Nintendo recently held a direct where they announced that Super Smash would be coming to the Switch in 2018. The trailer that they showed off revealed that the two main inklings from Splatoon would be in the game. It also showed a shadow of Champion Link and possibly Mario from Odyssey. I am excited that a new Super Smash is coming to Switch this year. However I hope it isn’t a glorified Wii U port. The amount of ports on the Nintendo Switch is ridiculously high.
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This week Nintendo announced a new product called Labo. Labo is an interactive cardboard kit for the Nintendo Switch. There are two kits that will be coming out on April 20th. Toy-Con 1 retails for $69.99 and Toy-Con 2 retails for $79.99. Kit 1 comes with a house, 2 RC cars, a fishing rod, a motorbike and a piano. Everything is controlled with the two Joy-Cons. Kit 2 comes with a robot suit. Each kit comes with software as well.
I think this is a very unique idea, and it will be great for younger kids. I like how interactive it is. I think that the piano, the RC cars, and the robot suit look the most interesting. What do you think about Labo?
Source: Nintendo
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Nintendo had a surprise direct for us today. They revealed several games release dates and they also announced several new titles in the works. Mario Tennis Ace was announced in todays direct. It will continue the Mario Tennis series with a story mode. It is due out this spring. Another title that was announced is Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition. It will include all the DLC from the 3DS and Wii U title. It is due to release this spring as well. Nintendo also announced that Dark Souls Remastered would be coming out on May 25th. Nintendo gave us a release date for the upcoming Kirby game as well. It will come out on March 16th.
Nintendo really out did themselves with this mini direct. They also revealed DLC for several games. This includes Super Mario Odyssey, Mario+Rabbids Kingdom Battle and Pokken Tournament DX. In Super Mario Odyssey they have a new mode that allows players to hide balloons for other players to find. Nintendo Revealed two new Pokemon for Pokken Tournament; the two new Pokemon are Blastoise and Aegislash. The DLC for Mario + Rabbids is a new story mode that includes Donkey Kong.
I am really looking forward to Mario Tennis Ace and Kirby Star Allies. It will be great to take these full fledged console games on the go! It is interesting to see the story mode return to Mario Tennis. What games are you looking forward to playing on the Nintendo Switch?
Source: Nintendo
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Apple held their big September press conference on September 12 in the Steve Jobs theater. They unveiled their premium iPhone the iPhone X. It’s starting price is 999 dollars. This new iPhone packs a punch, but is it worth the asking price. I would say yes, but it depends on what you use it for.
The iPhone X has a larger screen, Face ID, and the resolution is better. The iPhone X has 458 pixels per inch, the iPhone 8 has 326 pixels per inch and the iPhone 8 Plus has 401 pixels per inch. The resolution is substantially better on the iPhone X. The iPhone X also gets rid of the home button. The biggest reason to get the iPhone X is if you need the extra screen real estate. The iPhone X and the iPhone 8 both have the same processor. They both have the A11 Bionic Chip. The X and the 8 both have 12MP cameras and 4K video recording. The iPhone X does have Animojis though! I recommend going with the iPhone 8 or 8 Plus unless you need the extra screen space.
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Nintendo had a bevy of announcements and updates today. They showed off what was new in Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. The game will have new forms, new areas to explore and new bonuses. Nintendo showed off more 3ds content than I expected. They announced a new Mario Party game collection that will include the top 100 mini-games. I think this is pretty cool, although it should be for the Switch. Playing Mario Party on the 3ds is fun, but the game is really built for the TV. They also showed off Kirby: Battle Royale, Yo-Kai Watch 2, Minecraft for 3ds, Metroid Samus Returns, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, Fire Emblem Warriors for 3ds and a bunch of Atlas RPGs. It seems like Minecraft is on every system now. Nintendo also showed off their Pokemon 2DS and Orange 2DS. It’s great that Nintendo is still supporting the 3DS. What announcements did you like for the 3DS?
The star of the show was Super Mario Odyssey. Nintendo showed us the new snow world and the power moons that you need to collect. They also showed us a bunch of new footage. I can’t wait to get my hands on this game when it comes out on October 27th. Nintendo also showed us a Switch bundle that includes Super Mario Odyssey.
