With just under two months to go until Mario Kart 8, I thought I'd revisit a little something I did two years ago with Mario Kart 7.
In that first challenge, starting 5th of July at 14,205 coins, I had until the end of the month to reach 20,000 coins - the last unlock milestone on the game. I had to race properly though. That was what I'd said to myself. Race properly or the challenge is void. After all, a challenge is no fun if your just staying in last and quickly collecting the coins half a lap behind everyone else. And so I raced through many GPs, earning podiums almost every time, getting over 30 coins almost every time. And so, since that time I had played the game for less time. In fact, for the whole of 2013, I hadn't even reached 25,000. At the beginning of March though, I did. With Mario Kart 8's release coming up within two months, I started playing MK7 more again throughout that month. That's when, beginning of April, I reached the point where I thought to myself "Why not make another coin challenge out of this?" There is one major difference though. At that point in 2012, I had just finished my first year of college. This year, I'm on my first year of university, and with an end of year show coming up, I've got work to be doing. So I've got less time for gaming. Hence the two months instead of one. Anyway, this challenge. Starting today, with a coin total of 26,433, I have to reach 30,000 coins by the release date of Mario Kart 8. If that gets reached easily though, an extension to 32,000 should make things harder. And so, here I go.
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So, after the Nintendo Direct of Wednesday, more footage of Mario Kart 8 was shown. As well as numerous new courses, more returning characters were shown. No new characters or Retro courses were shown, but this does make one think. With nine new courses already shown off in the two trailers, as well as two returning 3DS courses, the tracks in this game are looking great. We know of the anti-grav feature, allowing traversal on walls and ceilings, as well as the return of gliders, underwater driving and bikes. This can either go two ways. Customisation will return with more options. Coins do return, but their purpose hasn't been clarified.
Some things still remain a mystery, and I'm going to have a crack at giving my predictions and why I think they will happen. First off, it was shown in the Direct trailer that all four Baby characters will be returning. I think this will be to balance the roster again. Upon the split of classes into five, the balance was upset. In Mario Kart Wii, each class had the same amount of drivers. In MK7, there was only two Medium characters, with either side of Medium having seven. Repairing this balance of the roster, if these five classes are staying, is vital to create a fair chance for all drivers. And if these five classes are here to stay, there won't be an odd number of characters in the roster with 25, so I'm guessing they'll boost the number of characters to 30. That then presents the problem of who to include. The number of characters in the Mario Kart series is 32, which means new characters will need to be added. The question is - who? If we go off MKWii and MK7's combined rosters, we something a bit like this. Feather - Toad / Koopa Troopa / Toadette / Diddy Kong / Paratroopa / Dry Bones Light - Baby Mario / Baby Luigi / Baby Peach / Baby Daisy / Bowser Jr Medium - Mario / Luigi / Peach / Daisy / Yoshi / Birdo Heavy - Bowser / Wario / Waluigi / King Boo Cruiser - Donkey Kong / Rosalina / Petey Piranha In total, six new characters need to be added. Of course, I have added a few racers to make the entire crew of Double Dash present in the roster. Now, what will most likely happen is clones of characters will be added. That means one of the Heavy position will be filled by Dry Bowser, and two of the cruiser positions will be filled by Funky Kong and Metal Mario. That leaves three new characters left. But again, clones of characters are more than likely to be used. And just like with MKWii and Rosalina advertising Galaxy, this game will probably do the same. And the game it will most likely do that for is Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Dixie Kong is my guess for who will be added, to easily fill that last space in the Light class. That leaves two left. These two I'm guessing in the wild about, but after references to Galaxy, it's sequel needs some love too, so Lubba is my guess to fill the last Heavy space. And while many might not like it, after introducing a Power-up Mario in MK7, I reckon they're here to stay. But it's the Year of Luigi is it not? And so I predict that Luigi will be getting his own Power-up form. And continuing taking assets from Galaxy 2, Rock Luigi is my guess at that final character for the Cruiser status. Or, perhaps, those last two could be swapped around. As much as we don't won't character clones, I'm guessing that is what will happen. Either that, or an enemy from Super Mario 3D World will replace Rock Luigi. Now then. Tracks. We've got the three new ones from E3 - Mario Circuit, Boo Mansion and Marioco - and now five more have been revealed in the latest Direct trailer. Sunshine Airport, shown first, features an airport with planes to dodge. The next, Cake Fountain Mountain, is the one with the sweets in it. Thwomp Ruins was briefly shown on the E3 trailer, but we got to see it in more detail here. It features typical indoor ruin-esque scenery, rolling stone wheels, and an outdoor area with Thwomps, poles and outdoor ruin scenery. The next seems like a barren place where Dry Bones lives, but it also looks like it houses Dry Bowser scenery. The section driven up looks like bones arranged into a tail, and the head that is flown into looks like Dry Bowser's. As such, I've dubbed it Dry Bowser Fort. The last track shown features a nice, clear day which turns into a stormy, dark night, so I dubbed it Storm Cloud Rumble. And all of those brings the number of new tracks to eight. Two full cups worth. And talking of the cups, it seems like the perfect opportunity to try something. Super Mario Kart featured five races per cup, of which there were four. Five races per cup might be a bit much, but there's no reason to not do what Mario Kart: Super Circuit did and have five cups. Or, add two more cups for six per section [Nitro / Retro]. I think it's safe to say that if Retro courses keep being added, we'll be stretched. We now have seven games in which to add Retro courses from, and if the tradition of adding four courses from the latest two games stays, we've got to get eight courses from five games. Since both SNES and GBA games seem to have been forgot about, what with only three courses coming from both games for MK7, I predict we'll only see one course from each in Mario Kart 8. Particular emphasis seems to be put on the N64 tracks, with four courses in two games being reduced to three in MK7. I think I might be right in saying that three more courses will be added into MK8. Only five tracks remain to take from in MK64, though, so whether this really will hold remains to be seen. If it does, MK:DD will have only one track taken from it, with two taken from MKDS. That then gives us our eight. If there are five cups coming to MK8, then both SNES and GBA versions can have two tracks taken from them, while the N64 version still remains at three. Two tracks can be taken from the GCN version and three from the DS version, thus making twelve tracks from the five games. If six cups are in though, two tracks can be taken from the SNES version, while both N64 and GBA versions can have three tracks taken from them, while both GCN and DS version can have four taken from them. This will affect future games though, as, unless Nintendo revisit tracks again for the Retro section, the number of tracks are running out from certain version. As stated above, the N64 version only has five tracks left that haven't been visited, while the GCN version only has six. The DS version has eight. There is a way around this though. Not all tracks have to be used from previous games. Rainbow Road was put into MK7, which could see an end of all SNES tracks being in future games. So, what with being on the eighth incarnation of Mario Kart, maybe now is the time to start winding down on older games' tracks. This seems like a good idea, and could have a fifty percent chance of happening. After all, once all the good tracks are used up, it would make sense to stop remaking tracks from that game. And if that follows chronological release order, MK64's Rainbow Road could be in MK8. But what other tracks come with it? Many would like to see Yoshi Valley included, myself included, but which other? A good choice would be Wario Stadium, since that was mostly corners and had a very stadium-like feel to it. Though others would say use Royal Raceway and have MKDS' version of Wario Stadium instead. Either way, MK7's Retro course numbers seem like a good idea to use again. So three N64 tracks, one GBA track, and two tracks from both DS and GCN - if, of course, there are to be no SNES tracks in future games. Tracks and characters are the only things I will touch upon, and I really cannot wait for the next Mario Kart to come, which should be in about five months now. So, hope you enjoyed these predictions, and be welcome to share your own. Spoilers. Spoilers. Oh so great.
