Hello all my Fellow Bloggers / Follower/ Gamers,

Here is Episode 4 of my VLOG series (Name Pending) . Lots of updates! I talk about Nintendo and there announcements, and Pixels the Movie. Please watch!

Hello my Fellow Followers/ Bloggers / & Gamers,

So let me start this post with the obvious. I have heard the rumors it has blown up the internet probably more then Kim Kardashian’s naked body. That apparently Netflix and Nintendo are talking about bringing The Legend of Zelda as a possible series on Netflix. So let me start with saying I am as giddy as a school boy when it comes to this news. I am very skeptical not so much that it isn’t true, but I really just want the series to do justice to the game series that I love so much and care so deeply for. I think if the writers are good and they work extremely close with Nintendo that if it does get off the ground it will be a tremendous success. This news is so exciting. My draw literally almost dropped when I saw this on my Facebook Feed.

Now that I got that out of the way lets bring to the main focus of this piece. So with all this Zelda stuff flying around and with The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D I decided to pounce on the popularity. Know me being the gamer that I am and for all of you who have been reading my blog you know I am a die hard Zelda fanatic. I have the tattoos to prove it! So it feels I saw a bunch of people really jumping on the band wagon. It made me feel like for a few minutes that hey I liked The Legend of Zelda way before it was cool to like it. I had watched those Matthew McConaughey Lincoln MKC commercials where he says how he was driving Lincoln before they paid him to drive Lincoln. I thought to myself I should do a video on this in that style! So I watched the commercials on YouTube, I studied them and I made my own commercial of sorts. It’s a parody of the commercials and pretty much the lines are almost word for word what he says in 2 of his different commercials. So I grew the courage and I recorded the video of myself, I recorded some gameplay of Majora’s Mask on the Nintendo 64 and with a couple of hours I had me a video. I think its pretty freaking funny and so do some of my friends, so I hope all of you enjoy watching it and promote it lets make this go viral! I really had a lot of fun doing this and I am slowly building up The Gamer Keith brand.

I have some exciting news! First with a brand new year comes a brand new Logo! I have updated the logo so it is not as dull and kind of gave it a cool retro feel to show my old school gaming roots. So enough beating around the bush and let the cat out of the bag if you haven’t gathered this yet, I was able to procure web hosting space with my cable provider and they have given me a website domain! So now I officially have my own official website! My word press site is now decommissioned and the previous link will now take you to the new website!

2015 is going quite awesome for me so far and I cannot wait for everything to come out as far as gaming and just what life has in store for me. I am in a good place right now people. (Sorry if this is sappy I just had to say it because this is my corner of the internet dammit!)

To just continue with this momentum please subscribe my Facebook and Twitter pages which you can click on either in this post or on the side bar. Also like my YouTube Channel by following the video above ↑.

I look forward to all your feedback and your support and welcome to the new website! I look forward to sharing with you on my piece of the internet all my gaming and nerdy goodness.

– Keith

Well it has been an a riveting year for games this year, it has also been a tough year for the gaming community. 2014 is literally ending tomorrow evening and the new year of 2015 is starting. In this post I am just going to review some of the more interesting highlights to me for the year of 2014. I may not hit on exactly every single note because lets face it come November the market was so over run with new releases that we all felt the pain in our wallets, and it is what really stood out for the year was the title after title after title release. So without further ado lets review the year of 2014!

In the year 2014 we have seen 2 next gen consoles, a slew of games, and 2 next gen consoles just waiting to have some real next generation games to really be released for it. January was a really slow month for console games, however the PC market was flooded with titles that really made PC gamers (Who are the superior gamers) so excited. I really can’t say to much for the month of January.

Then February marched in and we had a good amount of releases, with Donkey Kong : Tropical Freeze, Bravely Default, and Final Fantasy XIII: Lightning Returns. Then we got the news that one of my favorite studios Irrational Games was closing. If you are unfamiliar with Irrational Games well shame on you! Irrational Games are the creators of System Shock and BioShock Franchises. I loved the BioShock series, the first BioShock was just so amazing and wondrous. The story was amazing where you felt actual emotions and you felt like you were the main character. You had ups and downs and lefts and rights. The graphics were beautiful and you felt in this under the sea city known as Rapture was just breathtaking seeing a once amazing city fall into decay. Then you had BioShock 2 which continued the story from 1 and didn’t meet to the same response as the original had did but still an amazing game. Then you had BioShock: Infinite which just I didn’t know how to feel at first because it didn’t take place in the fallen under water city of Rapture but rather in the sky city of Columbia. My opinion greatly changed with this after completing it and seeing the game evolve, it still blows your mind. I digress though but Irrational Games you shall be missed greatly.

March is where 2014 everything clicked and the trend began. We saw South Park : The Stick of Truth release on the Xbox 360 and pS4…Finally!! The game was fantastic funny and was worthy of the South Park name. I am so glad this game not only did not get cancelled but met to such brilliant reviews and even won awards!! Then you had the glorified demo of Metal Gear Solid V, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeros. With this you were introduced to not only a older Big Boss who isn’t trying to kill Solid Snake but a new voice to the fabled character by none other the Jack Bauer himself Kiefer Sutherland. Along with fantastic graphics they added all new elements of Gameplay to the Metal Gear franchise that made combat smooth, but still keeping that classic Metal Gear charm. You still gotta be stealthy, you still rely on patience, and of course you always have your trusty Codec radio. I cannot wait to see the release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain next year, because this game impressed me so much. We had Titanfall release for the Xbox One, this kept most new console adopters happy for the time, especially with the online Multiplayer. Then of course I cannot leave out the release of the highly anticipated online collectible card game from Blizzard. Hearth Stone : Heroes of Warcraft. This game is not only free to play but now is across multiple platforms including the iPad and Android Tablets, and highly addictive if you learn how to play it right and have money to buy the packs of cards.

