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For those of us who stuck around through the initial fervor and are sticking with this mobile game despite many writing it off as a fad, you have finally been rewarded for your patience with the Pokemon Go Plus.
Sort of.
Ending a sentence with a preposition aside (sorry Mrs. 4th grade teacher) this little device has its ups and down in terms of build and overall usefulness. Because I like things to end on a high note, I'll begin with its cons, downfalls and drawbacks.
The wristband in itself feels nothing different than you made in your elementary school days as friendship bracelets. It's solid, if not mind blowing, but for $35, you'd probably expect something better. The way you transform the device from it's out of box belt clip form to it's "watch" form harkens back to the days of the Pokewalker. The battery cover needs to be removed with a precision screwdriver (Phillip's head, to be exact) and replaced with the backing that is on the band. Once this initial step of set up is done, you likely won't be swapping back and forth, but if you planned on it, have that screwdriver handy.
Moving on to it's in game uses, when it flashes and vibrates it is notifying you of a nearby Pokemon or Pokestop, green for the former, blue for the latter. You only get one shot at capturing your new friend and the game will use a single, standard Pokeball only. So if you pass by that 1300 CP Pinsir, your odds of success are slim to none and after this one go, he's gone, never to return. I have yet to see what happens if you have zero Pokeballs and only Great Balls because I'm a true Pokemon Master, but early indications are if will not even make an attempt. The device responds with red if your attempt failed and flashes green/white if it succeeds.
While the game can now run with your screen off, it does require Bluetooth to function, which doesn't do you too many favors. It is better than having the game open at all times but it's not as nice as one could hope for in terms of saving your battery life. But, if you already were using Bluetooth, this is a bonus.
That said, it is a good way to even have a shot at Pokemon you normally wouldn't even get a chance at, like ones on the side of the road while you're driving because you're a responsible player and heed the warnings Niantic laid out for you. Assuming you have Pokeballs to spare, why not at least take a chance at that hitchhiker? And, as an added bonus, it works very well with Pokestops on the go so no more trying to time it while you're driving by. Not that you would do such a thing, I've just heard about it.
It also works very well with egg hatching and the buddy system. While your screen is powered down, both eggs and buddy Pokemon gain distance walked. This is a major boon for us breeders and for getting those precious few candies needed to evolve that dang Grimer.
The battery is an easily replaceable C2302 battery you typically find in an SNES cartridge so when it eventually goes, replacing it will be inexpensive and easy to find.
Just writing this, I have had four encounters alone. Two were successful, two weren't. I'm the proud new owner of my 8,000th and 8,001st Pidgey, but it also helps with farming that oh so valuable Stardust.
Reading through this a second time, I thought, I had mixed feelings in my 2 days with the device, but it's clear there are far more positives than negatives. If you can find one and have $35 to spare, it's worth the time and cash if you're still a daily player. If you were looking for a reason to get back into it, it might not be enough for you to jump back in just yet, but it is a nice addition while we wait for those highly anticipated features.
Ah, video games. I love em. Love playing them and collecting them. I think that is obvious considering where this is being posted. I love watching my kids playing and seeing their eyes light up when they discover a new one.
But, what I don't get is how defensive and combative people get when you do not prefer the same gaming platform that they do. You are labeled a fanboy (I HATE that word.) No matter how right you are, you're wrong. Such is the way of the Internet. Listen, you're entitled to your opinion just as much as I am.
Continue reading Defending Your Views on Games and Platforms
In case anyone was still even mildly interested in my previous blog post from some 6 months past, I have officially opened up my Facebook page thing dedicated to my cause.
That can be found herehttps://www.facebook.com/...0?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
I haven't completely decided on how to follow through on my promises to play all my games. I'm thinking the older games would be hard to broadcast through Twitch or something of the like but I still have some research to do. I could record it and just upload to Youtube but that seems less personal and who the heck is going to sit and watch 30 minutes. I guess people watch gameplay videos all the time. At any rate, this will start 1/1/15 and go one for the year. I am not quite to my total game count needed but I am close enough and confident I will get there prior to that time.
Anyway, that's just a preview of my plan. There will be a donation link on the page that might even be active now. I'm aiming low but who knows. Like the page if you want and pass it along. I have no reason for doing this other than I want to help. I already play games half of my day so why not do it for a good cause?