Spanish or not, it's too late. Videos pasted. Game surprises wasted. Avoid Youtube at all cost, Otherwise the wait is lost. Just a little poem there, to show how displeased I am at this news. You heard me. Sonic Lost World has had its street date broken. Spanish retailers [or at least one] have broken the official release date for Sonic Lost World, and spoilers have already been posted onto Youtube. It appears that a number of retailers have been doing this for certain games, preferably those with the least spoilers, as the same thing happened with GTAV not so long ago. Why they do it is completely beyond me, as that just creates situations like this where spoilers are revealed before the game is even released. And this isn't even a three day early thing. The release of Lost World isn't even for another two weeks in Europe. It's the week after the Pokemon X and Y worldwide release, and even that street date has been broken. Yes, people do like to get games early, but at least that's usually a day before release and not a week or two. This actually seems to be a trend now, and I'm sure retailers do it on purpose. Especially for the big games. It doesn't matter what retailer, and doesn't matter which country, as long as the game is released before street date in one country, those spoilers are bound to be on Youtube before the day is out. It's not enough any more just to glorify in getting a game before others any more, that person has to spoil it for the whole world. I've watched one video, and that's as much as I'll probably be doing, as apart from the one cutscene, it hasn't spoiled anything for me, and was probably stuff that could have been guessed anyway. So, word of warning for those who want to be spoiler free, avoid at all cost video sharing websites, especially Youtube, and any forums releating to Sonic or those that have the name of Sonic in their thread title. Spoiler tags are there to be used, but it's always possible that someone will forget. _____________________________________________________ In other news of gaming, the release of F1 2013 was yesterday, and reviewers seem to be pleased with it. I'll certainly look forward to playing it when I get it, and another thing I'll be looking forward to getting is Pokemon Y. CVG actually called it a revolution of Pokemon, and anyone can clearly see the changes in this game compared to the others. Again, apart from the reviews [and official trailers], I haven't spoilt myself any more [except keeping an eye on the new Pokemon]. Releasing soon is a new Legend of Zelda for 3DS, but the Gamecube revival title of Wind Waker HD on WiiU has just released. Those that have kept up with this game know the changes made, such as the Hero mode and the swap from Tingle Tuner to Tingle Bottle, which integrates with the Miiverse. Many a new game are releasing this month, so keep an eye out for the gaming news on the likes of CVG or Neoseeker, and I'll post more of the games I'm following soon. You might wonder where the other conferences are on this blog. EA's? Ubisoft's? Especially Sony's? I strictly didn't cover them for the reason that all of my best bits from them will be covered here.
Yes, at the end of this E3, I've had surprises thrown at me. Most of the games in this coming generation are going to be open world. Racing games, shooters and zombie survival games. All will be open world. During EA's conference, the bombshell of the entire event was lit. A new Star Wars Battlefront will be among us in the next few years. But that was nothing compared to the bombshell that was lit during Sony's conference. After spin-off after spin-off, Kingdom Hearts III will soon be among us. Both are my top two favourites in the gaming world. Introduced to both with their second main games, I have played each series and loved every bit of it. However, after my PS2 no longer worked, I was without both main series games. Even after nabbing Battlefront II on PC it refused to work after so long, but I've got the PSP version, and I've got all other Battlefront's. Even the PSP versions of Battlefront retain the same charm as the console versions. The same can't be said for Kingdom Hearts however. The DS versions weren't coming even close to the charm of II, and the PSP version came close, and so did the 3DS version, but there is still nothing that can beat the actual main series games. And a third, as well as the HD 1.5 remix, are the best things to come out of the Kingdom Hearts series ages. I still remember when I went to buy Kingdom Hearts II for Christmas all those years ago, unknowing how significant it will become to me, and how much playtime I'll get out of it. Also out of the bag was the Playstation 4's actual look. I suppose is okay, but I always go for practicality over looks, and the PS4 seems to have a better handle on that. EA and Ubisoft have both come up front to say that they will continue WiiU support once the console picks up in sales. Why exactly don't you support it with some worthwhile games so you can help it pick up sales? I'll never understand, but I guess it has something to do with money. I might be a racing fan, but the only thing that really perked my interest was Mario Kart 8. However, if I do get a PS4, I'll be able to test Drive Club, which seems to be going free for PS+ subscribers. Yes Need For Speed Rivals takes Most Wanted's gameplays and adds more to it, but Ubisoft's offering of The Crew has more to it. But even then, while Most Wanted was a good game, most of it was wanting more to be added to it. And while Forza 5 has that AI-learning thing, I think most people will try to avoid the XBOX ONE at all costs due to those radical features of used games and DRM nonsense. Most of the Nintendo games have me interested. The PS4 is my second choice. I know that Battlefront and Kingdom Hearts won't be on the WiiU, but I can't choose between the two, simply because Sonic Lost World is on the WiiU. And Pikmin. Anyway. Another E3 has come to an end, and if you need trailers for the games, CVG is loaded with them. And if you really want to know why I haven't fully covered the other conferences, Animal Crossing has taken my time. Literally. Don't worry, as more stories on CDSMEDIA will be posted next week. And so we've had our Nintendo Direct goodness for the day. And, as usual, a lot was shown. And boy was it amazing.
First, a new Pokemon X and Y trailer. Oh it is looking so good, and by the time of release, it will just be too good to even play. But play it we must. Two new features, one of which is a new type. Fairy. It is super effective to dragon. Returning Pokémon Jigglypuff, Gardevoir, and Marill will take on this new type. Hold on, Marill? Oh well. Anyway, the new Eeveelution Sylveon also takes this type. The next feature, called Pokémon Amie [A-Me] sees you feeding and petting Pokémon to bond more with them. Seems interesting. Oh, and did I mention that the game will be coming October this year. On the twelfth? Super Mario 3D World takes the 3DS' game and makes it better. Four players, stunning scenery, even more additions to the gameplay, and Cat Mario... A new powerup that gives the player the abilities of a cat, including scratching enemies to defeat them and climbing up walls [and the end flagpole]. Playable characters are Mario, Luigi, Peach, and a Toad. The game will be available in December this year. Next up, Mario Kart 8. And boy does it look even better than before. Bikes are back, it looks like twelve racers are back, new karts and returning gliding and underwater sections. New is hover mode and anti-grav racing, which leads to twisting tracks and even driving upside down. As for tracks, it looks like we have a new Luigi's Mansion track, a new Peach's Castle track, a new chocolate/candy themed track, some type of city themed track [City Escape from Sonic Generations-like], a ruins type track, a desert type track, and it seems returning 3DS favourites Piranha Plant Pipeway, Meledy Motorway, and the Wii's Dry Dry Ruins. I cannot wait for it, but we'll have to wait until Spring 2014 to get our hands on it. Party games! Wii Party U. 80 new minigames, control schemes using both Gamepad and Wii Remotes, and brand new board game styles [of play]. Bad news. It's not coming in the Summer as previously stated in the January Direct. Same goes for Wii Fit U. Wii Party U will instead be coming October, and Wii Fit U will be coming December. Miiverse has become a centre for quality drawings. So, new Art Academy. And as a bonus, the Miiverse gets new tools for it. Like coloured pens. Third party developers. Small trailers. Assassins Creed 4: Black Flag. Batman: Arkham Origins [Blackgate - 3DS]. Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut. Disney Infinity. Just Dance 2014. Rayman Legends. Scribblenauts Unlimited - A DC Comics Adventure [WiiU/3DS]. Disney's Planes. Shin Megami Tensei IV [3DS]. Skylanders SWAP Force [WiiU/3DS]. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist. Sonic Lost World [WiiU/3DS]. Watch Dogs. All in 2013. 2013 eShop releases [with small trailers]. Ballpoint Universe. Cloudberry Kingdom. Coaster Crazy Deluxe. Duck Tales: Remastered. Dungeons and Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara. Mutant Mudds Deluxe. Oddworld: New 'N' Tasty. Scram Kitty and his Buddy on Rails. Shovel Knight. Spin the Bottle: Bumpie's Party. A World of Keflings. And then. