The Spirit of Metal Gear April 3, 2013

I’ve been playing the games of the Metal Gear series ever since Metal Gear Solid released for the Playstation in 1999. Having grown up on PC action games where your only friend was the biggest weapon you could find in the map, I felt that Metal Gear Solid showed that you could have the polar opposite of what games before it had done and still deliver one of the most immersive cinematic experiences I had ever played.

I still remember the scene that forever grabbed me in the early portion of the game. Snake has found the man he believes to be the DARPA Chief and the player is given the first glimpse into the world Hideo Kojima had created. The player was going to face a nuclear equipped walking death machine which, if used, could mean the end of the world as we knew it. After battles with a M1 Tank, Hind-D Helicopter and one of the world’s greatest snipers, by the time we faced off with the most horrific weapon ever conceived it became clear that the point of the Metal Gear games was never to glorify war, but to demonize it.

I don’t believe you could ever trace back to a time where war was a simple concept, but if we think of the wars of the past I’m sure most people could imagine that it involved soldiers wearing their uniforms and killing their enemy. In a modern world where most games strive for realism above all else, Konami has stood against realism and instead produced some of the coolest stories I’ve ever seen in a video game. But more than that the story of Metal Gear is designed more than just to be cool, but to make the player think. The original Metal Gear Solid focused very heavily on the danger of a modern nuclear war that could still have happened after the fall of the Soviet Union. The game’s end scroll just before the credits detailed just how far behind the world was in dismantling the overabundant supplies of obsolete nuclear weapons left over from the Cold War by the end of the 90s. This was all coming from the same game which featured a Cyborg Ninja being crushed by a Nuclear Equipped Walking Battle Tank!

With Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, the gameplay may have changed but the spirit of Metal Gear is quite intact. Just like the world we live in now, wars are a consistent financial opportunity and mercenaries with no ideology of their own other than the pursuit of a paycheck fight wars on behalf of countries they are not a part of with weapons and technology far superior to what can be obtained by local armies. After the fall of SOP at the end of Metal Gear Solid 4, private military companies needed new technology to stay competitive in the ongoing global instability. Eventually, soldiers received cybernetic upgrades to stay on top of their game. Cyborgs are faster and more resilient to harm than normal humans, making it a attractive option to people who make their living fighting wars. Unlike drones or artificial intelligence, cybernetic troops are still human, and because they’re being used by Private Military Corporations and not the military of any specific country, they’re under the PR radar.

It’s funny how this looks to be the logical evolution of the nanomachine theories that were first tested in Metal Gear Solid, and fully implemented into all soldiers by the end of Metal Gear Solid 4. In fact, Kevin Washington referred to cyborg implants in the game as, “SOP by any other name.” Metal Gear has always tried to be ahead of the curve on what is currenly possible with the technology of our day. Could this be where the military is headed in the future?

Instead of telling another story about nuclear armageddon, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance chose to tell a much more personal story to connect to the main character. The game focuses very strongly on the horror of child soldiers being used as pawns in other people’s wars. We knew this was something that had happened to Raiden when he was first introduced in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and that angle is greatly expanded upon in Rising. Sadly this is something that happens in many third-world nations and the game developers must have done a lot of research on the subject because the game is full of optional codec conversations where the player can hear real information from our world woven into the story, making the tragedy all the more real to the player.

Its more than just entertainment, it makes you think. This is why I liked the Metal Gear Solid series, it serves as a scary reminder of what technology can bring to war when technology isn’t held back. After playing the final version of the game, it seems this spirit is still alive and well in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. I can’t wait to hear more about the next title in the Metal Gear series, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

Top Ten Most “Romantic” Video Games March 11, 2013

Now that it’s March, that means that the month of love is over. For some people, that will be a huge relief, either emotionally or financially, for others the time will pass as if nothing changed for them. I never understood the whole media sensationalism about love until I experienced it for myself. Love is a very interesting thing in that it is very difficult to define or describe. Think about it for yourselves, can you define love without just using the word? Personally, I happen to like when something takes a basic concept and turns it completely on its head. Over the years, I’ve played some great games that have taken the romantic subplot common in many books and films and presented it a way that only video games can, and in turn have created some of the most romantic stories I’ve seen in any medium, and were quite entertaining to boot.

What follows is a list that I’ve been working on of the top ten “Romantic” Video Games. I say “Romantic” in quotations because I wanted to choose games that were not about straight up romance or marriage simulators. If I did that, this would be a very boring list. No, by “Romantic” I mean games that by all accounts would not be considered romantic at all, but have a special kind of love story that makes the game all the better.

10. Duke Nukem Forever – I know what you’re thinking, why is this game on the list? Duke Nukem is a womanizing egotist. He’s not in any relationships we’re aware of, and most of the girls that surround him barely have any clothes on. Duke Nukem has retired from his job of constantly saving the world and now runs his own casino on the heart of the Las Vegas strip. Then, the aliens return with the intention to get revenge on the champion who defeated them twelve years earlier, and they will kidnap all the women on the planet attractive enough to be host to their offspring unless Duke Nukem can stop them. The reason why this game has made my list is because when you think about it, the entire plotline of this game revolves around Duke Nukem saving his chicks (the Holsom Twins), and when he fails to save them, he loses it and seeks revenge against the aliens who killed them to ensure the safety of all of our planet’s babes!

9. Brütal Legend – In a world where heavy metal is a weapon, a roadie falls in love with a groupie. Transported to a world beyond time, everything veteran roadie Eddie Riggs knew about road touring can be used as a weapon of war, and he has the power to use it to free an oppressed people from a tyrant. What I liked the most about Brütal Legend was the story. It is more than just about one man overthrowing oppression, that’s been used a lot in video games. At its core, Brütal Legend is a love story. In the very beginning of the game, the hero Eddie meets Ophelia, a warrior who looked a lot like a modern-day rock angel. He’s immediately taken back by her skills and beauty, and she’s impressed by him as well. Halfway through the game, they’re both deceived by the villain and they break up. Later on, we believe she comes back as a villain, changed by what she believed to be his betrayal of their love, and he has to stop what he believes she’s become at any cost.