I have long been a player of video games since as far back as I can remember. I have been a collector for about three years. In my place of employment, people are generally astonished when they hear the sheer volume of my collection since no one is even close. I mention this because a co-worker of mine innocently asked me one day if I've played every game I own. "Of course" I replied. But it quickly occurred to me that I indeed have not played them all. In fact, I had quite a few I hadn't even opened yet. I usually set some sort of collecting goal for the year and this person and myself said if I played two a day for one year, I'd need 730. Fair enough, that's a random enough goal to shoot for that is attainable without the threat of divorce!
So, I have set off on my goal of 730, starting 2014 at just over 600 individual physical games I call my own. I do not include games my children or the few my wife own as part of my collection since they are not mine despite their presence in my house. As of this writing, I am sitting nicely at 650 with two new releases this week. (Mario Golf & Kirby Triple Deluxe for 3DS if you cared)
I got to thinking. People do crazy stuff all the time. Most of it goes viral on YouTube and then disappears after a few weeks, if not sooner. And then what? It is forgotten. Playing two games a day for a year sounds a little out there but kids do it all the time really. They may not realize they are doing it, but they are. The difference is, these people are generally only experiencing a handful of games. They play Call of Duty for two hours a day all year. Or they plop down for some World of Warcraft daily. I'm talking about 730 pieces of art.
The gaming community, or gamers more specifically, are still generally looked down upon. People hear you're a gamer and the reaction is almost of disgust. I get why. "Back in the day" gamers were what people think they are. Young kids who come home from school, park their butts on the couch, and "rot their brains" for three hours at a clip and go to bed. Rinse, lather, repeat. But this perception hasn't really changed all that much despite those same kids getting older and having families of their own. I'd like to help change that. So I'm going to find a way to make my journey beneficial to the perception.
With that said, I'll be journaling my adventure to reach my goal of collecting and then playing. I'm shooting for the collection total to be reach by then end of 2014 and to begin playing two games a day for at least 30 minutes starting January 1, 2015. While I do this I will provide links to the two charities I plan on pointing people to. It is my hope that through the simple act of playing games, I can encourage people to support some excellent causes and help show the world that we, gamers, are not just a bunch of kids in a basement playing Battlefield, but loving parents, police officers, bus drivers and so much more. I will reveal which charities in the near future.
There you have it. That is my goal for the next year and say 8 months. Feel free to pass this one on. I mean, that is kinda the point. This is just a way for someone part of the gaming community to help make the world a better place. A way for gamers to remember that we play games for entertainment, not for supremacy within the ranks. And why not help out in the meantime?
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Posted on Sep 19th 2013 at 08:23:01 AM by ( monkees19) Posted under gta v |
Now that the new Grand Theft Auto has hit the market and reviews are pouring in and everyone gushes over it I want to ask...am I the only one who just flat out doesn't care? I've watched the trailers several times and found the graphics to be comparable to that of a later Playstation 2 game. Maybe it's just the video I'm watching but it's looked the same no matter which site I watch it on and it even came on during a recent re-run of a Family Guy episode I had stored on the DVR and it still looked bad on my HDTV.
Back in the day, when GTA 1 first hit the market, people freaked. They wanted to know how a game company could put out something that was so unapologetically vulgar and brutal. Car jackings, gang violence, random murders and things of the like were everywhere. You could follow the story or just kill people, steal their cars and shoot policeman. And getting away was as simple as hiding in an alley for a few minutes. It was great. GTA 2 was more of the same, with very few noticeable differences. Pretty much the same game with a new coat of paint.
Then GTA III came out. And it was...every other third person shooter out there. Hitman and Max Payne for example were already on the market. Granted the detail of said games were relatively new at the time but by now, games had been able to get more and more gruesome due to the technology of the time. The Playstation, and perhaps the Nintendo 64 to a lesser degree, had brought these types of games into greater detail.
In short, I don't see what the fuss is all about. It's probably a good game but I doubt it deserves the review scores it is getting. It's just more of the same with a different skin. The first two games were a new innovative idea (ish) and was executed well. And those games got generally panned. Few publications scored it over a 6. Now the last three games, which are again comparable to any 3rd person shooter out there, routinely score well over 9.
I just don't get it. Maybe I'm wrong...
So after patiently waiting the extra day for the UPS man to deliver my Wii U console to my front door, I have finally had some time alone with my shiny new system. After an approximately 15 minutes setup I was ready to game.
