I am so confused, and yet so ready for this game lmao!!!  It looks so surreal.

More details here:

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2014/02/10/new-ps-vita-model-confirmed-for-us-included-in-borderlands-2-bundle/

Raymond Origins, Lumines Electronic Symphony, Asphalt Injection and Dungeon Hunter Alliance $6.75 each for the Vita. Along with a bigger list for the PSP. check them out in the link below.

http://blog.ubi.com/huge-psp-and-ps-vita-sale/

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Action-Adventure
Platform: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: November 22, 2013


When The Legend of Zelda released in 1987 I was 8 years old and it quickly became one of my favorite game franchises of all time. Through the years I have played and still own every single Legend of Zelda game that has been released. From the 1987 classic, to the downright travesties of the CD-i games, all the way through the latest A Link Between Worlds, I’ve played them all through to completion. While the original is still my favorite, I have loved them all (Yes even the terrible ones). I’m proud to say A Link Between Worlds is not terrible and is one of the most enjoyable games I’ve played in recent memory. I’m sorry if this ruined the ending of this review for you, but please read on to find out why this game is so good.

The latest game takes us back to the Hyrule from the SNES days. It not only takes us back there, but literally uses the exact same map from A Link To The Past and this is my only extremely minor complaint with the game. The map felt all too familiar and a tad bit lazy on Nintendo’s part. While this was a very slight downside to the game, it is in no way a detriment to the game and can also be viewed as strong suite. Much like a well worn pair of underpants, slipping back in to this world feels great. Yes, I’m aware of the contradiction in terms here, but if you’re under 20 years old and not in to classic gaming it will feel new to you. Besides, the rehashed map is literally an homage for what becomes an entirely new game when you begin to dig in to it and find the all new dungeons, progression system, and gameplay devices.



The story is pretty much the standard Zelda story. Sticking close to the original SNES story, the sages (Including Princess Zelda) are kidnapped by the dark wizard Yuga in the hopes to release Ganon’s spirit from his prison and give him the ultimate power, the Triforce of Power. Of course it’s up to our green tunic’d hero to save the day. The difference here is while Zelda rules over Hyrule, Princess Hilda rules over Lorule, which is being torn apart. As I said, standard Zelda story, but very intriguing with twists and turns that will keep you guessing.

The old way of progressing through a Zelda game required you to tackle the dungeons in a specific order to obtain the upgrades necessary to move on to the next. Those linear days are gone my friends. Now if you have the rupees, you can own the upgrades necessary to progress through any dungeon you want. You “rent” things like the boomerang, hookshot, and all the other standard Zelda items from Ravio. Once you have the items, it’s up to you to determine which one is used for which dungeon. The real catch to this rental structure is, if you die whatever items you were renting are returned to Ravio and you must rent them again. This can become troublesome in the boss battles, as they can be quite tough. However, it is a great way to remove the linearity from the game and make the formula we are used to feel fresh and new. There are a few exceptions to this “rental” structure, but they are easily worked in to the story. The other new gameplay mechanic is Link’s ability to become a painting on flat surfaces. Link literally becomes controllable art on the walls. This allows link to slip between cracks, escape through prison bars, and go through portals to reach Lorule. The new power also becomes a life saver when facing boss battles, as you are semi-invincible when in the walls. Both the wall phasing and items have a meter that limits the use of them, but it replenishes when not in use.



Of course, what new game would be complete without collectibles? There are collectibles in the game that allow you to not only upgrade your items as you progress, but also upgrade the Master Sword. Hidden within certain dungeons are materials that allow the Master Sword upgrades. Also, the fetch quest of finding 100 Maiamais for Mother Maiamai allows you to upgrade all the items from Ravio’s shop. While not completely necessary, this does give the game a tad bit more gameplay time. With how beautiful this game looks on the 3DS, who can blame you for wanting to spend more time in the 2 kingdoms?

Speaking of graphics, the game really is stunning to look at. The subtle things are what really make the game pop. Everything from the original SNES is there but they have been upgraded immensely. While everything is still small and doesn’t have the super-sharp HD look of bigger screen consoles, the 3DS really does a great job with this one. The 3D is put to decent use, but definitely not necessary to having the full experience. The music has also been reworked and fully orchestrated. The tunes will seem familiar to fans and have you humming along as you play right from the very beginning.



In summation, this is a Zelda fan’s dream. The beautiful graphics for a portable game are great and music that sticks with you. Gameplay is tight and exactly what you’d expect from a Zelda game. The new rental system works quite well and allows you to tackle the game like you’ve never been able to before. While a rehashed map may be a detriment to some, it doesn’t hurt an overall great experience. As I said in the beginning, A Link Between Worlds is one of the most enjoyable games I’ve had the pleasure of playing in years. I had brand new games sitting unopened that I had been anticipating for months and months, while I completed this one. While there has been no real shortage of great Zelda games in recent memory, this one really is this long time fan’s dream come true.



Click here to view the article

Not a full review or anything but just my thoughts. I have put about 10 hours into the game.

I almost passed on this game but I got my hands on X and Y this past weekend and I am happy to report that the game feels much better than the previous installments that I have played. I had Heart Gold on DS and before that Ruby on the Advance. Ruby was awesome and I loved playing that game but I never felt like newer versions were a whole lot different.