8. Lollipop Chainsaw – Zombies have invaded San Romero high school. The only person who can save the school is the school’s head cheerleader Juliet Starling, who just so happens to also be part of a family of zombie hunters. While it may have started off as any other simple zombie infestation day, the day took a turn for the worse when Juliet’s boyfriend Nick got bitten trying to protect her. Sadly, he was just about to give her a birthday present and tell her that he loved her. In her grief she did what every teenage girl would do. She cut off his head with her chainsaw and cast a magic incantation so his he would remain alive and unzombified, but now he was just a head. Fixing his head to her skirt, he became the ultimate zombie fighting accessory, and together they fought to end the zombie outbreak and save San Romero High.

7-4: The Metal Gear Solid Series – Yep, all four of them are on this list, and I just couldn’t place any order on them, so you’ll just have to think of the whole series as a group. You may not have noticed it, but practically every one of the four Metal Gear Solid games have some kind of love story in them and each one is unique. The first Metal Gear Solid was a straight up love story during an action game, where a battle hardened veteran falls for a rookie with the strongest spirit he’s ever seen, and in the middle of the game the player makes a decision that determines if she lives or dies. In the second game, we have a new main character and a new perspective on love as he has been in a relationship with someone for a while, and he must set aside his emotions to complete his mission while making sure he doesn’t lose the one he cares for. In the third game, we fall for a femme fatale who helps us through the game, and while she betrays him at the very end of it, you can tell she’s not doing it willingly. Finally in the fourth game, two background characters get the chance for happiness in one of the most romantic scenes I’ve ever seen during an all out firefight. It’s a great series that personally set the bar for me on what made for a good love story in any medium, and I can’t wait to see what else is to come down the road.

3. Catherine – The game follows Vincent Brooks, an everyman in a steady relationship with a girl who wants to take it to the next step, but he doesn’t know if he’s ready to settle down and get married. At the same time he’s met this very attractive woman who is practically everything he’s ever wanted, and who feels exactly the same about relationships that he does. Oh and did I mention that every night he’s being cursed by nightmares where he is constantly climbing endless blocks, running from all the concerns of his life involving the girl who wants to settle down with him, his future child, and immoral demons?

While the game is by all intents a puzzle game, its story is based on the ultimate question we all may face some day, will we settle down or stay independent? The best part is that you decide for yourself how Vincent feels about relationships, and if you make it to the end of the game, you’ll see how your decisions affect the outcome of his life. Its the ultimate puzzle game and life simulation, and whether you’re a romantic at heart or someone who just can’t settle down, your ending could show you everything you want for yourself.

2. Splatterhouse – On the night he planned to ask his girlfriend to marry him, a frail nerd named Rick is attacked by monsters and left for dead. To save his girlfriend, he must put on a cursed mask which promises to save his life and grant him extraordinary powers. But can he save her in time before the coming eclipse? To me, Splatterhouse tried to bring out a lot of the basest of guy fantasies, but at its core, the game was a love story. The Happy Video Game Nerd described the game’s entire plotline in one simple sentence. “Dude, save yo girl!” When the love of his life is in mortal danger, the main character instantly went from a frail, skinny nerd to a superhuman behemoth when he put on the Terror Mask. Rick made that decision at the risk of his own life and possibly his soul just because he loved his girlfriend and would brave all the horrors of Dr. West’s mansion wanted to save her.

1. Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne – A hard-boiled New York detective with a colored past is investigating a high profile murder suspect he has encountered in the past. During his investigation a hit has been put out on both of them and they need to trust each other and work together in order to survive what is coming. The problem is, the more time they spend together, the harder it is for them to resist each other. Will they be able to find out who is coming after them, and will he be able to save her? This is without a doubt one of the best love stories ever told in a video game. In fact, it says it right on the box the game is, “A Film Noir Love Story”. I don’t think a love story has ever been better told in the framework of still images than this game. The best part is, her survival is left ambiguous in the game’s cannon. If you prefer a happy ending to your game don’t worry, there is a way you can get a happy ending in the game, just play it on the highest difficulty.

It Was Done Better in a Game – The Kobashi Maru Test February 14, 2013

One of the best openings for any movie I have ever seen in my life is the opening to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.  In the movie’s opening, a very Vulcan looking Kirstie Alley is commanding the USS Enterprise on a routine survey mission on the border of the Klingon Neutral Zone.  Suddenly, the Enterprise picks up a distress call from the USS Kobashi Maru.  The captain of the Maru said they hit a mine and was accidentally knocked into the Klingon Neutral Zone.  They had suffered many casualties and pleaded with the Enterprise to assist them.  After confirming the registry of the Maru and determining there were over 300 Federation civilians on board, Alley orders the crew to plot an intercept course.

Mr. Sulu turns around and reminds Alley if the Enterprise entered the Neutral Zone for any reason, it would be considered by the Klingons an act of war.  Alley takes the notice under advisement and orders the ship move in.  Mr. Sulu complies and plots a course.

The ship moves into the Neutral Zone, and very quickly Klingon battleships start to surround the vessel.  Alley tries to hail the Klingons to tell them they are only on a rescue mission, but the Klingons were jamming all the frequencies and wouldn’t listen.  The Klingons start firing on the Enterprise, causing heavy damage to the ship.  Consoles start exploding on the bridge, causing fatal injuries to the bridge crew.  Scotty reports from Engineering that the ship is dead in space.  All the crewmen on the bridge are dead.  Alley orders everyone still alive on board to head to the escape pods and that all hands abandon ship.

Suddenly, we hear a familiar voice from offscreen say, “All right, open her up.” and the front of the ship’s viewscreen slides open, revealing Admiral James T. Kirk.  The formerly dead crew get up and walk off the bridge no worse for wear and the audience quickly discovers what we saw was nothing more than a 23rd century video game and that this was a test.

This is the first time we as a Star Trek audience are exposed to the procedures of Starfleet Academy.  While it had been referenced several times over the original series, and as Starfleet itself was heavily inspired by our naval traditions, we knew an Academy would have to exist and this was our first time seeing it on-screen.  Later series, especially Star Trek: The Next Generation would expand on it further, but The Wrath of Khan was instrumental in laying a fantastic building block which would be reused constantly in the franchise, The Kobiashi Maru No Win Scenario, and established that James T. Kirk was the only man to ever beat it.

One of the last great space flight simulators I ever played was a game called Starfleet Academy.  It was developed by Interplay and released to the PC in 1997.  In the game, you take control of Cadet Forrester, a Starfleet Academy student training to hopefully take command of his own starship some day.  It expands greatly on the role of Starfleet Academy we saw in The Wrath of Khan.  We learn that cadets train together as bridge crews and Forrester is assigned his own crew of cadets which each have their own specific bridge duty.

