Resident Evil Mercenaries 3D. I don't get it

Some controversy has been brewing up with the newly released Resident Evil Mercenaries 3D. The Nintendo 3DS title apparently permanently saves your file when it saves your game. It's speculated that Capcom added this feature in order to prevent people from buying used copies of the game. I'm not sure I get it.

How does a permanent saved files stop people from playing a used copy of the game? I'm really clueless on this. Does it mean there is no NEW GAME option? Does it mean you can't save a new file due to the permanent saved file that would already be there on a used copy? Does it permanently save your file onto your 3DS or the game itself. What happens if you beat the game and want to play it again? This makes no sense to me whatsoever.

What I do know is Gamefly took the game down from being rented which probably means I won't be playing it anytime soon. It sucks because I would've played it if I could rent it. I don't really care for Mercenaries 3D to be honest. I was going to play it for the demo to Resident Evil Revelations. Guess I'll have to wait until 2012 to play that.

Happy 20th Sonic

Sonic The Hedgehog was one of the first videogames I ever played. It was games like this that helped shape my life as a gamer. The experience of being the fastest hedgehog that collected rings was so cool. The Sega Genesis series was 2nd to none. Sonic was giving Mario a run for his money back in those days. Sure the series isn't anywhere near what it was 20 years ago, but the classics deserve respect. Happy 20th Anniversary Sonic the Hedgehog. Thank you for influencing a generation of hardcore gamers.

Redbox Videogame Impressions

Redbox recently announced that they are adding videogame to their rental kiosks nationwide. Good news for people like me who live in places where their local Blockbuster and other videogame rental services are out of business due to the economy. Last night I saw a Redbox with the sticker "Games Are Here!" and decided to investigate. Here are some suggestions for I came up with for Redbox Videogame Rentals. 

Keep The Selection Up To Date

The most recent game Redbox had was Duke Nukem Forever, which isn't bad considering the game has been out for 8 days in the United States. I made it a point to check the videogame selection last night to see if Redbox had Shadows of the Damned, Fear 3, or Dungeon Siege III all of which were released yesterday. I didn't see any of these games, but that could have been because they were already rented out. If you want my money Redbox you have to have new videogames available the day they are released. I have no problem traveling 20 minutes to the nearest Blockbuster in order to rent a videogame on the day it was released. 

Don't Raise The Price

Two dollars a night seems like a pretty reasonable price to rent a videogame. I thought it was a deal until I did the math. If you rent a game for 5 days at Blockbuster it is $9.55. Five days with Redbox will be 45 cents more. Not a huge difference, but Redbox is more expensive. If they raise the price it won't be a good look. There is also a grey area that Redbox might want to consider. Playstation 3 games are technically Blu-Ray. They come on Blu-Ray discs and play on the Blu-Ray playing PS3. It'd be cool if we could rent PS3 games for $1.50 like the rest of the Blu-Ray titles you keep in stock.

Add More Classic Titles

Redbox picked a good time to add videogames to their roster. Summer is notorious for the lack of videogames being released. One look at the upcoming games list shows that not many games are being released between now and September. Redbox should use this time to add critically acclaimed titles to it's selection. I know space is limited, but games such as Dead Space 2, Grand Theft Auto 4, and Super Mario Galaxy 2 could be added to the list.

We Want Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

It's about time Tony Hawk made a comeback. The once best selling skateboarding franchise has become a symbol of failure in the gaming industry. It would be a shame to have the series end on a such a low note. Neversoft needs to remind us why we love the Tony Hawk franchise. It's time to bring back Tony Hawk's Pro Skater.

We all know Tony Hawk's Ride & Shred were failures, but why were they failures? First thing I'd point to is the motion controlled skateboard that was required to play these games. It's clear Tony Hawk wanted to capitalize on the motion control fad that was going around. The problem was the games didn't successfully track the players movement which made the concept more of a gimmick than anything else. I personally have no interest in riding a skateboard which is why I like the arcade style Tony Hawk games always had. For your comeback you must get rid of the skateboard control.

Tony Hawk's comeback has to be named Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. Why? because most fans agree that the best Tony Hawk games were from the Pro Skater series. They also sold the most units and were more focused on skateboarding. By the time Tony Hawk went Underground the series focused more on story, and adding elements to the gameplay such walking and driving. The name Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 would be perfect. It could be marketed as the true sequel to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 which is arguably the best game in the series.

You don't want to make a comeback that sucks. You want to remind the gamers how good Tony Hawk games used to be. Don't go overboard trying to add new features. Just give us the Tony Hawk experience we deserve. You could test the water by releasing an HD version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. I bet if it were under $15 it would do quite well. I personally could use a new Tony Hawk experience. It was a game people enjoyed watching me play as I attempted to score million point combos. Please come back Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. We miss you.

E3 2011 Awards: Biggest Letdown

Project Cafe. The Nintendo console that was expected to steal the show at E3 by making gamers hungry in anticipation. What we got was a tablet with buttons named Wii U. Is it a controller or a console? The world may never know.

Wii U is not on my list of things to purchase. Unless this HD tablet is less than $100 dollars you can count me out on buying one. What's the point of having a tablet that's not portable. Sure you can play it all day in your house, but that's what I use my 3DS for. On top of that Nintendo didn't present any original IP's for Wii U. They just had a bunch of 3rd party developers announce games for Wii U. A majority of which will be available on Playstation and Xbox months before they ever hit Wii U. Maybe I'll change my mind as time comes closer to it's release but as of today Wii U is my biggest Letdown from E3.

E3 2011 Awards: Biggest Surprise

Was anybody else totally surprised when Sony introduced Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time? I was trying to figure out the franchise Jack Tretton was talking about as the trailer opened. "A series that both kids and hardcore gamers enjoy that began in 2002." I was stumped. The joke at the end about the cast making it to E3 on time made me laugh. I thought it was cute. I've actually never played a Sly game before. I will definitely be checking out the new Sly when it hits stores next year.

E3 2011 Awards: Best Presenters

Best Presenter Award goes to the people who presented at Microsoft's Press Conference. It was hilarious when Robert Bowling's screen said "Please Reconnect Controller"during the opening segment. Every person who presented during Microsoft's show had stage presence. The kids were animated as they explored Disneyland as were the guys playing Kinect Sports Season 2.

I learned a lot about nervous habits as I watch the presenters at Sony, Nintendo had a bunch of boring executives that talked too much, but Xbox kept it cool. Congrats Microsoft.