Granted I have not played them all but just looking at the installments I have not played, friend and player reviews for them, you could tell that there was not a whole lot of changes. This is a game for me that is more fun to play every couple generations where enough time has gone by or significant improvements added for it to feel fresh again and to rediscover why you liked it in the first place.

That said I feel like this version has raised the bar a bit. The core mechanics are still intact for the series but everything just feels more refined overall. The addition of roller skates that you get early speed up your characters movement and it makes a big difference getting around.

In addition things added like the Exp. Share that you also get early, when equipped, allow the Pokémon in your party of 6 to get some experience from the battle even though they may not have fought that battle. This is huge because it was such a grind to level a young Pokémon later on in the game. Lastly, there is a new type called Fairy.

The graphics are gorgeous on the 3DS and look much improved with better-looking character models and sprites especially when your Pokémon are duking it out. The camera zooms and pans on the action as you take down your opponents.

Above all else the addictive "Catch 'Em All" gameplay makes this a must buy for any Pokémon fan with a 3DS in my opinion.

Click here to view the article

If you already own Fire Emblem and register it and this game on club.nintendo.com you will get $30 eCredit back to use towards any other game on the digital store. My other thread has more details.

In an announcement today, the company said, "We want to thank you for your patience and for sticking with us through the shipment delay of your Shield. We have great news to share with you - your Shield will ship on July 31st."

It added, "Our goal has always been to ship the perfect product, so we made sure we submitted SHIELD to the most rigorous mechanical testing and quality assurance standards in the industry. We built SHIELD because we love playing games, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do."

Read on

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/420002/nvidia-shield-gets-new-confirmed-release-date/

Good news! Shin Megami Tensei 4 is coming out next week. I have become a fan of this rather quickly with titles like Devil Survivor that I talked about before. Gonna be a great game! 

I already have Fire Emblem so I am looking forward to the free e-cash!

Shin Megami Tensei 4 Review:

http://www.destructoid.com/review-shin-megami-tensei-iv-257718.phtml

Offer Details - article

http://www.destructoid.com/register-smt-iv-and-fire-emblem-and-get-30-eshop-credit-257780.phtml

I picked this up recently and this game feels like a hidden gem. It was not immediate at first. I had to play a couple hrs and it really ramped up.

The graphics look classic since this is a re-release of a DS game for 3DS, but the gameplay is amazing. I am a sucker for turn-based combat and even more so if it involves a tactical grid and character customization like the latest XCOM.

It is challenging as well which I welcome. One or two wrong moves and it could cost you. Its got an interesting story and a demon collection system that reminds me of pokemon but in a darker way. You can also fuse them together to create more powerful demons.

If your gonna try the demo read this:

The bad thing about that demo is it does not really tell you how to play at all! On my first run I winged it and failed horribly. It turned me off on the game a little but determined I tried again. This time while playing I found a menu buried within the game that had a very detailed instruction manual on how to play. Just read it over a bit especially the combat section.

The game is really alot simpler than it looks. It's like a turn-based strategy game sort of like Fire Emblem mixed with a simplified fighting game combat system. The visuals are really cool and the sprites look great. Relaxing and fun!

Trailer:

If I have not lost you yet I found this much longer gameplay vid. This guy was cracking me up.

I love handhelds but have been out of the scene for awhile now. iOS has been getting me by I guess but I just hate the pay to play, microtransaction nickel and dime games on it. For some reason I got this strong urge to buy a 3DS XL this weekend considering best buy has it for $174.99. Seems like a good deal.

How are you all liking yours?

Sony is failing hard on this one.  I thought for sure they would strike out hard with their new handheld, considering it has dual analogs and all that beefy hardware. 

I can only play so much PSOne Classics (mostly RPGs).  I don't have much else to play considering I've been through Gravity Rush, the Metal Gear HD Collection, Ragnarok Oddysey and Uncharted.   

Anyone else have a Vita who feels the same way? 

Blah blah blah, here's some of the crap I've done in the past couple months. Do you like to draw? I'd love to check out your stuff too!

Vegeta from Dragonball Z

Some little girl from Full Metal Alchemist

Kratos from God of War

Deidara from Naruto: Shippuden

Voltron!

An early attempt at Rock Lee from Naruto: Shippuden

Altair from Assassin's Creed

Today only.

Anyways this is a great Resident Evil game and I highly recommend it.

http://www.neowin.ne...ng-tablet-fiona

http://www.grantgalitz.org/gamecenter/index.html

After getting everyone’s hopes up, Sony now says only one user account can be used on a PlayStation Vita.

Though a Sony representative told Wired.com at a Vita preview event last week in Manhattan that Vita users will be able to switch accounts by swapping out memory cards, the PlayStation maker has now retracted that statement. It told Wired.com in an email on Thursday that Vita owners will indeed have to reset their hardware to factory settings, deleting all of their data, in order to sign in with a different PlayStation Network account.

Sony will release Vita in Japan on Saturday and in the U.S. on February 22.

“[The] PSN account is tied to the hardware and the memory card, not just the card,” a different Sony representative said in an e-mail, “which means that if a second person is using your Vita, it’s not just a case of switching out memory cards, it’s clearing out all of your saved data on the Vita itself when you do the factory reset.”

“In other words, PlayStation Vita is intended to be played by only one user,” the representative said.

Read on at Wired.com

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2011/12/sony-vita-psn/

That's unfortunate. Many families have more than one child, or even more than one adult that's a gamer. Having to buy multiple devices is not the answer. Not in this economy.