Review Round-Up - February 2013

Two RPG series led the charge for the month

of February: Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy.

February was a short month for everyone, and that included SuperPhillip Central. However, we managed to post five new reviews this month, two of which introduced a new segment, Better Late Than Never Reviews! We gave our first subject, Mutant Mudds for the Nintendo 3DS eShop an 8.0 out of 10. That followed with an 8.75 for Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy. There were also two retro reviews, which one could say are even later than our Better Late Than Never Reviews! Luigi's Mansion was reviewed as Dark Moon is coming out next month. We gave the game an 8.0. Meanwhile, the release of Skyfall on DVD and Blu-ray saw James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing getting the review treatment with an 8.5. Finally, our game of the month, Fire Emblem: Awakening, earned its score with a 9.0! Next month SuperPhillip Central will have its 400th review! So many reviews, so little time. We'll see you then!

Luigi's Mansion (GCN) - 8.0
Mutant Mudds (3DSWare) - 8.0
James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing (PS2, GCN, XBX) - 8.5
Fire Emblem: Awakening (3DS) - 9.0
Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy (PSP) - 8.75

Lightning leads the hero side of Dissidia 012.

Fabulous February: Seven Games to Look Out for This Month

SuperPhillip Central is doing something new for 2013. At the start of every month we will be listing the top games that will be releasing in a given month-- titles that you should without a doubt be keeping an eye out for. We know that not everyone shares the same tastes, so we have selected a wide variety of games from different genres and platforms.

Not only are the game names and brief descriptions posted, but also to help plan your shopping schedule are the release dates. Note: The release dates are based off of North America. With that, let's get to the awesome games.

Fire Emblem: Awakening (3DS)
Release Date: 2/4

The first game to watch out for this ridiculously packed month is one that has been receiving critical acclaim worldwide. It's the first entry of the Fire Emblem franchise for Nintendo's 3DS, Fire Emblem: Awakening. This turn-based strategy RPG offers a class and job system, the ability to create a customizable avatar for battle, and now a mode that does not permanently remove a character from your roster if they perish in battle. Don't worry, as the classic rules of the franchise still apply. Nintendo 3DS owners will have a lot to play through with Awakening, and the wait to play it is almost over.

Dead Space 3 (Multi)
Release Date: 2/5

There has been a lot of skepticism and criticism towards the direction the Dead Space series has been heading. Some argue that the series is going in a direction where it's more action than the original Dead Space's survival horror feeling. Whichever side of the fence you are on the debate, I think most of us can agree that Dead Space 3 is looking mighty enticing. The game's campaign can be played solo or in co-op with a drop-in/drop-out feature. Dead Space 3 promises to have a significant amount of thrills as well as chills, and if past games have been an indication, it will have some scenes that gamers will be talking about long after the game has been put to the shelf.

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (PS3, PSV)
Release Date: 2/5

If you've picked up and played The Sly Collection (which you should have), then you know that the Sly Cooper series is a fantastic one full of sublime platforming fun. Sly and the gang's fourth outing, and the first made specifically for the PlayStation 3 and Vita, introduces costumes into the fold, which allow Sly new abilities such as a Robin Hood-like outfit that grants Sly the ability to fire arrows that create a sturdy line of rope for him to cross. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time will be part of Sony's Cross Buy promotion, meaning if you purchase the PS3 version, you get access to both that and a code for the Vita version.

Aliens: Colonial Marines (Multi)
Release Date: 2/12

If one sci-fi horror shooter wasn't good enough for you with Dead Space 3, then you are totally in luck as Sega and Gearbox are bringing Aliens: Colonial Marines to home consoles and PC this month with a Wii U version to follow later on. Fans of Aliens will adore seeing familiar characters and the fabled weaponry of the movies, including flamethrowers and pulse rifles. Up to four players can participate in drop-in/drop-out co-op for the main campaign, which is sure to make the game stretch out in its replay value if the ability to upgrade your character already does not. Look forward to Aliens: Colonial Marines in less than two weeks.