The controller, or Game Pad as it is known, is surprisingly easy to handle. Despite it's appearance, it is light and no strain on the hands. The layout of the buttons is done well, although I have yet to play a game that utilizes the dual analog sticks (time has not yet permitted this.)
I did take issue with the lengthy time it took to register my Network ID. After timing out of the connection for an hour, I gave up until Tuesday. I spent random intervals during the day trying to get signed up to no avail. After about 30 hours, I finally got signed up. This was likely due to over crowding of their servers. Clearly a learning experience for Nintendo since they had to know they had over one million pre-orders.
That said, the system does offer the convenience of playing without the TV, which is a HUGE bonus when I have to share it with my wife and both kids. It also has decent range, for me at about 35 ft until I ran out of room. Testing into other rooms is pending. Hopefully I will get to experience more features as Nintendo rolls them out.
I am curious to know the first impressions of you, the RF Generation community.
I'm sure most of you had heard about the newest codename for the upcoming Playstation console "Orbis." For those of you who haven't there are two big rumors associated with this new name. First off there will be zero backwards compatibility for Playstation 3 games. Secondly there will be a lock out for used games. Now, before I get started and go off the deep end, I will begin by stating that I have always been against Sony and everything they do. I find little to no pleasure in anything they do. They have repeatedly reminded me why I have always stuck by Nintendo throughtout the years. So if this comes across as a little coarse towards Sony, it's supposed to.
I'm confused. I always thought that Sony tried to keep up with the market. They've seemingly looked at all the things that made their competition successful and done the opposite. The numbers don't lie. The Wii is 100% backwards compatible with the GameCube, the Xbox 360 is about 80% backwards compatbile with the Xbox and the Playstation 3 is...well who knows? Some consoles are with PS1, some with PS2, some with Blu-Ray it's too much to figure out. And look at the numbers. Nintendo has a huge lead in sales while the PS3 is waaay behind. I'm not saying backwards compatibility is the reason for it, but it helps. I've heard some say they won't be buying a PS4 to play PS3 games. I get that. But why keep both consoles around. People seem to trade in their old consoles to get a price break on new ones. Why give up your PS3 if all those hundreds, if not thousands of dollars you spent on games are now useless? Heck backwards compatibility should be standard in this era. It's been done since the Game Boy Color! Every Nintendo handheld has been backwards compatibile with the previous and Nintendo is the industry leader.
As for used games...I don't even begin to comprehend it. I get that they're trying to kill GameStop. But considering they are the leader in game sales locking out your biggest distributor is a killer in and of itself. If GameStop stops selling their games and hardware, they are done. And they would alienate alot of the consumer base.
Call me a cynic, but I sort of hope these rumors come true. I will enjoy watching Sony crumble. I of course wouldn't be buying the console anyway, but for every one they sell I'm sure there are 5 people who boycott the system for these reasons. If either holds true for the new Xbox console, count me out on them too. I'd love to hear every one else's thoughts on this one though. Another review is coming soon too!
I'm not even going to butter you up or lead into this one. This game is a 10. Even if you only have passing interest in role playing games, this is a must own title. I will be looking back on what the original Super Nintendo version, titled Final Fantasy II (IV in Japan) has to offer.
In overall terms of Final Fantasy games, this is actually the fourth installment in the series. Since it was only the second released in the US it was given the II subtitle. This is the most simple complex RPG of it's time. By that, I mean that while the turn-based battle system, items, equipment and story are very detailed, they are all very easy to grasp. There are so many things to do and explore in this expansive world but they follow a generally linear path which takes out any grinding or wandering aimlessly. The plot is intense for it's time and the characters are memorable. Who can forget Cid and his hijinks or the crusty old sage Tellah and how they have their own little turmoil amongst themselves? I know I can't. You learn to love and respect these characters and learn alot of their backstory during the game while they carve out their futures.
The replay value is massive. I personally have played through this game over 20 times...in it's entirety...without skipping a thing. Not a dungeon, optional boss fight or sidequest. Even though the story never changes and requires no input from the player other that to execute their next moves I find myself blowing the dust off the contacts of this now valuable game again and again.
This is a must own game. And you have no excuse. This game has been remade and rereleased...get ready...5 times! Besides it's original format on the SNES it was re-released on the Game Boy advance and given a graphical overhaul on the Nintendo DS. It is also available in the Wii's Virtual Console service for 800 points. Not a Nintendo fan? Good news! It's also available on the PSP which includes the previously WiiWare exclusive sequel: The After Years which continues the story. "I don't care for Nintendo and don't enjoy handhelds" Good news! It was also made available on the original Playstation in the Final Fantasy Cronicles bundle which also included Chrono Trigger (which itself was rereleased three times since it's original inception.) You have no excuse. I repeat, if you have even passing interest or have never tried an RPG before, go get this game.
