A Super Wonderful Cross-Promotional Post

In the immortal words of the (still-living) Chef Gordon Ramsay, I’m going to do something I’ve never, ever done before.  You see, I’m in the habit of uploading posts here on Cross-Up as well as onto the community blogs of gaming site Destructoid.  It doesn’t happen super-often -- less than 1/7^th of the content here has gone there -- but it’s nice to give my posts some extra play on a gaming site of some renown.

In any case, some of the posts there are specifically tailored for Destructoid and its audience.  That’s a pretty rare occurrence, but it has happened before.  This is one of those cases; having hit a major milestone there, I decided to take time out to thank the community.  And since I’m me, that “thanks” ended up becoming a 3,000-word post that made a general statement about The Wonderful 101 (i.e. why it’s so friggin’ good).  There’s some substance to unpack in that post -- so much so that I didn’t want to just leave it there on Dtoid.  So!  Instead of uploading a different post here, I’m linking back to that post and having you read content there instead.  Don’t worry; this probably won’t happen often.  Just think of this as the first official Cross-Up field trip.

Click on this link to head on over and give it a read.  Or, alternatively, click on this link to see Overwatch and JoJo coming together in LITERALLY THE BEST way possible.

Revenge is Boring

Yep.  Taking a hard stance on this one -- because I’m convinced that contrary to popular belief, it’s not a dish best served cold.  Or at all.  But let me back up a little.

My friend and I both gave my brother trouble over Middle-Earth: Shadows of Mordor because it just looked like a knockoff Assassin’s Creed.  Licensed game garbage, and little else.  But considering the majority of the reviews and reactions, it looks like the two of us were wrong -- and if nothing else, my bro’s been having a hell of a time with it.  So yeah, I guess I can’t help but offer up my blessing to those that enjoy it, and the game itself.  To an extent.

I’ll concede that the gameplay and the Nemesis system are (apparently) amazing, but there’s more to it than that.  The question that was on my mind for a while was “All right, so how’s the story?”  And the answer I’ve gotten, more or less, is “awful”.  You play as some guy whose wife and child get killed, and he strikes out with newfound ghost powers to exact his revenge on those that wronged him, leaving a trail of bodies in hizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…

RE: Splinter Cell: Blacklist

Well.  Here’s an interesting situation.

Some weeks back my brother picked up an old copy of Splinter Cell: Blacklist, presumably so he and our buddy could stumble through its co-op between beatdowns in PlayStation All-Stars or Smash Bros. Brawl.  It’s hard to say how far they’ve gotten in their little campaign, but what I’ve seen thus far has been something like watching two penguins on banana peels try to save America from terrorists -- hilariously inept to the point of becoming boringly commonplace at times, but a spectacle all the same.  I wouldn’t say I’d try the co-op for myself, but I’m glad those two had their fun with it.

It should go without saying, but my jam would be the single-player aspect.  And indeed, I was simultaneously interested in and worried by the prospect of trying Blacklist solo.  Its E3 showings turned me off for all the obvious reasons, but for the sake of trying to get out of my comfort zone and giving something with the Tom Clancy brand the benefit of the doubt, I decided it would be stupid of me to give it the cold shoulder just because it didn’t have the requisite full use of the color spectrum.  So I gave it a try.

And as I was playing it, a question suddenly popped into my head: who is this game for?

Season's Wii-tings: The Wonderful 101

Let me be upfront about The Wonderful 101, before I get too swept up in the words to come.

The Wonderful 101 is not -- I repeat -- is NOT the greatest game ever created.  It is not the be-all and end-all of video game potential.  It is not the automatic winner of Game of the Year, merely because it exists.

It is not a perfect game.  In fact, at times it can be surprisingly frustrating.  I don’t agree with its detractors -- and I know there are some out there -- but I respect their opinions.  I know what they’re talking about.

But with all that in mind, let me say, conclusively, from the start, that The Wonderful 101 is a good, good, good, good, DAMN GOOD GAME.  

So much so that I’m going to do something I don’t do very often.

*deep breath* The time has come.