Crysis 3 (Multi)
Release Date: 2/19

Running on the CryEngine 3 game engine, Crysis 3 is the third installment of the graphically intensive first-person shooter franchise by publisher EA. Along with the campaign mode, which promises to delight with its breathtaking vantage points and set pieces, comes an all-new mulitplayer mode, Hunter. In this mode several players are C.E.L.L. troopers while the other players are hunters. The objective of the troopers is to stay alive, or at least longer than their counterparts. If they die, they get spawned back as a hunter. Things can get particularly crazy when there is just one trooper left against a swarm of hunters. Crysis 3 shoots onto North American store shelves on the 19th.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (PS3, 360)
Release Date: 2/19

Raiden returns and is at the center of the stage for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, developed by the one and only Platinum Games. Most significantly about the oddly subtitled game is the ability for the player to accurately and with fine precision slice and dice foes and cut off their limbs in an effectively efficient manner. It doesn't just stop with cutting enemies, the developer showed off various objects like watermelons and vehicles that could be cut into as well. Even if you are a casual Metal Gear fan, this more action-oriented offshoot of the series is shaping up to be one "can't miss" title.

Rayman Legends (Wii U)
Release Date: 2/26

After wowing the gaming world with Rayman Origins, the limbless wonder returns in an all-new Wii U exclusive platforming adventure with Rayman Legends. Right off the bat you can just ogle the positively gorgeous graphics and art style the game possesses. Alongside the traditional platforming levels, Rayman Legends has levels where the player with the Wii U GamePad interacts with enemies and objects to help the player(s) on the TV screen get through the level. If the demo that can currently be downloaded on the Wii U eShop is anything to go by, then Rayman Legends is going to be one slap-tastic fantastic game to end the month of February, and one that all Wii U owners should look into getting.

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An honorable mention to these list of games is Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan for the Nintendo 3DS. It's a remarkably niche game, but it's one that deserves at least a mention. Which games for February are you going to get?

The Buzz - February 1st, 2013

It's time once again for The Buzz, where we look at what readers of SPC are looking at the most. You might see this recurring segment and ask yourself what the heck the point is of posting what the most popular articles on SuperPhillip Central for a given time period is. Well, I can answer that. We (I don't work here alone, y'know, but I do complete most of the work) use this information not only to see how things have changed month-to-month or season-to-season, but also to post stories that will continue to interest readers both old and new. It's nice to have some perspective, and also it's nice to keep users up to date on what stories are doing the best here that they may want to look into.

I know what you're thinking. What is popular on SuperPhillip Central must mean that five people read it. That's actually a lot further from the truth than you'd believe. With that, let's get to the top ten stories presently.

February 1st, 2012
Buzz results.

Things have changed so much since our last look at The Buzz four months ago. Rank Up! - God of War used to rule the top, but ever since the Official PlayStation Magazine UK website is now what Google shows for a top image instead of linking to this site, that is but a memory. To make up for that, traffic is coming in from articles like the Tired of Negativity: Things Nintendo Is Doing Right With the Wii U, Top Ten Kart Racing Games, and my opinion piece on the latest Nintendo Direct. Current reviews that are popular include Trine 2: Director's Cut, Style Savvy: Trendsetters, and even Hamsterball, one of the more unlikely popular pieces on this list.

I hope you will all continue enjoying SuperPhillip Central and keeping on keeping up to date on the latest stories, editorials, reviews, and interviews straight from us.

Central City Census - February 2013

It's February, and that means one of two things: Valentine's Day and a certain birthday of a certain person who is a part of a certain site that has a certain word "central" in it. Oh, it also means it's time for a new Central City Census, so that's three things! Before we get to that, however, let's review the results of January's poll:

What gaming platform was home to your favorite game of 2012?

Oh, boy, it was a close one this month with the PlayStation 3 just barely beating out both the Nintendo 3DS and the Wii U. Meanwhile the Xbox 360 had more votes than the Wii (I voted for the latter because of Xenoblade Chronicles, SPC's Game of the Year 2012). I wonder what games you guys and gals had as your favorites... Were they multiplatform, or were they indeed exclusive to the platform you voted for? I'll never know because I don't know the people who voted. Aw, shucks. Well, let's get to this month's poll!

The rumors of the next generation consoles from Sony and Microsoft have set the Internet abuzz. Some have grown weary of tech talk, shader talk, and so forth, while others can't get enough of it. Regardless, concerning the other two next gen platforms, which do you think will launch first? This is a simple poll this month with only two answers as to not overheat your minds from thinking too much. Poll will close at the end of February 28.

February 2012 NPD Results

Did you know February 2012 is over? I'm serious. No lies. No joke. It ended over a week ago. As such on the early part of each month we get the United States sale results of the previous month. I remember a time when we got clear cut numbers. Now we're lucky to get scraps. Regardless, here are the results for February 2012 as taken from NeoFAQs.

