Welcome to The Doctor's Prognosis! I am your humble host, Dr. C-LOS. Here, I will let you know my thoughts on various forms of entertainment including film, TV, and video games. Enjoy!
Showing posts with label legend of zelda. Show all posts
Showing posts with label legend of zelda. Show all posts
Nintendo has revealed new gameplay footage from the The Legend of Zelda for the Wii U!
The demo premiered last night during The Game Awards. The graphic design and draw distance look amazing, and the game world looks enormous! This will be a game worthy of exploring via horseback.
Furthermore, Star Fox was announced to be releasing next year before The Legend of Zelda hits. It could be a great year for Nintendo fans.
The Legend of Zelda for the Wii U is currently set to release sometime in 2015.
Watch Link, Zelda, and more in action in this awesome gameplay trailer for Hyrule Warriors for the Wii U!
While the game certainly appears to lack the depth of a regular Legend of Zelda game, there is plenty of action and variety to make up for it.
The game is developed by Tecmo Koei with the hack-and-slash gameplay style of their Dynasty Warriors series. The cast boasts several playable characters from different games in the Zelda series such as Midna from Twilight Princess, Fi from Skyward Sword, and Princess Ruto from The Ocarina of Time.
Nintendo has been releasing individual gameplay trailers that focus on specific characters and weapons. For example, check out this gameplay trailer of Impa using a Naginata.
E3 is under way, and Nintendo finally put out their digital event presentation. Take a look at the full digital event here!
The digital event was quite entertaining with lots of great inside humor that Nintendo fans can really get into. Let's look at the highlights!
For those not willing to wade through the entire Nintendo Digital Event, here is the announcement trailer for the new Legend of Zelda for the Wii U!
The game is a departure from previous iterations in that the level design allows for much more free-roaming in a huge open world. A big part of the gameplay is figuring out how to get to all the destinations you can see in the far off distance. The art design is similar to the painterly style of Skyward Sword, which probably helps render such far distances in a way that is pleasing to the eye.
This is the game I am most pumped to play in the foreseeable future. Cannot wait to see more. Legend of Zelda for the Wii U is scheduled for release in 2015.
Another great reveal was being able to use your Mii in Super Smash Bros. Fortunately, this wasn't just an after-thought as the Miis are customizable with various fighting styles to choose from. The Miis were also put in as a way to create and play as characters that didn't make the final roster.
The long rumored Palutena from the Kid Icarus series was officially announced for Super Smash Bros. She rounds out a great cast of characters filled with a healthy proportion of strong female fighters such as Samus Aran, Princess Zelda, and Rosalina. In addition, the trailer seems to hint that Dark Pit may be a playable character as well, or an alternate skin for Pit.
Nintendo also introduced their Amiibo figures, a line reminiscent of Disney Infinity and Skylanders. The Amiibos are supposed to be compatible with several games including Mario Kart 8, but the only Amiibo demo shown off was with Super Smash Bros.
The new Amiibo figures... Nintendo really wants your money.
You can place an Amiibo on the Wii U gamepad, and have that character fight for your Mii in Super Smash Bros. These characters can be trained and leveled up, but cannot be used as regular fighters, so they feel more like helpers for your Mii.
Amiibos definitely have a lot of potential. It will be interesting to see how Nintendo decides to use them in the future.
Nintendo also showed off Mario Maker, an interesting new game that lets you create and play your own Mario levels. The trailer does a good job showing off how fun and challenging created levels can be. Definitely a fun tool for budding game designers.
Another standout title was Yoshi's Woolly World. The gameplay appears to be a cross between classic Yoshi games and Kirby's Epic Yarn. The game's graphical style on the Wii U looks amazing. It definitely catches the eye. It just goes to show how much art design can help a game stand out from the rest.
Of course, there are a lot more games to see during E3, but these were the ones that stood out the most to me.
Cannot wait to see what else Nintendo shows in the future. Time will tell if their slate of games will win over the hearts of gamers, but that Zelda game alone has me wanting to buy a Wii U. Nintendo was out to steal the thunder with that announcement.
Hello and welcome to a long-awaited edition of The Doctor's Prognosis!
