Zelda U delay

picture source: Nintendo

And everything was different. On Saturday Aonuma announced that The Legend of Zelda for Wii-U won't release this year. Well he said that they don't make a 2015 release their top priority anymore, but we all know that this means a 2016 release for the most-anticipated Wii-U game. If anyone of you hasn't seen the announcement yet, here it is:

Well it's a damn shame, but sadly it's nothing new. So far, nearly every console Zelda title has been delayed and with Zelda U being the first Open World and the first HD entry of the series this could be expected. Nonetheless it is still a bummer. What is even worse is the reaction of some fans.

It is ok to be upset about this, but the outright hatred some fans show, is really disturbing. I am a pretty positive person, so I prefer to look at this from a positive angle. The delay gives the team a chance to make the best Zelda game they could. I think that during the development of the open world Aonuma and his team realized the full potential they have at hands. The incredible things they could create in such an environment. Something they hadn't realized during the initial planing of the title. And for that they need more time. And as a fan I'll happily give them the time they need. The Wii-U still has several great games coming this year and treating them as garbage, just because they aren't Zelda, is pretty unfair. We still have Xenoblade Chronicles X, Star Fox, Devils Third, Splatoon, Yoshis Wooly World, Mario Maker and titles that will be announced at E3.

The delay also makes sense in the light of 2016 being the 30^th anniversary of Zelda.

However I can also understand the people criticizing Nintendo for this decision. Couldn't this ideas have been realized in a sequel? Of course this could have been the case, if the Wii-U was more successful. But right now it's pretty clear that we won't get another 3D Mario or a second full Zelda game on the console. Nintendo often said that they want to satisfy current users of the console, which is just a nice way of saying, the'll give us just enough games so that we won't regret buying the console. That's probably why Aonuma wants to cram as much ideas as possible in this title. Could it become to bloated because of that? That's a real danger. The delays of Zelda titles didn't often end in a better product, while Majoras Mask, which was completed under massive time pressure in just over a year, is now fondly remembered as one of the best games of all time. So a more focused approach is often better, but I still remain positive

The one thing that puzzles me, is that the game won't be shown at E3. For me that can only mean one of two things. Either the game is receiving a massive overhaul as we speak, and will be revealed later that year for a second time. The Tokyo Game Show or the next Game Awards would be likely dates. Or they want to push a 2015 release date and don't want to waste their time with E3, as it takes roughly one month of time to create a working E3 demo. This are the two scenarios I'm betting on, and I'm pretty sure we will see a May 2016 release date for Zelda U.

Oh and the idea that Zelda U could be a cross-platform title, releasing on the NX and the Wii-U. I wouldn't really count on that. For starters the situation between Zelda U and Twilight Princess is vastly different. The Gamecube already had a full fledged Zelda Title with Wind Waker.

Also this would send a catastrophic message to Nintendo fans and that is the last thing the company needs right now. Right now Nintendo needs to build trust in it's products. They do this through releasing high-quality titles for the Wii-U and supporting it even through it's rough times. Abandoning your console at the first sign of trouble and releasing a successor hasn't proven to be a good business practice. Just ask Sega.

So the Zelda U delay happened. What was your reaction?

And as always

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Mario Party 10 Review

Overview:

Finally the Mario Party series steps into the HD age. After the lackluster reception of Mario Party 9 the next entry also sticks to the controversial new rule set. So, can Mario Party 10 succeed, where its predecessor failed? Or will the series stay in the mediocre terrain, where it has been a regular since the Gamecube days? With new Bowser Party mode, the transition to HD, Amiibo Party and over 70 new minigames the chances are good. If the game uses this chances you'll find out in this test.