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD. Visuals rendered at 1080p, and it looks amazing. The shaders of the WiiU are fully utilised to make this version look the best it can be. Tingle Tuner replaced with the Tingle Bottle so you can post on Miiverse with text or screenshots, so that bottles might wind up in someone else's game. The game looks so good, this might just be my first proper Zelda game I will buy. The Wonderful 101, the Pikmin-esque game featuring super heroes battling in a city against an invasion force of giant robots. New moves can be purchased from the in-game shop with credits earned from missions, and to activate them and go into 'Unite Mode' by drawing the symbol on the Gamepad. Five players can also play together, with Wii Remotes and one with the Gamepad, with each player controlling their own heroes, and have their own powers. Releases September 15. It was also said a Direct will be coming soon focused entirely on this game near to launch. Good to hear. The new Donkey Kong Country game looks even more hectic than the previous one, and much more stunning. A lot more camera angles able to be used, and the visuals are fully enhanced. The plot is Donkey Kong island has been over-run by Vikings from the north sea, and DK needs to travel to five islands to stop them. Co-op is in again, with Dixie Kong available for the second player, as well as Diddy, who's returning. Dixie has flight abilities which help in the game. It looks just as hard as previous games in the series. Oh, it looks a good game for those who like platformers, but since I'm not really one of them [okay, okay. Mario and Sonic are the only two though] I'd recommend it to anyone who is. This is - Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, available November. Bayonetta 2 now has a new trailer, showing two characters duking it out, before gameplay footage of the game. It showcases the range of moves available, and looks over-the-top in a good way. A vague release of 2014 was given, but more info will soon be coming our way when E3 starts proper, which I suppose is now. Monolith Soft's game, and it looks like we Nintendo fans have our own version of Titanfall in X. Open world action gameplay, and mechs that can fly. The graphics are stunning. The action is incredible. And if this looks good, I'm getting it. I'm all up for open world games. And then. The ultimate. Animal Crossing! No. It's Super Smash Bros 4. We got the 3DS gameplay first, which looks cel-shaded. And then, we got to the WiiU version. Looking just as good as ever, Pit is retuning again, as is the usual cast. But, two new characters were revealed. They wouldn't show Animal Crossing without reason, and that reason came with a net landing on Mario's head and the words 'Villager comes to town'. Showing a male villager from Wild World. His attacks range from the various things in the Animal Crossing universe. And then, the logo's for both games, then the date. That would seem to be that. Oh, no it wasn't. We was then treated to the classic New Challenger Approaching sign. And, up on a mountain, a figure with hair. Which then turns to a helmet, and then, the silhouette is revealed. Megaman comes to Super Smash Bros. A new trailer commences with Megaman battling. The website is open now. Many fans have waited for this game, and no way did many of us expect such a deep look at this game. I am so going to get it, as this looks to be great. Iwata then takes us behind the scenes at Nintendo's E3 booth with a sneak peak. Mario Kart 8 and Super Mario 3D World are among those that can be played in the booth, as well as select North American Best Buy stores. And that ending the Direct with the Pikmin section shown. If you want to watch this Nintendo Direct, click the name of it. And so, no matter what you might think of the XBOX ONE. No matter what DRM issues we have it. No matter what policies are corrupt with it, after that conference the one thing we know it will do is sell.
The first thing the conference kicked off with was Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, the Konami game that was shown on the sixth. This was a larger trailer than the one saw on the sixth though, and was the perfect way to start the conference. Confirming it for XBOX ONE. Next up was the things for the XBOX 360. Microsoft aren't giving up support for it, and now it seems, it wants to copy PS+. Why? Two free games per month is why. But that's all that was confirmed for it, as well as the new model of 360 [featuring the exact same pricing model and is supposed to be slimmer than the elite]. Those two games are Assassins Creed 2 and Halo 3, coming July to GOLD members. Hundreds of games are said to still be coming to the 360, and three of those games were shown with either teasers or full trailers. World of Tanks, Max: The Curse of Brotherhood, and Dark Souls II. All look interesting to those who like tank warfare, platformers, and sword fighting action games. Then it moved fully to XBOX ONE games. Ryse, a roman war styled game, had a full level of gameplay footage shown. Killer Instinct, a 2D beat-em up, featuring a range of monsters and humans. Sunset Overdrive, an open world shooter featuring a whole lot of gameplay styles. Then a small history lesson was shown about McLaren, before the logo of Forza Motorsport 5 was shown. And then, details of the new AI system. The AI are not fully set; they learn from the world's driving skills on the game, with a new system called Drivertar. Then an actual trailer was shown full of stunning scenery and cars. It was also said that the developers have gone into the upmost details within the cars, making them look absolutely realistic. Moving on, it was stated that Microsoft are continuing to bring indie games to the XBOX platform, and to the ONE. It was then announced that Minecraft would be coming to the XBOX ONE, featuring bigger maps and bigger multiplayer options. Sam Lake of Remedy then came on stage to talk Quantum Break and show a trailer. Needless to say, the game looked ace, even through that teaser. Another teaser was shown for D4, a murder mystery game. Project Spark was then announcement. A game where you can make a game. Using voice control and Smartglass, you can create a world, and then play in it. It's an interesting concept for a game, and sure appeals to the likes of me. A lot of stuff can be done with the game, as was shown by the many different things people that done with it. Away from the games for a bit, more talk of XBOX LIVE and Smartglass features. Using Ryse as a game, Smartglass was setting up a multiplayer game for Killer Instinct. A game was then played on Killer Instinct, and a message then popped up saying that footage had been uploaded. This is where we then got to see the Upload Studio, Microsoft's in-game video recording software. Another game was played, but this time, it was recorded live with Twitch Live recording. As for LIVE itself, no restrictions on friend limits with the XBOX ONE, and Microsoft Points are being exchanged for using real currency. Also, only one GOLD member needs to be on the console for all to have access to its features. Back to the games, and Crimson Dragon was shown - without its sound. Then Dead Rising 3, thankfully with sound, and a lot of it was shown in gameplay. Anything and everything is a weapon. The world is free roam with no loading in game. A lot of weapons can be fused together to make even more powerful ones. Distractions can be used to rid large zombie hordes, and using Smartglass you can even call for additional backup. You can also drive vehicles, but zombies will still be able to get at you. Next up was the completely free roaming The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It is multi-region no loading free roam game featuring a dynamic/tactical battle system. Then it was the turn of EA with Battlefield 4. Dynamic trailer featuring land/sea/air battles with in-game footage, and the Second Assault map pack will be first on XBOX ONE. Quickly shown was a trailer for Below, and then announced was five new studios, one of which is called Black Tusk. A teaser was shown of an unannounced game. It was then said, "And here's another" leading people to believe another studio; another game. Instead, it was a new Halo from 343 Industries, who then came on stage to talk about the series. November release date with a price of $499/£429 in 21 markets. Then another exclusive game in the form of Titanfall. Respawn then comes on stage with a new gameplay footage trailer. Once that was over and done with, the conference ended. Now then, I can't say it was good, but then again. It wasn't exactly bad. They focused entirely on games, and improvements. However, no backpedaling on any of the previous things. Also, was there really any need to say before each trailer "running in-game"? I suppose we can call compromise if they do that sometime soon. But as I said at the beginning, this thing will sell, simply because of the games. Microsoft knew what they were doing, and the XBOX ONE will stay in the trending lists for a lot longer. However, at 2:00 am in the morning, this could be changed. So the only thing here was for the fans really. Starting with a small trailer using nothing but red lines, they showed off the three games they'd be showing off, then moved to a brief history lesson and some of their projects in schools. Talk then moved to social games, even if not much was even said about them. Still, the logo's of Domo Jump! and NLB Live Challenge were shown with a bit of what each game was.
