Silent Hills Canceled

Today it was officially announced that the new Silent Hill game dubbed Silent Hills is canceled. Konami has recentlybeen having internal issues. Kojima was fired from the company, Guillermo Del Toro said he would no longer be working with Kojima, and Konami's stock exchange info was incorrectly stated on the NYSE causing them to cease its economic reports in the US. There was also the issue of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain no longer having Kojima's name on the game, nor his studio.

Silent Hills was announced back in August of last year with Kojima heading the project with Guillermo Del Toro at the helm and the likeness of Norman Reedus of The Walking Dead fame. It had a teaser playable demo for fans of the horror franchise to get a taste of. Now however those fans will never be able to experience that particular vision of Silent Hill as the two heads left the project and Konami cancelling it altogether. This is a disappointing turn of events for not only Silent Hill, but Konami as a whole.

Source: http://kotaku.com/its-official-silent-hills-is-cancelled-1700379816

G: Mad Max Trailer

Warner Bros. Interactive blessed us with a new trailer for the movie tie-in game Mad Max. This trailer gives an extensive look about the feel of Mad Max. This is a gritty post-apocalyptic action game about trying to survive in a world where everyone either wants to kill you or screw you over. This is a very gameplay extensive trailer. Here we see the vehicle combat full of guns, missiles, and explosions. It's high speed, visceral, and action-packed. What's also notable about the vehicle combat is that the vehicle is customizable. Instead of being given a preset vehicle or a selection of a few, the game allows players to choose everything from the body, to the wheels, and weapons. The game also has plenty on foot gameplay as the trailer demonstrates melee combat and gives a glimpse about the story of the game. It looks like Max will be working to get some much needed ammo in this world. All in all this is a fantastic, but lengthy trailer that has gotten me more than interested.

9/10

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years Gets a 3D Remake

Square Enix announced today that they will be releasing a 3D remake of Final Fantasy IV: The After Years on Steam May 12. Final Fantasy IV: The After Years is a direct sequel to the Super Nintendo Game Final Fantasy IV (or II if bought in the US). There is little information to any changes made to this version other than the graphics and dimensions.

Source: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2015/04/23/final-fantasy-iv-the-after-years-coming-to-steam-next-month.aspx

M: Mother Earth

 Mother Earth

Yesterday Mega Ran and Phil Hanson dropped a new song and music video titled Mother Earth in celebration of Earth Day. The title track is inline with Earth Day as the lyrics reflect about being environmentally friendly and appreciating the planet that we live on. It sounds corny as hell and it sort of is, but the song isn't trash just mediocre like I find most of Mega Ran's work. Phil Hanson I don't know anything about, but he did an ok job on this track. His flow was serviceable to the run of the mill production on the track and same goes for Random. The lyrics are pretty straightforward here as well. No wordplay or any creative metaphors on this track. The music video is also another typical animated video from someone who doesn't show any real artistic skill. There's nothing special here. It's an all around average package.

5/10

My Top Ten Games of the Sixth Generation

10. SSX Tricky
I put a lot of time into this game as well. My first Snowboarding game and I think the only one I played. The characters were wacky and it played that one good song over and over again. I loved mastering the tricks, reading the character profiles, interviews, unlocking everyone's stuff, and watching the making of videos. Man, I need to play this again so bad.

9. Kingdom Hearts
It was hard to either choose this one or II. II improved the combat and the gummi ship segments a lot, but it also completely abandoned platforming and exploration, and made gummi ship building less fun. The Disney worlds didn't feel as well told, their were less optional bosses, and that was the point where the story got confusing. Kingdom Hearts 1 was a lot more well rounded. It had camera problems, but almost everything else was on point.

8. Halo 2
Loved the first, but this game takes it with the improved gameplay and the addition of online multiplayer. Also check this out. In Halo 1 you could shoot with one gun, but in 2 you can shoot with two guns.

7. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
My first and only played Dragon Quest game. I remember playing a demo of it somewhere at first that stopped at the waterfall boss, but that was enough for me to get the game when it came out, that, and the Final Fantasy XII demo that it came with. I ended up enjoying it immensely. The music, the characters, the monster design, the simple story, and the combat. It's a treasured gem.

6. Half-Life 2
I was very surprised about the quality of the game. It's ugly as all hell, but there's a charm to it and you have the only Blasian character in all of video games in it and her pet robot named Dog. The level design is excellent. You can figure out where to go by subtle visual cues where as other games either make it too vague or too direct. Those black zombies scare the hell out of me.

5. Resident Evil 4
Admittedly the best Resident Evil I've played, but it lead to the downfall of the subsequent games. This game was definitely a surprise treasure. I remember the hype and the massive fun I had with the action in this game. The game was definitely leaning away from the survival horror aspect that the series was known for. There were a few chilling moments, but overall I couldn't call it a survival horror game with such emphasis on combat. The gunplay was tight, the battles were so tense, and I loved the Mercenaries side game. Leon's Mafia outfit is one of the most stylish alternate outfits in gaming and it comes with a Chicago Typewriter with infinite ammo!

4. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
It was between this and Bully, but this won due to sheer content. It is currently the best Grand Theft Auto game and has the second best soundtrack in the series. There was so much crazy shit to do in this game and I think CJ was the first black protagonist I played in a game, which says a lot for the genre because there really aren't many people of color in this medium.

3. Final Fantasy XII
I put in some work in Final Fantasy XII. The story was forgettable and so was the music, but gosh damn that battle system was perfection. I clocked 300 hours in that game on one playthrough, with no other game rivaling it except for maybe LittleBigPlanet.

2. Okami
My 5th favorite game ever, Okami is an excellent combination of graphical beauty and superb game design. The game's combat may be as easy as the Zelda series if not easier, but the atmosphere, music, and level design makes up for it. The game is a lot longer than one would expect, but it's enjoyable all the way through.

1. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater/Subsistence
My third favorite game of all time. Snake Eater is one of the great pillars of video game storytelling. It has a supernatural 60's James Bond feel to it, especially with that opening title song. The game also has the best gameplay out of the main series. I loved hunting, fixing up wounds, and messing with the guards. I've seen the most entertaining an creative gameplay videos of players taking down guards. It also has the best boss fights out of any game I've played. That final boss and cutscene will always sit with me.

M: Giants

 Giants

Today British singer Andreya Triana and New York Times allowed fans to listen to Giants early off of the newspaper's website. Giants is Andreya's second album. This album's sound is still blues and folk oriented, but the sound differs in choice of instruments. There are more piano chords,hand claps, and background adlibs in this one. All of the instrumentals are pretty decent with some standouts like "Clutterbug". Andreya Triana compliments the production phenomenally. Her voice is as beautiful as ever. Her tone, pitch, and flow are one hundred percent on point in every track. The writing on almost all of the songs are pretty substantial, the only ones I found average were "Heart in My Hands" and "Changing Shapes of Love". The album shifts throughout tone in the album, from tranquil and uplifting most commonly and Andreya perfectly captures these two tones in her voice. Giants is not only a stellar entry in Andreya Triana's discography, but also in the genre.

9/10

Recommended Tracks: Gold, Clutterbug, and Everything You Had Pt. II

M: Your Good Fortune

Your Good Fortune

Soul and Gospel singer Mavis Staples releases her latest ep today titled Your Good Fortune. In an earlier blog post this project was one of my most anticipated projects for the coming year and this didn't disappoint. This four tracked ep has a rich sound that sinks into the pores of your skin. Mavis Staples voice is full of strength and spirituality. The four tracks present all have a slightly different feel to them; one is somber, one is uplifting, one is dense, and another is heartwarming. This ep is a short, but sweet taste of a mix of soul, gospel, and spirituals. Your Good Fortune is a high recommendation.

8/10

Recommended Track: Your Good Fortune

M: The Night Took Us in Like Family

The Night Took Us in Like Family

Today, jazz-hop producer L'Orange brings his collaboration project with rapper Jeremiah Jae. The Night Took Us in Like Family is L'Orange's second collaboration album with the former being The City Under the City that he did with Stik Figa. This album's production is one of L'Orange's best. He creates harmonies and melodies that appease the soul. Following After the Flowers and The Orchid Days from last year, this one goes back to the sounds of film noir that were present in Old Soul and The Mad Writer. How these productions weave into one another feels like you're listening to a story played out, however I do not feel that when it comes to the lyrics by Jeremiah Jae.

Jeremiah Jae's lyrical style fits with L'Orange's, but his execution seems to fall short. He isn't a bad rapper, but he doesn't stick out or help bring out the full potential of the production. His flow is serviceable to the beats, has no real energy to his voice, and his lyrics leave more to be desired. He sounds like a low tier Blu. When I was listening to it, I felt that he was getting in the way of the instrumentals and sometimes tuned him out. I would rather be listening to the instrumentals, but I have to say that he did his best in "Underworld". The featured emcees Homeboy Sandman and Gift of Gab did a better job. I do find him however a bit more listenable than Stik Figa who I found boring and unpleasant. If this was a pure beat tape it would get a high score from me, but considering Jeremiah Jae's inclusion I have to judge it on a whole, so all around I find it just serviceable.

6.5/10

Recommended Tracks: Ignore the Man to Your Right (feat. Homeboy Sandman), Underworld, & Starry Eyed Balcony Walkers

My Favorite Non-Playable Characters

Non-playable characters can be just as memorable as playable characters, sometimes even more memorable. I list my favorite NPCs. Even though NPC includes any character that's not playable I'm restricting this to NPCs who are not villains, sidekicks, or help the player throughout the game in any direct way. Those will get their own entry later.

