Monthly Archives: December 2023
Christmas Gaming Memories! (The Christmas Blog!)
Ahhh, yes. Video games and Christmas. Name a more iconic duo. As a child, Christmas and video games were synonymous with each other. And as a man child, this is still true. My parents knew my love of video games from an early age. So they did their best to make sure something gaming related awaited us under the tree. Today I thought it’d be fun to reflect back on childhood Christmas memories with a gaming theme.
Remember you can watch this topic on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MVkDyIDA78
My mom’s work allowed her to layaway the latest consoles. The first console I remember her surprising us with was the Gamecube. I remember turning the box around and seeing all the games you could play on the back. The main reason I’m mentioning this is because this was a surprisingly profound moment in my life. Back during the 6th generation of gaming, PS2 was my console of choice. Yet as an adult I’m nostalgic for the Gamecube. Part of that is the Nintendo charm no doubt. But the other part was the endless wonder the back of a box can do for a child. That Christmas made the Gamecube feel like it was the greatest machine on earth even if the little lunchbox would go on to be underrated in our household.
I’ll do my dad’s gift next. My dad loved going to flea markets, antique malls and perusing Craigslist. He would often see gaming bundles for sale. One year he surprised us with a PS2 lot. Later on he would do the same for a PS3 lot. The PS2 lot had The Hobbit, Black and Bruised, SplashDown Rides Gone Wild, the Scorpion King, Yu Yu Hakusho and maybe one of the Outlaw Golf games. This was a pretty awesome group of games. Splashdown was probably the game we played the most. As it’s just a little arcade water skiing game made ridiculous. It’s a fun weekend kind of game.
Now the PS3 I cannot really remember too many of the games that came with it. However, it did have Heavenly Sword. I remember the hype for this game was unreal back in the day. The funny thing about Heavenly Sword and the Hobbit is I didn’t get to play too much of them back in the day but I enjoyed my time with both. So much so that when I grew up I was determined to buy these games again. I played through the first two or so levels of the Hobbit and really liked it. And while I haven’t seen the movies or read the book, I do live with a one year old so I’m basically terrorized by a Hobbit everyday when you think about it.
Now the other console mom surprised me with back in the day was the Xbox 360. A console that would go on to consume my life for the next decade. Who would have guessed the profound impact this console would have on me. It turned me into an achievement junkie. My cousin who lives 10 hours away from me grinded through some of the most fun co-op games I’ve ever played like Borderlands and Battle Block Theater. It provided some of the most fun single player games like Bioshock and GTA4 and 5. And my brother and I beat Halo 3 on the hardest difficulty back in the day.
Sure, The first couple did get the red ring of death, but once my mom finally got me one that worked, I’ve kept it ever since. I want to say I got the 360 around 7th grade. I entertained myself with games like Perfect Dark Zero until I got those life changing big experience games like Fallout New Vegas and some of the others I’ve discussed today. And who could forget the countless amount of time we sank into Modern Warfare 2. I lost count on the amount of Mountain Dew that was consumed playing that game.
I took this console to college my Freshman year after all and had friends would come over to watch me beat Red Dead Redemption and Bioshock Infinite. My wife and I beat Resident Evil 5 on co-op with this bad boy. So just remember if you ever think I’m a Nintendo fan boy, of which I am, I’ve probably put the most amount of time into my Xbox 360. I doubt my mom knew how long my 360 would stay with me when she bought it for me, but I still have it to this day.
That gets me to the final gift I want to talk about today. I had just gotten the Wii U for my birthday with Cat Mario on it. I knew what I wanted for Christmas too. I had big plans you see. I wanted 3 games that year and I wanted them bad. Wind Waker HD, the latest Madden and Far Cry 4. Far Cry 3 was the talk of my high school and I missed out on it. Far Cry 4 had just came out and you could bet your bottom dollar I wasn’t missing out on it this time around. Christmas day starts. I make my way down stairs and see 3 game case shaped gifts. Bingo. I opened the first gift, Wind Waker HD. We’re off to a great start. Gift 2- that year’s Madden. Man, I love it when a plan comes together. Gift 3, what’s this… Nintendo Land? You better believe I confronted her. I said mom, how could you mess this up? I gave you the playbook and everything. And even though it’s been 10 years I’ll never forget what she said to me. “I know you really wanted Far Cry 4, but Nintendo Land just looked like a game you’d like more.” I had never been more defeated. I could just picture the Gamestop employee snickering because he won a bet with a co-worker he couldn’t sell a copy of Nintendo Land. But you know what. My mom was right. Nintendo Land is more my kinda game. Oh wait, I don’t know that because I never got to play Far Cry 4. Thanks mom.
