Titanfall Review Update

I have bad news for all you Xbox 360 owners (Including myself) out there who were looking forward to finally purchasing and playing the new hit video game; Titanfall, we will have to wait another 2 weeks (After the 1st delay, so 3 weeks as of the time of this posting) to experience the new action-packed, parkour shooter.

Below you can find a quote from Polygon, a video game blog:

"Titanfall's Xbox 360 version, originally scheduled to launch on March 25, has been delayed to April 8, the game's maker announced.

According to a post on the game's official page, "we see a few things that can be made even better, so we're giving Bluepoint Games [the studio responsible for Titanfall's Xbox 360 version] a little more time to do that and deliver an epic Titanfall experience for Xbox 360 players.
"We appreciate everyone's patience as we get the last details right," the post added."

Source: Polygon.com

While it's obvious that upon hearing this news yesterday, I don't buy their reasoning for delaying the game.  I'd like to go with the theory that Microsoft is still trying to push more Xbox One consoles onto the consumer and also to make March's NDP (A monthly report of video game sales for North America) numbers look better for their investors/shareholders and other 3rd parties as well as the NDP for April.  (Since the Xbox 360 version of the game is coming out next month now...)

While I and other gamers have no solid evidence to back up this claim, I don't think that Bluepoint Games can really do much in the next 3 weeks besides making the day 1 patch of the game better because the game already went gold. (In the video game industry, that means that the game is done)

In the long run, none of this will really matter because I still intend on playing the game on my Xbox 360.  I do not plan on purchasing a Xbox One until maybe next year if they announce a price drop for the console as well as the inevitable redesign.

End rant.

Game Review: Yoshi's New Island (3DS)

***This is my first game review so any feedback is welcome to help me improve in the future!***

 
Game Description:  
Yoshi's New Island was released on March 14th for North America and Europe and March 15th for Australia on the Nintendo 3DS handheld system.

The game is a successor to the 1995 game "Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island" (For the Nintendo Super Nintendo) and the 2006 game "Yoshi's Island DS". (For the Nintendo DS)


Game play:
The game play focuses on controlling Yoshi characters who must escort Baby Mario through a series of levels. Like similar Yoshi games, the game features a hand-drawn art style, with level designs and backgrounds stylized as oil paintings, watercolors, and crayon drawings.

The player can become transform Yoshi into different vehicles such as an airplane in order to reach secret areas of a level or progress through the level to reach the end goal.  The 1995 game also had this feature and players should be familiar with both the controls and how to use them.


Music/Sound:
The game features both cutesy sound effects and music which goes well together with the style of graphics of the game and level design.  Below you can listen to one of the many songs from the game.

None of the music is quite memorable such as other games like the Final Fantasy, Mario, Zelda or Pokemon series but the music is still quite good.

 

Re-playability:
On each level, there are hidden flowers and other collectables for the player to search for and collect.  Doing so unlocks secret stages.  After that, there is not really much else for the player to do except play with a friend in co-op created levels.


Overall:
While a sequel to the 1995 game is appreciated, the long wait does not exactly live up to the hype and hopes from fans of that game and the DS game.  Still, the game offers both familiar game play and graphics which players of the games can appreciate.


The Verdict: 
Gameplay - 8/10
Music/Sound - 7/10
Re-playability - 6/10

Overall - 7/10 "Good"


Other links:
Official Website
Yoshi's New Island Wikipedia article
Official Game Info

Prepare for Titanfall!

It's that time of year again where the "must-own" video game is about to be released!  In just two days (For North Americans), Titanfall will be released for both the Xbox One and PC while Xbox 360 owners will have to wait another two weeks to purchase the game.  (Like me..) :(

The concept for Titanfall is simple, yet, fun.  You can either play as a pilot (Fast, nimble and sneaky) OR you can call in your Titan (Similar to a mech) and get inside to dominate your opponents.  Titans vary because they have three different forums, discussed below:

The Atlas: "As a multi-role Titan, the Atlas excels where all other models fall short.  The Atlas represents the state-of-the-art in weapons platforms and provides good protection and increased mobility over the Ogre chassis.  Whether the mission demands reconnaissance, rapid assault, fire support, tactical support, or a combination of all these, Atlas frontline elements are dependable, powerful, and importantly, get results."

 
The Ogre: "There are no two ways about it - the Ogre is engineered to be the ultimate battle tank, in Titan's clothing.  As a consequence, the Ogre places a premium on its armor and offensive capabilities.  When your mission demands maximum survivability, the Ogre is the only battle platform which consistently out-performs, out-shines, out-lasts and outlives everything else on the battlefield."

The Stryder: "Survivability through speed and agility is the key to the Stryder's considerable battlefield prowess.  Faster than every other Titan chassis on the market today, the Stryder's mobility is the culmination of many years of award-winning R&D into linear and rotary actuator technology.  Of course, even with this agility advantage, the Stryder does not sacrifice any of the superior features your mission has come to depend on in the Hammond Robotics line of Titan battle platforms.

Now that you know all of the Titans which are available to pick from, who will you play as?  A pilot or Titan?  Once I get my hands on the game (Which I pre-ordered last month), I will follow up with a review blog post!  Stay tuned!

Find out more information on the game at: http://www.titanfall.com/

Titanfall E3 2013 videos: