It's been speculated since 2016 but we got the official announcement this past Monday on Raw; On January 28th, 2018, in PHILADELPHIA, the women will compete in the first ever all women's Royal Rumble match. Hurray! I'm all for women's wrestling so this is big for not only the fans but the women involved in the match up and the division. Word is is that the women were kept in the dark regarding the announcement so when Stephanie McMahon said it on Raw, the women's reactions were all genuine. We had heels Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax smiling from ear to ear and hugging like they're clean cut babyfaces. You had Absolution raising their hands with Alicia Fox, who they attacked a week prior. It didn't make sense kayfabe wise but it was still a great time for the women's wrestlers. I mean, we all know everything is staged anyway so who cares if you have heels standing with faces, celebrating a historic moment. Wrestling fans can be so jaded sometimes.
Anyway, the exact number of competitors is unknown. Being that it's now two Rumble matches, one could speculate it will just feature 20 women and that would make sense as there's just about 20 women, excluding champions, on both brands, but that doesn't leave room for surprises and if it does, that means someone from the current roster of women might be excluded and that's not fair. Although women like Dana Brooke or Lana might not get a lot of in ring time, they should still be apart of the match, being that they are women and apart of the active roster. I say let's do 30. To fill in the gaps, you can use women from NXT obviously and bring in surprise entrants. We know, as of now, Naomi from Smackdown and the entire Raw women's roster excluding Maryse, who's pregnant, and Alexa Bliss, who's the champion, will be competing.That includes Sasha Banks, Bayley, Mickie James, Dana Brooke, Alicia Fox, Nia Jax, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Paige and Asuka. I fully expect the remaining women from Smackdown (Natalya, Carmella, Lana, Tamina, Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, Liv Morgan and Becky Lynch) to be apart of it. That's 19. Nikki Bella will most likely make her return, edging it out to 20. That leaves 10 spots. That's a lot but if they do 5NXT and alumni, then they'll be OK.
If I'm picking women from NXT, you have to use names on TV. NXT Women's Champion Ember Moon has to be in the match if it's for a shot at either the Raw or Smackdown's Women's Title. Mae Young Classic winner Kairi Sane and the runner up Shayna Baszler, should be considered for the match. Nikki Cross is another one. The Iconic Duo of Peyton Royce and Billie Kay should be at the top of the list, considering their run in NXT looks to be coming to an end.
As for surprise entrants, Trish Stratus is at the top of my list. Rumors have it that Trish was originally going to be the one who faced Asuka at NXT Takeover Toronto but she ended up getting pregnant so that was off. Trish isn't mentioned that much during the whole women's revolution thing and she wasn't present during the Mae Young Classic, despite being a focal point of the division in the late 90s and early 2000s. She's good to go now and I think if she came out at #2, the crowd would blow the roof off the Wells Fargo Center. I know I would lose my composure. Trish teased an appearance on Twitter right after the announcement was made. Could this just be wishful thinking on her part or have WWE contacted her? You have to believe WWE isn't stupid and know the demand to see her compete would definitely add even more intrigue to the match. Lita, Trish's biggest rival and counterpart through their entire careers, (they even retired from WWE within the same two month period) is a big name that people would want. Lita has been more active with WWE over the last few years, being apart of some of the big moments for the division, like introducing the new Women's Title at Wrestlemania 32 and commentating the Mae Young Classic with Jim Ross. Could you imagine if Trish came out, not at #2 like I previously said, dominated for a bit then the next entrant that came out was Lita? How awesome would that be to reignite the best women's feud, even for just two minutes? After that, they could get eliminated by Nia Jax or Absolution or The Riott Squad, getting some major heat.
Recent WWE Hall of Famer, Beth Phoenix has to be another big name for the match. The Glamazon was one of the biggest stars in a post Trish/Lita era, where women's wrestling was really struggling, especially in a PG era. Her HOF induction has to help push her close for a spot in the match. And it would definitely be nice to see Phoenix mix it up with former ally Natayla and best rival Mickie James. James/Phoenix is one of my top women feuds so that's another good one they could ignite during the match. Other names include Kaitlyn, who WWE has been fond of making a comeback, Victoria, another great women's champion in WWE and of course, Stephanie McMahon. If Triple H has taught me anything, the boss could compete too. I'm sure it would piss many fans off if she made it to the final four, three, two or, Lord forbid, the winner, but the inclusion of the most powerful female authority in the company in the first ever all women's Royal Rumble, come on, it writes itself.
The biggest rumored surprise entrant is definitely Ronda Rousey. The Four Horsewomen of WWE VS The Four Horsewomen of MMA has LONG been discussed and talks especially heated up this past summer, when MMA Horsewoman Shayna Baszler competed in the Mae Young Classic. After some heelish actions from Baszler, she had a staredown with Charlotte, Bayley and Becky Lynch. It was INTENSE. They also did a backstage (well, outside) interview with Rousey, who was with Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir, who is Roderick Strong's girlfriend. It led to another staredown, teasing a future showdown. Rousey being in it could potentially lead to the match for Wrestlemania or even Rousey against one of the girls in a single match. Rousey can be an entrant, but shouldn't win the match. If I'm picking winners, it comes down to Paige or Asuka. I think that's the smart match to have at Mania this year if they're not going to do Sasha/Bayley. If Rousey does win, then Charlotte/Rousey is the biggest match they could do. And they could still do Sasha/Bayley, just have to put the right pieces in place.
Regardless, the Royal Rumble just got a lot more interesting with a 2nd match added. Will it be overkill? I don't think so. The Royal Rumble is my favorite match type. The mystery, the stakes, the set up for Wrestlemania matches. It's got it all. I just hope WWE give the match 30 entrants like it deserves. Anything less is ridiculous. Can't wait!
Friday, December 22, 2017
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Top 10 Games of 2017
2017 is just about in the books and it's been a hell of a year for video games. For the first time since I've been gaming, it seems like every month this year was filled with a major game I wanted to play. Usually they are spread out but 2017 didn't get the memo. The after holidays drag? Gone. The summer drought? Also gone! The holiday shopping season, as usual, was filled with quality releases but one month in particular was so wallet crushing, it forced me to buy 6 games in the month. That's a first. Hopefully a last too....anyway, 2017 was a fantastic gaming year, filled with amazing adventures, shocking twists and more sequels that I can count on with two hands. These 10 games are my favorite of the bunch. Now, I only included games that I completed so games that should be on this list, like Nier Automata or Nioh, aren't because I'm a horrible gamer and tend to stockpile games and forget a few releases. Some games that I have completed didn't make like the list, like Agents of Mayhem or Danganronpa V3. Great games, just not better than my favorite 10. Let's do it!
A Spoiler Alert is NOW in effect for all games on the list.
10. Sundered
DISCLAIMER: Some of this is pulled right from my post on Sundered back in October so I can spend time on the other games.
Metroidvania is one of my favorite subgenres of games out there. Collecting new powers, exploring a massive map and finding secrets are some of the highlights I love. I mean, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is my favorite game of all time and that was it done to perfection. Sundered has the same elements as that game but done in its own way with a great art style and a choose your own upgrades system.
Sundered was created by ThunderLotus games, who created the great Jotun, which I've played but didn't complete. It features that same hand drawn art style but instead of inspiration from the Vikings era, it takes cues from H.P. Lovecraft and his works so it's a very dark fantasy like world filled with horrifying creatures.
As a Metroidvania game, there is a lot of running, platforming and going to areas you don't have abilities for yet. Eshe, the main character, starts off with nothing, as she's pulled into these ruins by an unknown force. Over the course of the game, Eshe will gain a protective shield, the ability to double jump, gain a massive cannon for crowd control, be able to charge her attacks, gain a midair dodge, run up walls and use grappling hooks. Eshe has the ability to corrupt her abilities by gaining these things called the Elder Shards. Depending on your actions, you can either corrupt your abilities or destroy the Shards. I went full on embrace for my first playthrough and the powers you get are pretty amazing. If you corrupt your abilities, your shield will damage your enemies when you get attacked, you can glide after your second jump, the cannon turn into a laser beam, the charged attacks become much stronger, the midair dodge becomes a midair teleportation ability, you can climb on all walls instead of just running up from the base and the grappling hooks will now allow for an extra boost after locking onto it. The corrupted abilities are game changers, especially crawling on all walls and the glide ability, especially in the last area, which is mostly floating islands.
The boss battles are intense, screen filling affairs and are one of the major highlights. The game's camera pans out, so you can see the huge monsters and Eshe looks like an ant in comparison. While they are amazing, there is only a few of them in the game, so relish them while they last. They aren't entirely too difficult either, with the exception of the two bosses in one fight one. Focusing on attacking one and trying to evade two different attack patterns can be pretty challenging. The last boss is a challenge as well, at least on my route. There are three different end bosses depending on if you embraced the Elder Shards, destroyed them or did a combination of the two. Humanity, the last boss for the Embrace path is intense and I was only able to defeat it thanks to a glitch.
Sundered is an amazing title for the hardcore Metroidvania/rouge-like gaming crowd. The difficultly spikes in certain regions, especially while exploring, but overcoming all the obstacles makes for a satisfying experience. If you enjoy Castlevania but love the challenge of games like Binding of Isaac and Enter The Gungeon, play this one.
9. Hellblade
Hellblade, in gameplay, is a very straightforward game. If you played any hack n slash game in the last ten years, you'll know what to expect. What Hellblade does so well is how it tackles the main issue of its protagonist Senua. She is suffering from psychosis and is experiencing the symptoms of it, hallucinations, voices in her head, etc. It's a truly riveting cinematic experience and one that must be experienced first hand.
Hellblade is all about Senua trying to save the soul of her dead lover Dillion. On her journey, she is constantly tormented by what she thinks is a curse, which are the voices in her head. During the game, you learn of Senua's dark backstory, how she met and fell in love with Dillion and just how messed up her father really was. It's a deep story that's pretty difficult to explain without experiencing it but it's all about the five stages of grief and accepting who you are no matter what.
Again, Hellblade is a basic game in terms of how it handles fighting and exploration. The game is played from third person, behind the shoulder, more akin to Resident Evil 4 or the Gears of War series. Senua has a sword she uses in combat and has a few basic combos with it. It's nothing deep like Ninja Theory's DMC or Heavenly Sword but it gets the job done and you can take the enemies out stylishly. When you're not fighting, you're exploring, solving puzzles. A lot of the puzzles involve you looking around at your surroundings, trying to line up certain symbols to open doors.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice won't win any awards for its gameplay, as it's just there to get the story across. The way the game handles a psychological disorder and learning of Seuna's journey into darkness is amazing. I also LOVE how playing with headphones deepens the experience and you truly feeling like you're not alone while playing it. If you want a different experience in gaming, this game is worth a buy. It's $30 and only 6-8 hours and well worth the investment.
8. The Evil Within II
The Evil Within 1 is one of my favorite survival horror games from the last two generations. With Resident Evil taking a backseat on the genre, (until this year) EW1 stepped up and made a truly unique and frightening experience. This continues in Evil Within 2 and it becomes a game that surpasses the original in all aspects. It's dark, it's gory and it will scare you at least once.
EW2 takes place 3 years after the events of 1. You play as Sebastian Castellanos, the protagonist from the original, who has quit his job as from the police department to investigate the mysterious group who causes the events of the first game. Sebastian is tormented by the disappearance of his wife Myra and the death of his daughter Lily, who died in a mysterious house fire. During one of his bar sessions, he is approached by his former partner Juli Kidman, another protagonist from the original. She reveals the Lily is still alive and the same group that caused the events of the first game, MOBIUS, has her and they need Sebastian to go inside the STEM program to rescue her as they've lost contact with her. The game sprawls out of control from there into the same nightmare as in EW1, with nasty mutations and evil people who want to control the system for themselves.