All joking aside, I now love Nintendo Land. People hate on the Wii U but I’ve yet to bust out 4 player Nintendo Land and everybody not have a great time. This story strengthened my love for the Wii U and my connection with it. I now go to bat for this game and say it’s one of my favorites on the console.
There you have it. All the Christmas memories I wanted to discuss today. My parents knew how much I loved video games and made sure they did their darndest that way I had something new to play waiting for me on Christmas. I probably didn’t do a good job telling them back then but I will always be grateful for those memories because they influenced me so much. Looking back I know how hard they had to work to pull these things off for a couple of spoiled brats who didn’t know how good they had it back then. As we know, video games aren’t cheap. I have a daughter now and I can only hope I make half of her dreams come true the way my parents did for me. So this Christmas be thankful for what you have in life because someone had to work hard to make sure you have those things.
But that does it for this post. Tell me down below what your favorite Christmas gift was growing up. Video Game or otherwise. Merry Christmas guys.
The Future of The Legend of Zelda series!?
Today we are talking about an interview that is making its rounds around the internet and in video game circles. Zelda series producer Eiji Aonumoa told IGN “It’s interesting when I hear people say [they prefer the old entries] because I am wondering, ‘Why do you want to go back to a type of game where you’re more limited or more restricted in the types of things or ways you can play?’ But I do understand that desire that we have for nostalgia, and so I can also understand it from that aspect,” said Aonuma.” He pondered during his interview.
If you want to watch our video over this topic, check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDEJWKzUqU8&t=14s
Read the full interview here: https://www.ign.com/articles/zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-interview-nintendo-eiji-aonuma-hidemaro-fujibayashi
These comments were made in regards to people apparently wanting to go back to the old formulaic Zelda. Personally, I got my Wii U Christmas of 2013. Zelda Breath of the Wild and Smash Brothers were the two main reasons I wanted the machine. I remember waiting years, following every ounce of news about Breath of the Wild leading up to the release. This was one of the most anticipated releases of my life. Playing through it, it lived up to the hype.
So many people wanted to focus on the changes like they were negative. No heart pieces, no traditional dungeons, no loose linear structure. Everything had changed. And I found myself defending it. The shrines were a modern and sleek way to give the players a sense of progress. And it even granted the player freedom how they chose to strengthen Link. Want to survive battles easier, go for Heart Containers. Want to have a smoother time traversing the wild, fill that stamina bar up baby. I loved the way we were piecing together the world and the lore through memories. The korok seeds were a collectathoners dream. I loved my time with it.
But when my time with it was through, I had no urge to replay it. In fact I find myself saying its my second least favorite Zelda. Only above Zelda 2. Why is that?
It just feels hollow. Nothing makes me want to replay or revisit it. It was a blast playing for the first time and discovering everything. But nothing hooked me enough to want to replay it. Whereas Wind Waker on Wii U jumped up to maybe my 2nd favorite Zelda. What’s the difference? Wind Waker feels like an epic quest. Setting sail with nothing and watching Link become the hero he was always meant to be is just something special. Wind Waker is pretty open world too. It doesn’t suffer from the hollow issue; there’s always an island to explore, treasures that await and monsters to defeat. It has some of my favorite NPCs and items in the whole series. It’s a massive open world that doesn’t feel empty nor tedious to search.
Which gets me to what I want to talk about today. Is Breath of the Wild really that different from the rest of the series. And was that a positive shift?
People act like Breath Of the Wild was the first open world game. Many could argue the original Zelda was one of the first ever open world games in general. As the player can explore, I believe any of the first 3 dungeons in any order. The other games may be a bit stricter with progression, but most of the cities are available after you leave your hometown. With only the dungeons and heart pieces really locked behind items.
