Return of Capcom

 

What's happening with Capcom?

Are they really listening to the fans and delivering quality and promises on everything they have recently announced and released? Critics and commercialism seem to agree that Capcom is back on top of their game.

There was a time before this when Capcom seemed to just milk ports and ignore their IP's on a major scale, but although the milking or releasing of older games hasn't gone away yet, they are reviving their franchises here and there.

With the upcoming Mega Man 11 and Devil May Cry 5, Capcom is holding their guns close as they answer the cry of the fan communities for these series. I have recently beaten DmC 1 through 3 for the first time, and I am pleased to see that a new entry for Mega Man as a whole is finally happening.

Monster Hunter World really put that particular serie on the map worldwide, as it has been a large successful hit since it's release. Meanwhile, although Street Fighter 5's initial release wasn't impressive, the Arcade Edition made it well enough to play.

Resident Evil 7 arguably has started the 3rd route to take the franchise into, as the first person perspective is really working here, while I really continue to like the over the shoulder third person and the pre-rendered backgrounds third person routes as well.

REmake 2, or Resident Evil 2, looks great, and like the first REmake, seems to be mixing a lot of the content and features of the original game and it's setting. Perhaps we might even see new areas, characters or enemies, and I can't wait to play this next january!

In overall, I consider Capcom to have returned wonderfully. Let's hope that they keep this momentum while they could revive other IP's or start new ones. Meanwhile, I think that another similar company has really hit the bottom of their reputation...

Gamescom 2018

I was here for the first time 2 years ago with my brother, I remember the queue lines... but now I was leaving early in the morning with ex-colleagues from my ex company and had a full day, so I am glad and I find it kind that they still gave me an invitation towards this.

This year is the 10th edition of Gamescom, and it felt like it got much bigger than previously, as about 8 halls were full with all kinds of booths. The queue lines haven't gone away, but because there is so much to experience, they felt shorter in general.

I managed to play and thus preview 5 upcoming games. Diablo 3 on the Switch, or on any platform, is the first time I played it here with 4 players, and it's familiar but hectic too with all of the information on screen. It does seem to work though, as the camera follows your character around.

I haven't touched the FIFA series in over 100 years, but I played this against a former colleague, and it was fun to play soccer as a video game again, I didn't notice anything new or groundbreaking though.

Assassin's Creed: Odyssey looked and played stunning, but it's mind blowing for me that anno 2018, Ubisoft still hasn't learned about unit walking and animations that clearly looked bugged and glitchy as I played this demo, rode on a horse, selected dialogue options, fought some guards and sank 3 ships.

Playing as Geralt in Soul Calibur VI feels satisfying and appropriate, as he fits well into the arsenal of weapon fighters. I haven't played this serie since part 2, but the gameplay still feels the same, and I managed to remember moves from my mind(or muscle memory?) while playing Yoshimitsu.

For shits and giggles, I went to try out my first Farm Simulator experience with the 2019(or 19th?) edition of it, and it played terrible to me. The same developer and/or publisher also showcased Bus Simulator and a few others, and I'm not sure if they are serious or sarcastic to be taken.

Finally, I stood in the longest queue line, and I played 2 matches of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Mario and Mega Man's move sets are the same, and as for the gameplay and the speed of it, they honestly felt about the same as part 4, but everyone else has apparently said that it plays even faster, so I trust that Ultimate will become the best sequel seen yet. It's too bad that Simon wasn't playable yet!

As far as other games I wanted to try out, I really wanted to check out Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice too, but their queue lines looked way too long. Also, I kept looking for Capcom's games, but I could not find it, and thus I was unable to check out Devil May Cry 5, REmake 2 and Mega Man 11.

Other than video games, there was the inevitable "Cosplay Village" hall, but I skipped that and instead checked 2 huge floors of merchandise shops and goodies. All kinds of t-shirts, mugs, figures, accessories and other stuff were available, and although I was tempted, I did not buy anything.

Last of all, I found the retro gaming hall, and it was great to see older consoles being played around, and I'm not talking about Sony, Sega or Nintendo then, but also Amiga, ZX Spectrum, Atari, PC Engine and arcade machines. As far as I could discover, video games were not being sold anywhere, be it retro or modern, and this was a disappointment for me.

At one point I lost the group I was walking around with, but other than that, Gamescom 2018 was a nice edition to walk around, and although it was busy everywhere, I had fun, and I am looking forward to what's coming up!

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Preview

 

Having just watched the latest Nintendo Direct dedicated to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate yet again after E3 already heavily talked about it, I was kind of annoyed at first that Nintendo would re-focus on this.

But as soon as the video started, the only newcomer I really wanted to see happen is finally shown, and it's Simon Belmont from Castlevania, a huge classic franchise which simply deserved representation on it's own!

The amount of content as seen in the statistics provided by Masahiro Sakurai is insanely large, as this 5th edition is by far the biggest, hence the subtitle Ultimate. Echo Fighters are a nice idea to bring more clone like, but likable fan favorites to the mix.

A new mode as seen on the main menu is teased with blur effects, as I wonder what that could be aside from online, single, multiplayer, tournament and most likely the level editor all returning as modes.

As if 4 Wii U/3DS already didn't have enough guest characters and 3rd party newcomers, now it seems that the sky is the limit, as even Shovel Knight and Rathalos make appearances, meaning that anything can happen.

I'm also really surprised and entertained to see that even King K. Rool managed to appear as a newcomer, who next to Ridley has been requested by fans for years on end, giving the series the most playable villain fighters seen yet.

Super Smash. Bros Ultimate's hype growth has finally changed my opinion, and my patience, about getting the Nintendo Switch, which is exactly what I will do this upcoming december. Now only if Nintendo could take note of my game wishes of which I have mentioned for years, then my faith would be restored completely.