Xbox 180: Why the Xbox One is Still a Definite "No"

Today, Microsoft announced one of the biggest corporate 180s in gaming history. No longer will the upcoming Xbox One suffer from DRM issues, no longer will it need a forced internet connection, and no longer will it block used games in any form. That's all great and all (we're happy for and proud of the collective of consumers and gamers whose voices were heard), and it's good for Microsoft. However, these issues shouldn't even have been on the table in the first place, and that's what annoys us about this whole situation. Microsoft has done little to earn our trust back and here's why.

Kinect is still mandatory at this stage, and with all that is happening with the NSA in the United States, we still aren't comfortable with the idea of an always-on Kinect.

Then there's the lineup and the cost of the system. Our most anticipated game for the system, Dead Rising 3, has been revealed to have lost the series' comedic edge, which was a good portion of the fun of the franchise. We were eager to see a revival of Killer Instinct, but then we learned it is free-to-play and you have to buy characters to actually have a complete experience. Let's face it-- Microsoft's first-party output is vastly inferior to what Sony and Nintendo offer. If Microsoft has nothing to excite us on their side with exclusives, then what is the point of getting an Xbox One in the first place-- to play multiplatform games that will be available on the PlayStation 4?

Microsoft fosters a software ecosystem where the most popular genres are shooters, racers, and sports games. We've honestly had our fill of all three. We've had enough Call of Duty. We've had enough Halo. We've had enough Gears of War. We've had enough Madden. We've had enough-- you get the idea. You probably yourself have had enough of what we've had enough of!

Let's also talk about Microsoft's treatment of indies. Sony and Nintendo are opening their arms wide open for indies, yet Microsoft contains the same ass-backwards and anti-indie policies that made so many developers scamper away in the first place.

However, what really pisses us off is that gamers are so quick to jump back into their abusive relationship with Microsoft over the lack of DRM. It's basically thanking a company for spitting in your face, yet forgetting that that company was the one that spat in your face in the first place. It's disconcerting to see how swiftly some gamers are to leap back into Microsoft's lap after the company already revealed their true colors and how much they honestly care about consumers (see: not at all).

Microsoft didn't kill DRM because they are nice and respectful to consumers. They didn't do it out of the goodness of their hearts. They did it because they had no choice in the matter unless they wanted the Xbox One to sell like crap.They killed DRM because they saw they were in deep, saw the PlayStation 4 pre-orders outpacing their system by a dramatic margin, and they absolutely positively hit the panic button. How else can this be interpreted with Microsoft and Xbox lackeys constantly defending their previous stances on DRM? They basically told consumers that their way was right and that consumers and gamers just "didn't understand." And we're supposed to automatically forgive them and their past arrogance?!

Some people are actually celebrating and championing Microsoft for "seeing the light." We think that's horrible. Remember, this was a company that was willing to bestow ungodly DRM on people and throw onto consumers a heavily anti-consumer console, where their used games policies are reprehensible and a forced internet connection was needed. Microsoft was willing to make consumers bend over and take it (excuse the analogy, we don't usually go there, but we're mad).

So no, Microsoft. You are not forgiven. You still have a mandatory Kinect, you still contain the worst lineup of first-party exclusives available, your support for your systems trails off early, and your Xbox One is still too expensive for our liking. The fact of the matter is that you've lost our trust after all the crap you've pulled. Fool us once, shame on you. Fool us twice, shame on us.

Top Ten Mario Kart Tracks (2013 Edition)

Last Tuesday, Nintendo released the first footage of Mario Kart 8, and it looks darn nice. The graphics look phenomenal, the anti-gravity track design looks sensational, and the return of Waluigi, Toadette, and bikes makes us excited. In 2010 we originally posted our thoughts on the best Mario Kart tracks of all time. Now we are doing the same for 2013. Which Mario Kart tracks cross the finish line first?

10) Rainbow Road (Super Mario Kart)

It's almost not fair to have a list of Mario Kart tracks and expect many of the flat tracks from both Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart: Super Circuit to not be overshadowed by their 3D contemporaries. Regardless, one track that is definitely memorable from the old school Mario Kart games is the original Rainbow Road. With no rails to speak of, electrified Thwomps, and a rainbow brick road, Super Mario Kart's Rainbow Road is an unforgettable, albeit extremely hazardous, ride. This old haunt returned into the spotlight in Mario Kart 7.