I think Breath of the Wild handled open world perfectly, as I discussed in my video addressing open world gaming (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ksjo1xPkMw). They give you a brief tutorial, all your runes, and say have fun. And have fun we did. But if you’re like me, the runes just weren’t enough. Breath of the Wild can get teased for being called a sandbox physics engine. There can be some truth to that with the magnet and stasis. The bombs were a must have return for the franchise as they are arguably the most iconic item in the series. Cryonis was a welcomed addition to Links arsenal. But I found myself missing items like the Lens of Truth, the Hookshot and many others. We knew we weren’t getting them either. The runes in Tears of the Kingdom are all relatively fresh ideas here. Ultra Hand is awesome, allowing Link to interact with so many objects in the game world. Fuse, admittedly, may be one I under utilize. As the name suggests, it grants Link the power to combine objects together. Recall, in my opinion, is the most lame one yet. But it plays nicely with the physics engine reputation the new Zelda games have garnered. Ascend is easily one of my favorite power ups in any Zelda game. In my opinion, it’s what sold me on Tears of the Kingdom as an evolution and not a copy of Breath of the Wild. It gives Link the ability to travel through surfaces to reach new heights. It’s amazing for exploring and discovering new areas and locations. While I don’t believe the runes are as cool as the old school items, they were definitely a nice way to break from the mold while still maintaining a semblance of old Zelda.
Some of the most fun I have playing Zelda is reaching a location that is inaccessible at the moment and thinking “wonder what item gets me in here” or wonder what is hiding behind that secret area? It’s a great motivator to encourage players to return and re-explore areas they thought they were through with. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom still offer many puzzles that can give you that “ah-ha” moment through the shrines, of which there is a lot. And I’m not one who hates on the divine beast, as I found myself enjoying them more than others seemed to. To me, oddly enough, it’s just that world feels empty. The chest that you may find will not offer anything special. As weapons break, you have all your items from the start, and heart pieces are gained through the shrines. Meaning, if you see a chest off in the distance, you know you won’t find anything in there of real worth.
All this is to say that yes. At its core Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are the most open world the series has ever been, but at what cost? As the lands, in my opinion just aren’t worth exploring. The korok seeds are the only real thing here worth collecting. They are used to expand your inventory slots. Which is good, but hardly worth all the time it would take to track them down. I often circle back around to Ocarina of Time or Wind Waker because I feel they are near perfect games and capture what it means to be on grand adventures. They are a perfect blend of open world while maintaining direction. Every action feels like it has a purpose and adds to the bigger picture. Nothing feels forced or time consuming. Everything feels like it is here for a reason. Things are fun to explore and have rewards. That’s the issue with giving you everything up front. You won’t be rewarded with light arrows or magic or what have you.
So how would fix Zelda moving forward? It’s a tough problem to have. By removing items and rewards, you are removing part of the fun in exploring these worlds. However, if you reintroduce all these extra things, you complicate the game. Thus sacrificing what works about the two newest Zelda outings. I think my simplest solution is this. Find a way to blend runes with progression items. Runes will be given all at once and at the beginning. While progression items will be concentrated mostly on dungeons. Keep the shrines, but reduce the number. Shrines will extend stamina while heart pieces return to the overworld. Yes players no longer have to choose between the two, but who cares? Games are meant to be fun overall. And players can skip one or the other if they want a challenge. This is how I would fix things. It would give the over world more of a purpose, while still keeping the new open world feel that the games are crafting.
Which style of Zelda do you prefer? Are you fan of the open world gaming, or do you prefer the formulaic style we were use to? Thank you guys for reading and have a great day!
I asked chatGPT for Five Nintendo 64 Hidden Gems!
Hey guys! If you remember, a few months back we asked ChatGPT to come up with a list of 5 Nintendo GameCube Hidden Gems. Well, we are back at it. Only this time around, we suggesting it do Nintendo 64 games? What games will it collate into its list this time around? After all, the Nintendo 64 is considered very top-heavy. Sure, it’s top 30 or so games can compete against the best of the best of any other console. However, unlike the Super Nintendo or Playstation 2, its catalog of games isn’t nearly as deep. Surely, that means there’s some unknown games with some real potential. Remember I also asked it to write it in a Youtube script format. Enjoy!
