Final Fantasy XV (PS4, XONE) Tokyo Game Show 2014 Trailer

After over a year in hibernation, Final Fantasy XV sees a brand-new trailer just in time for this year's Tokyo Game Show. Witness the phenomenal visuals and seemingly open-world setting of the game with this impressive and captivating trailer.

Bayonetta 2 (Wii U) Nintendo Cosplay Trailer

By now, you should know that Bayonetta 2 would not exist without Nintendo. Nintendo's reach doesn't just go as far as funding the game, the development team at Platinum Games opted to include various Nintendo-themed costumes for the femme fatale as an ode to the big N and for some fan-service. Check out this trailer to see costumes based off of Link, Samus Aran, and Princess Peach, for starters.

Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure (Wii U, 3DS) Review

Have you been feeling empty as of late? Perhaps it's the lack of a new review... No? Well, can you pretend that was the reason so I can feel better about myself? Here's my review of Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.

I expected an awesome game.

I have been "DC-eived"! 

Coming off my first real introduction to the 5th Cell's Scribblenauts series with Unlimited at the Wii U's launch, I was ecstatic when word of a sequel was heading to the platform. The good news did not end there. The sequel would have the DC license attached to it, offering over 2,000 superheroes and villains from DC Comics' illustrious history, such as Batman, Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman, The Joker, The Riddler, Darkseid, The Cheetah, and many more. Unfortunately, with a game series that already has thousands of unique objects to bring into protagonist Maxwell's world, the addition of DC Comics characters is nothing more than a novelty than anything else.

Scribblenauts Unmasked takes Maxwell, the owner of a coveted and powerful notebook, and his sister Lily on an adventure through the pages of DC Comics' various franchises. A doppelganger of Maxwell teams up with supervillains of all shapes and sizes to cause havoc. It's a cheerful tale that does its best to stay cutesy. Nonetheless, superhero personalities like Superman and Batman, built from decades upon decades of comics and inner monologues, end up lost in the generic and all too wordy text dialogue of Unmasked. There's little to distinguish characters from one another personality-wise.

It'd be a dog-gone shame if the Joker
and Harley got away.

The main mechanic of the Scribblenauts series is present within Unmasked. You try to solve the problems of various NPCs by writing words into Maxwell's magical notebook to have them appear in the world around him. For instance, for a group of superheroes in need of defense, Maxwell can summon a fortress to satiate their need. Later Scribblenauts games introduced the ability to add descriptive adjectives to words, so adding the word "flying" to an NPC can make it float around a level just like Superman.

Isn't that the dream of every superhero?

The dozen or so stages in the game feature one main story-related mission across various locales such as Gotham City, Metropolis, and even undersea in Aquaman's kingdom of Atlantis. Upon successful completion of these missions, a Starite is given to Maxwell. These missions have multiple parts to them, but not only are they overly wordy, but failure before reaching a checkpoint means you have to restart from the beginning, being forced to watch the opening story sequence in the process. Furthermore, a lot of these story-related missions involve combat, which is, as many Scribblenauts fans know, incredibly basic and not rewarding whatsoever.

"This is Captain Maxwell of QNBC reporting
no accidents for your evening commute home."

The random missions in Scribblenauts Unmasked are the key to unlocking new areas. As you complete the various missions, you earn points that go towards reputation. The points are divvied up in a needlessly confusing batch of three types. There's one for the Batman stages, the Superman-themed stages, and one for the Justice League stages.

When you have a series that has had more than a few sequels already, it's always nice to see some effort put into changing up the formula. It's actually quite admirable on the part of the designers, who could have easily went with an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" type mentality. However, even those with the best of intentions can create something less than desirable.

Hey Flash, didn't your mother ever tell
you not to run with scissors?!

At the start of each stage, Scribblenauts Unlimited randomly picks out a batch of different missions for you to try to complete. There's a feeling of newness and uniqueness each time you enter a level. However, many of these missions either stray too far into simplicity or too far into being overly obtuse. It's no problem to write the word "parent" in Maxwell's notebook to give an orphan someone to console him. It's much less obvious to guess what word Mr. Mxyzptlk is thinking of.