9) Airship Fortress (Mario Kart DS)

The airships were the final levels in each land of Super Mario Bros. 3. Our nostalgia senses got extremely tingly when we first stepped foot in Mario Kart DS' Airship Fortress. This track takes place in the air, on dilapidated castle wall pathways and onto-- you guessed it-- airships. Worrying about weaving in and out of the path of Bullet Bills being blasted in your face on the first stretch of track, dodging the Rocky Wrenches that pop up on the airship's deck, and then entering the cargo hold of the airship, trying not to get burnt to a crisp by the moving burners inside all made for a race that was certainly epic.

8) Baby Park (Mario Kart: Double Dash!!)

Baby Park's simplicity lures players into a false sense of security. Yes, it's an oval track with laps that can be completed in under fifteen seconds, but such an enclosed and small space leads to some pure item carnage. This seven lap affair starts out innocently enough, but once you get eight racers shooting and laying out items on the track, the manic craziness that is Baby Park is finally revealed. That music that plays only further makes for one heck of a humorous race, even when you're on the receiving end of the punishment.

7) Wario Stadium (Mario Kart 64)

One of the longest races in Mario Kart history is Mario Kart 64's ode to motocross, Wario Stadium. The track takes place in a dirt-filled stadium full of twists, turns, and hills. Of course, crafty players can finish the race in less than thirty seconds, pending they know how and when to leap over the wall at the beginning of the track. If you wish to play the track how it was intended (which we encourage since this track is really awesome), then be sure to keep your levels of endurance high. That moment when you use a lightning bolt at the jump near the end of the track, sending those who were trying to cross over falling down to the track below is always hilarious. Take that, racers! Now you must redo a whole section of track all over again! As Wario would say, "Mwahahaha!"

6) Yoshi Valley (Mario Kart 64)

Yoshi Valley is a track that differentiates itself from every other track in the Mario Kart series. That's because it features multiple pathways that loop and weave through the mountainous environmental structures of the track. There are so many paths that the game can't even tell you who is currently in which place. The fun in Yoshi Valley is discovering which path is the fastest and then taking it. We remember the optimal path to this day: right, left, right, left. No course after Yoshi Valley ever presented the player with so many possibilities on which way to go, and we hope that this track get a second chance in the sun as a selected retro cup track in Mario Kart 8.

5) Coconut Mall (Mario Kart Wii)

Coconut Mall is a popular Deflino Island vacation destination, and it's probably the only place on the island where you can buy clothing from American Eagle and Hollister. The teens absolutely love that. Regardless, Coconut Mall is a track full of escalators to run up and down, shops to cut through for those much desired shortcuts, and a parking lot full of cars driven by Miis backing up (and over racers) that need to be avoided. This bright and vibrant track is one that has multiple pathways to follow (e.g. upper or lower levels) and plenty to see and do.

4) Bowser's Castle (Mario Kart: Double Dash!!)

Mario Kart: Double Dash!! was the first in the series to feature Bowser's Castle as a Special Cup track, and goodness was it a doozy! Immediately you drive through a stone structure modeled after Bowser's mean mug, Thwomps crash down in the opening hallways, and then you are greeted with a piece of grated track suspended above a fiery pit. Bowser's Castle in Double Dash!! contains many dangerous perils not for the faint of heart. There's even a Bowser statue on the last stretch of track that shoots out large fireballs for drivers to avoid. A great Bowser's Castle track, but it's not the greatest.

3) Delfino Square (Mario Kart DS)

Delfino Square is a town track, and we absolutely love tracks where we can drive past city buildings and other structures, head down alleyways, and speed past the onlooking crowd. Delfino Square is double the fun because it takes place in a tropical setting. Careening through the city corners, speeding past the buildings in the alleyways, and taking either of two shortcuts, one across the ocean onto a dock and one through the mud-covered alley all make for a track that we absolutely adore. Both shortcuts can shave a fair amount of precious seconds off your final time. Delfino Square is a bright and colorful track, full of sites to see. Too bad you'll be blazing through the city streets too fast to stop and appreciate them fully!

