Gamers' Black Friday
Video Credit: gameranx
Black Friday, the holy period for people to pay cheaply. As cheap as possible, in fact. It’s also the season that will send you to the hospital if you’re not careful. For some gamers, being digital is safe, as everybody gets their game without shedding blood. Yes, physical media is still loved, but since most modern games require the internet to download the content (making the disc into a glorified key), what’s the point other than making it a collectible? Now, to simplify this article, I’ll focus on some very interesting offers from Nintendo, Xbox and PlayStation.You want a Nintendo Switch that comes with a game? Here’s the bundle: it includes the Nintendo Switch (Red box version), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (the most popular first-party title, although it’s a re-release from Wii U) and three months of Nintendo Switch Online (to play against people on Mario Kart 8 and to play NES/SNES titles). While the OLED model is out, is it really worth $50 more than the regular Switch? Especially since with this deal, you get to play a game you never thought you’d try and get three whole months of online subscription, all the price of the regular Switch? It’s quite a steal, if you ask me. Other deals on Switch games are Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, New Super Mario U Deluxe, Splatoon 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, $27 each.
For PS4 users, here are some deals you may be interested in grouped under price:
$20: The Last of Us Part II, DARK SOULS Remastered, Mafia: Definitive Edition, Nioh 2
$30: Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania, Sonic Colors: Ultimate, Each title of the Atelier Mysterious Trilogy DX, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Honorable mention: Tales of Arise for $42
For Xbox players… 3 months of Xbox Game Pass on PC for one dollar and game deals on console to numerous to list.
Black Friday is a great way to get stuff for cheap… or a great way to be sent to the hospital. For us gamers, it’s a great opportunity for us to put money down on great stuff that is good, but isn’t necessarily enough to justify the full price. You know it’s good when you try it, but it’s even better when you can manage to get it cheap!
No Steam Deck for Christmas
Video Credit: IGN
Valve knew about the global chip shortage and supply chain issues caused by the virus and tried hard to work around them. But sadly, those lucky enough to pre-order first won’t get their Deck in December… Steam Deck got delayed to February 2022 due to components, which are hard to get a hold of, not making it to their manufacturing facilities on time to make it to the Deck’s initial launch date. While this is a huge disappointment for many who pre-ordered, especially with fears that the Deck will be outdated by the time it releases, it gives hope that more games will be compatible with the Deck thanks to ongoing efforts by Valve and developers who received their dev kit. But it sucks it won’t be the perfect Christmas gift this year.
When I heard of the Steam Deck, I fell in love with it. As a gamer who is stuck to either console or laptop (my laptop isn’t great for some games, but it’s feasible for Android gaming through emulation), I am one of the few who didn’t pre-order right away, since I couldn’t save up enough money to pay for the 64 GB model (the only model I need). I was looking forward to seeing people tinkering with the final product. But now I - well, we - have to wait two more months to see the Steam Deck become a reality.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Disappointing Edition
Video Credit: IGN
Wrong! The games are littered with bugs and glitches, especially on PC. Rockstar even pulled the game from their Launcher not to fix the game, but to remove some inappropriate files. The games play even worse on the Nintendo Switch, even though they’re old! In an unprecedented attempt to save face, Rockstar issued a public apology for the state the trilogy arrived in, promising updates and fixes. For PC, Rockstar reinstated the original versions of those games, giving them to whoever purchased the Trilogy for free until June 30th, 2022. No word on console compensation. You can already guess how well the fans took it. Some refused it or took it with a grain of salt. Since it’s coming from a company that has no plans to do a new entry in Grand Theft Auto, when they can just remake older titles for a full price, this is heartbreaking.
This is awful on so many levels. Ranting aside, if the trilogy is important to Rockstar, how could they mess it up so badly?! It’s easy: the holiday season is around the corner, so Rockstar felt the need to put something good on shelves to cash in, because who doesn’t want any of these three games for Christmas? Atari tried to make an E. T. game in time for Christmas - which instead contributed to the video game crash in 1983 and leaving them with many unsold copies of the game buried in a landfill. Rockstar shouldn’t make mistakes like that, especially going after the modding community who were only doing a better job.