The game is more than just finding the best way to win preselected flight-sim missions.  Trust me, many of those missions get pretty hard.  You also have to navigate through what amounts to a Choose Your Own Adventure Star Trek Movie, where you passively control Cadet Forrester during the school year and have to make the right decisions managing your time, your crew, all of which affect the game’s plot.  There’s a lot of weight to selecting the right decisions when interacting with your crew while off duty, as it affects their test scores, and their test scores reflect yours.  If you make a very bad decision during the FMVs, you can be expelled and the game will end, regardless of your performance in the simulator.  It also determines the ending to the game, and if you navigated the game’s dialog trees properly and your scores are high enough, you’ll get the chance to take command of the real USS Enterprise and play the game’s secret final mission and see the true ending.

This was no minor production!  There were probably several hours worth of videos on disc, and the game spouted the acting talents of George Takei, Walter Koenig, and The Shatner himself, all reprising their classic roles.

Halfway through the game, Forrester and his crew are given the Kobashi Maru test because its part of the program routine they’re expected to complete.  He had nothing to lose if he failed it, it’s what the Academy expected, and you can fail the test in the game if you choose to.  The novelized version of the game written by Diane Carey went even further.   In the book, Forrester and his crew had gotten into a very bad position when trying to find evidence to exonerate one of their classmates of a crime.  Instead of being expelled outright, Captain Sulu decided instead to put their fates in their own hands and ordered them to take the Kobashi Maru.  If they failed, the negative mark would have impacted their grades terribly.  So, they had to pass, because if they had failed they could have flunked out.

However, just before you take the Kobashi Maru test for yourself, there’s a wonderful scene you have to navigate through when you’re working on the simulator program and find James Kirk’s original cheat, and the possible solutions as to how he was able to pass the test.  If you so choose, you can actually bring up a really nice scene with Kirk reminiscing to Forrester about his experience with the test, and giving his blessing to use his cheat code if you choose, but still telling you that you need to pick the right solution out of the three possible options he programmed into the test.

When Paramount announced that the first Star Trek movie in years was going to feature a young Kirk and Spock meeting for the first time at Starfleet Academy, I was really excited.  I thought this would give movie goers the chance to finally see Jim Kirk take on the Kobiashi Maru test, and hoped it would be as awesome as the story Kirk told Forrester in the game.

In the 2009 movie, Kirk and his team took the test for the third time, and Kirk’s cocky demeanor during the test didn’t help his squad feel any better about taking it, they were all expecting to fail again.  Uhura followed an order Kirk gave him, and all of a sudden, the simulator started acting like someone had obviously tampered with it.  Kirk obviously expected this and acted like this malfunction was all part of his plan.  The Klingon ships were now very weak and could be defeated with just one photon torpedo a piece.  They take out a few Klingon ships and begin rescuing the stranded crew, ending the simulation.  It was as if Kirk beat it simply by putting in a cheat code, and nobody working on the simulator had any idea how he did it.

I hated this scene.  I felt that it went against everything that had been previously established about Kirk, and violated the rules that were already set up in the Starfleet Academy game.  Kirk’s solution in the movie never would have worked in the game.  Even if Kirk had weakened the Klingon ships or made them fight dumber, no matter how many ships you defeated, they would have just kept coming!  You’re in the middle of the Klingon Neutral Zone, the Klingons could send every ship they had after you!  On top of that, even if you were able to get away, you just started a war with the Klingons that could mean the end of the Federation!  How is that a win?

The proper solution as established in Starfleet Academy was not to make the Klingons easier to defeat, but to give yourself a psychological edge over your opponent by programming in a reputation for yourself as an honorable and courageous Captain.  This is exactly the kind of thing Kirk would have done.  We saw how Kirk had acted over three seasons of the TV show and seven movies, and there had been several times that he used aggressive negotiation like this as a tactic instead of inviting an all out battle.  It was more than just a simple cheat, it was a proper tactic an actual Captain could have used in a real situation.

I understand that there was a bit more to this scene than what was shown on theatres.  A few expanded scenes were written and filmed but cut out of the movie for time and ended up on the Blu-Ray Disc release as a special feature.  Originally, the reason why Jim Kirk was making out with the green-skinned girl from Orion who was Uhura’s roomate was because Kirk knew she worked at the diagnostic lab for the simulator.  He told her he had written her a letter and sent it via email, and asked her to check it at a time he knew she would be at work.  However, there was more than just a breakup letter in that email, Kirk had planted a computer virus into it, hoping that she would open it in the diagnostic system, and would plant a cheat into the test while he was taking it, making his ship near invincible and weakening the Klingon Battle Fleet, allowing him to rescue the stranded crew.  This tactic sort of seemed like something that Kirk would do and I wish it had stayed in the movie, but I don’t agree with the solution they chose to go with that enabled him to beat the test.  I think the proper solution used in Starfleet Academy was a lot better and true to Star Trek.  Remember, the solution he used in the movie would have FAILED the test in the game, and would not have worked in real life.

Even Mr. Plinkett made a mention of this in his review of the Star Trek movie (it’s mentioned in the second part of the review).  Although he made no references to the game (it’s quite likely the guys at Redlettermedia never played it) he was also very unhappy with how the test was depicted in the 2009 movie.  He said the original purpose of the test was to gauge character and see how an individual would act in a life or death situation.  This parallels what Kirk said to Kirstie Alley at one point during The Wrath of Khan.  In the 2009 movie, Mr. Spock clearly states during Kirk’s hearing that the purpose of the Kobashi Maru was to make the starship’s commander feel fear.  As Mr. Plinkett said, it is impossible to feel fear when you know you’re in a simulated environment.  On top of that, it would be impossible or downright disrespectful to any Vulcans or other emotion-repressing species to make them take a test designed to promote a response their species cannot produce!

It’s a small gripe to a movie I otherwise enjoyed, but I can’t help but feel surprised that a video game was just able to do it better.  It depicted the test in a proper fashion with respect to Jim Kirk’s character and the tradition of Star Trek.  The 2009 movie took the easy way which may have worked better with a wider audience, but didn’t seem as true to the actions of Kirk’s character as established.  Starfleet Academy just did it better, over ten years earlier.  Thank you for reading, and please feel free to post a comment on what you thought of this article, or any ideas you had for future articles for this series!

