end of E3 as we know it.

3. Don’t spend too much time talking about games that are coming out close to the event, or just came out

Like I said, E3 is one big, massive ad, and for the most part, that’s totally alright, but E3 also has a habit of sneaking in little bits talking about games, that are coming out during the week of, or very close to the shows, to the point of being annoying. Most of the time these ads are short, show nothing new, and generally kill the pace of the conferences on display. While it’d be one thing to try and shadow drop a game this way, because we all love a good shadow drop, we really don’t need ads for games like FF7 Intergrade, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, or flipping Mario Golf: Super Rush. We know those games are coming, we are paying attention, give us a little credit, and save that for games that could use the push like Neptunia: ReVerse, Legend of Mana, or maybe even Scarlett Nexus who actually in way, has to compete with Mario Golf. This might be more a developer problem, and E3 itself might actually have little to no control over this, but whoever does it, needs to do it right.

2. Xbox needs to stop lying, and go big

I love Xbox, I really do, for whatever reason it’s become my go to place for physical indie games, and whenever I want to play a shooter, I start thinking green, but in their conferences, Phil Spencer has a tendency to oversell what Xbox is going to show, by talking about how many games are going to be at the show, or by constantly mentioning how Xbox is more powerful than it’s competitor consoles, like it does any good for the bottom line of the company. I don’t want to hear Phil say they are going to show off 80 games during their show, and have half of them be ports, or shown off in a montage. Doing that means everyone has to go look up a large portion of what they actually announce to learn anything, and that’s no fun. I don’t want montages during E3 at all, and while I’m at it, Xbox espeically needs to bring in the big guns. I’m talking Halo Infinite, Gears 6, the next Forza game, and maybe, finally, a Japanese exclusive title that will get people really hyped. Xbox might just have free reign over the show on the day they present, but another show that has extremely mixed opinions like in 2019, might not be the best thing ever.

1. GET. SONY.

Obviously we know that Sony and the PlayStation brand haven’t been associated with E3 for a while now, and I get it, it’s kind of hard to justify going down to L.A. every year, when an online digital show, saves a whole bunch of money, and can get people just as hyped as if they had been there, but this year, everything is online, and Sony’s State of Play’s have been a mixed reaction as a whole. Taking them to E3 not only sets up more hype for them, but it also gives people something they really need right now, something close to the norm, with all of console developers, showing off their best. E3 2019, just felt weaker, and too safe without Sony there, and last year was a total, long winded disaster because of Summer Game Fest. If the ESA is really going to go for this, and give it an earnest shot, and give us the best that they can, they need Sony to show up and blow our minds with, I don’t know, God of War 2, Spyro 4 (hopefully) and a new IP or two to really get the show to being considered one of the best. E3 will probably be alright regardless of if they are there or not, but if they are, the chances of it being truly great, go up in spades.

And that’s my list, did I miss anything else you can think of? Let me know in the comments below, like this list if it interested you, reblog it if you love it, and have a wonderful day.

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audiogrizzly · 4 years

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My Top 20 Games of the 2010s

I will still be doing my usual top 5 this year, but seeing as it’s the last year of a whole decade, I am going to start off with a list of games that encompasses the whole of the last 10 years.

A couple of things to point out before we get cracking:

This is a personal list, so there’s gonna be some games that you the reader may not agree with. I’m actually in a privileged position to play whatever I want, but I don’t necessarily agree with everything professional game writers say. There will be a list of “honourable mentions” at the end, this may include a few of the games you might have been expecting

I do cheat a little, some entries are dedicated to a franchise of games. At the end of the day, if you are into Destiny, chances are that Destiny 1 and 2 sort of merged into each other, Destiny 1 changed as much over its 3 year lifespan as the final product changed into Destiny 2

There are no games from 2019 in here, apart from part of one of them, see my previous point. Maybe one day I will look at Apex legends and say “yes, that was the best game of the 2010s”, but it’s too early to say now.

I know there are a lack of Nintendo games. There is one Nintendo exclusive and another that I played on a Nintendo platform (in the top 20, there may be more in the honourable mentions), but all in all I won’t be mentioning what system I played these games on unless I have to. If you must know, the majority were played on either PlayStation 4 and PC. A couple of Vita, PS3, Switch and Wii U.

I will be adding information on where each game scored in my previous yearly top 5s though and I did do those on separate platforms up until 2013. So in a way, that’s confirming what systems I played these all on.

If you have followed my yearly top 5s, you’ll see some inconsistency, as in the fact that I have got my number 1 game from 2015 further down the list than my number 2 of that year. Also that I have my 1st and 3rd best game from 2018 on the list but my number 2 game is merely on the honourable mentions. This is because your thoughts towards a game can change. I still love all the games I have ever placed on a top 5, but some games age better than others.

And I’m not going to write descriptions, I always write something in my yearly lists. As I said before, I’m not a games writer, it’s going to take way too long and I don’t think anyone's going to read what I write anyway, just look at the list.