Remember if you would prefer to watch this, I did a video over this topic on my Youtube channel (Dahubbz) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvTL_WY5MLE&t=6s
“Hey, gamers! Welcome back to our channel, where we love to unearth hidden gems from gaming’s past. Today, we have something special in store for all you Nintendo 64 fans out there. Get ready to discover five incredible hidden gems that you might have missed. Let’s jump right in!”
“Our first hidden gem is none other than ‘Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon.’ Released in 1998, this action-adventure game combines humor, platforming, and RPG elements into a unique experience. Follow Goemon and his friends as they traverse beautifully designed levels, battle quirky enemies, and solve puzzles. Trust us, this one will leave you smiling from ear to ear!”
“Moving on to our second hidden gem, we have ‘Rocket: Robot on Wheels.’ Developed by Sucker Punch Productions, the studio behind the ‘Infamous’ series, this game offers a captivating blend of platforming and puzzle-solving. As Rocket, a lovable robot, you’ll explore an amusement park filled with challenges and secrets. With its charming characters and clever level design, ‘Rocket: Robot on Wheels’ is an underrated gem that deserves more attention.”
“Next up, we have ‘Blast Corps.’ This explosive action game from Rare combines destruction, strategy, and puzzle-solving in a way that only the N64 could deliver. As part of a demolition team, your mission is to clear a path for a runaway nuclear missile carrier. Use a variety of vehicles and creative methods to demolish buildings, navigate obstacles, and save the day. ‘Blast Corps’ is a thrilling and addictive experience that will keep you hooked for hours on end.”
“Our fourth hidden gem takes us into the world of racing with ‘Diddy Kong Racing.’ While many are familiar with ‘Mario Kart 64,’ ‘Diddy Kong Racing’ often goes unnoticed. This game offers a robust single-player adventure mode, where you’ll explore different worlds and engage in various racing challenges. With its vibrant visuals, memorable characters, and an incredible soundtrack, ‘Diddy Kong Racing’ stands tall as one of the best racing games on the Nintendo 64.”
“Last but certainly not least, we have ‘Paper Mario.’ While ‘Super Mario 64’ stole the spotlight, ‘Paper Mario’ offered a delightful twist on the traditional Mario formula. This RPG combines turn-based battles, charming storytelling, and a unique papercraft aesthetic. Join Mario on an epic quest to rescue Princess Peach and collect the seven Star Spirits. With its witty dialogue, engaging gameplay, and unforgettable characters, ‘Paper Mario’ remains a beloved classic among N64 enthusiasts.
And there you have it, five incredible hidden gems for the Nintendo 64 that you absolutely must play! Whether you’re a long-time fan of the console or new to the N64, these games will provide you with hours of entertainment and nostalgia. Let us know in the comments which one you’re most excited to try out.
So there you have it. ChatGPT gave us 5 interesting picks. My favorite here is Goemon. Paper Mario and Diddy Kong just don’t feel like hidden gems. So with that in mind, what games would you add or remove from this list. Thank you for reading. Have a great day.
Will Grand Theft Auto 6 Be the Best Video Game Ever?
What an image? Grand Theft Auto 6. I never thought the day would come. Seriously. Guys I beat Grand Theft Auto 5 on my Xbox 360 my freshman year of college. I beat that game so long ago I hadn’t even met my wife yet. Needless to say, I’ve been waiting for this one. I’m not much of an online multiplayer guy. So I beat the main campaign and didn’t fool around much with the online modes of the game. Meaning, GTA 5’s DLC didn’t really do much for me. With all that in mind, it’s safe to say Grand Theft Auto 6 is one of my, and I’m sure many others as well, most anticipated games of all time. So honor Grand Theft Auto 6, here’s 6 questions I have going into the reveal trailer.
#1 Will Rockstar Keep an Emphasis on Story Mode.
This may sound weird. How many people actually play the games for the single player story mode experience? Prior to Grand Theft Auto 5, I feel like the notion was no one actually beats the campaign. They treat the game like the ultimate sandbox world that it is. If you advanced in the story it was just to unlock other parts of the game map. Then, when 5 came around, people flocked to the multiplayer. Yet, I played through and beat 4 and 5. I loved both campaigns. GTA 5 was groundbreaking in my opinion with how you could switch between 3 different characters, pretty seamlessly, too. My minds been racing for a decade on how they could top the three way character dynamic of Grand Theft Auto 5’s single player experience.