Evil Within 2 played the same as the original and follows Resident Evil 4's gameplay model from 2005. If you've played the original, you know what to expect. What is different in 2 is that it's more open world than the linear Evil Within 1. You were always on a straight path, there wasn't a lot of room to explore but that is gone in 2. Within an hour or so, you're given the option to roam around Union, the town you're sent to. There are sidequests to do, houses to go through to find materials and plenty of evil creatures lurking around, prepared to kill you. EW2 is more generous with supplies than the first one, at least on the default difficultly setting and with the ability to craft ammunition, I never felt really overwhelmed like the original. The game still has memorable boss encounters, including a kind of boss rush near the end that calls back to creatures in Evil Within 1. It's a great shout out to fans who've experienced both titles.
Evil Within 2 expands upon what made Evil Within 1 such a delight in 2014. With a happy ending that has an ambiguous post credits scene that will hopefully lead to a sequel, Evil Within 2 gets the job done. It took 15 hours to complete and was a thrill ride from start to finish. A must play for fans of the original.
7. Resident Evil 7
Resident Evil, for me, will always be the king of survival horror. Yes, I know 4-6 weren't up to the same standards of horror as the first three or Code Veronica but they were still great games. Well, 6 is a mixed bag for most. There is no denying 7 though. It is a scary game as it goes back to its roots of survival horror while adding a whole new level of fright being first person. It's a great return to form for the 21 year series.
Resident Evil 7 stars Ethan Winters, a basic man. He's not a solider, a cop, or a special obs agent. He's a normal man who travels to Dudley, Louisiana thanks to a message from his wife Mia, who he thought was dead for the past three years. Ethan arrives and explores an abandoned house, only to find Mia in the basement. They escape together but Mia becomes very violent and attacks Ethan. This forces him to kill Mia. Ethan receives a call from a woman named Zoe who offers to help but during that, Mia comes back to life and cuts off Ethan's hand. It's all very surreal. Jack Baker, who is the head of the Baker Family, who apparently lives in this house, kidnaps Ethan. Zoe is able to staple Ethan's hand back on. At a dinner table, we are introduced to Marguerite, Jack's wife, Lucas, Jack's son and a elderly woman. Ethan is able to get out of the restraints holding him and then he tries to escape the Baker house.
RE7 is experienced ENTIRELY in first person view. There is no option for a fixed camera or even the behind the shoulder camera. If you have it on Playstation 4, you can play in all in PSVR as well. I didn't have a PSVR when I first played this but no that I do, I'm definitely thinking about revisiting this nightmare again with the helmet. First person view makes this game 100 times scarier. Not knowing what's behind you, seeing everything from Ethan's eyes, something about it makes it so much more frightening. As I said in the beginning, Ethan is a civilian, so he's not combat experienced. The game does a great job at playing at that fact the entire time. You never feel powerful, always helpless and the smallest thing could kill you. That's how survival horror should be. You shouldn't be able to go guns ablazing because there is no horror in that. Now, the last act, I did have over 90 bullets for my handgun alone but you need it for the final fight.
Resident Evil 7 is a fantastic return to form for the series. While getting away from the game's classic third person look, it takes survival horror on a new spin and it does it successfully. I've never been more scared playing a game this year than I was with RE7. I can't imagine how the experience is in VR and is definitely something I will try in the coming months. If you're a fan of Resident Evil, you owe it to yourself to play this game. It's not like the others in terms of sight, but all the elements of survival horror are there and Capcom has made this the title to model the next couple of games after. Good to have you back Resident Evil. Capcom, work on Onimusha next please.
6. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
This world needs more visceral single player first person shooters like Wolfenstein II. Bethesda has done a great job at keeping the genre alive, despite the onslaught of multiplayer shooters coming to the market. Wolfenstein: The New Order was a big shocker for me. It was a great FPS game, with over the top gore, a great alternate history story and a lengthy campaign. The prequel, The Old Blood was more of the same. Bethesda also did an even better job with Doom the following year, reigniting the classic series in a 2016 gaming environment. It was superb. They've worked their magic again with the sequel to Wolfenstein, giving us a game that's more gritty, visceral and better that the first.
Wolfenstein II takes place in 1961 in the alternate history that the Nazis won World War II. BJ Blazowicz, after the events of the first game, falls under a five month coma. Upon waking, he learns that his love interest Anya is pregnant with twins. Unfortunately for Blazowicz, it's a rude awakening as Frau Engel, the game's main antagonist, is attacking the U-boat he's on. The attack and coma has left Blazowicz handicap and he has to escape in a wheelchair. That's the game's first level and it's pretty awesome. During the attack, Caroline and Fergus or Wyatt, depending on the decision early in the game, are captured. Blazowicz gets captured as a way to save his friends but Caroline is killed during the rescue attempt. Blazowicz equips the power armor Caroline had on and fights back, causing Frau Engel to flee. The rest of the game is trying to build your team up to take the fight to the Nazis. I don't want to spoil this one but it has a satisfying conclusion. A bloody, satisfying conclusion.
Gameplay is the same as in Doom and W: TNO. It's a fast paced FPS with a health and armor system, not one where you can recover all your health thanks to just staying cover. One of my favorite things about W2: TNC, is that you're rewarded for how you play. If you're a headshot hunter, you'll increase your accuracy. If you do a lot of stealth kills, the sound you make while moving will decrease. You get better as you play. It also goes up even if you die, so let's say you killed 3 guys with stealth and then happened to get killed, the game records those 3 stealth kills. It's very helpful during the tough spots in the game. And boy is this game tough. I played on Bring Em On, which is the default difficulty and I was getting killed on a regular basis. It's not unfair at all and I always felt at fault for dying. I just had to rethink the way I approached the level. You can dual wield in the game as in the first one and it's needed for the harder enemies. Late in the game, (MAJOR SPOILER) Blazowicz is decapitated and the group saves his head and puts in on a super solider's body. You have a choice of three upgrades for the body. You could squeeze into tight gaps, leap higher or be able to run through metal or enemies. This is pretty late in the game as well but it adds another dimension of killing Nazis.
Wolfenstein II is the best first person shooter this year. The realistic story, the great characters, heroes and villains, the visceral and gory gunplay make for one of the best action adventure games this generation. It sets the bar for single player first person shooters and I hope more companies take a chance like Bethesda did. Games like this don't come around too often but I'm glad it did. Definitely a must play if you like the series, FPS or action games in general. And who doesn't like killing Nazis?
5. South Park: The Fractured But Whole
South Park: The Stick of Truth was a great South Park game and a good RPG. Fractured But Whole is an even better South Park game and an even better RPG, thanks to a brand new battle system, more characters to control and more of the same South Park humor we've come to know.
FBW takes place right after SOT, with the first battle with the kids still in their fantasy attire. The kids go to see Cartman, who is no longer in his wizard costume but has now turned into The Coon, his superhero alias. Cartman's plan is to launch a successful superhero media franchise and he plans to make that happen by finding a lost cat and getting the $100 reward. The game spirals out of control like only a South Park story could which involves, cats, urine and a drug ring. Yeah, it's crazy but if you watch South Park, you should come to expect it.
They've done a great job at making the battle system even better and more addictive than The Stick of Truth. Instead of a traditional RPG turn based battle system, like SOT, FBW focuses on a grid based battle system, like one you might find in a strategy RPG. It's more akin to Enchanted Arms. Remember that game? You control the main character, The New Kid and three kids from South Park in their super hero forms, like Stan, Cartman, Kyle, Kenny and Wendy just to name a few. You have three different attacks for each character and each attack affects a different area. For example, some attacks just hit the grid directly in front of the character, usually like a punch or physical attack. Others can affect the grids diagonal from the player character or a straight line, etc. You get the idea. It adds alot of strategy for gameplay. Your characters don't gain regular levels but instead a party level, which allows you to be able to equip certain artifacts, which in turn give you certain perks like increased throwback attack or increased healing from items. When you're not battling, you'll be exploring South Park, completing sidequests, collecting Yaoi artwork featuring Craig and Tweak, using your farts to affect the environment, you know, normal JRPG things. Unfortunately, you don't go to Canada this time so no classic RPG gameplay part.
South Park: The Fractured But Whole is an improved sequel from The Stick of Truth. All the meta jokes, the classic crazy South Park story and the terrific gameplay make this a game to play. Any fan of South Park will be pleased with this adventure and any fans of RPGs will find a surprising deep game. Yes, the fart jokes are pretty standard but any game that allows me to face Morgan Freeman and Jared from Subway deserves a spot on this list.
4. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Bit of a surprise huh? Breath of the Wild was a critical success, getting perfect scores from just about every publication and was a perfect Switch launch title and yes, it's a fantastic game. When I first played it, I was dumbfounded. It was such a groundbreaking title, something so different from previous Zelda titles but it didn't stay with me like other games on this list. Maybe it's because this doesn't really feel like a Zelda game at all or maybe because I felt like much of the game's enjoyment comes from sidequests and extra content. Maybe because the game is so freaking short? Whatever the reason, BOTW is a great Zelda game but it's not my favorite Zelda game.
Taken straight from Wikipedia, An amnesiac Link awakens from within the Shrine of Resurrection. A mysterious female voice guides him to the now ruined kingdom of Hyrule where he meets an old man who, after helping Link adjust to the ruined world, reveals himself to be the restless spirit of King Rhoam, the last King of Hyrule. The king explains to Link that Ganon has been sealed in Hyrule Castle for one hundred years, but Ganon has continued to grow in power, and the king pleads for Link to defeat him before he breaks free and destroys the world.
It's typical Zelda lore. You have to get four of something, obtain the Master Sword then defeat Ganon. Well, The Master Sword is optional in this game. While the lore may be familiar, I promise you, most of the game isn't. Within the opening minutes, you're presented with a cliff. In previous Zelda games, you could only traverse it by using a hookshot or getting an item that allowed you to jump. Link just climbed the cliff like it was nothing. You can also jump at will in the game. That's freaking mind blowing. The entire world of BOTW is open to you and you can explore it all. I think that's what people really enjoy. There's literally an endless amount of things to do once you start. You don't even have to touch the main quest for awhile. BOTW also introduces inventory management, cooking and a weather system. Depending on where you are, you can take damage. If it's too cold and you're not warm enough, you can freeze. If it's too hot and you don't have the right gear, you will burn. Not only you, but your equipment, if wooded, will burn with you. Zelda has a lot of smart moments like that. I was climbing a tower during a lightening storm. While climbing, I noticed the lightening kept striking me, making progress up the tower impossible. Why was this happening? Well, because I had metal based items on and in my inventory. It made me susceptible to be struck! There have been a lot of great gaming moments this year but that's gotta be at the top of the list.
One of the best things about BOTW are the Shrines, which are little challenges spread out across the entire map of Hyrule. These range from puzzles or battles. The puzzles though are AMAZING. They really make you think and some even use the Switch (or Wii U Gamepad I guess) as a tool. There is one where you have to guide a ball to a certain destination and you can't let it off the edge or you obviously have to start over. It's good fun and a nice little distraction from the main quest. I found myself always hunting down Shrines because not only did they give you Spirit Orbs to increase your health or stamina, but they were the true standout for the game. BOTW doesn't have a traditional Zelda dungeon in it. The four areas you go into (The Divine Beasts) are small little dungeons, but they're over way too quickly for my liking. Gone are the long dungeons like the Water Temple, Ancient Cistern or the Forsaken Fortress. In its place are the Shrines and while fun, I still long for a long Zelda dungeons like those.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will top many gamers and critics Game of the Year lists in 2017. It's not hard to see why. It has a deep, open world, brimming with secrets. The Shrines, 120 in total, give players a reason to explore the massive world of Hyrule. The combat is fun, the world looks beautiful and though moving away from typical Zelda traditions, it's still a Zelda game in its core. BOTW is a fantastic experience, one that was made for gamers of this generation. It has a little bit for everyone in it. It's not my favorite Zelda game but it's a hell of a game and something like this doesn't come around too often.
