Lady's Choice: E3 Reaction

Guess who's taking over!

Well, I have mixed reactions about this year's E3 gaming conference. I will admit that I did not watch all of the conference. I mainly watched the "Big 3" of gaming: Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. I was also able to catch the Bethesda and the Square Enix keynotes with bits and pieces of others.  This was all thanks to E3 being live streamed on Twitch. I am a huge fan of Twitch. I love watching live streams of my favorite YouTube gamers, just ask Brian. So, I didn't have to wait for the tweets or news posts. I just watched the Twitch live stream on my phone/tablet.

Now, I'm not a "hardcore gamer." I don't own a PS4 or XBox One. I do own a PS3, a Nintendo 3DS, and a Nintendo Wii U. So many of what I'm looking forward to will probably not be everyone's cup of tea. Also I was disappointed with the lack of certain titles from I also am not going to to into huge detail just to not make this really, really long. I'm gonna pick the ones that I am really excited about for one reason or another. So let's see what's on my "Must Play" list of E3 2015.

Arkham Knight (June 2015)

I am actually writing this on the day of Arkham Knight's release date. Now this game was not announced at E3 2015, but it was featured during Sony's keynote. This game makes me cry for not having a PS4 yet. Between the amazing graphics and Rocksteady's return to the Batman: Arkham series, this game looks like it is making use of all the new generation of consoles has to offer. While I am not liking how most publishers have been handling most DLC lately, I loved the look of the Harley Quinn DLC available for those that pre-ordered Arkham Knight. After watching several people live stream it at midnight and several YouTube videos of the first part, I can't wait until I upgrade and am able to play this.


Fallout 4 (November 2015)
I have played a bit of this franchise through friends' copies, but have never been huge into them. The more I researched this game series after Bethesda's keynote I have come to regret not playing them sooner. I'm looking forward the customization options of both the player and the world. The graphics are great looking. I like the Fallout Shelter app game that was also announced and released right away. I will have to do some more research and probably rent the games before I'm shouting in joy, but this game certainly has my attention. I'm just hoping the dog is forced to die. (I'm the kind of person that cries more about the dog dying in movies like John Wick.)

Kingdom Hearts 3 (No Official Release Date)
Oh this game, I feel like we have been waiting for this one forever! Again this is a series that I have never owned but have played the first two through friends owning them. I love the combination of Disney and combat with this videogame series. What was disappointing for me was the lack of info on this upcoming release. This was a theme with Square Enix's keynote. They had lots of announcing of games but not a lot of info. Almost all of them, including Kingdom Hearts 3, looks beautiful but have no release date. This is gonna have to a wait and see kind of title.

Star Wars: Battlefront (November 2015)
I am a huge Star Wars fan. I have played a lot of the games, seen all the movies, know a good amount of the now non-cannon extended storyline, and am dreaming of the new movie. I have memories of sitting with my cousin playing Star Wars on his system in our great-grandparents' kitchen. He had brought it over specifically to show it to me. I have even played the Lego games. This game looks fantastic. The detail that is in this game from the characters to the ships to the terrain just blows my mind away (which is true for most of the games on this list actually). Another game that makes me want a PS4 so badly. I gladly look forward to the day that I can immerse myself into that galaxy far, far away.

Dishonored 2 (2016)
Yet again, I have become excited about a game series that I have never played. Luckily, this is the second Dishonored game. As with most of the big games announced at E3 this year, this game looks amazing. This game has you make a choice that forces you to be one character or another without being able to switch, with each character having different abilities as well. This game, set 15 years after the first, has a historical/steampunk feel to it that I like. One of the big things that gaming companies have right with game is that this announcement makes me want to go back and play the first one before the sequel comes out next year.


Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam (2016)

For me, I was surprised by Nintendo. First, I loved their digital event with the Muppets. It was different, risky, and, in the end, the most interesting presentation of this year's E3. On the other hand, there were not as many announcements that got me excited as there have been in the past years. Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam is one of those games. I love both series. When I first bought my 3DS, two games that I put on my want list were from these two series. What seems most interesting to me is just how these two very different kinds of games are going to work together. Are there going to be stickers? How will combat work exactly? How will all of the characters interact not only with their counterparts but with others? So looking forward to this Nintendo release next year.