4- week month; January retail reporting period 1/29/12 through 2/25/12

Software
01. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC)** Activision Blizzzard
02. Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3, 360)** Square Enix Inc.
03. UFC Undisputed 3 (360, PS3) THQ
04. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (360, PS3, PC) Electronic Arts
05. Just Dance 3 (Wii, 360, PS3) Ubisoft
06. NBA 2K12 (360, PS3, PSP, Wii, PC, PS2) Take 2 Interactive
07. Soul Calibur V (360, PS3)** Namco Bandai Games
08. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (360, PS3, PC)** Bethesda Softworks
09. Twisted Metal 2012 (PS3) Sony - 221K
10. Battlefield 3 (360, PS3, PC)** Electronic Arts

**(includes CE, GOTY editions, bundles, etc. but not those bundled with hardware)

Hardware
Xbox 360 - 426K (-20.4%)
PlayStation 3 - 360K (-11%) (PR Math by NeoFAQs)
Nintendo 3DS - 262K
Nintendo Wii - 228K (-50%)
PlayStation Vita - 218K (PR Math by NeoFAQs)
Nintendo DS - 135K

Unfortunately NPD has for the past half year or so combined SKUs, so we don't know how titles with only one SKU (exclusives in layman's terms) fared. I wish I could say I'm surprised that Resident Evil: Revelations didn't chart, but there were literally no advertisements to be found here. There were Operation Raccoon City ads, and that game wasn't coming out until a month or or so later. Tell me how that makes sense. Are third parties doing another self-fulfilling prophecy again?

In other news, Final Fantasy XIII-2 sold less than half the first month sales of Final Fantasy XIII. It is safe to call it a bomb yet? Then we have SoulCalibur V which also did poorly all things considered. On the positive side (which is increasingly hard to find when it comes to sales) Just Dance 3 on Wii remains the best-selling single SKU yet again.

Review Round-Up - February

Look at those eyes...
How could you not give this game GotM?

February 27th was my 26th birthday. As a gift to myself I actually managed to tie the amount of reviews of January with nine new reviews! You cannot see this right now, but I am patting myself on the back. Anyway... we started with a retro review of Mario Party 7 for the GameCube. That title couldn't quite reignite my passion for the series and earned a 6.0 for its troubles. We took it outside with Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition on 3DS and it fought its way to an 8.5. I then showed off an ooooold review of mine with Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire. The fires were poor embers which gave the game a bad 4.0. Square Enix then tried, tried again with Final Fantasy XIII-2 which netted a great 8.5. Sticking with the time travel theme, I scored Sonic CD an 8.0. The soul still burned with SoulCalibur V which received a respectable 7.0. After that we took the skies with Ace Combat's first foray on the 3DS. It ranked high with an 8.0. Then the beat went on with Rhythm Heaven Fever on Wii which danced to a 6.5. Finally, we ended strong with Resident Evil: Revelations (9.0), the game of the month. Overall, a traffic-heavy, quality month for SuperPhillip Central. To make fun of Jack Tretton of Sony, "we have hit our stride" and are making great "momentum."

Mario Party 7 (GCN) - 6.0
Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition (3DS) - 8.5
Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire (Wii) - 4.0
Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3, 360) - 8.5
Sonic CD (PSN, XBLA) - 8.0
SoulCalibur V (PS3, 360) - 7.0
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy (3DS) - 8.0
Rhythm Heaven Fever (Wii) - 6.5
Resident Evil: Revelations (3DS) - 9.0

A tale of blades, moogles, chocobos,
time travel, and bad fashion choices.

Central City Census - February

Are you familiar with the Central City Census? It's a poll that is opened all month long and just begs for readers both faithful and one-timer to vote, expressing their opinion on it. Since February has the least amount of days in its month, even in a leap year like 2012, there's even less time to vote. Why am I wasting your time with formalities?! Let's get to last month's results-- quickly!

How many games are in your backlog (collection of games not yet played)?

Less than five.	10 (19%)
6-10 games	10 (19%)
11-20 games	7 (13%)
20-30 games	4 (7%)
More than 30 games	21 (40%)

Votes so far: 52

Christmas and other holidays must have been kind to our readers as their backlogs are overflowing with games. The majority of voters have at least thirty games to play through and possibly counting. On the other end of the spectrum, twenty voters have anywhere between 0-10 titles in their backlog. How I sort of envy and don't sort of envy them. Nonetheless, that wraps up the results from the first month of 2012. What question will be asked by the Central City Census for February?