At the start of this decade, I had no idea if I would still be playing games by the end of it or where I would be. I’m actually still sort of in the same place I was in 2010, but it’s been a fun ride, in a sort of “slipping into middle age” sort of way. But I think I was born to be old to be honest. Now I find myself at the start of the 2020s, I’m wondering how my hearing/eyesight/reactions will be at the end of the next decade.

Now that I have depressed the hell out of you, let’s begin!

20. PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale (2nd on both my PS3 and Vita lists in 2012)

19. Vanquish (4th on my PS3 list from 2010)

18. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain (1st on my 2015 list)

17. Steamworld Dig 2 (3rd on my 2017 list)

16. Marvel’s Spider-Man (4th on my 2018 list)

15. Gravity Rush 1 & 2 (GR1 1st on my Vita 2012 list, GR2 on my honourable mentions from 2017)

14. Dangonronpa Series (D1 5th on my 2014 list, DV3 honourable mention for 2017, D2 not listed)

13. The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt (2nd on my 2015 list)

12. God of War (1st on my 2018 list)

11. The Last of Us (2nd on my 2013 list, though I really started to enjoy it more when the Remastered version came out on PS4, 1st on my 2014 list)

10. NieR: Automata (2nd on my 2017 list)

9. Horizon Zero Dawn (1st on my 2017 list)

8. Persona 4 Golden (Not listed, this is the only game I didn’t play in the year of its release on here)

7. Diablo 3 (3rd on my PS3 list in 2013, Honourable mention for PS4 in 2014)

6. DOOM (2nd on my 2016 list)

5. Portal 2 (2nd on my PS3 list for 2012)

4. CoD Series (yes, all of them, here’s a list within a list:)

10. Ghosts (2nd on my PS4 list in 2013)

9. Advanced Warfare (3rd on my 2014 list)

8. Infinite Warfare (Honourable mention in 2016)

7. Black Ops 3 (Not listed, but didn’t do honourable mentions in 2015)

6. Modern Warfare (not listed yet, but like I said, it’s too early for me to feel confident in a 2019 game, though MW is a cracker)

5. Black Ops 4 (5th on my 2018 list)

4. WWII (Not listed, not even on honourables, weirdly)

3. Black Ops 2 (2nd on my 360 list from 2012, making this my only Xbox game on my list)

2. Black Ops (Not listed, didn’t do honourables in 2010)

1. Modern Warfare 3 (1st on my PS3 list from 2011)

3. Mario Kart 8 (Not listed, the only top 5 I can find from 2014 is a PS4 list, I got this rather late in the year though)

2. Overwatch (1st on my 2016 list)

1. Destiny 1&2 (D1 2nd on my 2014 list, D2 5th on my 2017 list)

Destiny there being a good example of a game that gets better over time, I think the whole “live game” scene found its stride in the 10s and it’s made sure that this game that was never number 1 in its year of release could go on to be the game I have perhaps put the most hours into. You also have multiplayer games taking up my entire top 4 too (I mostly play CoD for multiplayer), though all in all, the majority of this list are single player titles.

And all CoDs in the list? It’s basically just CoD itself that’s at number 4. If I was forced to adhere to a list where there was only single games listed, there would be no way I would have Ghosts or Advanced Warfare on there at the end of it all. I would just keep MW3 on there perhaps, but then I would feel iffy about some of the games at the bottom of the list. Do I really like PS All-Stars and Vanquish more than Black Ops 1 & 2?

So what of the decade’s honourable mentions? Will it feature GTA or Red Dead. The answer to the latter is “yes” and the former, here:

GTA 5

Batman Arkham city

Uncharted 3

Red Dead Redemption

Super Street Fighter 4

Hyper Light Drifter

Dishonored 2

Titanfall 2

Battleborn

Watch Dogs 2

Ratchet and Clank

Red Dead Redemption 2

Tearaway (Vita and Unfolded)

Sonic Mania

Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild (yes, in my honourables!)

Hotline Miami

Bioshock Infinite

Tomb Raider (2016)

Borderlands 2

Life is Strange

Uncharted 4 (and Lost Legacy)

Persona 5

Assassins Creed Origins and Odyssey (Origins I played the year after it came out, it would have been considered a game of the year if I’d had played it in 2017)

Far Cry 3 (Plus its legacy, even FC5)

Bulletstorm

And I’m just going to add Control to that list too as it’s the only game from 2019 that I have enjoyed that I see as being something that will stand up in a couple of years, maybe the Outer Worlds (I haven't played Wilds) too, but I will need to give that another play.

So there you have it, 10 years in gaming from me. Will I still be playing games after another? Time, and my body, will tell. Look out for my top 5 of 2019, I still have to give Judgment and Death Stranding a good go before I can make up my mind, maybe I will play Outer Wilds too.

#call of duty #overwatch #bulletstorm #uncharted 4 #tearaway #destiny 2 #gravity rush #tomb raider #playstation 4 #xbox 360 #PC #Switch #Nintendo #nintendo switch #Life is Strange

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small-leviathan · 6 years

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The themes of the Splatoon series

(Heads up, this essay analysing Splatoon is literally 2300 words long. You’re gonna be for a while if you decide to stick around.)

