Thursday we received huge news in regards to Pokemon Go. Legendary Pokemon have finally been introduced. So how do legendary pokemon events work? Well, there will be legendary eggs that will sprout in certain locations and it will be a collective teamwork to defeat a legendary pokemon in a certain time limit. If successful, you and everyone else will catch the legendary pokemon. Sounds cool and all, but will this be cool enough to get people back into playing Pokemon Go?
Pokemon Go was the game of the summer last year. Instead of staying indoors like usual, it made us go out into the unknown and discover our neighborhoods, dead bodies, and risk getting into car accidents all to capture that Dragonite in your neighbor's backyard or visit your local church to refresh on poke lures. not to pray or some other crap like that.
But alas, our love for Pokemon Go was brief and just like the season it came and went. We were playing it in July and by the time Sept came we deleted our apps and put the phone down. According to Forbes by mid-July, Pokemon Go lost over 79 percent of its users. Niantic, the company responsible for the app, hasn't been hurting since the momentum of the app died down. They still have millions of people using Pokemon Go. Niantic has also been doing events to keep who was left reason to play the game like having certain pokemon appear on holidays and even adding generation 2 pokemon, and Ditto, but so far none of it has been enough spark and interest to get former players to pick up their phones and start playing again. Will the long awaited inclusion of legendary pokemon finally do this?
Compared to the other events and announcements this is huge. We've been anticipating legendary pokemon from the beginning of the game. Even so much people had try hacking them in. For me, this does enough spark interest to re-download the app and see what's the fuss about, maybe for others as well. Will it garner enough interest to bring back former app users? We'll have to see. Luckily, we will actually see as there will be an Pokemon Go Fest in Chicago will be streamed today. At this event we will see a legendary pokemon and it will be up to participants to defeat it. Depending on how everything works out we'll see the results and if people will be outside catching pokemon for the rest of the summer and later on.
Spider-Man: Homecoming is out this weekend. It is the long awaited introduction of Spider-Man finally being in the Marvel movie universe. It is also the third reboot of Spider-Man being on the big screen as we were treated to the Sam Raimi films and the Amazing Spider-Man films with Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. Sam Raimi's Spider Man films were pretty much like going down a slide: fun at first but the other few times kinda are boring and the Amazing Spider-Man films were just bad. Third times a charm right? Will Homecoming be crowned king if the summer superhero box office this year or will it wind up not being so amazing like the Amazing Spider-Man films. Does it suck?
As the title states, Spider-Man Homecoming is and feels very much like a High School movie. It's cool, hip, and fresh than your standard super hero movie. It really does smell like Teen Spirit, in a good way. You can tell that past John Waters inspired this film. They even made it obvious as they showed the Ferris Bueller chase scene while Spider-Man is chasing the bad guys in a van.
This time around they went the comedic route with Spidey this time around. No standard Uncle Ben death. No Emma Stone dying. We just get jokes and action, with plenty of jokes. It pretty much felt like a PG-13 version of Deadpool, a Deadpool Jr. and that was a good thing. speaking of both film, I like how Marvel is kinda distancing themselves from the cookie cutter superhero films they've done in the past like Civil War and are giving us something new and changing the format of how these iconic characters are being portrayed on screen.
The breakout star was Tom Holland who did not only a great job playing both Peter Parker and Spider-Man well. You do get the heroic quirkiness of Spider-Man who is just Peter under the mask and is has some good qualities in him as well, along with the quirkiness of being a teen as well. Holland found a balance that the other actor who donned the red and blue tights couldn't do just well. Tobey Maguire was an amazing Peter Parker, but couldn't nail being Spider-Man quite right and Andrew Garfield who was an Amazing Spider-Man, but wasn't a really believable Peter Parker. Honorable mention to Zendaya who stole the scene she was in as Michelle. Pretty much all the actors involved were good, except the guy who played Flash Thomson who seemed like a more annoying version of early Potter films Dracoy Molfoy than a rival for Peter, or maybe that was the plan? Oh, and I'm not going to spoil anything, but the rumors about her character are true.