Then in April another PC game month with Goat Simulator, a hilarious game that just sparked so many new simulator games that just are so silly and mindless that you can’t help but not play them. Granted you think they are stupid at first but as you play them you ask yourself, “Why am I still playing this.” I did not play Elder Scrolls Online another game that was released during this time because I just couldn’t deal with another MMO, but the game itself I heard very mixed opinions on. The one game that I absolutely loved in the month of April was Child of Light. Child of Light is a 2D side scroller RPG made by Ubisoft. This game not only was magical in its simplistic game play and fairy-tale plot driven story, but what really made this game shine was the artistic graphics. This game was in my opinion Art, plain and simple. The backgrounds were gorgeous the characters were beautifully drawn and all were designed in a water-color aesthetically pleasing.

May was the month that kicked off the huge spike in Nintendo! I am so proud of Nintendo, because they are climbing back to the top with this month. Nintendo not only had Mario Golf: World Tour for the Nintendo 3DS, but they had the amazingly successful and fun Mario Kart 8 that launched the Wii U to great heights. Mario Kart 8 was what Nintendo needed to get back in the game. The game was knocked out of the park! With new and classic levels new karts, new everything! Also it was the start of the whole Nintendo actually allowing you to post your videos of gameplay onto YouTube directly from the system. You see this was a bit of a hot button issues because Gamers who did lets plays with Nintendo games Nintendo was not to happy with them, because they were monetizing off there work. I can see the perspective from both sides, but I already went over that in a previous post (Read that Here). All this was gearing up to the month gamers drool for and wait for all year I am talking about June

June is not only the beginning of Summer but it is Gamers month as I like to call it. Simply because you guessed it… E3!!! (Read my E3 Review Here) Also thats the month that I started writing and reviewing games again here on my lovely blog thanks to you guys! Every year every company makes there way to Los Angeles to show off there games fro the coming months and next year and ohh this E3 was fantastic because it was all about the Games! We had games announcements left and right! It was exciting to be a gamer at E3 this year. Nintendo again I think stole the show, however Sony out of left field who usually does not have very good shows at E3 really put up a fight this year and made me glad I actually purchased a PlayStation 4. They showed titles like No Mans Sky, and Uncharted 4 and a slew of other titles. Microsoft however was a little lackluster in there performance.  There were a couple of gems that were release like Shovel Knight, but the main spotlight was E3 and the games that were coming up in the coming months and year.

Now in July and August it wasn’t to exciting so instead of rambling off titles that really didn’t make the cut because I honestly didn’t play them I am gonna take this time and talk about some of the trends that were happening in gaming along with some stuff that was happening in the industry over the year. 1st in August there was Gamescom in Cologne, Germany. It was a pretty awesome show, continuing off the success of E3 the game company’s really brought there A games to the table. However this year trends really started to grow. It was a year of HD remakes and remasters. You had Fable: Anniversary, The Last of US HD, GTA V for next gen, the Master Chief Collection, Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD Remix, I mean honestly the list goes on and on. Then the second thing I saw a trend in this year which I already went into great depths again in previous posts, but there are definitive console editions and exclusive content for consoles. I really don’t like this because I think Microsoft and Sony instead of fighting and spending money on exclusive stuff for 3rd party multi-console games they should I dunno make new games! Also it was a year of a lot and I do mean a lot of glitches with supposedly finished games. First was Watch Dogs, following suite with Assassins Creed Unity, Halo Master Chief Collection and many more. This in my opinion was unacceptable, I mean you can’t release something unfinished charge us full price and then say your fixing it, then in order for the fix to go through you gotta buy downloadable content and purchase that to get the fix along with content that’s already in the game. I know the industry is trying to get the most out of consumers, but when are we going to draw the line in the sand? I think there was enough outrage with this that I hope and pray that developers get the message. Then there was the purchase of Twitch by Amazon. Then what really rocked the gaming community was GamerGate, I rather not go into this but its sad that we as a community had to go through this because some people can’t play nice with others and we all can’t be grown ups, it was a sad time these months for both the community and gaming but don’t fret because September was just around the corner with its gaming goodness.

In September we saw the release of Destiny the claimed shooter from Bungie, this is what warmed up the month, then of course my favorite Hyrule Warriors was released along with the definitive Lord of the Rings games Middle Earth: Shadows of Mordor.  September was the warm up month for what would be the beginning of what some people called Gamergedon. Because then in October we had a load of games. We had a good amount of Horror games for the spooky time of the year with Betheseda’s Evil Within, and Sega who finally brought an Alien game worth calling an Alien game unlike that piece of crap Aliens : Colonial Marines. Alien: Isolation was scary and everything you would expect from an Alien game. It had its moments of frustration but this game really brought new life to the survival horror genre along with the Alien franchise name. Xbox One had the punk rock spectacular Sunset Overdrive, and Nintendo gave us more with Super Smash Bros. 3DS , and Bayonetta 2 for Wii U which was not only an amazing fun game but it was so well recieved by critics getting scores almost near perfect. May was the start of Nintendo’s climb and October made it even more hotter, but this was nothing what was in store for next month.

November was what was called Gamergedon because of the title after title major releases that came out that month. November had releases like Call of Duty : Advance Warfare, the first call of duty game I genuinely enjoyed in a long long time and I actually purchased it. World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor, Halo the Master Chief Collection, Little Big Planet 3, Dragon Age: Inquisition , Lego Batman 3, Far Cry 4. I mean the titles go on! However I keep on stating it and I do apologize but this year was Nintendo’s big comeback with not only the launch of Super Smash Bros. Wii U, The Collectible toy come to life Amiibo figures which are hotter the Skylanders at this juncture, and Pokemon Alpha Ruby and Omega Sapphire.  I still am playing all these titles so hopefully I can get some reviews out for you with in the next month but being so super busy with personal items and the Holidays it was just to overload for me!

