Round One: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword VS. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
The latest console Zelda games, both available on Wii, which legend is truly legendary?
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
The Legend of Zelda series has been certainly by-the-numbers for awhile now. That was until Skyward Sword which introduced a new structure and motion controls. No longer were you mindlessly waggling the Wii remote to attack. You need finesse and precision. With Wii MotionPlus, your swing direction determined victory and defeat. New items like the Beetle which could fly, carry bombs, and collect items and hit switches from faraway, the Whip which turned Link into Indiana Jones, and the Gust Bellows that blows dust and sand from dirty floors. Skyward Sword also contained the best boss battles in series history. All of this crafted together to be SuperPhillip Central's Game of 2011.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
After the colorful quest of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Zelda returned to a more realistic setting and art style. The game was much darker than Toon Link's journey, and unlike Skyward Sword, the overworld was quite interesting to explore, especially on the back of Epona, Link's trusty steed. While waggle was what sword swings required, aiming with the bow and hookshot was much easier with the Wii remote than with the GameCube controller's analog stick. Twilight Princess also contained more dungeons than Skyward Sword, and the majority of them were true winners. That said, not even Wolf Link and companion Midna could make Twilight Princess better than Skyward Sword.
Winner: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Round Two: Xbox 360 VS. PlayStation 3
This generation continues to truck on. Which of the HD consoles' is the definition of the best?
Xbox 360
Now, those who have been with me for a long time know my opinion on the Xbox 360. The hardware was so shoddy that Microsoft paid over a billion dollars in repair costs for the Red Ring of Death. This made me not purchase another one after my original died a few months out of warranty. The exclusives are fine if you like guns and racing, and Kinect is garbage and is a bigger catalyst to gaming than the Wii (at least that had many worthwhile games). That said, third party games run the best on the Xbox 360, and Microsoft will pay big bucks to let people know that. Nearly every third party game commercial has the Xbox 360 logo at the end exclusively.
PlayStation 3
My launch PlayStation 3 is somehow still running, but I know that it is a ticking time bomb. Apparently having a console that lasts is a fad. That notwithstanding, Sony's exclusives like Uncharted, God of War, LittleBigPlanet, Gran Turismo, inFAMOUS, ModNation Racers, Resistance, Killzone, and Ratchet & Clank far outshine Halo, Forza, and Gears of War. Not only are the exclusives more varied in different genres, but they are more enjoyable for me to play. All this comes at a price, however, as third party games (as said in the 360 portion of this battle) generally run worse on the PlayStation 3. An extreme example is the highly overrated Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. However, I feel that exclusives are the real reason to buy a console.
Winner: PlayStation 3
Round Three: GameFAQs VS. NeoGAF
Two popular internet message boards that are eerily similar to one another. Which is better?
GameFAQs
This site allows people to make multiple accounts as long as they have different e-mails, so this means that users constantly make alternate accounts just to troll. It is definitely quantity over quality on this awful site. And then you have joke accounts that always fail to be funny, mods who don't have real power in the real world so they take out their frustrations on the 13 year-old user base of the site, and too many message boards to count. How can NeoGAF possibly be worse?
NeoGAF
This site always makes fun of its competitor, but like it or not, NeoGAF, you are incredibly alike to GameFAQs. You both have the same amount of fanboys, trolls, and marketing shills. The only differences between GameFAQs and NeoGAF is that GameFAQs doesn't pretend its crap smells the cleanest, nor does it have a staff-sanctioned troll that is run by the mods. Nor does it have threads like this (seriously, how embarrassing. It makes me mad to be a gamer. I do NOT want to be associated with these people.) that make GameFAQs look like professionals. Admit it, you mouth-breathing trolls at NeoGAF are just as horrible as GameFAQs, maybe even more so at times as the constant baiting, trolling, and fanboyism of that thread proves.
Winner: Neither. They both suck.
Round Four: Dance Central VS. Just Dance
Two dance titles that are quite popular for the respective systems they are on. Which boogies the best?
Dance Central
Dance Central puts your whole body into the game as you perform various dance maneuvers to score mad points. Developed by Harmonix, the fine folks behind the Rock Band franchise, Dance Central features real-life choreography moves and fun mulitplayer modes for the entire family.
Just Dance
The more popular of the two (selling the best on Wii, then Kinect, then PS3) dance games, Just Dance even on Kinect only picks up arm movement and not the better part of your body. Even with its multiple sequels and spinoffs with decent soundtracks, Dance Central edges Ubisoft's wildly successful party game out.
Winner: Dance Central
Round Five: Vita will succeed VS. Vita will fail
The future of Sony's PlayStation Vita is unknown. Will it float or will it sink? I determine that right now.
Vita will succeed
The launch of the Vita was one of the best in recent memory, maybe history. It had titles like a mainline Hot Shots Golf/Everybody's Golf game, a new Uncharted, Wipeout, Katamari, ModNation Racers, and a new IP like Escape Plan. The tech is supremely impressive, offering gorgeous near-PS3 quality visuals, touch support on the front screen and back, and wonderful online functions. The tech is there, and it outclasses Nintendo's 3DS exceptionally. The question is: can Sony get more publishers and developers on board with Vita?
Vita will fail
Vita sales in Japan are near 10,000 on a weekly basis. The 3DS at worst was at least near 20,000 on a weekly basis. There are no system sellers forthcoming for the Vita either. Nintendo has taken Monster Hunter from Sony by making a capable system that can run the necessary graphical requirements the series needs (the DS's 3D was too weak for Monster Hunter). It says something when the only interesting titles coming to Japan for fans are ports of Final Fantasy X and a remake of a Persona game. The software situation is dire in Japan, and the desire for the system in the west is even worse. Western third parties still treat handhelds like they are "above" them. Most portables are sold to children and not the young adult market Sony is aiming for with the Vita. And with iOS being an opponent to the Vita, the system has a tough road ahead of it.
Winner: Like I'm really going to answer that this soon.
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Man, does the new Blogger blow hard! It is next to impossible to format screens and photos. So incredibly stupid. Thanks for screwing up something that didn't need fixing. Anyway, that ends this installment of the SPC Showdown. Until later... see ya'!
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