3. Cuphead
When Cuphead was announced in 2014, I knew I had to play it. The graphics, the old school run n gun gameplay displayed, I knew it was worth buying a Xbox One for. It took SO long to finally release but I never forgot about it. When it finally dropped this past September, I immediately became hooked and it was clear; Cuphead was the best Xbox One exclusive game I've played all year. Well, really the ONLY exclusive but even if there were other big titles released this year just for Microsoft's gaming box, Cuphead would be able to stand on its own two feet as a fantastic title.
Cuphead has a simple story; Cuphead and his brother Mugman who love a good time. After not following the warnings of their elder, Elder Kettle, they travel to the Devil's Casino, play some games and hit a hot streak. This streak makes King Dice, the manager, summon the Devil for an all or nothing game. If they win the next roll of the die, they'll own the casino. If they lose, the Devil will own their souls. They, of course, lose the roll and then beg for mercy. The Devil tells them if they can go and get contracts showing ownership of souls from his runaway debtors, he'll think about letting them go. They go to Elder Kettle who gives them an ability to shoot magic blasts from their fingers and they're off!
Cuphead plays like great 2D platformer shooters of the past, like Contra and Gunstar Heroes. Cuphead and Mugman both have 3 HP and at first, only have a basic pea shooter but upon playing more and collecting coins, you can buy additional shots, like three way, chaser, charge shot and others. You move around on the main map for Inkwell Isle and once you get to a stage, you select it and play it. There are two different stages, Run N Gun and the boss battles. There are only 6 RnG stages, three on each Isle and there are a total of 19 bosses, the first two Isles have five apiece, Isle 3 has 7 and the Finale host two battles. The run n gun stages are straightforward; you start at the beginning and you have to work your way to the end by, you guessed it, running and gunning! These stages get pretty tough with the onslaught of enemies coming at you and minibosses that await you at the end of most of them. The main meat of the game are the boss battles.
The plentiful boss battles steal the show here. They are just waiting to kill you. Besides the first two, the Root Pack and Goopy Le Grande, the rest of the bunch are trying hard to frustrate the hell out of you. Rounding out Isle One are Hilda Berg, a giant blimp, Cagney Carnation, an angre flower and Ribby and Croaks, frogs who've I learned are a shout out to Street Fighter 2. Besides normal boss stages, sometimes Cuphead an Mugman will have to get into planes to fight, which are reminiscent to other great side scrolling shooters, like Radius. Isle 2 has Djimmi the Great, a genie, Wally Warbles, a giant cuckoo bird, Grim Matchstick, a fiery dragon, Beppi the Clown, a.....clown and Baroness Von Bon Bon, a woman inside a candy house. Isle Three has the hardest roster featuring Rumor Honeybottoms, a giant queen bee, Captain Brineybeard, a sea pirate, Sally Stageplay, an actress, Werner Werman, a mouse controlling robots, Dr. Kahl's Robot, a giant robot controlled by the Dr. Wily esque Dr. Kahl, Cala Maria, a medusa like creature and finally, before going to Inkwell Hell, the Phantom Express, represented by Blind Specter, T-Bone, the Blaze Brothers and the Head of the Train. It's a tough road. Inkwell Hell has King Dice, who is a freaking Gunstar Heroes boss rush and The Devil.
Cuphead looks amazing. It's looks like it's straight out the 1930s. All the expressions of the characters, the weird antics of turning into different objects with no explanation is all here. It's truly the best looking game I've played all year. Just as beautiful as the game is, it's one tough game. It's not Souls level hard but it's definitely a test of your gaming skills. I think the toughest for me were Rumor Honeybottoms, Dr. Kahl's Robot and Grim Matchstick. Rumor is the hardest boss in the game, simply because her last phase is completely unfair. The stage is constantly going up so you have to jump on platforms to keep yourself from dying. Her last phase has her turning into an effing airplane and she now takes the complete bottom of the screen, making you shoot down at her, which is difficult to do while trying to jump and avoid damage. It's one of those fights where upon completion, you just stand and applaud yourself for the hell you've endured for the last 30 minutes. No boss every felt cheap and every time I died, I knew it was because of something I didn't pay attention to. I got so into the patterns of all the bosses, I beat the game and then played it again to try and get A rankings on all the bosses, which I did. King Dice's fight was my favorite, simply because it's a homage to Gunstar Heroes and the dice game you have to play near the end of the game. It's a frustrating time at first but once you learn the dice's pattern, find the easy path and get some extra life for the King Dice battle, you can make it through. The Devil isn't too hard but his first phase has a lot of things going on that overwhelmed me at first. Beating The Devil was one of my proudest gaming moments in my life.
Cuphead is an amazing game. It's such a broad and generic term I know but man, it's so good. It looks like you're playing a cartoon, it plays and controls like a dream, the boss battles are tough and when finally overcoming them, you get such an amazing feeling that can't be duplicated. Xbox One had a hard year, with Sony blowing them out the water with major exclusives after major exclusive. Cuphead may count as an indie game, but it puts most AAA games to shame. A must play for Xbox owners, 2D platforming aficionados or anyone who loves Gunstar Heroes.
2. Horizon: Zero Dawn
Horizon came out three days before Zelda. For me, I thought it would be eclipsed by Zelda, seeing how I had been waiting for Zelda for 3 years. What actually happened was I found a game that was a better Zelda title than the actual Zelda title released. I realize how crazy that might make me sound but Horizon is a fantastic single player only title that is not only a major accomplishment for Guerrilla Games, which has only been known for their work on Killzone, it's also one of the best Playstation 4 exclusives titles ever. EVER. It's that good.
You play as Aloy who is played by Hey Ash Whatcha Playing's Ashly Burch. Before I get into the basic plot, I just want to say how happy I am for Ashly. I've been a fan since those internet videos dropped all those years ago and it's great to see her apart of some of the new games I've been playing, like Life is Strange, Star Ocean V and Legend of Heroes. Copied straight from Wikipedia, Aloy was cast out from the Nora tribe at birth, raised by an outcast named Rost. As a child, she obtained a Focus, a small augmented reality device that gives her special perceptive abilities. After coming of age, Aloy enters a competition called the Proving to win the right to become a Nora Brave, and by extension, a member of the Nora tribe. Aloy wins the competition, but the Nora are suddenly attacked by cultists. Aloy is almost killed by their leader Helis, but is saved by Rost, who sacrifices himself to save Aloy from a bomb. When Aloy awakes, a Matriarch explains that the cultists had gained control of corrupted machines. Aloy also learns that as an infant, she was found at the foot of a sealed door. An Oseram foreigner called Olin informs Aloy that the cultists are part of a group calling themselves the Eclipse. Olin indicates that the reason Aloy was targeted by the Eclipse was due to her resemblance to an Old World scientist named Dr. Elisabet Sobeck (also voiced by Burch). You spend the rest of the game trying to track down the cultists who killed Rost and find out why you have such a resemblance to Dr. Sobeck.
H: ZD is an action RPG, and has gameplay roots in games like Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and the recent Tomb Raider games. Aloy has a spear for close range combat and a bow for long range. She also get various traps and other items as you progress in the story. Aloy can level up based on doing main quests, side quests or by killing humans or robots in the world. Aloy's focus allows her to see weaknesses on the robots and pinpointing those weaknesses is key to survival and how you will be able to take down a giant robot T-Rex by yourself. As I said, she can level up and put them into various categories like Prowler, which helps with stealth, Brave, which helps with combat and Forager, which helps with crafting. Aloy can also hack certain robots and can ride on them to get around the map. To get a better lay of the land, Aloy can find various robots she calls Longnecks, climb them and scan the area, revealing more and more activities in the area and there's a lot to do in the game.
Some of my favorite moments in the game include taking down massive robots stylishly. Hitting the robots weak point with different arrows and then finishing them off with the spear is so satisfying. There's also a lot of fun just roaming around, hunting, gathering plants for health and other boosts and finding secrets. There are these secret bases in the game, which are chock full of robots. Going through, clearing them out and fighting one big bad at the end was more Zelda than BOTW. Good stuff.
Horizon: Zero Dawn is the best new IP I've played in 2017. This is a game where gameplay shines the brightest and there are so much things to do while you play. I spent 20 hours in the game and there was still so much stuff to be done. Guerrilla Games proved that they can handle a new genre very easily and I can't wait to see what the future holds for them. A sequel? A crack at a new genre? Whatever it is, sign me up. Horizon should be experienced by every Playstation owner. In a year where PlayStation had so many games to play, this should be at the near top for everyone.
1. Persona 5
Did you expect anything less? Persona 5 can be defined as the game I've been waiting my entire adulthood for and that's not an unrealistic claim. Persona 4 was released in December of 2008 during my senior year in high school. Persona 5 was just released in April of this year, 2017. That's a 9 year gap and in that time, I've gotten married and become a deacon. My whole life has changed from the time I first played Persona 4 to Persona 5. Again, the game I've been waiting my adulthood for and it was well worth the wait as Persona 5 is not only my Game of the Year but it may go down as one of the best games of this generation and of my entire lifetime.
You play as the nameless protagonist, as always. Copied from Wikipedia, After the protagonist defends a woman from being abused by a drunken man, the protagonist is falsely charged with assault and put on probation, resulting in expulsion from his school. The protagonist is sent to Tokyo to stay with family friend Sojiro Sakura and attend Shujin Academ during his year-long probation. After his arrival, he is drawn into the Velvet Room, where Igor warns him that he must "rehabilitate" to avoid forthcoming ruin, and grants him access to a supernatural mobile app that leads the protagonist into the Metaverse and the Palace of the school's abusive volleyball coach Kamoshida. The protagonist meets Morgana, who informs him of the ability to change wicked people's hearts by stealing their "Treasure", the emotional root of their behavior, from the Palaces ruled by their Shadow selves. After successfully reforming Kamoshida, the protagonist and Morgana form the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, stealing corruption from the hearts of adults in an attempt to reform the city. The group targets teachers, crime lords and even a politician.
The gameplay that worked in Persona 3 is here again and it works even better. When you're not fighting Shadows in Palaces or Mementos, you're spending your days as a teenager, going to school, spending time with friends, working, etc. There's so many side activities to do outside battling it's baffling. P5 replaces the Social Link system with the similar but differently titled Confidant system. It's the same as the SL, just a different name fitting the story, as most of the game is spent by the main character telling it to a prosecutor. Battles in the game are turn based and again, if you know Persona, you know what's going on. Your battle party consists of four, the protagonist and three others and you can switch out to others mid battle when you get more of them. It's simple JRPG stuff but if you're able to hit a weakness of an enemy, it will go down and you get another turn. Do it for all enemies in the battle and you Hold Up the enemy. You can do an All Out attack, which is the entire party rushing in for an massive damage reducing attack, you can get money out of the enemy or convince them to join your team through negotiations.
Persona 5 isn't as hard as the others. It has its challenging parts but I never felt like I was going to lose, like in P3. Is it because I'm more experienced with games or because it's an easier game? I'm not sure. While it's not that hard of a game, it's certainly the LONGEST game I've played this year. When I finally got the ending, my playtime got to 92 hours. 92 HOURS. No game comes CLOSE to that much of my time this year. Zelda and Horizon, 20. Mario and Wolfenstein, 12. Evil Within 2 and South Park, 15. This is a FULL 92 hours here. There is A LOT of dialogue but that's to be expected in a game like this. I feel like they could have shaved off some hours but I don't regret any second with this game.