Things wind down for the close of the year in December with Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD Remix , and more Nintendo goodness with Captain Toad Treasure Tracker and NES Remix Pack for Wii U. However in December the gaming community was able to put down there battle axes with each other and we were treated to probably the best Video Game Award Show. It was a celebration of games and the community. What really impressed me the most was that games that actually deserved the awards in the categorys actually were game I would choose! It was amazing. Along with all the announcements. My favorite being the gameplay of the New Zelda Wii U, and announcement of Star Fox coming out in 2015. Then we were treated to the PlayStation Experience where Sony had there day of showing off there 1st party titles.

All and All 2014 was slow to start but ended with a Big Bang! There weren’t really any show stoppers this year but it did open the door to a great start of 2015. I am excited not only for the continued success that Nintendo so richly deserves but also what to look forward to for all the next generation consoles! PlayStation 4 I think is going to be the big dog to beat with its amazing line up with games like No Mans Sky and the Order 1886, but Xbox One has yet to show off its muscle with its teaming up with a lot of Indy Developers. So with that being said I hope everyone had a great 2014, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year to all! I will see you all in 2015!

Game On!

-Keith

First I just want to say I hope everyone had a very happy and productive Thanksgiving, I hope everyone had lots of food, special time with your friends and family, and of course lots of gaming!

It has been a very busy month of November, we had a lot of new games releases just in time for the Holiday season. Way to many games as a a matter of fact. So much so I am going not only broke from spending so much but I am getting overwhelmed trying to do these video reviews. Its quite the process I wish that I could just push theses out faster, but like I really said when I first started this blog a few months ago

I will have content up every day or anything, but I will do my absolute best to just pretty much just give my opinions on gaming as frequently as I can. Is this the source of all gaming Knowledge… Hell NO! Nothing for nothing there are people out there that have this information MONTHS in advanced, and I would just be reciting the same crap, it would be second hand crap from some nobody. This is just my little slice of the Huge Internet Pie, my little corner of gaming.

This is a 2 for the price of 1 article. The first part is a little update about the good ol’ Gamer Keith then I have some awesome stuff to talk about. So first I know, I haven’t posted anything for almost a month! Uggh! It was a very busy time for me and I had a lot of personal health items to really take care, I do love gaming but my health has become extremely important to me, If I do not take care of myself then I won’t be around to give you guys all this amazing content! Later on next year I will explain more about this. So needless to say I have been busy with that and also I work in Retail so its becoming the busy times it being Christmas and all. The YouTube channel is growing with my videos with not only my Loot Crate unboxings but the couple of Video Reviews I have done, and I have started a Facebook Page which can be found @ https://www.facebook.com/TheGamerKeith . So all my loyal followers please follow me at any of those place, I do appreciate it.

I digress now its time to get it on about the gaming! There were a lot of games that were released in November. We had World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor, Super Smash Bros Wii U. , Little Big Planet 3, Dragon Age: Inquisition, I mean honestly the list goes on. It was a huge month for gaming, and December is starting out on a pretty good High Note with Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix and Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker and in a couple of days we will have the first Destiny Expansion Pack. So again I am really trying to get some reviews together for you guys, so please be patient with me :-).  Then in the beginning of December we as gamers had quite a few early presents. This first one which took me by a huge surprise was The Game Awards 2014. Geoff Keighley really did an amazing job on this new conceptualization of what was previously a horrible show from Spike that was just merchandising and if a company had enough money to throw around of course won whatever award they wanted. The one that pissed me off one year is when GOTY went to Madden. What the hell really?!? However they did a complete overall of the show and actually they did it right. They nominated actual games that gamers play, they recognized the fans and the whole community and actually brought people who knew what they were doing. What really made me happy the most is that titles that actually won awards are titles that are amazing and game oriented just not the next Call of Duty winning another award. Coupled with all this is they actually made this a mini E3 almost with announcements and world premieres. The one that got me the most would be no surprise of The Legend of Zelda new gameplay trailer. I so cannot wait to see more on this. Not only does the game look amazing visually, but the mechanic shown so far seem quite nice, especially with the horse actually not having to be to driven because you know Horse don’t want to crash either in real life, and the world of Hyrule is now massive. This has GOTY possibly GOTY for the next 5 years written all over it but this is my humble opinion. Couple that with news that Star Fox is releasing next year. Then Metal Gear Online footage, No Mans Sky. The announcements made this show. Congratulations to Nintendo on all of their wins including Developer of the year. This brought tears of joy to my face because Nintendo knocked it out of the park this year and next year is looking even more amazing.

If all this wasn’t enough then Sony who is celebrating 20 years of PlayStation had there PlayStation Experience conference which had even more announcements. The first which was trending but to hear it directly from the horses mouth is Street Fighter V is a Ps4 and PC Exclusive!! Then Uncharted 4 15 minutes of gameplay demo, the announcement of a new God of War, more No Mans Sky details and video. Then they made announcements that the PS Vita is not dead, and they are coming out with some pretty awesome PSOne classics. The hit me the hardest is the release of Suikoden I & II. Then I was punched in the face by Square Enix’s laziness of bring Final Fantasy VII to PS4 which just pisses me off because Square is going to suck this tit dry. I mean Square Enix stop it! Stop It! Enough with the re-release of Final Fantasy VII every couple of months. Don’t get me wrong I really liked VII but enoughs enough. Instead of putting time and effort into this why don’t you I don’t know make some new damn games that don’t suck! Even after this though It has just been an amazing couple of days. Gaming is looking awesome for 2015!