Rise of the Tomb Raider (November 2015)

I'm sounding like a broken record in saying this, but this game looks great. I loved renting and playing the previous Tomb Raider game. This game looks like it took the good of the last one and expanded upon that, including making Lara Croft into more of a believable character. The detail and work that they showed going into this game is astounding. The entire time I kept thinking back to the first games and how far they have come. Sadly, this game is being released the same day as Fallout 4 and the same month as Star Wars: Battlefront. So far, that seems to be the creators biggest mistake.


Hyrule Warriors for 3DS (2016)
Now, I was a bit confused at first when this game was announced. Nintendo has released previous titles on both handheld and console, but they announced that ahead of time. I think this is a response to the popularity of Hyrule Warriors for the Wii U. I got Brian the Wii U game for his birthday I believe; however, we haven't opened it to play it yet. The inclusion of more characters and a different storyline intrigue me enough to pay closer attention. In the end, I can't wait for this game next year. If nothing else, I'll finally get to play Hyrule Warriors!


Yoshi's Woolly World (October 2015)

Last game is also a Nintendo game. Being previously announced and known about for a while, Yoshi's Woolly World is coming out later this month in other parts of the world, but the US will have to wait a bit longer. I love that Nintendo is playing with different textures with some of their games. Kirby has done clay and yarn already. Yoshi has been one of my favorite Mario characters since I was younger, and I jumped at the last Yoshi game. This one looks so playful and bright, not to mention just pure fun. It kind of intrigues me based on the fact that I do crochet a bit. Also, while there will probably not being very many available, I love the different colored Yoshi amiibos made from yarn.

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AdapNation: Metroid

In which I make the case for film and TV adaptations, sequels and remakes.

You had to have figured that it was only a matter of time before I returned to potential video game adaptations.  The medium is a vast and virtually untapped source of any number of movie franchises, shied away from by studios because of how God-awful initial attempts at adapting them panned out.  For every somewhat decent Silent Hill or Tombraider, there seem to be a dozen more Super Mario Bros and Resident Evils.

Video games are ripe for adapting right now.  There haven't been any especially good adaptations of them yet, and only a scant handful even worth choking down.  And while several promising projects dangle just beyond the horizon, it's going to be years before the first of them hits theaters, and years more before studio executives catch on that it was more than just a fluke.

Starting in on a big-screen adaptation now would get the franchise in ahead of the curve.  A Metroid movie would face far less competition when it comes out than it likely will in a few years, meaning that it can establish itself as a must-watch franchise long before Halo and Bioshock attempt to do the same

Hell, we're getting an Adam Sandler movie where Pac-Man is a bad guy.  Samus has a far larger profile and fan base than a hungry, hungry hockey puck, especially when you consider that video game nostalgia has already shifted away from arcade gaming and into early console gaming (ie, NES and Super NES).

In a day and age where gender representation is becoming a big enough issue that studio executives are actually willing to greenlight a Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel movie, Metroid would fill a specific demographic need.  And besides, between the Terminator and Alien franchises, science fiction has a long history of badass women shooting scary things.

Consider the plot of the first game (thin though it is).  A group of alien pirates steal an monstrous-looking bio weapon that is highly intelligent, can reproduce a-sexually, can effortlessly fly and is capable of draining the life force of any living creature within a matter of seconds.  While this could play out like a fairly straight-forward action piece, it doesn't take a lot to imagine it as an action-horror film (like either of the aforementioned series to which I compared it to already).

The Space Pirates themselves are already a pretty gruesome sight: equal parts human and reptile, often colored dark green or red, with toothed pincers for hands that can discharge electric bolts.  The Metroids themselves are even worse: embryonic spheres with rows of gnashing, over-sized teeth.  Going into her mission, Samus is already outnumbered, outgunned and in unfamiliar territory.  All you'd have to do is lower the lighting and show her fear and you'd have moments of drawn out tension punctuated with high-end action.

Besides, look at her power armor.  It would unquestionably be the coolest piece of cinematic hardware since the Iron Man suit: probably even cooler.  Combine that with its wide variety of built-in weapons and Samus' natural combat abilities and you'd have something to write home about.