#2 Will We Have the Return of Character Swapping
With that said, will Rockstar make a triumph return to the 3 character option? Or will the story mode be a more traditional one main character story? To me, a single main character is not a deal breaker. Though, I do wonder if they’ll try to push the boundaries and say do 6 characters or something wild. I’m sure there’s a sweet spot to the number of characters they would want you actively juggling between. Either way, I’m interested to see what they come up with.
#3 Where Will the Game Be Located?
When I saw the teaser image I assumed the location would be Vice City or back to Los Santos. Honestly, I was hoping for a new location. However, considering I got my start in Vice City, I would love to see an overhauled version of Vice City running on the latest hardware. So, if we aren’t getting a new location, I’m fine with revisiting Vice City.
#4 Will Old Main Characters Make A Return?
This is something I feel like they could do to help give this game “break the internet” levels of excitement. For example, will Tommy Vercetti be featured in Grand Theft Auto 6? Vice City was set sometime in the 80’s. When will 6 take place? Will any of the crew from Grand Theft Auto V be in the new game? Or will we get an entirely new cast?
#5 Will It Get a Nintendo Switch Version
Nintendo has a brand to uphold. Grand Theft Auto tends to be the furthest thing away from that brand. Still, the Switch finally did get a Grand Theft Auto game in the form of the Grand Theft Auto Trilogy. I never got around to playing this one, but I seem to remember people saying it wasn’t the best version of these games. With all that being said, will Rockstar and Nintendo strike up a working relationship to get the latest outing on Nintendo’s console.
#6 Will This Be The Best Game Ever?
A bit of a hyperbolic question, maybe. However, I think any generation of gamer over the last 20 years probably has a Grand Theft Auto game somewhere in their top 10. I know Grand Theft Auto IV was my favorite game for a long while. I assume Grand Theft Auto 6 will carry on that trend of being an industry standard for Rockstar. I think it’s safe to say the hype following Tuesday morning is going to be insane.
So if you’re into the Grand Theft Auto series maybe check out our Five Games That Did Open World Perfectly! Thank you guys for watching. Let us know if you’re excited for this one or any other games you’re eying
Five Games That Did Open World Perfectly
Lately, I’ve been watching a good bit of RetroBird. One thing became apparent quickly. He hates Open World Gaming… and I’m slowly finding myself agreeing with him. I’m tempted to do a video later discussing my thoughts on open world games and how my thoughts have changed. But today’s topic is addressing 5 games that I think did it perfectly.
Today, we will be discussing one of the biggest buzz worlds in all of the gaming industry- Open World. Open World Gaming is often associated with freedom. Freedom is how you approach tasks, exploring or just goofing around. These games are less linear and rigid and more vague in design. Take the latest Pokémon games, Pokemon Scarlett and Violet. The player has the free to take on the Gym Leaders, defeat the members of Team Star, conquer the Titan Pokémons or do none of that and just go work on your Pokedex. That is one of the beautiful things about Open World Gaming. However, that’s not to say these games are perfect. These games can suffer from filler content, empty worlds, and repetitive tasks that burn the player out. With all that said, let’s look at 5 games that did Open World Perfectly!
Let’s just start with Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom. I actually prefer the more formulaic style of Zelda games such as Ocarina of Time or Wind Waker. However, as far as open world games go, BOTW and TOTK are really solid. The way the world is devastated and you are just dropped into the middle of it and have to piece together the lore and history of this Hyrule is really exciting. Granted, chests and other exploration rewards are not really that enticing in these games. The big draw to Zelda and open world games are how they handle both the exploration and items. They give access to all the runes and the glider a few hours into the game. Long gone are the days of grinding out dungeons to get the next item to move on to the next section of the map. This means you can literally go anywhere you want in the game. It’s just a matter of how much health and stamina you want before you start tracking down the story beats and boss fights. That’s a huge plus for open world games. There’s very few places actually off limits. And to keep highlighting the pros of BOTW’s open worldness, it is very simple. Yes, there’s side quests. But they don’t feel like they are bloating the game. Yes, there’s combat and wild encounters. But they don’t slow the pace of exploration. Honestly, I didn’t value or appreciate these aspects when Breath of the Wild came out. I felt it was shallow and not an actual grand time. Wind Waker felt epic. Breath of the Wild felt empty. But, you know, I respect the way it cuts out a lot of fluff most open world games suffer from.