The characters in the game all share a common bond and that's that they all have been wronged by society in some way, shape or fashion. They're basically chained or prisoners to certain beliefs, ideals or stereotypes. The protagonist, because of his court record, is looked down upon by most people in the game. Ryuji, the Yousuke/Junpei best friend archetype of the game, is seen as a delinquent for his past run in with a teacher. Ann is outcast from other girls in her school, despite her good looks and popularity, due to rumors of a relationship with a teacher. Makoto feels like a burden to her sister following their father's death so strives to be better to alleviate said stress. Futaba is a hermit, chained to her house and shut off from the outside world. You come to root for this group of heroes because they've really been screwed over by life so far. You push forward more and more to see if these heroes can reach a happy ending, and thankfully, they do.
This is one of the only games where I will discuss the ending because it's the most fulfilling ending this year. The protagonist, after being judged and chained up by society's ideals for the entire game, get incarcerated so Shido can pay for his crimes. The Phantom Thieves come to his rescue and get enough evidence to overturn the decision and get him free. The gang then gets together to drive him back to his hometown and on the highway, he stands up in the van, sticks his head out the sunroof and smiles, knowing he's finally free. It's so amazing! I never felt as much joy in a game as seeing that. Nice, symbolic ending for the long adventure.
Persona 5 is perfection, hands down. Well, it's certainly not perfect but it's the best game for me this year. The story is fulfilling, the gameplay strikes a great balance between normal life and the RPG battles, the characters all have their own problems of being in chains and it's great seeming them all help each get over it, the music, OH MY GOD the music, is fantastic, catchy and some of the best in the Persona series, the ending is happy and joyful, sending the player off happy that they've experienced the last 100 hours of their life with these characters, etc. It's just such a fantastic accomplishment from Atlus and it shows why it took so long for this game to finally release. I said this with 4, but it's going to be near impossible to top this one.
There you have it! My top 10 games of the year. What do you think? How many have you played? Which is your favorite? Comment below!
A Spoiler Alert is NOW in effect for all games on the list.
10. Sundered
DISCLAIMER: Some of this is pulled right from my post on Sundered back in October so I can spend time on the other games.
Metroidvania is one of my favorite subgenres of games out there. Collecting new powers, exploring a massive map and finding secrets are some of the highlights I love. I mean, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is my favorite game of all time and that was it done to perfection. Sundered has the same elements as that game but done in its own way with a great art style and a choose your own upgrades system.
Sundered was created by ThunderLotus games, who created the great Jotun, which I've played but didn't complete. It features that same hand drawn art style but instead of inspiration from the Vikings era, it takes cues from H.P. Lovecraft and his works so it's a very dark fantasy like world filled with horrifying creatures.
As a Metroidvania game, there is a lot of running, platforming and going to areas you don't have abilities for yet. Eshe, the main character, starts off with nothing, as she's pulled into these ruins by an unknown force. Over the course of the game, Eshe will gain a protective shield, the ability to double jump, gain a massive cannon for crowd control, be able to charge her attacks, gain a midair dodge, run up walls and use grappling hooks. Eshe has the ability to corrupt her abilities by gaining these things called the Elder Shards. Depending on your actions, you can either corrupt your abilities or destroy the Shards. I went full on embrace for my first playthrough and the powers you get are pretty amazing. If you corrupt your abilities, your shield will damage your enemies when you get attacked, you can glide after your second jump, the cannon turn into a laser beam, the charged attacks become much stronger, the midair dodge becomes a midair teleportation ability, you can climb on all walls instead of just running up from the base and the grappling hooks will now allow for an extra boost after locking onto it. The corrupted abilities are game changers, especially crawling on all walls and the glide ability, especially in the last area, which is mostly floating islands.
The boss battles are intense, screen filling affairs and are one of the major highlights. The game's camera pans out, so you can see the huge monsters and Eshe looks like an ant in comparison. While they are amazing, there is only a few of them in the game, so relish them while they last. They aren't entirely too difficult either, with the exception of the two bosses in one fight one. Focusing on attacking one and trying to evade two different attack patterns can be pretty challenging. The last boss is a challenge as well, at least on my route. There are three different end bosses depending on if you embraced the Elder Shards, destroyed them or did a combination of the two. Humanity, the last boss for the Embrace path is intense and I was only able to defeat it thanks to a glitch.
Sundered is an amazing title for the hardcore Metroidvania/rouge-like gaming crowd. The difficultly spikes in certain regions, especially while exploring, but overcoming all the obstacles makes for a satisfying experience. If you enjoy Castlevania but love the challenge of games like Binding of Isaac and Enter The Gungeon, play this one.
9. Hellblade
Hellblade, in gameplay, is a very straightforward game. If you played any hack n slash game in the last ten years, you'll know what to expect. What Hellblade does so well is how it tackles the main issue of its protagonist Senua. She is suffering from psychosis and is experiencing the symptoms of it, hallucinations, voices in her head, etc. It's a truly riveting cinematic experience and one that must be experienced first hand.
Hellblade is all about Senua trying to save the soul of her dead lover Dillion. On her journey, she is constantly tormented by what she thinks is a curse, which are the voices in her head. During the game, you learn of Senua's dark backstory, how she met and fell in love with Dillion and just how messed up her father really was. It's a deep story that's pretty difficult to explain without experiencing it but it's all about the five stages of grief and accepting who you are no matter what.
Again, Hellblade is a basic game in terms of how it handles fighting and exploration. The game is played from third person, behind the shoulder, more akin to Resident Evil 4 or the Gears of War series. Senua has a sword she uses in combat and has a few basic combos with it. It's nothing deep like Ninja Theory's DMC or Heavenly Sword but it gets the job done and you can take the enemies out stylishly. When you're not fighting, you're exploring, solving puzzles. A lot of the puzzles involve you looking around at your surroundings, trying to line up certain symbols to open doors.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice won't win any awards for its gameplay, as it's just there to get the story across. The way the game handles a psychological disorder and learning of Seuna's journey into darkness is amazing. I also LOVE how playing with headphones deepens the experience and you truly feeling like you're not alone while playing it. If you want a different experience in gaming, this game is worth a buy. It's $30 and only 6-8 hours and well worth the investment.
8. The Evil Within II
The Evil Within 1 is one of my favorite survival horror games from the last two generations. With Resident Evil taking a backseat on the genre, (until this year) EW1 stepped up and made a truly unique and frightening experience. This continues in Evil Within 2 and it becomes a game that surpasses the original in all aspects. It's dark, it's gory and it will scare you at least once.
EW2 takes place 3 years after the events of 1. You play as Sebastian Castellanos, the protagonist from the original, who has quit his job as from the police department to investigate the mysterious group who causes the events of the first game. Sebastian is tormented by the disappearance of his wife Myra and the death of his daughter Lily, who died in a mysterious house fire. During one of his bar sessions, he is approached by his former partner Juli Kidman, another protagonist from the original. She reveals the Lily is still alive and the same group that caused the events of the first game, MOBIUS, has her and they need Sebastian to go inside the STEM program to rescue her as they've lost contact with her. The game sprawls out of control from there into the same nightmare as in EW1, with nasty mutations and evil people who want to control the system for themselves.
Evil Within 2 played the same as the original and follows Resident Evil 4's gameplay model from 2005. If you've played the original, you know what to expect. What is different in 2 is that it's more open world than the linear Evil Within 1. You were always on a straight path, there wasn't a lot of room to explore but that is gone in 2. Within an hour or so, you're given the option to roam around Union, the town you're sent to. There are sidequests to do, houses to go through to find materials and plenty of evil creatures lurking around, prepared to kill you. EW2 is more generous with supplies than the first one, at least on the default difficultly setting and with the ability to craft ammunition, I never felt really overwhelmed like the original. The game still has memorable boss encounters, including a kind of boss rush near the end that calls back to creatures in Evil Within 1. It's a great shout out to fans who've experienced both titles.
Evil Within 2 expands upon what made Evil Within 1 such a delight in 2014. With a happy ending that has an ambiguous post credits scene that will hopefully lead to a sequel, Evil Within 2 gets the job done. It took 15 hours to complete and was a thrill ride from start to finish. A must play for fans of the original.
7. Resident Evil 7
Resident Evil, for me, will always be the king of survival horror. Yes, I know 4-6 weren't up to the same standards of horror as the first three or Code Veronica but they were still great games. Well, 6 is a mixed bag for most. There is no denying 7 though. It is a scary game as it goes back to its roots of survival horror while adding a whole new level of fright being first person. It's a great return to form for the 21 year series.
Resident Evil 7 stars Ethan Winters, a basic man. He's not a solider, a cop, or a special obs agent. He's a normal man who travels to Dudley, Louisiana thanks to a message from his wife Mia, who he thought was dead for the past three years. Ethan arrives and explores an abandoned house, only to find Mia in the basement. They escape together but Mia becomes very violent and attacks Ethan. This forces him to kill Mia. Ethan receives a call from a woman named Zoe who offers to help but during that, Mia comes back to life and cuts off Ethan's hand. It's all very surreal. Jack Baker, who is the head of the Baker Family, who apparently lives in this house, kidnaps Ethan. Zoe is able to staple Ethan's hand back on. At a dinner table, we are introduced to Marguerite, Jack's wife, Lucas, Jack's son and a elderly woman. Ethan is able to get out of the restraints holding him and then he tries to escape the Baker house.
RE7 is experienced ENTIRELY in first person view. There is no option for a fixed camera or even the behind the shoulder camera. If you have it on Playstation 4, you can play in all in PSVR as well. I didn't have a PSVR when I first played this but no that I do, I'm definitely thinking about revisiting this nightmare again with the helmet. First person view makes this game 100 times scarier. Not knowing what's behind you, seeing everything from Ethan's eyes, something about it makes it so much more frightening. As I said in the beginning, Ethan is a civilian, so he's not combat experienced. The game does a great job at playing at that fact the entire time. You never feel powerful, always helpless and the smallest thing could kill you. That's how survival horror should be. You shouldn't be able to go guns ablazing because there is no horror in that. Now, the last act, I did have over 90 bullets for my handgun alone but you need it for the final fight.
Resident Evil 7 is a fantastic return to form for the series. While getting away from the game's classic third person look, it takes survival horror on a new spin and it does it successfully. I've never been more scared playing a game this year than I was with RE7. I can't imagine how the experience is in VR and is definitely something I will try in the coming months. If you're a fan of Resident Evil, you owe it to yourself to play this game. It's not like the others in terms of sight, but all the elements of survival horror are there and Capcom has made this the title to model the next couple of games after. Good to have you back Resident Evil. Capcom, work on Onimusha next please.
6. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
This world needs more visceral single player first person shooters like Wolfenstein II. Bethesda has done a great job at keeping the genre alive, despite the onslaught of multiplayer shooters coming to the market. Wolfenstein: The New Order was a big shocker for me. It was a great FPS game, with over the top gore, a great alternate history story and a lengthy campaign. The prequel, The Old Blood was more of the same. Bethesda also did an even better job with Doom the following year, reigniting the classic series in a 2016 gaming environment. It was superb. They've worked their magic again with the sequel to Wolfenstein, giving us a game that's more gritty, visceral and better that the first.
Wolfenstein II takes place in 1961 in the alternate history that the Nazis won World War II. BJ Blazowicz, after the events of the first game, falls under a five month coma. Upon waking, he learns that his love interest Anya is pregnant with twins. Unfortunately for Blazowicz, it's a rude awakening as Frau Engel, the game's main antagonist, is attacking the U-boat he's on. The attack and coma has left Blazowicz handicap and he has to escape in a wheelchair. That's the game's first level and it's pretty awesome. During the attack, Caroline and Fergus or Wyatt, depending on the decision early in the game, are captured. Blazowicz gets captured as a way to save his friends but Caroline is killed during the rescue attempt. Blazowicz equips the power armor Caroline had on and fights back, causing Frau Engel to flee. The rest of the game is trying to build your team up to take the fight to the Nazis. I don't want to spoil this one but it has a satisfying conclusion. A bloody, satisfying conclusion.