With action movies increasingly going toward superheroes, a futuristic bounty hunter in deep space would fill a largely unaddressed niche for something different.  Sure, Guardians of the Galaxy kind of struck that nerve already, but that's one franchise out of Marvel's current eleven MCU titles, and DC doesn't have anything even remotely similar lined up.  The market is wide open for what Metroid would be selling.

Then when you consider just how many games there are to adapt (or how amazing the first three in the series really were), you realize that there's an awful lot of potential in the franchise.  After all, "if a raccoon can carry a movie, then [...] maybe even a woman can."

So what would you want to see in a Metroid movie?  Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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AdapNation: The Legend of Zelda TV Series

In which I make the case for film and TV adaptations, sequels and remakes.

Welcome to the premiere of AdapNation: an article series in which I argue the case for film and TV adaptations, sequels and remakes.  While I won't address anything that's currently in the works - like Warcraft or Wonder Woman - anything that's not been announced or is currently stuck in Developmental Hell is fair game.  And as luck would have it, I've had to scratch off two potential topics already, as plans for a Mulan remake and a Hawkgirl movie were just announced.  Still, every potential project that I can't discuss here can only be a good thing.

I figured that an apropos start to this series would be to discuss a project that seemed to get everybody excited, but was recently announced to not actually be in the works: a live-action Legend of Zelda TV series.  Nintendo has been understandably guarded about their intellectual property since they allowed that God-awful Super Mario Bros movie to go into production, but their reservations have prevented them from making use of a full library of cinematically viable properties.

Metroid, Mega Man, Star Fox and to a lesser degree Pokemon have been denied their chance to prove that themselves on the big screens.  The one that stands the best chance of making it big, however, is The Legend of Zelda.  And while Nintendo's denial wasn't strictly dismissing the possibility of such a project in the future, it did strike down the possibility that it was an idea that the company was moving forward with.

The timing for a series like this couldn't be any better.  Technology has finally caught up with the human imagination in its ability to physically render the heroes and monsters of our childhood.  Look at Gollum, Caesar or Rocket Raccoon.  All of these characters were possible because of advanced motion capture technology and look as perfectly real as anything surrounding them.  Dragons, Balrogs and Leviathans have all been convincingly rendered on screen, and all of them are creatures that Link is likely to square off against in a live-action adaptation of the series.

Furthermore, Fantasy as a genre has never been this mainstream nor this popular before.  The Lord of the Rings was so insanely popular that they turned The Hobbit - a relatively short children's book - into a trilogy.  Game of Thrones is the must watch TV show on the air right now, and that's on HBO.  Even Warcraft has been able to overcome the video game stigma and is set for a 2016 cinematic release.

The Legend of Zelda series boasts a massive host of entries, all of which are fraught with cinematic potential, dynamic characters and expansive stories.  The problem with adapting The Legend of Zelda into a movie is the inherent brevity of the medium when weighed against the inherent breadth of the games.  Link often has to fight through double digits worth of dungeons - sometimes across multiple dimensions or time lines - most of which would have to be cut out when limited to 90-120 minutes worth of screen time.

A TV series has the luxury of letting its story and characters breathe, however.  If it went for hour long episodes, then it would have upwards of 24 hours to tell its story, as opposed to 2.  This would allow for the full nuances of the games' stories to play out in full: every dungeon, every quest, every epic showdown.

A Legend of Zelda series could potentially adapt one game's worth of story per season, inherently giving it 17 seasons worth of stories from the start.  Since the series officially features multiple generations of Links over multiple time periods, the series could go into one of two directions.  It could either streamline the series' expansive canon into a single man's quest to save his kingdom and princess or it could split every season (or set of seasons) up into a technically different cast and story (ala American Horror Story).

Although die-hard Zelda fans will invariably hope for the latter, its the former that would best work in a television series, which primarily aims to develop dynamic characters over far-reaching stories.  In theory, you could start with the first season as an adaptation of the incessantly popular Ocarina of Time, which largely features Link as a child.  This can continue into its direct sequel, Majora's Mask, and then potentially lead into Link's Awakening, where he is caught in a storm and stranded on an island.  Between A Link to the Past, A Link Between Worlds, Twilight Princess and the dozen other unnamed entries, it would be an expansive series with boundless narrative potential.

