25 Days of Begging: Part Two

25 Days of Begging: Part Two

Well, week one is gone, and you still can’t be sure that your loved ones have made the right gift decisions, maximizing the awesome and limiting the suck. To improve your begging effectiveness, part two of this article has five more awesome games, more great honorable mentions, and another neat bit of kit for you to open, and then scream over like an eight year old kid.

20.

Super Mario 3D Land

         Let it be known: I am no big fan if the 3DS, it’s just not my thing yet. But more games like Super Mario 3D Land are going to change my mind in a hurry. I think this might be the first three dimensional Mario game that I like. Almost all the old suits, neat camera angles, Shadow Mario. and more await you when you pop this in your 3DS, and seeing as it’s the first new game just for the 3DS, it’s a must have.

19.

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection

         If I have to explain to you why more Metal Gear Solid is a good thing, then I’m not even sure how you found this website. Computer glitch? Monkeys typing on your keyboard? That’s how this is getting written: some Reese monkeys, a couple cans of Four Loko, and some bananas. Bradjelina adopted all my child workers, so I had to diversify.

         All jokes aside, this is a remake: you probably had great fun beating Solidus, Liquid, Boss, and company already. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy doing it again with shiny new graphics! Plus, if you didn’t get the PSP entry Peace Walker, then there’s a whole new game waiting for you, complete with a brand new control scheme. Plus, Snake Eater: Subsistence still comes with Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. And a boss mode. And then there’s the online multiplayer to think about. And it only costs $50.

18.

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition

         I heard that ‘Chief shows his face in this edition. You just have to put in the special code on your Game Genie. What, you can’t use a Game Genie on your 360? Well, no face for you. But what you do get is a completely reskinned edition of the reason that shooter games got hot on our current generation of consoles. Yes, Goldeneye did it big, and Doom before them, but the reason why we are able to enjoy the Battlefield, Call of Duty, or Gears of War franchises is because of the innovation in the genre by Bungie.

         So, what makes this game special? Well, HD graphics for the first two games in the series are a good start, and you can actually toggle between the old look and new in game with a button press. Pretty neat. Second, achievements and online multiplayer on the new XBL has been added, so if you’ve found yourself missing the three shot pistol of death, or the green gun combo, then you’re in luck. Just don’t expect them to add sword sniping back in.

17.

Resistance 3

         If you have a PS3, and only a PS3, you don’t have the new Halo. You don’t have Gears of War. You almost didn’t get Half Life. But what you do have access to is a downright silly roster of weapons, enemies, and game play options in Resistance. In Resistance, it is normal to get attacked by a facehugger. Or an Invisodemon. Or a platoon of zombified aliens. And to defend yourself you have a shotgun that lights enemies on fire, a gun that shields and shoots through just about anything, biological weapons, and everything gains perks over time. Plus, let’s not forget that if there were a competition of whose game has humanity at the most desperate position in any game ever, Resistance may well be a winner.

16.

Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3

         You could make a reasonable fighting game from just the characters added in the new edition of the Vs series. It doesn’t matter if you gravitate for traps, chainsaws, penance stares, or objections, there’s probably a new character you have been looking forward to fight as, or beat up. This game is literally mind blowing, every match by similarly skilled players holds excitement and drama. Matches between uneven competitors become combo expos, which hold their own entertainment value. Don’t feel bad though: pwning builds character.

Honorable Mentions

Bulletstorm

Get rewarded for violence. What’s better than that?

Yakuza 4

Tired of old, fat Italian gangsters eating pasta, and killing each other with Tommy guns? Well prepare for young, tattooed gangsters drinking sake, and killing each other with katanas!

Crysis 2

Pretty enough that if your wife sees you playing with it, she might get jealous.

Fifa 12

Maa-den? Who ees Madden?

L. A. Noire

Use the lessons of sniffing out lies taught to you in this game to figure which one of your friends is in fact the one that dealt it.

Hardware

The Playstation Vita isn’t out yet. It won’t be out by Christmas. It won’t even be out by New Years. But in Febuary, we will finally get a chance to see Sony’s view of the future of portable gaming. One of the major gripes about the PSP, lack of killer games, seems to be a thing of the past, with AAA titles like Bioshock, Uncharted, and Call of Duty developing games just for the new system. With two touch screens, dual analog sticks, wifi and 3g, and by far the best portable graphics ever, the Vita will be finding its way into many happy pockets soon after all the Eggnog has been drunk.