The Wii U and Backwards Compatibility February 11, 2013

With the Wii U out for a few months now, many of you guys with original model Nintendo Wiis may be planning to upgrade. For some people, space is precious and anything that can be removed from a home theater system to make room for a new device is always appreciated. Since the Wii U’s debut, Nintendo has pegged this device as a logical upgrade to the Wii and promised backwards compatibility with Wii-Compatible controllers and games. The Wii U is able to make full use of all the original Wii’s controllers including the Wiimote, Wii Balance Board, MotionPlus, and classic controller, so the odds are good that this console will be able to completely replace all the functions of a Wii, and allow you to replace it completely.

I picked up a Wii U at launch, and lets see if it merits taking the original Wii off the TV stand and fully replace it with a Wii U.

Nintendo said that the Wii U has full backwards compatibility with original Wii Games. I can confirm that is completely the case. The program that allows backwards compatibility with Wii games will automatically download to the Wii U the first time it is turned on. Some people have complained that it takes far too long to download and install such a large firmware update, but I grew up in an era of 56k modems, and I didn’t believe for a second it was unreasonably long to download the first firmware update. I just put the Wii U GamePad on the charger and prepped my Wii for data transfer while the Wii U updated.

In order to play classic Wii games, you’ll need to navigate to the Classic Wii Menu on the Wii U’s main options screen. You will need a Wiimote to access this menu, but if you’ve already got a Wii, chances are you’ll have a spare Wiimote lying around somewhere. You can navigate the classic Wii menu on the Wii U just as you did on your Wii. In fact, it’s from this menu where you can download the transfer tools to move all your data from your old console to the new one, but I’ll talk about that later.

So how do classic Wii games look and sound on the Wii U? Well, I have the Wii U currently connected to a 1080p HDTV and 5.1 surround sound HDMI-equipped receiver. My original Wii games, when played through the Wii U, will output in 1080p HD and 5.1 surround. Just the resolution upsampling alone can give several games an amazing facelift, and yet still keep a game’s aesthetic intact. The games play identically on the new system. Nintendo was right to require Wii games to have widescreen support, as Wii games will natively output in widescreen on the Wii U, which is something they could not do on the Wii.

However, this transition is not entirely painless. I did notice in several games a faint green line on one edge of my HDTV screen when playing a classic Wii game on the Wii U. This is a common issue with HD upsampling on some HDTVs. While I’ve never specifically had that problem on my TV before, I must admit the issue does appear to be upsampling related. However, this issue was not relegated to be with just classic Wii titles played on the Wii U, I also noticed an occasional green line with native Wii U titles, like Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition. This makes me think that this could just be an occasional visual issue with the Wii U itself, and Nintendo will likely fix it with a firmware update some time down the road.

Now, I’m going to move on to downloadable titles. I make it no secret that over fifty percent of the reason why I bought a Nintendo Wii was not because of its control system or first party exclusive titles, but the Wii Shop Channel, which allowed me to buy a ton of classic Nintendo games from the previous generations. Those games were released during the reign of Nintendo’s dominance of the early to mid 90s, and were well worth downloading for not just nostalgic value, but because it was worth finally getting to play what critics have been raving about for the past twenty years.

For those of you upgrading from a Wii to a Wii U, the first thing that you’re going to want to do (after setting up a Nintendo Network account, creating or transferring a Mii, and downloading the most recent firmware update) is to perform a data transfer between the Wii and Wii U. This will transfer over all your save games, move downloadable content from the Wii Shop Channel, and move your Wii Points to the new console.

So long as you have a Wiimote, you’ll be able to transfer all your content over from your original Wii and play your purchases on the new console. There are only a few minor hiccups with the procedure, the Nintendo, Internet and Check Mii Out Channels are not compatible with the Wii U, but really, I didn’t have a problem with this. The major content I wanted to transfer over, in particular all my Virtual Console games that I had purchased and downloaded on the Wii did transfer to the Wii U and played identically, and I can still continue to purchase downloadable games made specifically for the Wii and play them on the Wii U in 1080p HD.

The problem is that unlike the Playstation Network’s Store or the Xbox Live Marketplace, the Wii Shop Channel doesn’t use accounts for each of its users. Each purchase on the Wii Shop Channel gets tied directly to the Wii that it was purchased on. You can delete that link manually, but that is only a good idea if you plan to sell your console. In short, once you purchase and download content to your Wii U, you are currently unable to transfer any of your purchased games or your Nintendo Network account to any other console. If you plan to sell your Wii U, all of your purchases will go with it, and they cannot be transferred to a different console or back to your Wii unless you have a console hardware issue that is fixed specifically by Nintendo. Nintendo has said this policy will change, but has not released specifics on when it will change or what a player’s new options will be when they do change it.

The other problem is that the Wii U currently has no where near the catalog of downloadable classic titles that the Wii has, which is why many classic titles sold through the Wii Shop Channel can only be played on a separate Wii U menu and can’t be played with the Wii U GamePad. The good news is that this predicament is only temporary. Nintendo has promised that they are working on that and anyone who plans to upgrade a game they already purchased on their Wii to a Wii U version will be able to do so with a heavy price discount, so long as the user performed a Wii to Wii U System Transfer. They also said that many classic Nintendo and Super Nintendo games that are going to get released to the Wii U Virtual Console over the next six months will be launched at an initial price of thirty cents US, which is one heck of a bargain for games like Punch-Out, F-Zero and Super Metroid.

So, to cut to the chase, does the Wii U properly handle backwards compatibility and can it really completely replace my Nintendo Wii?

Well, to answer that question, yes and no. It can replace a Wii’s components completely, but not a GameCube’s. Sadly, there is no GameCube support with this system. Unlike my original model Wii, there are no slots provided for GameCube Memory Cards or GameCube Controllers. In short, if you only used your Wii to play Wii games, you won’t have any problems making the upgrade. The only hold out I could imagine having about the Wii U is actually its inability to play GameCube games, a feature I appreciated having in my original model Wii.

If you are a GameCube player and still wish to play GameCube games, I would recommend either keeping your Wii connected or disconnecting it and just playing your games on your original model GameCube if you still have it. However, there are some classic GameCube games that will be rereleased with updated visuals on the Wii U, such as Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and my hope is that if that sells well, Nintendo will choose to rerelease other games from their GameCube catalog specifically for the Wii U, like Luigi’s Mansion or Super Smash Bros Melee.

If you’re a Wii owner who only used your Wii to play Wii games, you’ll find there won’t be much left to do with your Wii after upgrading to the Wii U, especially once you’ve performed a data transfer. It’s really nice to have all these classic Wii games, as well as the games on the Wii’s Virtual Console playable in native 1080p exactly as they play on the Wii, and its nice to be able to take something off an already crowded home theater cabinet without any concern and replace it with something nicer that can not only do the same job even better, but do more.