Regent Cid Fabool IX

Game: Final Fantasy IX

Spoilers for Final Fantasy IX. Canonically, Cid has been in every mainline entry of the Final Fantasy series and my favorite one has always been Regent Cid from Final Fantasy IX. When you first meet Cid you find out that he's an oglop and was the one who arranged Tantalus to kidnap Princess Garnet. He's a clever man, king of his country, and has my favorite airship out of the series. I also thought it was quite warming that he became Eiko's father at the end of the game.

Stiltzkin

Game: Final Fantasy IX
Moogles are one of the recurring staples in the Final Fantasy series and the most memorable one for me is Stiltzkin from his first appearance in Final Fantasy IX. This moogle is an an employee of the Mognet mail service and he frequently meets the cast during his travels in the game. He usually always has an item package to sell for a well reasonable price. He makes my list because he has his own arch in the game's story which helps make the game's world feel living and breathing.

Anju & Kafei

Game: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Spoilers for Majora's Mask. The Legend of Zelda is well known for having memorable NPCs, but my favorite comes from the series' second 3D entry Majora's Mask. Kafei is one of the first NPCs you see once entering Clock Town in Majora's Mask. He's the child dressed in purple with matching hair and wearing the Keaton mask. He was mysterious as he was confined to the house sitting all alone by the stream. He would only come out when the postman rang the doorbell and if you rang it yourself he would quickly retreat inside upon seeing you. Anju worked in the town's hotel taking care of her grandmother. She mostly always looked sad and you could find her sitting in the rain outside of Kafei's house on the 2nd day. If you manage to take the side quest involving these two you learn that Kafei is Anju's fiance and he was turned into a child by the skull kid. His journey to reunite with his fiance with the customary ceremonial engagement mask is touching and you feel how well the two really love each other when you see them together as the moon is only a few minutes away from crashing into their town.

Merchant

Game: Resident Evil 4
The Merchant from Resident Evil 4 is a weird one. He always ends up managing to be where you are when you need him and even has shooting galleries set up in the most unlikely of places. His voice and mannerisms are eerie and even his eyes are harsh yellow like the game's infected. I let that all slide when he has such an incredible arsenal for sale that he somehow manages to carry in his coat.

G: Earthbound

Earthbound is a name that has been familiar to me for most of my life. I recall seeing as the game with the biggest box back in the nineties. The size of the box and the golden image of the Starman on the front had always peaked my interest, but I was never able to play it. I think I was a bit afraid to ask to play it because I believe the game was also the most expensive in the store probably due to the game coming with a strategy guide. My interest was peaked a little more when Ness was put into Smash Bros. on the N64 and when my brother told me what game he was from and that he played it or at least some of it. Later, Lucas appeared in Brawl and brought Mother 3 to my attention.

This year I finally decided to give it a go. Playing this game has been one of the most unique experiences I ever had. The setting of the game is one not seen in most RPGs out there Japanese or Western. The game is set place in a fictional world that is set to a 50s/60s America period. A lot of the cities are in suburban areas and Ness lives in a house with a two parent house with a picket fence and dog akin to 50's shows like Leave It Beaver, not to mention his attire is taken from the child cliche from that era. The game also makes reference to The Beatles and the Topolla Theater is an homage to the Apollo Theater where popular Jazz musicians have performed during this time. There are a couple of others too that references these time periods, but I would rather not spoil them for those who have not played it.


To touch on the game's story, it is rather simplistic and typical of the genre. There's a prophecy about four young children defeating a great evil and you go on the journey to fulfill the prophecy and defeat the enemy. What makes it different from most others though is the game's writing. The game has a very weird charm about it. The writers are aware of these cliches and tropes and have fun making fun of them. The ending of the game's opening scene is a great example of this and later you quickly discover how weird and funny things get. You can pick up and eat food out of trash cans, NPCs are either rude, funny, look like celebrities, or break the fourth wall. The game has an overall upbeat tone, but gets pretty somber at the end.

The world is quite interesting to explore, from what you can and is pretty varied. My only disappointment is that it's a little too linear and I was expecting a world map when it was teased to me a little ways into the game. There's also practically next to no side quests either. As far as gameplay goes the game has a battle system similar to the Dragon Quest series. It's turn based and it takes a first person perspective where you can only see the enemies and you can't actually see the physical attacks you make, but special attacks and certain items are given animations. The game can be quite difficult in the beginning and the game has some of the most annoying status ailments I've encountered in the game. I won't ever forget the first time I was inflicted with the mushroomized status. The game's four playable characters are pretty unique from each other. Ness and Poo are the all around characters, Paula is an offensive magic user, and Jeff is a tech geek who can't use PSI, but is heavily reliant on physical attacks and items.

Speaking of items, due to the game's limited inventory the game also has a high emphasis on item usage. Each character can only carry a maximum of fourteen items at a time and to get rid of them for new room you can sell old equipment, which NPCs automatically offer once you equip a newly purchased piece of equipment, drop an item, or have Ness's little sister put it in storage with a phone call. Item usage is also reinforced through the sheer amount of items in this game. There are a bunch of items available to you throughout the game. You don't know what most items do prior to buying them to purchasing them is an element of mystery. The game also has seasonings in the game which are used on food items. When eaten they are automatically applied and can either increase the health boost or decrease it if the combination does not taste well.