The PlayStation Vita launches in North America and Europe this month. Perhaps you already have one imported from Japan (or even live in the Land of the Rising Sun-- hi from America!)... February's census asks if you are going to purchase a PlayStation Vita at any time. The launch titles are certainly there, but will anybody be biting?

February 2011 NPD Results

We've reached close to the middle of the month, so it's time to look at the NPD numbers for the month of February 2011. This time they made us a nice chart to share with everyone! Remember games are now clumped into sales for every platform and not just one. This means that Call of Duty: Black Ops has a total of sales from the PS3, 360, Wii, DS, and PC instead of just the 360, for instance.


This month, Call of Duty: Black Ops is America's best-selling game of all time. Sort of shows you there's no accounting for taste here at the NPD. Marvel VS. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds chimed in with second place scoring 790.2K in sales. Meanwhile, Just Dance 2 continues to hot-step it with sales getting 554K, and that's on one platform only. Impressive. Other notable titles include Dead Space 2 making its second arrival on the NPD charts, Bulletstorm, Killzone 3, and Mario Sports Mix which resides in the tenth spot.

Hardware-wise, the Xbox 360 sold 535,000, up 27% from last February, and it's the 360's best non-holiday month. The Kinect train keeps rolling on. All the while the Wii train chugs along netting 454,000 units of hardware. Sony has not revealed the numbers for the PS3, but by going by the YoY math, they should be close behind the Wii with approximately 450,000 sales. What an incredible month of sales for all three competitors.

Review Round-Up - February

LittleBigPlanet 2 proved it wasn't just a game--
it's a platform for games!

February was a big month in reviews at SuperPhillip Central. The winner this month was LittleBigPlanet 2 which is not only killing it in sales, but it also received a 9.5 on this site. Next, WiiWare's Fluidity scored an 8.75 followed by Marvel VS. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. Thanks to its lack of modes it got an 8.5. Finally, we hooped, scooped, and pooped with Mario and the Mushroom Kingdom gang in Mario Sports Mix for Wii which earned an 8.25 for its simple to learn, tough to master depth. Additionally, after nearly a year's hiatus, One-Sentence Reviews returned. Overall, a five-star month for SuperPhillip Central.

LittleBigPlanet (PS3) - 9.5
Mario Sports Mix (Wii) - 8.25
One-Sentence Reviews - Round Two
Fluidity (WiiWare) - 8.75
Marvel VS. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (PS3, 360) - 8.5

The old S.T.A.R.S. team is reunited for Marvel VS. Capcom 3.

Central City Census - February

Whether you're asking your retarded readers how they pronounce February (*ahem* GameFAQs) or if you're asking something more of value, the Central City Census. Before we move on to February, let's check out January's results.

Do you have any gaming resolutions for 2011?

Yes, to clear my backlog.	6 (24%)
Yes, to not buy as many games.	4 (16%)
Yes, other.	4 (16%)
No, none at all.	11 (44%)

Votes so far: 25

It turns out most of you have no plans for resolutions of the gaming kind. Second place was to clear backlogs while their was a tie for third place between not buying as many games and other. Whatever other means. Onto new business!

The 3DS is set to launch in North America on March 27th for $249.99. Do you plan on getting one, and if so what color do you plan on getting?

February 2010 NPD Results

Data care of NPD Group
Reporting Period: 1/31/2010 through 2/27/2010


PlayStation 2 101.9K
PlayStation 3 360.1K
PSP 133.4K
Xbox 360 422.0K
Wii 397.9K
Nintendo DS 613.2K


BIOSHOCK 2* 360 TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE Feb-10 562.9K
NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. WII WII NINTENDO OF AMERICA Nov-09 555.6K
CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2* 360 ACTIVISION BLIZZARD Nov-09 314.3K
JUST DANCE WII UBISOFT Nov-09 275.4K
SPORTS RESORT W/ WII MOTION PLUS* WII NINTENDO OF AMERICA Jul-09 272.5K
CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2* PS3 ACTIVISION BLIZZARD Nov-09 252.8K
MASS EFFECT 2 360 ELECTRONIC ARTS Jan-10 246.5K
DANTE'S INFERNO: DIVINE EDITION PS3 ELECTRONIC ARTS Feb-10 242.5K
DANTE'S INFERNO 360 ELECTRONIC ARTS Feb-10 224.7K
HEAVY RAIN PS3 SONY Feb-10 219.3K

