Month: July 2013

Skyward Sword Comes Crashing Down

Link Skyward Sword

I couldn’t finish The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. In fact, I could barely start it. I played for 3 hours, entered the first dungeon and then paused the game while I consulted a walkthrough just to see what was in store for me. The thought of enduring all that I read made me recoil in horror. So I traded it in, which is a historic moment for me. The first console Zelda that I didn’t finish. A dark day for Anthony and a dark day for Nintendo.

You see, Zelda was always my second favorite video game franchise after Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy was the barometer for which console I would buy, but Zelda was the mark for WHEN I would buy my inevitable Nintendo console. I got a Nintendo 64 so I could play Ocarina of Time. I got the N64 Expansion Pak solely for the purpose of playing Majora’s Mask. I bought a GameCube one month before Wind Waker was released and I jumped for joy when Twilight Princess was released on GameCube AND the Wii because that meant I didn’t have to buy a Wii yet. Continue reading Skyward Sword Comes Crashing Down

GamerSushi Asks: Summer Playlists?

The Last of Us

Friends!

I hope the summer is treating you well. You know, with life stuff. We primarily talk about games here, but life is sort of crucial, too. I guess.

But enough with the srs business — it’s been awhile since we’ve properly talked about what games we’re playing, so right at the edge of summer seemed like as good of a time as any. For me, this is the time of year that I’m doing what I can to catch up on my backlog — and thanks to the latest Steam sale, that’s gotten just a bit bigger recently. Continue reading GamerSushi Asks: Summer Playlists?

Minerva Help Me, This New Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag Trailer is Awesome

I think that I’ve been pretty vocal in my condemnation of Assassin’s Creed 3 over the past year. I thought it was barren, janky, scatterbrained and didn’t fit the mold of what I’ve come to expect from an Assassin’s Creed game. In short, it left me wary of future installments in the franchise.

Since Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag was announced a few months ago, I’ve been rather lukewarm about it. Sure, it capitalizes on the best part of AC3, the naval battles, but being a successor to that game would it travel the same dark road? This new gameplay video narrated by game director Ashraf Ismail shows how closely Assassin’s Creed IV is hewing to the older games and what’s changed for the next adventure.

I’ve got to admit, Black Flag is looking pretty solid. The naval combat has had a tactical layer added on to it with the spyglass, and the return of free-form assassination contracts rubs me in all the right ways. So what do you guys think? Does Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag look like it has some promise, or are appearances deceiving?

Returning to Dark Souls

Dark Souls Gargolyes

After Skyrim, I thought to myself, what’s the most stressful, rage-inducing experience I could put myself through? Naturally, a trip to the DMV was my first choice but there were no appointments available. So I went with the next best thing: Dark Souls. The only difference being, with Dark Souls, there is a chance, albeit slim, that I could end up feeling good about myself.

I didn’t quite finish it back when it came out, so I deleted my save and started anew. Thankfully, my skills had not atrophied over time and I quickly cut my way through the first few areas. Even the bosses that once gave me fits found themselves bowing to my mighty sword. The rush you get when clearing an area is like few in gaming. No Achievement or Trophy has ever made me feel the sense of accomplishment that I got when I finally dropped the Capra Demon in the Lower Undead Burg. My next stop is the infamous Blighttown, an area that I have heard horror stories about.

Have you ever stopped a game for a really long period of time and when you came back, you find that you are somehow really good at it now? This happened to me with Pac-Man, as well. I sucked as a kid, but as an adult, I can usually get the high score. Just like I did during GamerSushi Weekend. Seriously, ask the guys, they will tell you. I even called it beforehand, too.

So what about you? What games have you stopped and then picked up again later without missing a beat? Have you stopped a game and then discovered when you come back to it that you have no idea how to play anymore? Do you plunge through or restart?

Steam Summer Sale 2013: List the Damages

steam summer sale 2013

Daily Deals! Community’s Choice! Flash Sales! Cards! What they heck do they all have in common? Why, the Steam Summer Sale, of course!

Ever since July 11, gamers have been snapping up ridiculous deals and collect cards (or complaining about the deals on the forums and Facebook). Personally, I haven’t picked up anything this year except for Call of Juarez: Gunslinger which was graciously gifted to me by Editormans Eddy Rivas.

Now that the Summer Sale is nearing completion, it’s time to look back and realize that you’ve bought dozens of games that you’ll probably never play. What have you picked up during the sale? Can anyone tell me what cards are for? Go!

Clear Skyrims Ahead

Skyrim

I finally finished Skyrim this past weekend.

Not entirely, mind you. I didn’t 100% it or anything crazy like that. But I finished what I wanted to out of it, which was the Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood and the main quest lines. I put 65 hours into it, got to level 37, plundered tons of caves, stole EVERYTHING from everyone I could and slew more than my fair share of dragons. I got more than my money’s worth out of the game. Indeed, if you do the math, I got more than an hour for every dollar I spent on it. Bethesda may be buggy, but they give you the bang for your buck.

Now though, after hours and hours of juggling weight limits (the most annoying thing about the game), arrows in knees and killing falmer, I am done. I love the game, but there comes a time when you have to put it aside for a while and I have reached that point with Skyrim. It’s such a massive game that I wish there was a 6 month moratorium on all new releases so we all could really delve deeply into its dense dungeons. I started and stopped that game several times since I bought it on Day 1, but it’s all over now. I might go back to it sometime, but no time soon, I can assure you. The biggest obstacle on my backlog is gone and I feel lighter for having it removed. On to greener pastures…like finally finishing Dark Souls…oh God.