Onett Night 1
The game's soundtrack is also just as atypical as its setting. The game has jazz, a little bit of funk, and the chiptune sounds that the media has created. Battle and boss music are often set to more somber or chill tones which is a nice contrast to the often pumped up or upbeat sounds that is often found in these games. Keiichi Suzuki and Hirokazu Tanaka did a wonderful job with setting the music in line with the tone of the events of the game and as a package it made for a nice comforting atmosphere as I wrote this review.

Overall, I found this game to be excellent and it has definitely made its way onto my top ten games of all time. Earthbound also known as Mother 2 is a game I'd recommend to any fan of RPGs.

9/10

Don't Let Senpai Notice You

 Yesterday I found something quite the interesting . It's advised you watch the video first before reading this. Don't Let Senpai Notice You is a game developed by a user named Evaxephon. You play as a Japanese school girl who's crazy in love with some boy at her school. The trailer will tell you that this is not a dating sim, but a game about being a deranged stalker. This game is about stealth. You can't let your senpai see you when you're obviously deranged, killing girls that talk to him, or dragging their bodies around to hide them. This is a hilarious twist on an anime cliche. I love how the characters mouths don't move when they talk and senpai's reactions when he catches you in the act. The game right now is available to download and play through the dev site. I have yet to play it, but I'll get around to it eventually, probably when there's been an update. You should also watch this development video below.


Dev site

M: Return of the Astro-Goth

 Return of the Astro-Goth

Today I was shared with a friend an article that lead to some discovery of great talents.It was a link to an article about the top South African female emcees in the game right now. The first artist I decided to give a listen to was this artist Yugen Blakrok. I was vastly impressed with "House of Ravens" and decided to give her 2013 release, Return of the Astro-Goth a try. I am highly satisfied with this experience. Yugen has a very smooth sound to her voice that is well complimented by her accent and not to mention her flow is impeccable. The album is set to an electro and boom bap, mix that creates a futuristic element to it. This album is embodied with an Afro-futurist and goth aesthetic. There are lines referencing to celestial bodies, the cosmos, darkness, ravens, and everything goth. Most of Yugen's rhymes on this track are all about just laying down hard lyrics with sprinkles of social commentary throughout. Her wordplay is almost matched with her flow.

There aren't many of them, but featured artists also do a pretty good job and ShortySkilz is my favorite out the bunch with his raw sounding voice synchronized flow. To give closure to this review, this an astounding album and a recommend to any fan of classic boom bap rap.
 

8.5/10

Recommended Tracks: House of Ravens, Vespertine 13, and Medusa Complex

It's also funny. After I finished writing this I found out that she was on a song with Poetic Death last year titled Road to Kemmet. I have the album, but I never realized she was on it. That might be because either she didn't impress me on the track or I didn't listen to her part. I'm leaning towards the last because that track is almost nine and a half minutes long.

G: Xenoblade X Trailer

Yesterday, Monolith Soft put out the newest trailer for Xenoblade X. Xenoblade X is the sequel to the Action-RPG Xenoblade Chronicles that was released for the Wii back in 2010. This new trailer opened to a cinematic that I found rather boring. I am the majority of the time disappointed when trailers show us cutscenes from a game rather than actual gameplay, but this wasn't even interesting to watch. Being in Japanese was part of it, but also the transitions, music, and shots weren't engaging. I ended up skipping directly to the game footage. The game footage intrigued me however. This game looks to be more action oriented than ever with the machine guns and mech suits. The combat looks rather intense and probably deeper than it is portrayed to be. The mech suits interested me the most as they have a Transformers flavor to them as they can shift into vehicles while roaming the landscapes. The mech suits can also fly and even be used in combat as well.

The environments in this game also looks rather lush and colorful with its forest green landscapes, the surreal purple one, and the futuristic science-fiction towns that play a nice contrast. There's also a reveal of customization or alternate costumes at least from the footage of the characters wearing various outfits. These could be story based or armor dependent, but its nice to see a little bit of aesthetic change to the characters. All around this game looks like it's going to be quite fun and full of depth. I'm eager to play it when it drops to North America this year. There's still no official date yet.

7/10

G: Beowulf Trailer

Lab Zero Games released the trailer for their newest DLC characters for Skullgirls, Beowulf. I've been following this game since 2008/09 and tried to play this game competitively at one point, so it's always at my attention. Beowulf was one of the characters voted in by the fans back a couple of years ago. He'll be the second male playable character in the game and he brings with him an homage to epic poem character of his name and to the American wrestling sport. Beowulf was one of my least favorite characters that was up for vote from a design perspective, but this trailer does make him look fun to play as. As always the team gives Alex Ahad's characters some great personality through the move list. Beowulf looks to play just as he is described. He throws chairs at his opponents, sits his enemies in the chairs for resets, has command throws, uses a severed arm for a weapon, and even has a pin special. This trailer successfully made me a bit hype for a character I initially had no interest in.