What IS Next for the Wii U January 23, 2013

Several weeks ago I wrote an editorial about the Wii U. In it, I detailed a few things that Nintendo could announce for the Wii U in response to if any future console announcement that Sony or Microsoft made. I expected that the article would stand until Nintendo made any announcements for the next wave of Wii U content, which I figured would be at E3. Well, I was wrong. Today, during the Nintendo Direct webcast, Nintendo announced a plethora of new content for the Wii U, including games, system updates, and new console features. There is just so much to cover.

When I was watching the Wii U Direct Video, I felt like it was written as a response to a lot of the stuff I brought up in my previous editorial. So, I want to break down a few things that were mentioned by Mr. Iwata that I thought should be coming for the Wii U, and apparently now will be.

3D Mario Wii U Game – This was confirmed, and it will be playable at E3 this year. Its being done by the team who did Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, so there’s good chance it could be called Super Mario Galaxy 3 or since Mario Galaxy’s project code was Mario 128, you could call this new one Mario 256.

Mario Kart Wii U – Also confirmed and it will be playable at E3 this year. No other details about it were provided.

Wii U Virtual Console – The Wii U is getting its own Virtual Console. Users rebuying games they had already purchased on the Wii will be able to rebuy their games at a heavy discount to take advantage of the new features Wii U virtual console games will have. All a user will have to do to earn these discounts is transfer their Wii saves and purchases to the Wii U using the transfer tool.

Wii U Virtual Console games will have the same features 3DS Virtual Console games have, like allowing the user to keep a save file of their game progress. There are a wide range of games that will be coming from a wide variety of classic Nintendo platforms, including Game Boy Advance, which is a platform Nintendo has not released any Virtual Console games from to date. It also will be compatible with the Wii U Controller and offer a variety of customizable control options. Finally, Nintendo will be implementing the most requested Virtual Console feature people wanted on the Wii U, you will be able to play VC games entirely on the Wii U Controller’s screen if you want to.

No GameCube support coming to the Virtual Console yet (or backwards compatibility with GameCube games), but Nintendo is releasing Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker updated for the Wii U on disc this fall. There will be updated graphics, HD widescreen, and Wii U Controller screen support. Hopefully if this sells well it will inspire Nintendo to port over more GameCube games like Luigi’s Mansion or Eternal Darkness to the Wii U.

Wii U Panorama View – I mentioned this feature as a possible video service for the Wii U in my original article. Nintendo demoed a feature of the Wii U which would allow a user to use the Wii U Controller to view a 360 degree HD video. I was really interested in this feature when I first saw it shown at E3 2012. There hasn’t been a mention about this since E3 2012 and there was no mention of it during the Nintendo Direct video, but after writing about it, I decided to see what was the latest information I could dig up on it was. This had been previewed in real-time at last year’s CES and when it was shown at E3 2012 it had a tentative release date of the end of 2012. That time has passed and it never saw release so my guess is that it was either quietly delayed or cancelled.

Nintendo wasted no time capitalizing on the time that they have before Sony and Nintendo respond to the Wii U. I thought for sure that these announcements weren’t going to be coming until E3, but I was wrong. If Nintendo continues to improve their hardware in the time they have before another console’s release, as well as continues to release great software for the platform, either through retail or online, they will be in a very difficult position to move from the top spot of the future generation console battle.

What Could Be Next for the Wii U? January 10, 2013

The Holiday season is over and the Wii U has launched. As I’m sure everyone knows by now, I’ve been enjoying the Wii U quite a lot. With the launch window closing up and a wide range of the initial games promised to come to the Wii U at launch either released or getting released soon, I would like to draw attention to what will probably be Nintendo’s next wave of games to come to the platform in the next year.

All eyes are going to be looking at E3 this June for Microsoft and Sony to respond to the Wii U’s launch with new consoles of their own. If Sony or Microsoft were to announce new consoles (of course this is just theoretical I am not saying that they will), Nintendo will have to meet these announcements head on to solidify their place in the future-generation console war.

The best way they can do that is with a prepared list of new games and features that are ready to come to the Wii U. The question is what games should be coming to the Wii U that would be both a graphical treat, meet Nintendo’s high quality standards, and take advantage of the innovative Wii U controller?

Well, here’s some ideas I had. Now, I just want to preface this with the fact that what I’m going to be listing here DOES NOT represent anything I’ve heard coming from Nintendo, and I do not believe anything I have mentioned in this article has to come to the Wii U in order for the console to be successful. These are just some ideas and speculations I’ve had based upon my experiences using the Wii U and previous Nintendo consoles and asking myself the question, “You know what would be cool on this?”

A GameCube Friendly Virtual Console – The Wii and 3DS Virtual Console section of the Nintendo eShop was half the reason why I bought those consoles in the first place. The Wii U does support the legacy Wii Shop Channel, and anything purchased on the Wii (including classic Nintendo games) can still be purchased and played on the Wii U, just in a separate menu with a separate interface and lacking the support of the Wii U controller. So how can Nintendo release a new eShop Virtual Console on the Wii U and still honor all the games that are already out on the Wii’s Shop Channel?  I have a solution.

Ten years after the Nintendo GameCube launched, its titles are still being talked about today.  While games like Super Mario Sunshine never saw the same critical reviews as Mario 64 did, people are anxious as heck to play the next Luigi’s Mansion game on the 3DS, a series which started on the GameCube.  With over ten years of hearing critics talk about them I’m sure that players would love the chance to play Metroid Prime, Super Smash Bros Melee, Mario Kart Double Dash, or Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker but can’t due to the extremely high price of GameCube games.  Why not make these games available to download on the Wii U?

There are many very good reasons why this could work well and be a financial boom for Nintendo.  Brand new GameCube games (even ones that have ample supplies of new copies) currently retail for very high prices, pushing $100 US.  Backwards compatibility with GameCube games was not included with the Wii U. As such, if you want to play currently existing GameCube games, you’ll need to either keep your Wii plugged in, or dust off your original model GameCube. Neither is a very good option since consoles take up a lot of space in a home theater stand, and that stand could likely have as many as three other consoles already in it.  Compared to the DVD or Blu-Ray Discs other games came on, the GameCube’s proprietary game disc format only had a maximum storage capacity of about 1.5 GB per disc.  The current minimum storage capacity on a Wii U is 8GB of internal flash memory.  Full priced games that exceed that file size are already out for purchase on the eShop and thanks to the Wii U’s capability to support external storage are still flourishing.  The Wii U controller offers more than enough buttons, triggers, bumpers and analog sticks to make itself compliant with the GameCube controller, and will rumble to boot, something that wasn’t possible with the wireless GameCube controllers.  I also know a lot of players who would love to be able to play these games on the Wii U controller’s dedicated screen, letting someone else in the house use their HDTV.

