Elvera Fried

This isn't as much a critique of Legend of Solgard as it is the mid-core genre. Living in a time where smartphones outnumber the people who grew up playing video games, mid-core titles look to tighten the gap between those who play games and those who consider themselves gamers. And while that effort is valiant on its own merits, it seems odd that the entire mid-core brand is designed around making simple games more complicated, or rather, complicated games more simple. In a world filled with different consoles and gaming devices all offering their own distinct experiences, mid-core titles, on average, tend to blur the lines between mobile and console gaming in a way that often seems ham-fisted, or at the very least, not well thought Combining characters across all of Blizzard’s properties made Storm of Heroes feel like the Smash Bros. of MMO games. It’s a clever move on their part and one that I felt drew fans of yesteryear back to the good fight. Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo and more combine heroes and villains to bring a full-on war between factions. The amazing promotional trailers made wanting to play Storm of Heroes even more enticing. Even if you’re terrible at MMO games, you can still enjoy the sights and sounds of nostalgia in a new world. While I never gave myself a decisive "no" to this rhetorical question, the concern still stands. While Legend of Solgard offers a comprehensive, joyful gaming experience, it also finds itself in the same identity crisis that other mid-core titles find themselves in. Despite being fun and easy to start, Legend of Solgard feels at times like it casts too wide a net. Casual players with less gaming experience will likely find the game's RPG elements and eventually tough turn-based skirmishes uninviting, while veteran gamers will likely find the game's mobile nature, complete with different currencies, aesthetically unsavory. While Legend of Solgard certainly has something to offer for everyone, the reverse is also tThe same goes for League of Legends, bringing it back into the discussion, and they have shown no sign of ever stopping this practice. They release a new champion every week, some of which cost money to play, and many of which are "worth," leaving the players who don't have the money behind. I was this close to trying out Orcs Must Die: Unchained before I found out that it uses the League-of-Legends-style system for hero purchasing. These games are no better than the cable company. In fact, they may be worse. Imagine if every week, Comcast started a new channel with new and amazing shows, but made you pay a new fee if you wanted to experience it. The resulting movie isn't quite Snyder's vision - which has prompted petitions for Warner Bros. to release a Snyder cut of Justice League - but isn't quite a Whedon film either. That lack of consistency means fans of Snyder's work, though they may be in the minority, were underwhelmed by the film, while those hoping Justice League would be a massive overhaul of the DC Films universe also didn't entirely get what they wanted either. The competing visions of Snyder and Whedon/Warner Bros. were felt by many who have seen Justice League, and lessen the experience of the movie - perhaps more for some than oth Legend of Solgard 's core gameplay loop starts off pretty simply. Each level begins with enemies coming out of a portal to attack Embla and her squadron of creatures. To win each altercation, players must attack their opponents' portal and reduce the portal's hit point count to zero. To launch these attacks, players must manipulate their own different factions by matching three creatures of similar color together vertically on their side of the battlefield. If no enemy or object obstructs the creature's attack, the player can directly attack the opponent's portal, reducing the opponent's hit points. Conversely, if an enemy is in the way of a creature's attack, that enemy will be weakened or destroyed rather than the opponent's por Perhaps most telling was when Barry and co. met Gideon, Eobard Thawne’s interactive future Siri. Possessing knowledge of the future, Gideon named Barry Allen/The Flash as the founding member of… something, before she was cut off. No prizes for guessing what that was supposed to be. We also know that Thawne messed with the timeline, causing Barry to become The Flash several years earlier than he would’ve been originally. This would explain how he could be operating as a fully-fledged and experienced superhero for years, before any news starts trickling in from Gotham about a bat-themed vigilante, or the world becomes enamored with a certain heroic Kryptonian. With the timeline we’ve been given by the TV show, this could all just be waiting to happen around the corAgain, Pokémon is my favorite series and without any title in 2015, I found Yo-Kai Watch to be an excellent substitute. Comparing the two is definitely easy but after playing Yo-Kai Watch and watching the cartoon, it’s worth noting Yo-Kai Watch can stand on its own. The mix of kooky characters is great and each one having its own personality makes the game a unique experience. Yo-Kai Watch is a wonderful RPG for those in search of something that’s just plain fun. I would consider this MOBA Game Patch Notes as my best 3DS title of the year.