Score: 10/10
Today I will be reviewing a game that many of us have been begging for a sequel, myself included, for quite some time. Probably since 2003's F-Zero GX for the Nintendo GameCube. So in hopes of jump starting Nintendo I will be bringing up this classic title.
Overall the game is nothing more than your standard arcadey, fast-paced, white knuckle racing game. There is little strategy involved other than using the ample boost pads and tight curves. However that is what makes the game so enjoyable. The newly added story mode gives a little insight into the characters and their background. This mode also adds in more that just circuit racing, throwing in drag races. It makes for a nice change and doesn't deter from the overall package.
The simplicity of the game itself has variety if nothing else. There are over 20 tracks and 30 vehicles and Amusement Vision added customization aspects to allow for a little diversity in the vehicles you can drive.
All told, this is a must own title in your GameCube's library. It will never replicate the success of the Mario Kart franchise, but it doesn't try to. The controls are tight and are perfectly laid out on the GameCube's controller. 4-player local multiplayer should keep this game close to you system for quite some time.
Score: 8.6/10
I am not above a shameless plug here. I have a buddy I work with that started up his own website. It's still in it's beginning stages and with everything doesn't get updated as often as it should but it's still a solid blog-type site relating to gaming. www.gamerzrwe.com is the site if anyone wants to check it out. I love to hear some opinions on it.
For today's post I'm going in a different direction. Digital downloads and distribution of new/re-released games and content. It's become a bit overdone in my opinion. I feel that it's become far too money driven. I understand the convenience for some and cost effective for others but nothing beats the feel of a brand new (or used) game in your hands. The smooth texture of the case, the folded manuals still tightly stapled together, the elaborate box art that all encompasses the entire package is being threatened by this method of transferring new games to consumers.
I grew up mostly in the early 90s, so maybe it's partially a nostalgia factor for me, but it truly bothers me when new content is released digitally. I am a proud collector as much as I am a player of games and I enjoy displaying my collection for not only myself, but my guests as well. For example, I loved the new Alan Wake American Nightmare game on Xbox Live. Solid game that adds to the story while delivering several hours of gameplay at a very reasonable price. I know that making a boxed version of said game would likely have retailed for double the price in the same way Undead Nightmare did for Red Dead Redemption. But I am sure I speak for others when I say I would've paid it.
Maybe I'm just bitter. Who knows? But a part of me died when I bought my copy of NHL 12 used and thought I was missing a manual only to find out it never had one...
Am I alone here? Or does the community agree with me, even if just a little bit?
Hello there bloggers. For my first review I've chosen Crosswords DS for, you guessed it, the Nintendo DS. This is an expansive puzzle game that will give you hours of gameplay and will not drain your cell phone's battery. Nuevo Games added in word searches and anagrams as well, leaving you with seemingly endless hours of gameplay. The overall presentation is about what you would expect. It's menu is easy to navigate, but is very simple.
Well, not that you expect great things from a puzzle game in terms of graphical power, right? If you do you would be disappointed. It's as graphically advanced as a real crossword puzzle. And basic MIDI type background music in the menus and basic scribbling sounds when you write a letter comprises most of the sounds you will hear.
The controls are fairly simple but very responsive. You write the letters in the boxes. You drag the stylus to select the words in word searches. Not exactly rocket science.
Overall
Simply stated this is one of the best. It will leave you with seemingly endless hours of play, Allows multiple save slots so you can have someone else share your cartridge and still have your own progress seperate from theirs. This is a must buy title unless you can't stand crossword puzzles. I bought my 3DS in September '11 and have logged over 17 hours on that handheld alone, not counting the countless hours on it's original console. At it's low cost at retail combined with the expansive selection of puzzles this will likely find a home on your shelf for a long time.
Score: 8.8/10
Hello there RF Generation community. I will be taking a few stabs into this world that I have never done. The purpose of my blog is nothing more than reviewing various games for a variety of consoles, young and old. There is no rhyme or reason to the games I will be selecting, just a random sampling at this point. I would love some constructive criticism either way so I may make this more fruitful of an endeavor for myself and all those reading at home. My first review starts now!
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