PixlBit

When Gamefreak takes a break from Pokémon, we all benefit.

Even though they seldom get the chance to prove it, Gamefreak—famous for making the mainline Pokémon games— can also innovate in genres quite different from their meat and potatoes product.  So, when it was announced that they would be creating a downloadable rhythm game for the 3DS, there was good reason to get excited.  Thanks to the recent release of a demo in the eShop, anyone who wasn’t already psyched up for HarmoKnight can find out why the rest of us are counting the days until its release on March 28^th.

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Publishers aren't the main reason horror franchises are quick to lose the scares.

It’s hard to talk about games like Resident Evil 6 and Dead Space 3 without having someone go off on a tangent on how the publishers “ruined” these series by trying to broaden the series fanbases – moving beloved franchises away from their horror roots and towards the more spectacle driven action genre.  There is an idiom of truth to this complaint.  Horror doesn’t generate Call of Duty sales volume.  It’s a niche genre where only the exceptional few break into the mainstream.  Action titles, counterparts of the money eating summer movie blockbusters, appeal to a much greater audience and are thus able to bring in much more cash.  So yes, it makes sense that the “big bad” publishers would be responsible for the taming of your favorite horror franchise.

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Improved controls and extra content make this the must-have version of last year’s puzzle-platformer.

Like many games featured in the Wii U launch, Trine 2 saw release on other platforms at a much earlier point. However, with its release on Nintendo’s new hardware it seems to have found its true home. Through combined use of the Wii U GamePad’s touch screen and its traditional controls, players have the most effective means of interacting with this beautiful game yet. With the addition of the Goblin Menace expansion and the exclusive Dwarven Caverns level, there’s little question that the Wii U edition of the game is the one to get.

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A unique concept that fails in execution.

Aside from ambitious, the only other word that can be used to describe Orgarhythm is disappointing. Given that Tak Hirai of Space Channel 5, Shenmue, and Meteos fame was behind the unique blend of action, strategy, and rhythm gameplay, I couldn’t help but be excited. However, the execution of these concepts simply doesn’t match up to the ambition of the idea.

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One shall stand...one shall fall.

Well, we goofed. Due to circumstances beyond our control, this episode of NWP is woefully lacking a second segment. Worry not though, true believers! We’ll be bringing you the intended topic of this episode (vices and video games) next week. So sit back and enjoy what we’ve been playing and some bloopers.

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