Blowing Off Steam: Why Are Wii Just Friends?

Hey Ya'll. I was invited to contribute to this little slice of the interweb. So I will do my best not to disappoint. After reading this, don't think of it as a bitch session. Think of this as an editorial.

Nintendo and I have a love/hate relationship. It seems many great things they do are often clouded by simple flaws. They give us Virtual Console but no hard drive. They give us great first party games but limited third party support.

What's been specifically on my mind lately that I'd live to talk about is Wii Friend Codes. As a concept, it works. But this is the age of Xbox Live. Nintendo WiFi Connection is like the younger annoying brother of the very dysfunctional console family who always bugs his older siblings by whining "Can I play too?!?"

The reason friend codes just do not work is that there is one for every game. On top of that, the system itself gets it's own code as well. OK Nintendo. You tell me I can live without having a "gamertag" or an online ID. But why can't I add someone's system code to a friends list and that's it? If he plays Mario Strikers, there he is. If he plays Battalion Wars, there he is. No muss. No fuss. Instead, Nintendo forces me to find out someone's friend code and type it in for each game. We live in a lazy world. I shouldn't need a rolodex with 12 digit numbers to play a game with someone!

It seems that Nintendo has been watching too much "To Catch a Predator" lately. It wasn't too bad until I heard about how online matches in Super Smash Bros. will work. Totally anonymous fighting? Haven't they heard of online rivals? Social gaming is huge and Nintendo is putting us all in the shadows. I can't even chat with someone I've added as a friend! They may call it "parental controls". But, it shouldn't be Nintendo's responsibility to control children’s actions online. I believe it's all on the parents. If you’re a responsible parent, you'll have a responsible kid.

It's all a matter of trust. They've been in this business a long time. I believe, in the end, they know what they're doing. Sometimes going against the grain works. But no matter what Nintendo does or what directions they go in, I will be right there behind them along with my fellow fanboys. Oh, Nintendo, we'd follow you off a cliff!

-mwb-

Think you i would forget such a thing?

So I know i said I'd type a little review on Devil May Cry 4 for the Xbox 360.But I've been busy playing 360 .

........

Yeah,I know.

Now with that out of the way.Devil May Cry 4 (ps3,360) is the sequel to the 2004 Devil May Cry 3,and along with introducing a new playable character in the form of Nero,it takes the ideas and mechanics of DMC3 and makes it more CUHRAZY.The story is as follows,Nero lives peacefully in a community that worships Sparda(Dante's father).Things are going relatively well until Dante shows up blasts the head priest in the face and THE PARTY GETS A LITTLE CRAZY.Then demons attack and Nero's once peaceful life is under fire.

Nero has some interesting play mechanics that are new to the Devil May Cry series,most notably the Devil Bringer,Exceed meter,and Buster.The Devil Bringer gives you the ability to grab demons and drag them to your proximity(or launch yourself towards them for larger foes)making combo strings easier to maintain.The Exceed Meter gives a power boost for whenever it has a charge or stock on it,making basic attacks even stronger or giving special attacks new properties.Lastly,the Buster is a move that lets you grab and slam demons with impunity and in some cases gives you a powerful and cinematic attack for boss battles.

Dante's arsenal of moves hasn't really expanded much since DMC 3 but you get access to all the styles on the fly as opposed to switching at select points.This makes for a more open fighting style that can change depending on the situation.Got a large group of mobile enemies to deal with?Switch to Trickster to move quickly through the crowd then flip to Swordmaster to start your combo attack,shifting to Royal Guard whenever you are about to be attacked, and cleaning up with Gunslinger when you get some distance.The Devil Arms are especially insane this time around and have to be seen to be believed.

Even with Nero and the new skills at your disposal Devil May Cry 4 maintains the hardcore difficulty it has throughout the series and is a definite must have for your 360/ps3 library.

~ag