8/10

M: Juju Girl Video

Directed by: Blitz The Ambassador
Today, Ghana emcee Blitz The Ambassador released the visuals for his latest single off of DIASPORADICAL, "Juju Girl". "Juju Girl" is set to a 1920's style jazz club. The suits look authentically vintage enough, the women have a cross of traditional African wear and twenties hairstyles, and the bands seem like they're having a blast performing. I found myself enjoying the song a little more this time around and it definitely coincided with visuals well. Blitz's jazz and traditional African mix blended with the club scene and the area shift that followed. When the cut in audio occurred that initiated the on foot chase sequence it captured the feeling of tension and pursuit.
The video also had made great use of lighting. The club scene had a high contrast lighting that's suitable with the nightclub setting and then the beach scene was fittingly bright, but at the same time slightly dim. A couple of the shots like the car scene with Blitz and the girl in the backseat look like there's a bit of fog that lingers over that annoys me a bit. The ending shot with Blitz sitting at the edge of the boardwalk looking out over the ocean was rather nicely shot and the integration of the credits as it scrolled across the scene gave a bit of cinematic flair to the piece. All in all this was a pretty decent music video.

7.5/10

The Current State of Sports Games

Years ago I used to commonly say that I didn't like sports video games, but when I came to think about it, that wasn't really true. I primarily do not play the likes of Madden, 2K, or FIFA, but I do play the new NBA Jam on Fire Edition and years ago I played a lot more.

Dating back to the Super Nintendo I played both the arcade and console version of the original NBA Jam, I also played Tiny Toons: Wacky Sports Challenge, and Looney Tunes B-ball. The PS1/N64 era gave me WCW vs NWO Revenge, Tony Hawk, and Mario Tennis. The PS2 and Xbox era had me playing Street Hoops, MLB Slugfest, Aggressive Inline, and my favorite SSX Tricky. During this time I was also introduced to Super Dodgeball for the NES. My time with the PS3, 360, and Wii generation was almost entirely devoid of playing those games. Why? It's because sports games in this day and age lack diversity.

Sports games now and in the previous generation are mainly confined to the simulation style of a bare few franchises. If you want basketball your only option for a good few years was only the 2K series. Last year NBA Live returned only to receive negative critical reception. For football your only choice is Madden and for soccer FIFA is the only choice as well. UFC is pretty much in the same position as basketball. Boxing? Your only choice is or should I say was Fight Night, as the last Fight Night game Fight Night Champions came out back in 2011 and EA has yet to announce plans for another entry. Extreme Sports Games? Lol, no. College sports games are also no longer around though that is understandable given the controversy around the commercialization of college athletes.

For me growing up as a geek who was ridiculed for lack of ability or interest in sports, and the type of demographic I grew up with that played them, I tended to gravitate away from the realistic simulation yearly released franchises, but the sillier and more fantastical arcade sports have always captured my interest. WWF No Mercy, Hot Shots Golf, SSX 3, Rockstar Table Tennis, Skate, NBA Street Vol.2, and NFL Blitz are games I wanted to play at one point, but why aren't there any from this generation or the last gen I want to play? Well, I was interested when EA announced the new SSX, but my interested immediately dwindled when they took out the colorful zaniness that made the original unique and the complete lack of offline multiplayer. My interested has diminished because the mainstream industry has stopped making them.

Backyard Baseball received a new entry for the PS2, Wii, and 360 in 2010, but it went pretty much under the radar and hasn't been heard of since. The new NBA Jam by EA was the only big one. I've heard from others that there are more of them in the indie side of the industry, which was a bit of a surprise to me. I keep up with gaming news and primarily the when indie games are covered it's a platformer, rpg, puzzle, or fighting game. The likes of Meat Boy, Shovel Knight, Skullgirls, The Stanley Parable, Slender Man, Hotline Miami, and the Five Nights at Freddy's series are popular, but why haven't there been any sports games in the indie scene to get any attention? I can't actually answer that, but it does look like the genre of arcade sports and certain simulation sports games aren't deemed profitable by publishers anymore. I hope we can see a resurgence to the genre pretty soon as games are always in need of variety.

Nintendo's Smash Ballot and My 5 Most Wanted Characters

Nintendo has decided to go off of a direct fan vote for their next DLC characters in Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS. Nintendo has previously included a character at fan request with Mega Man, but that was more from researching player requests along the internet than a direct vote. The site allows for a vote of a single character to be added though it is possible to vote additional times. I am very interested in seeing the results when voting period ends on October 15th. I'm not only interested in seeing which Nintendo characters people want, but I want to see all the joke and troll characters that people will vote for like Goku, Bruce Willis, and a bunch of others that are just plain stupid like this one. Below I have listed my top five most wanted characters in the game. The characters are not arranged in any particular order.

