After last night's lackluster finish to Monday Night RAW (7/18/16), I felt the need to express my opinion before we go into the WWE Draft tonight during SmackDown Live.
RAW dropped several exclamation points to make this draft more interesting - the Cruiserweight division was announced to return and to be exclusive to the RAW brand and two General Managers have been named - Mick Foley for RAW and Daniel Bryan for SmackDown.
The rules for the WWE Draft are as follows:
Raw has the first overall pick
Since SmackDown Live is a two-hour show and Raw is three hours, for every two picks SmackDown Live receives, Raw will receive three picks
Tag teams count as one pick unless a Commissioner/General Manager specifically only wants one member of the team
Six draft picks will be made off the NXT roster
The list of current WWE Superstars eligible for the WWE Draft will be as follows:
Male Superstars AJ Styles Alberto Del Rio Apollo Crews Baron Corbin Big Show Braun Strowman Bray Wyatt Brock Lesnar Cesaro Chris Jericho Darren Young (w/ Bob Backlund) Dean Ambrose – WWE Champion Demon Kane Dolph Ziggler Erick Rowan Jack Swagger John Cena Kalisto Kevin Owens Mark Henry Neville Randy Orton Roman Reigns Rusev (w/ Lana) – United States Champion Sami Zayn Seth Rollins Sheamus Sin Cara The Miz (w/ Maryse) – Intercontinental Champion Titus O’Neil Zack Ryder
Tag Teams Breezango (Fandango and Tyler Breeze) Enzo and Cass (Enzo Amore and Big Cass) Gallows and Anderson (Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson) Golden Truth (Goldust and R-Truth) Shining Stars (Epico and Primo) Social Outcasts (Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel and Heath Slater) The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley) The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) – Tag Team Champions The Usos (Jey and Jimmy Uso) The Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch)
Female Superstars Alicia Fox Becky Lynch Charlotte – WWE Women’s Champion Dana Brooke Eva Marie Naomi Natalya Paige Sasha Banks Summer Rae
Starting right off the bat, I think the single stupidest ruling in this draft is the second one. Just because Raw is three hours, they get more draft picks? Wouldn't this have been the perfect time to scale Raw back to two hours for it's easier to digest on Monday nights? Plus, how can SmackDown compete fairly if Raw is always going to have an extra hour up on them? That's already unfair to start things off.
We can easily say that Mick Foley was brought in to simultaneously earn brownie points for his son on creative while trying to get a spot for his hot daughter as a future WWE Diva, as well as easily plugging his reality TV show on the WWE Network (Holy Foley?) when we get closer to that release that. The same can be said about Daniel Bryan who could be around to promote Total Bellas while the Bella Twins are away. From a fan perspective, I'm anxious to see what both guys bring to the table. Foley is claiming to run RAW with Attitude Era-themed craziness while Daniel Bryan is claiming to put talent first. Foley's idea isn't going to pan out as there's no way in hell we're going back to Attitude Era-style anything. If anything this would be a throwback to Commissioner Foley's run in the early 2000s for younger fans can get a dose of that goodness. I just don't get why would Foley agree to work with the Authority. That aspect alone makes not one bit of sense when he's been opposed to the Authority for a long time now, especially against Stephanie McMahon and Triple H. Daniel Bryan and Shane O'Mac makes a good combination on paper but I don't know how Bryan will perform in this position. He's had the guest RAW GM role before but this will be a full time gig. How long will it be before he gets the itch to compete again like Shawn Michaels back in that position?
Back to the draft rules though, I can respect the ruling that tag teams count as one pick but why aren't the Wyatt Family listed as a single team, but the New Day are? I'm guessing that they are going to push Bray Wyatt solo while splitting up the rest from the ground. The Lucha Dragons have already split up, so it's looking like the Wyatts might be going in their own separate direction (again) even though that didn't work the first time. I say if they don't pull the trigger on them now to push them as tag team champions now and dethrone the New Day then who else is going to do it? Well, I might be answering my own question with my 10 draft picks for each brand...
Last but not least, we have 6 draft picks from NXT. In my head, I'm thinking that WWE would be insane not to draft Samoa Joe or Shinsuke Nakamura right now, but at the same time, I can see HHH hanging onto his newest acquisitions because it's a no brainer that NXT is going to get raped clean for this draft to beef up both brands. Either way, his precious NXT talent signings would benefit both brands in one way or another.
My RAW Draft Pick Predictions:
Seth Rollins (more than likely champion after tonight or Battleground)
Roman Reigns
AJ Styles
The Club (Gallows & Anderson)
Women's Champion Charlotte
IC Champion The Miz (w/ Maryse)
Sami Zayn
Eva Marie
Brock Lesnar (w/ Paul Heyman)
Finn Balor
My SmackDown Draft Pick Predictions:
WWE Champion Dean Ambrose
John Cena
Bobby Roode
American Alpha
Sasha Banks
US Champion Rusev (w/ Lana)
Kevin Owens
Bayley
WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day
Tye Dillinger
I kid you not, I raked my brain on these draft picks for about six hours today at work before settling on these. Keep in mind these picks are NOT in order either. I would go into detail about why I went with these choices, but nah... I think I have a good balance of shockers and surprises. I'm not expecting WWE to go in this direction. In reality, I'm actually thinking that WWE is going completely into left field with a lot of picks tonight.
Mighty No. 9 is an action-platform video game developed by Comcept, in conjunction with Inti Creates, and published by Deep Silver. The creation of the game was based on the online crowdfunding website Kickstarter and incorporated heavy input from the public. Mighty No. 9 closely resembles the early Mega Man series in both gameplay and character design, which project lead Keiji Inafune worked on, and is considered its spiritual successor.
The minimum Kickstarter goal for Mighty No. 9 was successfully funded on September 2, 2013, after only two days of the creation of the campaign. However, several other features including additional stages, special modes and ports to other platforms were confirmed after additional "stretch goals" related to it were achieved, increasing the total funds obtained to over 400% of the original goal.