And remember, that's not even considering the possibility of original stories, nor adaptations of the franchise's spin off media (of which I'm especially fond of the comic that loosely adapted A Link to the Past).  Given to the right talent, there's absolutely no reason to expect the same mess that we got with Super Mario Bros.  Batman & Robin existing didn't keep Batman Begins from being awesome, nor did Ang Lee's Hulk prevent The Incredible Hulk from finding its stride.  And more to the point, Daredevil the movie won't keep Daredevil the series from working as its own story.

So would you watch a Legend of Zelda series?  If so, what stories would you want to see adapted as part of it?  Which ones should they simply leave alone?  Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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Extra, Extra!: No Legend of Zelda Series Coming to Netflix

In which I report on the latest in entertainment news.

Nintendo fans the world over awoke last week to supremely disheartening news.  Although it had been previously reported that Nintendo was going to produce a live-action Legend of Zelda series with Netflix, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata firmly rejected that the series was in progress.

Described as being like a family friendly version of Game of Thrones, the Legend of Zelda series was a massively exciting idea.  It would have been the first real cinematic endeavor that Nintendo's taken since the God-awful Super Mario Bros movie in '93 and come at a time when the appeal of high-concept fantasy and its ability to be rendered on screen have created the perfect market for it.

It wasn't even just the idea of the series itself that was so exciting.  There was also the prospect that Nintendo might loosen up the iron grip that it held onto all of its other franchises with - like Mega Man, Metroid, Star Fox and, yes, even Mario.  I would pay through the nose for a Metroid movie, and this was as close to one as we've ever gotten.

According to Iwata,

“As of now, I have nothing new to share with you in regard to the use of our IPs for any TV shows or films, but I can at least confirm that the article in question is not based on correct information.”

While it is a disheartening statement, it's not a complete denial of it either.  It's entirely possible that the leaked information was based on a negotiation with Netflix still in progress, or even purely internal (and hypothetical) discussions.  It's just as possible that it will never happen at this point as it is that it might happen at some point down the line.  It might not even end up being anything like what Nintendo was allegedly working on in the first place.  All we know is 1) that they aren't talking about any new plans and 2) the article wasn't right.

So now we play the waiting game to see if Nintendo does move forward with any big or small screen plans for their intellectual properties.  They certainly have a lot to choose from, and while video game adaptations haven't had the best track record, neither did superhero movies for the longest time,and now they're a blockbuster mainstay.

So would you watch a live action Legend of Zelda Netflix series?  Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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The Weekend Review: Super Smash Bros for Nintendo 3DS

In which I review a selection of last weekend's entertainment.

Preface - In preparation for an interview that I have on Thursday, I am currently staying with Becky (who lives just a few blocks away from where I will be interviewing).  Unfortunately, this means that I will be without cable for this week, which will naturally delay this week's installments of Piece of the Puzzle.  I will be sure to watch and review those episodes just as soon as I am able to, but just understand that they will not be posted as promptly as they have been over these last several weeks.

Despite spending my weekend camping in Lake Bloomington, I still found the opportunity to start playing the latest installment of the exceptional Super Smash Bros. series: Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.  Ever since the original Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 64 hit the shelves in 1999, it has been hands-down my favorite fighting game.  It combined all of the silliness of Screw Attack's Death Battle with all of the fun of Nintendo's roster of protagonists in a remarkably balanced and dynamic virtual setting.  Despite having its share of flaws (a full roster of only twelve characters, Jigglypuff being a significantly weaker version of Kirby, a surprisingly low max difficulty for CPUs and uninspiring single-player gameplay), it succeeded at surpassing fighting genre mainstays like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat in mine and others' esteem.

Nintendo has certainly come an incredibly long way since the original Super Smash Bros.  Hell, they've come a long way since even Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii.  Instead of a scant number of playable characters that I've become used to when starting a new Smash Bros. game, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS' starting roster was so large that I briefly wondered if there was simply no unlockable content hidden in the game.  After my first ten battles, however, I unlocked Ness, which put that fear to rest.

