HYRULE WARRIORS - My Thoughts.

     Firstly, for those of you who don't know what Hyrule Warriors is, let me tell you. It's a Legend of Zelda game in the fashion of Dynasty Warriors.

     Immediately I saw this I thought to myself , "This is so messed up" ... but after observing deeper I think it's pretty awesome. It takes us totally away from the usual Zelda tradition and makes Link go all out. The graphics are decent; Link is good looking plus he's got a freaking scarf .... coooool!; and things are going towards the mature side. I guess they are now aware that the Zelda fans are growing up. Please, look at the picture below:

     I shall speak no further of the above. I am pleased that they took a step to shift from the Zelda custom because it was becoming quite usual and this will be a whole new feeling. I never really played Dynasty Warriors but this is a pretty compelling reason for me to try something of that sort.

     Here are some more screenshots I picked up ..... and don't forget to keep yourselves posted on this.

Author: Smyte100

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GIANT BOULDER OF DEATH - Free Game [Android and iOS]

     Talk about crazy and this game nails it straight. Giant Boulder Of Death (GBOD) is one of the craziest things I have seen on any mobile platform plus it's a good way to kill time and ease boredom.

     You play as a giant boulder, crushing everything in your path as you dodge deadly spikes and mines using the motion control. It's pretty simple to play and the cubic art style is quite funny and adds beautiful humor to the game in general. You are also given missions which you must execute during your endless run ..... or rather, "roll". 

     The funniest thing about this game is that the boulder actually has a story and is out to seek revenge for a reason I don't want to spoil right now. You'll have to check the story out yourselves and be shocked. Let's not kill the suspense.

     It's free on both android and iOS and you may find the links below. Download and enjoy unlimited madness.

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pikpok.gbod

iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/giant-boulder-of-death/id498502995?mt=8

Author: Smyte100

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DEXTRIS - Awesome Time-Killer [iOS]

     Dextris is a free, endless game on iOS. It is an awesome time-killer which I was fortunate to come across a while ago and I just can't seem to get enough of .... at least, not yet.

     It features two beautiful cubes which are side-by-side, on their way to "God knows where". There's not a single drop of story to it but let's keep going. You have obstacles coming left, right and center .... and both sides, and you have to touch the direction you want these adventurous neon cubes to go to dodge the obstacles at a pretty fast pace.

     It is simple but challenging. I got a slight "Flappy bird" feeling but I did not at all feel hopeless and develop the urge to thrust my iPhone into someone's ......... ok, let's just skip the violence. This game will keep you all focused and moving your fingers really fast while you observe the beautifully designed, neon visuals. 

     Another thing I love about this game is losing .. in a good way, though. The particle effect that is released when the cubes crash into an obstacle is something to look forward to. I also like when the cubes scratch against the wall, emitting bright sparks of glory.

     If you haven't tried Dextris yet, I suggest you put your iOS device to work right now. Hit the AppStore and search and play and enjoy.

Author: Smyte100

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The Misunderstood Console Called Wii U

I don't intend blogging about Nintendo only even though I'm a fan but there are a few things about the Wii U I just have to get off my chest. If there's any console that still has the ability to impress it's the Wii U, but both developers and consumers don't really understand the road Nintendo was taking with this one and neither do I, but I can put a few pieces together to see what the picture shows. So just stick with me for a bit and maybe you'll see things from Game Watcher's view.

I remember when the Wii U was first unveiled back in 2011, the gamepad pissed me off to be honest. But after seeing the video that  displayed the different things it could do I saw great potential in the console. I'm an upcoming indie developer so even I could think of a few gameplay ideas that utilize it's touchscreen and motion controls, truly a next-gen console... or so I thought. I din't see what was coming...

...sigh.

Half-assed ports, cancelled titles and rapid decline in 3rd party support. The Wii U dream died a lot faster than most people thought. The reason? we've heard a number of them ranging from the console's technical abilities to Iwata's philosophy but what I see is pretty much different. The Wii U was in fact built with 3rd party developers in mind, don't believe? Nintendo is well aware of the rising cost in development and the number of developers that have fallen out of the gaming train and decided to make a system that doesn't demand much by making it compatible with existing game engines, but everyone's forgotten Nintendo approached numerous developers while creating the Wii U and talk as though they were selfish when building the console. It saddens me bruh.

I still believe in the gamepad...

I remember hearing ReviewTech USA say Nintendo should ditch the gamepad and make a console like everybody else. I love his videos but I wonder how such a thing even came to his mind. Smartphones have shown us that interest in gaming has gone beyond the hardcore gamer, but traditional controls are confusing and hard to understand and this makes console gaming less accessible. Touchscreen swings to the other extreme, so it's Nintendo's intention to use this to expand the horizon of console gaming. Besides, the gameplay can offer fresh experiences and new mechanics to core gameplay but when Ninty themselves aren't doing much with it, it's fitting to call it a gimmick at this point.

Gaming... who's doing it right?

Is it old school to think more about gameplay than graphics? These days I guess it is when we have developers saying things like graphics making up 60% of the gaming experience so they prefer to go for a few more textures rather than improve gaming experience. Nintendo's view point with the Wii U is a good one, it's not just what developers want even though it'll do them good if they accept it. How about the fanboys? They'll list the specs like they know stuff yet show them a screenshot of a new IP and they won't be able to trace what console it belongs to until it's announced, then they start talking about inferior and superior graphics. Was funny enough seeing them fool themselves in the comments of Shokio's video making a split screen comparison between two Wii U footages of RE: Revelations (I still laugh when I remember it, will address graphics and 3rd parties in a different post though). Though the Wii U's future is still blurry at this point, it'll be interesting seeing what happens to this misunderstood console. 

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Nintendo And Smartphones

While I remain a Nintendo fan to the bone I have to admit, Nintendo's probably the most stubborn company in the entire gaming industry. Though this has allowed them preserve the quality of their top franchises and offer unique gameplay experiences in a generation that cares mostly about visuals, Nintendo has found itself in the old school in so many other aspects. This is pretty much common knowledge but the company's struggles with the Wii U even makes it more evident.

Nintendo has talked about changing it's paradigm and this includes the use of smartphones to their advantage even though they've decided to keep their titles to themselves, not a bad start but I do wish they'd consider making games for smartphones. Many fans believe such a move will hurt the brand but personally I believe it won't and here's why.

First of all the Wii U and 3DS though with touchscreens, are very different from smartphones and offer different gaming experiences. A Pikmin minigame for example on smartphones can hardly displace the unique feel Pikmin 3 on the Wii U offers while making it available to a large number of smartphone users who can have a feel of what Pikmin games are like and probably purchase the Wii U for that reason. Call it crazy if u like but it's not different from how consumers of a single product grow into fans of a certain brand, or how I was slowly lured into the crowd of Nintendo fans after playing A Link to the Past.

Don't be such a fanboy, just imagine it...

With features like unlocking extras on the console version of a game after making progress in it's smartphone siblin and connecting both hardwares afterwards, smartphone installments of treasured Nintendo games will only help advertise the console versions ( Now I'm not talking about ports like Final Fantasy III on smartphones, I mean something fresh and and accessible for smartphone users ). Plus Nintendo has Miiverse which in my opinion is seriously being underutilized, there are a whole lot of ways they could be using that.

This is all wishful though. But while the iPhone didn't displace the iPod or iPad even though the run the same OS and have almost all things in common,  I strongly believe Nintendo products and smartphones can coexist, at least we can believe that for the 3DS' sake. I'm looking forward seeing what Nintendo has planned for smartphones, but... it's Nintendo, keep those expectations down for your own good.

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