2) Rainbow Road (Mario Kart 7)

Our favorite version of Rainbow Road comes from Mario Kart 7. Unlike previous installments of the track, this Rainbow Road does not follow the typical three lap pattern. Instead, you race through three separate and completely different sections of track. Mario Kart 7's Rainbow Road has you racing along the rings of planets, across the crater-filled and Chomp-infested surface of the moon, and gliding through the stars. Epic is an understatement to how spectacular this track is. The final section of track has you flying through rings or making jump after jump to avoid a date with a pit. Rainbow Road in Mario Kart 7 is the greatest version of the famous last Mario Kart track period, and we can't wait to see what Nintendo does with the track in anti-gravity form with Mario Kart 8.

1) Bowser's Castle (Mario Kart 64)

Like Rainbow Road, Bowser's Castle is one of those tracks that appears in some form in each and every Mario Kart game. Our favorite of these kinds of tracks is the Mario Kart 64 classic, full of sharp corners to turn past, Thwomps that do nothing but terrorize unsuspecting racers, and pits of lava that are most certainly not a good idea to take a bath in. Bowser's Castle's Nintendo 64 debut comes with a variety of hurtful hazards that can slow down even the most expert driver. From the courtyard to the halls filled with moving and sliding Thwomps, to the spiral tower preceded by a broken bridge, Bowser's Castle is our ultimate Mario Kart track.

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There are so many wonderful tracks in the Mario Kart series that it makes selecting only ten a very difficult endeavor. We'd love to see your thoughts on which Mario Kart tracks you enjoy most. Drop us a line in the comments section.

Better Late Than Never Reviews: Darksiders II (Wii U) Review

There really is no good reason to review a Wii U launch game this late in the game, especially one that was released earlier for other consoles. That said, we'd be remiss if we didn't talk about this game at all on SuperPhillip Central. It's Darksiders II.

Death Becomes U

Darksiders II released on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC back in August of last year. Since then, the publisher of the game, THQ, went under and sold off all of their assets. Before that event, however, Darksiders II found its way onto Nintendo's Wii U just in time for the system's launch. Was becoming Death, destroyer of worlds, close to three months after the original PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC release worth the wait?

In a time where humanity has been wiped out from the earth and War is being tried for his crimes, Death believes in his brother's innocence. He will do anything to prove it too, such as tackling colossal beasts tainted with Corruption. In order to right his brother's name, Death must restore humanity. If that sounds like a great undertaking, that's because it is. Death is a Horseman with a bit of an arrogant side, and playing as him isn't the most interesting task in the world. That said, he does beat the generic War, at the very least.

Crowfather is the first being Death

visits on his quest to save War.

If I had to say what Darksiders II is, it would be a cross between the adventuring, exploring and puzzle-solving of The Legend of Zelda series; the wall-running and climbing of the Prince of Persia series; the combo-happy combat of the God of War series;  the massive amount of loot-nabbing of Diablo. It sounds like a match made in Heaven (or I guess, Hell would be a more apropos analogy, considering we ARE talking about Death), and for the most part you would be right in thinking that.

The world of Darksiders II is wide open for Death to traverse his horse on, coming across treasures, dungeons, and optional areas. Areas are interconnected, and there are several different maps Death wades through, from areas representing Earth to a kingdom of lost souls. These areas are quite vast, making riding Despair, his trusty steed, a suggested activity.

Like The Legend of Zelda, Death comes across various items in several (but not all) of the dungeons in Darksiders II. For instance, the Death Grip serves as a grappling hook of sorts to cross over large distances, as well as pull faraway objects to Death. Then there's the Voidwalker, which makes its return from the original Darksiders. This item acts like the gun from Portal, only the Voidwalker can only be used on specific targets to create portals instead of being able to be used anywhere. Finally, there's the Soul Splitter ability, that grants Death the ability to split into two playable characters, only one being able to be moved at the same time. Some pretty clever puzzles revolve around using the two in conjunction to progress. For example, one steps on a pressure plate that opens a gate for the other to pass through.

There are plenty of dungeons to 

be found in Darksiders II.

As for the puzzles, they can range from insultingly easy to maddeningly hard, though it is usually the former rather than the latter. Dungeons are generally the locations where puzzles exist, and although there are a lot of them in Darksiders II, a fair portion of them are merely retreads of previous puzzle ideas, leading to some great familiarity within the game.

The Prince of Persia influences are apparent, with Death needing to find a way up and around stone structures. These ways around are usually easy to spot. For instance, a faded stretch of wall generally means Death needs to run along it, while a wooden ledge is something for Death to grab onto, using multiple ledges, posts and poles to maneuver around walls and to cross chasms.