Smash Bros But With WB Characters
Video Credit: IGN
Nintendo’s Smash Bros, a 4v4 brawler where the goal is to launch opponents off the stage to win/score points, has been imitated/remade to death by multiple companies. We’ve got TMNT: Smash Up, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, DreamMix TV World Fighters, CN: Punch Time Explosion, Megatype Punch… no one managed to surpass Smash Bros. Brawlhalla managed to surpass Smash Bros, in that it innovates on the gameplay, has a great roster based on Norse mythology (and Rayman, since Ubisoft’s acquisition of Blue Mammoth Games), great crossover skins and most importantly, it’s free-to-play and it’s available on multiple platforms (including the Nintendo Switch!). And then the Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl came around… but you have to purchase it and have a subscription to play it online, but it doesn’t feature voice acting, at least not for now. Another one emerging and might be a better offering…
After some leaks and speculations, Warner Bros officially reveals MultiVersus, another crossover fighting game featuring a great number of characters from WB’s portofolio. It’ll be free-to-play and will be available on PC (Steam?), Xbox One/Series S/X and PS4/5 (no Nintendo Switch version announced yet) somewhere in 2022. A big step up is inclusion of voice acting from the get-go, with characters being voiced by their current/popular actors, with some exceptions:Abby Trott: Wonder Woman
Eric Bauza: Both Tom & Jerry, in addition to reprising his role as Bugs Bunny from Looney Tunes Cartoons
Daniel DiVenere (first game VA role): Steven Universe
You’re probably asking why the heck is Warner Bros deciding to make their own Smash Bros? Because of the popularity of Smash Bros (its gameplay and a character roster of IPs from Nintendo and other participating companies) and Brawlhalla (being successful for a free-to-play game, most of the micro-transactions being cosmetical) leading WB to want to take the plunge. Plus they have one ace up their sleeve: Shaggy, with powers derived from the “Ultra Instinct Shaggy” meme, is the closest Super Saiyan you can play because of Smash Bros’s invitation only being given to video game characters (Dragon Ball has many video games, but it’s nominally a manga and anime). If WB plays its cards right, they’ll have a great home run for themselves and their fans.
I am excited for this. Not only is it free-to-play, but I’ll (mostly) have great access to characters from my childhood! Who knows, we’ll probably even see forgotten characters getting a new spotlight! The only thing I can worry about is how monetization is handled: it can be mostly cosmetic, but for characters, WB should consider selling them either individually or as part of an IP-themed pass DLC. And PC compatibility, but we’ll have to wait.
Saints Row: The Delayed Restart
Video Credit: Saints Row's YouTube channel
Embracer Group, parent company of current games publisher Deep Silver, announced in a financial report that the reboot will be delayed to August 2022. Volition’s creative chief officer Jim Boone stated that the reason for the delay is because the studio underestimated the impact of the global pandemic on schedule, so to ensure the final product is the biggest and the best ever, the studio settled on a generous but necessary amount of time to realize it. Boone said: “Rest assured, there will not be any changes to the story or the characters or anything that we’ve lovingly imagined over the last few years and already shared with you.” While the game’s first announcement divided the playerbase, the developers aren’t intimidated and will deliver it as they intended, without fan input.
Although my only exposure to Saints Row was the mobile phone version of Saints Row 2, I was interested in the franchise for a long time, to the point where I bought Saints Row IV: Re-Elected when I got the chance. It’s a great game despite its glitchy nature and broken super powers. I can only be confident the reboot will not only be a great beginning, but a great refreshing restart for the franchise. Enough to give Rockstar the finger.
Favorite Game - Soulcalibur VI
I wanted to put MultiVersus, but realized it’s too early. As the first 3D fighting game I own (not counting Killer Instinct: Definitive Edition, which I only played through Xbox Game Pass), I’m satisfied, even more so that I got the Deluxe Edition (which includes a character from my other favorite game: NieR Automata). The biggest appeal to me is character customization: I can make any kind of character I want, of any race and gender! The combat system is easy to learn but hard to master. The game also features a library full of cutscenes from prior games, meaning I won’t need to get the previous games just to see the story. The game is available on Xbox One, PC (via Steam) and PS4.
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