Here's a quick review of the Nintendo NFC Reader/Writer. This device lets you use amiibos with your Nintendo 3DS, 3DSXL, and 2DS. It's simple and easy to use and even comes with a pair of AA batteries. Short How-To-Use Video:
Full Review:
Has anyone ever noticed how creepy the assist trophy looks in the new Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and for WiiU?
Assist trophies are an item in the Super Smash Bros. series starting from Brawl and also appearing on Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for WiiU and would summon a random characters from vairous video games. I'm not saying there's a creepy pasta going around about the assist trophy because as we all know, Smash Bros. is played out by a child's imagination using toys and action figures of various Nintendo characters and then some but compared to the assist trophy item design in brawl, the one for SSB4 looks a tad scary.
In Brawl, the assist trophy looked like an action figure in a small glass display case. In SSB4, instead of an action figure of a non-descript toned male in a dynamic stance, they opted for what looks like a ethereal deformed child with blank white eyes. Like something out of the side scrolling puzzle platformer, Limbo.
Could this be a representation of one of the developer's or possibly Sakurai's thoughts, doubts or feelings during the development of Super Smash Bros. 4? Happy halloween, guys.
Another long gap since the last Recent Buys but it is October and a bunch of games that I'm excited for are starting to come out.
To kick off October, it started with the release of Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS. I've been a nut for the Super Smash Bros. since I got to play the N64 release at a friend's house when I was in the United States on vacation back in the day. That got me to decide on getting a Gamecube instead of a PS2 just for Super Smash Bros. Melee and then got a Wii in anticipation for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. I'm planning to eventually get a WiiU but for now, the 3DS version should hold me off until then.
The pre-order bonus for Super Smash Bros. for 3DS came with a poster, a lanyard and a tumbler. Nothing really special but who would turn down some freebies? I also pre-ordered the game before they announced that it would come with bonuses. Apprantley I was second on the list of people who pre-ordered the game at the DataBlitz Shangrila branch.
Next up is another fighting game that I've been excited for all year. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, the sequel to the first Persona 4 Arena. The original Japanese title alone is already a good reason to get it, Persona 4 Ultimax: Ultra Suplex Hold. And hey, the game itself is pretty darn good too. I went and got the Region All version which came with a pack of tarot cards from the Persona series and an inflatable bop bag of Teddie. The cards are pretty neat, being larger and printed on a thicker card back than I expected and coated with a nice gloss finish. As awesome as they are, I personally have no interest in the cards but got them anyway because a friend of mine wants them. The bop bag is shorter than your standard bop bag but looks pretty good and has a port underneath that you can fill with water or something to weight it down.
That's it for this episode of Recent Buys. I'd make more but I haven't bought a gaming related thing more than one at a time lately. If you want to see what other crap I've been buying, follow me on instagram. http://instagram.com/kingmigoy#
Nintendo was the last to show their goods and even though they didn't have a live press conference, they announced a hefty amount of titles that would help the struggling Wii U. Is it enough to get people excited? It's hard to tell but it's clear they are banking on Super Smash Bros and Bayonetta 2 to end the Wii U's 2014 on a high note. But as we look forward, 2015 looks bright for the Japanese company. Have a look at what they announced below.
- Professor Layton vs Pheonix Wright coming to the west August 29.
- Mario vs Donkey Kong announced.
- Smash Bros. 3DS delayed to Ocober 3, 2014.
- Mario Party 10 announced.
- Each Amiibo figure has chips that can store data and interact with compatible games. Games announced that will be compatible are Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros. Wii U, Captain Toad, Mario vs Donkey Kong, Mario Party 10.
That's Nintendo's E3 presentation - Short but sweet. After the presentation, the Nintendo Treehouse found at E3 kicked off and was there to show off all the games mentioned. There were also a couple of game announcements that wasn't included in the digital event like Mario Party 10, Mario vs Donkey Kong, Professor Layton vs Pheonix Wright release date, and even confirming that Pac-man would be a playable player in the new Super Smash Bros. Very unusual that they announced some of these discreetly right after the presentation, but that's Nintendo for you.
We will give more of our impressions of what was shown in the press conference in a future post. TMG Podcast E3 Special will go LIVE next week once all the dust has cleared to go through each announcement and reveals one by one.