After the social stuff, it then finally moved to the first of the games. Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 The new engine, Fluidity, was named because, well... the fluid motions it brings to the game. And it was also based on the Fox engine. The TrueBall Tech means control is tighter and more better in handling, and the Motion Animation Stability System makes the animations look more like that of a real football match. Many more features are being planned, and it was said that the new engine will impress users. A small trailer was then shown showing off some of what was talked abut. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Basically, they're changing the character of Snake subtly, and with that came a new voice actor who could fit the darker theme of the game. Kiefer Sutherland plays the 49 year old Snake, who is exploring 1984. With a lot of new advances with technology, the team behind it are fully utilising all they can for facial emotion, meaning less talking and more... emotional action. Photorealistic characters and locations are in this game, and that was number one priority, so the game looks closer to a movie in its cinematics and gameplay. Catslevania: Lords of Shadow 2 The focus of this game is on Dracula's story, and takes straight off from where the epilogue of the first game left us. The story is more dark and the game is more free and tighter controlling. And Dracula has three more abilities. There is better combat, and with all the changes, the game's engine had to be adapted to fit with it. The game is more open world with a free camera and feels more open world, meaning no load times. It is set in a modern day setting, and a demo will be at the Konami booth during the main of E3. A trailer was then shown showing, I think I'm right in saying, most of the entire story, or at least the main plot points. At the end of it, it confirmed the game's release for PS3, XBOX 360 and PC this Winter. "And now. We have a surprise for you." Oh. Wait. More Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. Live action comedy sketch that in my opinion was corny and unfunny, featuring a portly man dressed as Dracula. No idea why it was there, but I think it was meant to represent the reality of this game happening or something... Anyway, that was all that happened at Konami's pre-E3. Now to wait until the 10th for the majority of the rest. So E3 is almost upon us again. And this year, it is looking to be bigger than ever. Both Microsoft and Sony have revealed next generation consoles, and Nintendo have a lot to show for their next gen console. The WiiU, while getting some game releases, hasn't exactly been winning any wars due to lack of competition and lack of must-have exclusives. That is soon to come though, and this E3 shall prove it. But not in the way you're familiar with. Nintendo won't be holding a big pre-E3 conference, but will be active on the first day of E3 with a Media Showcase with hands-on testing, as well as a Nintendo Direct for all us fans. There's also the Pokémon conference, or whatever it turns out to be.
EDIT: There is a Konami conference today, and I'll be checking it out. Not expecting much, but I'll still give a little review of it. Microsoft kicks off the pre-E3 stuff though, with it's conference at 17:30 [BST] on the 10th, and we all will be expecting the XBOX ONE to be there, trying to claim it is a gaming machine. Microsoft have said that E3 will be all about the games, and I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. There is also this 'big' XBOX 360 reveal, and I'm expecting another console which could probably run through the ONE. Then we have these exclusive IP's, whatever they might turn out to be. I'm not expecting much, but I hope that some of them are for the 360 as well. Microsoft's conference had also put to rest these false claims and confusion surrounding it's console, as well as back-pedal on features that have received a lot of criticism. I'm also expecting GTAV to be shown off here as well. Other games that definitely will be shown off are more of Forza 5 and Call of Duty: Ghosts. Ubisoft then takes the helm at 21:00, and it's pretty obvious what will be shown. Having taken South Park: The Stick of Truth after THQ went into administration, this will probably be a big feature of the conference, but even bigger would be Assassins Creed: Black Flag, Watch Dogs and Rayman Legends. Filling up stock would be Just Dance 5, The Smurfs 2: The Game [if they even bother showing it off], Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Patriots, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist, and Spartacus: Legends. This possibly won't be all that they show, but it will be a big chunk of it. Next generation only games can now be shown off since all next gen consoles have now been revealed. The same goes for EA, who then hold their conference at 23:00. The biggest things to expect here would be Battlefield 4 and Need For Speed Rivals. The majority of sports games will come into it as well, but may be highlighted before in Microsoft's conference due to the XBOX ONE only features. Star Wars as a franchise will be mentioned, as EA have already confirmed they will announce plans for the franchise, and hinted at Battlefront III. It would greatly please me if EA announced they had taken up the slack of finishing the Star Wars LucasArts games that were in production, as that would mean we would be able to get something playable quickly, though possibly not before Christmas this year. If we look to last year's conference, we can expect more DLC and expansion packs of The Sims series to be in with all of this as well. Sony have their conference at 02:00 [BST] of the 11th, at the same time as the Pokémon information. Sony's conference will be bigger though [unless you are a massive Pokémon fan], and we can expect more features of the console to be talked about, as well as what the console will look like. Remember all those games shown at the reveal event? Expect more information on all of those, as well as Gran Turismo 6, and even more games for the PS4. Don't be forgetting the PSV though, and more games are needed for that. EDIT: Thanks to the confusion on that earlier, it is now known that the Pokémon conference is not the same time as the Sony conference, but is Wednesday 12th June. This Pokémon event then. Well, we know nothing except that it is obviously going to contain information on X and Y. I'd also guess at a new Rangers game to be shown, or a full 3D Battle Simulator similar to the Gamecube Colosseum/Gale of Darkness duo, on the WiiU. Nintendo Direct will be shown at 15:00 [BST] and Mario Kart, a new 3D Mario, and the ultimate game we've been waiting for - Super Smash Bros. WiiU and 3DS. Remember all those previous Direct's? Most of what was in them will more than likely be here. Zelda: A Link to the Past 2, and Wind Waker HD, and the two Yoshi games. Basically, a lot. And also expect one or two new announcements. Come on, this is Nintendo Direct. There's always new announcements. SEGA partnership with Nintendo. When was the last F-Zero game and who developed it? Right... That's what many people are saying, and if not that, other SEGA IP's like Yakuza and Shenmue getting sequels or remakes for Nintendo's consoles as well. Then of course is the fact that three exclusive Sonic games are coming to Nintendo consoles, and all three are coming this year. Only two have been announced. That leaves one more. And where better to announce it than E3 and in another Direct. With all these Sonic the Hedgehog games, wouldn't it also make sense for a special edition bundle of Sonic? Both for WiiU and 3DS? This wouldn't be the first time a Nintendo Direct has been used to showcase special edition consoles. Then of course, after Nintendo have shown off all of this, there's the Media Showcase at 17:30 where the gaming press get to test out the games for delivering their verdict. Out of those three mentioned, only the Direct is going to be definitely streamed live. That's not to say that all the other information will stay locked up in the vaults of E3 though. The gaming press will have the info readily available as soon as. Remember last year when I went wild on predictions? Well then. I'm still expecting the Midtown Madness HD remakes, and I also want a UK version of Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime 2. Japan have had it exclusively for a year and a half now, and it should really be announced for conversion to the west, as America got the last one as well [and since the 3DS is region locked, the UK had better get it as well this time]. And also, would now be a good time to mention Advance Wars? Now that Fire Emblem: Awakening is out and Game and Wario is set for release, now would be a good time for Advance Wars, Intelligent Systems' other strategy game. There are plenty of racing games coming soon, and Animal Crossing has me covered for simulation games [for the next five years plus]. There is a new Sonic game coming soon [possibly two] and that just leaves Star Wars and what EA are going to mention. Battlefront is very likely. But what about a real-time strategy set in the Star Wars timeline? Or maybe just based on it. If we've had Star Wars racers, then this can also be a possibility. Anyway, that's what to expect, and my predictions, for E3 of this year. See you in ten days for the start of the conferences. Now then. I've just been sat for an hour watching the conference.
