Category: 3DS

Game of the Year 2013: #07 – Pokemon X and Y

Say what you will about nostalgia for the first few iterations, but Pokemon X and Y are among the best games Game Freak has ever produced.

With over 700(!!!!) Pokemon now, there’s never a shortage of things to do in Pokemon X and Y. Although, disappointingly, there are several that can’t be found here, the number that are available keeps the game fresh for dozens of hours. I’m still finding Pokemon than I’ve never seen before and changing up my team, and I’m over 65 hours into the game.

The Pokemon have never felt more alive than they do here. In one of the most astounding graphical upgrades to a series I’ve ever seen, every Pokemon is fully rendered beautifully in 3D. They don’t feel like pictures anymore, they feel alive. It’s the most visually impressive Pokemon game ever produced, as long as you leave the special 3D effect switched off to save framerate.

It’s easier than ever to play with friends and strangers, as the online functionality has been rebuilt. A constant list of online players is kept on the bottom screen, and trading or battling is only a tap away. This one may play the same as ever, but it’s never looked or felt so good to do it.

December 27, 2013
Game of the Year 2013: #08 – Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Apparently, 2013 was the right time and place for a new Animal Crossing.

If you were on Twitter during the initial release of Animal Crossing: New Leaf, you’d think it was the only game to ever exist. There was a zeitgeist around the game, and luckily, it only served to make it better for everyone.

Animal Crossing has always wanted to be a social game, but never quite had the means to reach its full potential. The newest entry, designed for the 3DS, is the best game the series has seen. With relatively easy access to a robust online component, it’s easy to jump into friend’s towns, meet new villagers, find new fruit, find new items to collect, and more. The StreetPass features go even further, placing a model of anyone’s house you pass in real life into your game, and even adds all of their furniture and decorations to buy.

I played Animal Crossing: New Leaf more than any other game this year. My current playtime is at over 70 hours, far above (almost) any other game released this year. I, as a grown-ass man, even set alarms to wake myself up in the morning to visit the shops, and to see what new items my friendly neighborhood raccoons had for sale. It became a lifestyle for a couple months, and one that rarely develops in any kind of game. Everyone I knew was playing, everyone on Twitter was playing, and it all felt like a really fun social experiment to be a part of.

Sadly, as we all do, I left Animal Crossing as other games came out, and I felt like my work in my town was finished. Clunky inventory systems and other archaic design choices limit how much fun one could have with the game, and kept me from enjoying myself as much as I feel I could have. For every hour I spent meeting new villagers or discovering new items or games, I had to manage my inventory, or make another run to the shop to sell some of the junk I had stored in my locker.

It isn’t a perfect game, but it’s a charming one, and one of the most rewarding experiences I had all year long. I’d probably ready to do it again if they released another one tomorrow.

December 26, 2013
Best Games of November 2013

We made it! The next generation of consoles is finally here, and we’re all still alive. None of them have started catching fire yet, and everything seems to be going relatively smoothly. Nintendo launched Mario and Zelda games during the madness, making this one of the most fully loaded months of gaming I can remember having. This is the first month this year that I’ve had more console games to sift through than indie games, but it’s a nice change of pace. Many of the big budget games releasing this month are actually worth your time, and there were still some good indie releases hiding throughout the month as well. November has really shaken up my Game of the Year list, but not for the reasons I expected. Even with the launch of two massive consoles, Nintendo and their old standbys manage to take home the gold. Between new consoles and two of Nintendo’s best, I’ve had more fun with games this November than I have any other time this year. Bring on Game of the Year talk next month, bring it on. (more…)

December 3, 2013
Best Games of October 2013

One game has dominated this month for me. It took most of my time, and permeated my conversations with friends. It’s a game that was my biggest time sink since Animal Crossing, and is one of the most rewarding gaming experiences I’ve had all year. But we’ll get to that later. This October was excellent at providing a variety of games for almost every kind of player. We had puzzle platformers, robust online worlds to race through, experimental narratives, updates to modern classics, portable masterpieces, the return of a couple of the best developers in the business, and the invention of what I hope becomes a brand new genre. Sometimes with dozens of rehashes around us games can feel a bit stale, but after a month like this it’s hard to ignore how many fresh and exciting ideas are still being brought to us all year long. (more…)

November 5, 2013
Pokemon X and Y: The Very, Very Best

Pokemon games were a huge part of my younger days, but sometime around the release of Diamond and Pearl I was onto other things. For whatever reason, I missed out on that generation, along with Pokemon Black and White. I played through both of those generations earlier this year, and was amazed at how much I still enjoyed Pokemon, even with the core staying very familiar for these nearly two dozen years. (more…)

November 4, 2013
Best Games of September 2013

Was September a bit of a slow month, or was that just me? Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of games that came out last month, but not all of them were my cup of tea. Still, staying out of Grand Theft Auto V’s way was probably a smart idea, so that’s probably where everything went. There were a few pretty big surprises for me this month, as you’ll read below, but I feel like this might be the one of our last moments before everything goes insane for the Holidays. The upcoming months are going to be packed to the brim, and Pokemon is on its way very, very soon, so hopefully I can remember other games exist when that hits. (more…)

October 11, 2013