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Now that the excitement around Wii U is starting to die down (or maybe not, as stores continue to sell out of their pre-orders in record time), we can all relax with a little bit of leisurely gaming. With so many great new titles looming on the horizon, now would be the perfect chance to make some headway through our backlogs, which you’ll see is just what the ‘Dojo staff will be doing with their free time this weekend!
M. Noah Ward
After finishing the fantastic Rhythm Thief the other week (my predictably positive review is forthcoming, certainly), I shifted gears back to Resident Evil: Revelations, which I’d abandoned months back for who knows what reason. A funny thing happened, though: when I first got the game early this year, I was absolutely positive that the circle pad pro was necessary for the best experience, and only played with it. Yet I decided to experiment with that thought when I came back to the game last week and resumed playing with an unaccessorized 3DS, finishing an entire chapter without the peripheral. Then I put the peripheral back on to try the enhanced controls again, certain I’d feel the same as I did back in February. After all, I love Wii’s Pro controller and the “regular” controllers on other systems.
Yet as it turns out, I ditched the peripheral and went back to the plain, unadorned 3DS default control scheme. The game, as has been said before, functions just fine without it. And I think I’m a little better at aiming without it, which is really weird. Perhaps there’s more auto-aim kicking in without the peripheral? Regardless, I now feel great about eventually getting a 3DS XL (it shall be mine!), because I know I won’t feel obligated to get the XL circle pad pro when I do.
Bradly Hale
Well, after finishing up Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love, which was a rather fantastically odd game, I’ve decided to revisist (and re-purchase) an RPG that I never got around to finishing at its release due to the time constraints of graduate school. That game, of course, is Rune Factory: Frontier. I’ve always had a thing for Harvest Moon games, but, as I grew older, simply needed a bit more action in my gaming. Thus, when I first played Rune Factory, I immediately fell head-over-heels in love with it; after all, it was Harvest Moon, with monster slaying. What more could a guy ask for?!
Needless to say, I remember Frontier being an exceptionally well made game, and I’m looking forward to immersing myself in its world this weekend. Unfortunately, I won’t get a ton of time with it, as I have a LAN party to get to on Saturday– yes, people still have those things– but it’ll have to do for now.
Aside from all that, though, I fully intend on pouring over the Wii U launch details yet again, and just marveling at the fact that I simply can’t wait for this machine to get here. November 18, while isn’t all that far off on the calendar, feels like forever away. Here’s hoping the next two months fly by.
Kevin Knezevic
In preparation for Pikmin 3 (which was conspicuously absent from Nintendo’s press event a couple of days ago), I’ve been trying to work my way through the first two Pikmin titles this week. It pains me to say that I’d never beaten either of them before now (I know, I’m a terrible person), but I’ve always been fond of the series and its unique brand of real-time strategy, so I wanted to give the games another chance before the third installment hits stores. I actually just completed the first Pikmin last night (only 11 years after it was first released!) with less difficulty than I remember– though the final battle against Emperor Bulblax decimated my troops– so I’ve moved on to the much more relaxed pace of Pikmin 2. I was a bit worried that I might become burned out on the series if I played both titles in quick succession, but I can already feel it sinking its adorable, plant-like hooks in me, so it looks like I’ll be busy with the game for a while yet!
Beyond those two, I’ll likely play a little New Super Mario Bros. 2 this weekend as well. I’m nowhere near my million coin goal (and frankly I doubt I’ll ever reach it), but I’m enjoying replaying its stages and trying my luck at Coin Rush mode. I’ve probably squeezed about as much enjoyment out of the game as I’ll be able to, but I have a feeling that I’ll get sucked right back into it once Nintendo starts releasing DLC level packs, which actually wouldn’t be the first time it released paid add-ons to one of its Mario games. It will, however, be the first time that I can enjoy them!
Now it’s your turn! What’s on your gaming plate this weekend? Let us know in the comments section!
I really need to get back to Last Story. I need to beat that giant spider if I wanna keep going. And I was doing so well too. I’m almost finished with Skyward Sword (apparently I dumped it back in January, according to the date on my save block). I still gotta beat Ganon, but I’m almost there. Going back through my old files, I pulled out Deadly Creatures again. I was having fun, but now that snake’s back. I wanna just relax this weekend but what do you when practically every game you need to continue is stuck right before a boss battle? It’s like homework before you can go out and play.
By the time I got my Circle Pad Pro, I had already put several hours into Resident Evil Revelations. I eagerly attached it to get the “better” control. However, I never felt comfortable using it. As a matter of fact, I eventually ditched it and went back to playing without it. I’ve beat the game a couple times without using it. For those that think it’s essential…they are crazy. I feel the aiming is much better without it.
Tell me about it. I don’t think it’s the CPP. I think it’s got a lot of potential, but the games’ (so far, just KI:U & RE:R; I haven’t tried KH yet) controls aren’t set up right. RE:R seemed to have it set more for a FPS. And KI made Pit and his cross-hairs move in sync, which backfires on the whole point of having two analogues in the first place. I’d like to see more games use CPP, but they just need to use it right.