Many times in stages I would automatically fail a random challenge just because something totally beyond my control would happen, such as an AI interacting with an object that, without my having clairvoyant powers, I couldn't even try to know what I was supposed to do before it made me fail the mission.

Wonder Woman's wonderful home of Themyscira.

The Object Editor of Scribblenauts Unlimited has evolved to a much improved form with Unmasked's Hero Creator. You can take pieces from one of the thousands of heroes and villains available, mix and match, colorize, scale, and assemble your dream creation. Of course, this takes some dedication to craft something worthy of the DC Comics name. Otherwise, you can stick to just downloading others' creations via the simple-to-use online sharing feature Scribblenauts Unmasked possesses.

...Have we met before?

Scribblenauts Unmasked utilizes some cute and pleasant 2D art. The Wii U version can easily handle a myriad of notebook creations on screen simultaneously. Areas in the game feature a wonderful amount of parallax layers to create a sense of depth. This is readily apparent when playing the Nintendo 3DS version. The music of Unmasked brings with it some catchy tunes, and the voice over work that bookends the game's story is well done.

For those seeking a starting point to the Scribblenauts series, there's far worse entries to jump into than Unmasked. However, for those who want the pinnacle of the series, Unmasked is also not the game you're looking for. Sure, the novelty of summoning DC Comics heroes and villains is interesting at first, but it's an interest that quickly fades. Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure just has too many faults to recommend as a must-play game, such as its flawed reputation system to unlock stages and its randomized missions being more often a bust than a boom.

[SPC Says: 6.5/10]

SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs - #VGMGate Edition

I think it's time to bring up something important regarding gaming. It's an issue that's been permeating to a boiling point, and now it's time to take some action.

Yes, there was no edition of SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs last week. Where did it go? Who is responsible? What is the excuse for this lack of preparedness? That is what #VGMGate is all about.

While I try to uncover the answers for this amazing controversy, I urge you to listen to this week's VGM picks. We have music from Xenoblade Chronicles, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, and Mario Kart Wii, to kick things off.

v701. Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii) - Hometown

Yoko Shimomura delivers a mellow symphonic treat with the Hometown theme of the first area within Xenoblade Chronicles. There's no doubt still a line of hype that leads to Shulk's inclusion in the new pair of Super Smash Bros. games, so it seems reasonable to include a theme from the game he comes from. Let's not forget about the sequel that will hopefully be releasing on Wii U in 2015!

v702. Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, 360) - City of Revelry

One of the greatest parts of the less-than-awesome final chapter in the so-called Lightning Trilogy, aside from the great graphics is the stellar soundtrack. We've previously listened to Savior of Souls, one of the battle themes heard within Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. Now, we listen to City of Revelry, a terrific track featuring a very sexy saxophone!

v703. Mario Kart Wii (Wii) - Coconut Mall

One of my favorite Mario Kart tracks of all time is Mario Kart Wii's Coconut Mall. It's an absolute blast to speed through the halls and lobbies of an Isle Delfino-inspired shopping mall, pulling off tricks off of fountains and steps, and racing through the home stretch parking lot. Coconut Mall would return in Mario Kart 7 with some nice alterations. Regardless of which version you race on, you're guaranteed a fun and enjoyable ride!

v704. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES) - Fight Against an Armed Boss

Yoko Shimomura does double duty on this week's installment of SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs. The composer known for her work on Kingdom Hearts did the music for Super Mario RPG way back on the Super Nintendo. This theme plays when you battle a boss that holds one of the legendary seven stars. It's a catchy little number that uses the Smithy theme as a motif throughout.

v705. Phantasy Star Universe (360, PS2) - Save This World

While Phantasy Star Universe on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 was a decidedly disappointing entry in the franchise, the music was one bright spot in an otherwise dull and repetitive game. Save This World is the main vocal theme of the game, and it's a combination of symphonic sounds and grooving rock. Hey, SEGA, how about that Phantasy Star Online 2 localization for the West, huh?

Hyrule Warriors (Wii U) North American TV Commercial

The historic Legend of Zelda franchise meets the long-running Dynasty Warriors series with this intriguing and quite frankly, awesome-looking game, Hyrule Warriors for the Wii U. I absolutely love commercials like this, pure gameplay or at least pure in-game footage. Hyrule Warriors hits store shelves on September 26 for North American gamers.