Video Games

This game was quite confusing to my young mind.  Even now, as I think back and remember, I have no idea what was the purpose of that game.  The game was called Ape Escape.  All I remember is you have to chase down monkeys, and catch them with a big butterfly net.  It was weird, but a good game in that the puzzles you needed to do were challenging.

In order to understand what I was doing I did a little research, and found this:

Your mission is to help Spike and Jake, who I am guessing are the other main characters, catch monkeys that have traveled back in time.  You do this so you can save the future.  The main antagonist is a white monkey named Specter that wants to take over the world. 

I never got past the first level as a kid, but this game looks pretty good, go and check it out!

Over the next few posts, I’m going to talk about games I remember playing as a kid, and would still play today.  This post is dedicated to the Crash Bandicoot series. 

Back in the days when the ps2 was still new, I played games on my father’s ps1.  One of my favorites was Crash Bandicoot, the first and the original.  I remember playing the game over and over, not caring about beating the game, just playing for the challenge.  Running around breaking boxes, dodging and spinning enemies away, that is what I remember when I think of this game.  

The next game, and the last for a while, was Crashed Bandicoot Warped.  I remember traveling through time, collecting crystals, and having fun trying to stop Cortex.

Finally, after hoping and dreaming for what feels like forever, we get to explore Hoenn again.  A remake of the old Ruby and Sapphire, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are due to arrive in November.

  Not too long ago, Pokemon X&Y had come out, and now, we shall see what elements will be introduced, and what elements will be the same.

Ever see a game and wonder what it takes to make it?  I have had the great pleasure of making my own games, and I am continuing to do so.  I use Game Maker, which can be downloaded here.

  The process of creating a game can be rather difficult; there is plenty of coding to do, just to do something as simple as walk left.  As I create my games, I understand more and more about how games work.  I only know how to do the most basic of games, and have not stepped into creating full game worlds, or creating 3D games. 

  As I continue my education I find that I need to learn the “coding language.”  What that is, is what you type into the coding section of Game Maker in order for a certain event to take place.  The coding needed for your sprite, the character you are working on, to walk left is “sprite_index = name_of_walking_left_sprite”.  That makes the game understand that when you press the left arrow key, that it needs to transform the sprite into the walking sprite.  When you release it, a similar code makes the sprite transform back into the still sprite.

ESO

Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) has been a great addition to the Elder Scrolls franchise.  It looks interesting, and the mass multiplayer would be an interesting take on the franchise.  For more info on the game, check out one of my earlier posts.

Titanfall

When the previews for this game started to come out, I couldn’t wait to play.  With the idea of being able to summon giant robots, and pilot them, along with being able to kill the titans, it makes for an awesome sounding game.  This is one game I’m going to buy.

Dark Souls 2

If this game is anything like the first, it’ll be challenging from the start.  I haven’t played much of the first game, but check out this site for more info on how it has changed:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2014/04/02/dark-souls-ii-lore-and-speculation/

Watch Dogs

The hacker aspect of this game is what brought this game to my attention.  I haven’t watched the trailer, but from what I’ve seen it looks like an awesome game.  Watch the trailer for yourself here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqoQG_XYF-8

Drakengard 3

Twitch Plays Pokémon has hit the ground running.  In 7 days the massive MMO has collected over 100,000 active users.  The Pokémon game that is being played is Pokémon Red/Blue.  This version is the first of the series and holds a lot of memories for long time players.  These players have gathered to try to complete the game, or prevent the game from finishing.  The whole point of this game is to work together to finish this game, but it isn’t that surprising that they haven’t finished the game when they were stuck in a Pokémon Center for 2 hours.

  The commands are relatively simple.  A to select something, B to cancel, Up, Down, Left, Right to move around, and start to open the menu.  With all of these commands, each person selecting one, it is hard to move forward, backward, or do just about anything.  Two commands that have recently been added were “anarchy” and “democracy”.  If one or the other gets enough “votes”, or commands, the game mode changes.  In anarchy every command is used, and in democracy every twenty seconds a command is chosen based on popular vote.

  Because of the popularity of Twitch Plays Pokémon, a religion has formed.  It is based around the Helix Fossil, which is an item that has been selected so many times; every time it is selected it is referred to as “consulting the Helix Fossil”.  The Helix Fossil is referred to as the “good” and is sided with Anarchy.  The Dome Fossil is referred to the “bad” while siding with democracy.  With these two, Pokémon have been aligned.  Drowzee is one of their main Pokémon who is said to have battled and defeated Flareon, the false prophet.

   Hope these guys have better luck in the future!  If you want to know more, check out this article: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57619058-93/twitch-plays-pokemon-is-now-a-fight-for-the-soul-of-the-internet/

This weekend the beta for Elder Scrolls Online ran.  Those who played it, myself not included, found it to be just about what they wanted.  According to Mike Gunn, the beginning was like any Elder Scrolls game, until you get to the complex quest lines.  Then, after the beginning of the chain quests, players team up to complete tougher quests. 

  A major part of the Elder Scrolls series has been exploration, and that has not changed.  Though zones had to be created to challenge players characters at a specific level. Along with that there are “subtle use of storyline, and zone shifts that ensure you don’t get out of your depth.”

  Combat in ESO, is something to consider.  In most MMO’s you click a button and wait.  In ESO, the combat incorporates characteristics of Skyrim. The basics of attacking, blocking, and dodging, are the same.  This, thankfully, has not changed.

  Elder Scrolls Online will have some challenges, though.  With the price set at an initial sixty dollars, and a monthly fee of fifteen dollars, it may scare off some loyal Skyrim players.

  Read the article at:

http://nzgamer.com/previews/1185/elder-scrolls-online-hands-on-impressions-part-one.html

The other day i was scrolling through Facebook, and i came upon a post in which someone said that Pokebank had finally come out for Japanese 3ds's.  Pokebank is a downloadable app for the new Pokémon X Y games from Nintendo.  Pokebank was originally to be released on December twenty-seventh in the U.S. and December twenty-fifth in Japan.  Because of unpredicted numbers in Japan flooding the system, EShop, an online marketplace made by Nintendo, had crashed.  Because of that, many players had gotten angry.  As it seems that Nintendo finally has gotten its servers fixed, many in the U.S. and the U.K. are anticipating the release of Pokebank.

In order to promote Pokebank, Nintendo gave out a 30 day free trial.  Users who wish to continue past the 30 day free trial, can pay an annual five dollar subscription fee, which is not that expensive.  Another promotion was that anyone who downloaded Pokebank before September 20 would receive a Celebi, a Pokémon that cannot be caught in a game without hacking.  This event Pokémon is necessary to “catch them all”, a key concept in the games.

Poke Transporter, a feature that players are waiting for; comes out with Pokebank and allows the transfer of Pokémon from the games Black and White, and Black 2 and White 2.  As with previous generations, this feature allows you to bring up Pokémon that are your companions, or just your powerhouses.

As @SleepyJirachi said “It’s on it’s way everyone!”