It’s exciting stuff being a gamer, especially when you look at the upcoming releases from all developers. I’d argue we’re actually in the midst of a gold era, with so many smash hits coming out this year alone. One developer I’d like pay close attention to right now is Nintendo, who are currently about to kick off an exciting period for us gamers with the rumoured NX finally being confirmed amongst other titles.
Starting with, surprise surprise, is that another Pokémon game?! The biggest surprise for this franchise has been the fact that there wasn’t a main series game released last year, a sentiment I feel sums up the Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed-esque staleness the series has accrued. Maybe I sound a tad cynical and that I hate Pokémon, but in reality I love the franchise, but feel it hasn’t went in a progressive direction in a long time. It’s a franchise which takes baby steps throughout each generation rather than making big changes. This is quite possibly the reason why it’s still so popular, but for the adventurous gamer like myself I want to see big changes. I want to be able to be excited for Sun and Moon, to feel that same childhood wonder I felt when I was 7. Maybe that’s a tough ask as I am triple that age, but a manchild can dream.
I could harp on forever about this, but I feel I can sum it up with a little bit of maths: Ocarina of Time + Skyrim = 10/10 Game of the century.
The other big game I feel worth talking about is the new Legend of Zelda game.
As of this week, it has been confirmed that this will be coming out for Wii U and the Nintendo NX, leading to yet again another delay of this game. If we get it in 2017, 2018 or 2052, I think the game is set to impress. From what I have seen and read, I have conjured up the idea that this is a Zelda RPG with a world designed to be explored freely. I feel that any game which gives you the freedom to play the game to your specific tastes is a brilliant design choice, one which I feels help the player to engage with the game more than ever. Put this together with the fact that the game is a freaking Zelda game! I could harp on forever about this, but I feel I can sum it up with a little bit of maths: Ocarina of Time + Skyrim = 10/10 Game of the century.
So lastly I want to talk about the Nintendo NX, Nintendo’s new ‘next gen’ (Current gen, really) console, which is set to match the specs of the Xbox One and the Playstation 4. To any gamer whose history is sharp, I expect that they are sensing déjà vu with the Sega Dreamcast. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited for the system, and I like the fact Nintendo are launching it with a full set of games (Pikmin 4, I pray), but I do feel it could be there last chance in the console market before they do a Leeds United esc fall from grace and end up like their buddy Sega.