Nintendo showed off a variety of other Switch titles. This included Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Octopath Traveler, Rocket League, Fire Emblem Warriors, Skyrim, Doom, Wolfenstein 2, NBA 2K18, Fifa 18, WWE 2K18, Dragon Quest Builders, Pokken Tournament DX, and Kirby: Star Allies. I am looking forward to playing Rocket League on the go. I feel like it will suit the system well. Nintendo also announced updates for Arms and Splattoon 2. The new character Lola Pop is out for Arms. There weren’t any huge suprises in this direct, but I think it was a solid direct none the less. What are you looking forward to on the Nintendo Switch?
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I have been using the Nintendo Switch for a couple of months now. It is a great hybrid system and it may prove to be my favorite video game system yet. It is hard to tell at the early stage of its life though. I like how easy it is to switch between the TV and handheld mode. I do wish you could connect directly to the TV without a dock. It would make it more convenient when traveling.
The launch lineup was a bit slim, but the library is quickly growing. My favorite game so far on the Nintendo Switch is a fighting game called arms. Arms pits ten unique characters against each other. Each character fights with extremely long expandable arms. The main reason to own the Nintendo Switch is to play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on the go. This game alone offers hours of gameplay. I purchased The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for the Wii U, but I feel like that was a mistake. I should have waited to get it for the Switch. I am still considering trading it in for the switch version. Another triple A first party game for the Nintendo Switch is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. It is basically an enhanced version of Mario Kart 8. This is the definitive Mario Kart.
The system is comfortable to hold and the buttons on the Joy-con work well. The left and right joy-cons have a lot of tech built into them. They have a built in gyro-sensor, accelerometer and a motion tracking camera. They also have HD Rumble, which provides more realistic feedback. Nintendo also has a pro controller, however the asking price is a bit steep at the moment. It is currently listed as 64 dollars on Amazon. The pro controller is one of the best controllers that I have held to date.
Overall, the Nintendo Switch delivers on being the first true hybrid system. It is a joy to use and I am sure there will be improvements over time (battery life). I am looking forward to the future of the Nintendo Switch. They have some awesome titles coming to the system. This includes Splatoon 2, Mario Odyssey, Skyrim, NBA 2K18 and Rocket League. As long as Nintendo doesn’t remake too many titles the system will be a success. What do you think about the Nintendo Switch and the upcoming lineup?
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This morning Apple announced a bunch of new hardware and software. They announced the new iPad Pro, the new iMac Pro, iOS 11, mac OS High Sierra, the new Mac lineup, HomePod and watchOS 4. I really like the updates that they announced for iOS. One of the more notable updates that they announced for iOS is the improved control center. All of its functionality can be customized to suit your personality. Everything will also be consolidated on one page. It was annoying to have the music controls on a second page.
Apple also talked about how Siri is more expressive, and natural with machine learning improvements. Siri can translate what you say from English to other languages. It will be interesting to see how Siri improves over time. HomePod is Apple’s answer to Amazon Echo and Google Home. It looks like it has more of a music focus, but it can still be used to control lights and answer questions.
Another announcement that I thought was exciting is the improved multitasking on iPad. Apple improved the dock so that it can hold more applications. The dock can also be opened in any screen. Overall, it should make the iPad a better productivity device.
I am also excited to see what Apple does with the new augment reality kit for developers. I hope Niantic takes advantages of the new the new augmented reality kit. What do you think of Apple’s announcements at WWDC 2017?
Source: Apple
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Last week Microsoft revealed more information about Project Scorpio. The system will have a 6 tearflop GPU, 12GB of GDDR5 memory and 1TB of HDD storage. It is the most powerful dedicated gaming system to date. The system plays games in 4K, and it can play 4K UHD Blu-rays. It will be compatible with Xbox One games, and accessories.