Gameplay is the same as in Doom and W: TNO. It's a fast paced FPS with a health and armor system, not one where you can recover all your health thanks to just staying cover. One of my favorite things about W2: TNC, is that you're rewarded for how you play. If you're a headshot hunter, you'll increase your accuracy. If you do a lot of stealth kills, the sound you make while moving will decrease. You get better as you play. It also goes up even if you die, so let's say you killed 3 guys with stealth and then happened to get killed, the game records those 3 stealth kills. It's very helpful during the tough spots in the game. And boy is this game tough. I played on Bring Em On, which is the default difficulty and I was getting killed on a regular basis. It's not unfair at all and I always felt at fault for dying. I just had to rethink the way I approached the level. You can dual wield in the game as in the first one and it's needed for the harder enemies. Late in the game, (MAJOR SPOILER) Blazowicz is decapitated and the group saves his head and puts in on a super solider's body. You have a choice of three upgrades for the body. You could squeeze into tight gaps, leap higher or be able to run through metal or enemies. This is pretty late in the game as well but it adds another dimension of killing Nazis.
Wolfenstein II is the best first person shooter this year. The realistic story, the great characters, heroes and villains, the visceral and gory gunplay make for one of the best action adventure games this generation. It sets the bar for single player first person shooters and I hope more companies take a chance like Bethesda did. Games like this don't come around too often but I'm glad it did. Definitely a must play if you like the series, FPS or action games in general. And who doesn't like killing Nazis?
5. South Park: The Fractured But Whole
South Park: The Stick of Truth was a great South Park game and a good RPG. Fractured But Whole is an even better South Park game and an even better RPG, thanks to a brand new battle system, more characters to control and more of the same South Park humor we've come to know.
FBW takes place right after SOT, with the first battle with the kids still in their fantasy attire. The kids go to see Cartman, who is no longer in his wizard costume but has now turned into The Coon, his superhero alias. Cartman's plan is to launch a successful superhero media franchise and he plans to make that happen by finding a lost cat and getting the $100 reward. The game spirals out of control like only a South Park story could which involves, cats, urine and a drug ring. Yeah, it's crazy but if you watch South Park, you should come to expect it.
They've done a great job at making the battle system even better and more addictive than The Stick of Truth. Instead of a traditional RPG turn based battle system, like SOT, FBW focuses on a grid based battle system, like one you might find in a strategy RPG. It's more akin to Enchanted Arms. Remember that game? You control the main character, The New Kid and three kids from South Park in their super hero forms, like Stan, Cartman, Kyle, Kenny and Wendy just to name a few. You have three different attacks for each character and each attack affects a different area. For example, some attacks just hit the grid directly in front of the character, usually like a punch or physical attack. Others can affect the grids diagonal from the player character or a straight line, etc. You get the idea. It adds alot of strategy for gameplay. Your characters don't gain regular levels but instead a party level, which allows you to be able to equip certain artifacts, which in turn give you certain perks like increased throwback attack or increased healing from items. When you're not battling, you'll be exploring South Park, completing sidequests, collecting Yaoi artwork featuring Craig and Tweak, using your farts to affect the environment, you know, normal JRPG things. Unfortunately, you don't go to Canada this time so no classic RPG gameplay part.
South Park: The Fractured But Whole is an improved sequel from The Stick of Truth. All the meta jokes, the classic crazy South Park story and the terrific gameplay make this a game to play. Any fan of South Park will be pleased with this adventure and any fans of RPGs will find a surprising deep game. Yes, the fart jokes are pretty standard but any game that allows me to face Morgan Freeman and Jared from Subway deserves a spot on this list.
4. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Bit of a surprise huh? Breath of the Wild was a critical success, getting perfect scores from just about every publication and was a perfect Switch launch title and yes, it's a fantastic game. When I first played it, I was dumbfounded. It was such a groundbreaking title, something so different from previous Zelda titles but it didn't stay with me like other games on this list. Maybe it's because this doesn't really feel like a Zelda game at all or maybe because I felt like much of the game's enjoyment comes from sidequests and extra content. Maybe because the game is so freaking short? Whatever the reason, BOTW is a great Zelda game but it's not my favorite Zelda game.
Taken straight from Wikipedia, An amnesiac Link awakens from within the Shrine of Resurrection. A mysterious female voice guides him to the now ruined kingdom of Hyrule where he meets an old man who, after helping Link adjust to the ruined world, reveals himself to be the restless spirit of King Rhoam, the last King of Hyrule. The king explains to Link that Ganon has been sealed in Hyrule Castle for one hundred years, but Ganon has continued to grow in power, and the king pleads for Link to defeat him before he breaks free and destroys the world.
It's typical Zelda lore. You have to get four of something, obtain the Master Sword then defeat Ganon. Well, The Master Sword is optional in this game. While the lore may be familiar, I promise you, most of the game isn't. Within the opening minutes, you're presented with a cliff. In previous Zelda games, you could only traverse it by using a hookshot or getting an item that allowed you to jump. Link just climbed the cliff like it was nothing. You can also jump at will in the game. That's freaking mind blowing. The entire world of BOTW is open to you and you can explore it all. I think that's what people really enjoy. There's literally an endless amount of things to do once you start. You don't even have to touch the main quest for awhile. BOTW also introduces inventory management, cooking and a weather system. Depending on where you are, you can take damage. If it's too cold and you're not warm enough, you can freeze. If it's too hot and you don't have the right gear, you will burn. Not only you, but your equipment, if wooded, will burn with you. Zelda has a lot of smart moments like that. I was climbing a tower during a lightening storm. While climbing, I noticed the lightening kept striking me, making progress up the tower impossible. Why was this happening? Well, because I had metal based items on and in my inventory. It made me susceptible to be struck! There have been a lot of great gaming moments this year but that's gotta be at the top of the list.
One of the best things about BOTW are the Shrines, which are little challenges spread out across the entire map of Hyrule. These range from puzzles or battles. The puzzles though are AMAZING. They really make you think and some even use the Switch (or Wii U Gamepad I guess) as a tool. There is one where you have to guide a ball to a certain destination and you can't let it off the edge or you obviously have to start over. It's good fun and a nice little distraction from the main quest. I found myself always hunting down Shrines because not only did they give you Spirit Orbs to increase your health or stamina, but they were the true standout for the game. BOTW doesn't have a traditional Zelda dungeon in it. The four areas you go into (The Divine Beasts) are small little dungeons, but they're over way too quickly for my liking. Gone are the long dungeons like the Water Temple, Ancient Cistern or the Forsaken Fortress. In its place are the Shrines and while fun, I still long for a long Zelda dungeons like those.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will top many gamers and critics Game of the Year lists in 2017. It's not hard to see why. It has a deep, open world, brimming with secrets. The Shrines, 120 in total, give players a reason to explore the massive world of Hyrule. The combat is fun, the world looks beautiful and though moving away from typical Zelda traditions, it's still a Zelda game in its core. BOTW is a fantastic experience, one that was made for gamers of this generation. It has a little bit for everyone in it. It's not my favorite Zelda game but it's a hell of a game and something like this doesn't come around too often.
3. Cuphead
When Cuphead was announced in 2014, I knew I had to play it. The graphics, the old school run n gun gameplay displayed, I knew it was worth buying a Xbox One for. It took SO long to finally release but I never forgot about it. When it finally dropped this past September, I immediately became hooked and it was clear; Cuphead was the best Xbox One exclusive game I've played all year. Well, really the ONLY exclusive but even if there were other big titles released this year just for Microsoft's gaming box, Cuphead would be able to stand on its own two feet as a fantastic title.
Cuphead has a simple story; Cuphead and his brother Mugman who love a good time. After not following the warnings of their elder, Elder Kettle, they travel to the Devil's Casino, play some games and hit a hot streak. This streak makes King Dice, the manager, summon the Devil for an all or nothing game. If they win the next roll of the die, they'll own the casino. If they lose, the Devil will own their souls. They, of course, lose the roll and then beg for mercy. The Devil tells them if they can go and get contracts showing ownership of souls from his runaway debtors, he'll think about letting them go. They go to Elder Kettle who gives them an ability to shoot magic blasts from their fingers and they're off!
Cuphead plays like great 2D platformer shooters of the past, like Contra and Gunstar Heroes. Cuphead and Mugman both have 3 HP and at first, only have a basic pea shooter but upon playing more and collecting coins, you can buy additional shots, like three way, chaser, charge shot and others. You move around on the main map for Inkwell Isle and once you get to a stage, you select it and play it. There are two different stages, Run N Gun and the boss battles. There are only 6 RnG stages, three on each Isle and there are a total of 19 bosses, the first two Isles have five apiece, Isle 3 has 7 and the Finale host two battles. The run n gun stages are straightforward; you start at the beginning and you have to work your way to the end by, you guessed it, running and gunning! These stages get pretty tough with the onslaught of enemies coming at you and minibosses that await you at the end of most of them. The main meat of the game are the boss battles.
The plentiful boss battles steal the show here. They are just waiting to kill you. Besides the first two, the Root Pack and Goopy Le Grande, the rest of the bunch are trying hard to frustrate the hell out of you. Rounding out Isle One are Hilda Berg, a giant blimp, Cagney Carnation, an angre flower and Ribby and Croaks, frogs who've I learned are a shout out to Street Fighter 2. Besides normal boss stages, sometimes Cuphead an Mugman will have to get into planes to fight, which are reminiscent to other great side scrolling shooters, like Radius. Isle 2 has Djimmi the Great, a genie, Wally Warbles, a giant cuckoo bird, Grim Matchstick, a fiery dragon, Beppi the Clown, a.....clown and Baroness Von Bon Bon, a woman inside a candy house. Isle Three has the hardest roster featuring Rumor Honeybottoms, a giant queen bee, Captain Brineybeard, a sea pirate, Sally Stageplay, an actress, Werner Werman, a mouse controlling robots, Dr. Kahl's Robot, a giant robot controlled by the Dr. Wily esque Dr. Kahl, Cala Maria, a medusa like creature and finally, before going to Inkwell Hell, the Phantom Express, represented by Blind Specter, T-Bone, the Blaze Brothers and the Head of the Train. It's a tough road. Inkwell Hell has King Dice, who is a freaking Gunstar Heroes boss rush and The Devil.
Cuphead looks amazing. It's looks like it's straight out the 1930s. All the expressions of the characters, the weird antics of turning into different objects with no explanation is all here. It's truly the best looking game I've played all year. Just as beautiful as the game is, it's one tough game. It's not Souls level hard but it's definitely a test of your gaming skills. I think the toughest for me were Rumor Honeybottoms, Dr. Kahl's Robot and Grim Matchstick. Rumor is the hardest boss in the game, simply because her last phase is completely unfair. The stage is constantly going up so you have to jump on platforms to keep yourself from dying. Her last phase has her turning into an effing airplane and she now takes the complete bottom of the screen, making you shoot down at her, which is difficult to do while trying to jump and avoid damage. It's one of those fights where upon completion, you just stand and applaud yourself for the hell you've endured for the last 30 minutes. No boss every felt cheap and every time I died, I knew it was because of something I didn't pay attention to. I got so into the patterns of all the bosses, I beat the game and then played it again to try and get A rankings on all the bosses, which I did. King Dice's fight was my favorite, simply because it's a homage to Gunstar Heroes and the dice game you have to play near the end of the game. It's a frustrating time at first but once you learn the dice's pattern, find the easy path and get some extra life for the King Dice battle, you can make it through. The Devil isn't too hard but his first phase has a lot of things going on that overwhelmed me at first. Beating The Devil was one of my proudest gaming moments in my life.
Cuphead is an amazing game. It's such a broad and generic term I know but man, it's so good. It looks like you're playing a cartoon, it plays and controls like a dream, the boss battles are tough and when finally overcoming them, you get such an amazing feeling that can't be duplicated. Xbox One had a hard year, with Sony blowing them out the water with major exclusives after major exclusive. Cuphead may count as an indie game, but it puts most AAA games to shame. A must play for Xbox owners, 2D platforming aficionados or anyone who loves Gunstar Heroes.