Paper Mario
Series: Paper Mario
I know we already have four characters from the Super Mario series in this (five if you count Yoshi), but Paper Mario I feel should be included because he's part of a separate series from the other characters and he could play vastly different from his original counterpart given his paper motif from the games. In the Thousand Year Door Paper Mario primarily fights with a hammer and also has paper fold transformations that altered his mobility in the game. The Paper Mario series also has the inclusion of party members that they could use for special attacks or for a Final Smash.

Sami
Series: Advance Wars
Nintendo could give some love to the strategy genre by putting in an Advance Wars character. I picked Sami as the representative because I find her design and personality more appealing than Max and especially Andy. Sami is a field commander in the series with the special ability to capture cities faster than the two others and to increase the mobility of her units. They could apply the abilities of the units in the game to her moveset, but I think it would fit more to the style of the original game if she were to summon units to her aid in battle. She could actually function like the Pokemon Trainer from Brawl and switch from three different unit types while she stands on the sidelines. Advance Wars is also a game I've recently been trying to beat over the past three years, so I would feel a little connection with a character that I've spent so much time with.

Snake
Series: Metal Gear
Snake was in Brawl and he's also a third-party character. I know it's unlikely that he'll return, but he was my second main in Brawl and I would love to have him back.

Paper Boy
Series: Paper Boy
Ok, this one is sort of a joke, but I also thought it was a joke when people wanted the Duck Hunt dog in the game, who is now actually in the game. I basically want Paper Boy in because I think that shit would be just as funny as seeing Wii Fit Trainer and Duck Hunt in the game. A little boy chucking newspapers at you and sending the neighbors rabid dog at you while he runs you over with a bike would be hilarious to see in a fight.

Shantae
Series: Shantae
This is the only character on here that I want that's not from a game I have actually played, but my opinion is not to be dismissed. I'm familiar with series history dating back to the GameBoy Color from 2002 and generally know the play style of the games. Shantae has a colorful design and the games have quirky aesthetics much similar to the majority of Nintendo's mainline franchises. Shantae could also give us a shape shifting character if they want to pull from the first game and her Middle Eastern ties could give us just a bit more cultural diversity to the game.

Those are my thoughts on the Smash Ballot. You can vote for characters here. https://cp.nintendo.co.jp/us/

Food and the Culinary Arts in Video Games

This idea came to me as a topic today as I had cooked a vastly large breakfast this morning. Bacon, eggs, french toast, and banana bread with a side of a bowl of Raisin Bran Crunch. The meal was rather delicious and the meal itself looked just as good as it tasted. Video games have been featuring as items, decoration, and story elements in games since the 80's. Today I will analyze their incorporation into the interactive medium.


Food has been most commonly used as items in video games. Their most common use is as a healing item. I've found that a good amount of RPGs and beat-em ups like to use food as the primary healing item source such as the chicken in Tekken Force Mode and the various drinks in Threads of Fate. Earthbound has a nice take on food as healing items. They function much the same as they do in most games, but the amount they can heal you can be dependent on applied seasoning. You can buy seasoning in Earthbound and whenever you eat a food item rather in combat or on the field the seasoning or condiment would be applied automatically. If the combination tastes bad to the character then the item will heal less than if it didn't have the seasoning, but if the character likes the taste then it will heal more than it normally does.

In addition to that at the beginning of the game, the player is asked to name Ness's favorite food. This food has some significance as it plays into a couple of aspects in the game. Occasionally Ness will get inflicted with the homesick while in battle. Occasionally during your journey while in battle instead of following the command you give Ness during battle, he may start to crave his favorite food. This is one of the options that come up when you're inflicted with the Homesick status. One of the ways to get rid of this status effect is to eat your favorite food. This is comparative with how food can sometimes be an element of nostalgia to us and how overall it can have affect our feelings. You also have a tie-in with dumpster diving for food as you can dig in trash cans to find food like hamburgers.

Kirby Super Star also uses food as restorative items, but in the Gourmet Race mini game it provides a different use. The object of that mini game is to beat King Dedede to the finish line while also eating more food than him along the way. If you entirely ignore the food and head straight to the finish line you lose. If both characters make it to the end at the same time, the character who has eaten the most items along the way will be the victor.  Kirby Super Star also has my favorite invulnerable power-up in the lollipop. The Gourmet race is comparative to the gluttonous eating competitions in the real world except in Kirby you're also running and flying while you're eating which would be highly dangerous to do in real life.

On the commercial side of food, a few games have had either direct advertisement from a restaurant chain like Church's Chicken in Tekken 6 or have included references to real life restaurants. The Grand Theft Auto series have done this. In particular their inclusion in San Andreas was pretty neat. If you overeat in the game your character will grow fat and he could vomit if you binge eat. The game also makes reference to fast food Mexican restaurant chain Taco Bell with Cluckn Bell and Burger Shot is a play on various fast food joints such as McDonalds' Burger King, and In -N- Out. Their absence from the recent Grand Theft Auto V was missed.

