Video Games

It was one of Nintendo’s most well received ideas of E3 2014 – The amiibo, a series of bite sized figurines for use with your Nintendo systems, and specifically for Super Smash Bros. They’re finally here, and they’re pretty neat to get into, so let’s take a look!

Sackboy is back with a few new friends in LittleBigPlanet 3 for Sony PlayStation 3 and 4.  For PS4 users, this is Sackboy’s first foray into 1080p, and what a huge foray this is.  In addition to the regular story mode and gameplay features, how is it that LBP 3 has over 9 million playable levels already?  Read on to find out more and learn about the game.

New console owners had to wait an extra year, but it sounds like it was worth the wait!  WWE 2K15 is now available for Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and Booker T would be proud to hear that there’s now FIVE TIMES (FIVE TIMES! FIVE TIMES!) the character animations and commentary dialogue, along with a new career mode and wrestling engine.  Get in here before Sting hits you with the Stinger Splash!

November 21st signals the arrival of Super Smash Bros for Nintendo WiiU as well as Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, reboots of the popular Game Boy Advance games. On November 20th, Toronto residents have the chance to get in on a day (and night) of fun downtown, and the next day, the rest of the nation will get to help celebrate Nintendo Day.  Come check out, and look back on Nintendo’s 2014 offerings.

It’s not a branch of gaming tech we’re too accustomed to as tablet gaming is still by and large a fairly new thing. While the Razer Edge Pro blew things out of the water with its debut last year, it just wasn’t affordable for most of us. The NVIDIA Shield, however, and its optional controller are different. They feature the robust and powerful specs needed for you to play and even share your gaming experiences.  Come check out the Nvidia Shield.

It’s Call of Duty, not like I’m talking about some unknown quantity… but that started working against this juggernaut of a franchise by the time the heralds of a new hardware generation started sounding.  We were done with Modern Warfare, and we’d had our share of Black Ops, what’s next?  Well Activision and Sledgehammer Games had an answer, it was ‘advanced’ warfare, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.

The stalwart, quiet protagonist of videogames as we understood them in the new millenium, since 2001 Master Chief has been taking the fight to alien powers that threaten the lives of mankind.  Across 4 main titles, the lone Spartan and his AI companion Cortana entered the modern psyche, instantly recognizable all around the world.  That is a lot of campaigning, and a LOT of multiplayer in that amount of time, and now they’ve compacted it even further, fitting it all in one neat little package, with Halo:The Master Chief Collection.

I’ll never forget that time in Grade 4 when my friend asked his grandparents for a specific game for his Super Nintendo, and his grandma bought him the Nintendo version of the game instead. He was then told that he had to keep it so not to hurt his grandma’s feelings. The story sticks with me because I’ll often get asked questions from parents or grandparents about whether they can buy, say, NHL (current year) for PlayStation when the gamer has an Xbox. Or even whether that year’s NHL for the Xbox 360 would just play on the Xbox One since it’s cheaper to buy that one.  This is a pretty quick and easy guide to understanding backwards (and even cross-platform) compatibility between gaming consoles to hopefully help you decide which versions are the right ones, and which ones should be avoided when you’re out buying for your gamer.

We video gamers can sometimes be a tricky breed to buy gifts for.  Many of us hit stores at launch to buy our games, or make sure that we’ve always got the latest technology. However, with a limited source of funds, it’s guaranteed that there’s something we haven’t thought of or is missing.  For that frustrating gamer in your life, here’s some ideas to get your holiday shopping jumpstarted for them.

For some Nintendo 3DS gamers, it’s been the most anticipated game ever since it was announced. Fantasy Life is a multi-tiered cross between an RPG and a Life Sim (sort of) where you choose one of 12 “lives” you become adept in while playing through a main story quest involving a butterfly and evil stones, and running favours for people around the world. It took a couple years to translate and get to us, but it’s finally here.  Find out if it was worth the wait by clicking to read the review.