Final Verdict
So, did Spider-Man Homecoming suck? Nope. It was a fun movie all around. Lot's of laughs and action without doing all the superhero movie cliches or not a lot of them to make it seem droll. Also,
going back to John Holmes metaphor, the movie had a great deal of using the characters and Peter himself in a way to make the movie in of itself not only be a great teen film, but using the notion of Peter wanting to be an Avenger, but helping others with his powers a great euphemism for growing up. It get's a 3.5. out of 5, unlike Aunt May who's a 10.
Nintendo is giving us a follow up to the NES Classic, the SNES Classic. Just like its predecessor, the SNES Classic is an emulator that is basically the best of video games during that era and it is just that. The SNES Classic has a lot of classic games that we all loved and played. From Super Mario world and A Link to the Past to Contra III, and Earthbound what's in it is just amazing.
If you didn't know, the first NES Classic was a monster hit. It was one of the hottest things to get in December of 2016 selling 1.5 million units during that month. It sold like hotcakes with a side of methberry syrup. It sold so much that Nintendo had to push more units. As of now it has sold 2.3 million.
Just as fast as it sold Nintendo decided to send it up the farm in order to sell this new SNES emulator that has everyone in a frenzy. Nintendo has already prepared for a repeat as they have ordered more SNESs made and you already have scalpers on eBay ready to sell the thing at insane prices as soon as they preorder. The question is however will it be a even bigger hit than the NES Classic?
Nostalgia was the selling point behind the NES Classic and what will be SNES Classic. I feel that SNES will be more connecting to this generation that these were the games we truly remember playing and enjoying. I personally do remember playing Super Mario Bros., Mega Man 2, & Zelda on the original NES, but the games that stuck with me and I remember most are the 16-bit games from the SNES era. I remember unlocking the Special Worlds in Super Mario World, trying to get 100% in Donkey Kong Country, and how badass Simon Belmont's theme made me feel in Super Castelvania. I'm sure others will too.
Will it be bigger than its predecessor the NES Classic? Not sure. Again, it sold like crazy. I'm sure the SNES won't be a huge flop. Also it doesn't hurt that you have the unreleased Star Fox 2 as a way to incite people to buy it either.
So another E3 has come and gone. We had a ton of stuff to see, but want to know what's good? Want to know what didn't suck Donkey Kong balls? What to spend or save up for this fall or next year? I made a little list that showcases what was really cool. Enjoy.
Assassin's Creed: Origins
The latest game of the Assassin's Creed series looks to be an epic. Set in Egypt the game is set to go all the way back to the beginning, if the tittle doesn't tell you that already. The gameplay is tweaked a bit different this time adding more RPG-esque elements to the classic style we're used to. Gameplay shows that you'll use animals as well as the main character uses a hawk to scout the area.
Shadow of the Colossus
One of the best games of the PS2 is being remade and it is being remade in updated glorious graphics. The first one was a masterpiece so other than the graphics, there is nothing else they need to change. Hopefully it doesn't take 12 years for this to come out like The Last Guardian.
Days Gone
We saw another glimpse of Days Gone this time. Last year we saw just zombies hordes. A massive collection of zombies. This year we get a larger look of the world in this game. Zombies aren't the only bad guys you encounter as you also have to fight off marauders as well. In the gameplay demo, you see just that as they set off a booby trap to try to kill you. Luckily you can craft up traps or even use zombies to set things up and turn the tables around and make yourself the trapper. You can also get work from maurader camps as quests to go further on in the game. What is also unique is that levels change making certain encounters different as you play. There is a lot going on in this game.
Dragonball Fighter Z
I know, a Dragonball Z fighting game that is worth playing? I know they are all basically the same and they grow like weeds each year, bu this game is different. The art style is really impressive as it flows like you're watching the anime. It's 2D but at times it switches to 3D. It looks really stunning. so button mashing or no button mashing to win aside, there's that.
Metro Exodus
The third entry in the series. You've played the other two so what's different? The game has been described as sandbox horror in contrast to the other games meaning that you will have more non-linear levels compared to the linear ones in the past games. Along with this it's in beautiful 4k so kill mutant animals in high definition!
Doom VR
Doom was a pretty awesome game so what would be better? Playing it in not just VR but, VFR. I'm sure the F stands for fun, I think...