The game was released for Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Wii U, with the PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS versions still in development. Abstraction Games and Engine Software are porting the game onto the PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS respectively. The game was originally scheduled to come out in April 2015, but was delayed multiple times, with the game eventually being released worldwide in June 2016 on all non-portable platforms except Xbox 360, OS X, and Linux, with the portable versions still in development and slated to come out later in 2016.
The game was highly anticipated when it was announced, but lengthy delays and Comcept's decision to fund another project, Red Ash: The Indelible Legend, through Kickstarter were met with accusations of mismanagement. The game received a generally mixed reception from critics and Kickstarter backers upon launch. The game's design, graphics, content, voice acting, and technical issues were criticized, and critics agreed that the game failed to live up to expectations.
Plot:
Mighty No. 9 stars an android named Beck, the ninth unit in a set of combat robots called the Mighty Numbers. At some point a form of computer virus attacks the rest of his fellow units, as well as machines around the world. The player, as Beck, must fight the rogue robots and discover the villain who threatens the fate of the planet. Alongside Beck is his partner, Call. Comcept previously held a fan opinion poll in order to determine the most popular mockup design for Call. As a result, concept design "F" was selected as the base design for the character. The name Beck was chosen as "his creator wanted him to have a human name, unlike his peers", and also because it fit his partner's name as well (as in "Beck and Call").
There are three scientists involved in the story, each with a specific part to play: Dr. White, the robotics designer who created Beck and the rest of the Mighty Numbers; Dr. Blackwell, the inventor of "Xel" technology that provides the basis for the Mighty Number and all robots in the game; and Dr. Sanda, who also works in "Xel" technology and has created Call but plays an otherwise unknown role at this point. Designers from Inti Creates as well as Comcept are both working on the designs of the characters in the game and have noted that "each [character is] intended to have his [or her] own unique look" within the art design.
The Verdict:
Like I mentioned on social media, I honestly don’t understand the hate with this game from gamers. Sure, Comcept didn’t deliver on a lot of crowdfunding goals (I still want my Mighty No. 9 anime :’( …) and the game was hit with setback and multiple delays, but you’re mad over the crowdfunding goals then you only have yourselves to blame from investing that much money on a video game or any Kickstarter for that matter when you have no idea where your hard-earned cash is going. For that part, I’m not holding any ill-will or resentment against Keiji Inafune towards this game. I honestly can’t even remember if donated anything towards this project or not, so if you guys see my name in the game’s ending credits then let me know because I’m not still around for FOUR HOURS watching the end credits…
You have to be insane to think that the final product was going to look the concept art here that was shown at the START of development when the title was first announced.
Right out of the box or rather right off the bat if you bought the game digitally, the game looks pretty decent, despite people being disappointed that it doesn’t look like it did in the original promotional footage that was shown for the game when it was first announced. C’mon people, this is Killzone 2 all over again. Games tend to change visually from the time of their initial development until the time gamers get their filthy hands over said game. 9 times out of 10, it’s NOT going to be the same thing that the developers showed off in initial trailers and previews.
In terms of gameplay, everyone supporting this game should have known right off the bat that it’s homage to the classic Mega Man series with a few subtle nods to the X series. Beck has the basic arm cannon that Mega Man has sported in the traditional classic Mega Man franchise but he also has the ability to absorb Xel from weakened enemy robots by dashing into them. This is an ability that will become a staple of combat in Mighty No.9. It’s effective on every enemy in the game, including bosses. If you don’t weaken bosses and absorb their Xel quickly enough, they will fully recover their health and make things even harder for this totally unforgiving title.
The game isn’t throw your controller in frustration hard, but NES era hard where it takes a lot of trial and error to memorize patterns and devise a proper strategy to each of these stages. On Normal difficulty, the game actually gives you more items and power-ups to help you out if you die repeatedly on a single level. On Hard and Hyper, there’s no type of help to serve as forgiveness for your mistakes on those higher difficulties. I did feel like it was a cop out to recycle and rehash the Yellow Devil for the final boss of this game.
Instead of acquiring a single weapon from each of the defeated Robot Masters, …err Mighty Numbers, Beck acquires the ability to absorb their Xel and use their powers in a new form called a ReXelection. These powers change Beck’s appearance and grants him a new ability and special weapon. Some of these powers cost weapon energy, others don’t, but this game is a little more generous in the aspect that Beck’s weapon energy automatically recharges after a few seconds of nonuse. I suppose this is to prevent players from spamming weapons for Inafune doesn’t end up with another Metal Blade on his hands. Each of the ReXelection abilities bring something new to the table but I personally felt that Countershade, Battalion, and Brandish had the most powerful weapons in the game, especially with the latter offering almost near-infinite weapon usage and some invincibility during usage.
In terms of story, I was a little underwhelmed with the plot until the reveal about Dr. White’s “true” identity and revelation behind Trinity being awakened again. I thought it was pretty cool that all of the Mighty Numbers help Beck out throughout the course of the game after Beck “cures” them of their malfunctioning circuits. How can I hate the Mighty Numbers for their hilarious banter throughout their boss fights or while assisting Beck throughout the many stages? I won’t lie – I was annoyed at their taunting when you die or get game over versus the Mighty Numbers as they made fun of your mistakes and piss poor judgment.
Speaking of that, Comcept should have taken out the “Advice” tab description on each of the Mighty Numbers’ stages. After you defeat one of them, it’s just a matter of skimming around until you notice the corresponding Mighty Number comment on their siblings’ stage to know which ReXelection will work on that corresponding Mighty Number. That makes the process and more importantly, the fun, of figuring out the boss order less fun altogether. I guess it doesn’t matter too much as each of the Mighty Numbers’ stages is a hurdle of difficulty each in their own right on multiple fronts.