Games to watch for:

Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 (w Cole from Infamous)

Uncharted: Golden Abyss

BlazBlu: Continuum Shift Extend

Touch my Katamari

25 Days of Begging: Part One

25 Days of Begging: Part One

So, 2011 has gone by and you have been woefully behind in your gaming. Maybe you have been out with the in-laws in Amish Country, maybe you have been dodging cholera and dysentery encamped outside your nearby city hall (you dirty hippies, you), or maybe you have been trapped beneath a rock and you haven’t quite managed to free yourself in the last twelve months with your dull pocket knife. Good luck with that. For all of you, this article will detail the 25 games you need to beg for the hardest, shiny new hardware to meticulously wipe fingerprints off of, and a whole slew of honorable mentions that are good 26^th choice games in case they won’t buy you what you really want. This is also something like J1Studios game of the year awards as well, so pay attention kid, you might learn something.  After all, you don’t want to get stuck with this.

25.

            I love Bastion, and I fought hard to get it on this list in a year full of better than average gaming. Between the low price, replayability, solid action-rpg gameplay, and overall polish, the main fundamentals of the game are good. But what really knocks it out of the park with this game is the narration that cues off of actions taken during the game. Its sort of like that post apocalyptic Family Guy episode, but completely not annoying. One might be tempted to compare this mere downloadable game to full disc RPGs like FFXIII or a throwback like Eternal Sonata. That same person should also conclude that it’s better than most of the RPGs that have come out in the last few years. A lot better.

24

      The sort of people who like and play Dark Souls are the sort of people whose leisure activities involve safety words. If you like punishing difficulty in which anything can kill you at any time, in many ways, congratulations, this game is for you. Mind you, there’s more to this game than insane difficulty, but its tough to enjoy its amazing graphics, sound design, story, and dungeon architecture, when that angry monster keeps insisting on gnawing on your skull like he’s trying to open an extra difficult bakugan. “Fun”, right? To its credit, if your self-esteem somehow manages to survive getting killed again and again, and you make it through the dungeon and kill the dragon, the sense of accomplishment is like almost nothing else in gaming. Go treat yourself to an ice cream cone, you earned it.

23

            This may well be the last KOF ever. Since the last editions have not had the commercial impact that they needed to, despite the recent renaissance of the fighting game, SNK has brought us this swan song to bid farewell to Kyo and company, possibly forever. But, if this is the last game they make, then it’s a darn good one to go out on. As is consistent with the newer editions of KOF, the fighting system has gotten a major revamp that the advanced players can use to make even more stylish combo mayhem onscreen. The new cancel system allows you to combo someone with a series of normals, then a special, then a super, then an upgraded SDM (bigger than the leader SDMs from KOF 2003), if you get my meaning. Also added was a Street Fighterish ex system, except you can ex a super as well (like the old SDM). It looks and plays just as ridiculous as it sounds: every character has the capability to play like Dante with the Devil Trigger and X Factor. Get ready for some YouTube combo exploits.

22

            I love Tekken. With the exception of Tekken 4 (hot trash), Namco hasn’t let me down yet. The latest release Tekken Hybrid, is a sort of a combo pack of Tekken awesomeness. Namco, more than many of the other studios, really understand value for their fighting games: Tekken has had bowling games, beach ball fighting, side scrolling 3d beat-‘em-ups, space combat, secret characters, four games on a disc, 3^rd person action games, and much more. So what are they giving us this time?

            Tekken Hybrid comes with Tekken Tag HD, Tekken Tag 2 Prologue, and Tekken: Blood Vengence movie for only $40. It’s a great price for a great game: just hope your friends aren’t cheap and use True Ogre all the time.

21

            There’s a talking gun that shoots glowing octopi onto people’s faces who then get hypnotized, becoming friendlies. Until their heads blow up like a pound of c4. Dildos are a legitimate means of killing someone. Every weapon has individual balltap animation. Do I really have to explain to you how bonkers this game is? Prepare for nonstop insane slapstick humor, punctuated by occasional outbreaks of good gaming.

Honorable Mentions for this week:

DC Universe Online

Since this console and PC based MMO went free to play, it got a whole lot more attractive. Definitely worth a look.