Crackdown 3
We finally get another Crackdown game. So, everything you love about the last crackdown game you'll love in this as everything is done on a grander scale. Grander abilities for agents, grander cel-shaded art style, and more explody goodness. Oh, and Terry Crews is in it so that's not bad.
Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus
Wolfenstein is back! Everyone rejoice, except Nazis. This game looks like it will be more fun than blowing up a barrel of Hitlers.
Beyond Good and Evil 2
This game is back from development Hell. All we got was a trailer, but then again a sure sign that this game is not in the scrapheap is all we need.
Destiny 2
We saw a bit more of Destiny 2. It's not going to be identical to the first Destiny. This time around there will be some tweaks. First off is that the newly revamped weapon system. Weapons will be classified as Kinetic, Energy, and Power weapons. This beef up other weapons as the Scout rifle and the grenade launcher so you can not only customize, but experiment using other weapons in the mix. Bungie seems to be very concerned to fixing a lot of issues with the first Destiny and making improvements. We can't wait to see the finish product when it comes out.
Vampyr
We saw Vampyr last E3 and we get to see it again for this one, joy! So for those who don't know, Vampyr is a action role playing game where you are a recently turned vampire doctor in old London. Like all action role-playing games, you have decisions that change the course of gameplay. What sets it apart from the others is how you level up in the game, feeding off of the citizens of London. As which choices and consequences you can kill and gain vampiric powers, but risk vampire hunters and London on your ass along with other vampires. You do have the option to not kill anyone in the game, but this raises the difficulty in the game and fighting off your enemies as well.
Everything Nintendo
Nintendo really came with their A-game this E3. It seems that even before their E3 digest they were giving us great goodies like the Mario and Rabbids game and a peak at the Switch version of Skyrim. When it came for them to finally show what they had in store for us it was worth it. We got a demo of Super Mario Odyssey which looks glorious. Inspired by the exploration and creativity of Super Mario 64 and Sunshine it looks like won't disappoint us. Splatoon 2 looks like it will be better than the first. New Kirby. New Yoshi. Also if that didn't have you excited just yet, not only do we have one Metroid game coming up, but we have TWO with Metroid Prime 4 in the works.
One if the most anticipated comic book movies is out right now! All the world was waiting for the movie to come out and see the magic it could possibly do and for good reason. This is the fourth movie in the cinematic DC universe. With Man of Steel, Batman vs Superman, and Suicide Squad failing to wow us compared to Marvel's well oiled universe machine, the universe isn't so very interesting at all so far. Is it time to reboot the whole thing like they do in the comics or will Wonder Woman save the day.
Heads up Zach Snyder is involved in this, but only as one of the writers and one of the producers. Patty Jenkins who gave us Monster with Charlize Theron is director. For those who read the comics, Wonder Woman's origin story is almost the same. The movie is pretty much set in World War I and the story begins in the same way in the comics. Diana, princess of Themyscira, saves US spy Steve Trevor who crashes near the island of amazon warriors. Hearing about the war, Diana takes up the duty to help man and journey into Man's world and stop the war, oh and kill Ares because he's influencing the whole thing. No punching Hitler and there's no Amazon competition, we don't have time for that, Diana has to save the world.
Script
The script was pretty good. They captured the sense of who Wonder Woman was in the comics. Wonder Woman is not just a kickass Amazon in satin tights fighting for our rights. She is a strong woman in strength and on the inside, being just as nurturing just and caring as well. The script did a good job playing with her character who's thrown out not in Mans' world but a world that was in in decay from the war. Jenkins, the director did a great job evoking the emotion of how dire and helpless everything was in the war and how Diana experiencing it all was dealing with situation. You felt along with her seeing what she see and experiencing what she is going through and wanting to help. The best scene from the movie was the No Mans Land scene which was the heart of the movie and where you strongly felt the understanding of Diana and the movie's message. It was more than a superhero movie. More than your generic superhero origin film. It was an origin movie with purpose. Most of the reason Diana fought was more to actually help and you felt that instead of it being like other movies where the action scenes where put in to look cool or the hero learns what it is to be a hero at the end. Everything in the movie (flow, pacing, and writing) worked and was woven incredibly well. Add an emotional script with cool fighting scenes, even though that zoom effect could be kinda annoying at times and wholla: you got a interesting film.