Be sure to check back I am going to have stuff for you guys soon, I promise! I have some treats in store for you this month!

-Keith

So Nintendo had a Nintendo Direct conference on Wednesday, Nintendo is taking a different approach than most gaming company’s and has decided that probably about almost every quarter they come out with a recorded show that pretty much show cases there progress so far and gives updates on new project releases, and what have you. So this is just my thoughts and recap on the event itself.

So first and its the amazing news, The Legend of Zelda : Majora’s Mask is coming to the Nintendo 3DS and it is coming Spring 2015! The mill was a constant buzz on this one and now it is finally becoming a reality. I am so excited to see it, just getting the facelift like in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and apparently will have the same level of difficulty and retain its essence. I loved Majora’s Mask for Nintendo 64, and now I will get to be able to play it again on my 3DS on the go. I think this was an amazing move by Nintendo to really bring back great pieces of the franchises that they are known for, and I’ll bring more up on that in a bit ;-). Then we heard about a new Nintendo 3DS game called Code Name S.T.E.A.M . A turn based tactical RPG with a steam punk imaginative crossover of classic literature, Abraham Lincoln is in it so is Tom Sawyer, Tiger Lily (From Peter Pan), The Lion (From Oz), I am not to familiar with this game but from what I have seen in this Nintendo Direct it seems like it should be a lot of fun. Its like Advance Wars but in real-time. Mario Kart 8 is getting not 1 but 2 Expansions in the upcoming months to follow, where they will be bringing an F-Zero Course! Link from The Legend of Zelda! and new skins for different character and vehicles. Mario Kart 8 was a Home-Run for Nintendo and I am so ecstatic that they are going the right way with DLC and online play especially with the support for Super Smash Bros. Wii U.

What I think one of the major major focuses on in the show were the Amiibo’s. Amiibo’s are launching November 21 along with Super Smash Bros Wii U and what Nintendo was really stressing is all the in game content that Amiibo’s will be unlocking in for current and future releases. Out of the box already in Mario Kart you can unlock new skins for your Mii’s that correspond to your favorite characters, in Hyrule Warriors using the Link Figure you can unlock a new weapon, and of course you have all the features for Super Smash Bros Wii U and soon on the Nintendo 3DS. This is just so cool, I mean my poor wallet is crying right now. I did like Skylanders and the whole new concept of bringing toys to life on screen was awesome but my one major gripe was with so many characters to purchase and variations that it would become a really expensive and obsessive hobby for which I really do not have the time or money for. But with Nintendo at least they are releasing them in small waves so it makes me able to digest it a little easier, or this is just me trying rationalize my love for Nintendo. With just these titles already the future is looking awesome!

Other titles were given names like the New Kirby game for Wii U, and NES Remix coming to 3DS, and it was some more info revealed on one of my more anticipated Nintendo Titles Splatoon. Now this was the game I was watching for during E3. I finally saw a shooter esque multi-player game for Nintendo, with the right Nintendo charm attached. This game looks like so much fun and I really hope they have some great online support, originally I didn’t think this game would have a 1 player mode but now it has been announced, that a 1 player mode will be available. I honestly think I was happy just knowing of the Multi-player, not so sure how I feel about the single player yet but we shall see as this game develops. The thought also just crossed my mind can you imagine if there were Amiibo support for this game and getting different upgrades and skins O____0 mind blown!

Lastly and this one took me by complete and utter surprise and this is a 2 parter which I told you I would come back to. But The Duck Hunt Dog will be playable in Super Smash Bros!!! Talk about over excited. Nothing for almost 30 years on Duck Hunt and than BAM! Duck Hunt Dog which is probably one of the most iconic characters in all of video games just for the laugh and taunting alone will now be playable. If that weren’t enough they then threw a left hook and are bringing Duck Hunt to the Wii U Virtual Console, using the Wii Remote. I am sooooo soooo excited that I can hardly contain myself. I am glad they are bringing back classic franchises for a new generation of gamers so they can see and experience the titles I grew up with as a kid.

Overall Nintendo knocked it out of the park again and Nintendo has had an amazing year of 2014 and will have an amazing 2015. 2014 brought Nintendo Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros, Bayonetta 2 and so many more titles. Nintendo welcome back to the top of the heap and show all of these gamers what Nintendo can do!

– Keith

This is but one of the legends of which the people speak…

Hello loyal followers, gamers, and bloggers of all sorts:

Last week I asked the question of what game series I should invest some time in until the release of 1 of 2 games. Either replay The Legend of Zelda series or replay Kingdom Hearts series. I asked and one person heard my calling. So without further ado I have made my decision. I am going to play The Legend of Zelda series in chronoligical order according to the Hyrule Historia. I am excited to announce that I am going to take on what I am going to dub with an unoriginal name because Zeldathon seemed to have been taken on Twitch, I am calling this series that may take place every so often in a length of time of my choosing. So this is going to be the first “The Gamer Keith Challenge”. This challenge I am going to be playing from 07/16/2014 to the release of my highly anticipated game Hyrule Warriors which is set to release around 09/26/2014. I know 2 Months is A LOT of time, but considering I do have a job and other such obligations that it may be just the right amount of time.

So the challenge is outlined like this I will be playing the Legend of Zelda series in order according to the Hyrule Historia. Instead of typing it out into one long run on sentence I am going to outline it here for everyone in which the order I will be playing them, and what system I will be playing it on. While its true I have every single copy of the games in there original formats and duplicate released on different platform of each game in the series. However because of my capture devices I am going to play them mainly on GameCube, Wii, and Wii U.

Some People have a trophy wall. I have a Legend of Zelda Wall

So here is the order in which I will play them (Please Note that I will be leaving out the DS Titles and 3DS titles so that I may be able to stream them & lets not even mention the CD-i games.)