In case you've missed it until now, Splatoon has taken the world by storm. Nintendo's cephalopod-based multiplayer shooter series has sold almost 12 million copies across two games in just about three years, and as a result of this still young franchise has cemented itself as one of the legendary Japanese game developer's new hallmark series. Nintendo seems inclined to agree, as Splatoon's central Inkling characters have been featured prominently in the marketing for their latest game in the prestigious crossover series, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, with the Inkling girl even earning a prominent spot on the game's cover art alongside titans like Mario, Donkey Kong and Link.

So perhaps some of you would scoff at the idea that Splatoon has a deeper message behind it than it first appears. Nintendo isn't really known for baking thought-provoking stuff into their games, and this seems like it'd be doubly true for a game that is first-and-foremost a competitive multiplayer shooter. I don't know if I'll be able to convince you otherwise, honestly, but I do sincerely believe that Splatoon has something to say and in this essay, I will explain why I believe that to be the case, and just what that thing is.

Let's start by describing the most important elements of Splatoon's narrative, and just as a heads up, I think it goes without saying that I will be spoiling pretty much every major reveal across all of Splatoon 1, Splatoon 2, and its DLC, Octo Expansion. Splatoon is set twelve thousand years after global warming and environmental pollution has wiped out mankind as well as most mammals. Having taken our place is a large assortment of evolved sea critters, including crabs, jellyfish and most prominently, cephalopods. Squids and octopi alike have evolved the ability to shift into humanoid forms, becoming known as inklings and octarians, respectively. Unfortunately, our squishy successors didn't get along very well, as rising sea levels forced them into a violent conflict known as the Great Turf Wars. This conflict was eventually won by the Inklings, letting them claim the surface while the octarians were forced into hiding in great underground cities.

Splatoon proper takes place a hundred years later, and the Octarians have been reduced to just a distant memory in the mind of Inkling society. Trouble is brewing under the surface, however, as the leader of the Octarians, DJ Octavio, is planning an attack on the hub city of Inklingkind, Inkopolis. The player takes control of a customizable inkling who is recruited by the military veteran Cap'n Cuttlefish to help take down the Octarian menace before they can start their campaign. Along the way the player, now dubbed as "Agent 3", is helped not only by Cap'n Cuttlefish, but by his granddaughters Agent 1 and Agent 2, who are eventually revealed to be the two members of the pop idol duo The Squid Sisters, Callie and Marie (to no one's surprise, the game does not try very hard to conceal their identities). Long story short, Agent 3 defeats the Octarians, ending in a grand battle against DJ Octavio. The Octarian threat is defeated and DJ Octavio is captured, with inkling society none the wiser.

Splatoon 2 unfolds two years after the events of the first game, and a lot has changed. Callie and Marie have drifted apart, following a popularity contest ending in Marie's favour, and taking their place as the number one musical act is a new duo known as Off the Hook, consisting of the rapper Pearl and the DJ Marina (who looks suspiciously like an Octarian, but more on that later). Marie discovers that DJ Octavio has escaped his containment, and now alone due to Cap'n Cuttlefish and Agent 3 having gone on a new mission and Callie suddenly disappearing in the midst of a trip, she is forced to follow her grandfather's footsteps and recruit a new Agent, this one being our new playable character, Agent 4. Not much is different from that point onward, except for the eventual reveal that DJ Octavio is responsible for Callie's disappearance, having kidnapped her after he escaped and is now brainwashing her with a pair of hypnotic sunglasses. Nonetheless, Callie is saved and DJ Octavio is defeated once again.

You might be wondering why I bothered to explain all of the plot of Splatoon's singleplayer content, and the reason for that is that I believe that understanding all of this is necessary to explain the first and most important of Splatoon's themes: The positive power of pop culture and self-expression.

Splatoon heavily encourages that the player uses its system to express themselves. Aside from having character creation, there is an emphasis on fashion, both in the culture of the inklings themselves and in the gameplay proper, with the player having access to a wide variety of clothes, headwear and shoes with which to accessorize their characters. It might be easy, perhaps even tempting, to read this in a cynical manner and characterize inklings as a bunch of shallow trend-chasers, slaves to consumerist fads built to wring as much cash out of them as possible. And this interpretation is, in all honesty, valid, but it's certainly not a philosophical standpoint that Splatoon itself agrees with. The game encourages mixing and experimenting with its fashions, but all of that fashion is bought with a currency that you earn by playing the multiplayer game, which in-universe is explained to be a kind of competitive shooting sport, not unlike paintball, that seems to be the hyperfixation of every single inkling teen like the player character. It's a bit hard to read the game's take on fashion as cynical when you literally earn money by doing something you were not only going to do anyway but were also actively seeking out and enjoying. The multiplayer mode itself is also encouraging self-expression, in a way, due to there being a wide variety of weapons available, all of which feel distinct and unique, allowing the player find the ones they like the most and use only those. This isn't "do tireless work to keep spending money", it's "do the things you like to get the things you like." And I feel like that is a very clear subversion of consumerist culture, unless you feel like pointing out that Splatoon itself is something you have to spend money on to play and therefore it is inherently a part of consumerist culture, in which case, alright then, Holden Caulfield, don't you have anything better to do?

