Justin Baker

Waterfield 3DS XL CitySlicker Case Review -

I’ve owned my 3DS XL since day one, and it travels everywhere with me. Unfortunately there are virtually no decent cases for it, and the ones out there are just re-purposed DSi XL cases. I stumbled across Waterfield’s 3DS XL CitySlicker case online, and deliberated over the purchase for quite some time. Fifty dollars is no small sum, and the shipping is hefty as well. Not to mention the fact that the video showing off the case on their website is for the old case that fit the original 3DS. Needless to say, I was wary, but tax return season rolled around and I took the plunge.

After a few days and some emails with their support team telling me the case was, in fact, out of stock, I received my black on black, leather bound, hand-stitched 3DS XL case. The first thing that stuck out to me was the awesome YKK zipper on the stretchy nylon pouch that spans the back of the case. It felt rugged and, as goofy as it sounds, it zips really nicely. The pouch itself can be stuffed full of things since it stretches, but too much makes the case a hassle to hold and fit in bags. I’m actually able to fit my entire phone in there, case and all, with little trouble.

The flap on the front of the case is held on by two snaps that keep it in place, and it covers three game compartments. While I doubt the system would come sliding out anytime soon, I’m nervous about the games getting loose and falling out of the flap, but so far they’ve stayed snugly in place. The system itself fits into the pouch nicely, and it’s lined with a soft material meant to prevent scratching. My only complaint about the pouch is that the bottom of it has no padding other than the nylon, and since my strap means I put the system in hinge down a high enough drop could likely cause some real damage. Of course, this could be prevented by putting the other edge of the system down, but if you’re like me and refuse to remove your Mario Kart DS strap from 2005 then you’ll that I can’t remove it.

To help with removal of the system there’s a handy-dandy loop to put your finger in for leverage. This might seem insignificant, but anyone who has owned enough handhelds can tell you that more systems are dropped removing them from protective cases than any of us like to admit. Both sides also have small loops probably meant for clips or hooks, you know, in case you want to clip it to your belt while you go skydiving or rock climbing or whatever.

Overall, if there were a multitude of cases available for the 3DS XL, I might tell you that, while very nice, this case doesn’t warrant the almost sixty dollars after shipping that I had to pay for it. As it stands, this seems to be the very best case available for a system that isn’t spawning a lot of accessories, and for now you’re going to be hard-pressed to find anything that even comes close. It has been thoughtfully designed, and I’ve had very minimal complaints with it thus far. The lack of padding on the bottom and worrisome game slots are my only real concerns, and only time will tell if either of them becomes a real problem.

The case can be purchased here.

Wii U Review -

Happy holidays! This Christmas season my wonderful girlfriend decided my cooking has warranted a rather extravagant present: a Wii U. I’ve spent a little over a week with it, and I have to say that I’m impressed. I don’t want to spoil too much of what you’re about to read, but suffice to say I’m having a great time with my new toy.

With most consoles the defining factor behind having a successful launch lies in the hardware, that is, unless you’re Nintendo. Pack-ins, charming additional features, and family friendliness seem to dominate Nintendo launches, with the powerhouse software being saved for later in the launch window. The Wii U is no exception to this, and the Miiverse continues to be one of the most talked about as well as most exciting new features of Nintendo’s next gen console. However, I would be remiss to not mention the large amount of M rated games that have also launched with the system.

This flies in the face of the philosophy that the Wii launched with, but less mature audiences will still find plenty to play here with titles like New Super Mario Bros. U, Nintendo Land, Skylanders. It’s quite a shock coming from a Nintendo that shocked the world by announcing that Bayonetta 2 would be on the Wii U to see them following through with their promise that the system would be better geared towards more avid gamers. Of course, only the future will tell if this practice continues, but at least for now they have delivered. So, without further ado let’s get into it.

Hardware

Anybody following the Wii U will tell you that all the excitement lies, much like the Wii before it, in the new controller that Nintendo has cooked up. The gamepad features a touchscreen squeezed in the middle of a traditional controller. Adding to the impressive hardware of the gamepad are several smaller features including a camera, microphone, stylus, and gyroscopic sensor. My initial worry was that it would be too cumbersome to hold for extended play sessions, and the screen would become as useless as the second screen on many DS games. I was quickly proven wrong with the lightweight design and comfortable form factor of the gamepad, which molds to the hand nicely and seems to be, overall, more ergonomic to handle that a 360 or PS3 controller.

A huge plus for me is that the shape allows me to place four fingers on all four shoulder buttons comfortably, which is a complaint I’ve had about modern controllers for quite some time now. The only negative comment I have to levy against the gamepad is that it’s in fact so light that initially it almost felt like a cheap toy. This is likely from years of holding and getting used to ten inch tablets, many of which are heavy enough to wear yours arms out if you’re sitting at an uncomfortable angle. Again, this criticism is very nearly a compliment to the gamepad since I’m able to sit at any bizarre angle on my couch and be completely comfortable playing the Wii U.