Stepping up first was Don Mattrick to introduce us to the concept and the day. But before this was a trailer of people from Microsoft basically saying "We're changing gaming again." I beg to differ. So Don Mattrick steps up to the stage, talks a bit about how the original XBOX came to be, introduction of LIVE, then the release of the XBOX 360 [X360] and an improvement of the LIVE services. At this precise point everyone knows what is now coming. He didn't half big it up though. Come on! It's the name of a console! You don't have to repeat what we've already just heard. And so, after a bit more of a big up, the name of the console is revealed. XBOX 8? XBOX Infinity? No! Of course not! It's the XBOX ONE. Someone check to see if the guy from Nintendo who thought up the name of the Wii U still works there. Although to be fair, both names serve their purpose. The Wii U was basically an improvement of the theory Wii is the family and U is you. And to make a console based around that. XBOX ONE [XB1] is basically the concept that your console can do everything. And indeed it can. In fact, they advertised more on the other features of the XB1 than the games the console is meant to have. First off the line was Yusuf Meidi and the integration of the console, the controller and Kinect. Just picture this. You say XBOX on, and it does. It recognises you and auto logs you in. It remembers what you were last doing and puts you on the tab that you were on last. Using gestures you can swap between tabs on the home menu, open up something with your voice, and even use the snap feature of Windows 8. You can even minimise what you were doing with a gesture and maximise it again with the opposite of that gesture. Good concept, but does it work in a house? Why do they never show stuff like that? I've played Kinect Sports before. Someone walks in, whole game messed up. I've tried to use voice control. Half the time it won't respond, and most of the time it'll pick up something I didn't say [in other words, the mention of XBOX in conversation]. This new Kinect though, is a refinement and improvement of the first. Full 1080p cameras and a better microphone installed, as demonstrated with a Skype call. This is just getting even more like Windows 8 now. And of course, a partnership with ESPN. What good is that for anyone but America? Basically all it does is unlocks a load of features and abilities direct from the ESPN website. The same thing was shown later on with a partnership from NFL [again - who else but American's really care?]. And the TV can be swapped to without having to change inputs. Great. Full integration of the TV with XBOX LIVE and Kinect. Just what everyone without a remote needs. Except everyone has one. Next up was Marc Whitten and the specs of this new machine. Basically, it's nearly identical to the PS4. Blu-Ray, 8GB RAM, and more specs I don't really care for. The XB1 has three operating systems. A new, improved XBOX one. The Kernel from Windows. And some OS which integrates both together and allows for the almost instant swapping and switching. Kinect is more accurate with even bigger recognition features in a range of thing, including depth, joints, muscle and... anyone still interested? Basically a lot more motion control that contributes to this being the definitive version of the Kinect. The controller is also more accurate, and Smartglass is natively a part of XB1. In other words "We are leading the world in innovation and having a slice of Nintendo's cake but charging more for it." Smartglass was originally intended for this purpose, just like Sony is experimenting with PS4-PSV cross features and remote play. It doesn't matter if it's native or not. It's still not going to work as well as a WiiU, which was purpose built for it. I can understand why they are doing it, but while the concept is good, I can't help but feel that both Microsoft's and Sony's versions will cost more than a WiiU [in other words Smartglass compatible device and an XB1 or a PS4 and PSV]. If I'm getting off as anti-Microsoft very pro-Nintendo here, don't worry. I'm trying to be as biased as possible. Basically the online functionality of XBOX LIVE is bigger than ever with 300,000 servers to be powering it for the XB1, and a lot more can be done with the online. Next up was EA and Andrew Wilson, who announced straight away the partnership between EA and Microsoft. I guess we now know why they snubbed Nintendo with the advanced online features and extra power and the Kinect to work with. And EA, it seems, have gone all out with that. A new engine for the XB1 that allows for the extra features and recognition of the Kinect to be used in their sports games. The name of the engine? EA Sports Ignite. Apt. It basically promises more in terms of depth and detail, as well as animation and physics. More details was promised for 'soon' including more details on the XB1 only version of FIFA 14's Ultimate Team expansion. A trailer was then shown [can we really say pre-rendered] of footage from all four of EA's main sports games. Can't really say much other than it looked good in action. Phil Spencer of Microsoft Studios then showed footage of Forza Motorsport 5, confirmed it as a launch title, and that more info would be revealed at E3. For a fan of Forza, I can't wait to see more, but everything else about this console seriously turns me off buying. Spencer then stated that Remedy had a new Quantum game coming out and showed a traile- um. Live action of some weird human interaction of a girl who I think was meant to be the XB1 and a woman aski- actually, I'll just cut to the chase. It basically showed a load of bullet-time scenes of a boat crashing into a bridge before revealing the name of Quantum Break. Actually, I might be being a tad unfair there, since Remedy are number one at making actual game footage look like pre-rendered footage. Spencer then said that Microsoft Studios were working close with game devs to bring a load of exclusive games to the XB1, and confirmed 15 games for the year starting on the release of the XB1, 8 of which would be new IPs. Did we really need more talk of the TV features? Apparently we did, as Nancy Tellem then steps up to reiterate what we had seen in the first half of the conference [yes, this is about forty-five minutes into it now], and then Halo is mentioned, Bonnie Ross is brought on stage, who then tells us of a Halo live action TV series being made by Steven Spielburg. Great. Instead of a game, we get a TV Series. I expect the game will be shown off at E3, and will somehow tie in to this TV Series. This is then when we got the talk of an exclusive partnership with NFL. And then, it was all about Call of Duty. We get Don Mattrick back on to say a few words of doom and gloom [considering Call of Duty DLC is always XBOX exclusive, I doubt it is doom and gloom] and the fact that the new XB1 is launching worldwide later this year [was that really necessary apart from reassurance?]. Then we was handed over to Activision and Eric Hirshberg to talk in more detail about it. New engine, new gameplay mechanics, brand new characters, and a load of extra detail. A dog is your new squad member, as well as others. Multiplayer is more dynamic with player controlled and natural disasters. And then, as if to prove this is the best ever made [really? Does it need to be reiterated even more?] a comparison was made with Modern Warfare 3 and the new game of Ghosts. And then we get to the actual footage of the game. And then after that, a screen saying that more info will be available at E3. And I hope it is a lot more. This seriously has not impressed me. I can understand the concept of it all, but Microsoft were advertising most features as either 'revolutionary' or brand new. Too much emphasis on bigging up Kinect, but at least we got to see the console. Sorry, did I say at least? It looks like someone remade a chess board and cut a slab out of it. So, unless you really are a big fan of Microsoft, come E3, I can see a lot of the fanbase moving to either Nintendo, Sony, or just keeping their X360. Unless, of course, Microsoft really impress us at E3. Oh well. I suppose they can only improve. Not. As if it couldn't be any worse, this was released by Microsoft almost after the conference. Basically, it says mandatory installation for games and if a second user wants to install it, they have to pay. Add that to LIVE still being behind a paywall [it wasn't mentioned service charges were being removed] and this is probably the losing three of all consoles. Sorry Microsoft. I trusted you in buying an X360, and am happy with it, but this is just taking it too far. As one comment on the ONM forum says "Can't wait to pay £300/£400 for a new TV box." As that's what this amounts to. And so I said I would. My idea of Sonic Adventure 3. Why am I uploading this so early after the previous blog post then?