Moving on, there is also a massive focus on music in the setting, with a lot of different fictional bands, all of which sound completely unlike each other. Crucially, the "pop music" in Splatoon is not as heavily standardized as our own pop music is, in Inkopolis everything from the Bottom Feeders' Celtic rock to Chirpy Chips' chiptune to Diss-Pair's... whatever they are, can find mainstream success and popularity. Perhaps the most telling sign that Splatoon thinks music is important is that all of the most important characters are artists, from Callie and Marie to Pearl and Marina and even the antagonist himself, DJ Octavio.

That said, there is a very important distinction to be made here. In an interview with Famitsu from 2015, series art director Seita Inoue stated that the music that plays during the singleplayer levels is composed by DJ Octavio and his subordinates, and that "it’s like the Octo side broadcasts their music in order to control the many Octarians.” When this is combined with the fact that DJ Octavio uses a pair of sunglasses to brainwash Callie, I think it's clear that the true face of his villainy is shown. DJ Octavio isn't just the antagonist because he's the final boss, but because he takes music and fashion, which the game has established as ways in which to express personal freedom, and repurposes them as tools of control and oppression. DJ Octavio is literally the antithesis of Inkling society and Inkling values.

There is one final point I want to make, but it requires delving into Octo Expansion a bit to explore, so we'll start that now. Octo Expansion is the paid singleplayer DLC for Splatoon 2, adding a pretty sizable new story campaign. In this new story, the player takes the role of an Octoling (the Octarian equivalent of an Inkling, though I will be using two terms rather interchangeably in the rest of the essay) who wakes up in an underground subway with no memories. Here, they meet Cap'n Cuttlefish, who explains that they had been in a fight with him and Agent 3 before all three of them got swept away to the locale they are now in. As Agent 3 has gone missing, Cap'n Cuttlefish teams up with our amnesiac player character to find a way out of the subway, giving them the nickname Agent 8 in the process. Along the way, the two of them end up coming into contact with Pearl and Marina, the previously mentioned music duo, who resolve to help Agent 8 and Cap'n Cuttlefish escape. A lot of things happen between the start and beginning of the story, but I want to focus on the most important revelation: Marina is revealed to have been a high-ranking member of the Octarian military who deserted after the final battle between Agent 3 and DJ Octavio in Splatoon 1, and was inspired to become an artist after hearing the Squid Sisters perform their iconic hit song Calamari Inkantation, the very same song that was stated to have inspired Agent 8's desertion as well. Calamari Inkantation was always played up as being a very special song, as said by Marina herself: "Once our souls have been freed, there's no way we can continue to live under the oppression of Octarian society."

So at this point, it's not even subtextual but literally textual, Splatoon sincerely believes that music has liberating properties, able to make people realize that they're being held back by societal structures and also gain the willpower to break free of those shackles. The lines are very clearly drawn here: In Inkopolis music and fashion are ways in which people express themselves and therefore it is an idyllic and diverse place, but Octarian society is an oppressive dystopia where these things are used to control the populace. To really hammer the point home, in the final battle of Octo Expansion, in which the very fate of the world hangs in the balance, the day is saved by Pearl and Marina (and Agent 8) working together and combining their talents and technology to destroy the giant superweapon threatening their home. The world is literally saved by a pair of musicians. It doesn't get more explicit than that.

There are two more themes I think Splatoon play with, but to a much lesser extent than the one previously mentioned. The first of these is the importance of moving on and not being stuck in the past. This is an explicit character trait in both of the central antagonists. DJ Octavio, who was the leader of the Octarians in the Great Turf Wars a hundred years ago, has been holding a grudge against the inklings for all this time when he could have been focusing on trying to improve his people’s living conditions, or even broker peace with the Inklings, who clearly don't have an issue with a bunch of Octolings running around following the events of Octo Expansion. The second case study is the antagonist from Octo Expansion, Commander Tartar. An ancient AI built by a human scientist before their extinction to pass on their knowledge to whatever species inherited the world to come, Commander Tartar fails this mission because it holds humans on such a high pedestal that it sees the flaws of the Inklings and Octarians as proof they aren't worthy to pass the torch to, and resolves to wipe them both out and create its own "perfect species" instead. Additionally, I think it's worth mentioning that the weapon it plans do this is with is a repurposed statue resembling a Greek marble bust, a relic of the past that becomes a literal metaphor for how Commander Tartar's mindset is destructive.

