Welcome to the Powet Top 5, where we explore the top (and bottom) 5 items we think are relevant to any of a variety of topics that span the imagination. Sit back, read, and respond.
Ask somebody what their favorite Mega Man game is and you’ll likely be told “Mega Man 2”. It’s the true fan favorite and widely considered the game that made the biggest leap ahead of its predecessor. While 2 is a solid game, the best thing it did was set the stage for the real greatest Mega Man game: Mega Man 3.
After hyping up this new show for weeks the premiere came and went without any comment. Why, you might wonder? Well as a Canadian I do not have access to the Hub, but fear not as the “first” episode of Care Bears: Welcome to Care-a-Lot is now available for viewing online at the hub’s web site, for a limited time, to people who live in the US. I found the show decent, with some nice animation, some nice characters and a few good jokes, but ultimately probably too juvenile to find a home with adult fans.
One thing to note is that this was in fact not the first episode. This is episode 5 “Compassion — NOT!”. Why start with episode 5? I can’t pretend to understand the thought process of network executives. Perhaps this was a stronger episode they thought would hook more fans? All I know is that it not being the first episode was a bit annoying. From one of the preview clips we knew that “Care Kids” were transported to Care-a-Lot via a “Care and Share Charm”. This information would have been helpful to tell audiences in this episode, instead a girl named Penny is brought in by a rainbow and seems very unsurprised to be transported to this magical world of talking Bears who she’s meeting for the first time. Her acceptance of this incredible situation is something I can only compare to the unsurprised reaction of various characters from Megaman Upon a Star when Megaman enters the real world from the video game world. Another annoying situations is that Wonderheart Bear clearly has a belly badge, although a plot point of the first episode will obviously be her getting one.
It happens every year. We talk about going to E3, then we don’t go. Luckily enough of E3 get streamed online and shown on TV that all we miss really are the long lines.
Zac, Adam, and Cap dissect as much of the show as possible. We’ll talk about what impressed and depressed. And for some reason, we talk about Battleship too.
Microsoft and Sony were very careful to announce ‘no new hardware’ before E3, and stuck to that promise. Nothing shown at either of their press events was for anything other than the devices that are already out on the market. The closest thing Xbox has to hardware launch right now is a Windows 8 tablet running Smart Glass.
But other publishers show games too.
Ubisoft wowed audiences and critics with a demo of Watch Dogs. Graphically amazing, but also implying a depth of gameplay and sandbox options above and beyond what their own Assassin’s Creed series is capable of. The demo was played on stage using an Xbox 360 controller, but Ubisoft confirmed later that it was a PC version of the game we’d seen.
Ubisoft clearly has a hit on their hands, and usually a game like this gets showcased at a hardware maker’s show. Why would Microsoft pass on Watch Dogs and take Splinter Cell? Easy, Splinter Cell shows a game running on XBox 360, and Watch Dogs won’t look like the demo we saw on Xbox 360.
Ubisoft says the release date for Watch Dogs is beyond 2012. If new hardware (aside from Wii U) does launch in 2013, Watch Dogs could be an important launch title. We’ve been assured that the game will come out on PS3 and XBox 360, but it isn’t hard to think back to 2005/2006 when games like Tomb Raider Legend and Gun launched on PS2 and Xbox with HD versions on PS3 and Xbox 360.
In the same way that ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit?’ set a story against the back drop of the world of classic cartoons, and ‘Toy Story’ showed the secret lives of toys, Disney now has ‘Wreck It Ralph’ for the world of video games.
Ralph the villain of an old arcade game, ‘Fix It Felix.’ But he doesn’t want to be a bad guy anymore. So he leaves his game to find one where he can be a hero.
Even in a 2 minute trailer there are TONS of video game cameos. I spotted Boswer, Kano, Q Bert, Doctor Robotnik, Zangief, and more. This movie is going be a serious thrill ride for anyone who plays or has played classic games. Oh, and it looks pretty funny too. Voice cast includes John C Reilly, Jane Lynch, Jack McBrayer, Sarah Silverman. Wreck It Ralph comes to theaters November 2, 2012.
So a week and 1/2 ago, I posted about the supposed new Nintendo DS game that was primed to be an interquel between Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and Lords of Shadow 2, titled “Mirror of Fate”. Lot of speculation began flying around communities about what the game possibly could be about, and that the names “Trevor” and “Simon” Belmont were being heavily dropped.
Seems a lot of that speculation was true, according to the trailer released by Konami at E3 this week.
Want to see what Wii U and do for you? Nintendo showed Mario. And Luigi. And Batman. And Mass Effect. If you’re a Nintendo loyalist, you’re about to see what you’ve been missing.
These are all of the trailers and demo videos without Nintendo’s presenters and executives.
Another more 3DS focused press event will be held tomorrow.