Well, a recent bout of the rumour mill has been going, and basically the game 'Sonic Excursion' seems to have been taken as fact by almost everywhere. I won't bother going into it, as I'm sure that many of you will have seen it somewhere [Sonic Adventure 3 Facebook page, I'm looking at you]. But onto my idea, which is more fleshed out than that rumour. I had planned this to feature Chao Garden's more in the story rather than how the other Adventure games dealt with them, which I described as "Oh look! A Chao Garden. Let's visit". This way, they can still remain optional, but it doesn't look as though they've been added in for the sake of it. Chao have been to some of the Sonic games, Adventure 1 and Rivals 2 most prominently. This then would be the third, and as you read on, you'll see why. Sonic is on another of his world spanning runs when he spots Cream looking sad in a forest. Stopping to say hello and ask what's wrong, Cream says that her beloved Chao Cheese has been Chaonapped, but she couldn't find anyone around to help her look. Sonic agrees to go with her. Reaching near the end of the forest, the two see a robot holding a Chao. Cream starts chasing it, but it disappears. Sonic walks forward and says he will keep looking. Reaching the outer edge of the forest, Sonic tackles the robot and Cheese rescues the Chao. Unfortunately, it isn't Cheese, but the two come across a Chao Garden. The two agree this would be a good place to stay for a while and work out what is happening. Cream asks what Sonic is holding. He reveals he has some Chaos Drives that he had taken from the enemies destroyed. Cream suggests feeding them to the Chao, who accepts them. The Chao seems happy and sets to exploring the garden. Cream says she is happy here, but then the Chao starts attacking a wall. Sonic goes to stop it and sees cracks in the rock. Using a spin dash, the rock crumbles and he sees a route onward. Sonic asks Cream if she would like to come with him more, but Cream says she will stay here and look after the Chao. Sonic then speeds through grassy hills and finds himself at a volcanic crater. Jumping into it, he then rushes around the outside and through the veins of it to then be brought out to a small forest full of pine trees. Running through this forest, he sees two E-Series robots with an Egg Capsule. Destroying both robots, he hits the switch and releases a Chao. This one isn't Cheese though, but Sonic lets the Chao tag along. Following a road leads to a city in darkness, which Sonic proceeds to run through. Halfway along a twisty road, an E-Series robot nabs the Chao Sonic had rescued. Chasing after the robot leads Sonic to a roof of a hotel. Fighting the E-Series, it is defeated. Before it is destroyed though, it claims to be E-303, a reject model who was set free to steal Chao. Sonic grabs the Chao and speed jumps from the roof to the outer edge of the leafy forest. Back at the Chao Garden, Cream screams with delight at seeing Sonic again, but upset he hasn't found Cheese. She is enjoying looking after the other Chao though, who seem to understand her. Sonic then reveals he has another Chao that needs looking after, and Cream accepts. After a bit of discussion, the two wonder if there are any more Chao out there when Espio comes along. He says he had heard of Chaonappings all over, and that The Chaotix had sent him to major Chao Gardens to check if there were any Chao still around. Other members were also investigating on different things relating to this, Espio related, but as of yet had no leads. Sonic suggests the hills and the forests in this area, even though he hadn't found anything. Espio goes through the rock after thanking them. Sonic says he's going as well, just in case he had missed anything. Reaching the city in darkness again, Sonic sees an Egg Capsule glinting on top of the highest building in the city, and speeds around the city to get there fast. Upon reaching it, Espio appears again, who says the situation is well under control, and breaks open the capsule before disappearing. Sonic then returns to the Chao Garden with the third rescued Chao. In the Chao Garden, Cream alerts Sonic that the Chao have found a spot in the pool that looks suspicious. Sonic says he will take a look and uses a spin dash on the spot, which cracks open. Clearly regretting what he is about to do, Sonic goes under the water and reaches another Chao Garden, this one more like an oasis in design. He also sees what looks like a sewer line. Deciding he couldn't get any more wet, he goes to explore. At the end of the sewer, he sees a mine full of water. Wondering why this area was so full of water, Sonic proceeds through here as well. Rescuing a Chao trapped in an Egg Capsule at the end of the mine, Sonic runs into Knuckles. Knuckles says he is helping Espio and The Chaotix uncover the truth of the Chaonappings. Taking a look at how wet Sonic is, Knuckles also says there is an ice path lined with diamond icicles that will lead back to the garden. Sonic thanks Knuckles and heads on his way with the Chao in tow. Another three reject E-Series robots try to take the Chao from Sonic, but he beats them all. In the third robot, it appears a Chao was actually powering the robot. The other Chao floats down to inspect it and cries. Sonic gathers the Chao in his arms and continues back to the oasis garden. Back at the Oasis Chao Garden, Sonic is struggling for places to explore. There doesn't seem to be any viable areas to go other than retrace his steps. Heading to the other Chao Garden, Cream asks if he has found Cheese. He replies with a no, and says he has come to a dead end. Cream asks if he has any other Chaos Drives to feed the Chao, and Sonic fills Cream in on all that had happened. Cream is shocked to find that Chao are powering the robots, but that he found another Chao. Heading back to the Oasis Garden, Sonic feeds the Chaos Drives he had collected to the lone Chao in the garden. That Chao then finds an opening within the waterfall that Sonic breaks open, and the tunnel leads out to a storm ridden area that leads into and out of a boatyard. The rain lets up a bit as Sonic reaches a castle. Rushing through the outside of it, he reaches the entrance which is blocked by two Metal Knights. Defeating them, Sonic runs through the castle and reaches the roof via the turrets. On the roof, a large number of Chao were trapped inside a net with an E-Series 3 robot. Sonic defeats this E-Series robot easily and rescues the Chao. A black Chao flies forward and introduces itself, and Sonic is surprised at a Chao that can actually talk. This Chao says it is a portal engineer, and he was captured to build some machine of a type he didn't understand. To demonstrate his abilities, he makes a portal which the Chao fly through. Ushering Sonic through as well, he sees they are in an area of strong winds. The portal engineer Chao says this is the place they were taken from, but for now they should be safe. A machine is then built in the centre of the garden, and the portal Chao tells Sonic to wait while he builds another in one of the other Chao Gardens. Sonic waits, and soon sees a blue glow coming from the top of the machine. The portal Chao appears accompanied by Cream, who tells Sonic that she was worried the Chao might have been a plant by Eggman, to which Sonic replies that Eggman hasn't been seen in ages, but the fact his armies and factories are still operation is worrying. The portal Chao then explains that the gusty winds in this area are a transport method. Up above are floating islands held by the wind. Above there, not even Chao knew what was around. Sonic says it is a good as place as any to explore, and might yield more results. The portal Chao says he will come along, in case any more Chao are rescued. Sonic explores the gusty winds and sees something worrying. A dark looking hedgehog is standing on a small island. Not Shadow, but Metal Shadow. Apparently, someone wasn't ready to give up on the Metal Hedgehogs. This Metal Shadow says that an Egg Capsule is loaded with Chao at the top of the valley, and is set to explode. If he gets there first, he will detonate it as soon as. However, should Sonic get there first, the explosives will be disabled and the Chao released. A race ensues between the two with Metal Shadow getting an early lead. In the end though, Sonic narrowly wins, and a battle ensues between the two. Sonic commands that Metal Shadow disable the explosives in the Egg Capsule. Metal Shadow laughs and says the explosives can't be disabled, at which point the Egg Capsule behind him explodes. Sonic spin dashes through the Metal Shadow and destroys it. Sonic is aghast at what happened and starts blaming himself, holding his head in his hands. The portal Chao then flies slowly over and asks what is up. Sonic says all the Chao in that capsule are dead because of him. The portal Chao says to turn around. Sonic does and sees ten Chao flying around. Gasping, Sonic is immensely relieved that the Chao are indeed safe, and says thanks the portal Chao over and over. The portal Chao then says he will distribute them to the Chao Gardens, and creates a portal to which the Chao fly through. Sonic looks around for any more leads, and sees a rail network in the distance, and traces the rail to another island lower down which holds a building complex. Using the edges of the wind to propel himself, Sonic lands on a platform jutting out from the building. Running through it, he tries to find a way down to the station proper. Jumping from a window, Sonic then lands on another building set slightly down further, and hops down to the floor. Seeing he is in the station proper, he then runs through it and misses getting into the train which launches. Seeing the rails, Sonic says the place reminds him of Bullet Station. Grinding down the rails, Sonic overtakes the train and arrives at another station. Running through that building, which is shorter, takes Sonic to a robot-infested room where a load of Egg Capsules are being loaded onto the train. Defeating those robots, he then boards the train as the last of the Egg Capsules are loaded in it, and