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Welcome back to another edition of Week: End Game: On! What games are the Dojo staffers playing this weekend? Read on to find out!
Sam Stewart
Dark Souls, Dark Souls, Dark Souls, Dark Souls. Dark Souls, Dark Souls, Dark Souls, Dark Souls!
So yeah, Dark Souls II came out on Tuesday and hoo boy is it one heck of a good time. I’ve played about 10 hours already and all of my concerns about the changes in the development team have melted away and been replaced with admiration for this amazing game. And yeah I’ve died a lot already. It’s the best.
The bad news is that my backlog (which now includes Bravely Default, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Rayman Legends, and a long list of Steam games…) is destined to trail farther and farther behind. I’m sure I’ll make time for a few of the higher priority titles, but who knows when I’ll get to the others.
Jake Shapiro
I finally finished EarthBound. That ending, man. It definitely skyrockets into my Top Five Favorite Games Ever. And for anyone else who’s played EarthBound all the way through and read all the creepypastas about it: I’m on Team “It’s a Fetus!”
I’ll be traveling over the weekend, so I’ll try to reach the end of Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon. It’s a great game, but it just doesn’t grab me in the same way the GameCube original did. And as I’ve done for the past four years of my life, I’ve been putting way too much time into Civilization V. It’s embarrassing that I can’t click the “Play” button on Steam without seeing the “You’ve played 776 hours” next to it.
Jon Stevens
Two weeks ago, I said that I would be playing Fire Emblem Awakening at the weekend. It then took me an entire week to beat the level I was on, so I am still going strong on that!
I’ve been enticed by the various Steam Sales and Humble Bundles too, though, so I’ve also got a backlog of games that need playing. I plan on getting Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze at some point in the next couple of weeks, but it’s probably best if I first finish off some of the other games that I just *had* to get.
Marc Deschamps
Well, I fulfilled the promise I made with last weekend’s WEGO and wrapped up Batman Arkham Origins: Blackgate. The ending left this card-carrying comic geek grinning from ear-to-ear. I never would have anticipated that final cinema scene after the credits rolled, and it was a great surprise. Armature’s first entry into the Arkham saga has left me quite impressed, overall. I hope we see a follow-up from this team, because this game really lived up to the quality of Rocksteady’s console iterations.
With Blackgate out of the way, I can continue to focus on Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. I beat the fifth world boss on Wednesday… after about fifteen tries. The game is a lot of fun, but I don’t think I’ve finished a single level on the first try, yet. And the farther I get, the less likely that becomes. Talk about a strong challenge!
With many cities celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day festivities this weekend (including my own here in Buffalo), I’ll have to make sure to make time to visit my town in Animal Crossing: New Leaf. There’s a cool new hat up for grabs, and I’ll finally have an excuse for my character to wear the four-leaf clover I found last fall! In other news around town, I talked Cobb out of wearing a tank-top with a strawberry on it last night, and bought him an exercise bike. I think I’m more focused on improving his home than I am on my own, at this point!
Nicolas Vestre
After a long journey, I finally got 105 percent on Donkey Kong Country 3! KAOS is toast, and Baron K. Roolenstein has been taken out of commission! After a while, I got used to there being no halfway or DK barrels (because of the “TUFST” code). But I persevered and found every secret without help! Even Cranky Kong had to acknowledge my superiority as Immortal Monkey! That’s the second game that has called me immortal, the first being Mega Man Zero.
Now I’m making my way through Super Mario 3D World, which is a ton of fun! I’ve conquered the first world, and can’t wait to keep playing this game. Being able to choose from four different characters with varying abilities makes the game that much sweeter. I just wish my GamePad battery lasted longer; eventually I’ll splurge and get the longer-lasting battery, but not yet.
In a few minutes I’m going to make my way to Walmart to buy Yoshi’s New Island. I’m a massive fan of the original, and have full knowledge that this game won’t compare (few games do), but I’m buying it anyway. At the very least, it’ll be entertaining to get 100 percent on every level, even with the lighter difficulty.
Angela Marrujo
Yoshi’s New Island is where it’s at for me this weekend. I can’t wait to play it, I picked it up at work and am looking forward to seeing what’s new this time around on the island. Plus, I love Shy Guys. I think I was probably one of those red Shy Guys on stilts in a former life (because I’ve always wanted to be taller).
I’m still keeping up with transferring my data from my Wii Fit U meter every night to my in-game profile, and Call of Duty: Black Ops II always finds its way into the Wii U even if I promise myself I’m going to play something else.
Robert Marrujo
Yoshi’s New Island has snuggled itself into my 3DS and is pretty fun, so far. I liked the DS iteration a lot, but this is a notch above. There’s no getting around it, though– the music sucks. I’m just hoping for a reappearance by the white and black Yoshis from Yoshi’s Story!
I finally got the fortune teller shop in New Leaf! It took forever, but my downtown is complete. I just wish I could get more suggestions for projects from my neighbors. Oh, well, like life, New Leaf is a journey. I’m hoping to work on some new patterns to spruce things up, too, so I’ll be busy in my fake little world.
Anthony Pershkin
Recently I realized that I really enjoy games made by Game Republic. For those who don’t know, this studio developed such titles like Genji, Folklore, Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom, Dark Mist, and Knights Contract. Unfortunately, I never got around to finishing any of these games, despite really liking them. So, this week is dedicated to playing through various Game Republic gems. I’m already done with Genji, Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom, and Knights Contract, and I already consider myself a fan of this studio. Sadly, it ceased to exist in 2011, but the majority of the team has been hired by Shinji Mikami’s Tango Gameworks, which is currently working on The Evil Within.
I’m also currently on the last case in Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies. Can’t believe I succeeded in avoiding spoilers for such a long time.
Anthony Vigna
I haven’t had too much time for gaming this week, but I played The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds every free chance I’ve had. Sadly, I only have four dungeons to clear until my adventure is complete, but I enjoyed every minute of the game so far. Hopefully the new Zelda game on Wii U will be just as good as this one!
Once I finish A Link Between Worlds, I’ll be sure to download Pokémon Battle Trozei when it releases in the US next week! I’m a huge fan of puzzle RPGs like Puzzle and Dragons, so this game looks like it’s right up my alley. Genius Sonority has never disappointed me as a developer, so I eagerly await its release.
What games will you be playing this weekend? Did you also pick up a copy of Yoshi’s New Island, or are you working through an older title? Let us know in the comments!