Gameplay:

Gameplay wise Mario Party 10 is following in the footsteps of his predecessor. In the classic Mario Party Mode again all 4 players are sitting in the same vehicle, and take turns in steering it. To win the party you don't have to collect stars or coins, but instead only one resource in the form of ministars. This streamlines the experience, but many fans argued that it also took away the variety of the boards and the game itself. And they were and are still right about this. This change also affected the design of the boards, which there are only five off this time around. They are all beautifully designed and pretty vibrant, once again the HD-Threatment shows that it's a perfect fit for the Mario series, but also extremely linear. You mostly follow a set path. Sometimes a little branching path comes up, but mostly it's only for a couple of fields, before you return to the main one. This branches mostly serve the purpose to gain some extra ministars, or deny your enemies this chance. While some may argue that this serves as a small tactical component, during the game it mostly feels very luck driven. You have some degree of control over your own dice rolls, in the form of extra dices like the 1-3 dice or the slow dice, but you can't influence your opponents in the slightest. So this branches offer, in the best case, occasional opportunities for tactics. The only board which offers more in that regard would be Airship central where the ships change every turn from good to bad, so you can delay the advancement of your vehicle to let the other players board a bad ship.

Sadly this is the most interaction you get with the other players outside of minigames, because every event space only affects the player driving. The good old days of stealing stars and coins from the other players, or blowing the power star to another field, so that they may not get it, these days are over. This results in a pretty toned down experiences with a lot less swear words being thrown around while playing.

The boards, while offering great visual variety, all play exactly the same. You'll move the vehicle on a linear path. Halfway through the board you'll encounter a miniboss and at the end the big boss awaits. This boss battles are tied to their respective boards, so you'll only encounter King Boo on the Haunted Trail and nowhere else. This battles are very distinct and a lot of fun, and are probably the only thing people liked in Mario Party 9.
On your way through the boards you'll collect ministars from checkpoints (or lose them), event spaces and minigames. However minigames normally only offer 5 stars, where you can collect up to 12 stars through checkpoints, so the minigames don't have as much impact on the outcome of the game as in previous entries.

The party ends when the final boss of the board is defeated, which takes roughly between twenty and forty minutes. This would be acceptable for a portable entry of the series, but for a home console game it feels very short. Forget the days where you could spent an evening on a board, cursing or gloating at the other players next to you on the couch. During my plays of the game the atmosphere was strangely apathetic. Only on a few occasions the old Mario Party feel arose.

These occasions usually where during the minigames. Because even after 10 entries the Mario Party series still nails this part. The minigames are imaginative, varied and simply a lot of fun. The only negative point I have to make, is that they don't incorporate the gamepad in the slightest. Apart from Bowser Party everything can be played with Wii-Motes. This is good, because you don't have to buy any new peripherals, but at least during the 3vs1 games the gamepad could have been used. Also the minigames happen to rarely. You only trigger a game when finding a hidden one on a regular space or stepping on a minigame space. This can take several turns and we even managed one time to go five turns without a minigame. But when you finally play a minigame you'll forget all of your complaints, which should show how great the are in this entry.

Mario Party 10 puts more emphasis on the board aspect of the game, which simplifies everything without giving any advantage in return.

So the classic Mario Party mode hasn't changed in the slightest from Mario Party 9, but at least we have two brand new modes to look forward too.

Bowser Party was the most heavily advertised mode leading up to the games launch and with it we finally have another game which takes advantage of the great possibilities of the Wii-U gamepad. Asynchronous multiplayer is perfect fit for Party games. In this mode one player takes control over the gamepad and Bowser, while the others try to escape him. The goal of the players is it to reach the end of the selected board, while Bowser tries to deplete all of their hearts, which replace the ministars in this mode. After Bowser breaks out of his cage, he'll try to catch up to the other players through rolling multiple dice. If he manages to catch them a random Bowser minigame starts. During these the Bowser player will use the gamepad trying to deplete the hearts of his enemies. The minigames are a lot of fun, but there's only 10 of them, so after two to three Bowser parties you've seen them all. However they're greatly designed and take good advantage of the gamepad.

This mode surely is the strongest aspect of Mario Party 10, but it still feels a little bit uninspired. Only 10 minigames for Bowser and the fact that 9 out of 10 times Bowser won in our plays, dampen the longevity of this mode.

And last, but not least, we have Amiibo Party. This mode can be unlocked through your Super Mario Amiibos, which basically makes it on-disc DLC. As someone who isn't made out of money and chose to get the Samus and Shiek Amiibo this bothers me, but I can't deny that this mode makes a lot of fun, which makes the aspect that it is locked behind a paywall of 15 bucks even worse.

Putting one of the nine supported Amiibos on the gamepad unlocks this characters board for Amiibo party. These boards are much smaller than the regular ones and have a stronger board game atmosphere. Instead of animated ones, you'll move figurine versions of your chosen character around. The gameplay however is classic Mario Party. Collect coins. Buy Power Star for 20 coins. Make your fellow players swear at you. It is a lot of fun, but with the small boards and having to pay at least 135 bucks for all nine boards, this mode also doesn't offer much longevity. Oh and good luck with finding a Rosalina Amiibo for under 30 bucks.

Apart from this three main modes, you'll also have smaller ones.

Minigame tournament: A tournament by rounds where eight characters participate. Each round is a minigame, and characters who remain 1^st and 2^nd in the minigames make it to the next round.

Bowser Challenge: The player, as Bowser, has to play all the 10 Bowser minigames, trying to take the highest quantity of hearts. After ending the minigames Bowser Jr. qualifies Bowser.

Toads Room: Toads Room is an extra mode, featuring a shop, a photo booth and a challenge mode.

Also once again a Nintendo Game doesn't offer online multyplayer. While Mario Party is best together with friends on one couch, it would have been a nice way for people, whose friends live far away, to enjoy Mario Party. It is, however, no reason to downrate the game, but it would have been a nice extra.

Presentation:

Presentation wise the game does everything right. Mario Party in HD looks great. Once again it shows that the colorful Mario style and HD belong together. The game may not reach Captain Toad or Mario Kart 8 levels of graphics, but it looks absolutely beautiful in motion. Once again Nintendo doesn't offer Anti-aliasing, but we get a rock solid framerate and vibrant graphics.

The Boards are really well designed and offer a great deal of variation, even within themselves. Haunted Trail starts in a graveyard area, before passing through spooky woods and finally the well known purple swamp. Whimsical Waters lets you dive deeper into the sea from a bright an colorful coral reef into the deep sea. And Airship central has taken inspiration from Cloudtop Cruise, because you also enter into a raging stormcloud after leaving the airships. It's a shame that there are only five boards to play on, because apart from the minigames the design of the boards is Mario Party 10s strongest aspect.

The Characters are all smoothly animated, but I have to single out Bowser here. Playing him in Bowser Party is a blast. He storms through the boards like freaking Godzilla wreaking havoc in his path and only leaving destruction behind.

The music is typical for the series happy and light hearted. It fulfills it's job, but won't get you to buy the soundtrack CD. (which doesn't exist by the way)

The Presentation in general is a strong point of Mario Party 10. Everything looks great, vibrant and alive.

Bonusround:

Spoiler Warning:

There are quite a few things to unlock in Mario Party 10. First there are two ''secret'' characters, which you can buy in Toads Room for Mario Party points. These characters are Toadette and Spike and I don't blame you if you don't know who Spike is. But these two are not all Toad has to offer. Players can also buy master difficulty for the COM, vehicles for the boards, music, and models of characters and backgrounds to use them in the Photo Booth. There is also a challenge list on which players can check different challenges, which they can complete. These challenges range from minigame specific, like scoring over 50 points during pipe sniper, to rolling four times the same number with Bowser during Bowser party. Finishing all 49 challenges isn't an easy task (some of them require up to five players), and you'll get nothing for managing this feat, except for some bragging rights.

Conclusion:

Mario Party 10 continues the path Nd Cube chose with Mario Party 9. This streamlines the experience, but in process costs more than it adds. The Parties feel rushed and not as engaging as in previous entries. The mayhem people enjoyed is gone. The boards are brilliantly designed, but the one Path to the finish aspect, cripples their potential. Minigames are great. Probably the best since Mario Party 5. They are a lot of fun. Sadly they aren't as important as in earlier entries.

Bowser Party and Amiibo Party are two interesting additions, but don't offer any longevity. Bowser Party is hindered through an overpowered Bowser and a lack of Bowser minigames and Amiibo Party is on disc DLC, locked behind a paywall of 15 bucks. Nonetheless we had a lot of fun with this game. The earlier entries are better, but in this one you can play Rosalina.

All of this may sound pretty negative, but the game is far from bad. It simply could have been a lot better. All in all Mario Party 10 is as mediocre as it gets. And at least Nintendo doesn't demand full price for it.

- Vehicle gamplay oversimplifies Mario Party mode
- Only five boards
- On disc DLC
- Lacking ambition


+ Great minigames
+ Wonderfully designed boards with lots of variety

+ Looks great

5/10

Source of all Pictures: Nintendo

Nintendo on Smartphones

Soo this happened... On an conference Satoru Iwata announced that Nintendo would team up with Japanese Mobile company DeNA to bring Nintendo Ip to smart devices. Full blown games. And the reaction have been split. While the business world was euphoric, resulting in a rise of Nintendos stock by 32%, many gamers remain skeptic of this whole proposition. Now first let's state what was actually said in this conference.

Nintendo will develop completely new titles for smart phones. They won't port existing 3DS or Wii-U games. The development of this titles will be done mostly by Nintendo themselves with DeNA providing their knowledge on Online Infrastructure. DeNA will also be tasked with building a membership program, which will encompass Wii-U, 3DS, future Nintendo consoles, PC and smart devices. You will be access it from any of these platforms. At the same time Nintendo assured everyone that they'll still keep developing and producing dedicated gaming platforms, with the announcement of the NX. It's not sure if this will be a 3DS or Wii-U successor or a third pillar, and it won't be talked about till next year. It was only announced to assure everyone that Nintendo doesn't plan to leave the console market any time soon.

Iwata also talked about the pricing model of their games on smart devices in an interview later on. He said that they are looking into all pricing models, but don't plan on using any exploitative pricing. Some took this as declaration, that Nintendo won't offer any free to play games, but I'm not sure about that.

That is what was roughly said on the conference. If you want to read it fully, you can do so under this link: http://www.perfectly-nintendo.com/nintendo-and-dena-press-conference-full-text-and-video-transcript-available-in-english/

First let me say that I don't like smartphone games. I don't play them and I have completely no interest in them. I'll still try to see all this from a neutral perspective, but I just wanted you to know that.

Now let's talk about the games. Iwata said, that they would develop completely new software and not port any existing games from their consoles. While this is nice, it also begs the question how they will be able to that? As it is now Nintendo barely manages to supply 3DS and Wii-U with enough software to keep everyone occupied. Even if the games for smart devices won't take any significant workforce, which I doubt, they still will pull these people, however few they may be, away from other projects. This can simply be countered by increasing the number of employees, but so far Nintendo hasn't announced anything.

I'm also a fan of them not porting any existing games onto smart devices. Everyone who has played a Version of Mario World or Super Mario Bros. on their Smartphone knows that the controls are nightmares. And locking the games behind additional accessorizes like controller add-ons will only diminish mass appeal. So for now this approach is probably the best and let's see how it will turn out.
However ignoring the Virtual Console would be stupid by the likes of Nintendo, so I'm counting on them releasing several classic games (which work with touch controls) on smart devices.