2. Horizon: Zero Dawn
Horizon came out three days before Zelda. For me, I thought it would be eclipsed by Zelda, seeing how I had been waiting for Zelda for 3 years. What actually happened was I found a game that was a better Zelda title than the actual Zelda title released. I realize how crazy that might make me sound but Horizon is a fantastic single player only title that is not only a major accomplishment for Guerrilla Games, which has only been known for their work on Killzone, it's also one of the best Playstation 4 exclusives titles ever. EVER. It's that good.
You play as Aloy who is played by Hey Ash Whatcha Playing's Ashly Burch. Before I get into the basic plot, I just want to say how happy I am for Ashly. I've been a fan since those internet videos dropped all those years ago and it's great to see her apart of some of the new games I've been playing, like Life is Strange, Star Ocean V and Legend of Heroes. Copied straight from Wikipedia, Aloy was cast out from the Nora tribe at birth, raised by an outcast named Rost. As a child, she obtained a Focus, a small augmented reality device that gives her special perceptive abilities. After coming of age, Aloy enters a competition called the Proving to win the right to become a Nora Brave, and by extension, a member of the Nora tribe. Aloy wins the competition, but the Nora are suddenly attacked by cultists. Aloy is almost killed by their leader Helis, but is saved by Rost, who sacrifices himself to save Aloy from a bomb. When Aloy awakes, a Matriarch explains that the cultists had gained control of corrupted machines. Aloy also learns that as an infant, she was found at the foot of a sealed door. An Oseram foreigner called Olin informs Aloy that the cultists are part of a group calling themselves the Eclipse. Olin indicates that the reason Aloy was targeted by the Eclipse was due to her resemblance to an Old World scientist named Dr. Elisabet Sobeck (also voiced by Burch). You spend the rest of the game trying to track down the cultists who killed Rost and find out why you have such a resemblance to Dr. Sobeck.
H: ZD is an action RPG, and has gameplay roots in games like Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and the recent Tomb Raider games. Aloy has a spear for close range combat and a bow for long range. She also get various traps and other items as you progress in the story. Aloy can level up based on doing main quests, side quests or by killing humans or robots in the world. Aloy's focus allows her to see weaknesses on the robots and pinpointing those weaknesses is key to survival and how you will be able to take down a giant robot T-Rex by yourself. As I said, she can level up and put them into various categories like Prowler, which helps with stealth, Brave, which helps with combat and Forager, which helps with crafting. Aloy can also hack certain robots and can ride on them to get around the map. To get a better lay of the land, Aloy can find various robots she calls Longnecks, climb them and scan the area, revealing more and more activities in the area and there's a lot to do in the game.
Some of my favorite moments in the game include taking down massive robots stylishly. Hitting the robots weak point with different arrows and then finishing them off with the spear is so satisfying. There's also a lot of fun just roaming around, hunting, gathering plants for health and other boosts and finding secrets. There are these secret bases in the game, which are chock full of robots. Going through, clearing them out and fighting one big bad at the end was more Zelda than BOTW. Good stuff.
Horizon: Zero Dawn is the best new IP I've played in 2017. This is a game where gameplay shines the brightest and there are so much things to do while you play. I spent 20 hours in the game and there was still so much stuff to be done. Guerrilla Games proved that they can handle a new genre very easily and I can't wait to see what the future holds for them. A sequel? A crack at a new genre? Whatever it is, sign me up. Horizon should be experienced by every Playstation owner. In a year where PlayStation had so many games to play, this should be at the near top for everyone.
1. Persona 5
Did you expect anything less? Persona 5 can be defined as the game I've been waiting my entire adulthood for and that's not an unrealistic claim. Persona 4 was released in December of 2008 during my senior year in high school. Persona 5 was just released in April of this year, 2017. That's a 9 year gap and in that time, I've gotten married and become a deacon. My whole life has changed from the time I first played Persona 4 to Persona 5. Again, the game I've been waiting my adulthood for and it was well worth the wait as Persona 5 is not only my Game of the Year but it may go down as one of the best games of this generation and of my entire lifetime.
You play as the nameless protagonist, as always. Copied from Wikipedia, After the protagonist defends a woman from being abused by a drunken man, the protagonist is falsely charged with assault and put on probation, resulting in expulsion from his school. The protagonist is sent to Tokyo to stay with family friend Sojiro Sakura and attend Shujin Academ during his year-long probation. After his arrival, he is drawn into the Velvet Room, where Igor warns him that he must "rehabilitate" to avoid forthcoming ruin, and grants him access to a supernatural mobile app that leads the protagonist into the Metaverse and the Palace of the school's abusive volleyball coach Kamoshida. The protagonist meets Morgana, who informs him of the ability to change wicked people's hearts by stealing their "Treasure", the emotional root of their behavior, from the Palaces ruled by their Shadow selves. After successfully reforming Kamoshida, the protagonist and Morgana form the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, stealing corruption from the hearts of adults in an attempt to reform the city. The group targets teachers, crime lords and even a politician.
The gameplay that worked in Persona 3 is here again and it works even better. When you're not fighting Shadows in Palaces or Mementos, you're spending your days as a teenager, going to school, spending time with friends, working, etc. There's so many side activities to do outside battling it's baffling. P5 replaces the Social Link system with the similar but differently titled Confidant system. It's the same as the SL, just a different name fitting the story, as most of the game is spent by the main character telling it to a prosecutor. Battles in the game are turn based and again, if you know Persona, you know what's going on. Your battle party consists of four, the protagonist and three others and you can switch out to others mid battle when you get more of them. It's simple JRPG stuff but if you're able to hit a weakness of an enemy, it will go down and you get another turn. Do it for all enemies in the battle and you Hold Up the enemy. You can do an All Out attack, which is the entire party rushing in for an massive damage reducing attack, you can get money out of the enemy or convince them to join your team through negotiations.
Persona 5 isn't as hard as the others. It has its challenging parts but I never felt like I was going to lose, like in P3. Is it because I'm more experienced with games or because it's an easier game? I'm not sure. While it's not that hard of a game, it's certainly the LONGEST game I've played this year. When I finally got the ending, my playtime got to 92 hours. 92 HOURS. No game comes CLOSE to that much of my time this year. Zelda and Horizon, 20. Mario and Wolfenstein, 12. Evil Within 2 and South Park, 15. This is a FULL 92 hours here. There is A LOT of dialogue but that's to be expected in a game like this. I feel like they could have shaved off some hours but I don't regret any second with this game.
The characters in the game all share a common bond and that's that they all have been wronged by society in some way, shape or fashion. They're basically chained or prisoners to certain beliefs, ideals or stereotypes. The protagonist, because of his court record, is looked down upon by most people in the game. Ryuji, the Yousuke/Junpei best friend archetype of the game, is seen as a delinquent for his past run in with a teacher. Ann is outcast from other girls in her school, despite her good looks and popularity, due to rumors of a relationship with a teacher. Makoto feels like a burden to her sister following their father's death so strives to be better to alleviate said stress. Futaba is a hermit, chained to her house and shut off from the outside world. You come to root for this group of heroes because they've really been screwed over by life so far. You push forward more and more to see if these heroes can reach a happy ending, and thankfully, they do.
This is one of the only games where I will discuss the ending because it's the most fulfilling ending this year. The protagonist, after being judged and chained up by society's ideals for the entire game, get incarcerated so Shido can pay for his crimes. The Phantom Thieves come to his rescue and get enough evidence to overturn the decision and get him free. The gang then gets together to drive him back to his hometown and on the highway, he stands up in the van, sticks his head out the sunroof and smiles, knowing he's finally free. It's so amazing! I never felt as much joy in a game as seeing that. Nice, symbolic ending for the long adventure.
Persona 5 is perfection, hands down. Well, it's certainly not perfect but it's the best game for me this year. The story is fulfilling, the gameplay strikes a great balance between normal life and the RPG battles, the characters all have their own problems of being in chains and it's great seeming them all help each get over it, the music, OH MY GOD the music, is fantastic, catchy and some of the best in the Persona series, the ending is happy and joyful, sending the player off happy that they've experienced the last 100 hours of their life with these characters, etc. It's just such a fantastic accomplishment from Atlus and it shows why it took so long for this game to finally release. I said this with 4, but it's going to be near impossible to top this one.
There you have it! My top 10 games of the year. What do you think? How many have you played? Which is your favorite? Comment below!
Thursday, November 30, 2017
NXT Women Takeover
This year, after a Big Four PPV, there has been a call up from NXT. After the Royal Rumble, we got Samoa Joe on Raw. After Wrestlemania, we got The Revival, Elias, Tye Dillinger and Shinsuke Nakamura. After SummerSlam, Bobby Roode and Asuka were the next ones up. Survivor Series weekend just ended and following the event, many thought Drew McIntyre or The Iconic Duo of Peyton Royce and Billie Kay were the next to be featured on weekly TV. WWE went the unpredictable route this time.
Over on Raw, the first ever NXT Women's Champion, Paige, made her return to Raw and immediately made her intentions clear; a major takeover of the women's division. Claiming she wasn't alone, Paige brought along Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose from NXT to completely destroy Mickie James, Sasha Banks and Bayley. Over on Smackdown, a similar situation happened but this time, it was Ruby Riot(t), Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan leading the charge, taking out 4 of the 5 women who have held the Smackdown Women's Championship in Naomi, Becky Lynch, Natayla and Charlotte. At the end of the day, for both women's divisions, NXT is standing strong.
Definitely not the call ups I was expecting. After her loss on Saturday, I was really thinking Peyton and Billie were next up. They would be a breath of fresh air for either brand's division. I'll have to keep waiting though. Regardless, it was a great decision by WWE. Sonya, Mandy, Liv, Ruby and Sarah weren't really doing anything in NXT. Sonya was going to get loss in the shuffle once Shayna Baszler started to appear on NXT. Liv was in NXT for years and wasn't being pushed. Mandy and Sarah wasn't even featured on TV that much. Ruby is the only one of the five that was featured the most. She had a strong fanbase and with Ember as champion, could have been the first feud for her but plans change.
NXT's women division, while losing 5 women in the matter of two days, will not suffer. We'll miss the girls but do you know how deep that division truly is? Let's see: we have the current champion Ember Moon, NXT vets Peyton Roye and Billie Kay, Nikki Cross of Sanity, Mae Young Classic winner Kairi Sane, Aliyah, Lacey Evans, the star of the MYC Bianca Belair, Abbey Laith, Dakota Kai, Rhea Ripley, Sage Beckett, Shayna Baszler, Zeda, Xia Li, that's such a deep list. While I'm sure they all won't be featured, if they just give Laith, Kai, Baszler, and Belair a chance, the division will be bright. Belair alone will run the division if given the chance. She's a star.
Let's see where this goes. The last time they had a three women team, it didn't go so well but it did spark the women's revolution. Reports state that Paige might be the one behind both attacks, which I hope is the case because two identical attacks by two identical looking teams of 3 from NXT is just too uncanny to not be featured in a storyline. I'm pretty pumped for this.
Absolution and The Riott Squad. Who's going to make a bigger impact?
Over on Raw, the first ever NXT Women's Champion, Paige, made her return to Raw and immediately made her intentions clear; a major takeover of the women's division. Claiming she wasn't alone, Paige brought along Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose from NXT to completely destroy Mickie James, Sasha Banks and Bayley. Over on Smackdown, a similar situation happened but this time, it was Ruby Riot(t), Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan leading the charge, taking out 4 of the 5 women who have held the Smackdown Women's Championship in Naomi, Becky Lynch, Natayla and Charlotte. At the end of the day, for both women's divisions, NXT is standing strong.