Project Scorpio definitely feels like a next gen system. Originally Microsoft said that it was just meant to be an upgrade like the PS4 Pro. However I think that may hold the system back. I think that they should brand Project Scorpio as next gen, but continue to release less powerful versions of games for the Xbox One. It will be interesting to see what Microsoft does when Project Scorpio is released. The system is set to come out this holiday. Will you be getting Project Scorpio?
Source: Microsoft
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I got Zelda: Breath of the Wild for the Wii U, and so far it hasn’t disappointed. The game is very wide open, more so than I expected. The game has the player start out by going to four shrines and collecting four orbs. These orbs can be used to increase the player’s stamina or increase the player’s heart count. Each shrine also gives the player new abilities. For example I gained the ability to move metal objects with magnesis, and I gained the ability to stop time with stasis. I really like the scope of the game and how it feels. One thing I don’t like about the game is that items only last so many times before they break. It is more realistic than any other Zelda to date. How was your first week with Zelda: Breath of the Wild?
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Fire Emblem Heroes was released as a free to play game on February 2nd, 2017. It is my favorite mobile game to date. When Nintendo first entered the mobile market I was concerned, but they have done a fairly good job so far.
Fire Emblem Heroes has several modes that you can play. This includes story maps, training tower, special maps and arena duels. I have completed the story maps on normal mode and hard mode. However I am still working on completing Lunatic mode. There is quite a bit of strategy involved, however you do need a bit of luck. Each maps pits your team against 4 or 5 enemy’s. Every character has different abilities. This includes fire, water and grass. There are also characters that can cast spells, shoot bows and heal other characters. The luck comes into play when you summon new characters. Each character has between 1 and 5 stars. The characters with 3 or less stars are basically useless if you wish to complete the game. After you complete each mission you receive an orb that you can use to collect new characters. The game also allows for you to purchase orbs as well.
I like the variety of characters that the game has to offer. So far I have drawn three 5 star characters. This includes Chrom, Lucina, and Sheena, my highest level character at level 39. I also like how short the missions are. They allow for quick pick up and play scenarios. I think the only downfall of the game is having to wait for your stamina to replenish. Essentially stamina is used to play the different missions in the game. Overall the mobile game has convinced me to try the main series game. The game has a lot more to offer and I can’t wait to see what else they add to it. What do you think of Fire Emblem Heroes for iOS and Android? 9/10
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Last week Nintendo announced that it’s new game system the Nintendo Switch is coming out on March 3rd. It will retail at $299. The package will come with the Nintendo Switch Console, the Nintendo Switch Dock, 2 Joy-Con controllers, a Joy-Con Grip, 2 Joy-Con wrist straps, a high speed HDMI cable and the Nintendo Switch AC Adapter.
Nintendo also announced what games would launch with the system and the ones that would follow in the months to come. Some of the featured games include: The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Arms, Splatoon 2 and Super Mario Odyssey. It will be interesting to see what they do with the new 3d Mario game. I really liked what I saw from the intial trailer. Mario now uses his hat to get to new locations. In the trailer Mario visits a city, a desert and a forest. The game also has a variety of different art styles that it plays with.
The Nintendo Switch looks like it has a promising future ahead of it. I didn’t preorder it, but I am definetly interest in the tech and I can’t wait to try it out. What do you think about the Nintendo Switch and the launch games that are coming?
Source: Nintendo
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The YouTube app has VR capabilities built right into it. I was surprised to find that I could watch every video on YouTube using Google Cardboard. This doesn’t mean that every video is built for virtual reality. Most videos aren’t.
However, there are several channels that are dedicated to 360 videos. One channel that I took a look at is called Virtual Reality. This channel has a plethora of 360 videos to watch. For example, one video took me to several national parks. The video was created by Google, and it had tour guides take me around. Another video they had put me right next to a herd of elephants. Too bad I couldn’t ride them. IGN also has a virtual reality channel called IGN VR. I watched a really cool video that they made on the history of Mario games.
I recommend checking out YouTube in VR. I think it is better than the dedicated VR app Within. The only thing I didn’t like about the app was that I had to remove the phone from Google Cardboard to pick out a new video.
If you want to watch any video in VR select the three dots in the upper right hand corner, then tap the Google Cardboard icon to begin.
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