Metal Gear Solid 3 brings in the hunting aspect of food. In the game you're stamina will drop over time which when depleted will start to drain your health. In order to replenish stamina you must eat. There are rations you can eat in the game, but most of your source of food will come from hunting and gathering. See a rabbit bouncing around, shoot it or tranquilize it to catch it and eat it. See a bird flying? Shoot that down. See a rat crawling through a basement, eat that too. MGS 3 also does something a little unique with food. The game tracks the time of passage in real life and if you leave food sitting too long it will grow rotten. Eat it and you'll lose health. Same goes for eating a poisonous frog or snake.

One of my favorite mechanics with food is the inclusion of cooking. Square Enix announced that you can make camp in the game while in the field and during so you can cook meals. The food will have various effects on party members. These effects haven't been revealed in detail, but I think it would be similar to Legaia 2: Duel Saga in which they can provide the party with temporary stat boosts. Dragon's Crown also does the cooking mechanic well. While tackling multiple dungeons in Dragon's Crown a cooking sequence will pop up after completing one and at this time players can put various ingredients in pots or pans to cook the food and eat it. You can burn the food which will decrease your health and if you're spiteful or just want to annoy a friend you can burn some food and put it on another player's plate. The art of the food is also rather gorgeous in this game and food you cook restores health and can temporarily increase your Max HP and other stats.

I have yet to play any games primarily centered around food or cooking like Cooking Mama, Burger Time, or that old arcade Budweiser game Tapper, but I might get around to one of these eventually. Though their inclusion is mostly rudimentary, food is one of my favorite things that game developers pull from reality.

What are your thoughts on food in video games? What are your favorite use of them? Comment below.

My Top Ten Action-Adventure Games

This is the genre that to me is defined as being a blend of multiple genres. These games often have combat, platforming, puzzles, and racing integrated into their gameplay. I list my top ten favorite games of the genre. Listing was according to how well they blend the various genre types, how well they fulfill the sense of adventure, and most importantly how fun they are.

10. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
The end of the PlayStation 3 trilogy, Uncharted 3 is a great game in its own right. The game continues the feel of an action movie like its predecessors. The game's story doesn't resonate with me as well as the others and its set pieces and level design doesn't live up to Among Thieves either, but it definitely does a good job. The puzzles are a little more prevalent, but the game overall doesn't hit up fantastic moments. It's great form a technical standpoint with some refined gameplay.
Genre blends: Shooter, Platformer, Puzzle

9. Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
The best of PlayStation Prince of Persia trilogy to me brings about a game with a setting not often seen in games. This has you play out the Prince's last adventure as he deals with the demons in his soul. Like the previous games, this game has some exceptional platforming. Seeing the prince run across walls is always cool. The game also has pretty decent combat. The game switches up gameplay pretty well with its newest mechanic in its segments that has you play as the Prince's darker half. Dark Prince is ruthless in combat and your health drains the whole time while you're in that form, so it's also a race to the finish line as you decimate enemies and hop across platforms. This is a game I have to play again for at least one last time.
Genre blends: Platformer, Action, Puzzle

8. Beyond Good & Evil HD
I played the HD version of this on PS3 as I missed out on it during its run two generations ago. I definitely see why many claim it as an underrated gem as it is. The game has a sense of charm to it and a flavor of humor that reminds me of early 2000's animated films. The game has some flaws in its combat and stealth, but it's still an great game. I'm still wondering when Ubisoft will give us the next bit of information on its sequel. The company said the game is not dead about a year or two ago, but it looks like it'll never come out to me.
Genre blends: Action, Stealth, Racing, Puzzle, Photography(???)

7. Batman: Arkham Asylum
Rocksteady made me truly feel like Batman with Arkham Asylum. This game feels like you're playing a slightly more dim version of a Batman The Animated Series episode as it features many voice actors from the show such as Kevin Conroy and Mark Hammil. The game's story was even written by Paul Dini who wrote a great deal of the show's episodes. By being in the shoes of Batman the game gave us a simplistic, but satisfying hand to hand combat system, stealth, and platforming. The game has a great sense of atmosphere with its audio tapes being a great representation of it. The detective mechanics could've been a bit better and actually made you feel like you were doing detective work, but the game is definitely great despite it.
Genre blends: Action, Platforming, Stealth

6. God of War II
God of War II is a game that is epic. This isn't an overused descriptor here, God of War pulls from epic poems of Greek Mythology and has the player basically play out the tale of an original Greek mythic hero. This game's combat is highly action focused and violent. This game is also highly challenging from a combat perspective even on Normal difficulty. The designers did a great job in pacing the gameplay. The platforming is almost as satisfying as the combat, though I feel the puzzles could use more work. It's excellent through and through.
Genre blends: Action, Platformer, Puzzle