The game's full roster consists of 51 unique characters: allowing even the pickiest player to find at least one character that works with his or her fighting style.  What's remarkable to me is that all of the new characters that I wanted to play right out of the gates were already part of the starting roster: Mega Man, Charizard, Greninja, Little Mac and Pac Man.  I would have guessed that such high-profile new characters would have been hidden away as unlockable content, which thankfully was not the case.

What's obvious right out of the gate is that Nintendo has redoubled their efforts at balancing their vast roster of characters.  In Brawl,  it was generally agreed that Pokemon Trainer - who allowed players to switch between Squirtle, Ivysaur and Charizard - was the weakest character.  While having the option of changing fighting styles mid-combat was certainly an appealing prospect for more flexible fighters, Ivysaur was a wasted transformation and only Charizard seemed to have any real power behind him.  In the 3DS game, Pokemon Trainer has been replaced with the much more satisfying Charizard, who now is a full character in his own right.

Meta Knight, however, has definitely been toned down from the franchise's previous installment.  His fast sword attack no longer covers the area immediately behind him, which in the past allowed him to keep multiple surrounding enemies at bay.  His tornado attack - in which his body is enveloped in a small twister that allows him to race around the screen, damaging any enemy he touches - lasts only a fraction of duration that it used to, drastically limiting his ability to outpace opponents and rack up an obscene amount of damage against opposing players.  While I am sad to see one of my favorite characters nerfed like this, I can understand the reasoning.  Meta Knight was arguably the most powerful fighter whose small, incremental advantages allowed him to outperform far more experienced players.  I am more than happy to see characters balanced against one another like this, even when that means that the ones that I liked take the brunt of depowering.

My biggest complaint about Brawl was little I wanted to play a perennial favorite of mine: Samus.  She was always my favorite ranged character, who immensely powerful charge attack could take out enemies with only moderate damage done to them and who could still hold her own in a close-quarters melee.  When she unleashed her ultimate power, however, she would lose her power armor and transform into Zero Suit Samus, whose play style favored speed, agility and guerrilla tactics.  As far as I was concerned, the game punished the Samus player for unleashing the character's ultimate smash attack by forcing them to transform into a downgraded fighter.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS solves this problem by separating Power Armor Samus and Zero Suit Samus into two different characters.  This way, players can choose which play style they would prefer and select their character accordingly.  In fact, a number of characters that used to transform have now divided into seperate characters.  Shiek / Zelda, which allowed players to trigger transformations between a fast character and a heavier-hitting character, are now two distinct characters.  Pokemon Trainer has been replaced with just Charizard and Greninja feels like a more powerful version of Squirtle.  Although I am sad to see Brawl's most interesting innovation be abandoned so soon, I can't deny that the transformations often ranged from unused to incredibly frustrating.

Of the newcomers, I am suprised that Mega Man didn't turn out to be my favorite.  He's an amazingly versatile character whose directional move set allows him to easily adapt to any situation.  He can unleash an incredibly powerful electric shock that launches enemies into the air or an equally powerful fire attack that engulfs nearby enemies on either side in great plumes of flame.  A mini tornado can carry opponents into the air while dealing an increasing amount of damage, a saw-blade can hit far-off enemies for reasonable amounts of damage (and can be picked up and used as a weapon) and he can quickly attack through to the opposite side of the screen with either a spinning or sliding attack.  He's an incredibly balanced, medium-strength character who can easily rack up damage against any number of more narrowly-focussed opponents.

It turns out that Little Mac is simply a character that is much better suited to my particular play style.  He's an incredibly fast melee character whose punch-based move-set allows him to both quickly rack up damage and smash opponents clear off of the screen.  He has a charged punch similar to Donkey Kong's, although it has the advantage of projecting him across the battlefield in exchange for not being able to store the charged punch for later use.  His ultimate smash attack even Hulks him out to do even greater amounts of damage.  He basically plays out like a better version of Kirby, Meta Knight, Shiek and Mega Man, given what I like to use all of those characters for.

So far, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS honestly looks to be the best game of the series.  It balances the game in ways that its predecessors were unable to and increases the character roster to a truly ridiculous size.  The fact that it's now portable is a massive upside, allowing players to "settle it in smash" anywhere they happen to be.  I won't give a rating to it quite yet, as I haven't sufficiently explored its other features yet, but I am confident that it will end up coming in at, or just below, a perfect 10.

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