Pokemon X & Y I Choose You

As we are only a few short days away from probably one of the biggest Pokemon launches ever, I feel the need to talk about how awesome these games are going to be. Pokemon X and Pokemon Y will be the next installment of the Pokemon franchise, also known as Generation 6 of the Pokemon games.


Most of us have followed Pokemon from the beginning, and have almost grown up with this franchise. With Pokemon blue and red on the original Gameboy , your goal was to become the Pokemon master and catch and train all 150 Pokemon. Now do we still feel this as a realistic goal? Have some of us grown away from the series, as they just keep bringing out more and more Pokemon? Well I have to say to people who do feel that way to give it another chance.

 

 This generation is expected to be one of the best since the original 150. Not only do you start the game with 3 new starters: Froakie, Chespin and Fennekin, you also get to choose one from the originals: Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander. How cool is that, two starter Pokemon from the beginning and not to mention that there are now a total of over 700 Pokemon to catch, train and battle with.

 You now start your adventure in the Kalos region, and as always you go from town to town collecting badges and becoming the ultimate trainer. Sounds familiar right? Well now you can do all that in full 3D. You will experience Pokemon in full 3d for the first time;from regular battles to the new sky battles, and a full 3d world to explore. Still not convinced this is the game for you?


Well it gets better with the  introduction of  mega evolve forms, for now they are restricted to certain Pokemon, but man are they cool. You can now power up your favorites like Charizard, Blastoise and Venusaur and evolve them one step further.

 I myself am very excited for the release of this game and know how I'm spending my Thanksgiving weekend, Pokemon X and Y on sale Oct 12th. .


Till next time, Game on gamers!

By Chris Bingham

Continue Reading »

Retro Rewind Reviews Rayman Legends for the WII U

When this game first came out about a month ago, I saw it on the shelves and passed by rather quickly when I saw the $59.99 price tag. I didn’t even give it a second glance. This week I received a free copy of it from the company, and thought what the heck I’ll give it a shot.

To my amazement it’s probably one of the best and most innovative games I’ve played for awhile. My original thought was it’s just another Rayman game, like the original on ps1 or when they jumped to the 3DS and Wii with Rayman origins and now Rayman legends. I had heard the Wii U version was the best for this game as it utilizes the WII U gamepad more and you can be more interactive with the game. They were right, my favorite function is that there’s a tv off mode. You can play the game mainly on the gamepad and not have to have your tv on,which is perfect at night in bed.

I found this game grabbed a hold of my heart; I really got into it and couldn’t put it down. There’s a big list of characters; like Rayman, Murfy and Barbara, and tons more to unlock all with their own unique attacks. You can also unlock levels from Rayman Origins and experience that game, I thought this was a great added bonus. The smooth 1080 graphics really deliver in this game even on just the gamepad. The way you interact with the level to solve puzzles, run from monsters and switch between characters is just great.

I feel this is the kind of game Nintendo should be focusing on, one that involves interaction with the gamepad as you play. In my opinion this version is by far superior to the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions, as your more hands on with this and actually do more than just push down a single button.

There’s One part that blew my mind where it’s a circle maze and you have to rotate the gamepad to help the character find the exit, It was so cool! I look forward to playing more of the game and I recommend it to anyone willing to try something new, I know the price tag is high but I ensure you its worth every penny. Till next time Gamers!

By: Chris Bingham

Continue Reading »

Top Ten: Favourite NES games

Most of us grew up in a time where home gaming systems were quite rare to find, and weren’t always enjoyable. What else did we have to do other then going outside and playing with our friends?  In 1985 we all rejoiced as we were given one of the best home gaming systems we would see for quite some time, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

Right off the bat Nintendo pumped out great titles that we could enjoy playing, not only alone, but with our friends and those annoying neighbourhood kids. Now I didn’t get to experience the NES until almost the end of its era; when Super Nintendo was released, however I got to play some fantastic games that I still play to date.

These are my top ten all time favourites and probably most gamers favourite NES games.

10. Mario Bros/Duck Hunt double cartridge
These two games were both original releases for the NES, and they were so popular they eventually made a double cartridge that released with almost every NES system from 1988 onwards; these are easy to find and most people have a few copies of them. Mario was something we had never played before and I feel it changed our childhood for the better; I remember my first time playing Mario bros and stomping on my first goomba, an experience every child should have.Duck hunt you got to use the cool Nintendo gun and actually shoot ducks on the screen, even though when you missed the dog would laugh at you. It wasn’t always your fault as the gun only worked sometimes.Both are fantastic games.