The second of these themes is the recurring motif that despite all of their differences and their conflicts Inklings and Octarians become complete when working together. The first sign of this is their opposite traits as species, Inklings are energetic, flighty and have a short attention span while Octarians are more serious, work-focused and obedient. It's pretty clear that both could stand to learn from each other's positive traits, and a bit of dialogue from Marina in Octo Expansion implies that she hopes as much. Off the Hook themselves are also an example of this theme in action, Pearl had trouble finding herself as an artist and was not doing very well before meeting Marina, and it's through Pearl that Marina gains the chance to follow her dream, and their cooperation makes them so successful that they become Inkopolis' number one artists. This theme is also a part of the final battle of Octo Expansion, as mentioned earlier, as it is the cooperation of Inklings and Octarians that saves the day.

If there's anything to take away from this overly wordy essay, it's this: Splatoon wants you to know that there is no shame in enjoying "shallow" pop culture, that there is meaning even in things not deemed "high culture". Splatoon wants you to know that the value of something lies not in the value of its production, but in what it expresses and the joy it brings to the people observing it, and the people making it.

Because to Splatoon, these simple things have the power to unite, to free us, and ultimately to save the world.

And personally? I think that's a pretty worthwhile message.

#splatoon #splatoon 2

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vohskyfire · 6 years

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Top Ten 2017 Games

That time of the year again, the end of the year is upon us. And as such, this will be my last post for this year on this website.

2017 has been a year of a LOT of good games. In fact, it’s argubly been the year of some of the best games ever made being released. Nintendo dominated this year with the Switch, several games have been said to be the best games of all time, and Microsoft shot themselves in the foot, again, with the Xbox One X. So odds are there’s a lot of great games out there that people love.

Keep in mind, these are just my personal picks for the top ten. If your favorites aren’t here, don’t worry, they’re still great too! Just one rule though.

No ports. Aka no Skyrim, no Doom, no Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Pokken Tournament, etc. Let’s get this started!

10: CupHead (Xbox One)

I’ll be honest, the first time I saw CupHead I wasn’t exactly sure what to think of it. It looked like it was a tribute to the old cartoons from the 50s and that gave it a bit of a nice feel to it. But I didn’t expect the game to be anything fantastic. Especially given Microsoft’s recent track records with exclusives (Looking at YOU, Halo Wars 2). However, come to my surprise, CupHead is a great game! In fact, it’s so good it’s the only Microsoft title to be on this list. So what exactly keeps it from being in the top 5? Well....

It’s hard. Like, brutally hard. Make no mistake people, this game will kick you in the teeth if you try to go into it acting like you aren’t going to die. In CupHead, expect to die. A LOT. And yes, just because it’s difficult doesn’t mean the game sucks. No one ever says that unless it’s someone who absolutely hates challenges. But sometimes, you gotta give the player a chance to BREATHE. And while boss fights are doable once you learn the patterns, people who AREN’T patient are going to break their controllers. A lot.

Overall, Cuphead is a good game. But goddamn does it make you fight to survive.

9: Crash Bandicoot: Insane Trilogy (PS4)

Crash is back baby. Crash is back. Okay, he’s SORTA back, but hey, it’s nice to see that Sony wanted to have their mascot back! Last year when they showed this off at E3, I went “Welp. There goes Microsoft’s chances to getting back into first place.” (At the time of this post, there is no Xbone Port yet) Seriously I was hyped, if Crash was coming back, then there was a huge chance that Spyro could come back as well. Now Insane Trilogy is an HD remake of the original 3 games, updated to modern times. And damn. Just DAMN. These games looks absolutely stunning. Gameplay wise they are just like they should have been from the past as well. That’s a good thing....aaaaaaaaaaaaaand a bad thing.

Crash 1 is still the hardest of the trilogy, mostly because the game was not MEANT for speed run purposes, and some of the hitboxes in Crash 1 are still as bad as they were back in the day. And while having Coco being playable is a nice touch, she doesn’t really change that much in the games. She’s basically just an alt skin for Crash, and most of the death animations that Crash goes through she’s spared. It’s still a wonderful remake of the original three games, and I am very happy to see that it sold incredibly well. Maybe Activision and Sony might work together from now on to do MORE Crash games? Or at least, you know...give us a Spyro trilogy remake too? That’d be nice. Anyone? Please? ...No? Skylanders still? O-Okay.

8: ARMS (Nintendo)

Oh yes. Now we’re getting into some Nintendo titles. (Be prepared, there’s a LOT of them here.) ARMS is basically what I would like to call the ‘Splatoon of fighting games.’ When they did the full presentation of ARMS back in January this year, I was one of the view that didn’t seem to out right hate the concept of ARMS. I thought it looked like a blast to play, plus fighting games are awesome. ARMS thankfully to me, did not disappoint. In the months of waiting for Splatoon 2 and other Switch titles to come out, ARMS was there. And for what it’s worth? The game is a blast to play. Simple controls that one can get use to, wonderfully designed characters, beautiful music, intense hype as hell battles, and being able to combine different arms with one another based on your fighting style is a great thing. Many hours were put into ARMS trying to get more unique ARMS to use in battle.