The Beginning : The Legend of the Goddesses and the Hero

1.  Skyward Sword (Wii)

2. The Minish Cap (Game Boy Advance [Played on GameCube through the Game Boy Player])

3. Ocarina of Time (GameCube The Legend of Zelda: Collector’s Disc)

The Hero is Defeated Timeline

4. A Link to the Past (Game Boy Advance [Played on GameCube through the Game Boy Player])

5 & 6. Oracle of Ages & Oracle of Seasons (Game Boy Color [Played on GameCube through the Game Boy Player])

8. The Legend of Zelda  (GameCube The Legend of Zelda: Collector’s Disc)

9. The Adventures of Link 

The Hero is Triumphant (Child Era)

10. Majora’s Mask  (GameCube The Legend of Zelda: Collector’s Disc)

11. Twilight Princess (Wii)

12. Four Sword Adventures (GameCube)

The Hero is Triumphant (Adult Era)

13. The Wind Waker (Wii U HD)

So the challenge is set 13 games over the span of 2 months to collect every heart piece, every bug, every upgrade in the above 13 games. I will obviously be streaming this via my Twitch Account and as I defeat the games I will be making updates on my Blog here. Then once the 26th is on I will be playing Hyrule Warriors! If I get enough support, I am going to aim for possibly be doing these challenges for charity down the road. So everyone wish me luck!!! I will keep you posted as I make my progress.

-Keith

While more of the bigger game companies are constantly chasing this “Next Gen” mentallity, Indy Developers such as Yacht Club seem to be taking a different approach. Their game Shovel Knight is an old school inspired adventure platform game for both the Nintendo Wii U & Nintendo 3DS. A homage to the retro era of gaming that throws in game styles all of classic NES games such as Mega Man, Duck Tales, Zelda II : Links Adventure, Ninja Gaiden, Castlevania, and so many more!  

Dig It! Literally

Shovel Knight while drawing inspiration from great titles that you can instantly recognize (If you grew and or are familiar with said titles) is not what makes Shovel Knight a great game. It is own game with its own art style, soundtrack, and plot. It is not just some sort of half way inspired rip off just trying to cash in on the retro crowd. As soon as you hit start your introduced to the old school input select screen. As the game starts we are introduced to Shovel Knight’s story revolving around that your partner Shield Knight are seperated and all hell is breaking loose as the main villan simply known as the Enchantress takes over your kingdom with her band of eight devious knights known as Order of No Quarter. Similar to that of Mega Man with its Robot Masters, each knight has his own themed stage and set of attacks and patterns.   The gameplay is simple with is control scheme of move, jump, and attack. The gameplay is fluid and responsive. Shovel Knight wields well…A Shovel, the implement can bash enemies with a quick slash or pull a Scrooge McDuck pogo-like attack just like in Duck Tales. Not only is it your weapon but it is also a tool that you can use to dig up treasure, or destroy certain obstacles in your way.  After the initial introductory level your introduced to the map that just screams Super Mario 3. You move around the map and defeat each boss such as Specter Knight, Lich Knight, and even a King Knight at the tile they reside on to progress.  Just like in Super Mario 3 to break up the monogamy of just clearing the board you will even cross paths with enemies similar to that of the Hammer and Boomerang Bros.

Map Similar to the Style of Super Mario 3.

As you progress  through the game and gather loot you can backtrack to the villages to purchase useful upgrades that can upgrade your handy dandy shovel with extra attacks or even have it pulse of energy, not only can you upgrade your weapon but your health & magic bars along with even your Armor. This is where Shovel Knight adds a bit of strategy into the game. While gathering loot in the game is extremely easy because pretty much every enemy level with hidden cavern your explore or encounter are full of valuables. However what you choose to spend your loot on is very important in the game because you never know if a certain sub weapon you can acquire similar to that of Castlevania  needs to be upgraded or purchased from that random merchant that may pop up on that particular board. It can possibly make a difference in the games more difficult sections.

The stages are designed just like in the style of Mega Man where each level has a different theme and enemies, while the main focus really isn’t on how many enemies can be killed it takes the approach of more the platforming aspect with more difficult feats to overcome. While the game is in the style retro gameplay of it seems like you only have one chance to go through the level, this is not the case. There check points set throughout the different levels, Trust me the first play through of this game you will die quite often and get hurt. This is where it differs from the more retro approach and when you die your penalized losing your loot and then can regenerate from one of the check points and go back and collect some of the loot that you had previously lost. However to add more of an element of strategy and possibly to make it even tougher, you can destroy said check points and be rewarded with a substantial amount of loot. Leaving you with the question of to destroy or not to destroy.

Destroy Enemies with your Shovel same way Uncle Scrooge did way back when.

Shovel Knight is one of my favorite games so far in 2014. It’s a shining example of the Retro Old school NES games that not many of the newer generations of gamer have gotten to play yet. It’s not only appealing to Retro gamer but it forms its own game that can be an easy pick up and play. If this wasn’t enough though you can play with the New Game+ mode just like in The Legend of Zelda. It not only is a beautiful game that plays amazing but it also sounds great as well! It not only reminds of those old school 8 bit games with that really signified creativity and really setting the mood without having all the modern frills of a full orchestra arraignment, but reminds me of the music styling of my friend Reggie (Rolento13) who really showed me the meaning of game music of this style. The game will roughly last you about 8 hrs but it definetely worth it with the backtracking, upgrading and exploring that can be done. What also makes it great is it adds the element of strategy and really making you memorize the movements of your opponents instead of this run in guns a blazing tactic that seems to be the somewhat norm. I really do hope that more Indy Developers like Yacht Club can really put the screws to some of these bigger game company’s to show that you don’t need a million dollar budget to make an amazing game.