At launch, the game was full of glitches and bugs. I was playing the game on last-gen consoles (notably Xbox 360 which was delayed at launch until later that week but still came out with several bugs and glitches) and ran into quite a lot of these bugs. It wasn’t until the week 2 patch was when I was able to have the game register and save my achievement and trophy support instead of deleting it every time I launched the game on my console. That was a little heartbreaking but at the same time,
I’m not an achievement/trophy whore so I wouldn’t mind replaying the game again just to battle the Mighty Numbers again. On top of that, I ran into a glitch a few times where my game would crash completely if I looked at the achievement that unlocked after defeating a boss. I had this happen during one of my streams of the game where I just said fuck this and went to play something else. I guess Inafune and Comcept got a TON of complaints after week 1 as I haven’t had any of those issues after the week 2 patch. There’s still an occasional slowdown or drop of frames when there’s a lot of enemies onscreen or a ton of explosions but it’s not so bad that it ruins the gameplay experience.
I wish the game gave you more than one level to play as Call with. Her solo level was a nice break from Beck’s head-on approach and I wish we got more of that throughout the main game. Maybe Comcept will be convinced to give Call some solo Challenge missions or DLC stages in the near-future? She’s playable in Online Co-Op Mode as well, so at least there’s that much.
Buy It or Don’t Bother?
At this point, everyone has pretty much blacklisted this game, but I’m not butt-hurt or irate at Inafune for what we were given here. At $19.99 it’s not a bad game. I don’t know what everyone else got at launch as I’m speaking for the last-gen (Xbox 360) digital version here, but I was more than satisfied with my purchase. Inafune’s even going to give fans the RAY DLC for free as an apology with the physical copies, so what else do you want? I still say the people who are mad about the Kickstarter only have themselves to blame if they felt like they were ripped off off the end product. You should be happy that you got anything – if at all, especially given how most of these video game Kickstarters have horror stories and unhappy endings.
All that I’m asking is that my fellow gamers and Mega Man fans to appreciate this labor of love for what it is – a homage to the Mega Man gameplay that we have known and loved. Is it perfect? No, but we knew going in that it was going to be a throwback to classic Mega Man games. It's not like Capcom are going to do anything new with the Mega Man franchise outside of re-release the older titles anyway.
I know that I'm late to the party as I've FINALLY had a chance to sit down and watch all of the hours of footage that Nintendo released for this game last month during E3 2016.
Just wow. I haven't had goosebumps for a new Legend of Zelda title like this not since the first trailers came out for Ocarina of Time. I'm getting that same vibe here and this looks all kinds of awesome. I'm glad to see Nintendo really stepping outside of the box for this game - from the anime-inspired art style to the survivalist changes to gameplay. From the gameplay and exploration videos it's looking like a mash-up of Zelda, Shadow of the Colossus, Vagrant Story, NIER, and even some elements of the recent Tomb Raider reboot.
2017 seems like FAR too long to make everyone wait on this one. If this doesn't come out soon enough, you can stake that as the last nail in the coffin on the Wii U if you ask me. Not even Pokemon could save it at this rate.
Seeing technology introduced into the Zelda series is going to be an interesting take for sure. I'm anxious to see how that's going to play out in terms of the narrative, especially with the tablet that Link's carrying around is named after Princess Zelda's alias from the Ocarina of Time, Shiek.
Seeing Link cooking and hunting tells me that Nintendo wanted to take a few gameplay nods from the Assassins' Creed series last few outings. It makes sense to say that he's in a new world without any friends so he's going to have to survive on his own for the most part.
Wow, there's even stealth elements too!? This game is going to be awesome. C'mon Nintendo don't make us wait TOO long for this.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan is an action hack and slash video game based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, developed by Platinum Games and published by Activision. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3,PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on May 24, 2016.
Gameplay:
Mutants in Manhattan is less combo based than many of Platinum's previous titles, including simple quick or heavy attacks that can be used in any order. The focus is more on using each individual Turtle's ability in combination with each other to devastate hordes of enemies and rack up a combo counter. Each Turtle can be equipped with four customizable "Ninjutsu" special attacks, including a combo and co-op move unique to them; for example, a Turtle attacking a horde of enemies on their own can simply thrash them with a rapid series of blows from their weapons, but if another Turtle is near by the two can team up to perform a more powerful attack together. Leo spins in place to slash surrounding enemies, Raph slams shells together to create a shockwave that pushes them back, Don leads a super speed blitz that strikes all enemies in different directions and Mikey leads the other Turtle in a disco dance which catches enemies in spotlights that mesmerises them into dancing and freezes them in place, leaving them vulnerable to attack while they strike a pose.
Each of these special moves requires a cool down period before they can be used again, though a 'Cheerleader' special move or charm effects can speed up or reduce cool down time. Shared abilities among the Turtles include the standard light and heavy attacks, jumping and climbing to navigate levels, gliding from taller vantage points by holding down the jump button, pressing the attack button in the middle of a jump to crash down for an aerial attack, and either throwing shuriken and objects while running or entering an over the shoulder first person style perspective for better accuracy. A lock on feature is also available for better use of this and attacks, particularly recommended during boss battles to ensure most hits reach their mark.
In place of a Batman: Arkham Asylum style counter system such as Out of the Shadows attempted, the Turtles can use a "dodge/guard" technique to avoid damage from enemy attacks, spinning rapidly in place so an attack glances off their shell or used in tandem with the left stick to move them quickly out of harm's way. To discourage spamming this ability a small bar will indicate the Turtle's balance while using it, and if it should enter the red the Turtle will become dizzy (complete with cartoon stars around their head), leaving them vulnerable for a few vital seconds. This means the ability must be used strategically to be useful. If the player should manage a well timed "Perfect guard" however the Turtle will dodge behind the attacking enemy, allowing the player to react to a button prompt (if they're fast enough) that will allow the Turtle to leap onto the enemy's shoulders and attack their head for a brief window before being forced to jump off. Though there's no emphasis on stealth, it is possible to attack an enemy from behind resulting in an instant "Take down" that kills them in a single blow. (Mikey's combo attack is very useful for setting these up). There is only a short window to try these however, as an unsuspecting enemy will feature a question mark above their head while vulnerable, which changes to an exclamation mark should they turn around and see the player.