fights his way through the train as it sets off, making sure all robots on board are destroyed so that the Egg Capsules cannot be delivered to where ever they would. As the train arrives at the station, Sonic counts the amount of Chao he had rescued. When the doors open, the portal Chao appears and smiles at the amount of Chao Sonic had rescued, creating a portal and ushering the other Chao through it, the portal Chao then also disappears. Sonic then looks around and sees the island he is on looks as though it is made of marble. Egg Pawns then start clanking up to Sonic, who defeats them quickly and then proceeds to speed his way through the island, noting the increased amount of robots in the area. He thinks of taking a more stealth approach when a giant robot crashes through the marble cave Sonic had stopped in, and releases sunlight into the cave. Sonic dodges underneath it, and the robot proceeds to chase him. Sonic runs while also avoiding the robots attacks and causing the swinging spike balls to crash into the robot in as many weak spaces as possible. The robot then topples and falls. Sonic cautiously walks forward with the intent of checking if there are any Chao powering the robot when it starts to smoke and a massive explosion rips through it's chest. Sonic starts running - but too late. The explosion reaches it peak and a lot of hot gas expands outward, picking up Sonic and throwing him into the air. Landing is soft, and Sonic lifts himself up to see he is on another island, but it is covered in snow instead. A voice then calls him, and looking in it's direction, Sonic sees Tails running to him. Tails immediately tells Sonic about someone wanting a mechanic to get a new machine working. Sonic guesses Eggman, but Tails puts this theory down, saying that Eggman would never keep his main forces at every point available, or run an operation as smooth as this, and Sonic agrees that things are a bit fishy. Sonic then guesses that Tails was the mechanic chosen, and Tails confirms that. Tails then says the Tornado had been hidden somewhere on this island after they had taken him. Battling through the island, against larger foes and smaller ones in big groups, Sonic then arrives at a complex which looks like it was designed to pull the resources from the island. Tails recognises the place and says that somewhere around here must be a garage or an airfield to export the supplies. Getting through as fast as possible, and with the least amount of sightings [all of which he destroys before they raise the alarm], Sonic breaks the door down of a hangar and Tails sights upon the Tornado, running to it. An armadillo walks around the side of the Tornado and stops Tails in his tracks. Sonic runs forward and asks what the armadillo is playing at. The armadillo explains that this plane will only be used for destruction, and must be held in this hangar forevermore. Sonic exclaims "No way!" and he and the armadillo fight. A voice sounding like Vector's then comes through a radio speaker asking for a progress report. Sonic wonders aloud where he has heard the name of Mighty, and Vector shouts through the speaker if that was really Sonic. Sonic confirms it and says that he's been tracking down Cream's Chao Cheese. Vector says that Espio had told him, but immediately had become sidetracked and his whereabouts unknown. Mighty interrupts and asks about Eggman Island, to which Sonic replies that he now remembered where the name of Mighty came from. The two then greet each other as long lost friends, but Vector cuts across them and says that Charmy had found information regarding a cannon on the complex that would fire all of them to an area of intense gravity shifts which would then lead to the main base of operations. Sonic rally's them on, but Tails says he has to go somewhere, and Mighty still needs to search out more things on this island. The Tornado flies out of the hangar and Mighty walks out the door. Sonic then sets his focus solely on find the cannon, and ignores the enemies except for when he has to take them out. Reaching the cannon, he looks out at the distance and sees a small speck of a floating building. A silver Metal Hedgehog then appears and stops Sonic from reaching the controls to the cannon. Seeing no way around, Sonic battles the silver Metal Hedgehog who, when beaten, says that it was the second version of a Silver Sonic line that was scrapped and left in the Egg Carrier. Another robot had recently brought its stasis tube to a base of some sorts and activated it for the first time, filling it in on the current situation. It had wanted revenge on Eggman for never activating him, but the other robot had said Eggman was trapped in a void, and if he helped bring Eggman back, he could then get his revenge on him. Sonic asks about the mastermind behind the plan, but Silver Sonic II's head implodes and falls off before it could start explaining. Looking a little upset but determined at the same time, Sonic activates the cannon and blasts over to the area of intense gravity Vector had mentioned. Sonic looks around and comments the ARK had better décor than this, but if he was going to get through, he had to navigate the gravity shifts. This area featured a whole load of walls but no floors. Rails, tubes, and gaping chasms filled with nothing but cannons or floating robots. What didn't help matters was that the robots and cannons all faced the 'correct' way even if the gravity didn't. Even larger enemies and an even wider variety of E-Series robots stood waiting to block any perpetrators. Dodging around them, Sonic makes it to the entrance of the base, which he dubs Robotrolis, as the place reminds him of Eggman's Metropolis Base and Metropolis Speedway combined. Taking a step forward, sirens blare and a mass of E-Series and other Robots appear. Sonic then battles his way through at least three E-300 Series, two E-3300 Series, a handful of Egg Pawns and Egg Hammers, the Chao Raider, E-7777 Jackpot, and Blizzard Bird. Upon finishing off the Blizzard Bird, Sonic reaches the main control room to see Cheese trapped in a vat, a Chameleon trapped in a chair with a mind control device, Cream looking fearfully upon the scene while bound to a wall, and the portal Chao that had been helping transport the rescued Chao back to the gardens. Complaining about trusting a dark Chao, Sonic rushes forward, but the portal Chao then says that a number of things will be happening if he takes one more step forward. Sonic stops and takes stock of his surroundings. A lot of Chao are trapped in vats and all are connected to a machine. Sonic, startled, blurts out "what?" as the portal Chao flicks a switch and the machine activates, with all the Chao screaming as their energy and power are sucked from them, and Cream screaming as the same thing happens to Cheese. A white portal then opens up as all the Chao then fall down. Sonic is stood, rooted to the spot, as a maniacal laugh floats through the portal, and Doctor Eggman walks through the portal and into the base, followed by Robotnik from the past, and comments how good it was to be back. ___________________________________________________________________ What happens then is the Chaotix story is unlocked, and Knuckles, Mighty, Espio, Vector, and Charmy are playable through the background events of Sonic's story. Upon completing all of these stories, we then get to the final story. -- Sonic is stood still, comprehending the shock that the dark Chao was working for Eggman all along, when The Chaotix rush in and examine the scene. Eggman then asks the portal Chao if all was according to plan, which the portal Chao says it is. It then flies off and Eggman turns to Sonic and The Chaotix. Greeting them all, he asks whether they enjoyed his little master scheme. Sonic asks how Eggman had formed the plan and brainwashed the Chao while trapped in the time void. The only thing Eggman does is pull out a device from a pocket. He then explains that no brainwashing was necessary as the Chao had elected to join him so many months ago, in fact, going into two years. Secretly, he had trained the Chao, built it a custom hoverpod, and gave it the ability to speak. He had the idea of then setting the Chao up with his complete empire so, under his watch, the Chao could do what he couldn't, and get under the defences of Sonic. But the Chao was left behind when he had built Eggmanland in space. Since the Chao was meant to be a secret, it wouldn't do for it to be flying around where it could be harmed. When that plan failed and Eggman met the Time Eater, he reckoned that the Chao wouldn't be needed. Then Sonic foiled his latest plan and got him and his past self trapped in the time void, Eggman called his Chao and sent a small message saying 'use all power available to bring me back'. And then he gloats it had worked and now Sonic was finally going to pay. A massive creature then flies up, and inside is the Chameleon in it's chest and the dark Chao visible in it's head. A shout rises up of "Oreah!" and Sonic turns to see Espio and a blue Chameleon restraining a red Chameleon. Sonic shakes his head and Vector says "Don't ask." Sonic runs forward and tackles the beast, but even though tries his best attacks, the most he can manage to do is scratch its surface. Realising it's no good, Sonic skids back out of the battle and admits defeat. The red Chameleon gasps in shock, and Vector says "You can't give up now!" bring forth a Chaos Emerald. Espio throws a Chaos Emerald to Vector, and Charmy reveals he has one too. Both Mighty and Knuckles reveal they have two Chaos Emeralds each, and Sonic smiles. As the Emeralds start floating and spinning around Sonic, Eggman yells "Not again!" and the dark Chao makes the creature flee. The Chaotix block it though, and by the end of Sonic's transformation, an arm had been knocked from the creature. That arm though, fell and hit the generators of the base causing explosions to start ripping through it. Robotnik gets caught in the reactivated portal and is sent elsewhere, while Eggman climbs into his own hoverpod and, with the dark Chao, escape. Super Sonic shouts at Vector and The Chaotix