I’m just going to say this.  I don’t care what it costs or who the money has to go to, I want Eternal Darkness as a launch title for the service.

Mario Kart U – a Mario Kart game has come to every Nintendo platform since the series launched on the Super Nintendo. Can you imagine for a second what it would be like to use the Wii U controller as a Kart’s steering wheel? You can turn the controller as you would turn the wheel of a car, and a first person view from the cart could be broadcast on the Wii U controller’s screen.  Four other players would be able to grab their own carts and play (with either a Wii Wheel or Wii U Pro controller) on your TV screen to race or balloon battle each other.

But don’t think you have to use the Wii U controller just to race.  In fact, Princess Angel thought it would be really interesting to have the Wii U controller’s touch screen at your disposal for content creation.  A neatly created interface on the touch screen could enable players interested in-game design the chance to build or modify their own game tracks they could play with their friends.  They could also theoretically be able to upload their race tracks online that other players across the world could download and try for themselves.  This could be as successful for Nintendo as Bungie was in adding Forge to Halo 3 and letting users make and modify their own Halo multiplayer maps.

3D Mario Game – Since Super Mario 64, Nintendo has proven that the little Italian plumber can take 3D head on and provide some of the best gaming experiences in history, and Super Mario Galaxy pushed the capabilities of 3D gameplay by bringing in motion control interactivity and some awesome level design. At launch, we did get a Mario game for the Wii U in the form of New Super Mario Bros U, the fourth game of the New Super Mario Bros series which harkened back to the original 2D games Nintendo had him on. Well, we have Nintendo’s first HD console, lets see how Mario looks when he’s back in the third dimension.

It would take me a day to write out all the possible titles you could call this game. Super Mario Galaxy 3, Super Mario Sunshine 2, or since the code name of Galaxy was Mario 128 (meaning it was a sequel to Mario 64), they could call this one Mario 256.

However, we know the title isn’t important, the gameplay is.

Metroid Wii U – Zelda and Metroid minigames were included with Nintendo Land but since the Wii U launch there has not been an announcement of any further Metroid games. I know that many considered the last Metroid game, Metroid: Other M, disappointing, but there are still huge fans out there for the Metroid Prime series. Retro Studios just hit on the right flavor with creating a first person adventure game which focused on exploration as much as it did on action. While they may have wrapped up the story they wanted to tell with Metroid Prime 3, there are plenty more stories that can be told in the Metroid Universe.

How could Metroid work on this new platform?  The Wii U controller could be used all the different blinking switches and buttons on the panels in Samus Aran’s space ship, as you could use the Wiimote to move Samus’s arm around to interact with the ship in Metroid Prime 3.  By doing a minigame like that you could bring in more interactivity when Samus is traveling from one planet to another. Or use the touchscreen to customize her armor appearance like you can alter your Miis in the Mii Maker. Players like customizing their avatars in-game before starting multiplayer, and I’m sure some players are going to want their Miis involved in the design as well.  As for actual in-game use of the Wii U controller, you could use it to focus scans in specific areas, target areas for demolition by your ship, or read further information about the game’s environment.

Wii U Video – Anyone remember this video from E3 2012?

At 1:41 of the above video Nintendo demonstrates Wii Panorama View. In it, a family took a look at the flight of an ultralight aircraft. It had an entire 360 degree shot of the entire flight, and gave the viewer the ability to control exactly what they wanted to see moment to moment. As the person with the Wii U controller moved, the camera’s position moved with them, altering the angle on the Wii U controller screen and the HDTV the Wii U was connected to. This is not something that the Wii U had at launch. Why not? It looks like it could be a lot of fun, and it brings in entirely new possibilities for filmmaking. I know that filmmakers are always trying to push the envelope for how films can be made, just look at the IMAX push with The Dark Knight films or the HFR push with The Hobbit. Could you imagine seeing the X Games broadcast in this way?

The Wii already had the Nintendo Channel, which allowed the Wii to stream Nintendo video content. The 3DS has Nintendo Video, which broadcasts exclusive videos in 3D to 3DS owners, and changes them out daily. Currently the Wii U only streams trailers for games that are for sale on the Nintendo eShop. Sure, Netflix, Amazon Video, YouTube, and Hulu Plus are all downloadable on the platform, but they are all paid services already available on other systems. The Wii U is sorely lacking original video content, and when I saw something demonstrated like the Wii U Panorama View is possible with this hardware, I just want to be able to experience it myself.

The possibilities are just endless with the Wii U controller. If I was able to come up with this short list, who knows what the people who actually made the Wii U could have in store for all of us?  Keep your eyes on Nintendo, there’s a lot we have to look forward to, and the sky is the limit for what will be coming after that.

A Journey Like No Other December 29, 2012

I picked up Journey: Collector’s Edition on Boxing Day. Since then, I have played through Journey three times and unlocked nearly all the trophies in the game. It just grabbed me in a way that I very rarely get grabbed in this day and age. I don’t know if it’s the gameplay, art style or music that has made this game such a classic among gamers and reviewers alike. It warranted such an amazing fan community, high review scores and a few Game of the Year Awards. Needless to say, I enjoyed this game, and I have a few ideas why. But I’m getting a little bit ahead of myself here.

Journey is a Playstation 3 game developed by thatgamecompany, the same company that made flOw and Flower. In all of the research I’ve done about the game, the game’s developers wanted to make it clear to players that their goal was to retell the story of The Hero’s Journey with this game. This is one of the classic staples of storytelling. The Hero’s Journey, as described by game designer Jenova Chen, is told in three acts. The story’s hero is not some overly muscular person out to save the world, the hero is simply the story’s protagonist, and can be anyone. The hero has to travel a great distance to a very important destination and return back to where they started. On their return the hero will bring something back with them from the journey which will either help themselves out our help their entire community. In the game, you play as the wanderer. You do not have the ability to speak. You have indescribable features as your clothing covers your entire body and face. Your goal is to make it to the peak of a mountain in the distance. To get there, you need to cross an entire desert. Along the way to the peak I realized I found one of the best experiences I’ve ever had with a video game.