(*includes CE, GOTY editions, bundles, etc. but not those bundled with hardware)

The big news is the 360 being the big winner this month. Was it supply constraints for the Wii? New gamers jumping into the 360? People buying second 360s after their first one died? Well, that's just me, but who knows? We do know that software-wise the 360 is also the winner with four titles to the PS3 and Wii's three. New Super Mario Bros. Wii gets second place to the super-hit Bioshock 2. Still, a half million three months after release is nothing to sneeze at! Meanwhile, PS3 exclusive Heavy Rain gets a heavy amount of sales as tenth place on the big sales list. Finally, the DS remains high in the proverbial saddle with the most sales of all. Stay tuned for the top twenty coming later next week.

Review Round-Up - February

Sonic didn't quite lead the pack this month, but he was close!

Another month has come and gone, and I find myself once again compiling a list of reviews for the month. A short month equals a short list of reviews, but what we had was of good to excellent quality. We started strong with Tatsunoko VS Capcom and God of War Collection and ended strong with Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing, a surprise hit. In the middle we took flight with The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces, wiped out the Chimeran menace in Resistance: Retribution, played some 8-bit mini-games in No More Heroes 2, had several SEGA quickies, and went to Camelot with Sonic in Sonic and the Black Knight. Stay tuned for March as I have many reviews in store including White Knight Chronicles, Darksiders, and Endless Ocean: Blue World!

All scores are out of 10.
5 = Average

Tatsunoko VS. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars (Wii) - 9.0
God of War Collection (PS3) - 9.5
The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces (Wii) - 8.0
Resistance: Retribution (PSP) - 9.25
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (Wii) - 8.5
SPC Quickies - Volume Six - SEGA All-Stars
Sonic and the Black Knight (Wii) - 6.75
Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing (PS3, 360, Wii, DS, PC) - 9.0

Tatsunoko and Capcom raged war in the month of February.

Animal Crossing Journal - Online Homecoming

It's been quite a while since I last wrote an entry in the old Animal Crossing journal. Let me rectify that with a new entry here this evening. By the game's count it had been nine months since I last visited Central, and I was surprised by how little it changed. Sure, there were about forty weeds to pull and many flowers had died, but the townspeople I abandoned had not abandoned me at all. They were still there, wondering where their human friend had run off to.


So I made it my goal to clean up the town, pull some weeds, plant some new flowers, and revisit my old friends. Filbert was as weird in his cool way as ever:


Then I opened my gates and allowed some new friends into my town. They're all from CheapAssGamer, and they were all quite nice and friendly. We chatted, we played around, I tested out my Wii Speak toy which worked well, and it was just a lot of fun exploring my old town. I got a lot of compliments regarding my road infrastructure that I had custom built and worked very hard on. It was very gratifying hearing... er... reading feedback. Perhaps pictures best tell a story, so I'll just hush up now and let the pics (and their corresponding captions) tell the story.

Steve and Maple waste no time getting to know one another.

What else do gamers do than talk about gaming?

The gang's all here.

Apparently Central is epic.

Everyone's favorite party, leave the newbie trapped
in the middle of several holes (he didn't know how to get out).

You had to be there to understand the gag.

So there you have it. Good times, great fun, and some nice company made for an enjoyable homecoming to Animal Crossing: City Folk. Who knows when I'll return to my lovely burg by the bay? From Central, this has been SuperPhillip with your Animal Crossing Journal.

SuperPhillip's Gaming Collection - February 2010

Last time we looked at the big three in my collection. This time we're looking at my updated PlayStation 3 collection, my PlayStation 2 collection, and my Gamecube collection. Call it bragging, call it showboating, I call it sharing my hobby with my readers. Plus I get to try out my digital camera for once!

Central City Census - February

Welcome to the start of a brand-new month. Didn't we just celebrate Christmas and New Years? I digress. Let's check out January's census before we move onto February entirely.


It appears the majority of SPC readers thought the Wii had the best year while coming up at second place was my pick for console of the year, the PlayStation 3! The Xbox 360 took third place with twenty votes whereas the DS earned fourth place with fourteen votes. Meanwhile, the bottom choices were PSP and PC with PSP served with the least amount of votes. Even with the PSPGo and great new releases, not a lot of fans of the PSP on SPC. With that, here's February's Central City Census.

We just finished with the console of the year voting, but what about the game of the year? Based on my picks for game of the year, which game was your personal favorite?