Tag: Video games

Retirement – The Regginator says “Hasta la vista”

“My name is Reggie. I’m about kickin’ ass, I’m about takin’ names, and we’re about makin’ games.”

At the Nintendo E3 press conference in 2004 the world(and internet) were introduced to Nintendo’s new Vice President of Sales and Marketing – Reggie Fils-Aime. Today Reggie, or as the internet dubbed him ” The Regginator” announced he will be retiring from his current position as President and Chief Operating Office of Nintendo of America as of April 15. He has been with Nintendo since December 2003 and has been the President and COO since May 2006.

Reggie is retiring ; Bowser is taking control

Reggie immediately made an impact with fans old and new, he brought with Nintendo a charisma and personality that had been absent from corporate Nintendo. Historically the executives at Nintendo had always been the conservative, almost robotic type and this new guy was clearly the opposite. Reggie was able to bring Nintendo back as a industry leader in the video game industry. In 2003, people were preparing to bury Nintendo. The Gamecube while having excellent first party games like The Legend of Zelda : The Windwaker , Super Smash Bros : Melee , and Metroid Prime, was lagging behind in games being developed for the console. It was been left in the dust by Sony and Microsoft with the Playstation 2 and Xbox and the emergence of online console gaming. It seemed like the sun had set on Nintendo and it was going to go the way of game companies like Atari and Sega before it. Reggie was able to help guide Nintendo back with more modern, aggressive marketing. He brought personality to the company and oversaw a revitalization, or “Reggie-lution” rather of the brand which includes the marketing and sales of the Wii, 3DS, and most recently the Switch. I’m not going to leave out mention of the general feeling the Wii U was an epic failure, though I don’t think it was THAT bad of a console. (FACTOID : Reggie also worked for corporate Pizza Hut and was behind the Bigfoot and Big New Yorker pizzas….for those of us old enough to remember).

Reggie Fils-Aime’s positions with Nintendo of America will be assumed by the current Head of Sales – Doug Bowser….yes…..BOWSER. The future president of Nintendo is name Bowser…..lol….ok sorry! I’m sad to see “the Regginator” move on from his position at Nintendo, but we’ll always have the memes…..

Next Smash Bros Ultimate character announce?

Apex Legends – No Titans, no problem

There are 8 playable characters you can choose, though the characters Caustic and Mirage initially need to be unlocked

Any given week I’m usually playing several different games, however the past couple weeks most of my time spent playing games has been playing Apex Legends and with over 8 million players in the first 48 hours after launch, a sizable portion of the online gaming community has been too(understatement). 

Apex Legends was launched completely unaware by just about everyone two weeks ago on the date. I awoke Monday February 4 to read news that Respawn Entertainment had announced their newest project; a class based battle royale shooter “set in the Titanfall universe” and was launching immediately. I have to admit I was unsure what to think upon hearing the announcement as I, along with many others were hoping for news of Titanfall 3. I absolutely loved Titanfall 2 and regard it as one of my favorite first-person shooters I’ve ever played, alongside games like Goldeneye, Halo, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. As mixed…well…generally negative feelings as I have for EA, I wanted to support Respawn and give Apex Legends a chance. 

The premise of Apex Legends is standard battle royal fare, (drops, shrinking area of play, random weapons scattered throughout map) but with 8 class-based “Legends” to select from at the beginning of the match. I find the class-based angle interesting in a battle royale game, as each character has different abilities to use throughout the match. Each character has a passive, tactical, and an ultimate ability. This being similar to Overwatch…I’m curious to know how long Blizzard has been contemplating creating a BR mode for Overwatch?

I have been playing Apex Legends for two weeks now and so far I have been very impressed. My favorite aspect of the gameplay would probably have to be the Smart Comms system, where you simply tap a button to point out or “ping” anything from your next map destination to items and weapons to pointing out enemies on the map for your squad to see. This intuitive context sensitive design lets you do ALL of this without having to get on the mic to talk to you squamates. Ask anyone who has ever tried to play in a squad with random players online or simply prefer not to use a mic can tell you what a blessing this is. There is also a respawn ability where even after you are knocked down and killed your teammates can grab your player beacon from your loot; a “death box” and bring it over to a respawn beacon and you will get another chance as your character jumps down from the next dropship. This gives away your position to the other remaining players as well, so you will need to move quickly as soon as you hit the ground.

Your teammate can bring your player beacon to respawn you from an incoming dropship.

The gameplay itself in Apex Legends is as smooth as it gets, this comes as no surprise to anyone that marveled at the gameplay of Titanfall 2 (also the fact that Respawn was founded by Jason West and Vince Zampella from Infinity Ward – developers of the first two Cod: Modern Warfare games). The shooting feels good and tight, the movement has enough “weight” to it, but you don’t feel like you’re running through quicksand. 

King’s Canyon – One large island but has multiple areas and terrain from mountains to swamps and desert

There is currently only a single map you can play – King’s Canyon, but it has become one of my favorite maps in any battle royale game. The map has different terrain, from dry sandy wastelands which look like something out of the Borderlands games to green swampy lowlands with streams running through, reminiscent of SOCOM games.

As with most battle royale games, there is a very slight learning curve. Mostly just familiarizing yourself with which weapons are what and what the attachments and ammo types are, which in turn makes it more satisfying to utlitlize all the different gameplay aspects and see your squad as Champions.

Apex Legends is definitely worth checking out if your are a fan of the battle royale genre and it plays well enough to give a chance even if you aren’t a fan. I am having a blast playing this in the meantime. Here’s hoping the enormous success of this game in such a short time may result in Respawn making Titanfall 3 in the future…