Little Big Planet 2

I honestly don’t know how this didn’t make the list. I might flame myself.

NBA 2k 12

One of the best sports games ever. Take that, EA.

Dead Space 2

Who would have thought that Dead Space 2 would be more of a survival horror game then the newest Resident Evil?

Must Have Hardware:  3DS

Portable glasses free 3d sounds like something from a Sci-fi show, but Nintendo has worked its magic on its newest handheld. Better yet, now that there’s actually some games out for it, and a nice price drop, look forward to your nearest Gamestop being sold out for the next few months. Even more new games, as opposed to retreads and remakes, should be on their way soon.

Suggested games:

Zelda: Orcania of Time 3D

Super Mario 3d Land

Super Street Fighter 4 3D

By Chris Alexander

PSN: Imnotonfacebook

XBLA: Mastergief

Mastergief@gmail.com

R.I.P. Gamepro

Super Mario 3D Land review

Super Mario 3D Land

Platform(s): Nintendo 3DS

Developer(s): Nintendo EAD Tokyo

Publisher(s): Nintendo

Genre(s): Platforming

Rating: E for Everyone

A tree that stands on Princess Peach's castle grounds is stripped of all its leaves during a storm. The leaves, which turn out to be Super Leaves, are blown across the Mushroom Kingdom, bestowing Tanooki tails on all living things they touch. When Mario and the Toads go to inspect the tree the next day, they discover a letter from Bowser, learning that he has kidnapped Princess Peach. Mario sets off in pursuit to locate and rescue the princess.

This is how I imagined a 3D Mario game to play like.

Let me start by saying when this game was announced and I saw the trailer I thought that this  would be just another Super Mario 64 remix of sorts. I am happy to say that I was wrong! It does have the visual styling of Super Mario 64, but it has the  playability of Super Mario Bros 3. This is what I imagined what Super Mario 64 was going to be like so when that game came out I wasn't the happiest Mario fan. 

Yes that's Bowser with Raccoon tail.

Now you get all the usual items like Super Mushrooms (to grow), Fire Flowers (to throw fireballs), Super Stars (becomes invincible for a short time) and Gold Coins. Oh and just like your regular SMB game after collecting 100 coins gets you a 1-Up (extra life). They did add a few new items to make your experience on Super Mario 3D Land have that WOW! When you find the propeller box, which is a "?" box that when you hit it becomes a cute little box that you wear can fly you in the air vertically so that you can reach higher platforms. Boomerang Mario is exactly that. You throw a boomerang and if you time it properly, you can jump around and have that one boomerang take out a number of baddies on the screen. The one thing that made it a Ooh or Aah moment went to the revival of the Tanooki (raccoon) suit from the SMB 3 fame. It generally still plays the same (no flight but the ability to hover), and if you are knowledgeable of SMB3 you can find the ability to turn your Tanooki Mario into a statue (for all of us fanboys).

Yes! Tanooki Mario is back!

Now that I cooed over the Super Mario 3D Land, it' time to give you sharp thoughts on the game. The 3d controls are very responsive but require some real adjusting if you're not used to Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine or Super Mario Galaxy. So mastering jumping with precision on certain platforms can be a bit tricky. The graphics are smooth, with bright colors like what you would expect from a Mario game. Now the 3D effect that comes with being on a 3DS works so well to the point where you can turn it all the way up and it won't bother your eyes likes a few of these 3DS games have in the past. I have to give props to the level designer, because he brought originality to old level concepts. The stage may seem short or constrained in a box but they are highly imaginative. Things you couldn't really do in the 2D world of Mario, and too afraid to try in other 3D Marios have been implemented here. Some stages are completely vertical shooting higher in the sky while others exist in the one area as if it's asking you to solve the puzzle that is this stage. New imaginary Ghost house stages, fantastically organized and heart-pounding Airship stages, and every stage has remixed classic themes with new tracks that carry the same vibe. I have to say this game definitely gets a 4.5 out of 5. I am love with this game. By for my new favorite Mario game. I don't know how they keep improving on these more recently SMB games but they do. I can't wait to see what new comes from Miyamoto. Rumor has that there is a 2D Super Mario Bros coming out for the 3DS someday soon. Hhmmmm......