Definitely not the call ups I was expecting. After her loss on Saturday, I was really thinking Peyton and Billie were next up. They would be a breath of fresh air for either brand's division. I'll have to keep waiting though. Regardless, it was a great decision by WWE. Sonya, Mandy, Liv, Ruby and Sarah weren't really doing anything in NXT. Sonya was going to get loss in the shuffle once Shayna Baszler started to appear on NXT. Liv was in NXT for years and wasn't being pushed. Mandy and Sarah wasn't even featured on TV that much. Ruby is the only one of the five that was featured the most. She had a strong fanbase and with Ember as champion, could have been the first feud for her but plans change.
NXT's women division, while losing 5 women in the matter of two days, will not suffer. We'll miss the girls but do you know how deep that division truly is? Let's see: we have the current champion Ember Moon, NXT vets Peyton Roye and Billie Kay, Nikki Cross of Sanity, Mae Young Classic winner Kairi Sane, Aliyah, Lacey Evans, the star of the MYC Bianca Belair, Abbey Laith, Dakota Kai, Rhea Ripley, Sage Beckett, Shayna Baszler, Zeda, Xia Li, that's such a deep list. While I'm sure they all won't be featured, if they just give Laith, Kai, Baszler, and Belair a chance, the division will be bright. Belair alone will run the division if given the chance. She's a star.
Let's see where this goes. The last time they had a three women team, it didn't go so well but it did spark the women's revolution. Reports state that Paige might be the one behind both attacks, which I hope is the case because two identical attacks by two identical looking teams of 3 from NXT is just too uncanny to not be featured in a storyline. I'm pretty pumped for this.
Absolution and The Riott Squad. Who's going to make a bigger impact?
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Takeover/Survivor Series weekend predictions
This is becoming a tradition! A Big 4 PPV comes on and we get a NXT Takeover event to start the weekend! This time, it's Takeover War Games and Survivor Series, emanating from Houston, Texas. Takeover has 6 matches on the card, one dark match while Survivor Series features 7, many featuring interbrand matches between Raw and Smackdown. Let's talk Takeover first.
First off, the live crowd will be treated to an absolute gem of a match as Pete Dunne will defend the WWE United Kingdom Championship against Johnny Gargano. HOW IS THIS NOT ON THE MAIN CARD!?!?! I'm legit upset. This could be a match of the year contender if these two go all out. Ugh...
Kassius Ohno will battle Lars Sullivan in the battle of the heavyweights. Sullivan is an absolute beast and will be the next major monster heel on the main roster. While I don't think Sullivan will become NXT Champion (none of the monsters heels seem to do) I do think he'll be a major player on the main roster. His NXT run is just getting started and by defeating Kassius Ohno, it will continue his dominant run. Sullivan with the easy win. This should be fun to watch.
Aleister Black will be facing The Velveteen Dream in a strange match up. Strange, because I feel like Black should be facing someone on his level. Dream is still relatively fresh in the company so this is more like a big match for Dream and not a big match for Black. I guess all the other guys were busy so this was the only other option. Black's first loss should not come from Dream. He needs to have a good showing, come close to beating him but in the end, fail and let Black's run continue. Black wins with the Black Mass.
Drew McIntyre puts up his NXT Championship against Andrade Cien Almas. Almas has had this coming for a long time. He was one of the big time talents NXT signed in the years after its big breakout but they really haven't used him to his maximum potential. Turning heel and aligning with Zelina Vega has done wonders for him and he's getting his first shot at the title here. McIntyre won't be having a short reign as champion. The person I see dethroning him is Adam Cole, who would eventually lose to Johnny Gargano, who would then be attacking by a returning Tommaso Ciampa to set up that mega match. Almas beating McIntyre would be nice as he should have had a run with the title or at least be in contention for it by now but now that McIntyre has been crowned the next face of the brand, Almas is just there to help make Drew looks good. McIntyre wins in a hard fought match.
For the first time in a year and a half (19 months to be exact), we will have a new NXT Women's Champion. Four superstars will compete for the right to call themselves the 6th NXT Women's Champ. They are Peyton Royce, one half of the Iconic Duo, Nikki Cross, a member of Sanity, Ember Moon, Asuka last opponent in NXT and Kairi Sane, the winner of the inaugural Mae Young Classic. It's easy to look at the four competitors and say we know the winner. Kairi has been booked as another hard hitting resilient female wrestler from the land of the rising sun. Asuka left a lasting impression on NXT and it could be that WWE wants to keep a dominant Japanese star as champion. While I think Kairi winning the title should happen, I don't think it needs to happen this quickly. She's been on TV for NXT for about 2 months. She doesn't need to win the Mae Young Classic and the women's title in her first two months. It's like overkill. I don't like this version of Nikki Cross in NXT. I would have preferred her Best in the Universe gimmick opposed to the craziness of Sanity. She has a strong chance of winning due to her group already holding onto the tag titles. Adding one more title wouldn't be a bad thing to show their dominance. Ember Moon, in all reality, should have defeated Asuka at Takeover Brooklyn III. I know they wanted Asuka to remain undefeated for her main roster debut but now I'm nervous anytime she wrestles. I don't want her streak to end because of some dumb main roster hi-jinks. Moon should have gone over but she gets another chance here and of the four, she's one I feel like should do it, based on the fact she gave Asuka two hard fought matches. Peyton Royce has been in NXT the longest, dating back to her tryout in 2014. Peyton and Billie Kay have found their niche as apart of the NXT women's division, being two mean girls ala LayCool or the BFFs. It works for them and could lead to title gold for Peyton and an eventual feud with Billie Kay.
Of the four, I'm pulling most for Peyton because of that. I think we need a heel champion to run the division at this point. Let Ember, Ruby, Nikki and Kairi chase Peyton until Mania season. I'm going with Peyton Royce to win her first NXT Women's Championship at Takeover, thanks to Billie Kay.
The main event of Takeover Wargames is....the WarGames match. It will see Sainty, The Authors of Pain and Roddick Strong and The Undisputed Era in one massive match with two rings and one cage. This will be the first WarGames match I will see live as I wasn't into WCW when they were doing it 20 years ago. This will be a fun main event but like the TLC main event, there's nothing really on the line. Even though Sanity are the tag champs, the titles will not be defended. Again, should be a great and chaotic main event, especially with all the major talent but at the end of the day, it won't progress anything, except maybe Adam Cole to a NXT TItle shot. The Undisputed Era wins, Cole will face McIntyre at Takeover Philadelphia. Hopefully...
Survivor Series started off as a basic Big 4 PPV but has since become a major event, featuring all champion VS champion matches, a dream match and a lot of major WWE stars in the men's elimination match. Let's talk!
Enzo and Kalisto. Yawn. I hate Enzo in the Cruiserweight division. Yes, he brings exposure but not technical ability. We need guys like Cedric Alexander, Neville and Gran Metalik as the faces of the division. Enzo can compete but not be the top guy when there are dozens of other great talents. Enzo wins because.......yeah.
Originally, The Usos were going to take on Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins in what was definitely set to be the best match on the card. As is the theme with the PPV, plans changed and now, Cesaro and Sheamus will get the nod to defend Raw in the battle of the tag team champions. This is a great change. Yes, those four would have tore the house down but Sheamus and Cesaro have been the best Raw tag team all year. They deserve to get this slot. And don't sleep on them either, as they've put on some of the most hard hitting tag matches of the year. This will be exciting, hard hitting and fast paced. Expect superkicks, uppercuts and fists. As great as a team SheCesaro has been, there has been no team better than The Usos in 2017. Their claim of putting the tag division on Smackdown on lock has been true and they will prove they are the best team on Sunday. The Usos will defeat Sheamus and Cesaro, winning the match for Smackdown.
Mid-card champions will clash when Raw's Intercontinental Champion The Miz will face Smackdown's United States Champion Baron Corbin. Though it's a heel VS heel match, Miz is more of the babyface with more of the fans behind him, simply because he has put in the work for the last few years. Remember when everyone said Miz wouldn't amount to anything? Here we are, with Miz having held the IC Title on 7 different occasions and is the third longest reigning champion with combined reigns. I'm a fan of both men but Miz is the superior champion in this situation and needs a win after taking losses from The Olympic Shield and The Original Shield. Miz wins, maybe with the help from his cronies and gets a big win for Raw.
One of the two traditional Survivor Series matches will feature the women of both brands. Raw will have Team Captain Alicia Fox with Sasha Banks, Nia Jax, Bayley and Asuka facing Team Captain Becky Lynch with Naomi, Tamina, Carmella and now, thanks to Charlotte winning the Smackdown Women's Title this week, a fifth member yet to be determined. Based on elimination, it should be Natalya or Lana but obviously, let's start speculation that Paige will be the last member or hey, even Nikki Bella. There's a lot of names I guess....Anyway, looking at Raw's team, it's kind of a bomb squad. You have the always intimidating and dominant Nia Jax, the unpredictable Alicia Fox, who's a former Divas Champion in her own right and the last three women to have held the NXT Women's Title in Asuka, Sasha and Bayley. Asuka is also undefeated AKA hasn't been pinned. They just have a better team. It really depends who is going to be the last member of the Smackdown Team. If it indeed is Paige or Nikki, Smackdown will win with one of them being the surviving memeber. If it's Natalya, Raw will win. Based on last year, one brand will win each of the men and women's traditional matches and Raw won last year in this one. I just don't see the point of putting Asuka on the team and them NOT winning. I could see Asuka going down 4-1 or even 5-1 and then coming back to look as unstoppable as possible. I'd love to see Smackdown win here but they can only get the W if they have Paige or Nikki and I'm not holding my breath. Team Raw wins with Asuka in some way being one of or the lone survivor.
In a match I didn't know I wanted until the seeds were planted last week, The Original Shield will face The New Day in a 6 man tag match. The Shield have been one of the best groups in WWE history, all holding titles together and then all becoming WWE World Champion after their split. The New Day have been tag champions four times, while their 2nd reign as WWE Tag Team Champions is the longest in the company's history. It's the two best and most successful trios in one massive match that could only take place at Survivor Series. It's a smart move. I wanted to see Ambrose/Rollins and The Usos badly but I want to see this even more. Being this is The Shield's 2nd match back together, the first on PPV in 3 years and it being the 5 year anniversary of their debut, there's no way The Shield can lose. This will be one hell of a match but The Shield will win and continue their reunion tour.
The two most dominant female wrestlers of the past two years will do battle at Survivor Series with Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss facing the new Smackdown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair. It's the best match the two shows could do besides another Sasha/Charlotte match. This is another match that got changed from its original iteration but it's only for the better. If Alexa Bliss can win this match, she will own victories over each member of the WWE Four Horsewomen in one year. I don't think any other woman can say that. With Raw taking all the victories in my predictions, I don't think she'll get to claim that just yet. Charlotte will make Alexa tap out to get a big victory for Smackdown.
The men's traditional Survivor Series elimination match is a massive one, featuring the cream of the crop in talent and big names. Team Raw has Captain Kurt Angle, Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor and Triple H. Team Smackdown has Captain Shane McMahon, Bobby Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura, Randy Orton and John Cena. THIS is a SS match. The men combined have a total 50 WORLD TITLE REIGNS. 50. That's not a typo.You have three of the four top guys in World Title reigns. There's Cena and Flair with 16, Triple H with 14 and Randy Orton with 13. I'm not even counting Joe and Angle's World Title reigns in different companies. It's ridiculous. There are SO many dream match ups in this match. Let's see...Cena/Strowman? Check. Angle/Nakamura? Check. Joe/Orton? Check. Triple H/Roode? Check! And you can just mix and match them from there. So many great storylines can start from this match to the Road to Wrestlemania. Notably missing are Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Jinder Mahal but don't rule them out just yet.
