First Quarter Over

Alright, so here's a new segment here at the blog; I'm going to be wrapping up my interests in quarters now! My favorite part about this blog is typing up the year end posts. I love going through my year and remembering all the highs and lows. I'm hope to get that feeling by doing it quarterly now. I'll still do the year end posts though! First up, video games!

DISCLAIMER: Big games I didn't play that released in the first quarter of 2015; Dying Light, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, The Order, Evolve, and Dragon Ball.

Personally, the first quarter set me up for the rest of the year. I started the year by finishing Danganronpa 2. I literally beat it on the first day of the year. It was such an amazing experience. I moved onto what would end up being the last game I completed for my PS3, Kingdom Hearts 2.5. I only completed KH2 though. The game was so much better than I remembered it being and all the added features were lovely. The ability to face EVERY member of Organization XIII anytime I wanted was a nice end treat. That was my biggest problem with the game as a kid. The battles though, are NOT easy. I spent hours mastering movements and blocks. It took everything I had but I ended up beating all 13. Marluxia was my favorite fight while Vexen or Xemnas II were the most difficult. The Anti-Sora was so cheap and would come at the absolute WORST time while Xemnas was just a pain to fight and if you lost to him, you would have to face his easier first form all over. A very tedious process. I did it though and it was the crowning achievement of my time in Kingdom Hearts 2.

I finally upgraded my 3DS. I've had the original 3DS since April 2013 and once they announced the New 3DS and that Xenoblade was only playable on it, I decided to get one. I got it a week after it came out and I couldn't be happier with it. I love the HUGE screen and I seriously can't wait until I get to play Xenoblade again. I'm going to finish it this time definitely. I also traded in my PS3 this past Monday for the PS4. GameStop had a trade offer for $175 toward the purchase of a PS4 and I couldn't pass that up. I'm not going to be able to play Tales of Zestiria now but at least Persona 5 is going to be on both! Now, if you know me, you'll know there's only one reason why I got the system, for now at least. BLOODBORNE. I didn't even see any gameplay videos for it, I just knew I NEEDED TO PLAY IT. So, I had to trade the old system in. I haven't really gotten deep into it yet. I got to the first lamp in the first area before crashing last night. And by crashing, I meant from sleep because I had to work Monday morning after Wrestlemania. I also have Last of Us, Killzone and Infamous. I'm really looking forward to playing those. I might even get Final Fantasy XV on the system, time will tell. I like the PS4 from the 2 hours I've spent with it but I'll give more of my experience with it during the later months.

Video games usually don't have many big releases during January to March. As gamers know, the blockbuster releases are reserved for the holiday months for all the sales they generate. There were definitely some big releases though in February, like The Order for PS4, Evolve and Dragon Ball. I didn't happen to play any of those yet but I have played some great gems.

Life is Strange is easily the stand out title in the first three months of the year. It's an adventure game in the same style of Heavy Rain and any Telltale game. You play as Max who's attending high school and finds out she somehow has the ability to reverse time. You, as the player, can use that ability to find out details you wouldn't possibly know by living them out. It also comes in handy when there are decisions to be made. Do you want to do things this way or this way? The choice is up to you. LIS is being released in episodic fashion with a supposed 6 weeks between releases. The first quarter saw two releases and hopefully the 2nd quarter will get the same love. I'm a huge fan of these types of games and I can't wait to continue Max's story in the 2nd quarter. After the way the 2nd episode ended, I'm hooked and want to dive further into the world. I'm never going to play a episodic game until all the episodes are released. The wait is too much for me.

Ori and the Blind Forest was released in March and I was hooked as soon as I gained control. With my favorite game being Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and my love for all games like it, it's no wonder why I fell in love with the game. The settings are all beautiful and unique while the gameplay is familiar but still fun. It was a little difficult at times but a welcome challenge. I do have some complaints though. It's more platforming than action, which is totally fine but I just wish there was more than just the fireballs you get. There is no quick travel option available at all in the game. Again, it's not the worse thing as going through each environment is great and with different abilities, you find new secrets each time you go to a different place. There are no bosses in the game, which is disappointing. Bosses are replaced with three intense auto scrolling sections which are the toughest parts of the game. If you die, you have to start from the beginning of the section and that can become old VERY fast. My biggest gripe with the game is that after you finish it, THE FILE IS LOCKED FOR GOOD. Didn't get all the Orbs you wanted to get? Too bad, file is locked! It's a little depressing that you can't explore the world more after you beat it. I understand that the whole world changes after the ending but a save before the last part would have been nice. Overall though, OATBF is a fantastic addition to the Xbox One catalog. While it's very short and pretty pricey (5 hours for $20) it's still worth your time if you love these types of games.

Hotline Miami was the first game I took advantage of when I signed up for Playstation Plus. I loved it. The violence, the difficulty, the fun. When they announced a sequel, I was equally excited but I couldn't wait until it was made for free so I bought it a week or so after it came out. It's more of the same murder and violence but it does have a more fleshed out story and there are plenty of multiple characters that all have different abilities. For examples, when you play as the copycat murderers, you have one guy who has deadly punches, one who can flip over bullets and a brother and sister combo that controls both a melee weapon and ranged weapon. It's a pretty unique setup. The only thing is I got lost with all the jumping around the story does. One minute you're in 1991 then the next you're in 1986. While the story is good and very deep, it's very wasy to get lost in the shuffle. Hotline Miami 2 is a more fleshed out game than the original. It's longer, more difficult and more ambitious. While many reviewers found the new larger levels cheap and very difficult. I always felt amazing once I figured out where every enemy was placed and moved onto to the next area. While I think the SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS Hotline Miami 3 screen at the end was a nice touch, it's not fair to tease a game that's never going to be released. The series was amazing and if they did decide for make another, I'd be joyous but I'm just going to enjoy what I got out of the series.