As I started to play the game I started making up my own theories as to what it was that I was experiencing. Here I was on this great journey trying to climb a small hill off in the distance. My character stood up and as I crossed the first hill I saw the mountain for the first time. It was far off, and looked miles away. A beam of light protruded from the peak, a product of some almost otherworldly energy. I just knew in my heart I had to make it to the top of that mountain. I pressed on, unaware of where my path to the top would take me.

As my journey continued it became more perilous for my character. Occasionally, I would see another person like myself making the same journey. Occasionally they would join me and assist me in where I was going, but most of the time we would have different personal goals and would end up parting ways with each other as I continued on.

The final stretch of the game was the most grueling for my character. The mountain had frozen and the heavy winds were slowing my progress greatly. The enemies that I had been able to avoid in earlier chapters were now more intent on harming me. Their paths had slowed down and their area of sight had increased. The game was not phasing in other players. I would have to complete this section alone. As the mountain grew colder and colder the wanderer’s speed slowed to a complete stop. I fell to the ground, deep into the snow. The game faded to white.

Suddenly I was presented with the gaze of my ancestors, the very same ones that I had encounters with along my journey. They were all ready to help me reach the summit. My character’s spirits renewed, the sun became bright, the sky became blue, and I literally could fly to the top! As I reached the peak, the game faded to white once again and I saw my character become one with the light. Their spirit had been released and shot out of the peak of the mountain like a star! As the credits rolled the wanderer’s spirit traveled back through all of the land I had crossed, and returned back where it had all started. The game’s completion trophy unlocked, but what I had gained from the experience was a lot more than that.

My game finished, I started to have a good idea about what it was that I had experienced. The hero’s journey is a three act structure. Jenova Chen said another way to look at it would be like the cycle of life. This is the structure which made Journey possible. In the first act, you are born, in the second you are in your prime and in the final act you die. Journey is told in that same way. In fact to me, without knowing any of this beforehand, it felt to me like my path was that of a lost spirit making the final journey to the afterlife. To a lot of people, death is simply a part of rebirth and to me it felt like the wanderer represented the spirit of a person trying to reach paradise, and in the very end, as they reach it, their soul is released to the world.

Along the way you meet other travelers on your path. They seem to phase in and out without much fanfare. They can stay with you an assist you in your journey or move along at their own pace after their own goals. You cannot speak to each other and the game will not reveal who they are until the very end, but you will immediately feel a connection with them. You’re both traveling the same path. Your goals are the same. Jenova described this experience to being very similar to two people when they meet in a forest and they come across each other when hiking the same trail. You’ll never know everything about the person you encountered but you’ll know immediately you at least share the love of hiking and desire to hike.

On my third playthrough, I decided it was time to get some of the last trophies that I hadn’t gotten in my first two playthroughs. I turned off the Playstation Network so I wouldn’t interrupt anyone’s game and could get through the first section without much issue. I still needed the trophy in the third area, but something inside me told me that since I had already gotten most of the other major trophies in the game, it wouldn’t hurt to log back into the PSN. I thought, hey, maybe I could find someone willing to finish the game with me. Up until that point, no one had been willing to do that. Within no time another traveller appeared in the level with me when I hit the second area. Even though my objective was to get to the third area as quickly as possible, I decided to check out this new player and see how long he wanted to play.

We had no way of communicating with each other, short of some minor gestures with the circle button, but just by looking at the other player’s robes I could tell at least a few things about them. They had a single gold band around the bottom of their robe, and because of that I could tell that the person had played through the game at least once. Since they were wearing the default brown robes, I could also tell that they hadn’t unlocked all of the game’s secrets yet, but I couldn’t tell exactly what they had and hadn’t unlocked. I decided to show the other player some good faith by pointing them to some secret spots in the second area that I had found which could help them level up their character a bit. It would have taken far too long to navigate the entire area, so I kept most of the stops short. He tagged along pretty close and within no time we had made it to the final climb up the summit.

As I had competed this path before two previous times I lead, and he followed very close to me. We took a shortcut up the mountain, and I pointed out some secret areas that weren’t too far off the beaten path from us. As the enemies swarmed around us, I thought for sure I had mastered their timing by this point, so I lead us from shelter to shelter, trying to stay out of their gaze. He followed close, and I thought we had made it out unscathed, until just as I was about to leave the area, I noticed that my partner had attracted the attention of one of the enemies, and they were headed right for him! Throwing caution to the wind, I ran for them, hoping to distract the monster or take the attack myself! The monster ended up knocking both of us to the ground and harming our floating ability. I was severely worried that this would cause them to log out of the game in frustration, but they got up, shook off the snow, and we continued moving forward into the final area.

It was a gruling final push up the mountain and we stayed as close as possible together. Knowing the game would fade to white I wanted to ensure that we both would trigger the game’s final push together and not hand me another player. We had come this far together, we were going to finish this together. That was my mantra during the entire endgame. We both passed out together, triggering the game’s final cutscene. We had made it to the final part of the game, and we were going to fly through it together. As I played through the sequence I noticed that the game’s last level was almost like a retelling of our entire journey, starting with the simple processes that the game taught in the early levels, and moving to the more complex designs towards the end.

Together we had made it to the cave at the peak of the mountain. We walked into the cave, and the game took over. In the distance I could see two figures stepping into the light together, and the game faded to white as the credits began to roll once more. As the credits rolled I waited in anticipation not just for the notification if we had completed the game’s most difficult trophy, but for the credits to tell me just who this other player was that had assisted me in the game.

The final credit rolled and I saw a single name. In the upper right hand corner of my screen a trophy display popped up. We had done it, and we had done it together. I quit the game and fired up the PS3’s message system, something I very rarely used and addressed a simple thank you to the other player. Together, we had gotten some of the game’s hardest trophies, but more than that we had one hell of a great experience doing it.

Before writing this article the player I decided to check my PS3’s inbox to see if the other player had sent me something back. They got my message, and I had a very nice response back. I checked their profile, wondering if they had also gotten the same trophy during our playthrough that I had, and they indeed had unlocked it. I don’t know who this person is, I probably have never met this person before and never will, but like two people hiking the same trail, for two hours, we had succeeded in helping each other accomplish one very specific goal without saying one word to each other. Gaming can bridge the widest gaps among cultures, as like two people on a trail have the love of the hike in common, gamers have the love of the games to share.