That’s...kinda where some of the good stops. The game’s great, don’t get me wrong, but there were some things I feel ARMS needed to be more active on launch. For one, a better story mode. Arcade mode is basically what you get. Info on your fighter, what they’re fighting style is like, and that’s pretty much it. There’s no story building, no interactions between characters, and that can KINDA hurt a fighting game this year when you have Injustice 2 showing how to do a story in a fighting game. Mind you, this is just a MINOR flaw to me.

Overall, ARMS is a lovable experience. And I’m glad to see that it got all the support they said they were going to give it. Maybe the comics will be just as good, or at least have more stuff for ARMS 2. (If they make it.)

7: Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle (Nintendo)

If you would have told me that this game, this game, would be on this list this year or that I would find it to be one of my favorite games this year at the start of January? I would have smacked you in the mouth. I should make this clear to everyone.

I. Hate. The Rabbids.

When I first heard about this game from that huge leak from Ubisoft, I first thought “What? Are you shitting me? Mario and Rabbids crossover? And they have GUNS? What the hell is this? Is this gonna be MARIO OF WAR 4 where it’s a third person shooter? Come on Nintendo.”

Then E3 happened. Oh boy, did I get proved wrong by Ubisoft.

Kingdom Battle isn’t ANYWHERE close to the over done third person shooter area. It’s bright, colorful, charming, actually kinda funny in moments (that’s saying something given the Rabbids’ history) and believe it or not...

Actually...a LOT of fun.

No, seriously. This is one of the most fun games I’ve played this year. Bar none. It’s hard to believe I’m saying that about a Rabbids game that’s crossed over with Mario of all franchises, but it’s true. The game is the first huge strategic game on the Switch and I’m happy to report that the game plays damn well. Think of it like Xcom. Where you actually have to think out your strategies and make certain you know the map well enough.

The only kind of flaws I could give the game is that well...it’s kinda short. Four worlds, each with large maps to do battle, and the story is just kinda...there. Like they explain how the two series meet and everything, but it’s just...there. Not like I expected a huge story from a Mario + Rabbids game, but it would have been interesting to see them go a BIT more into it. Ah well, the DLC will probably cover that.

6: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (Nintendo)

And here we have the first Fire Emblem game on this list (Someone’s gonna get upset somewhere). Shadows of Valentia is the first game that uses the classic gameplay the series has been known for that I’ve played since Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (Which we’ll get into why THAT game sucks another time...) and to be honest? This game really really contends with Awakening as my favorite FE title.

I love a lot of things about Shadows of Valentia. The storyline is enjoyable, the art style is absolutely beautiful, the music is GODLY, the battles are intense and force you to be on your toes, the character models look absolutely gorgeous for a 3DS game, and the characters are wonderfully written. No joke, Alm and Celica, as ‘bland’ as they can be, are some of my favorite FE characters now.

The only thing I can really say that is sort of a draw back to this game is that...well, how it will test your patience. No joke, the maps are fantastic and the gameplay is a joy to go through, but GOD in heaven above, do some maps want to test your will to continue. Especially maps that have the annoying spell known as UPHEAVAL which damages everyone in your army on sight AND...ahem, let’s save that rant for another time.

Over all, Shadows of Valentia is a great remake of the second game in the series. If you have a 3DS, which is going to be put to rest soon, I would recommend getting this game. It’s fantastic.

5: Fire Emblem Warriors (Nintendo)

Annnnnnnnnnd there goes some of the older FE fans booing at me liking this game. Yes, the game is only Shadow Dragon, Awakening, and Fates. Yes, some of the other characters (Celica and Lyn) are the only representatives of their games, yes some characters have the same moves as others. But you know what? I don’t care.

I. LOVE. THIS. GAME.

It’s fun, it’s stupid mindless fun, and enjoyable. I know most fans may not like the fact that it’s three games over the many others, but to me? I am happy with the choices they’ve made.

Combat is smooth and stylish, like Warriors games tend to be, the animations are wonderful, the controls respond perfectly, and just seeing the way that characters interact with one another is fantastic. I love hearing them call each other’s names when they do a dual strike together. I love how over the top some attacks can get, and I love the ability to switch between units on the fly.

Yes the story’s a lil stupid, and yes they should have included other games in the franchise too, but I like it. If you want to turn your brain off, this is the game for you. It got into my list because I’m a fan who doesn’t hold favoritism over others. Just don’t be rude to people who don’t like the game, and vice versa and you might find a gem.

4: Metroid: Samus Returns (Nintendo)

Yeaaaaah, there’s a lot of Nintendo games.

If you would have told me that Nintendo was going to show off not only Metroid Prime 4 and a new classic Metriod game this year at E3, I would have called you a liar. And to my surprise, they did it. They actually did it. Prime 4 during the new stuff for Nintendo Switch, AND during the after presentation, a new Metroid title to be released this year.

