What I'm playing this week! Oct 7 - Oct 14

Welp, that's another week. Time to start talking about gaming! This last week was probably my most diverse yet as my anxiety after finishing three reviews sunk in and all I wanted to do was game for fun.



I started off with a couple titles on PlayStation Mobile. Since the Vita is compatible I run them off there. The huge plus is that they're super cheap and actually pretty good. This time around I'm messing with a the two PSM launch titles from Futurlab. The first is Beats Slider. First off I should mention I am horrible at slider puzzles. Seriously. I am damn #%&@ing horrible. What you have is a slider puzzle to music. When you put a square where it goes you get to hear it add to the music. The only problem is getting it there. You know, because I suck. THANKFULLY they added a sort of cheat function which is similar to the way I used to pop the squares out and put them back in order :/ The music is pretty cool though, so I keep playing it. Plus it was only 79 cents :D



Ok, so the other game is Fuel Tiracas, which may be obvious since I posted a link to my review. It's a pretty damn addicting game that is based around the idea of tapping buttons as they light up. It gets more complicated, and faster in the later levels, but this game is awesome. First off it's only 49 cents. Secondly it's so fun to blast through. Other bonuses are the music is great to hear and the game is totally smooth. In short: get it!



After PSM of course Pokemon Black Version 2 came out sunday which I picked it up. I'm like 12 or so hours in which is nothing, but I have mixed feelings. On one hand if you look at the game in terms of "third version" this game is better. It has an all new story and a new main character. There's also this whole "where are they now" factor that is pretty endearing. If you look at the game as a sequel though you can't ignore the fact it's the same region (with a couple new cities) and the same pokemon. Not counting Genesect, there are no new pokemon this time around.... what? So yeah, how you look at this game will have EVERYTHING to do with how you feel about it. I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for anything that might turn this around into a wholly positive experience for me, because so far I'm just "meh".



Next on the list is Code of Princess. This is another game I have mixed feelings about. There is very little here to dislike. It's a fun side scrolling brawler with RPG elements, great character design, music, and local and online multiplayer. The only real downsides are the cliche plot and lag/slowdown when you have a lot of enemies on the screen. It can get pretty bad in the multiplayer but nothing that will ruin the game for you. For some odd reason though I can't help but feel so-so about the game. There's no real reason why I shouldn't love this game... but I don't. It's not bad at all and I don't feel like I wasted my money. Perhaps I just didn't want to play that game right now. Of course I did, to review it. Now I have a completed review for the game but no assigned score because I'm trying to figure out how to score it fairly in my funk. Oh well :/



So the weekend rolled around and I finished two reviews and really just wanted to play something for me. The first stop on my train to fun town was inFAMOUS 2. Also this may be obvious since I posted earlier in triumph as I completed the Platinum Trophy. I absolutely adore this game. As a super hero game it is so high up there for me. Second only to Arkham City in fact. Cole's powers are so cool, and the story is tip-top. I did already know these things but they become even more evident each time you play the game. When you beat the game on both evil and good you even get to use all powers your characters. This is a huge win! Sucker Punch, you guys are magic!



Lastly, I ended up playing something "new" after I was done with inFAMOUS 2. That's in quotations because the game is actually pretty old. The game is Killzone 3. As far as PlayStation goes, its first party brands are usually pretty strong but Resistance kind of turned me off. So Gusto being the amazing dude he is gave me an extra Helgast edition he had lying around. So now I have a creepy Helgast head hanging out in my sons room and a game I've never really played until yesterday. So far I really like this game. It kinda makes you wonder why anyone plays the Resistance games with this one on the scene. The only reason I can think of is Killzone 1 is on the PS2, so maybe PS3 buyers didn't want to jump into a story mid-way. Otherwise this game pretty much beats it out in every way. I still think other games are more solid, like Halo: Reach or Battlefield 3, but I consider this game to really be up there in terms of first person shooters. Of course I have no idea what's going on ever and the cover system is a little janky, but the hitboxes are spot on and there are some very cool weapons to choose from. Good job Guerilla Games!

Well that's it for this week. I'm sure I'll have more keen stories in my adventures in gaming for you next weekend kiddos. Take care!

GET-tastic Tuesday!

Boo yeah! Yesterday was a GET-tastic Tuesday if I do myself. Not even counting Pokemon Black 2 I picked up on Sunday, yesterday's fine acquisitions come in the form of Atlus's Code of Princess for 3DS and the Prometheus Blu-Ray.

And though they were free, I was also able to pick up my Commendation and Victory packs and the Retaliation multiplayer DLC for Mass Effect 3. VOLUS there's even VOLUS a couple Volus (VOLUS) characters to VOLUS unlock now! VOLUS! Ok, enough with the volus (VOLUS!) I promise. It is pretty epic though. I didn't get to play Mass Effect 3 at all yesterday but I'll try to get a couple games in on the weekend if I finish my review for Code of Princess.

Oh yeah I should do some sort of impressions on that shouldn't I?

Back in the (Rapidash) saddle again!

And the wait is finally over! I could make all kinds of pokemon master jokes at this point but they've all been done. I will suffice to say though this game is going to utterly dominate my life for the next 6 months easily.

So what's new? Well so far there are at least 4 new cities, two of which contain new gyms. There are also in game achievements called medals which are kinda neat, and there is a new pokedex function that will let you see what all is in certain routes.

Pokestar Studios is actually pretty hilarious and far less tedious than Pokemon Musical, pageants, etc.