What an experience. I can’t wait to see what thatgamecompany comes up with next.

Holiday Games Gift Guide – Xbox 360 December 23, 2012

The Holidays are coming pretty soon and I know that many of you may very well be opening up brand new gifts including a wide range of consoles and handhelds for the first time. However, with a new console or handheld comes the responsiblity to find some of the best games to get for it. The hope is to bring you a list of currently in print brand new games which are either some of the best for the platform or the best deals on the platform that you can easily pick up at the store for a reasonable price, pop it into your new gaming system and enjoy every second of it! So, in the time leading up to Christmas, I’m going to be posting a series of articles for each platform and handheld system currently on the market and tell you what are some of the must-have games for new console owners!

As we come to the final platform for this year’s Holiday Games Gift Guide, we’re going to be talking about the Microsoft Xbox 360. Okay, let’s get this out of the way first off, Halo 4 is probably the newest and biggest 360-exclusive release, and one heck of a great reason to get a 360, but after that game what other 360 exclusive games are out there that can be gotten for a reasonable price?

Halo 3, Halo 3 ODST, Halo Reach, Halo Wars – Like it or not, the Xbox 360 is the Halo platform, and with very good reason. The Halo games have been some of the most polished games of the past ten years. Halo 3 finished the fight. Halo 3 ODST may have a short single player campaign but that short story is one of the best stories (with some of the best music) of the series, and it includes all the downloadable multiplayer maps for Halo 3 on a second disc. Halo Wars took the RTS concept and made it actually work on a console, offered pre-rendered FMVs that rivaled some computer animated feature-length movies, and new Platinum Hits copies of the game will include download codes for all the game’s downloadable content. You can probably find all of these games for between $19.99-$24.99 US each.

Gears of War Triple Pack – Other than Halo, there has been no other exclusive franchise as important to the 360 as Gears of War, and with good reason. These games redefined what made for an action game. This bundles together the first two Gears of War games in one package. Sadly, Gears of War 3 isn’t included with this pack, but it does come with codes for all DLC for Gears of War 2, including several map packs and a deleted single player level. The downloadable map packs for the original Gears of War are all free. You can find this for $24.99 US.

And for those of you who have a Kinect to go along with that Xbox 360, here are some games I recommend which take advantage or require the Kinect.

Kinect Adventures – This will probably be the first Kinect title you play on the Xbox 360 and let me tell you that this game alone made my purchase worth it. It was a ton of fun going through all the different game types on the disc with a friend, trying to get the medals needed to unlock the later stages. Kinect Adventures is included free with every Kinect or Kinect-Bundled Xbox 360.

The Gunstringer – Made by the awesome guys over at Twisted Pixel, The Gunstringer is an amazing game which blends live action and 3D gameplay better than anything I’ve ever seen before. You control The Gunstringer, a mariachi puppet out for revenge against the gang that killed him. Oh and did I mention it’s hilarious too? The game also features a free DLC called the “Wavy Tube Man Chronicles”, and a voucher for the free XBLA Kinect game Fruit Ninja. The Gunstringer is currently $39.99 US.

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary – The entire original Halo: Combat Evolved game, remade for the Xbox 360 with brand new graphics and unlockables. I know what you’re thinking, why would I include this game in the Kinect section of the list if it can be played without a Kinect? Because the game’s library feature, which allows you to scan objects, items and characters in the game and unlock encyclopedia entries in the game menu will only work for Kinect-equipped players. Oh and it includes the full multiplayer Halo Reach client on disc, and a download code that gives Reach players some new multiplayer maps to boot. If you’re lucky you can probably find the game for $29.99 US, but the normal price for it is $39.99 US.

And with that, we come to the end of this year’s Holiday Gift Games Guide. Wishing all of you a happy and safe holiday season!

Holiday Games Gift Guide – Playstation Vita December 22, 2012

The Holidays are coming pretty soon and I know that many of you may very well be opening up brand new gifts including a wide range of consoles and handhelds for the first time. However, with a new console or handheld comes the responsiblity to find some of the best games to get for it. The hope is to bring you a list of currently in print brand new games which are either some of the best for the platform or the best deals on the platform that you can easily pick up at the store for a reasonable price, pop it into your new gaming system and enjoy every second of it! So, in the time leading up to Christmas, I’m going to be posting a series of articles for each platform and handheld system currently on the market and tell you what are some of the must-have games for new console owners!

Well, keeping with the theme of covering the handheld consoles today, lets talk about the games on the Playstation Vita from Sony.

Assassin’s Creed: Liberation – A side story of the widely popular Assassin’s Creed series, this is the game that really pushes what can be done with this system graphically and features a whole new character, setting and storyline.  There are also some exclusive unlockables with this game for any players that have Assassin’s Creed III on the Playstation 3.  Twitch and I recommend getting the White Playstation Vita bundled with this game, as the $249.99 US WiFi model only bundle will practically get you this game and a Vita memory card for free.  If you can’t find any Vitas bundled with this game, the game alone costs $39.99 US.

Sound Shapes – The first downloadable title that I’ve included in the Holiday Games Gift Guide, I first demoed Sound Shapes back in E3 2011 and enjoyed it quite a bit.  It has a great soundtrack and addictive gameplay for such a simple game.  If you’re interested in picking it up, Sound Shapes is $14.99 US on the Playstation Store.  It is also on the Playstation 3.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss – This was the killer app launch title for the Playstation Vita and it just got a price drop.  I can’t think of any game I demoed on the Vita that captured all the cool features of the system’s touch screen better than Golden Abyss did.  It is so exciting to navigate Nathan Drake through all sorts of areas, and have the added effect of using the Vita’s touch screen and gyro sensors to climb, jump and shimmy from ledge to ledge.  Uncharted: Golden Abyss is $39.99 US.

Silent Hill: Book of Memories – The most recent release in the hugely popular Silent Hill series from Konami, this game brings a lot of new features to the table, and many of them are perfect for the handheld.  This game features a unique cooperative campaign you can play with your friends, giving you the chance to work together to solve challenges in the Otherworld.  It also allows you to fully customize your characters, giving you the chance to put your own personal stamp on the character you are playing as.  You can get the game for $39.99 US.

So there we have it for the Playstation Vita, some unique platform exclusives you should have no problem finding brand new in stores.  Stay tuned this weekend, as there is still one more platform that we haven’t discussed yet in the Holiday Games Gift Guide, the Xbox 360.