Anthony Vigna
I completed the entirety of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies this week! It is one hell of a game, clocking in just under 30 hours with an incredible story and top notch writing. I absolutely love it, and I would consider it to be one of the best entries in the series so far.
Before I played it, I thought that newcomers should stay away from Dual Destinies since they don’t have a grasp on the story from previous games. However, now that I have completed the game fully, I can now say that my original claim was wrong. Dual Destinies primarily tells the story of Athena Cykes, who is a new lawyer introduced in the game, instead of Phoenix Wright. While there are some callbacks for players who have played every entry in the series, they are kept to a minimum. Also, the gameplay is a lot more polished this time around as well. New features, such as being able to look at what characters said previously in a text log and a notebook that keeps track of your objectives during investigations, helps Ace Attorney function better than ever. If you receive a lot of penalties in court, you also could use a guide button that tells you which statement contains the lie that you need to object to. This, along with the story having little continuity, sets Dual Destinies as more of a reboot than a continuation of the previous story, making it the perfect starting point for new players.
Robert Marrujo
Batman: Arkham Origins has totally surpassed my expectations. Without Rocksteady at the helm, I was worried the game might slip in quality, but instead, WB Montreal has managed to hit it out of the park! The game runs way smoother and looks much crisper than Arkham City did, too. Batman’s never looked meaner, either. Seriously, this game will be dominating my playtime for a while. The handheld versions have been similarly entertaining, though I think it’s clear that the 3DS was the platform of choice during development. It looks good on both the Vita and 3DS (Vita’s is a higher resolution), but graphically it’s definitely optimized for Nintendo’s system (I won’t gloat out loud, so just imagine me doing it).
Halloween was a bust in Animal Crossing (my favorite outfit has been irrevocably turned to rags), but that’s not going to stop me from checking up on my town. Besides my daily trip to the town of Oakland, I’ll also be giving both of the Sonic Lost World games a spin this weekend. I’ve enjoyed both so far, and was glad I took our own reviews of the games into account, as they’re spot-on evaluations. That’s not a shameless plug, folks, just good old fashioned quality game reviewing. Last, but not least, I’m planning on making Wii Fit U a daily part of my life, especially because that Wii Fit Meter just looks way too cool! Remember, as long as you have a Balance Board and $20 bucks for the Meter, Wii Fit U is free! That’s so awesome!
Sam Stewart
As of writing I really have no idea what I’m going to play this weekend. I finally finished Pokémon Y earlier this week after about 40 hours. Definitely one of my favorites of all time, and there seems to be a fairly good amount of aftergame content, so I’ll probably be diving back into it very soon. However, I did already get my Bisharp to Lvl. 100, so there probably won’t be a whole lot of challenge from here on out.
I’ve also been thinking about returning to Uncharted 3 multiplayer since Naughty Dog has released all the DLC for free to celebrate the game’s 2nd anniversary. It’s probably my favorite online shooter, and I haven’t played it for over a year. Other than that, I still never finished Grand Theft Auto V or The Stanley Parable, so even I don’t know where I will end up.
Andy Hoover
If you guessed I would be continuing my Pokémon adventure, you would be correct. I probably would have gotten much further had it not been for the supreme awesomeness of the Wonder Trade– I have literally spent hours partaking in random trades around the globe. Sure, a lot of the time you get relatively useless creatures, but you occasionally get real winners and it is another fun way to fill up your Pokédex. I too am guilty of putting up some crummy creatures for trade, but I also do enjoy offering the occasional harder to find or more useful Pokémon just to see if I can make someone’s day. In the end though, there is something just greatly satisfying about getting so many wonderful surprises from around the world.
Aside from Pokémon Y I think I might start catching up on the Killzone series. PlayStation 4 comes out in only a couple weeks and considering the fact Killzone: Shadow Fall is one of the few games coming out for it that I’m really intrigued by, I figure I might as well learn the backstory in preparation. Also, I picked up Typing of the Dead: Overkill on Steam recently because, well, Typing of the Dead is the greatest typing teaching tool ever devised, so this game will probably be the best thing ever.
Nicolas Vestre
Nothing much has changed since last week. I’ve been doing the daily rounds on Animal Crossing: New Leaf, hoping for that Blue Rose. Now that it’s November, I’m going to go for every newly available fish, which means I’ll soon catch a Football Fish, a Tuna, a Bitterling, and a Blowfish. I like to get my fish hunt out of the way as early as possible.
I’ve been really taking my time with Pokémon X, and on my way to Ambrette Town, I caught an Axew. I don’t think I’ll be using it, but I’m addicted to catching every Pokémon I can, even if it takes forever. Even this early in the game, I’m thinking about raising a Pawniard, as well as breeding Sucker Punch onto it using a Croagunk. Let’s hope I can make some real progress this weekend!
Mel Turnquist
I shall be exploring the comedy goldmine known as Wonder Trade on Pokémon Y with a little Animal Crossing: New Leaf thrown in. I’ll eventually get myself Wii Fit U and the new Phoenix Wright, but I need to get some bills paid.
Oh, and if any of you happen to get some weirdly named Pokémon or any Abras named Tony Wonder, that is most likely me.
Jason Strong
I was all set to finally pick up Resident Evil: Revelations this week as part of the big eShop sale which had lowered it’s price down to an irresistible ten dollars. I even went so far as to stop at my local Walmart Super Center on the way home from work on Halloween in order to pick up a 16 gig SD card to accommodate the game’s rather vast size. Much to my chagrin I found upon my return to my domicile that I had apparently missed the sale, though I remember the ad explicitly stating the game would be discounted through 10/31! The horror!
As a means of comforting myself I ended up purchasing both Super Mario Bros. 2 and Wario Land 3; two admittedly smaller scale titles which I hope will help to soften the blow of losing out on all that zombie goodness I could have been enjoying if I had only been a tad bit quicker on the draw. I have, of course, played Super Mario Bros. 2 nearly to death, though there is always something comforting in floating around in the form of Princess Toadstool, plucking turnips, and murdering Shy Guys. Wario Land 3 will be a new one for me; I’ve never actually played any of the games in the series and I have no idea what to expect, but as it’s a first party Nintendo title I’m pretty confident of its pedigree.
On other fronts I’m still working on Wind Waker HD, slowly making it through the Triforce quest, and hoping to finish up this weekend. Combine that with a tear shed for my missed Resident Evil opportunity and I should be good to go until Monday!
What’ll you be playing this weekend? Will you be breaking a sweat with Wii Fit U, or does a certain 3DS game have your attention? Let us know in the comments!
Well, I’m almost done with Wind Waker, as soon as I finish off Ganon. Seriously. I don’t know how many Zelda games I’ve left right at the final battle (it’s embarrassing). At any rate, I’m ready to unleash the Justice (pun intended) in Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies. I finally picked up my first hardcore Wii U. I’m not a Batman fan, but Deus Ex has been on my list since day one. I say, heck with the extra $10. It WAS supposed to be exclussive, but oh well. Not the first time and it won’t be the last. Meanwhile, it’s time to dust off the balance board and get ready for the new Wii Fit U.