Items can also be shared across each Turtle, from health restoring pizzas to temporary stats boosting energy drinks to missile launchers and mountable laser turrets, and many other bizarre weapons in the Platinum tradition. These items can only be used once and only by whichever Turtle the player has selected at the time, but replacements can be purchased from Master Splinter's store by entering glowing manholes placed throughout each level. Defeated enemies will also drop random items, which can be stored for later potential use, and Battle Points, the game's currency, which can be used to upgrade Ninjitsu attacks, buy items or stats improving charms. Battle points are also awarded for completing objectives or fulfilling specific roles during a boss battle.
Levels, with the exception of the final one, allow the Turtles to roam around completing missions that are usually randomized. Completing the various objectives available in the level will gather intel on a boss, filling a bar overhead. The closer the bar is to the boss icon, the closer the player is to that boss battle. Once filled, they must reach a specific location to initiate it. Boss fights feature a member of the TMNT's rouges gallery with seven bars of life the Turtles must chip away at until the boss is defeated. On higher difficult settings the boss will become enraged once down to their second health bar, glowing red and becoming faster. Higher difficulty also increases the chances of a Surprise Boss, where the level boss will be joined by one from another level, thought thankfully with only two bars of health.
Though the game features online multiplayer, the story mode is single player with no additional player support. The player can switch between each of the four Turtles, even using the switch as an attack if an enemy is close enough while switching, and use a Communications feature to order the A.I Turtles to either "Go All Out","Wait", "Follow Me" or "Protect Me".
The game features several collectables: Kevin Eastman's variant covers for the IDW series which can be viewed together in a gallery, found in randomized locations throughout all levels (you could honestly collect all 50 by playing a single level over and over again), or scrolls that can be combined to update Charms, items that can be assigned to a slot for each Turtle, allowing players to either increase health or item drops, etc.
At night atop the TCRI building Krang and Shredder meet on the skyscraper's helipad to confirm that everything is in place for their alliance towards an unspecified goal. At a gesture from Shredder, hundreds of Foot Clan soldiers descend upon the city, starting a titanic crime wave that throws the city into chaos. In their Lair deep beneath the streets, the Turtles discuss the crime wave with Splinter and April O'Neil, concluding that they are honor bound to protect the city and head out to do just that though Michelangelo is still in the middle of some pizza he feels similarly 'honor bound' to finish off.
While patrolling the rooftops, the Turtles notice Foot Soldiers sneaking around the Purple Dragons' territory and head to the streets to investigate the anomaly and clear out the rival ninjas. By preventing the Foot's crimes around the area, they gather enough intel for April to deduce Bebop is robbing the local bank and confront the mutant in the vault with devastating ninja moves and even worse piggy bank puns. Defeated, Bebop smashes a hole in the wall and escapes leaving behind his duffel bag full of stolen cash. Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello wonder why Bebop would go to the trouble of robbing the place only to leave his loot behind. Mikey meanwhile is busy trying to take advantage of a stack of bills he sneaked, phoning for an order of a couple of thousand pizzas and bread sticks....an order he has to cancel because the other Turtles are clearly not amused.
Investigating disrupted subway activity the Turtles discover that a ton of damage has been done to the systems switch-boxes, shutting down entire lines and risking future collisions. The amount of rubble indicates possibly mutant based strength instead of simple ninja weapons. They discover a near by station already shut down and infested with not just Foot ninjas but also Rock Soldiers from Dimension X. After completing enough objectives they gain the intel needed to shut down a laser grid and advance into an active line, where they must contend with waves of Mousers as well as larger Rock Soldiers to shut down a series of bombs and a final laser grid before advancing to a confrontation with Rocksteady in an abandoned station. Though defeated, the rhino promises the Turtles that the havoc so far is "only the beginning", using an oncoming subway train to disappear into the shadows.
Don's security systems are tripped by near by Foot activity, forcing the Turtles to clean them out of the surrounding tunnels to avoid the Lair being discovered and straying into the section of sewers the deranged mutant turtle Slash has taken as his territory. When they actually uncover the maintenance chamber he's using as a lair, Slash attacks them for intruding. The Turtles are eventually able to beat back their berserk cousin, Mikey taking advantage of the stand off to explain they didn't mean to trespass on his turf and remind him that the Foot are the bad guys. Though still bestial, Slash agrees with the sentiment and the Turtles are able to press him for more information. The only thing the primitive turtle can show them is that the Foot have been using the sewer tunnels to smuggle "space guns", producing an advanced looking piece of weaponry he presumably picked up after dismembering the ninjas who were smuggling it. Territorial disputes resolved, Slash plods off to "go night night" leaving the Turtles puzzled over what the Foot are doing with laser weapons and just what the heck is even going on.
On surface, the crime wave has gotten so bad the city has practically shut down. The only benefit from the Turtles perspective is that the cops have had to instigate a mandatory curfew, allowing them to investigate above ground in broad daylight without too much risk of exposure. With the authority's stretched to their limits the Turtles take it upon themselves to disarm a series of bombs Don's sensors pick up planted throughout a construction site, moving onto investigating other rooftop crimes and eventually making their way back to the site to be confronted by Karai. Though they literally drive her off the property (the top floor that is), Karai escapes her enemies and a fall to her death with a high tech jet pack, leaving the Turtles confused and Mikey envious.
The brother's return to the sewers to prevent Rock Soldiers from sabotaging them and causing further damage to the city, as well as discovering some strange kind of ooze (not to be confused with thatooze) being produced in an underground sewer junction. Armaggon bursts out of this contaminated sludge, announcing that his alliance with the Foot will make him king of first the sewers, then the oceans of Earth. The Turtles send the shark who would be king packing but not before he inadvertently leaves behind a clue; a high tech piece of machinery Don deduces can only be of alien origin, Raph and Mikey are amused when he announces this news to April by attempting to take a'nerd selfie'.
As a rainstorm batters the city the Turtles race across the rooftops to investigate reports of UFO sightings, though Raphael isn't prepared to rule out the residents of this particular neighborhood just being nuts. After thwarting several Rock Soldier operations on the rooftops the rumors prove to be true as a glowing UFO materializes over the construction site. Confronting the phenomenon the Turtles find it's simply Wingnut, riding a flying saucer he seems to have received for agreeing to take part in Shredder and Krang's plot. With roof mounted laser turrets and areal ninja moves the Turtles are able to knock the crazed bat out of his vehicle, the resultant crash landing breaking apart the metal sheeting the combatants are standing on and sending them all falling to the floor below. Wingnut attempts to finish the Turtles off with his spin attacks but is inevitably grounded again. He escaped on a bat themed glider stowed in his UFO, promising the Turtles will face "something more fancy" soon enough.
While observing the TCRI building on Don's computers, Don and April discover that the piece of hardware Armaggon dropped is used in creating extra-dimensional portals and the gang swiftly deduces that the realpoint of the crime wave has been to distract the Turtles from any alien activity until it's too late for them to prevent Krang from launching a full scale invasion. With no time to loose the Turtles infiltrate TCRI and fight their way through rooms full of Rock Soldiers, Mousers and all their previous bosses (including a brainwashed Slash), to finally confront Krang. Thought they're able to defeat his mechanized body Krang is still able to give the order that launches the invasion, escaping through a vent to join his forces as a portal opens in the sky, Rock Soldiers and Krangdroid robots throwing the city even deeper into chaos.
Soon Krang reappears, having retrieved his giant Mega Krang body from Dimension X and preparing to bring the full might of his forces to bare on the city once the portal is large enough. With the police and army hopelessly outmatched the Turtles resolve to stop the alien general once and for all, hijacking several Krangdroids and using them to first stem the tide of enemies flooding the streets then forcing Mega Krang back through the portal, which should close it but doesn't. April, monitoring the portal's output from the Lair, concludes that someone is manipulating TCRI's energy output to turn the portal from a means of transport to a powerful explosion that will devastate the city.
Vowing to each other to either save the city or die trying, the Turtles rush TCRI, riding an elevator full of waves of enemies to the helipad where they find the Shredder waiting at the portal generator. Shredder reveals that, whether or not Krang's invasion succeeded, his plan all along has been to turn the portal into a weapon, destroying New York to send a message to the world that he is not to be trifled with. As the power of the increasingly unstable portal rips the helipad off the TCRI building and into the air towards it, he vows to also settle his score with the Turtles in this final battle.
Though the Turtles are able to overcome him, Shredder remains confident in his victory even as he topples off the platform. The portal is out of control and Raph's sai is jammed into the controls. Don works them rapidly, theorizing that tinkering with them should mean that if the helipad and generator pass through the portal they'll collapse it instead of causing an explosive energy wave. The Turtles seem to have no chance of escape even if it does work, until the shaking platform sends Mikey's shoulder into a latch, unlocking a secret compartment full of those jetpacks he wanted so much. Don elects to remain behind to ensure the portal's danger will be stopped, encouraging his brothers to take off. But no Turtle gets left behind. April and Splinter fear the worst once they lose communications, Don's T-Phone being knocked off the control console but the Turtles' plan works, jetting to safety as the the platform collapses the portal. Don even manages to snag his phone in mid-air.
Touching down, the Turtles are surprised to realize they beat Shredder's falling helmet to the ground. The lack of Shredder himself leads them to wonder if he somehow survived before concluding even he couldn't survive that kind of drop. As the Turtles head off into the sunset and back to the sewers Raph declares it officially "pizza time" and Mikey wonders if Bebop's bag of cash is still around. Behind the brothers a shadow falls across the Shredder's helmet and his hand reaches down to pick it up.
The Verdict:
Before this game hit retail I just happened to start playing TMNT: Out of the Sewers since it was on sale on XBLA a few weeks prior and I have to admit, I honestly can’t go back to that game after playing this. This has to be the best TMNT game that I’ve played in a VERY long time.
TMNT: MiM is a labor of love, thanks to our friends at Platinum Games, who were also responsible for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Bayonetta, Anarchy Reigns, and Transformers: Devastation. Much like Transformers: Devastation, this game is trip full of nostalgia. TMNT: MiM doesn’t borrow from the 80s hit cartoon much like Transformers did. Instead, it borrows from the hit comics that theTurtles originated from. As a result, gamers are treated to robust variety of characters, especially for the boss fights. There’s the tried and true Bebop and Rocksteady encounters and the game ends with a climatic finale against Shredder, but the bulk of the game is set with encounters against other fan favorites, including Slash, Krang, Armagon, Karai, and even Wingnutt – a character only even the most hardcore of TMNT fans will remember or even know who that is.
In terms of gameplay, it’s your typical Platinum Games’ affair. There are stylish combos, air juggles, and flashy special attacks to boot, but more importantly, at the core of this game’s combat is a robust counter mechanic. While the Turtles can combine their skills in crazy, yet over-the-top tag team attacks and special moves, the meat of this game’s combat comes from the counters. Normal counters will keep you out of danger, but counters with precision timing will allow the Turtles to gain a massive advantage in combat against even the nastiest of the foes this game has to offer. In comparison to TMNT: OOS, this mechanic alone blows that game out of the water in terms of how fun it makes combat. It’s crazy to me that this game takes everything good about that game, adds the Platinum Games charm and polish to it and manages to make a much better game where TMNT: OOS is plagued with piss poor hit-detection issues, random glitches, and a sketchy counter/parry mechanic.