Acting
We've seen Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman in Batman vs Superman. In that movie we only got a small glimpse of her character, but in in the title film is where Gadot shines. She got the whole innocence and purity and courage of who Diana was. The movie was Diana growing and becoming her own person in the movie in her quest to stop Ares and you got a sense of her seeing how she was learning things outside of Themyscira and Gadot portrayed that feeling beautifully. Chris Pine was surprisingly good in it as well. The chemistry between Galdot and Pine was well done. What I liked about Steve Trevor's portrayal in the film was that he was fighting alongside Diana. It wasn't just her saving the day. He didn't feel like the sidekick at all. He was there to assist in battle and guiding Diana through our world. Pine did a great job.
Final Verdict
Did Wonder Woman suck? Strangely enough that Zach Snyder had involvement, not at all. It is an epic movie where everything worked well and works well together. The acting, the writing, the pacing. It was done almost effortlessly. DC and Warner Bros. needed this film to be amazing after the bombs of Batman vs. Superman and Suicide Squad. This movie is the mark. This movie needs to be the example of how the future DC movie universe movies need to be made. Sometimes it takes a woman to set things right 4 out of five stars.
For the past year Nintendo has finally decided to make the leap into mobile gaming. And mostly with success. We had Miitomo and Super Mario Run which were both hits which generated millions of downloads. Then we had Fire Emblem Heroes which had a modest success. And let's not forget the reason we all braved the outside last summer, Pokemon Go. Of course with Nintendo doing so well with their mobile titles so far, and also promising to release a few titles each year, it is only plausible that not only would the company would make mobile versions of their other bigger titles.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Nintendo is working on a Zelda mobile game. Nothing is confirmed yet and these are just so far only rumors. How exactly would a Zelda mobile game work?
Quite well. Zelda would be perfect as the series is known to be one of the best puzzle adventure games ever. But how will it look?
If you could imagine probably it would work you can go back to the Game and Watch version of the original Zelda. In that version, they pretty much scaled down things by taking away the overworld and mainly focused on the dungeons of the game. But of course, unlike the basic Game and Watch versions Zelda mobile will probably retain the puzzle aspects of the series that we all love. The game could work like Super Mario Run where the dungeons will be level based and have you explore dungeons with different and more difficulties as you progress through the game. Because this is a Zelda games you have to have items to help you on your quest. You could rent or buy certain items like A Link Between Worlds to help you progress through dungeons. There might even be a magic meter like in most games that wears out if you use an item too many times.
There's the question of how microtransactions will work, because of course this will be a freemium game and Nintendo needs more money. You can earn rupees (money) buy completing certain tasks or paying for them with real money. Gameplay might also depend on the magic meter that if it runs out, it might refill over time. Also like Super Mario you may have to buy certain dungeons to get the full game experience.
Regardless of how the game will turn out I'm sure that we will love it, and Nintendo will love us throwing money at it. However another question about the game haunts us: Where will it fit in the timeline?
Recently we learned that Nintendo has huge plans for this year's E3. As the same old they decided to not do a live presentation and go the direct, literally, route with doing a video presentation and the annual Nintendo Treehouse competition. What they're offering this year is a playable demo of the upcoming Super Mario Odyssey, more info on the upcoming games Splatoon 2 and ARMS as well as tournaments for said games too, and more.
It's good and also kinda assuming that we finally get a playable demo of Odyssey. It is one of the most anticipated game for the Switch this holiday season as wel as the biggest title as well. We're looking forward to see what it has to offer and how things will be this time around. The same goes for Splatoon 2 and ARMS. People have accepted both games well.
Now to the topic, how well will the Dircet will be. That depends on what Nintendo has to offer not only this quarter but the next quarter. The Switch has already done better than the Wii U and that partially has to do with the titles they released so far. It is their fastest selling console with almost one million units sold since its start in March.
The magic word Nintendo needs to know is consistency. We need Nintendo to have a strong lineup of games. It will be interesting to see how Nintendo does things past launch. So far what they're doing is good. They need to keep the momentum or up the ante. Hopefully they will keep things in the right direction.