So, what's to come in the 2nd quarter of gaming? Well, April 10th sees the release of Xenoblade on the New 3DS AKA the sole reason why I bought the system. I'm very excited to experience the game again and to ACTUALLY beat it this time. I have to. Mortal Kombat X released the following Tuesday. I loved the last entry in the series so I'll definitely be playing down the line. Titan Souls looks like an interesting experience and with my new PS4, I'm definitely going to give it a go. Mighty No. 9 is suppose to release in April. I'm a huge Megaman fan and I recently played through the amazing Azure Striker Gunvolt so I'm all ready for an experience like this. The Witcher 3 releases in May and it will probably end up being the biggest game this year. They recently announced that it could take up to 200 HOURS to do everything in the game. That's way too long. I loved the gameplay from Witcher 2 but I just didn't give it enough time. With no real RPG love on the next gen consoles just yet, I'll probably pick this one up when I can. Batman will finally release in June. The ending of the Arkham trilogy by Rocksteady, it's set to be a much darker tale. It has a M rating! That doesn't mean the game will be better or even fully use the M rating but I'm excited to see WHY it got that.

That pretty much sums up the major releases. Obviously, the big releases are Batman and The Witcher 3. Nothing for Nintendo's Wii U huh? With Zelda being pushed back, they need a solid release this holiday season to tie fans over. There's a Nintendo Direct coming up so hopefully, we get some titles announced. XENOBLADE CHRONICLES X RELEASE PLEASE! Hopefully, September. It's already a jam packed month with Metal Gear and Mad Max so...

Overall, the first quarter was basically a lead in to the rest of the year. Life is Strange is basically going to take the whole year to complete because of the episode order while I'm sure Bloodborne will become my favorite game from this quarter once I really dig deep into it. The 2nd quarter will also bring us E3, which will definitely shed some light on some releases. Crackdown hopefully and Quantum Break?

Wrestling time!

The first quarter of wrestling this year featured Wrestlemania, which doesn't happen too often as the event is usually in April. This quarter featured some key things.

-Roman Reigns was made the man to succeed the throne but was quickly kicked off said throne before even taking a seat on it. The crowd reaction for his Royal Rumble win was terrible and when they could have made things right with Bryan, they had Reigns beat him too. Reigns went to Wrestlemania, had a great main event with Lesnar and didn't capture the title like he was slated to since last year. Crushing loss for Reigns. He went from Mania main event to probably some match featuring Kane and/or Big Show at Extreme Rules.

-Lesnar resigned with WWE for three more years, which opens up a lot more matches for him down the road. If he stays heel, a clash with Randy Orton should definitely happen at a SummerSlam, maybe even this year. The two youngest World Champions facing off at the event where they both won their first World Titles. It writes itself people. Lesnar/Sheamus would be interesting if Lesnar turn face. I've wanted to see this match since Lesnar first came back and it might be possible now. There are plenty of other matches for Lesnar but these two intrigue me the most.

-Going into the 2nd quarter, it looks like the WWE are trying to elevate their midcard titles. At Wrestlemania, Daniel Bryan and John Cena captured the IC and US titles respectively. Putting the titles on the two tops stars is a step in the right direction. Bryan will definitely become the work horse and will put on the great matches that the IC Title has been known for. Cena will hold the US Title for a while I bet and all the wins he gets will put more and more on the guy who eventually dethrones him. It will also put more eyes and care on the mid card title matches. This was a smart move and I'm looking forward to the divisions going forward.

-NXT continues to evolve. They started performing shows outside of Florida, having a huge event in Ohio and even during Wrestlemania weekend in San Jose. Itami did the GTS!!! It's certainly a growing brand. Triple H pointed out that all but one match at WM featured a NXT alumni. That should speak volumes to what NXT can do for a newcomers career. The Lucha Dragons and Adrian Neville were called up to the main roster following Mania so while NXT lost those great stars, there are plenty of guys left who can fill in those shoes. Congrats to Neville. I'm really pushing for him and I hope a Neville/Bryan or Ziggler feud is in the works for the IC Title. It needs to happen.

-Nikki Bella is the longest reigning champion in WWE right now. EVERY title has changed hands this year, including the NXT titles. Just let that sink in.

-A heel Sheamus is a push in the right direction. Say what you will but when Reigns wins the championship, I would love to see Sheamus/Reigns. It would be a nice hard hitting match with fast counters. Spear into Brogue Kick, Brogue Kick into Spear. Make it happen WWE.

-For the first time in the 10 year history of MITB, there was a cash in at Wrestlemania and it was a successful one at that!

-Daniel Bryan achieved the Triple Crown honors when he won the IC Title at Mania. He's also won EVERY male title in WWE, excluding the NXT titles. Also, Bryan has competed at 5 different Wrestlemanias with 5 different titles on the line. 27 he fought for the US Title, 28 the World Title, 29 the Tag Team Titles, 30 the WWE Title, and 31 the IC Title.

So, going into the 2nd quarter, we have 3 events. Extreme Rules usually has good to great matches on the card. Payback will certainly be hit or miss. The event I'll have my eyes on most is Money in the Bank. We've seen what the MITB briefcase can do for a career. My favorite is definitely Bray Wyatt this year. He's the guy who definitely needs it the most since he's sure to wonder aimlessly after his defeat to The Undertaker. Seriously, why is Wyatt going to do for the rest of the year? Almost every main star is busy. I'm starting to lose faith that they'll ever be serious enough to consistently push him. WHAT IS WYATT GOING TO DO NOW? Seriously guys. Anyway, can't wait until Money in the Bank. Hopefully Neville will be in the match for spots but Wyatt needs to win. No one else!

So, that's the first quarter! See you again soon!