to rescue Cream, Cheese and the other Chao and get out of here, then he flies off in pursuit of Eggman and his Chao. Flying through the explosions of the base, Super Sonic catches up to them and battles the creature, finally winning through. Remembering the red Chameleon and his shout, Super Sonic rams the chest compartment of the creature, detaches the Chameleon from the mind control device, then builds up a massive force of energy and rams straight through the middle of the creature, causing it to implode, then explode. Down on the ground, Espio, Vector, Charmy, Knuckles, Mighty, Tails and the red and blue Chameleons greet Sonic as he lands. The Chaos Emeralds' power then disperses from Sonic, and he lays the Chameleon he was holding on the ground. The Chaos Emeralds produce one last bit of power to bring the Chameleon back to consciousness before dispersing fully. All around the scene, the Chao watch as the Chameleon wakes up and the red Chameleon hugs her. Espio then steps forward and tells everyone what was going on with the Chameleons. The red Chameleon then looks up and thanks Sonic over and over before announcing himself as Krona, and this was their sister Oreah. The blue Chameleon then announces himself as Zoin, and also says thanks to Sonic. Sonic then looks around and asks where Cream was. Mighty points over to a clear patch of grass where Cream was playing with Cheese. Sonic walks over to Cream, who runs to Sonic with Cheese in tow and both hug him, crying. Sonic whispers to her that he did promise he would find Cheese, and he did. Cream thanks Sonic that he stayed true to his word, and that Cheese was glad to be away from that dreaded base. She also said that she was worried that the dark Chao of Eggman's had her fooled all along, to which Sonic replies that it fooled them all, but now that Eggman is indeed back, the fight will continue, and he will protect them all. The credits play then we see Eggman in the ruins of his base kneeling down at the ruins of a once marvellous robot, searching. Removing a piece of metal then reveals the dark Chao, which is dead. Eggman picks it up tenderly, and a tear slides down through his glasses. It then disappears, and Eggman looks up to the sky, and says that he will avenge the death of his Chao, and he will get a new plan made. A fade to black then shows Robotnik fall out of a portal. Getting up, he looks around to see himself back in Green Hill. A younger Sonic then runs by, knocking Robotnik back down again. Sitting up, Robotnik then says "I hate that hedgehog!" ______________________________________________________________________ For Sonic, the levels are played in three acts per stage. For The Chaotix, only one act is played within a level, with that stage named after the act's subtitle. Each act has three missions each, with the first of each played during the main story. The hub worlds are the Chao Gardens, but full availability of the Chao Gardens aren't available until the Last Story has been completed. The installed portals act as level selectors or warp points between Chao Gardens. Full availability of the Chao Gardens include:- -A new area opening up in each garden which includes the features of Chao Naming, Chao School, Shop, and Chao Gym. Each of the services except Chao Naming are different between each garden. -Humans roam the garden and the building, and some are able to be interacted with, giving challenges to you. -Chaos Drives can now be collected from robots that are destroyed in the levels. Sonic controls his usual homing attack, spin dash, roll, and ring dash, while also managing a tweaked boost, bounce attack, drift, and quick step. Knuckles glides as normal, and can climb walls, as well dig, ground pound, and use punching combos. Unlike other Adventure games, Knuckles' missions no longer involve finding keys or pieces of the master emerald, but are like the werehog levels, but faster and with less enemies. In other words, his missions involve getting to the goal while tackling the enemies or avoiding them. Espio can turn invisible and throw ninja stars, and has the least amount of stages in game. His missions are fully about avoiding being sighted by enemies. Vector has his power back, and can blow bubble gum at enemies to destroy them. He has less combo moves than Knuckles, and cannot glide or climb. However, being a crocodile, he can stay under water for a long amount of time, and his missions involve exploring bodies of water interspersed with some fighting on the ground. Charmy, being a bee, has unlimited flight ability, and can move around easily. His missions then, involve getting into hard to reach places and avoiding being hit by enemy fire. Mighty controls like Sonic, and has roughly the same mission scheme of running to the goal to progress. However, Mighty is the one that needs to collect one item per level to succeed. Some of the levels are based off other games. Some even share the same name. Those that do, have their game name in brackets. Leaf Forest [Sonic Advance 2] Hill Top [Sonic the Hedgehog 2] Starlit City [Sonic the Hedgehog 1] Sewer Run Aquatic Mine [Sonic Adventure 2] Diamond Alley [Sonic 3D] Chaos Storm Mettle Castle Windy Valley [Sonic Adventure] Bullet Station [Sonic Heroes] Marble Island [Sonic the Hedgehog 3] Snow Bleached Island Gravatis Robotrolis Haunted Hill Haunted Hill is only unlocked after completing the Chaotix Last Story, which is unlocked after completing the Main Last Story. In the Chaotix Last Story, Vector gets a call saying that a house is making strange noises, and that the new owner would like it sorted before he moves in. Vector then calls the other members that they have a job to do. Meeting with the owner at the bottom of the hill, he says he lost the key to the house somewhere on the hill while running down it. Mighty runs up the hill, finds the key and opens the door to the mansion. Ghosts are wondering around, and Knuckles says he'll take care of it. Reaching a door, he finds it locked. Charmy says he'll try and find a way to the other side. The others are waiting when the door opens and Vector says he'll check it out. Finding a back door, they open it to see the same portal that has been in the other Chao Gardens. Espio then figures that the mansion is haunted by the dead Chao. And that whatever did kill them is probably still inside. becoming invisible, he explores the house and sees an assassin robot in one of the rooms overlooking the Chao Garden. The others arrive and the robot is startled. Knuckles then proceeds to take it out. Mighty delivers the final blow to it. Charmy brings the man to the room, where the robot has been destroyed and Vector is searching the room for anything they might have missed. Espio explains the situation, and Vector then exclaims that he's found two Chao eggs. The man says that he's really liked to raise Chao and that this would give him a hobby while at the mansion. The Chaotix then take the portal back to Leaf Forest. Since there are three acts for each of Sonic's levels, and three missions for each act, plus Super Sonic's level and the story completion, the total number of Emblems that can be collected during Sonic's full Story is 131. The Chaotix story features 26 stages with three missions per stage, so including the Chatoix Last Story and Story Completion, the total number of Emblems that can be collected during The Chaotix's full story is 88. The final Emblem is collected by completing Boss Attack mode - where all the bosses from all stories are played chronologically. This means the total number of Emblems to collect is 220. The Emblems are used to unlock new things in multiplayer. The full list:- [Emblems needed - Unlock] 10 - Local Multiplayer 10 - Sonic the Hedgehog vs Krona the Chameleon* on Sonic Stages 20 - Online Multiplayer 30 - Knuckles the Echidna vs Rouge the Bat on Knuckles Stages 40 - Espio the Chameleon vs Zoin the Chameleon *on Espio Stages 50 - Vector the Crocodile vs Chaos 0 on Vector Stages 60 - Charmy Bee vs Tails the Fox on Charmy Stages 70 - Mighty the Armadillo vs Oreah the Chameleon* on Mighty Stages 80 - Tails the Fox on Sonic and Mighty Stages 90 - Shadow the Hedgehog on Sonic and Mighty Stages 100 - Amy the Hedgehog on Sonic and Mighty Stages 110 - E-123 Omega on Knuckles Stages 120 - Cream the Rabbit on Charmy Stages 130 - Wave the Swallow on Charmy Stages 140 - Storm the Albatross on Knuckles Stages 150 - Jet the Hawk on Sonic and Mighty Stages 160 - Big the Cat on Knuckles and Vector Stages 170 - Sealia Seal* on Vector Stages 180 - Silver the Hedgehog on Knuckles and Charmy Stages 190 - Cosmo the Seedrian* on Charmy Stages 200 - Eel Capone* on Vector Stages 210 - Krona, Oreah and Liza the Chameleons* on Espio Stages 220 - Metal Sonic on All Stages *Never appeared in a Sonic game before. Both Local and Online Multiplayer are two player only, though you can set up swich out tournaments where the winner swaps out with another player at the end of a stage. All stages are unlocked as soon as you unlock Multiplayer. _______________________________________________________________________ And that, I think, pretty much covers it all. I haven't covered on The Chaotix story that much, as I think the main plot points can be guessed from Sonic's story. And while this has been a massive post, it does get you thinking about what SEGA could actually do with the Sonic game franchise. In other words, a lot. And with the next generation of XBOX and Playstation coming soon, you can probably expect something big like this. Anyway, you've heard the names - Krona, Zoin, Oreah - but their story before and during these events are yet to be told. Except for the blatantly obvious spoiler that Oreah gets rescued of course. But the questions of why she was kidnapped, what is she like, and how does Krona get to this state of mind remain. And that announcement will be made on the day of the new Sonic game reveal. And I can guarantee that the next blog post will not be about games. Promise. |
The gaming blog. Mentioned here are games that I want, conferences, and my opinion on games that I play.
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