Samus Returns is what I would like to call one of the best looking, and best playable, games on the 3DS. This game I could even consider it to be a swan song. Everything from classic Metroid is here. Charge shots, wall jumps, bombs, beam upgrades, etc. It’s all there. As an official remake of Metroid 2, people were happy to see that Nintendo not only DID care for Metroid, but it shed some light as to why AM2R was taken down. There’s really not much to complain about when it comes to this game. It plays well, responds well, and really teases at more future Metroid games down the line. To which I say...please give us more.

I wanna see Metroid Dread. Do it Nintendo.

TOP THREE.

Oh boy...these three were hard to decide their order. I’ll give short paragraphs for them as I feel I’ve dragged this list out long enough. That and really, I don’t have complaints for these three. These three are the best of the best. Hands down. The best games this year easily.

3: Persona 5 (PS4)

This. Game. Holy shit this game. RPGs live. And Persona 5 has shown the world, and more importantly Square Enix, that turn based RPGS still live. And goddamn, is this game amazing. Fantastic story, fantastic characters, fantastic music, spot on battle system, wonderful dialogue, wonderful artstyle, wonderful EVERYTHING. GET THIS GAME.

2: Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo)

Easily the best 3D Mario game ever made. No seriously, it’s fantastic. If you own a Switch, you need to get this game. It’s beautiful and is just a charm to play through. Also god DAMN does it play so smooth.

1: Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)

I know. Predictable. But you know what? I don’t care. This game, this game is my favorite game this year. From exploring Hyrule, fighting enemies, discovering what meals to cook, the wonderful story, and just how much of a riveting experience it has been, I can NOT put this game at number 1. It was the first huge game this year, and I feel it deserves the praise that it’s been getting. I spent many hours playing this game, and I am glad to say that it’s my number one game this year.

And that’s how we send off 2017. Let’s hope 2018 is a good year for games as well!

PS: Also Splatoon 2 is a huge honorary mention.

#Games of the Year #Top Ten List #So long 2017 #So long

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inikavulpixelreviews · 7 years

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Let’s Talk About Pokemon - Gen 1

So with the first 151 Pokemon under our belt, let's look back on this ol' bunch of weirdos.

I was pretty young when Pokemon was first released in 1998 in the states, a whopping six years old. And even then, I think I was slightly late to the Pokemon craze. Maybe? Apparently, the anime had been airing the US for some time before the games actually came out, which throws off my mental calendar a bit. The very idea of Pokemon was unheard of, and this little sub-genre of Monster Collector RPGs had only just started. I know Digimon's still kicking, but is Monster Rancher still around these days? I know today we have the likes of Ni No Kuni and Yokai Watch. Ni No Kuni's a little closer to a traditional RPG for my liking, and Yokai Watch just isn't my style, but I appreciate that Monster Collector games aren't exclusive to Pokemon.

Like I said, traditional RPG games really aren't my cup of tea. It ends up feeling slow and I would much rather be swinging a sword myself than be telling a character to swing it for me. Pokemon comes to a beautiful middle-ground where it makes sense that you wouldn't be performing the actions yourself, you're the one giving commands to your pretend mice and dogs! It's that distinction alone that attracted me to the idea of Pokemon. It's an adorable game where you collect your little freaks of nature and grow attached to them as they wreck face across your journey, growing stronger and stronger until you got a super-dog biting the faces off of anything that stands in your way. That right there is the core spirit of Pokemon.

But that's more like my feelings about the series as a whole and what attracted me to it. What about Generation 1 itself?

It's a shame Pokemon's golden years are over. It's so weird to think about. For me, Pokemon's always been massively important, constantly there. To look back at it in retrospective, it's mindblowing to think Pokemon became a world-changing phenomenon for a while, to a point where Pikachu was probably a bigger face for Nintendo than Mario was for a bit there. Hell, there was a second wave of that when Pokemon Go came out!

I can see why Gen 1 has that kind of appeal to it. The First Generation of Pokemon has a flavor to it that's hardly touched upon in the series anymore. I can get why some old fans that dropped out of Pokemon feel the way they do. Me, I both love and am a little tired of Gen 1. Moreso love, I’m just the kind of person that likes to see new stuff. There’s just no denying Gen 1′s style was classic, and with Pokemon shifting the style every generation, it’s a bit no wonder why more “casual” fans of Pokemon were put off at one point or another and left. I'd rather each Generation has its own flavor than feeling like one gigantic entity of creatures.

And, in all honesty, Gen 1 hasn't aged amazingly for me. It aged better now that I've dug through them all to pick out ones I like, but also I sure did find a pretty handful that I actually kind of dislike. While yeah, I’ve always known there’s Pokemon I’m not too much a fan of, I never quite realized how many are from Gen 1. That’s why I’ll end up saying Gen 1 is one of my least favorite Generations if you ask me. Least favorite, not that I dislike the generation as a whole.

