Review of Fire Emblem Awakening (3DS): Score of 9.25

Wow. If I didn’t feel a dire need to express how truly amazing Fire Emblem Awakening is, I could just write this one word and leave the article at that. In the past couple of years, I’ve begun playing more games than ever, but despite the dozens of games I’ve played lately, none of them are as good as this one. In fact, I would venture to say that Fire Emblem Awakening is possibly best game I’ve ever played; undoubtedly, it is the best mobile game I’ve encountered. There are so many aspects of this game that come together perfectly or near perfectly, it was amazing. I’ve not yet encountered a completely perfect game, but now I now how it feels to be so close to that nirvana. I’m very glad to bestow upon Fire Emblem Awakening the highest review score on my blog to date.

Dang You, Flappy Bird

I usually don’t play many games on my phone. Sure, I got the Angry Birds bug once upon a time, and I love a good round of Temple Run 2 here and there, but largely, I opt to bring my 3DS when I go places. I would much rather sink my time into some Street Fighter or Fire Emblem than Dragon City or Words With Friends. This weekend, however, I took a trip with my church’s youth group, and I didn’t bring my 3DS along. I assumed we would spend more time socializing than sitting on the bus in solitude, and I was correct in my assumption. Oddly enough, a lot of the time we spent chatting with each other revolved around playing or talking about one mobile game: Flappy Bird. Oh, Flappy Bird, you have become the bane of my existence, and I have no idea why I’m so addicted to you.

When NOT To Review A Game

I enjoy reviewing games. I like being able to share my honest opinion with others, and I enjoy being helpful to others who may be considering a game but don’t know if it’s worth the plunge. For that reason, I’m going to try to review at least 2 games per month, especially considering I get one free on the PS4 every month anyhow. Not to mention, I’ve got a stack of games my dad bought for the PS3, and I’m probably about a third of the way through The Last Of Us, if I had to guess (great game so far). But, for all the games I’ve rated on My Opinion As A Gamer so far, there have been only a couple that I’ve had to consider skipping a review. The first is Battlefield 4, and you probably know why I’m not reviewing it if you’ve been following the saga. The second is a new, free game for PS+ members on the PS4; it’s a quirky little title called Don’t Starve.

Do I Love Gaming Too Much?

I take pride in the fact that I usually keep up with all the developments in the gaming world. I almost always know about a new event the day it happens. Oftentimes, friends will come up to me and ask “did you hear about this?” I’ll just respond by saying that I knew about two days ago. So, when somebody tells me something gaming related that I don’t know about, I tend to get a little skeptical. Instinctively, I jump to the conclusion that they’re joking around with me or lying. So far, this instinct has served me right about 90% of the time, so I continue to use it. Somebody told me something this week, however, that got me thinking.

Come Join Us At The Gamers Sphere

I’m sure we’ve all been there. There’s that place where everything seems great, right? That place where, despite the craziness in and around your life, there’s a certain calm; a peace. There’s that place where you realize that good things are happening. They’re finally happening. It’s at that time when you realize that the whole thing is a bit surreal; could it really be happening? The happiness is overwhelming. Do you know that place? Well, I do. It’s where I’m standing right now, because despite the fact that my life is crazy, it’s busy, and I never seem to rest, I’m happier than I’ve ever been. Part of the reason being that I’m part of something big, something new, something more than just myself. I’m part of a new sphere: The Gamers Sphere

Not Growing Up, Just Growing Old

How many of you game enthusiasts out there played games as a kid? Maybe you were raised on Nintendo where Mario, Pokemon, and Zelda were essential. Maybe Sonic, Rayman, or Pac-Man were more your style. Looking at this list of games, most (if not all) would probably be considered “children’s games.” Now, many of you who had nostalgic flashbacks of these games are probably 25 years of age or older. Are you too old to go back and play through a classic Sonic adventure? Are you too mature to be a kid again? Some would have us believe this, all because of a misconception that M rated games inherently come with age.

The Story of Halo Series: The Rise of An Arbiter (SoH Part 6)

**Spoiler Alert** There are major spoilers in this article concerning the Halo storyline.

This is part five of my SoH series, and if you haven’t read the other five articles, you should do so here(1), here(2), here(3), here(4), and here (5) chronologically.

Welcome to the sixth chapter of my Story of Halo series! When we last left Master Chief, he had just blown up the Halo ring to save the galaxy, and he and Cortana are headed back to Earth with lots of new intel on the Halo, the Covenant, the Flood, and more. However, we won’t begin this chapter talking about Master Chief. You see, in Halo 2, the storyline is one in which two viewpoints are shown: Master Chief’s, and Thel ‘Vadamee’s. (You don’t know who Thel is yet; that’s alright). The story switches between the two, and it explains what’s happening to both of them during the same time period. Eventually, their storylines meet, and… well, telling you more would be spoiling the chapter, but let it suffice to say that today you’ll be learning about Thel, his importance, and how he ties into Halo 2. Class is now in session!

Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver Soundtracks on iTunes Excites Me

As I mentioned in this post a while back, I absolutely love good video game music, and among my favorite tunes is the Bicycle Theme from Pokemon Crystal (which is basically the better version of Gold and Silver). To be honest, I had a tough time picking just one song from Crystal to include on my list. I could sit and listen to those little 8-bit ditties for hours on end; there’s something so fun, peppy, and nostalgic about them! Now, I know that the music from Crystal was the same as in Gold and Silver. I can only assume that the music in HeartGold and SoulSilver is practically the same; I’ve never played the remakes. I do know that the sounds are updated, because HG and SS have a feature that allows playback of the old 8-bit tunes rather than the new audio files. I’m simply unsure as to whether the new audio files are new tracks altogether, or simply “remastered” versions of the old ones.

In any case, I love seeing this soundtrack on iTunes because it gives game enthusiasts (especially nostalgic ones like me) a legal way to download the songs that may have defined a time in their life so much more than any other song that will ever be heard on the radio.

Review of Contrast (PS4): Score of 7

Contrast is an interesting game, from all aspects. The environment, art style, storyline, puzzle mechanics, and nearly everything else about this game is just interesting, to put it simply. Sometimes, this is a good thing, as it allows Contrast to provide a new experience. At the same time, other aspects are just a little too interesting, and it’s easy to get lost. In the end, Contrast is a decent game, but the concepts presented in the game aren’t fleshed out enough to really make anything about it shine. This is a shame because Contrast has a lot of potential, and a sequel that fixes these issues could be an absolutely amazing puzzler.

Revisiting a Review: Chopping Down Rayman Even Further

This isn’t really a full-fledged article as much as it is a quick update… I just finished playing Contrast, and although it was a decent game, I can’t rate it very greatly. I’ll have a review up tomorrow, most likely, but that’s not quite the point of this article. See, I rated Rayman Origins 6.5 a few months ago, which still stands as the lowest rating I’ve ever given a game. The problem is, I was being kind… I didn’t think I needed to senselessly drop the game to a terrible score because RO still had redeeming values: the music was good, the level design was good, etc. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that giving Rayman Origins a lower score is more suitable because it is by far the worst game I’ve ever played, and the aggravation and irritation I went through while playing this game far overrides the few decent qualities of the game. I have to drop the score on RO because, frankly put, Contrast will probably be scored between the 6.5-7.5 range from me, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as Rayman Origins, which currently has a rating of 6.5 from me. I can’t honestly review Contrast on a scale where it’s almost as bad as the worst game I’ve played, if this makes sense. Therefore, the only logical solution is to lower the score of RO, which I think can and will be done fairly.