5. Batman Arkham City
Rocksteady gave gaming its first great Batman game and followed up with a game that excelled in almost all ways. Arkham City has a combat system that's highly simplistic, but also highly satisfying. It provides many options in its stealth gameplay and challenges your brain in its Riddler challenges. The game also has a decent story, though not as good as Asylum's to me and it has one of the best boss fights in gaming with the Mr. Freeze boss fight which is at its best on the Hard difficulty. Batman Arkham City is a real treat and I look forward to Arkham Knight when it releases.
Genre blends: Action, Platforming, Stealth, Puzzle

4. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
My very first hands on Zelda game. Ocarina of Time is definitely a game that hits me hard with nostalgia just thinking about it. The game is highly revered by the gaming community and is often regarded as the best in the series and sometimes the best game of all time and rightfully so. Ocarina of Time almost does everything right. It gives you adventure, exploration, puzzles that make you think, and simple, but satisfying combat. I feel that its RPG elements could be pronounced a little more. The elements are mostly within its side-quests and shops. Having more emphasis on money and shops could help bring this out more. The game hits strong in its level design. All of the game's dungeons are memorable with the only weak link being in the Shadow Temple and despite popular opinion I had no qualms with the Water Temple. The Water Temple was more memorable for me. The Shadow Temple was just there and the only thing that stood out to me about it was the boss. Its dreary design was already seen in the Bottom of the Well. Ocarina of Time is great jumping point into the genre.
Genre Blends: Action, Platforming, RPG, Puzzle

3. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
The E3 demonstration for this game in 2009 really sold me on the game. When I saw that I knew it was a game I was going to have and I got the game shortly after it was released. This is a high quality game here. The game plays like an summer Hollywood action blockbuster with its story and presentation. Nathan Drake had me living in a modern successor Indiana Jones with its destruction, gunplay, puzzles, and sense of adventure. The game never bogs down, you're almost always at a constant pace with short breaks in the moment for some puzzles or platforming. One of my most joyous times in gaming was when I used to play the multiplayer online. The multiplayer focuses on the game's third person shooter element and its quite addicting. It's one of the few games where I was so compelled at honing my skills to be better than everyone else. Uncharted 2 is a real treat and a must play for the genre.
Genre blends: Third Person Shooter, Platforming, Puzzle

2. Okami
This 2006 PlayStation release was a real treat for me when I first got it. This is without a doubt one of the most beautiful games to ever grace the industry. This game is swimming in Japanese art from music, to folklore, and especially in it's visual design. A good action-adventure game captivates you in its world and Okami definitely does this by providing the player with high interaction with the game's NPCs and the ability to alter gaming landscape whether its through a brushstroke or by extinguishing a dark aura that sweeps over a city by killing a dungeon boss and flourishing a grand tree. Okami's game design is also near flawless. Your abilities are set through a brush stroke that you initiate by using the analog stick if you're playing the PS2 version creating a more active gameplay action over just choosing an ability through a menu and selecting it or by having them tied to specific buttons. The abilities vary in range and gaining new ones open up new avenues for you to explore in the world. The game feels very much like a Zelda game and while it does some things better I feel that it's combat isn't quite as satisfying as Zelda's. Having battles restricted to an arena seems like an odd choice and while your brush powers can play into the battles, they don't really make them fun. I tend to avoid regular encounters in the game, but the boss battles I say may peak above Zelda's.

It's been quite a while since I played the game so I can't judge if the dungeons are on par to my favorite Zeldas. The game is much longer than any Zelda though. Once you beat your first major boss you may think you beat, the game, but in truth you're only one third of the way there. Okami is one of the few games I want to see a true sequel to, but with the creator no longer with Capcom I doubt I'll ever see it.
Genre blends: Action, Platforming, RPG, Puzzle

1. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
The quintessential action-adventure game for me. The Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask provides me with one of gaming's most memorable and immersive experiences for me. Majora's Mask pulls you into the world of Termina through its atmosphere filled with dread, quirkiness, and the bizarre. The time loop gameplay mechanic is one of the most unique ones I've come across in gaming and connects with the people of the world after going through their journeys only to find them back again to where they started after a time reset by playing the Song of Time. As far as level design and overall gameplay design. Majora's Mask does this decently on most parts. The gameplay passed over from Ocarina of Time functions just the same and works fine. The design of the dungeons this time around aren't quite as good as Ocarina of Time's, but Majora's Mask does have memorable dungeons such as The Stone Tower Temple, Ikana Castle, The Pirate's Hideout, and the mini dungeon Skulltula Houses. I also like the twist on Bottom of the Well dungeon this time around.

The mask motif or gimmick did provide more gameplay options, most notably with the transformation masks that not only alter Link's appearance, but also how he plays. Majora's Mask is a uniform package that I have yet to see rivaled in any other game though Okami comes close.
Genre blends: Action, Platforming, RPG, Puzzle