[firenze]

So I'm insane, and I now have all three "next gen" consoles hooked to my TV. Wasn't going to get the Xbox but (1) just got a new job with a substantial pay raise and (2) fucking exclusive Swery game looks like I need it bad. There we have it.


PS4:
- Assassin's Creed 4: Actually the launch game I was most interested in playing, I'm enjoying it so far because I love the Caribbean setting. Yeah it's just a highly optimized PS3/360 gen game, but it does look very nice.

- Knack: Haven't played it quite enough yet, just a couple hours, but the posts here really make me want to go fire it up right now.

- Killzone: Very pretty, got it in the Amazon buy-2-get-1 deal because I was gonna buy AC4 and Knack anyway. Mostly watched my father-in-law play it last weekend, but seems like a solid game. I just wanna play the campaign and see the sights, have very little interest in online multiplayer FPS.

- Resogun: It's overrated. Fun, but in no way should it be getting so much "best game on either new console" hype. It's basically Defender + some bullet hellish sections + shiny particle effects.

- Contrast: I... really am digging this, creative game and you feel smart when you figure out how to manipulate the shadows to do platforming bits. Like the music.

Xbox One:
- Dead Rising 3: The launch game I was most interested to play on both new consoles, and in the 24+ hours I've owned the system I... have installed it and not yet fired it up at all. Saving it for the right time, like tomorrow.

- Forza 5: The one game I really just picked up on a whim and man, it's actually really fun. Way better than I expected. Limited in tracks and DLC hell for additional cars, but what's there is really solid stuff. Won MAJOR brownie points with me when I got to choose from a handful of starter cars and one was the Subaru BRZ that I've been infatuated with lately...

- Killer Instinct: Pretty damn fun and the engine feels nice, I'm pleasantly surprised. Very good tutorial. It does feel WAY incomplete, but the forthcoming addition of the remaining two "season 1" characters + story mode will help a lot. Those fucking bumpers/triggers have no home in a 6-button fighter, I need a stick mod pronto.

- Crimson Dragon: Unfortunately, it really does seem like it's average at best. Yes, I'm a big Panzer Dragoon and Space Harrier fan.


Wii U:
- Holy shit, Super Mario 3D World is fantastic. I'd say it's actually system-seller quality material, they NEED to get this thing in demo units everywhere so people can get their hands on it. Cat suit is wonderful, SMB2 US four characters with differing abilities is a welcome return, the new music is good stuff, and of course the level design is as good as expected for Nintendo doing a major new Mario game.

Biggest surprise? Game seems to have taken some of the best pages from... SONIC?? The feeling of being shot through the clear pipes at high speed, the speed/launch pads, the jumping through rings in a behind-the-back 3D level on swimming/jumping dinosaur-back, the bosses feel VERY Sonic (World 1 Bowser driving some mechanical bomb-throwing truck feels like a straight up homage to Dr. Eggbotnik). I was not expecting to feel the Sega part of my brain being engaged in a new Mario game, but it's done really well and feels oh so right.