My Thoughts: Pokemon Black and White

If you know me, you know that I'm positively obsessed with the core Pokemon games (core meaning the RPG-style color-named games, I've never gotten into any of the spin-off games such as the Mystery Dungeon or the Ranger games). I've put more hours into Pokemon Diamond than Fallout 3. I've got more fan art saved on my computer than any other anime/video game source combined.

For those of you who didn't know that (you're reading this, seriously?) you may scoff at the fact that Pokemon is so big to me. To you I say; grow up.

Not only do the Pokemon games appeal to a collector's nature using colorful, creative, and a seemingly ever-expanding list of creatures to capture, but it also appeals to a strategist's nature. I'm not comparing Pokemon to chess or Civilization Revolution or anything, but anybody who play's Pokemon competitively will know exactly what I'm talking about.

Pokemon Black and White versions (as of this time, I've beaten them both) are exactly what we've come to expect: pick a starter (grass, water, fire) and set off on an adventure to capture hundreds of dangerous animals and stuff them in little balls and then stuff those into a computer, never to see the light of day again until you need to breed the little bastards over and over again until you get that perfect addition to your team.

HOWEVER!

They changed some things up in this generation, for better or worse.

First, let's talk about some of the Poke's that appear. All 150 Pokemon that appear in the games are brand new. No more geodude or zubat to drive you nuts in this iteration, oh no! Now, we get such charming annoyances such as woobat:

and patrat (AKA: hypnosquirrel)

 
So, expect to be tired of these guys really quickly.


Like the rest of the games, this one features the good:

the bad:

and the ugly:

This generation however, seemed to be more pronounced in those categories than we're used to. Normally, I can look at a bad-looking Pokemon and think "Okay, maybe it would be neat to train up if done correctly", or "maybe if you squint...". This time though, we get some wonderful gems like Derpfish up there. I hate that thing. Bad.

Of course, on the other end of the spectrum, we get some sweet Mon's like Heydreigon (the King Ghidorah thing up there) or Haxorus:

Yes. That's an axe for a FACE.

At this point, I've trained up two teams to level 80 and I'm already piecing together a third team in my head.

I won't even get into the huge Smugleaf vs. Wotter debacle the internet exploded into after the starters were revealed last year. Here's a hint, though:

Imagine that the pig is a greater-than sign.

Now to start nit-picking! I have some minor complaints/compliments for the game.

PRO! HM moves are NOT required to get through the game! The HMs still exist, but they're mostly used as a method to get to special items and areas, and sometimes to create a shortcut. Strength boulders stay where they were moved, cutable trees are kept to a minimum, dive is used to get to a secret area, and there isn't a smashable rock anywhere in sight!

CON! The world map is boring. Don't get me wrong, sometimes simpler is better. Generation IV had a huge complex maze-like mess of routs and cities that was split in half by pain-in-the-ass mountain. But it was interesting. Generation V has a circle. Whoooo. I found myself caring a lot less for the world in B&W than I did any other generation. Kanto was classic. Johto was scenic. Hoenn was tropical. Sinnoh was mountainous and complex. Unova is... full of bridges? I don't miss the HM obstacles from past games, but they at least added some puzzel-ey complexity and character to the routs. In Unova, I found most in-betweens to be pretty dull.

PRO! TMs are reusable. Gone are the days where I save every TM like a paranoid pack-rat for fear that I would eventually train up a team and need that one move to make it perfect.

CON! FAR too much NPC involvement. What happened to the "You're 10 now! Off you go into the world to fend for yourself and do the professor's job!" mentality of the old? Now, you can't take ten steps without an NPC running up to you to tell you about how strength isn't the most important thing or that Team Plasma is bad.

PRO! The story was... interesting? I hesitate to call it good because, let's face it. It's Pokemon. But still, the storyline was a refreshing change from the cookie-cutter style of the previous games, and it actually had somewhat of a twist!