I don’t think it’s necessarily Gen 1′s fault either, a lot of it is just how my taste in my pocket monsters changed a lot since I was younger. I appreciate that they're there, but I've wound up gravitating more towards newer Pokemon that have wilder color schemes, and with designs that look a little more exotic. Gen 1′s very much a product of its time, and I’ve been of the opinion that Pokemon’s generally (barring a few hiccups along the way) has only gotten better with Pokemon designs. Sadly, the sacrifice has been that newer designs are little less weird until recently.

No matter what I think, Gen 1′s clearly done a lot right. It’s spring-boarded the series into success for a reason, even if it’s not likely Pokemon will slam into the level of success Gen 1 had. At least, not unless they make some major revitalizing game like Pokemon Go.

For now though, I'm gonna follow suit with Bogleech and create a few categories to sort some Pokemon into.

Top 10 Favorites of Gen 1:

For future Generations, there's going to be a “Favorites as of this far”, but obviously with just Gen 1 done so far, that'd be redundant. Also, clearly these are from left to right in order.

My tops change quite a bit throughout the years. For a while, I could comfortably say Flareon was my favorite, but then I had a little rediscovery with Vulpix and Ninetales. Vaporeon and Victreebel are also newcomers to my list from recently. And man, Venusaur’s probably gonna remain on this list for good. That nostalgia factor is too strong.

Bottom 10 Least Favorites of Gen 1:

My least favorites hardly change at all, really. I've pretty solidly not been very keen on any of these Pokemon for the better part of all these years. And really, Dragonite and Persian are only lower than Machamp because not only are they kind of boring, but they’re evolutions to things infinitely cooler than they are. The squandered potential!

I dunno if I'll give this category the treatment of the above one, where I'll keep track of my least favorites the longer this series goes on. Maybe, if nothing else to find out a list of my least favorites. Because I'm actually not that sure which Pokemon to call my least favorites.

Though, I got nothing against Dewgong or Tauros. They're just eh.

The Cutest:

These will be 6 instead of 10. And also in no particular order.

Perhaps what you'd expect where you ask someone to name off the cutest Pokemon. I'll stick Kangaskhan there for being a Pokemon with an adorable mother-child thing going on. Other than Kangaskhan, probably my official “would keep as a pet” tier.

The Coolest/Most Badass:

While having a little more variance in terms of which are my favorites or not, here's a pack of Pokemon that are unmistakably cool.

The Prettiest:

“Pretty” feels like a rare subtype of Pokemon compared to Cool or Cute, but I'll take a jab at it anyway. These are Pokemon that have pleasantly flowing designs and are just plain nice to admire. Maybe “Eyecandy” Pokemon would be a better name for them.

Most Creative:

Because my tastes are pretty conventional, the Pokemon that are more atypical deserve a shout-out too. I find them all neat or interesting, with varying degrees of how much I like them.

Weirdest/Most Unique:

And of course, here's some designs that are just plain out there, and very much unlike any other Pokemon. Gen 1's got a lot of these, but here's a handful.

Most Forgettable:

And of course, here are some designs that just strike me as generally unremarkable, and thus I just end up forgetting about them entirely. I may be “meh” about quite a few Gen 1 Pokemon, but these are just so thoroughly “meh” the only thing bringing em to mind at all lately is Pokemon Go. (And Sun and Moon, in the case of Persian and Tauros.)

Most Under-Appreciated:

There's a few Pokemon that either go totally unnoticed or are outright hated on unfairly. The latter are hardly ever in Gen 1, but there's quite a number of Gen 1 Pokemon that are under the radar by this point in the series. This one's a bit hard because I found it difficult to find Pokemon that I both liked a lot and that other fans don't like. Like, Raichu's not neglected by the fanbase exactly, it's got its fair share of fans. It's just there because of Gamefreak, really.

Summing Up Gen 1 in 6 Pokemon:

These are 6 cherry-picked Pokemon that I feel best encapsulate the spirit of Gen 1. You got your saurian badasses in Scyther and Rhydon, the cutie, pure animal-types in Raichu and Eevee. Pikachu aside, Charizard's basically the mascot of Gen 1, whether I like it or not. And then you got goofy little weirdos like Poliwhirl there. Possibly switch out Scyther or Rhydon for either Magneton or Koffing, because this generation also feels more industrial than the usual.

And finally...

My Gen 1 Team:

Though, bear with me. This was 18 friggin years ago and I was 6 or 7 years old at the time. I remember watching the anime and playing the spinoffs vividly, but for some reason playing the main-series game of Blue, in particular, is such a blur I honest to god can't remember my entire team. Hell, I'm not even sure if I had a full team of 6! For all I know I just cruised on through off of Venusaur, Raichu, Pidgeot, and Lapras alone. And then when I got to the Indigo League, I caught all the Legendary Birds and wrecked house using them. All of them probably had Hyper Beam too.

I'd also put my Leaf Green team here, but honestly I don't remember it either. And I'm fairly certain I never completed Leaf Green.

And at last, that’s all we have to say about Gen 1. I’ll take a brief break (About a week or so) before we move on to our next subject, Gen 2! See you in Johto!

[Archive]

#Pokemon #Gen 1 #Kanto #Pokemon Reviews

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