9. Battletoads
Released near the end of  NES years, Battletoads starred 3 toads Rash, Pimple and Zitz. Ya these were gross names, but hey the game was fun. In my opinion this is one of the hardest NES games I've ever played. When I first played this game I found it very challenging; and even harder when you played with a friend. You can hit each other and never make it far. It's a beat 'em up style of game and  back then we didn’t care if we beat the game or if we just spent hours playing. I don’t know anyone that’s actually beat this game.

8. Double Dragon
This is one of the games I had as a child and though it was great. Released in 1987, this game starred Billy and Jimmy as they fight to rescue there common love interest Marian. It is a beat 'em up style much like Battletoads; in fact they created a game called Battletoads/Double Dragon where the 5 of them team up in the ultimate fight! This game was equally as  hard as Battletoads. 

7. Contra
Never before had we seen or will see such a smooth shooting game like Contra. The controls and how they characters moved were fantastic; in fact many other shooter games tried and were unsuccessful.  The player can jump, move, and fire in eight directions. You can also move or jump simultaneously while firing. The downside is one hit and your dead. Another 1987 released game. My first run through of this game I had trouble not dying but as you play it you learn tricks to keep going like: never stop shooting and keep moving or your dead.

6. Castlevania
This game has very different controls and it takes sometime to get use too. Castlevania was released in 1987 and was the jumping point for 2 sequels on the NES and more on other systems. You play a character called  Simon Belmont who sets out to kill Dracula, and other various monsters on your journey

5. Metroid
A great first title for the series that had many more. When I first played this game I was kind of lost as it doesn’t really tell you where to go. Like most games and you spend a lot of time wandering around. This is the first time we got to play as Samus Aran; A mysterious character in a suit. To our surprise it was a girl character for once: her mission  to retrieve the parasitic Metroid organisms that were stolen by Space Pirates

4. Ninja Gaiden
A great fast paced game that can be frustrating. My first play through of this was very irritating as I'm not one to rush through a level; but with this game you have to because if you stop the enemies respawn and kill you.A hard game to learn and master but a great one! You star as the character Ryu Hayabasu as he journeys to America to avenge his murdered father.

3. Kirby’s adventure
Kirby had his debut with gameboy, however in 1993 he had his first home console debut and it was finally in color! Kirby is a fun character; he sucks up his enemies and uses their abilities to help him along his way to King Dedede. I personally love Kirby games they're not overly challenging but just a basic game that’s easy to learn and enjoy.

2. Zelda
One of my all time favourites, and one of the popular franchises in Nintendo history.You are Link, you wander into a cave to get a sword from an old man, and from there your adventure begins. You have to collect the tri force pieces, as well as various weapons and tools, solve puzzles and defeat tons of enemies and bosses to rescue Princess Zelda. I remember spending hours playing this game; it took that long to find where your going. There's secrets like burning a certain bush to unlock a level or solving the maze to get into the graveyard. Some parts were frustrating, but  it’s the ultimate game none the less.

1. Mario 3
Mario taken to the next level, its probably one of the best made NES games. The previous Mario bros games were quite basic and couldn’t explore much, but with Mario 3’s world map and various level choices, items and power ups, and you were introduced to Bowser's children. It was a fun game you wanted to play over and over.   When I got this game I could finally explore in levels instead of being pushed by the level to advance. The under water levels were a new feature, as well as cool new suits like the racoon and frog suit. Lots of fun to play. 

And those are my Top Ten NES Games. Until the next one Gamers!

By: Chris Bingham

Continue Reading »

Nintendo's former President dies at 85

It is reported that Nintendo’s third president Hiroshi Yamauchi died this morning at the age of 85.

Yamauchi died of pneumonia at a hospital in central Japan and a funeral will take place on Sunday. A spokesman for Nintendo said that the firm was in mourning over the loss of the former Nintendo president Mr Hiroshi Yamauchi,.

Joining the company in 1949 until stepping down on May 31, 2002, to be succeeded by Satoru Iwata, Yamauchi is credited with transforming Nintendo from a small hanafuda card-making company in Japan to a multi-billion dollar video game company.

He brought us all the great systems we love and play to date and will be missed.

By Chris Bingham

Continue Reading »

Retro Rewind: Introduction to Game Collecting

Do you remember when you jumped on your first Goomba or stumbled upon a cave where an old man offers you a sword?

Whether you've had these experiences or not I'm sure at one point in your childhood years you got to experience one of the greatest gaming systems of all time The Nintendo Entertainment system (NES).  From its release in 1985 children all over the world got to experience home gaming like it should be with great games like Duck Hunt, Mario Bros., Zelda and many more memorable titles.