E3(Electronic Entertainment Expo) is the biggest event for the gaming industry, where all the big game reveals and announcements from big video game companies happen. It's literally just around the corner, so for those that want to catch all the reveals and big announcements from the big gaming companies, here's the full schedule of when each press conference goes live.
*TAKE NOTE OF THE TIME DIFFERENCE: PDT is for those living in the United States, while GMT is for those living in South East Asia like the Philippines.
Microsoft's Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb said on his blog that you can stream the press conference, entitled "Xbox: Game On," through Xbox.com, Xbox Live and Windows Phone worldwide. The press conference will also be broadcast on Spike TV in the U.S. and Canada. Halo 5: Guardians has been announced by 343 Industries so it's very likely we'll be seeing a demo of the new Halo running on Xbox One. There are rumors of a Gears of War reveal, as well as more about Sunset Overdrive which is looking pretty promising. Forza Horizon 2 was also announced plus there's Fable Legends so we'll see them on the presentation. Oh and of course, we'll see more of Kevin Spacey for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.
Also, with Microsoft announcing the Xbox One without Kinect, making the new console at the same price as its competitor, we will definitely see a strong presence of Kinect in the press conference.
Just like past EA conferences, we will see tons of EA Sports talk for NFL, NBA, the works. All that aside, we'll most likely see the latest on Dragon Age: Inquisition, Sims 4, Battlefield: Hardline, and we just might get a gameplay demo of Star Wars: Battlefront III. There are talks of them teasing a new Mass Effect game, but that's very unlikely in our eyes.
Ubisoft will be an interesting press conference. We'll definitely see a demo for this year's Assassin's Creed called Unity, as well as another announcement of the second Assassin's Creed planned for this year as well. Tom Clancy's The Division will have new gameplay to wow the crowd, and we'll get our first look at Far Cry 4 planned for this year. Just Dance will make an appearance yet again, and we'll see a demo for The Crew. We also expect a new IP coming from the European company since we've seen a new title from them two E3's in a row (Watch Dogs - 2012, The Division - 2013). Ubisoft has a lot going for them, it's crazy.
Sony might have a great lineup for their presentation - Deep Down, the new Uncharted, The Order: 1886, and a possible reveal of From Software's PS4 exclsuive currently titled "Project Beast". Final Fantasy XV will make an appearance together with Kingdom Hearts 3. The indie scene might just get the spotlight yet again to strengthen the consoles indie game support. What's going to be their big reveal? There's a big chance of a new God of War game moving the franchise forward. Destiny will definitely appear on Sony's presentation, and we might get more titles for PS Vita since it's been lagging behind on the number of new games per month. Oh, and we shouldn't forget the slight possibility of The Last Guardian showing up at the presentation...very unlikely.
Just like last year, Nintendo won't be holding the traditional press conference at E3. Instead, they will be broadcasting their presentation through a video similar to their monthly video called Nintendo Direct. It's called the "Nintendo Digital Event" and we will be seeing our first look at the new Zelda game exclusive to the Wii U. The Super Smash Bros Wii U and 3DS will definitely make an appearance, we'll get more footage for Bayonetta 2, and Monolith's RPG currently called X might get a full reveal. New 3DS games will take a small portion of the spotlight, but we expect all the effort will be put on making the Wii U appealing. There's rumor of a new Metroid that will be announced for the Wii U, which we pray is true because Nintendo needs announcements like that to be the big talk in E3. The horrible Wii U sales is a big concern and we hope they can bounce back with their presentation.
Since we are now in the age of Social Media and Live Streaming, watching the events that will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center will be easy for even folks on the other side of the globe. Here are a couple of sites that will be live streaming E3 happening next week:
Full event
EA Press Conference only
Ubisoft Press Conference only
Nintendo Digital Event only
The crew will be watching the event live, so just in case you are unable to watch the event live or just want the big scoop - stay tuned on our Twitter and Facebook page, we'll be posting the big announcements as it gets revealed. A full compilation of each press conference will be posted on the site.
We'll also be discussing everything that happened during E3 2014 on the TMG Podcast after the event. The post E3 show, Episode 36, will be up on June 17 on a Tuesday.
We'll update the list of channels covering the event as more come up. If you think we are missing some, please comment below and we'll add it to the list.
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