Completing the game once allows players to replay the game again, but this time around there are Bonus Bosses that are triggered in repeated performances. Rocksteady joins Bebop at the end of the first level to trigger one of the first Bonus Boss fights with two respective life bars. I am aware that Shredder and Karai work together in another Bonus Boss fight but there’s plenty more to be found. That feature alone is worth replaying this game for.
Let’s not forget that this game has co-op capabilities as well. While I haven’t explored that side of this game much during my brief rental of this game, it’s worth pointing out that players can drop in and out how they see fit without ruining the action. In terms of AI, the Turtles will always hold their own for the most part. They will counter/evade “big” moves as long as the Turtle you are controlling does the same and will go out of their way to assist or offer to perform tag team moves with you when available. Your AI companions are definitely responsive at reviving their fellow Turtles when knocked out when all health is depleted.
If I had one major gripe with the game, it’s over FAR too quickly. The entire game can be completed in 4 to 6 hours in one sitting, probably even less if you’re playing with friends. There’s some replayability with the Bonus Bosses, collecting the Collectibles scattered throughout the stages, maxing out all of the Turtles’ respective skills and buying out all of the special moves, but Platinum Games were asking a bit much for this game at $40-50 at launch. I could see if this was maybe $20 but most people will be satisfied with a weekend rental from their local Redbox rather than dropping that much cash on this game.
Buy it, Rent it, or Don’t Bother?
For now, I highly suggest renting this until it hits the bargain bin. Most hardcore TMNT fans will argue otherwise, but even though I found this to be the one of – if not the – best TMNT game out there to date, I can’t encourage my fellow gamers to buy this at full-price. It’s definitely worth a look but not at the price that they are asking at retail brand new right now. I would've said it's worth buying if the game actually had local co-op/multiplayer but it only has online multiplayer which sucks for anyone wanting to pile up on the couch and get some old school TMNT action going together.
Pokémon Go (stylized as Pokémon GO) is a free-to-play, GPS based augmented reality mobile game developed by Niantic for iOS and Android devices. It was initially released in July 2016. The game allows players to capture, battle, and train virtual Pokémon who appear throughout the real world. Although the game is free-to-play, it supports in-app purchases.
Gameplay:
After logging into the app for the first time, the player creates their avatar. The player can choose the avatar's style, hair, skin, and eye color, and can choose from a limited number of outfits. After creating their avatar, it will be displayed at the player's current location along with a map of the player's immediate surroundings. Features on the map may include a number of PokéStops and Pokémon gyms. These are typically located at popular meeting places, such as memorials, places of worship, parks, and tourist attractions.
Players have to walk around in the real world to move their avatar in the game. Different Pokémon live in different areas of the world; for example, water-type Pokémon are found near water. When a player encounters a Pokémon, they may view it in either augmented reality mode or with a pre-rendered background. AR mode uses the camera and gyroscope on the player's mobile device to display an image of a Pokémon as though it were in the real world. Players can also take pictures, using an in-game camera, of the Pokémon that they encounter both with and without the AR mode activated.
Unlike other installments in the Pokémon series, players in Pokémon Go do not battle wild Pokémon to capture them. Rather, the game relies on a unique capture system where the player must throw a Poké Ball with the right force and at the right time to make a successful catch. After capturing a wild Pokémon, the player is awarded two types of in-game currencies: candies and stardust. The candies awarded by a successful catch depends on what evolutionary chain a Pokémon belongs to. A player can use stardust and candies to raise a Pokémon's "combat power" (CP). However, only candies are needed to evolve a Pokémon. Each Pokémon evolution tree has its own type of candy which can only be used to evolve or level up. The player can also transfer the Pokémon back to the Pokémon professor to earn one more candy and create room for more Pokémon.
Players earn experience points for a number of in-game actions. As the player earns experience points, they will rise in level. At level five, the player is able to battle at a Pokémon gym and join one of three teams (red, blue or yellow) which act as larger factions within the Pokémon Go world. If a player enters a Pokémon gym that is controlled by a player that is not part of their team, they can challenge the leader to lower the gym's "prestige". Once the prestige of a gym is lowered to zero then the player will take control of the gym and is able to deposit one Pokémon to defend it. Similarly, a team can upgrade the prestige of a gym under their control by battling the gym leader.
Safety concerns and controversy
Pokémon Go generated safety concerns mostly due to distraction during play and the ability for individuals to be lured to a certain real-life area by in-game rewards. On launch day, the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services reminded players to "look up, away from your phone and both ways before crossing the street". The same day, while using the game, a player from the American state of Wyoming stumbled across a dead body that was floating in a river. Furthermore, the app has led players to congregate near strangers' homes, as in the case when a Pokémon Gym was placed near a church converted to a house. Other incidents include minor fall injuries and armed robberies. Players outside of populated, urban areas criticized the lack of PokéStops and gyms in their local area.
Data security
Some iOS installs of Pokémon Go require users to provide the app with full access to their Google accounts, thereby allowing the app to "access players' Gmail-based email, Google Drive based files, photos and videos stored in Google Photos, and any other content within their Google accounts." The Pokémon Company and Niantic responded to the concerns, saying the iOS app "...erroneously requests full access permission for the user's Google account..." and stated "Google will soon reduce Pokémon Go's permission to only the basic profile data that Pokémon Go needs, and users do not need to take any actions themselves."
The Verdict:
This is the game that’s flooding everyone’s timelines on
Facebook and Twitter for the past week, so I decided to comment on something
Pokemon-related for the first time (I believe) in this blog’s history. To be
honest, I wanted to cover the launch of Pokken Tournament but I don’t own a Wii
U nor have enough friends invested nor interested in that game to give it the
time of day (laughs)…
Pokemon Go is the first mobile game that I’m covering for
this blog, as well as the first free-to-play game to boot so this is going to
be a bit tricky to review properly. I’m going to cite my personal experiences
on the game for the duration of this initial launch week, but if the game
updates or changes with future updates then this review will be irrelevant for
the most part as my issues will possibly be fixed shortly or the game my change
completely down the road (I’m looking right at you Spider-Man Unlimited).