Like last year, I will be giving micro reviews and scores for every game mentioned, leading up to the coveted Game of the Year spot. These, of course, are my own opinions and only games I have actually played are eligible. Let's begin with best downloadable game!
Best Downloadable Game of 2011 Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes
Never having played a Might and Magic game, I had no interest in the universe whatsoever. But the idea of an RPG with battles that are puzzle-based intrigued me. So I gave the demo a shot and I was hooked! I purchased the game and got 100% completion in about 40 hours. Multiplayer options give the game longevity. But the main game is really good, and worth the price of admission alone. Clash of Heroes also has some amazing music. Skip to 3:30 for my favorite part of the following track.
Do not just listen to me. Try out the trial version of the game yourself if you like RPGs and puzzle games. Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes gets an 8.5 out of 10, and honor of being the best downloadable game of 2011!
Best Portable Game of 2011 Super Mario 3D Land
They took the best of the 2D Mario gameplay and mixed it with the feel of the 3D games, and what we got was Super Mario 3D Land. The 3D effects were well used too. While not as good as the Galaxy series, SM3DL uses tried and true gameplay, and puts in enough new to make it one of the best games available on the 3DS. Super Mario 3D Land gets an 8.5 out of 10.
Console Second Runner-Up Gears of War 3
The story mode of Gears of War 3 had its moments, but felt secondary to the multiplayer, which is fine. The multiplayer is what keeps everyone coming back for more. And thankfully, there are many improvements to the multiplayer. Unfortunately, there are always going to be problems and exploits that can ruin the fun a little. However, Gears of War seems to always draw me back in more than any other shooter. I am still playing this game with friends. Gears of War 3 gets an 8.5 out of 10.
Console First Runner-Up The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
I almost made this number 1. Almost. And the main reason I did not was there were some control issues I experienced. But the controls are very innovative and are amazing when they work well. I do not remember being so immersed in combat before. The battles are also some of the more difficult in the series because figuring out how to fight a new enemy can be a little puzzle in itself.
Furthermore, there are portions in the game where it felt like they were artificially lengthening the game. This isn't nearly as bad as in Phantom Hourglass where you had to return and redo the Temple of the Ocean King. In fact, I would recommend everyone stay away from Phantom Hourglass due to its tediousness. But I recommend everyone with a Wii to play Skyward Sword. Its positives are just too good. Some of the best level design I have ever seen, which is saying a lot when it comes to the Zelda series.
I also really enjoyed the story, and the music is just beautiful.
Amazing boss battles, music, art direction, and level design means this is one game not to miss. Go play it now! Skyward Sword earns a 9 out of 10 and just narrowly misses becoming game of the year.
Best Game of 2011 Batman: Arkham City
Many of you know how much I liked Arkham Asylum. Well Rocksteady took everything great about it and ramped it up for Arkham City. However, this time they made it more open-world as opposed to the closed-corridor gameplay of AA. There are both pros and cons to this approach. We don't get as much amazing level design of the closed-corridor sections. It's there in AC, just not as prevalent of course.
Amazingly, traversing the large game world is fairly quick with Batman's grappling gun, which can be upgraded to make it even faster. But there is a flaw in the game's map. There is a huge section in the middle of the map that you cannot pass. So if you want to go from East to West, you have to go around instead of a straight line. This is annoying but not a big deal. It was probably due to hardware limitations. It is also worth pointing out that there were some loading issues during gameplay (I played the 360 version), though they were few and far between.
Catwoman adds some varied gameplay to the mix.
Back to the good in the game. The fights have improved to make you choose the right moves against the right enemies to keep your combo going. The Riddler side mission is even larger than last time, and is almost a game in itself. It will take you a long time to get everything there is to find. The open-world map also allows for multiple side missions to challenge you and lengthen gameplay. The boss fights have also been improved greatly. No longer are you fighting the same goons and titans over and over.
However, the best thing about the game is the amazing story. AC has a shocking ending that I did not see coming. Even if the game has been out for a while, I won't dare spoil it for anyone. This is a must-play game. Batman: Arkham City gets a 9 out of 10 and earns The Doctor's Prognosis' coveted Game of the Year Award!
Hope you enjoyed my best of 2011! See you again soon!