 I rate Shovel Knight an 4 out of 5. For its amazing Gameplay, Retro Style, Soundtrack and replay ability.

Check out my friend Reggie’s Music site for that memorable old school retro feel @ ReginaldLSeayJr.com

Now that we got that out of the way let me start by saying that this years E3 was fantastic! I would probably even go so far as to say it was one of the best in years because not to toot my own horn as predicted it was ALL about the games! Now I wrote the blog about not even being day 1 and how amazing of a start it was. So not gonna regurgitate the same stuff I have already stated.  Let me get to the meat of the show and dive full in by listing the E3 games that took us by storm this year and my games of the show. While not all games I will sit and mention in great length and detail I will again reitirate that this was all about the games this year! So much so that I had reserved literally about $200 dollars worth of reserves at GameStop, which as I list the the games I will provide links so that you too can also reserve these titles if available before time runs out so without further stalling here are the top games I seen at E3 :

Best Xbox Exclusive Game :

Sunset Overdrive
(Insomniac Games) Release: 10/28/2014

Runner Up:

Ori and the Blind Forest
(Moon Studios) Release: TBA

This one was really really really tough. Microsoft’s show while enjoyable I could not really shake the feeling that it could have done better. I digress though. Sunset Overdrive third person shooter from the legendary studio that brought us Ratchet & Clank. The game looks first of absolutely gorgeous. When I first saw the trailer at last years E3 I thought this game would be something to look out for but actually seeing the game-play footage and the slew of weapons that you will be able to use. The game play looks like the GTA style sandbox game but its really has emphasis on speed and jump and grinding on power lines and rails. Cover does not seem to be an option in this game, along with a huge 8 player multi-player seems like one of the games that is going to define the Xbox One. The runner up was this beautiful Xbox exclusive game Ori and the Blind Forest. As soon as I watched the trailer for this game I was absolutely mesmerized by the beautiful graphics. The game play is a puzzle platform type with what seems to have a beautiful story to match its graphical style. I had a hard time deciding between Sunset Overdrive and Ori and the Blind Forest. Reason I went for Sunset Overdrive because it will definitely be released this year will Ori is still to be announced, so thats why I gave it the runner up title.

Best PlayStation Exclusive Game:

No Mans Sky

(Hello Games) Release: TBA

Hands down Sony blew me away this year as much if not more then Nintendo, now while No Mans Sky is yet to have a release date it did have a playable demo at the show. And I am sorry this game looks absolutely Amazing! The game is about adventure, survival, exploration, and did I mention that it is literally endless. The developers promise that every game is going to be different for every player that no 2 worlds where you start will be alike. This is a huge promise and I do hope that Hello Games can produce on this one. The exploration aspect seems astonishing. The fact that you can truly explore a world find resources for trade and barter. I forgot to mention that your a space explorer and you have a ship. The part of the game I am looking forward to is the Dog fighting space travel Star Wars feel that you hop into your ship and fly to any system to explore. Its in the first person also to really give you the depth that you are this character and doing the exploration. This is why I had no problems picking this game as the perfect PlayStation Exclusive. I know some people would say pick Destiny or The Order 1886 or even Bloodborne, but this game I feel is whats gonna really just blow everyone away at its release.

Best Nintendo Exclusive Game:

Hyrule Warriors
(Omega Force, Team Ninja) Release: September 26, 2014

Super Smash Bros. Wii U & 3DS
(Bandai Namco Games) Release: Wii U: Q4 2014 3DS: October 3, 2014

What can I say Nintendo I would give them all game of show, and all the awards on the face of the planet, but I gotta be fair here. This one I could not just choose one so it had to be a tie between what the new Legend of Zelda IP Hyrule Warriors and Super Smash Bros. for both the Wii U & 3DS. Super Smash Bros. was the star of Nintendo’s lineup. They had a huge tournament for the game and from what I have seen from the Showroom floor it was marketed everywhere. I dunno what I can really say about Smash Bros. other than…Its freaking Smash Bros! The core mechanics of the game haven’t really changed too too much from platform to platform starting from the N64 to the Wii. Granted the character roster, the trophies, stages, and graphic have always been tweaked from platform to platform. What I love most is that they are actually bringing back the Nintendo GameCube controller! Just goes to show you GameCube was the superior system! The thing that definetely blew me away though was the introduction of Pac-Man! I honestly did not see that coming, so now you can have an old school showdown of Pac-Man vs. Mario vs. Sonic vs. Mega Man. It is just bad ass. Where I am really going to focus on is at no surprise to anyone is Hyrule Warriors. I am very very excited for this title. I kind of went over my excitement in my previous entry so not gonna beat a dead horse to death. The game has just this certain appeal, its mostly because its a new Legend of Zelda title but because its bringing a new spin to a classic franchise. I can’t wait to bring the massive scale of Hyrule to my Wii U, hack and slash Moblins and other forces of evil in a grand scale and not only play as the main Hero Link but as Zelda, Impa, and a slew of other recently announced characters.

