video game culture

Covering Part 2 of the Street Fighter V Beta

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I missed most of the Street Fighter V beta the first time around. After an epic fail of a launch, Capcom conveniently rescheduled the beta to fall on a weekend where I would be out of the province. Played as much as I could on the first and last days of the beta, but it certainly wasn’t ideal.

Hoping that I would be fully available for the second go-around, it clearly wasn’t meant to be. Capcom scheduled their four-day beta during a time when I would be away with Steff for a marriage retreat for three of those days. Also, during one of the periods where I could actually play, the power was scheduled to be shut off in my building. Once again, I made the most with the little time I had.

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Fan Expo Canada 2015 Recap

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Fan Expo 2015Steff and I were just two of the over 127,000 people converged at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre this year for Fan Expo Canada 2015. This year was our fifth consecutive year going and it was a good show. Definitely not my favourite Fan Expo, but one that was certainly worthwhile that kept me entertained throughout. Lots of stories and pictures to share with you, so let’s just get into it!

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Gaming in Montreal

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Not too long ago, Steff and I packed our bags and boarded a train to Montreal for a weekend getaway. Though I was sad that our trip was scheduled at the same time as the Street Fighter V beta, I was excited to experience a part of Canada that I haven’t been to since I was a toddler. While we certainly had a wonderful time exploring the city, there was a surprising amount of gaming to be had that weekend.

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Light at the End of the Amiibo Tunnel?

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One of the first things I do when I wake up in the morning is to browse the internet on my phone while still lying in bed. On this particular morning, while scrolling down my Facebook news feed, I saw a post from five minutes ago that showed Marth in stock at Walmart. Without hesitation, I ran to my computer and purchased both him and Wii Fit Trainer. After months of scouring the internet for pro tips and refreshing online stores for figures, I scored two thirds of the original holy trinity at retail price before brushing my teeth.

Is this a sign of Amiibo supply finally meeting demand? To quote an expression I use at work all the time, “LOL! No.”

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My 5 Favourite Rock Band Songs to Play

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Being a great song doesn’t automatically make it a great Rock Band song. To be a great song for the game, it has to be fun to play for everyone in the band. For example, I love “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys, but that’s song is mostly a repetitive drone of notes for the guitar and bass players, while rapping isn’t nearly as fulfilling as singing in the Rock Band engine. The soundtrack for Beatles: Rock Band is comprised of some of the greatest songs of all-time, but most of that stuff is easy to the point of being almost boring to play. Conversely, songs that really push the limits of each player may not be inherently great songs that you’d want to listen to.

Inspired by the upcoming release of Rock Band 4, I decided to create a list of songs that are some of my favourites to play. This list is highly subjective, as it’s based on my personal preferences and the difficulty I play on (for reference, I play everything on expert). Narrowing it down to 5 was really difficult, so I’m sure I left out a few gems. However, it also makes for a great conversation starter, as I’m sure that you’re favourite songs to play and your rationale behind that choice will differ. Without further ado, in no particular order, here are my 10 favourite songs to play in Rock Band!

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Niagara Falls Comic Con 2015 Recap

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Niagara Falls Comic ConTaking place just north of the border was Niagara Falls Comic Con. While Steff and I are no strangers to the Falls, it was our first time heading down there for the convention. Arriving just before opening on Saturday, thousands were lined up around the building, anxious to get in. Though we in Toronto are spoiled with a number of conventions of our own, I was really glad to have gone out of town for this one.

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Amiibo Story: Peach

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Peach Amiibo“Thank you Mario! But our princess is in another castle!”

I have to admit, I never did save the princess in her NES debut. Not for a lack of effort, though, as my attempts at beating the original Super Mario Bros. have come up short. Even as recently as last year, I couldn’t get any farther than world 8-3. She may forever be trapped in that castle, though we’ve certainly shared some great gaming moments together.

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Amiibo Story: Yoshi

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Yoshi AmiiboSuper Mario World has a deceptively amazing soundtrack. I don’t know if you ever noticed this, but that game basically has one song that’s repeatedly re-imagined throughout. By changing the tempo, instrumentation and bits of the melody here and there, Koji Kondo created a varied, yet wonderfully cohesive soundscape for my all-time favourite Super Mario game. I didn’t pick up on this until many years later, though there’s one audio cue that caught my ear immediately. Whenever Yoshi was on screen, he was accompanied by a sweet bongo arrangement. Those bongos in my mind became synonymous with the awesome that Yoshi brought to the table.

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Amiibo Story: Ike

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Ike AmiiboIn the eyes of most, Ike is probably just another sword dude like Marth in Smash Bros. or one of the Amiibo figures that are seemingly impossible to find. To me, Ike is so much more than that. He’s a star character from Fire Emblem; a series that is one of my all-time faves. He also happens to be the star of my favourite game in the series.

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Amiibo Story: Mega Man

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Mega Man AmiiboI vividly remember the first time I ever played a Mega Man game. It was the summer of 1990 and a family friend that was a year older than me had come over to my house with his new copy of Mega Man 2. Having never heard of the franchise up until then, I had no idea what to expect when I booted it up. Within seconds, the music in my ears was all I needed to hear to know that I was in for something special.

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