Next is the new membership program. We knew that something was coming since Nintendo send good old Club Nintendo into retirement. This new program will be created by DeNA and will encompass several devices. We don't have any hard facts about it, but I'm not really looking forward to it. I think that Nintendo may go the route of Sony and Microsoft and offer a paid service. Now I don't have a problem with paid services. Playstation Plus during the PS 3 era was awesome, but what I don't like is it being mandatory. I enjoyed Nintendos offering of free multiplayer this generation and I don't think it's really lacking. The games I played so far with Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros. have been lag free and I rarely had disconnects.

What I would prefer is a two rail method. Offer a basic program for free, which includes free Multiplayer, the discount for regular buyers and other basic components, which the program will have. Also offer a paid membership program, which will include, for example, a free game every month like Sony and Microsoft already offer.

The NX was the next point. I can't say much about it, because there is hardly any information out. We just know that it is a dedicated gaming platform and that it will have a brand new concept. Many people think that this may be a new third pillar next to Wii-U and 3DS but I don't think so. It would be a stupid move, because Nintendo can barely provide support for two platforms and together with games for smart devices the number would increase to four. The original DS was also announced as a third pillar next to home consoles and the Game Boy brand. It should focus on casual gamers, while Game Boy would remain the Hardcore handheld brand. But this place is now taken by smart devices. So what could NX be? Well Iwata mentioned that it will have a brand new concept, so I'm thinking that the rumored Fusion Concept would be a plausible choice. We won't find out till next year, but it is reassuring that Nintendo will still provide classic console experiences.

Now for some questions regarding this whole thing.

Wont this devalue Nintendos intellectual property?

This is completely in Nintendos own hands. If the provide good experiences on smart devices for an appropriate price there will be any problem. However it will be a challenge for the company, because the classic smartphone crowd aren't exactly loyal to brands. At least not to gaming brands. They just buy whatever is at top of the app store.

Still Nintendos characters are well known, so they have an advantage over the standard phone developer.

The greatest pitfall will be providing adequate games for smart devices without devaluing their console games. The price will be their greatest enemy. Lets talk in examples.

Nintendo offers a Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker game on the app store. It costs 4.99 includes several levels and can be extended with level packs for 0.99cents each. The whole experience will cost around 10, which is astronomically high for phone games, but this is just an example. Why should I then pay 40 bucks on Wii-U to get Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker? Smartphone gamers don't care for improved visuals or such things. Most of them see games a just disposable time spenders. A View that directly collides with Nintendos way of making games.

If Nintendo wants to be successful on this market they need to play by the rules. It may not devalue their IP, Fans will still be able to enjoy their quality home console titles, but it also won't increase it, because smartphone gamers don't really care for such things.

Won't this be direct competition for the 3DS?

That is also my biggest fear. Nintendo intends to funnel smartphone gamers towards their dedicated gaming systems, but I'm not sure it will work. You want more Nintendo experiences? Then check out our real systems. This may sound like a good incentive at first, but I'm pretty sure that the smartphone crowd will just shrug it off. Mmhh why should I buy this system for nearly 200 bucks only to then pay 40 bucks for each game, when I can have games for free and 0.99 each. In the worst case it will prevent people from buying a 3DS because they can have the Nintendo experience on their phones. That is a dilemma for the company, which I don't know how they'll solve. On the one hand they can't make their smartphones game shitty, because it will damage their brand, and on the other they shouldn't be to good or people won't seek out their dedicated gaming systems. While I don't think that their home console business is in danger (quite ironic if you look at the current situation of the Wii-U), I fear that this may be the firs signs of dedicated Nintendo Handhelds. And that is a damn shame.

Isn't Smartphone gaming just a fad?

Well I also thought so and if you look at companies like Rovio (Angry Birds) or Zynga (Farmville) you may be right, but I don't think that Nintendo is comparable with them. Nintendo has a brand recognition these two can only dream of. They can provide a broad range of different characters and experiences for smartphones. In that no current Smart Phone developer can really compare. But what can be said, when looking at these companies, is that the smartphone crowd is especially fickle.

