What's New: Pandaria,Soccer, Angrybirds

Whats new this week in gaming? Every Tuesday I'll be writing about it!

First up we have World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria which actually released today on the PC and Mac. I'll probably be talking about that a little later on. That was the big release of the day, but along with that we have 2 soccer games. FIFA:2013 on everything imaginable, and Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 on the PC, 360 and PS3. We also see Angry Birds Trilogy on the 360, PS3, and 3DS, as much hate as Angry Birds gets it's still an addictive game, although I think I'd prefer to just play it on my phone when I have a spare minute or so, I don't know how well it would do on the consoles.

Other games include:

Tokyo Jungle - PS3
One Piece Pirate Warriors- PS3
Garshasp: Temple of the Dragon - PC
Dead or Alive 5- PS3, 360
Heart of Iron 3: Their Finest Hour - PC
The Testament of Sherlock Holmes - PC, PS3, 360
Final Fantasy 3- PSP
Castle Crashers- PC
Half Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax Ultimate Boy

[Review] The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D

The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 3D is what I think every remake should be. The graphics are better then the original, and it makes great use of the 3ds hardware. This wasn't a simple, "let's port it to this handheld". To me it felt like more of a "let's re imagine the game for the 3ds, and yet, it stuck so true to the original game.


The menus make great use of the touchscreen, as we have come to expect from games on the original ds, and the rest of the controls fit the 3ds very well. I do get confused sometimes when using the ocarina, but that is mainly because I have the original N64 buttons memorized to this day.

The revamped game also includes the maser quest, from the gamecube port (this makes the puzzles and enemies harder.), and a boss challenge mode, to re fight bosses you have already beaten. Once you beat all the bosses a second time you can do boss rush mode, which pits you against all the bosses one after the other. Other small changed include a hint system called visions (these are disabled in the master quest) and certain things were made generally more pointed out, such as previously hard to find chests, or other points of interest.


There are a number of subtle changes, to many to name them all here, to say the least. For a complete list of changes you can go here.

All in all, I actually like the 3ds version more then either the gamecube or N64 versions. It's a full length game that I can now play on the go, couple that with the improved graphics and gameplay and we have a winner. I should mention that I dislike numbered ratings, but, to give an idea I would give the game a 10/10.


To see what I think about the 3ds in general, you can click here.

[Review] Nintendo 3DS

The Nintendo 3DS has been out for a while now, but I want to kick off my reviews with this.

Overall, I was impressed with the 3DS when I first got it. The graphics were better then I expected (Although not up to par with the Vita), and the 3D wasn't as gimmicky as I originally thought. I had fun playing through Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, and the buttons feel as great as I would have expected from a Nintendo handheld.

The circle pad is a great addition to to the console, although I think that most people would agree that there should have been two. (In fact they made an accessory that adds a second one.) The one it does have, however is a joy to use, and seems to be really well designed. There is one gripe I have with it though. I loaned my 3DS to a family member for a few weeks, and when I got it back, the circle pad stuck. I came to find out that there is a plastic (I think it's plastic at least) film under the circle pad, and it somehow got ripped. I know that it is likely on my family member and not on Nintendo, but it still put me off to a slight degree, because I hadn't had it long when this happened.

The 3D adds to games in a very unexpected way, because it's not traditional 3D. To me, the 3D gives the allusion that the screen is not there, and adds an extra sense of depth. Because of this, it can sometimes, if your really immersed give the allusion of something popping out at you, but not really often. As I stated, I think the main reason for it is because it adds an extra level of immersion.

Other than that, the handheld is a joy to use. I like it just as much as my old DS lite, although, why not, when I can play all of my old games along with some awesome new ones?

Oh yes, one more gripe. If your using the 3D functionality the battery tends to drain pretty fast, so I would actually recommend against using it when your not able to charge the 3DS for a long period of time.

Overall, I would say that the 3DS is a worthy successor to the original DS, although, it might be wise to wait for a redesign, unless you really, really want one. I would give this model a 7/10, but if redesigns fix my few issues (only one circle pad, short battery life) I will score it higher.