30 years later we are still playing and collecting these great titles and holding on to our early years, still wondering why these games were so hard, but that's another story.

So why are we still playing these same games even with today's smooth graphics and greater HD systems in our grasps? One simple answer; They're "retro". The word retro meaning old and classic.

These games changed our childhood, and we like to hold onto those memories by playing them. NES, Super Nintendo (SNES), Nintendo 64 (N64), Gamecube, Playstation, Atari, Sega these are all staples when it comes to retro gaming and systems everyone can enjoy.

Now obviously its not as easy as going on down to Walmart and purchasing these great titles and systems; it takes a little work to find these, unless you horded them away since you were little.

I started mine with a Super Nintendo and six games. Unfortunately we have to rely on other methods to collect these games which is getting harder and harder to find some of them.

 

Now whether you are looking for a new system to play or building on a collection you already have, over several articles, I'm going to give you tips on how to start a Retro Collecting. How to find all those great titles you remember playing, and how to maintain a collection and have a focus on what system to collect or many.

Now no matter if you're after just a couple games or a whole collection the best advice is don't rush, take your time. Rushing in and trying to buy them all at once is foolish and will cost you a small fortune. And it takes them fun out of searching for them and getting the best deals.

 

Here are some examples of places to look:

1. Pawnshops, Retro Specialty stores.

 Some places sell and specialize in retro games and systems, toys and such, but be careful as these guys may have everything you want but you'll also pay a mint to own it.  

These guys are buyers themselves and have done the hard work for you to find them. Nowadays this seems like the obvious choice as its getting harder to find games. So if you're just looking for a few games to grab quick this is the choice for you. 

Now a good thing about these places is they usually have all the rare titles but you will pay for them. 

What makes a title rare? We'll get into that later.

2. Yard Sales, Auctions, Flea markets

Now this is all by luck nowadays. Yardsaling used to be the best way to find old games no one wanted any more and they were cheap. But still surprisingly you can find rare titles and sometimes boxes full of games. 

If you come across a box of games and or systems offer to buy everything. You'll usually get a better deal and if there is stuff you don't want you can always resell it to buy stuff you do want. 

Plus if you sit and pick through others may see what your looking at and try to snatch it up, so don't take that chance. Most times people don't know what they have and you can get it for next to nothing. 

For example I stumbled upon a yard sale this summer and after finding little that day I came across some Playstation games. They were labeled at $2 a piece i saw a pile and offered $11 for all. They accepted and I went home with my haul. In the pile I noticed one game that I thought was rare: the "Misadventures of Tron Bonne" Megaman title. I looked it up to my surprise it was worth $150-$200 not including the other titles I got. I made alot of money. 

I do collect but if there's a title I'm not so into I'll sell it to pay for more games. This is also essential to collecting. Most times you may just waste the day and find nothing but if you dont look you'll never know.

3. Online

 You can find just about everything and anything around the world on the internet these days. It seems like the ideal way. But I try to avoid it as I find prices are usually all over the place no one knows what stuff is worth. Which could be good or bad. 

You may over pay and there are shipping costs and the waiting game. That's why I enjoy finding games places instead of just placing an order online.

Kijiji

 This site can be your best friend. I use this site to buy and sell all the time as it's local people just collecting like you and they mostly just want to get rid of stuff. I've found many deals on here, and it can help you build up your collection. 

The best part? Prices are always negotiable. Bonus!

In the next article I will let you in on some tips on how to choose a focus for your collection, what makes a title rare and common, and how not to get overwhelmed with the collection as it can happen easily.

Thanks for reading, until next time gamers!

By: Chris Bingham

Continue Reading »

A brand new 3DS XL Bundle...will it come to North America?

Recently Nintendo announced a special 3DS that was due to be released July 18th in Japan. This bundle was none other then a 30th Anniversary of Luigi bundle which had a very cool 3DS XL covered in Luigi characters.

Will we get to see this cool bundle in North America? I sure hope so.

Another set of cool bundles coming up are the upcoming Pokemon X and Pokemon Y 3DS XL bundles where one 3DS is blue with Pokemon pics and the other red. Unfortunately they do not come bundled with the game and are available September 27th .

I'm sure they will go fast at $229.99, as the game comes out October 12th.

Other cool bundles to hit this year that you may have missed were an animal crossing new leaf bundle with cool designs and a download of the game, and a yellow Pikachu 3DS XL.

What other cool designs will we see from Nintendo? We'll have to wait and see.

By: Chris Bingham

Continue Reading »