Next up is Sonic Frontiers. If you know me, you know I don’t like Sonic games, especially 2D Sonic games. So why is Frontier a perfect open world game? The game worlds are massive which can be a detriment to other games. There’s very little in the way of NPCs. The side quests are that rare blend of varied but repetitive. The game will shift between 2D and 3D style. So it bears repeating. Why is Frontiers a perfect open world game? Atmosphere! Sonic blew up because he nailed the atmosphere in the 90s. He was fast, he had an attitude. He knew why people liked him and wanted to play Sonic games. This game figured out how to do speed. The use of an open world allowed them to capture that Sonic essence. It encouraged the developers to design the worlds and challenges to be large in scope. This way Sonic’s quickness and platforming skills were on display. I think this game shows off one of the factors that can separate a bad or decent use of open worldness from a great one: how we explore. Sonic’s use of velocity and the epic scaling of the monsters and terrain made this feel like a true adventure.
Let’s talk about maybe the best sandbox series of all time. Grand Theft Auto. Truly groundbreaking, but rarely duplicated. There’s just nothing quite like it in the open world space. Every GTA game was massive in scope. But GTA 3 shook the gaming world like very few games ever have. In my opinion, GTA 4 took that and just made it into an unstoppable juggernaut. There was truly so much to do in this game. Racing missions, heist missions, dating missions, the list goes on and on. There’s two things the Grand Theft Auto series has going for it as far as sandbox gaming goes. First, just like Breath of the Wild and Sonic Frontier, the method for which the player traverses the world. It may come as a shock, but for Grand Theft Auto that method was, well… Grand Theft Autoing. Jacking a car from a defenseless (or maybe not so defenseless) NPC and driving away with the radio blasting was the soundtrack that defined many childhoods. The second thing on it’s side, which I think it does better than the previous games, is that the world is alive. The NPCs are fleshed out and matter. The environment tries to actively kill you from police, gang members, armed civilians and trains, you are never safe. There’s radio stations with music or news. There’s internet cafés, dates, consequences and much more that help engross you into the world. Open World games don’t get much better than the Grand Theft Auto series.
Recently, the series that’s got the closest to emulating Grand Theft Auto is Spiderman. They captured that lively city approach that only Grand Theft Auto had before. Joe Jonah Jameson pollutes the air waves spewing antispidey propaganda. The cops are desperately trying to slow down criminal activity, everybody lives in fear of Kingpin hiding in the background. One of the strong things Spiderman has to lean on is the IP itself. Mary Jane, Oscorpse, the Sinister Six, Aunt May, so many established and beloved characters mesh and flow so well in the universe Marvel and Spiderman have spent 60 years weaving. Insomniac perfectly captures how we all thought it would feel to swing through New York City as everybody’s favorite friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
Lastly, Fallout. Fallout New Vegas is my favorite open world game. This time around, it takes all the good things I said about Breath of the Wild and many of the other games, and turns it upside down. There’s no fun way to explore. The worlds aren’t bright and vibrant. There’s dread lurking down every street. Blood thirsty Raiders set up camps along the deserted highways, radiation contaminates the once pure air, experimental monstrosities now stalk the bombarded hellscape. You must piece together the lore of the land. You will forge alliances with what’s left of the survivors. You will level up your character through a branching skill tree that allows for nearly unlimited replayability. It’s one of the few open world games where I don’t get tired or burned out of exploring every nook and cranny the world has to offer. I don’t feel betrayed by my curiosity.
So, that’s my list of some of the games I think do open world perfectly. Sure, there’s plenty more such as Red Dead Redemption, Skyrim and The Witcher, but these are the ones I feel the most passionate about. My findings seem to show games that put emphasis on making exploring fun while mixing in world building elements tend to keep my interest as I’m playing. Nothing derails open world games faster than monotony traveling or uninteresting worlds.
If you haven’t, check out Retrobird. He has tons of great video game discussion videos that I cant get enough of. Thanks for reading, and have a great day!
Da_Hubbz 