So Colorful. So FUN!

Mario Party 9 is coming up fast! It will be here this year on March 11th. It brings more of that fun mini-game action to us digital thrill-seekers in this second Mario Party installment for the Wii. This time, it looks like your characters have to put their differences aside and complete the map together on some kind of vehicle. But fret not! There are plenty of chances to face your foes in the mini games.

The problem I see with the Mario Party series is that they make you wait so long to get the older version! Except for the first game, no one else has been interested in Mario Party games. So dropping down the money for the full price for a new Mario Party is a bit pointless when you’re playing it alone. Mario Party 8 is still 45 bucks at GameStop. Aside from getting it on eBay, it’s still pretty expensive to get just to try out the fun mini-games.

I know people spend a lot of money each year on sports games like Madden or FIFA, just to purchase almost the same game the following year. But unfortunately, I love playing games for the story. It’s just not my desire to purchase a variation of a game that was already released. Then again, I do play the Super Mario series. Ah well. I’ll play Mario Party when I have a party to play with me.

Organize your game collection! This makes the list-lover in me so happy – it’s like Goodreads for games. I will be joining!

These days, games are received fairly predictably not just by online gaming communities but by my real life friends as well. When I was a kid and Super Mario 3 or Final Fantasy 7 came out, we read about it in magazines until the game came out, and then we played it for months. Sure, these games had flaws, sure they weren’t everything that they could have been and more, but they were good, solid, fun games, and we still think of them fondly.

Nowadays it seems the fast-paced communities on the Internet are causing a phenomenon where a loud opinion gains influence and changes the dominant attitude towards a game. At the beginning of the game cycle, gamers everywhere unite under their excitement for a game. Trailers are traded, rumors are sought after, and news is shared. Everyone strives to be the first to know about the latest screenshot or announcement. People are trying to be ahead of the curve in gaming communities, to achieve individuality and specialness in these insular groups. In fact, the hype continues even into the game’s release, with gamers even taking time off from work in anticipation of the release.

Then, about a month after the game’s release (sometimes less – this can happen even after a week), something changes.  Once a game hits critical popularity, and once a few people have put in their hundred hours and moved onto something else, they begin to pick apart a game. Flaws suddenly crop up everywhere. Gamers scoff at the few who still admit they enjoy the game. It was as if the last year of anticipation was a dream. Suddenly there is an impulse to dissent and an impulse to agree with dissent – to prove that you’re separate from the rest of the pack.

That’s not to say these games don’t have flaws. However, rarely did people tear apart games 10 years ago as they do today. We have these communities where we can bring up these flaws, and communities where we can read about these flaws and allow them to taint our own gaming experiences. It’s easier, in a social group, to hate something popular than to love something unpopular, particularly if that thing was once popular.

I think the recent trend toward rating games highly by review sites has also contributed. By pointing out flaws in a game, you’re proving that you stand apart from the major review sites, which tend to be paid off or otherwise untrustworthy. Though many people find these review sites helpful, most can agree that they don’t accurately reflect the quality of the game and are often years behind the trends in gaming. In addition, the blatant commercialism of these paid reviews causes resentment with most people, and to avoid any connection with the high scores the games receive, people backlash against it.

There are many reasons that public opinion shifts dramatically after a game’s release. Often times the game is flawed, but rarely does a game deserve the outcry it gets. Hype is usually blamed, as are expectations set by the publishers or developers, but the best way to experience the realism of gaming is to avoid hype and even these communities, which peer pressure people into disliking games, companies, or people associated with the industry. We should never let anyone tell us that our opinion is wrong.

It’s not his fault at all really. The game requires you to take on multiple foes from multiple areas and conjure spells while trying to block and heal. It’s sometimes a mess. Add in another player and it gets even more out of hand. So as he’s spraying the map down with water, I accidentally start to use lightning and end up killing him, enemies, and sometimes myself! The worst is using fire rocks and setting us both on fire.

"Oops! Didn't mean to set EVERYTHING ablaze!"

But aside from the mayhem and madness from blowing yourself up, it’s pretty fun! I’ll have to check back in when we finish it! Meanwhile, be sure to leave some comments with your feelings, and maybe some tips to keep us from dying!

Obviously the developers are trying to bleed series for all they’re worth. Despite the hate against long-running series by a lot of hipster gamers, these series wouldn’t exist if they didn’t sell well. Still, is original content something the developers should be focusing on, or do the majority of them end up just being long-forgotten cult classics, no matter how good they are?

Mirror's Edge is a good example of a successful original.

 I for one know I’d rather see a consistently good series than have game developers churn out crappy originals for the sake of churning out originals. That said, I don’t think there is any shortage of originals if you look beyond EA, Activision, Valve, and Ubisoft – games like Limbo, Terraria, Minecraft, and Super Meat Boy are all indie originals, and are well-liked among the community. Each of these publishers have created some originals recently, especially Ubisoft and Valve.

There are some sequels I’m still highly anticipating or would love to see made:

1. Mass Effect 3 – Though, my thoughts on this right now are that I might not be getting this thanks to DRM, sexifying all the female characters, the bizarre multiplayer, and the fact that half the game is going to be a dating sim
2. Guild Wars 2
3. Bioshock: Infinite
4. Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines 2 – One can hope!
5. Kotor 3 – Forever waiting…
6. Deadly Premonition 2 – My brain explodes just thinking about the possibilities

Originals I’d like to see:

1. Anything steampunk – that’s a whole new market just waiting to be tapped!
2. Survival horror underwater ala Jaws – Murky water is scary!
3. More investigation/mystery games – We have some amazing DS games and LA Noire, but I’d like to see more in this vein

What sorts of sequels and originals are you anticipating?

