Gaming: Q4 2014

   A few turns before the holiday season is upon us, and it's time the gaming companies pull out the big guns from their arsenal. There have already been a few heavy-hitters put out to the public. Some were fine, others had a few issues but were well received, and some flat out disappointed even their most faithful followers. Let's take a closer look at some of those titles.
   Of course the main attraction these days is no doubt Nintendo's latest hit, Super Smash Bros Wii U. This is a title that has been anticipated for quite some time now and it did not disappoint! Its 8-on-8 battles allow for lots of fun with friends and family in the living room (since this is a mode not supported by multiplayer, which in this humble writer's opinion is a good thing!), plus the lots of different innovative modes only further the fun and replay value of this game. The fact that it received almost perfect scores from most reviewers is proof of that!
   Nintendo also struck at the handheld market (and I'm not talking about Smash Bros

3DS, which is also selling remarkably well!). On November 21st, the latest remake of Pokemon was released, with Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire taking the series back to the Hoenn region. Lots of different mega-evolutions, a new story, new and improved equipment and of course, the updated graphics are sure to deliver a remarkable experience to not only faithful poke-fans but RPG lovers in general.
   Another game that was released was the upgraded version of Grand Theft Auto V for the next-gen consoles (PS4 and XBox One). It still remains an incredibly entertaining and fun(ny) game, but the improvement in graphics that these machines allow for brings the city of Los Santos to life like never before! Also another nice touch by Rockstar was the first-person camera, that lets players see through the eyes of the characters.

   Far Cry 4 also hit the stores in November. The open world and campaign, co-op, multiplayer and side-quests of the game have seen good reviews, with the only problem being the game's characters. But even that is something that gamers are divided on. Overall, pretty good game!
   Dragon Age: Inqusition also saw the light of day and it was pretty impressive! Apart from the weak story of this game, everything else is amazing, including the open world and battle system that truly give this game a classic RPG feeling!

    One of the games that let many people down despite initial expectations being quite high, given what we had seen, was Assasin's Creed: Unity. The game suffers from glitches and the crowds that you jump into just seem so lifeless and meaningless. Also the story of the game is a bit of a mess, with players executing missions (and people) without ever understanding why. On the plus side, the co-op mode with the four assasins, which was pointed out during the game's development, is quite refined and so are the graphics, that give off a real sense of what Paris was like during the revolution.
   Another game that was a let-down (though this time it was expected) was Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric. This is a Sonic game that doesn't allow Sonic the Hedgehog to run. I think enough has been said! The dialogue is bland and tasteless, the gameplay is monotonous (not to mention glitchy and not paid any attention to), the story is non-existent... there is basically nothing good about this game. And it seems like a shame because the Sonic team based a lot on it (including a 3DS game and a TV series that is actually kinda fun).
   Other than a few other games (including LittleBigPlanet 3 that was released and was good but also had its glitches), those are the most major titles that have and will come out for the rest of the year, including the holiday season. Maybe Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD ReMix can be put into that category, but it releases exclusively for the PS3. So now the question arises: who will emerge victorious this holiday season?
   Already we have seen Microsoft fall way behind even the Wii U. They have been forced to reduce the price of the XBox One to 329$ PLUS a recently released game in one of their Black Friday bundles, a tactic which is safe to assume they will keep intact during the holidays. It seems kind of a desperate move, considering they are now losing money for every console they sell! Sony in the meantime, are close to the 14 million console mark. And with AC: Unity, Far Cry 4 and all the Destiny boys backing them up, they're soon to reach that goal!
   But we've said it before that this is the year (or maybe the season) of Nintendo. This is the time they have been waiting for for years and now they get to sit back and enjoy the fruit of their labors. With Smash Bros at the helm and all the rest of their incredibly fun titles following, its almost certain that the Wii U will be the console everyone asks Santa to bring them for Christmas this year!!