This isn't as much a critique of Legend of Solgard as it is the mid-core genre. Living in a time where smartphones outnumber the people who grew up playing video games, mid-core titles look to tighten the gap between those who play games and those who consider themselves gamers. And while that effort is valiant on its own merits, it seems odd that the entire mid-core brand is designed around making simple games more complicated, or rather, complicated games more simple. In a world filled with different consoles and gaming devices all offering their own distinct experiences, mid-core titles, on average, tend to blur the lines between mobile and console gaming in a way that often seems ham-fisted, or at the very least, not well thought Combining characters across all of Blizzard’s properties made Storm of Heroes feel like the Smash Bros. of MMO games. It’s a clever move on their part and one that I felt drew fans of yesteryear back to the good fight. Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo and more combine heroes and villains to bring a full-on war between factions. The amazing promotional trailers made wanting to play Storm of Heroes even more enticing. Even if you’re terrible at MMO games, you can still enjoy the sights and sounds of nostalgia in a new world. While I never gave myself a decisive "no" to this rhetorical question, the concern still stands. While Legend of Solgard offers a comprehensive, joyful gaming experience, it also finds itself in the same identity crisis that other mid-core titles find themselves in. Despite being fun and easy to start, Legend of Solgard feels at times like it casts too wide a net. Casual players with less gaming experience will likely find the game's RPG elements and eventually tough turn-based skirmishes uninviting, while veteran gamers will likely find the game's mobile nature, complete with different currencies, aesthetically unsavory. While Legend of Solgard certainly has something to offer for everyone, the reverse is also tThe same goes for League of Legends, bringing it back into the discussion, and they have shown no sign of ever stopping this practice. They release a new champion every week, some of which cost money to play, and many of which are "worth," leaving the players who don't have the money behind. I was this close to trying out Orcs Must Die: Unchained before I found out that it uses the League-of-Legends-style system for hero purchasing. These games are no better than the cable company. In fact, they may be worse. Imagine if every week, Comcast started a new channel with new and amazing shows, but made you pay a new fee if you wanted to experience it. The resulting movie isn't quite Snyder's vision - which has prompted petitions for Warner Bros. to release a Snyder cut of Justice League - but isn't quite a Whedon film either. That lack of consistency means fans of Snyder's work, though they may be in the minority, were underwhelmed by the film, while those hoping Justice League would be a massive overhaul of the DC Films universe also didn't entirely get what they wanted either. The competing visions of Snyder and Whedon/Warner Bros. were felt by many who have seen Justice League, and lessen the experience of the movie - perhaps more for some than oth Legend of Solgard 's core gameplay loop starts off pretty simply. Each level begins with enemies coming out of a portal to attack Embla and her squadron of creatures. To win each altercation, players must attack their opponents' portal and reduce the portal's hit point count to zero. To launch these attacks, players must manipulate their own different factions by matching three creatures of similar color together vertically on their side of the battlefield. If no enemy or object obstructs the creature's attack, the player can directly attack the opponent's portal, reducing the opponent's hit points. Conversely, if an enemy is in the way of a creature's attack, that enemy will be weakened or destroyed rather than the opponent's por Perhaps most telling was when Barry and co. met Gideon, Eobard Thawne’s interactive future Siri. Possessing knowledge of the future, Gideon named Barry Allen/The Flash as the founding member of… something, before she was cut off. No prizes for guessing what that was supposed to be. We also know that Thawne messed with the timeline, causing Barry to become The Flash several years earlier than he would’ve been originally. This would explain how he could be operating as a fully-fledged and experienced superhero for years, before any news starts trickling in from Gotham about a bat-themed vigilante, or the world becomes enamored with a certain heroic Kryptonian. With the timeline we’ve been given by the TV show, this could all just be waiting to happen around the corAgain, Pokémon is my favorite series and without any title in 2015, I found Yo-Kai Watch to be an excellent substitute. Comparing the two is definitely easy but after playing Yo-Kai Watch and watching the cartoon, it’s worth noting Yo-Kai Watch can stand on its own. The mix of kooky characters is great and each one having its own personality makes the game a unique experience. Yo-Kai Watch is a wonderful RPG for those in search of something that’s just plain fun. I would consider this MOBA Game Patch Notes as my best 3DS title of the year.