Combat consists of locking onto enemies, switching foe focus by using the right stick, dodging and evading while waiting for windows of opportunity to attack. A lot of battles can simply be won with an appropriate amount of tedious button-mashing, but some enemies will absolutely annihilate Death if all he does his thrash about with his scythes. Many of the larger enemies merely come off as meat shields, having obnoxiously large amounts of health to whittle down, slowly but surely. However, most of the time you're facing grunts, and the odds are definitely not in Death's favor.

Become Death, destroyer of enemy fodder.

Dropped from enemies and found in the myriad chests sprinkled throughout Darksiders II's worlds, MMO-style loot is common. As you stand over a new set of scythes, a subweapon, pieces of armor, or a talisman, the stats for it appear on the screen. Stats that increase are shown in green while stats that decrease are in red. There are a seemingly infinite amount of equipment combinations to possess, and each are shown on Death's body in real time.

Go in guns blazing with Death.

Concerning subweapons, it's really a matter of deciding whether you want power or speed. Yes, a giant axe that does massive amounts of damage is great, but it leaves Death open to attacks much more than, say, a set of fast hitting claws. Then again, ten hits from the claws would probably equal one hit from the axe, so there's that to factor in too.

As Death completes quests and defeats enemies, he gains experience points, which go into leveling him up. His strength increases, as does his health, defense, and so forth. As Death gains new levels, he gets skill points that can be spent to learn new combat abilities on a skill tree.

While Darksiders II borrows from and is apparently heavily influenced by The Legend of Zelda, God of War, Prince of Persia, and any loot RPG, the game is more of a Death of all trades, master of none. Each gameplay influence of Darksiders II is done better by the series it channels and imitates. That's not to say there's nothing original or spectacular to be found in Darksiders II. No, it is quite the opposite. It's just that The Legend of Zelda series did not consistently use the rule of threes in its progression, requiring the player to collect three trinkets or destroy three objects before moving on with the story. Furthermore, the Prince of Persia series' platforming is much tighter than what is found in Darksiders II, where waist-high obstructions are impossible for the almighty Death to leap over. Pits full of lava? No problem. Bottomless chasms? No problem.

Corruption is everywhere, and Death

aims to take it all out ASAP.

Vigil Games stated that they had no problems porting Darksiders II to the Wii U. In fact, they said it took two weeks to get a running build of the game on Nintendo's new system. Perhaps they stopped working on the Wii U port once they got it running on the system in those two weeks, as there are plenty of performance problems to mention. From the screen tearing to the occasional hard locks, to the unexpected loading while walking through a hallway (that seriously couldn't have been masked better?), to the stuttering, Darksiders II is not optimized to run on the Wii U, and seeing that THQ is now but a memory, there's no way that any patches can be put in place. In addition to all of that, there is no ability to post screenshots via Miiverse. This is unfortunate because I would have loved to share some of the truly amazing locales Darksiders II possesses. What I positively say about the Wii U version, however, is that the game can be played 100% on the Wii U GamePad, or if you choose not to do so, switching weapons has never been easier with the controller.

A lot of the bigger enemies are mere damage sponges.

Darksiders II on Wii U is a game marred with presentation problems that makes it tough to recommend over its earlier, and much cheaper, contemporaries. While the game is by no means broken, you can get a better experience on other platforms without the constant freezing, screen tearing, and loading issues. Darksiders II owes a lot to its design to many famous franchises like Zelda, God of War and Prince of Persia, and though it doesn't reach any of those series' levels of quality, it was a compelling enough experience to make me want to see through Death's quest to restore humanity. With Darksiders II, Death will become you, and I can say there are much worse things on the video game market that you can become.

[SPC Says: 7.5/10]

SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs - 400th VGM Edition

It seems like only yesterday we were starting off with our first VGM, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword's Romance Theme. Now, a year and some change later we are celebrating the 400th VGM. On this special edition of SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs, we have music from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Kirby Super Star, and NiGHTS Into Dreams. As always, if you missed a previous installment of the VGMs, feel free to check out our VGM Database to get caught up. Just be warned that it will be quite an endeavor!

v396. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1, SAT) - Prologue

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night's soundtrack featured an eclectic mix of musical styles. Prologue is pure rock, playing as a member of the Belmont family ascends the stairs leading to Dracula's throne room. Hearing this theme really saddens me that we won't get another Castlevania game akin to Symphony of the Night any time soon.