Best Multiplatform Game :

Alien:Isolation
(SEGA) Release: October 7, 2014   Consoles : PS3 , PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, & PC

Lots of games to really choose from in this category, it was a real twister because what I really saw this year was a lot of Multiplatform games however it was mostly a peeing competition with Sony and Microsoft because there was going to be exclusive content to each system so I really didn’t want to pick one console over the other when it came to games like Batman: Arkham Knight which has supposedly more exclusive items to PS4, Destiny where each console was getting different content, and even Dragon Age: Inquisition which is getting exclusive Xbox One content. So I decided to go with Alien: Isolation. I know what most people are thinking, the Alien franchise as far as video games are concerned have a very long track history of being absolute god awful pieces of crap. However this looks like the Alien game we have been so desperately waiting for. The game takes place before the events of Aliens and you play as Ripleys daughter trying to solve the mystery of her mothers disappearance.  This game looks absolutely horrifyingly scary. This looks like its really bring back the suspense of the survival Horror genre. The Xenomorph (The Alien) can literally be very unpredictable, your going to be spending most of your time trying to hide and at all cost avoid the Xenomorph who can crawl through vents the ceiling and is just a hunting killing machine. If the Xenomorph wasn’t enough there are more then just Aliens to fear aboard. My only fear with this game is that what they are showing is always as “A Work in Progress” and that it will not live up to what we have been expecting. mostly because of the horrible lawsuit that followed Colonial Marines. If they can produce what they have shown so far it should be an amazing game for not only the franchise but for the survival horror genre.

With so many games to choose from this year was a real nail bitter and while I wish I could give awards in every category and say how great everything is that would take WAY TO LONG… This year was all about the games. This is all leading up to and with out further ado I bring you my E3 :

Game of Show :

Evolve
(Turtle Rock) Release: October 21, 2014   Consoles : PS4, Xbox One, & PC

Now I know what some people are thinking, that why didn’t I choose a Nintendo Game? Why didn’t I choose maybe an RPG or an Adventure Game? Why is it that FPS always seem to win game of show? Did you sell out Keith?

Well let me say that this game looks absolutely sick! I picked this game because of it originality and because this is what Next Generation is!  It is like Monster Hunter Ultimate on Steroids, Crack, and Viagra all at the same time. Made by the Legendary Team who brought us Left 4 Dead comes Evolve. Evolve is a first person shooter but there is a twist to it. It is a 4 player vs. 1 Player game. You can play as either the one of 4 classes of Hunter either a Trapper, Medic, Assault, or Support or even play as the Monster that is being hunted. I think this game not only looks beautiful but plays insanely. The goal is if your the hunters to take out the monster and if your the monster take out the Hunters. If that wasn’t enough though you got a giant rampaging ever upgradeable monster to deal with but you gotta deal with different elements of the game such as just the surrounding where a rock isn’t really a rock but some monster ready to tear you to shreds! It is really help defining the new age of multiplayer that you see in games like Monster Hunter. You can upgrade your character or monster as playing through as the game progresses. The game seems fast pace strategic and over all just a leap forward for the next generation consoles. This is the game to watch out for!!

In conclusion, I know I left out a lot of games that either flew to under the radar like Tales of Xillia 2 or Kingdom Hearsts HD 2.5 ReMix  or games that are so in your face like Rainbow Six Siege or Mortal Kombat X. I think this years E3 was one of the best by far. Two things I seen shine at this years E3 was that independent studios are finally getting the recognition and time of day they so richly deserve because a lot of these games aren’t made with Millions dollar budgets but can contest with the best and biggest Studios out there.  Secondly the war has really begun with the exclusive content to different systems. I dunno how I feel about this, because its really forcing me to buy multiple copies of the same goddamn game. Which is what companies want for you to spend money!  I digress…I wish I really had more to really write about all the games I didn’t get to talk about but then again I am just one man and these are the games that stood out to me the most. These are my opinions. And while I reserved more then just the games listed above this is really only the tip of the iceberg. I look forward to the next few months as these amazing titles are released!

-Keith

While Nintendo decided to take a different route when it comes to E3 mostly because they have been making tiny announcements with there Nintendo Direct conferences through out the year but all I can really say for Nintendo at E3 this year was WOW! What a show! I loved the Robot Chicken / Super Smash Bros introduction it was both exciting and funny! I also could not believe that it was Reggie’s 10th E3 anniversary I remember when he first took the stage and was talking about how he’s all about kicking ass and taking names, and dared to step up to Sony by telling them that there console sales were not his Problem! But I digress… Started off with Super Smash Bros, I cannot wait for this title and the fact that there are now Mii’s and the newly announced Amiibo. The fact that Nintendo is throwing their hats into the ring for the NFC figures with exclusive content to Nintendo games the skies the limit! Imagine being able to play Super Smash Bros Wii U with an ever expandable cast that you can customize your own Link with different move sets! Or even being able to put the Nintendo characters into different games. Then once the Super Smash rolled up, we were treated to the exciting Kirby’s Epic Yarn like game Yoshi’s Wooly World and Captain Toad Treasure Tracker.  you had Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire remakes for the 3DS with some new Mega Evolutions and a release date of this year. Then we had amazing new IPs like Splatoon that looks like the game to own on the Wii U, it is a Shooter game that really has an emphasis on fun. You play as squids the spread your ink. The main objective being that you dominate the map with your ink. This game is slated for 2015.

This is where however I go off the handle. The crown jewel in the mighty Nintendo Empire. We were treated to not only 1 new Legend of Zelda  game which is a new IP known as Hyrule Warriors, but two a new Zelda Wii U (Pending Title I assume) game play trailer!! First Hyrule Warriors, just WOW! I mean a hack and slash Zelda game like Dynasty Warriors. The title is after all made by the same team who developed Dynasty Warriors. So excited for this title, originally I thought this would be exclusive to Japan simply because Dynasty Warrior while it was a wonderful games for the PS2 weren’t exactly terribly popular here in North America. But the fact that you can actually play with not only Link but Zelda, Impa (Zelda’s bodyguard, nanny, mentor), and Midna (from Twilight Princess) will be playable characters alongside the green clad hero. What really makes this game seem so amazing is just the grand scale assaults of enemies instead of the small skirmishes you generally experience in the franchise. That and it is staying true to the series by incorporating Links arsenal of weapons other then the claimed sword such as Bombs, and even the Fire Rod. With a release of September 26th this is a title that I already have claimed into my Zelda Collection. This however was not the highlight of the announcement. The best being the Trailer for the New Legend of Zelda Wii U. Eiji Aonuma the series director and designer announced not only the style art style of this New Zelda game but that they are making  a departure from the traditional mechanics of the Zelda Franchise. He stated that it will have a different approach to meet your objectives. With a beautiful scene appearing behind him we see Hyrule, in its peace and serenity followed by an action scene where a mechanical laser wielding machine disturbs the calm and lays chase to link where Link then confronts him. There are so much speculation rumor circulating this game that 2015 can not come quick enough for this title. This will be a welcome change to the series. While if you have not guessed it The Legend of Zelda series is by far my favorite series of all time, I think a refresh is definetely needed and welcome. I think this really changed with the mechanics in a Link Between Worlds where how you approach the dungeon does not have to be so linear and that you don’t need to defeat one dungeon to conquer the next. I really cannot wait to see how this game develops with its announcement of E3 2015 and possible same year release date.