Other than that the most noticeable difference is simply that the national 'dex is available from the start.

Oh, and my team? So far it's Pignite, Purrloin, Genesect, and Keldeo. Am I cheating? I'd prefer to think of it as doing it right :)

Kingdom Hearts 3D, AR Cards, and You!

So if you picked up Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance you have at one point noticed some AR cards that should have come with the game. Three were "preorder" bonuses (the AR Stand, R&R Seal, and Trio card), though I haven't seen any stock that didn't come with them, and the Mark of Mastery edition comes with the those plus additional two (Kab Kannon and Frootz Cat). What the heck do they do? Well I can tell you right now, they don't kinetically charge and explode once you throw them at your annoying siblings. Darn.



Most of them (4) unlock "Spirit" Dream Eaters within the game. The last card is a "stand" that will help corral your wandering Spirits so you can photograph/paint them. In actuality any AR card will work this way, but whatever, it's a pretty card so I won't complain. One of them works a little differently than the others though. The "Trio" card as it is being called unlocks a "random" one of three Dream Eaters in the game that is otherwise terribly difficult to get. From what I've experienced though it may be somewhat less random than it seems. So along with some pretty pictures this is all I've found so far:



It seems like each region has a different picture for these cards, including the Trio card. For instance the NA version of this card has Ursa Circus in the foreground, the EU region has Sudo Neku in the foreground, and the Japanese card has Meowjesty in the foreground. The ribbon below the image is also a different color in each region. This doesn't seem to affect the "randomity" of the Dream Eater you unlock though, as I tried scanning EU and JP Trio cards and it wouldn't even register. I tried resetting and rescanning my own Trio card and got Ursa Circus each time... even after six tries. After starting a new game on another save file I found myself yet again staring into the googly eyes of, you guessed it... Ursa Circus. I even tried the "soft reset" (L+R+Start+Select) trick recommended by Destructoid only to come up with Ursa yet again each time, even after another six tries. A friend helped me with this test and started a new game and scanning his Trio card got him a Ursa Circus whereas his first game got him a Sudo Neku. I deleted my second game and started a new one, and this time unlocked Meowjesty, but resetting I got Meowjesty each re-scan after that. It is clear to me at this point that the random factor occurs not when the card is scanned, but when the new game is started, so essentially the soft reset will do nothing. If you want to get a particular Spirit with this I suggest you start a new game until you get the one you want.

Another interesting thing about these cards is they will also work when scanned on computer or phone screens. You can also print them and scan them as long as you are printing them in color. Most other QR codes and even the Kid Icarus: Uprising AR cards will work from phone or computer screens as well but it is handy to know you don’t always have to keep the cards on you.

There is also the fact it seems these five cards will be it; unlike Kid Icarus: Uprising, where 400+ cards are planned and distributed on a semi-regular basis (depending on region, of course) and have a collectible value to them. Not to say this can't change in the future, due to the 3DS's capability to be patch games via Nintendo Network, but it wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense unless future AR cards for Kingdom Hearts 3D had nothing to do with Dream Eaters. There are plenty of ideas I have for different approaches though, such as adding different backgrounds, items, or perhaps color patterns to existing Spirits. Despite how insanely cool this sounds I doubt Square Enix plans to support any game via AR cards, and not straight DLC.

So there you have it, all the accumulated knowledge for Kingdom Hearts AR cards straight from the WildCardCorsair himself. If you have any questions about these cards that I didn't seem to cover let me know and I will experiment until I find out!

Confessions of a Broke Gamer

I think we've all been where I am at least once. So many games to purchase, but the wallet doesn't seem to be quite as accommodating. How we cope with our gaming habits when the funds are tight can be considered a testament to our dedication as gamers. Some wait for sales, some buy used, some rent, or some give in to the dark side and resort to piracy.

Even though I try to buy new games as often as I can, I still feel bad since I feel I should be doing more to support my favorite developers. Take for instance a few months back. New to twitter, I bragged about finally getting my hands on a copy of Infinite Space for DS by Platinum Games, Nude Maker, and publisher Sega. Platinum Games actually replied to my tweet, congratulating me and asking me if I found it new. It hit me, and I felt guilty instantly, that my purchase of this game used meant they wouldn't be getting any money from it. I consoled myself with the facts but it didn't help much. I still felt like I was doing a diservice to Platinum Games, who show genuine talent for developing quality gaming experiences, only to be met with figures far below what they deserve. Despite my high opinion of them I am contributing to their misfortune!



A few weeks ago Best Buy had a great sale on Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One for PS3 at only $10. Though a slightly different experience than previous titles, the Ratchet & Clank games are consistently some of the best PlayStation first party titles out there. Big ups to Insomniac for giving us some great family friendly titles that don't skimp on gameplay in the least. Paying only $10 seemed criminal at the time, though at least this was spent on a new copy. The same story repeated yesterday with me purchasing a copy of Eat Sleep Play and SCE Santa Monica Studio's Twisted Metal for $20. By all accounts these games are worth far more than their sale prices, I simply find it hard to make room for more than one full price game a month, sometimes less than that.



I do feel guilty about it, hoping for the day when my budget might allow me to pay more than just lip service to the developers out there who make less than they deserve, but for now this is my reality. A reality that will lead me to Gamestop today to pick up a new copy of Nether Realm's Mortal Kombat for PS Vita for $10. What can I say, I'm broke!

:)