I’ve never seen Tron, either the old one or the new one, but I figured the design was classy enough that it wouldn’t matter. I stand by this – the mouse and packaging are beautiful.

The instant I got this sucker in my paws, it was such a difference. Now I understand why people love Razer’s mice. It is incredibly sensitive – I’ve never had to turn the sensitivity down before. It has 7 buttons that you can map to whatever, but three of them are the usual mouse buttons so you really have 4 to play with. I haven’t found a way to map them to programs, but I’d very much like to. Imagine Skyrim opening at the click of a button! So far I’ve done a bit of gaming with it, mostly Skyrim, and it’s been amazing. It even makes little noises when the computer turns on – cute!

This is a fantastic mouse. I’m not a hardware snob in the least but I can see why people would pay $100 for it. It’s definitely for small hands or for a claw-grip for larger hands. I actually like the petite size though, seeing as my hands are smaller than the average gamer guy’s hands, and it is a beautiful design. Highly recommended!

Everyone of course is getting hyped up for Guild Wars 2, which I always find to be bad news for any game. Still, here’s hoping Guild Wars 2 will be an awesome game – I, for one, can’t wait!

Recently, I’ve been playing most RPGs on my PC. I sold my Xbox copy of Oblivion when Steam Deals were draining my wallet, account, etc. and I purchased the GOTY Edition. Same with many others. So I decided to keep going with the trend and pre-order the PC version of Amalur. Now I’m wondering if I’m making the right choice.

It feels like a console game to me. I am torn between switching my pre-order to PS3, or sticking it out with the PC version. The controls and camera control feels very… double-joystickish to me. I will have to give the demo a shot on the PS3 very soon to aid my decision. I have noticed that there is controller compatibility on the PC version! This might be my saving grace!

I have to say though, the game looks fun and amazing! Graphics aren’t spot on realism, but I’m enjoying that, and the fact that it still looks beautiful. Like I stated, gameplay seems like it would be better suited on console, but we’ll have to see how that pans out. I can’t wait to see how the story unfolds!

Also, I have to admit. This is making me want more Dragon Age. I’m hoping BioWare has some great announcements for us at E3 2012. I’ll be sure to post more when we get closer to the event!

What do you think about the demo for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning? Be sure to leave comments giving your feelings on it, and maybe it will help me decide which system to get it on!

My childhood, right there.

One of my personal qualities not related to gaming is that I have a weakness for ill-advised adventures in the desert. I can still connect this back to the subject at hand as the most excited I have been about a game in a very long time was in the lead-up to Uncharted 3.

My gaming pedigree may be rich, but even so there are plenty of games that I just plain never got around to. I’ve prepared a list of some of these as a way to continue introducing myself. The list that follows is absolutely not exhaustive.

• Shadow of the Colossus/Ico: How could I not have played these? The answer is: “somehow”
• Final Fantasy: Not a single one.
• Toe Jam and Earl: I played this for a few minutes once but never had an snes growing up. People seem to like it.
• Grand Theft Auto III: What’s more surprising, this or Final Fantasy?
• Earthbound: There must be something right about this game. I have a friend who recently marathoned through a ROM of this on his phone on a drive from South Carolina to Texas. He and his brother took turns.
• Jet Set Radio Future: I’m just curious about this one.

I’ll end my list there for now. There’s a very good chance that gamers reading this are now frothing about how essential it is that I play one or another of these. If so, good. I chose the titles on that list specifically to illustrate my curiosity at never having experienced them. Everyone who might consider themselves a gamer has these experiences that they hold close. I still jump every time a friend’s phone goes off with that Metal Gear Solid alert sound.These games and more like them have apparently had a large impact on many people, and I hope to try to play catch-up at some point.

If you’ve played any Mario Kart, you pretty much know how Mario Karts work. Even if you have no idea, it’s still pretty easy. It’s one of those “simple to learn, hard to master” games, and once you’ve conquered power sliding, it becomes a matter of learning the courses to exploit short cuts and stuff. Anyway, so there we were, playing, and you will never guess what happened next.

I WON. In fact, I won so solidly, that after everyone else crossed the finish line, a message appeared on their screens saying, “The first person to finish has finished over 30 seconds ago” as if taunting them in the driest way possible.

My beginner’s luck didn’t last long as everyone figured out how to power slide and so on, but seriously, I was still fantastically good, especially against the computer. I am actually quite terrible at Mario Kart. They did not dumb it down – they just increased the learning curve. As easy as 50cc is, 150cc is insanely hard, especially on the later levels. Getting 3 stars on 150cc requires hawk-like reflexes and a twitchy jump-button finger. Be sure to play the 1-player cups on 150cc though – there are some really cool unlockable characters!

More than anything else, like most other Mario Kart game, Mario Kart 7 feels FUN. It feels solid and you can get a lot of playtime out of it. I haven’t had this much fun with Mario Kart since SNES, honestly. Being able to play with WLAN play brings me back to the old days of gaming, when everyone would huddle around a system. Online play is also included, and Chris tried it out and enjoyed it.

Graphics are as good as you’d expect them to be – bright, colorful, and fairly smooth. The 3D adds another dimension that doesn’t at all feel quirky. In fact, I didn’t realize 3D was on until I turned it off. Not noticing the 3D is a good thing – it just fades into the background, but provides a memorable and awesome experience. The new courses are varied and interesting, and I know a lot of people dislike the gliders, but it feels very much like a Mario Kart. Coins are still there, which give you an edge in speed over the other players. The ability to customize karts is also there, and this is not my favorite aspect, but isn’t annoying, either.

Mario Kart 7 is overall a worthwhile addition to anyone’s 3DS collection, as well as being a good sequel in an awesome series.