Concluding: 

I don't really mind Nintendo developing for smart devices, but I don't think it will have the effect they hope. Of course it will bring in a lot of cash, but the smartphone crowd doesn't really care for games. To them it's just a way to pass time. I don't think Nintendo will successfully bring many people from their smart devices to dedicated gaming platforms. In the worst case it will negatively impact their core business by creating direct competition for the 3DS. In the end it all boils down to Nintendos approach on this whole thing. They need to play the game and adjust to the price system on smart devices, while still making sure that their console titles stay appealing. We haven't seen any game for smartphones from them yet, but for the time being I remain cautious.

And as always

thanks for reading

Don't take reviews personal

Image source: GameSkinny.com

The Order is a mediocre game...

There I said it.

No game in recent times has split the gaming landscape like Ready at Dawns first AAA Title. Now let me get this out of the way first. Yes the graphics of this game are amazing. Yes the gameplay is severely lacking. Depending on what's more important to you The Order is either a great experience or a dud. But overall it's pretty mediocre. Nothing really special, apart from a wasted setting in my opinion.

But let's not dwell on the game itself, but lets talk about the greater problem, which encompasses it.

Shortly after the first reviews of the Order hit the web the shitstorm began. Some people gloated, while some defended the game with insane vigor. It was quite the spectacle, but it showed a huge problem in todays gaming landscape (Or in society in general, but lets keep this gaming focused). Many fans take review scores just to personal. They link their personal well being to that of a game. After the Order was released I saw many threads about this anti-sony conspiracy or that Microsoft payed the reviewers to lower the scores for the Order. Because accepting that the game, they all anticipated and got hyped for, was not the great revelation they had hoped for, is just too much for these people.

It all boils down to this generation of hype that we all live in. Todays ''gameplay'' showings, if they even can be called that, don't serve to inform the customer about the game, but instead only to build hype and bring in Pre-Orders. Vertical slices of gameplay that are especially cinematic, but never appear in the finale game. CGI Trailers that show absolutely nothing of the finished game. Pre-Order bonuses and season passes that get announced before the game releases. All this serves to lessen the risk of releasing a game, by raking in as much profit as possible before the actual product is shipped. It's understandable that the company doesn't want the game to fail, but for the customer it shouldn't matter. Especially with a totally new IP like the Order. All that should matter is, if the game is any good.

But it's also quite understandable that many see it otherwise. And why wouldn't they? If you have Pre-ordered a game, already bought a season pass and downloaded the companion app, you don't want to get told that your purchase wasn't worth it. Instead you just deny it. It's a basic human reaction. The mistake here is getting invested in a game to such a degree, that every criticism of it feels like a criticism towards you. I hate to cite my mother but... It's just a video game. Getting personally invested with a product is one of the stupidest things you can do. It is only acceptable if you have a personal of financial interest, for example as investor or developer and even then it's not really healthy. But as a customer it's just dumb.

Also why shouldn't you enjoy it, just because it got bad reviews. If you're an absolute graphics junky you will probably love the Order. And there is nothing wrong with that, but accept that the whole package is just mediocre. Just don't take a review personal.

To be clear, I don't say you shouldn't be a fan of something, but you should never be a fanboy. Maybe you don't deem some parts of a video game important, but critics, for the most part, try to be as objective as possible. And if a game has horrible A.I. then it's something that shouldn't remain unmentioned, because it impacts the game as whole. If you don't care good for you, but some other players may.

I guess what I want to say is that you shouldn't take the review scores of your favorite games personal. It would be generally better if we could personally detach ourselves more from the products we use and the whole metacritic system. In the end scores are just a number that may help uninformed players to decide if they want to purchase a game or not. They shouldn't impact your enjoyment of a video game.

Just don't take review scores personal.

and as always

thanks for reading