What about you guys? Did you get your fill of Skyrim? Is there any game on your backlog that hovers over you like a scythe? What do you need to finish before the fall onslaught hits?

Lessons in Efficiency from Walking Dead: 400 Days

Walking Dead 400 Days

I’ll be honest, when I heard that Telltale was releasing 400 Days, The Walking Dead’s first official DLC (excluding the episodes, of course), I may have squeed a little. OK, maybe a lot. Even though I was a little saddened that we were seeing the world through the eyes of a handful of new characters, I was still happy to be stepping back into Kirkman’s zombie-verse, as depicted by Telltale. And once I played it, I wasn’t disappointed.

For any of you that loved The Walking Dead, do yourself a favor and pick up 400 Days. It’s a handful of stories of brand new characters, including a long-haired stoner, an escaped convict, a former drug addict, a young kid on the run and a big sister trying to soften a hard world for her younger sibling. And while the DLC might only be a few hours long, Telltale shows that they’re as efficient as ever in crafting memorable, fully realized characters in such a short span of time.

What amazed me most about 400 Days is just how invested I was in brand new characters, even though you really only spend about half an hour (or less) with each of them. It makes me wish that other studios would start taking notes about how to craft characters, how to introduce them to us right when their lives change, and how to make us identify with them right off the bat. At just $5, the game will easily return what you spend.

Have any of you played 400 Days yet? Thoughts? Go!

The Addictiveness of Animal Crossing: New Leaf

animal crossing new leaf

Very few games compel me to play them every day. Sure, there are times when I’m obsessed with a game for a few days, but rarely do I log on every day consecutively for weeks at a time.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf is one such game. This is my first experience with Nintendo’s long-running life-simuilator, and it’s got me hooked. For Animal Crossing veterans, some of the experience will be familiar: you collect fruit, seashells and various flora and fauna in your attempt to accrue enough bells to stay out of debt with Tom Nook.

The kicker this time around is that you’re the mayor, and as such you can build public works and enact ordinances to change how your town functions. I typically play Animal Crossing on the bus to work at 8:00 am, but the shops don’t open until 9. With the “early riser” ordinance, I can force the shops to open at 8. The only downside is they close a little earlier, but it’s better than having to wait until lunch to sell my pockets full of goodies.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf isn’t typically the sort of game I play. It’s cutesy and there’s no combat, but it’s deep, addictive and a heck of a lot of fun. Because the game keeps track of the clock (a long-running feature of Animal Crossing) this is a title you can play for years on end if you want. In terms of value for your money, there’s few games that can offer that.

Who else is playing Animal Crossing: New Leaf? What did you name your town? Does anyone want to come visit Assville?

The GamerSushi Power Rankings: July 2013

Company of Heroes 2

Half of 2013 has come and gone, and maybe it’s just me, but this year already seems like it’s offered us some huge surprises — almost too many, if my nasty backlog is any indication. Fortunately, July is the month that we can sort of start catching up, putting old titles behind us in preparation for the blitzkrieg of the fall.

That’s not to say there aren’t any new titles worth playing, though. Between The Last of Us, Animal Crossing 3DS and Company of Heroes, we’ve had our hands full. You’ll see these guys making appearances in our monthly top 10, along with some old classics. So here we are, the top 10 games we’ve been playing for the last 30 days.

What do you guys think of this list? What are you playing right now? Go! Continue reading The GamerSushi Power Rankings: July 2013

Broken Age Gets Broken in Half to Ensure Completion

broken age needs more money

Tim Schafer, a luminary figure in the gaming industry who holds a position akin to everyone’s favorite uncle, might have burned up some of his good will earlier this week.

In a letter to Kickstarter backers, Tim Shafer announced that Broken Age is getting split in half in order to make sure that the game can be completed in full.

According to the letter, Broken Age got pretty large; so large in fact that internal predictions at Double Fine put the game’s release in July of 2014 with a significant amount of content being cut. Instead of releasing a smaller game at a later date than promised, Double Fine will be selling the first half of Broken Age through Steam Early Access in January of 2014 to fund the rest of the game.

Backers will still get their full game as promised; what the Steam Early Access will do is open the game up to people who didn’t back the game on Kickstarter and will hopefully create the revenue Double Fine needs to finish it off. Double Fine thought it would be improper to get money from an actual publisher or go back to Kickstarter.

So what do you guys think? If you’re a backer, what’s your take on this?

Source – Gamasutra

Klei Introduces its Tactical Espionage Game, Incognita

Incognita

Anyone that’s played Mark of the Ninja or Don’t Starve by Klei knows that these guys are some talented developers with a knack for creating some crazy fun games. Mark of the Ninja, a 2D stealth game, is one of the more creative titles I’ve played in years — and probably some of the best stealth gameplay in this generation. And while I haven’t played Don’t Starve, I’ve heard the alpha access, community building and the fun take on survival gameplay made the title an interesting experiment that’s worth taking part in.

Klei’s newest game, Incognita, announced yesterday, sounds just as ambitious as their previous titles — with a brand new take on stealth. Taking inspiration from XCOM, a game that I fell in love with, Klei is aiming to make Incognita a turn-based tactical espionage game, where information is power. Continue reading Klei Introduces its Tactical Espionage Game, Incognita