So all and all Nintendo, had a fantastic Direct Show, followed by the Nintendo Treehouse (Which I would give a 1UP life to just be on that team being the Nintendo fan boy that I am). The Treehouse special had the man himself Miyamoto on as explained new game developments one which was leaked however not was shown at the show… StarFox! The games they did show like Giant Robot and the Security camera game looked quite like the traditional MO of Nintendo but look fun none the less.

My only real thing that I really wished from Nintendo was a little more titles that would be released this year instead of a handful of titles that would be released this followed by oh expect these major titles come out in 2015 like Splatoon, Zelda and Mario Maker. But then again with Super Smash Bros Wii U and 3DS , Hyrule Warriors, and Pokémon Ruby Alpha and Sapphire Omega. I think Nintendo is giving us a good heap of games to expect in the coming few months. Great job guys and I cannot wait for Hyrule Warriors!!!

-Keith

For all those who you don’t have their finger on the pulse of the YouTube gaming community, A little while back last year Nintendo ripped away all of these Videos of people playing there games or streaming there game content via the internet. They claimed it as copyright infringment and that it was diverting money away from Nintendo. So they made a lot of waves in the “Lets Play” community. Now this upset a lot of the Video Gaming Streaming community. So they banned a lot of content on YouTube. The Lets play people got pissed off and became very vocal about it.

Now, I am not super familiar with every aspect of the situation but to kinda ease the tension on the people of YouTube Lets Play community, and also with Mario Kart 8 being released ( P.S. Buy this game!!! If you have not bought this game go buy it now! If you don’t have a Wii U, buy the system and get this game.. You get the message…) Nintendo decided to release an Affiliate Program. Pretty much it would satisfy both Nintendo so they would get there cut of the millions of dollar of Ad Revenue generated by Ads on YouTube, but YouTube would get there respected cut and so on and so fourth. Now even more so the Lets Play community is still insulted and upset on the way they are being treated by Nintendo. They believe that since they are promoting there content that Nintendo should be thankful for the publicity and in fact should be paying them for playing there games on the respected YouTube gaming channels.

I would really like to be more active with the YouTube gaming community because its quite exciting. I mean I am playing the games anyway why not exhibit my skills. Some people like seeing people play games before they decide to make said purchase of games. I grew up when gaming was in its early years of gaming when it was really becoming into its own with the Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo and so on. I would go to my local video store and you would look at the box you see it or quite possibly read something in Nintendo Power previously and you would rent the game for the weekend. 6 out of 10 times the game was absolute and utter shit. This was before Video Game Reviews and even the Fucking Internet itself. So I had no idea what game I was renting or investing a possible weekend in or that my parents would buy for a Christmas or Birthday present. So the idea of showcasing a game off is fantastic idea!

Not to choose sides (but I will make my arguments later this my damn blog), I can see where the YouTube community is coming from. A lot of people are making a living now doing something they love, and a lot of companies compensate these players to play and promote these games, and why not? The Video Game companies make money from free promotion YouTube makes money from Ads and so does the promoter. So it beneficial. But I can see Nintendo’s point of view also, is that video game companies on the whole spend A LOT of money to develop produce package and market there games. They want there product being marketed and promoted certain way. They are concerned that they want to make as much money off there product as possible and that they be shared in such appropriate ways they seek fit.

My opinion, Nintendo is doing there thing they always have and always will. I want Nintendo to make all the money it can from any source possible because I think Nintendo has brought so much innovation and games in not only the form of hardware but software. I think there affiliate program is a great step in the right direction. I think that Nintendo is no different then dare I say Apple. Granted me and Apple have a very strained relationship but they really do make great a decent product. Nobody and I mean nobody criticizes Apple now. Everybody just lays back and accepts the same stuff. They can come out with an iPhone 6 that only adjustment is a bigger screen and possibly a slightly better camera and people would flock to that shit in MASS drones as if it were the cure for cancer. I mean everything that Apple does they charge for! You want a developer kit, you gotta pay! You want to sell your product in the APP store, you gotta pay! I think Nintendo is taking the same approach. Why shouldn’t they make money in every possible venture.

I really hope that some Nintendo Exec will get around to reading my antics and know this. The gaming community is on your side! I have always been a Nintendo fan ever since the NES and will always be. No matter what decisions they make no matter if I agree or disagree I stand behind them because I know they will continue to keep making the best product. Nintendo I would love to be part of your Affiliate program, I would gladly promote your product knowing fully that I would have to promote within your parameters and we can both make money!

That being said my opinion don’t like it sorry. I maybe a Fanboy of Nintendo but everyone shows favoritism towards something whether it is a company or product. Some people like Samsung vs. LG. Some people Like Windows vs. Apple.

Also E3 is next week, I will first give my predictions of what I believe we will see this year, and much more!

– Gamer Keith