The most surprisingly well liked feature seems to be the ability to play many games entirely on the second screen, a feature that looked like a forgettable addition when it was unveiled at E3. As someone who is leaning heavily towards handheld gaming recently, this makes the Wii U infinitely more valuable as a system. Like many handheld gamers, I actually do the bulk of my handheld gaming at home, but being able to move around the house and free up the TV so my girlfriend can watch Netflix makes playing my 3DS over my PS3 an easy choice. Likewise, being able to move around the house with my Wii U has held the same benefits. The range that the gamepad can go from the console is a little disappointing. My bed is too far away, as well as the master bathroom, but my office and guest bathroom are well within playing range. Most of my gaming takes place in the office, living room, or kitchen, so this isn’t  a major complaint, but adding even fifteen feet would have made a world of difference to the gamepad range. Mix that with a little more battery life, and I would be hard pressed to find something to complain about.

Comfort combined with portability make the gamepad more of an achievement that I ever thought possible, and as long as developers make playing solely on the gamepad a high priority feature I can see myself really enjoying Nintendo’s newest controller.

Software

Without a doubt Miiverse has been the talk of the town, even outshining the gamepad in many conversations. Essentially it’s a message board separated into communities for each game in which players can exchange small black and white pictures, short messages, and in some cases screenshots with one another. All this social interactivity is done under the watchful eye of Nintendo’s over protective moderators. This means you can’t use foul language, share any kind of personal information, or talk about politics and religion. For social service in 2012, this is beyond frustrating. I can understand the moderation of vulgar or graphic comments, but anything more than should be enough to gimp any service.

I say ‘should’ because Miiverse has somehow become a thriving community of hilarious art and surprisingly interesting conversation. To call it the killer app of the Wii U might be going a little far, but it rounds out the system software incredibly well. Before I start a game I generally look around at some Nintendo art in Wara Wara plaza, and after I quit a game I tend to check Miiverse for fun comments. The moderation, while frustrating, is the last thing on your mind when you’re reading the comments on a picture of Yoshi pelting Mario with eggs.

Where the software falters is the loading times. While not completely egregious, the load time going in and out of the system menu are just long enough to be noticeable. They hit that perfect amount of time where I start thinking, “I should probably take care of some things, instead of just sitting here on the couch playing video games,” and then the moment I start seriously considering those things the menu pops up and I waste another several hours in front of the TV. It’s really hard to throw too much hate at Nintendo for this oversight because it’s probably the first thing that’s going to be fixed with the next system update, but it does make me feel a bit like a beta tester instead of a customer.

Something I would classify as egregious is Nintendo’s treatment of Wii software. After the slightly confusing process of moving all my Wii software to my new system I discovered the way in which the Wii U plays Wii software: completely compartmentalized emulation. What this means is that to play a Virtual Console game you turn on the Wii U, wait for it to load,  select the Wii channel, wait for it to boot into the Wii firmware, select the title you want with a Wii remote, and then proceed to play the title with the Wii remote or classic controller. Simply not being able to play Virtual Console titles on the gamepad was irritating enough, but to completely wall my Wii software in a virtual machine is like a kick in the face. I understand that this is likely because emulating the Wii isn’t as simple due to hardware restrictions, but it’s something Nintendo desperately needs to work out to avoid alienating anymore fans.

Backwards compatibility aside I’ve been enjoying my two Wii U games: Darksiders II and Nintendo Land. Like Wii Sports before it, Nintendo Land is a perfect showcase for your new console. It’s a slew of Nintendo themed mini games that seamlessly integrates the Miiverse into a package that I wouldn’t be that upset to have paid for separately. It’s not deep enough to provide an avid gamer more than a handful of hours of enjoyment, but it’s great fun when other people want to see what the Wii U is all about.

Darksiders II was my add on, which I chose over New Super Mario Bros. U just to see how well the Wii U handles the game. So far I’ve experienced some slight screen tearing, and at one point completely locked up my Wii U. While I haven’t played Darksiders II on any other console, it seems that these are just symptoms of porting the game to the Wii U. However, the ability to play a full current gen game on the gamepad, as well as being able to manage my inventory on the second screen when playing on the TV have far outshined the technical problems I’ve had. I hope that the problems are indicative of a quickly done port instead of problems developers may have with the hardware, but only time will tell.

Final Thoughts

I’m excited about the future of the Wii U, but I’m a little worried about future releases. A lot of big titles slated for early next year don’t seem to be bothering to port their titles to the Wii U, and the only big first party title on the horizon that I’m excited for is Pikmin 3. The hardware is solid, and the majority of my issues with it can be fixed with firmware patches. If Nintendo would relax a little more with their Miiverse moderation I could see their online presence being comparable to that of Microsoft and Sony.