v397. Sonic and the Secret Rings (Wii) - How It Started

A boss theme of Sonic and the Secret Rings, How It Started is performed by Runblebee. In fact, the majority of Secret Rings' music was performed by Runblebee, with Steve Conte providing vocals for the two tracks that bookend the game (the opening theme and the credits theme). If you aren't familiar with Steve Conte, he is a New York musician who has collaborated many times with anime composer Yoko Kanno.

v398. Kirby Super Star (SNES) - Taking Over the Halberd

The tense song that plays during the Revenge of Metaknight game in Kirby Super Star, Taking Over the Halberd has players timed as they try to regain control of Metaknight's ship, the Halberd. Kirby Super Star is one of fans' favorite Kirby games. It certainly packed a lot of content for the game's price!

v399. Kid Icarus (NES) - Underworld

Much like some people calling Samus Aran "Metroid", there were many people calling Pit "Kid Icarus", which to be fair isn't really a silly thing to say in comparison to Samus being "Metroid." After a 20 year hiatus, the Kid Icarus series returned with the spectacular Kid Icarus: Uprising. Also on Nintendo 3DS, a 3D classics version of the original NES game was released.

v400. NiGHTS Into Dreams (SAT) - Dreams Dreams

A vocal theme for the SEGA Saturn classic NiGHTS Into Dreams, NiGHTS fans love to sing along to this cheery pop tune full of hope and positive vibes. The song would get several versions on the Wii sequel, NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, probably one of the few positives a person could name from that game.

Animal Crossing Journal: New Leaf Edition

This past Sunday, Animal Crossing: New Leaf finally reached North American shores, and Nintendo 3DS owners couldn't be happier. Much like Phil did with Animal Crossing: City Folk, he is going to be writing a weekly journal talking about his adventures in the town of Central. If you're ready, Phil's ready.

On June 9th, 2013, I became the mayor of the town of Central. A gathering of animal locals surrounded the ceremony, cheering me on as I took up my new mayoral duties. My first act as mayor was planting a tree in Central Plaza. The animals that congregated around me seemed to enjoy themselves. I was taking over the duties of a longtime mayor who I've heard retired to a tropical island, so I had a hefty job ahead of me.

I was able to designate a space for my house for Tom Nook to build, but it turns out all I started out with was a tent. After the 10,000 Bell total was paid, I finally got something that looked like a house to live in instead of something to camp in.

This is how my house currently looks like on the inside. Sahara came by and fixed me up with a new wallpaper and flooring. I like this oriental look like going for, don't you?

As mayor, I have taken care of three public works projects thus far: a second bridge to cross Central's river in the western part of town, a fountain in front of town hall, and a bench overlooking where the river falls into the ocean. My next goal is to create a third bridge, in between the two current bridges, so that the peninsula between the two bridges has a way to cross to the other side of the river. I also wish to have some street lamps in Central and even some bushes to make the town even more spectacular to visitors.

In addition to the official public works projects, I decided to create a system of sidewalks and paths in Central. At first the pattern I used wasn't very detailed (as might see in the photos below), but I added more specks to the sidewalk to give it a textured appearance. After getting an axe today, I managed to cut down trees that got in the way of the paths I wanted to create. We at Central are very pleased with how they turned out.

We also have a welcome sign for those who visit Central.

It was here...

Now, it's here.

In addition to that, in Main Street, Central now has a gardening shop. It took a day for it to be constructed (unlike construction on I-64...), and the proprietor of the shop, Leif, assists in selling flower seeds and tree seeds to spruce up Central.

I even have the backing of the denizens of Central.

Of course, every mayor needs to have some "me time." That's exactly what I did. I opened the city gates to outsides, and what do you know, some came in to party Central-style! From unwinding after a long hard day with some fishing to exploring the beach and island together, there's plenty of things to do in order to relax at Central.

Finally, after all the fish I have caught, I now have a badge to prove that I have caught over 50% of the fish and sea life varieties. Not pictured here, but I have also nabbed 50% of the insect life in Central.

So as my first week as mayor, Central has already turned into bustling village, more so than it was when I first arrived in town. I still have plenty of tasks ahead of me, such as expanding my own home and the museum, adding a third bridge to town, construction some streetlamps, and making sure I keep Central a thriving community. If you ever wish to visit Central, make sure you post your 3DS friend code here, along with your 3DS name. Until next week, this has been Phil's Animal Crossing Journal.