In all, I enjoyed the games (and will continue to enjoy them) for the most part, but I will miss the older regions I spent most of my DS's life in. Besides, what other game has the fighting/steel legendary I dubbed 'Pony Stark':

It's funny because he's ridiculous!

My Thoughts: Bulletstorm and Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Okay, so yesterday I beat Bulletstorm. all-in-all, I liked it. The story was... interesting, the dialogue was... interesting, the game play was... interesting. Okay, so it was an interesting game.

at first, I tried to play Bulletstorm like I play many games with achievement-like gimmicks (like actual X-Box 360 achievements so... every game, I guess) in that I was going to play all the way through it without looking at the list of skillshots. Then after completing the game, opening that list and taking a look at what I naturally got through the course of the game and then playing through again trying to get some of the specific skillshots.

For those of you who don't know, a 'skillshot' is a new game mechanic (or is it a feature?) that rates you on how creative your kills are. For example, a standard kill is awarded 10 points. If you happen to nail them in the head, you gain 25. If you leash an enemy forward, kick him into the air, and shotgun him into the mouth of a giant man-eating plant, you get 100 points. The game has some general skillshots , like killing an enemy after kicking him, or blowing up one with an environmental hazard, up to the extravagant, like using a flare gun to launch one enemy into an other and the resulting explosion killing both. All of these skillshots are tracked in your menu, allowing you to view how to perform the shot, and giving you the name after you perform it.

As I said, my initial approach was to play as I always do. I found myself becoming very frustrated and bored with the game very quickly this way. It wasn't until I actively started striving to get these shots that I started really enjoying the game. Working with your guns and attempting to get some of the more specific skillshots was very addicting and fulfilling. I did pine a bit for some more weapons (the game gives you around eight or so), but it was a minor complaint.

Some of the set pieces that Epic Games brought into the game really lived up to the developer's name. My favorite (for obvious reasons) involved controlling a robotic Godzilla-like monster with a remote (RIP Wimpleton P. Tallylicker).

The story wasn't very deep or enthralling and every major character seemed unusually reluctant to finally pull the trigger on any other major character (James Bond, much?) and the characters were pretty hypocritical. That isn't to say that the dialogue wasn't funny and entertaining (I didn't make up the name for the Dinozilla up there). The voice acting was surprisingly well done and the beginning of the game had humor on par with Brutal Legend. The gratuitous language used didn't bother me until the end when it really started to sound forced - the main antagonist couldn't say a single phrase without some sort of 'wacky' use of a swear being forced in.

I've been hearing some complaints about the length of the game, but it took me perhaps six to eight hours to beat, and with the dwindling length of first-person shooter campaigns anymore, that's nothing to gripe about. also, as I said, a lot of the 'epic' set pieces were very cool and exhilarating.

All-in-all, I'd have to say that if you had an interest in this game, pick it up, it's a fun ride. If not, then wait until the price drops some before trying it out.

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Now, MvC3. I'm terrible at fighting games. I tend to get very frustrated and irritated with them and in general, don't enjoy them. I'm going to take a pass on the new Mortal Kombat this spring, I've never played a Tekken or a Street Fighter, and Soul Calibur is somewhat of a stretch for me. I was drawn to MvC3 however, by it's pretty graphics and character selection.

So far, I'm happy with it. I'm still terrible (I've been known to get my ass handed to me by the computer set on 'Easy' from time to time), but I'm enjoying it.

My only real problem with it is the same that I have for most fighting games: it's a button masher. I understand that after a while, as you learn the combos and strings of attacks, that you could be unstoppable. My problem is that as a beginner, I resort to jamming on every button that gains me a positive reaction on screen. This is why sometimes I can do absolutely awesome, beating my opponents down before they have time to breathe. These moments actually trick me into believing that I know what I'm doing and - more importantly - can do it again. Then, the next match begins and I flail about wildly, usually taking several punches to the jaw, kicks to the ribs, and laser beams to the face.

It's still fun, though. Just don't expect to ever see me online playing it.