Diablo III Review -

To say that I’ve waited a long time for Diablo III would be a discredit to the franchise. I grew up with Diablo, and it was a staple of the movement from my trusty Nintendo consoles to the daunting realm of PC gaming. Diablo II came out when I was in middle school, and I’ve played it on and off since then. From Deckard Cain’s voice the sound of a gem dropping, it’s all was all ingrained into my young impressionable mind.

Unfortunately the launch of Diablo III was not without issues, some of which are still going on at the time of this writing. I’ve had my share of errors as well as disconnects, and I still occasionally get some strange artifacting when playing. For the most part the major wrinkles are being ironed out, but they certainly didn’t kick off this monumental title well. Granted, some issues are to be expected with a game this huge, but it’s hard to imagine that the company that runs the most successful MMORPG of all time wouldn’t be able a little more prepared on the server front.

The auction house, possibly the biggest addition to the Diablo franchise, is also a hotbed of issues. As a former World of Warcraft player, I was ecstatic to see them bringing an auction house to Diablo. The days of wandering through public rooms and bargaining with tight-fisted jewel hoarders would be over! Unfortunately, it feels like a beta version. In my time digging through auctions I’ve repeatedly run into errors with transactions timing out, and often simply not being able to purchase and item. When the interface and auction house work, they work well enough, but they are both in desperate need of some generous patching.

However, the social functions of the game are executed flawlessly. As soon as I log in I’m prompted with buttons listing my friends currently playing, and a simple click of the mouse will teleport me into their game. Another click on their personal banner and I’m standing next to them cutting through swaths of demons. It literally takes seconds (load time withstanding) to jump into a friend’s game. Public games work just as well too, although the lobby system has been ditched in favor of matchmaking. The only problem I have with the way they’ve built the social system is that you have no way of stopping a friend from joining your game. This can be an issue if you’re going to need to pause frequently, or if you just prefer to play through the game solo the first time around.

Of course, Diablo has always been at its best when played together. The addition of achievements that pop up to everyone on your friends list lets you know what they’re accomplishing, and the ability to compare statistics makes for some very competitive co-op. By far my favorite feature of multiplayer is that each player gets their own loot, meaning no more speed clicking on items the second a boss dies to make sure you get the good items. This is a major relief for people like myself, who were usually too slow to grab anything good while playing online.

This entry in the series is much more story driven that the first two, with a few interesting plot twists. It isn’t a masterpiece by any means, but it gets the job done, and does some very interesting things with characters that veteran players are familiar with. There are only a handful of actual cinematics, and most of the storytelling happens using the in game engine and voiced journal entries that the player picks up from time to time. I enjoyed the story quite a bit, and the journals kept the game flowing while getting me up to date with the lore at the same time.

As for the gameplay itself, it certainly hooks you. Levelling up has been streamlined, and skills can be changed on the fly as the player sees fit. This keeps you from accidentally selecting skill combinations that don’t work well, which hurt you later in the game. In similar fashion, you no longer allocate stat points as it’s all done behind the scenes now. This means, aside from gear, two players of the same class are identical if they have the same skills. The upside to this loss of fine-tuning that hardcode Diablo II players may miss is that as long as you’re about the same level as another character and have been keeping up with your gear, then you won’t have any trouble playing together. In my thirty or so hours of playing I’ve felt some slight gaps between myself and other players, but for the most part we’re all on the same page.

Gear is the main course of Diablo III. The blacksmith and the jeweler will be your main NPCs, and both of them can be levelled up to craft more powerful jewels and gear. At the time of writing, I’m level fifty and I’m still levelling up both of them. Crafting at the jeweler is pretty straightforward, combine jewels to make better ones. The blacksmith, however, is a little different. As you unlock new items to craft, they have random stats. They list the rarity and how many magical properties the item will have, but you don’t know what they are until you actually go ahead and make the item. Crafting materials are obtained by breaking down magical items, so you can see the loop you get into here. Get loot, break it down, craft new loot, repeat ad infinitum. It’s a very addictive circle.

The graphics are bright and keep even the dark bowels of hell looking interesting, and the music is as booming and ominous as previous entries. Blizzard has made jumping into the fray with your friends easier than ever, and the gameplay is there to back it up. Grinding gear, combining jewels, wheeling and dealing on the auction house, it all makes for an addicting experience. Aside from the issues still plaguing the interface that the game is packaged in, and an auction house that desperately needs some work, Blizzard has once again crafted one hell of a great game. As long as you can get through the errors and initial bugs (which are generally exaggerated), you’re going to have a great time in Diablo III.