Right off the bat, you load up the game onto your iPhone or
Android device and you’re immediately greeted by the professor who introduces
you to the world of Pokemon. For older fans like myself who were there for the
Pokemon craze when it originally started back in the late 90s to early 2000s, this is a
trip of nostalgia as you’re asked to pick from three starter Pokemon from the
original generation of Pokemon – Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur. Players
online have found a way to even start with Pikachu, so to be quite honest, your
starting Pokemon doesn’t matter nor does it have significance on your gameplay
going forward. I was able to capture all three starter Pokemon in the wild
shortly after this so your choice doesn’t really mean much here. Pick your
favorite and go nuts.
Pokemon Go is an augmented reality game that uses your
phone’s built-in camera and GPS to track your location as you travel in
real-time. Yes, you have to get out of the house (especially in this summer
time heat) and move around to catch Pokemon. The game tracks your positioning
and randomly generates Pokemon as you wonder from place to place.
The bulk of the game’s core gameplay is merely you wondering
around in the real world environment, waiting for Pokemon to appear (cued by
your device vibrating in response) and capturing them. You throw Pokeballs by
flicking the icon on the screen and net bonus experience for captures with
precision timing and for registering new Pokemon to your Pokedex. You can level
up your captured Pokemon with “candy” that is acquired every time that you
capture that type of Pokemon. Different Pokemon have different “CP” levels so
it benefits from checking out every Pokemon you encounter as it may be more
powerful than the one you already have of the same type. The game has a
built-in level cap on how strong you can make your Pokemon dependent on your
Trainer level, so I guess that’s the equivalent of having all of the gym leader
badges to control high level Pokemon in the games.
Niantic and Nintendo REALLY need to do something about the obscure locales for gyms
and Pokestops...
When players hit Trainer level 5, you are asked to join a
team affiliation (another throwback to the original Pokemon generation) –
Valor, Instinct, or Mystic which are represented by the three legendary birds:
Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno respectively. From here, players can join a gym
to their corresponding team affiliation as a gym leader with their strongest
Pokemon or battle other nearby gyms to gain supremacy for their team’s gained
territory. Gym Battles entail of merely
mashing on your touch screen for your Pokemon to perform attacks or dodge
incoming attacks while building up meter for special attacks. I’m telling you
guys that here as the game does a very poor job of telling you what to do in
those battles. I had no idea I was supposed to hit anything until all of my
Pokemon died “fainted” in a gym battle.
For me, just about every gym nearby was Valor so that was a
no-brainer to join since it’s recommended that you join the team that’s closest
to your home for you can check in and train your Pokemon regularly to level
them up. I think I lasted being a gym leader of an empty gym for less than 2
hours before some kid with some over-leveled, fully evolved Pokemon beat the
fuck out of my poor 287 CP Tauros. I found another few gyms to win earlier this week but by the time I got home from work, my poor weak Pokemon had no chance maintaining a spot opposed to over-leveled trainers and their Pokemon.
There is a blessing and curse with this game as the open world environment/real world interactivity is
simultaneously where the most fun of this game is to be had as well as where
most of the problems plaguing this game begin to pop up.
Pokemon Go hasn’t been released worldwide (yet) but that
hasn’t stopped players from around the world to use exploits to hack their
phones to change their locations to allow them to download the game no matter
where they are in the world. As a result, this massive influx of players have
been crashing the servers on multiple occasions. It’s become a joke among
players as you encounter the dreaded “Blue Screen of Death” (see to the left) when you’re unable
to connect to the game’s servers.
Walking (or driving) around is the only method of navigating
your trainer throughout this world of Pokemon. With your device’s GPS it tags
real-life locations as landmarks and points of interest. Pokestops are necessary
to replenish your items (pokeballs, healing items, and even eggs to hatch) and
gyms can only be found by getting close enough to these locations to interact
with them in-game. Niantic may want to fix this in a future update, but some of
these locales include but not limited to graveyards, hospitals, schools,
churches, even local businesses. I don’t know about anyone else but my nerdom
has limits and I’m not going to kick the door down to every place I go just to
wonder around in my quest for Pokemon.
Even when you are connected to the servers, you’re not safe
from random disconnects and freezes due to random glitches of this game’s
hardware. If that’s not bad enough, Pokemon Go manages to overheat your device
and can easily drain your entire battery within minutes from use. There’s a
battery efficient option but that’s not enough for most devices. I kept the
game running on my Android phone for roughly 3-4 hours until it was almost
completely depleted. On another occasion, my Android powered off just from how
hot Pokemon Go was making my device from simply running.
Just when you think that’s bad enough, word got out Monday (July 11, 2016) that the game is has FULL access to your Google User Account
if you’re using that to sign up to the game. As of this writing, I’m very tempted to delete the game from my phone after this review goes up from this fact alone. I use my
Google User Account for a LOT of stuff (this blog for one...) and I’m not leaving myself exposed to
being hacked – which would be a field day for hackers given the popularity of
this game and with so many children playing it who wouldn’t know better. I
don’t care if they ‘change’ this in a future update because that risk shouldn’t
been in the equation in the first place. Nintendo knows how crazy the kids go
over Pokemon so I can’t forgive them for an oversight like that.
Niantic released an update on the situation, so I guess
there’s hope for those who choose to stick with the game. I was off from work
last week so I had more free time to goof around with a game like this but now
that life is back into the grind, I seriously doubt I’ll be returning back to
this game once I delete it from my phone.
We recently discovered that the Pokémon GO account creation process on iOS erroneously requests full access permission for the user’s Google account. However, Pokémon GO only accesses basic Google profile information (specifically, your User ID and email address) and no other Google account information is or has been accessed or collected. Once we became aware of this error, we began working on a client-side fix to request permission for only basic Google profile information, in line with the data that we actually access. Google has verified that no other information has been received or accessed by Pokémon GO or Niantic. Google will soon reduce Pokémon GO’s permission to only the basic profile data that Pokémon GO needs, and users do not need to take any actions themselves.
Update #2: As of Tuesday (July 12, 2016), Niantic has revoked all access to its permissions towards players' Google accounts.
When I was describing and discussing the game with my best
friend over the weekend, he brought up an excellent question that I didn’t
think of. I wonder how Niantic are going to handle rare Pokemon and the
legendaries? No matter where I went, I saw roughly the same Pokemon – Pidgey,
Rattata, Sparrow, Oddish, Paras, Venonat, Bellsprout, and occasional G1 starters, but occasionally in
highly populated areas (cities and colleges, for sure…) I saw a lot of high
level Pokemon or stuff I didn’t see at home while sitting around my own
neighborhood. That being said, you could sit on your couch and use the Incense
item to bring the Pokemon to you at your own leisure. I found just as many Pokemon sitting on my
couch that I did walking around so that tells you right there how iffy this
game’s mechanics are.
Buy into the Hype or Don't Bother?
Most people already have given this game a shot and have contributed to making this the biggest mobile game of all-time in less than a week, but for the skeptics and those leery to give this a shot, I highly suggest waiting as hard as that may be. Right now there's a ton of issues that Niantic need to address that would optimize the gameplay experience and fix what the game currently does wrong. There's multiple crashes and freezes that will annoy you to no end, such as the game freezing when you capture a Pokemon within a Pokeball, the game's servers crashing when trying to monitor your GPS location, or simply crashing while navigating the in-game menus. Seriously, Niantic, fix your shitty servers.
Outside of Gym Battles there's no other competitive nor multiplayer aspect to the game, but Nintendo has promised to add trading and player versus player options later down the road. Right now, the game is limited to only 250 Pokemon that can be found and captured but it's not like most players are going to rake in that many Pokemon in the game within the first few weeks of the game no matter how far they walk around their own neighborhood(s) as I'm sure that Niantic and Nintendo has limits and level cap(s) in store for that players don't find all of those elusive Pokemon right off the bat in these opening weeks, or even months, of the game being out. Most people aren't aware that there's a Bluetooth headset peripheral that can be purchased to work with the game that retails for roughly around $39.99 so don't think that Nintendo are doing this free-to-play format out of the kindness of their hearts.
If I'm perfectly honest, I hate the game solely for the addictive mindset that it's encouraging and promoting people to go out and roam around the world in places and settings that they may or may have traversed before. Adults know better in terms of safety but teenagers and children aren't going to know any better in terms just mindlessly roaming around trying to catch 'em all. I hope that I'm wrong but I fear that this game is going to lead to some rather unfortunate events due to players not being aware of their surroundings or going to extreme lengths to acquire Pokemon.
I do applaud the game for being able to bring people who struggle with social anxieties (like myself) to interact with strangers and encourage them to be more comfortable in social settings and bringing people together in this very scary time in modern American history, showing that there isn't all hate between people and we can come together in our common love for the world of Pokemon.
I know that there's TONS of closet Pokemon fans with even my co-workers (who are a lot older than me...) were asking me about the game since their children (and more likely them too since they were FAR too knowledgeable about said game when they're usually asking me stuff about games their children are playing) are obsessed about said game. If it takes a video game for you to get up and be active then that's a personal problem. There's no applauding a video game for that. You don't see people praising Dance Dance Revolution for people playing that for exercise in the early 2000s. If you're a lazy slob and some random video game gets you off of your fat ass, then bravo for you on a personal level. The video game in question doesn't deserve the props for your change of heart.
I found myself doing stuff that I wouldn't do normally in my grind to try to level up in this game. For example, the local Gamestop in my town is a registered Pokestop for items. After I came out of seeing Ghostbusters (review pending), I swung by since I saw that someone had a Lure Module active to attract Pokemon to that area. I found TONS of players in that area hanging around in the parking lot playing the game - from all ages, young and old. I made some friends after using my own module after the current one wore off and became the praise of all of the players nearby. I only caught a measly Parasect for my troubles, which oddly I heard the players nearby said they saw as well. It made me wonder if a LOT of players are nearby playing the game, do they encounter the same Pokemon? It was at this point where got to my breaking point on this game. It happens in all of these free-to-play games. It's the same reason I stopped playing Spider-Man Unlimited, WWE Immortals, and even Avengers Alliance on Facebook. In all of these free-to-play games, you eventually hit a plateau where no matter what you do with your resources in the free aspect of the game, if you want to truly compete with your peers, you are going to HAVE to invest in spending on items and tools to help you level up by spending some real life cash. That's where I have to cross the line with these free-to-play games. I'm done.
For a lot of gamers, Pokemon is more than a game - it's a way of life. Pokemon hasn't been a quintessential part of my life not since I was in middle school and throughout high school back when this craze began. At the end of the day, Pokemon Go is just like everything else in the franchise. Either you buy into the hype like everyone else, or you just allow it pass you by because it's not going anywhere. For what it's worth, there's nothing wrong with giving this game a chance to see what's the hype all about. It's bringing people together in a positive way that no game in history has been able to do on a social aspect. In these truly trying times today with all of the mindless killing and slaughter going around, it's great to see something positive that brings people together instead of drive them apart because of hate. I could make fun of people being "too old" for Pokemon or what not, but I'm the same guy who fought for acceptance in my own nerdy exploits growing up and continue to do so in my adolescent life, so who am I to judge my fellow gamers and nerds?
Simply put, you could take part in the madness (no pun intended) or not, it's your choice. Whether you like Pokemon Go or not, there's going to be plenty of people trying to catch 'em all.
