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Welcome back to another installment of Week: End Game: On! What games are the staff playing this weekend? Read on to find out!
Robert Palacios
In light of the new DLC dropping next week, I’ll definitely be playing more Mario Kart 8 to resharpen my skills! I am hoping for the online community to grow, as I am in need of some new challenges!
I’m really pleased that Nintendo is taking a Smash-like approach to the DLC and adding new franchises in. I think it’s only a matter of time before we get Samus, Little Mac, or even Mega Man as playable characters. The Mario universe is great and all, but as Sonic All-Star Racing has show, playing in other franchise worlds can really freshen things up. Can’t wait to play as Link!
Nicolas Vestre
My gaming time has almost exclusively gone to Fantasy Life. I’m a little over ten hours in, and I’ve become an Adept Angler and Hunter. Games like these take me forever to make any meaningful progress, but I’m really enjoying myself. There’s just something about fulfilling quests and challenges that’s so addictive. I’ve almost completely ignored the storyline, and it doesn’t seem like the plot is that complicated anyway– I could be wrong, though. My next step before exploring other towns is to become a decent Cook and Carpenter. I have little doubt that this game will last me until Pokémon Alpha Sapphire and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U enter my life.
No matter how routine my time with Animal Crossing: New Leaf has become, I can’t stop playing a little bit every day. I’m really just going through the motions, digging up fossils, hitting the money/gem rock, perusing the store for the rare occurrence that there’s some new furniture, selling tons of Blue Roses, and harvesting Perfect Apple trees (I’m almost out of room because of all those apples!). I’ve run out of goals that I actually want to achieve, such as getting every fish or breeding every flower hybrid, so I just do the bare minimum every day. At the very least, this is the longest an Animal Crossing game has held my interest. Maybe I’ll figure out some goal that will motivate me to keep going a bit longer.
Anthony Pershkin
My most played game his week happened to be Shovel Knight, which finally came out in Europe recently. I think after Bayonetta 2, Shovel Knight is going to take second place in my personal GOTY awards. I got pretty much everything I ever wanted from this game the moment it was announced, and even more than that. Shovel Knight is filled with creativity and pure gaming energy. And, in my opinion, it surpasses many of its inspirations in terms of level design, pacing, and overall balance. Like Bayonetta 2, Shovel Knight comes very close to perfection. Needless to say, I’m truly excited for the future of Yacht Club Games.
I’m also thinking of playing Sonic Colors in preparation for Sonic Boom, which might turn out to be a very solid title. At least, the one on the 3DS.
Robert Marrujo
Well, Gameageddon has come and gone, and I must say, the ridiculous landslide of titles I got to play through in recent weeks has been awesome. The latest game on the top of my stack, though, has been Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley. So far, I’ve been impressed with what Natsume has created for this latest installment. I do have to say, though, I really, really don’t like the Harvest Sprites. I really don’t. They just rip me out of the farming and add an element of fantasy that goes one little iota beyond what I feel is appropriate for the series. Of course, they’ve been around forever, so I’m clearly in the minority seeing as they’ve yet to be removed– but still!
I’m anxiously awaiting Tuesday when Tales of Hearts R comes out for PS Vita. It’s a remake of a DS Tales game that never made it stateside, and it’s looking mighty fun thus far. Localization is so frustrating. I mean, I know I would have been all over a Tales game on DS, but we’re only now getting this remake. Why no confidence in us, Japan? At any right, very excited for Tales of Hearts R, but the weeks ahead will continue to get busier and busier, so we’ll see how long I get to spend on it!
Anthony Vigna
Still haven’t really had time for games this week! All of you probably know that I’m really excited for Pier Solar HD, but I haven’t had the time to even touch it yet! I’ve also been curious about Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley too, being that it’s the first in-house developed game by Natsume. I’m glad that Robert said that he liked what he played so far because I’ve been skeptical of Natsume’s ability to make a new Harvest Moon game. They’ve been publishing Harvest Moon for years, but this is the first time that they made one themselves!
To pass the time, I’ve continued playing Squids Odyssey because it’s so much fun. If, for some reason, you run out of games to play during the holiday season, definitely give this one a try. The way the developers mashed Angry Birds physics with turn-based RPG mechanics works really well and it continues to impress me as I play it. The levels are short enough to pick up and play, so its a perfect game to have on 3DS due to its portability. Once I finish this game, I’ll definitely be moving on to Pier Solar HD!
What games will you be playing this weekend? Let us know in the comments!
I’m bound and determined to fnsh Bayonetta 1 before I move onto 2. On top of those two I just picked up Pier Solar HD and The Swapper. PSHD has everyone raving with beautiful graphics and soundtracks rivalling Secret of Mana. Swapper is a dark and mysterious puzzle adventure along the lines of the Fall. I can’t wait to try them out.