I expect Randy Orton to be the last man remaining for his team. It's his thing. EVERY team he's been apart of, whether he won or loss, he was the last member standing. He's won 5 of these matches, including three in a row at the start of his career and last year's Raw VS Smackdown affair. He's Mr. Survivor Series. While I think Orton will be the last guy for Smackdown, I don't think that will equal a win for Team Blue. It's pretty clear that Zayn and Owens don't give a damn about this brand supremacy crap and as a way to stick it to Shane and Smackdown, I can see them costing Orton the match and starting a feud with him for the next few months. Maybe it will come down to Joe and Orton and Orton will get distracted by the two, get caught by Joe and forced to submit. Maybe it won't even happen like that. Regardless, I'm looking forward to a lengthy match. Last year's contest was 52 minutes. It doesn't have to be that long this year but I'd like it close to the 45 minute mark. I don't know how or exactly what is going to go down but I have Team Raw winning this one. They haven't won a men's elimination match yet against Smackdown. That needs to end.
The main event was originally going to be WWE Champion Jinder Mahal facing Universal Champion Brock Lesnar in a match virtually no one wanted to see but thanks to our savior AJ Styles, we instead get a once in a lifetime dream match as Styles will now challenge The Beast at Survivor Series. Will this be a competitive match? That's the biggest question going into the event. Styles is definitely the most talented star that Lesnar has faced in this Suplex City version of Lesnar. I just don't see WWE putting the title on Styles just to make Lesnar look good. Obviously, with the plans in place, WWE won't be having Lesnar lose. He can't lose any matches until Golden Boy Reigns defeats Lesnar at Wrestlemania 34. Styles will definitely put up a convincing fight but it will end like all Lesnar matches have ended in 2017, with Lesnar the victor. Lesnar will win after catching AJ from a Phenomenal Forearm into a F5. Raw will win the final match of the show.
So I have Raw winning the show 5-2, with only Charlotte and The Usos winning for Smackdown. I think that's better than the obvious 4-3 barely winning edge.
Regardless, it's all going down this weekend! I'm really looking forward to both shows!
First off, the live crowd will be treated to an absolute gem of a match as Pete Dunne will defend the WWE United Kingdom Championship against Johnny Gargano. HOW IS THIS NOT ON THE MAIN CARD!?!?! I'm legit upset. This could be a match of the year contender if these two go all out. Ugh...
Kassius Ohno will battle Lars Sullivan in the battle of the heavyweights. Sullivan is an absolute beast and will be the next major monster heel on the main roster. While I don't think Sullivan will become NXT Champion (none of the monsters heels seem to do) I do think he'll be a major player on the main roster. His NXT run is just getting started and by defeating Kassius Ohno, it will continue his dominant run. Sullivan with the easy win. This should be fun to watch.
Aleister Black will be facing The Velveteen Dream in a strange match up. Strange, because I feel like Black should be facing someone on his level. Dream is still relatively fresh in the company so this is more like a big match for Dream and not a big match for Black. I guess all the other guys were busy so this was the only other option. Black's first loss should not come from Dream. He needs to have a good showing, come close to beating him but in the end, fail and let Black's run continue. Black wins with the Black Mass.
Drew McIntyre puts up his NXT Championship against Andrade Cien Almas. Almas has had this coming for a long time. He was one of the big time talents NXT signed in the years after its big breakout but they really haven't used him to his maximum potential. Turning heel and aligning with Zelina Vega has done wonders for him and he's getting his first shot at the title here. McIntyre won't be having a short reign as champion. The person I see dethroning him is Adam Cole, who would eventually lose to Johnny Gargano, who would then be attacking by a returning Tommaso Ciampa to set up that mega match. Almas beating McIntyre would be nice as he should have had a run with the title or at least be in contention for it by now but now that McIntyre has been crowned the next face of the brand, Almas is just there to help make Drew looks good. McIntyre wins in a hard fought match.
For the first time in a year and a half (19 months to be exact), we will have a new NXT Women's Champion. Four superstars will compete for the right to call themselves the 6th NXT Women's Champ. They are Peyton Royce, one half of the Iconic Duo, Nikki Cross, a member of Sanity, Ember Moon, Asuka last opponent in NXT and Kairi Sane, the winner of the inaugural Mae Young Classic. It's easy to look at the four competitors and say we know the winner. Kairi has been booked as another hard hitting resilient female wrestler from the land of the rising sun. Asuka left a lasting impression on NXT and it could be that WWE wants to keep a dominant Japanese star as champion. While I think Kairi winning the title should happen, I don't think it needs to happen this quickly. She's been on TV for NXT for about 2 months. She doesn't need to win the Mae Young Classic and the women's title in her first two months. It's like overkill. I don't like this version of Nikki Cross in NXT. I would have preferred her Best in the Universe gimmick opposed to the craziness of Sanity. She has a strong chance of winning due to her group already holding onto the tag titles. Adding one more title wouldn't be a bad thing to show their dominance. Ember Moon, in all reality, should have defeated Asuka at Takeover Brooklyn III. I know they wanted Asuka to remain undefeated for her main roster debut but now I'm nervous anytime she wrestles. I don't want her streak to end because of some dumb main roster hi-jinks. Moon should have gone over but she gets another chance here and of the four, she's one I feel like should do it, based on the fact she gave Asuka two hard fought matches. Peyton Royce has been in NXT the longest, dating back to her tryout in 2014. Peyton and Billie Kay have found their niche as apart of the NXT women's division, being two mean girls ala LayCool or the BFFs. It works for them and could lead to title gold for Peyton and an eventual feud with Billie Kay.
Of the four, I'm pulling most for Peyton because of that. I think we need a heel champion to run the division at this point. Let Ember, Ruby, Nikki and Kairi chase Peyton until Mania season. I'm going with Peyton Royce to win her first NXT Women's Championship at Takeover, thanks to Billie Kay.
The main event of Takeover Wargames is....the WarGames match. It will see Sainty, The Authors of Pain and Roddick Strong and The Undisputed Era in one massive match with two rings and one cage. This will be the first WarGames match I will see live as I wasn't into WCW when they were doing it 20 years ago. This will be a fun main event but like the TLC main event, there's nothing really on the line. Even though Sanity are the tag champs, the titles will not be defended. Again, should be a great and chaotic main event, especially with all the major talent but at the end of the day, it won't progress anything, except maybe Adam Cole to a NXT TItle shot. The Undisputed Era wins, Cole will face McIntyre at Takeover Philadelphia. Hopefully...
Survivor Series started off as a basic Big 4 PPV but has since become a major event, featuring all champion VS champion matches, a dream match and a lot of major WWE stars in the men's elimination match. Let's talk!
Enzo and Kalisto. Yawn. I hate Enzo in the Cruiserweight division. Yes, he brings exposure but not technical ability. We need guys like Cedric Alexander, Neville and Gran Metalik as the faces of the division. Enzo can compete but not be the top guy when there are dozens of other great talents. Enzo wins because.......yeah.
Originally, The Usos were going to take on Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins in what was definitely set to be the best match on the card. As is the theme with the PPV, plans changed and now, Cesaro and Sheamus will get the nod to defend Raw in the battle of the tag team champions. This is a great change. Yes, those four would have tore the house down but Sheamus and Cesaro have been the best Raw tag team all year. They deserve to get this slot. And don't sleep on them either, as they've put on some of the most hard hitting tag matches of the year. This will be exciting, hard hitting and fast paced. Expect superkicks, uppercuts and fists. As great as a team SheCesaro has been, there has been no team better than The Usos in 2017. Their claim of putting the tag division on Smackdown on lock has been true and they will prove they are the best team on Sunday. The Usos will defeat Sheamus and Cesaro, winning the match for Smackdown.
Mid-card champions will clash when Raw's Intercontinental Champion The Miz will face Smackdown's United States Champion Baron Corbin. Though it's a heel VS heel match, Miz is more of the babyface with more of the fans behind him, simply because he has put in the work for the last few years. Remember when everyone said Miz wouldn't amount to anything? Here we are, with Miz having held the IC Title on 7 different occasions and is the third longest reigning champion with combined reigns. I'm a fan of both men but Miz is the superior champion in this situation and needs a win after taking losses from The Olympic Shield and The Original Shield. Miz wins, maybe with the help from his cronies and gets a big win for Raw.
One of the two traditional Survivor Series matches will feature the women of both brands. Raw will have Team Captain Alicia Fox with Sasha Banks, Nia Jax, Bayley and Asuka facing Team Captain Becky Lynch with Naomi, Tamina, Carmella and now, thanks to Charlotte winning the Smackdown Women's Title this week, a fifth member yet to be determined. Based on elimination, it should be Natalya or Lana but obviously, let's start speculation that Paige will be the last member or hey, even Nikki Bella. There's a lot of names I guess....Anyway, looking at Raw's team, it's kind of a bomb squad. You have the always intimidating and dominant Nia Jax, the unpredictable Alicia Fox, who's a former Divas Champion in her own right and the last three women to have held the NXT Women's Title in Asuka, Sasha and Bayley. Asuka is also undefeated AKA hasn't been pinned. They just have a better team. It really depends who is going to be the last member of the Smackdown Team. If it indeed is Paige or Nikki, Smackdown will win with one of them being the surviving memeber. If it's Natalya, Raw will win. Based on last year, one brand will win each of the men and women's traditional matches and Raw won last year in this one. I just don't see the point of putting Asuka on the team and them NOT winning. I could see Asuka going down 4-1 or even 5-1 and then coming back to look as unstoppable as possible. I'd love to see Smackdown win here but they can only get the W if they have Paige or Nikki and I'm not holding my breath. Team Raw wins with Asuka in some way being one of or the lone survivor.
In a match I didn't know I wanted until the seeds were planted last week, The Original Shield will face The New Day in a 6 man tag match. The Shield have been one of the best groups in WWE history, all holding titles together and then all becoming WWE World Champion after their split. The New Day have been tag champions four times, while their 2nd reign as WWE Tag Team Champions is the longest in the company's history. It's the two best and most successful trios in one massive match that could only take place at Survivor Series. It's a smart move. I wanted to see Ambrose/Rollins and The Usos badly but I want to see this even more. Being this is The Shield's 2nd match back together, the first on PPV in 3 years and it being the 5 year anniversary of their debut, there's no way The Shield can lose. This will be one hell of a match but The Shield will win and continue their reunion tour.
The two most dominant female wrestlers of the past two years will do battle at Survivor Series with Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss facing the new Smackdown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair. It's the best match the two shows could do besides another Sasha/Charlotte match. This is another match that got changed from its original iteration but it's only for the better. If Alexa Bliss can win this match, she will own victories over each member of the WWE Four Horsewomen in one year. I don't think any other woman can say that. With Raw taking all the victories in my predictions, I don't think she'll get to claim that just yet. Charlotte will make Alexa tap out to get a big victory for Smackdown.
The men's traditional Survivor Series elimination match is a massive one, featuring the cream of the crop in talent and big names. Team Raw has Captain Kurt Angle, Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor and Triple H. Team Smackdown has Captain Shane McMahon, Bobby Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura, Randy Orton and John Cena. THIS is a SS match. The men combined have a total 50 WORLD TITLE REIGNS. 50. That's not a typo.You have three of the four top guys in World Title reigns. There's Cena and Flair with 16, Triple H with 14 and Randy Orton with 13. I'm not even counting Joe and Angle's World Title reigns in different companies. It's ridiculous. There are SO many dream match ups in this match. Let's see...Cena/Strowman? Check. Angle/Nakamura? Check. Joe/Orton? Check. Triple H/Roode? Check! And you can just mix and match them from there. So many great storylines can start from this match to the Road to Wrestlemania. Notably missing are Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Jinder Mahal but don't rule them out just yet.
I expect Randy Orton to be the last man remaining for his team. It's his thing. EVERY team he's been apart of, whether he won or loss, he was the last member standing. He's won 5 of these matches, including three in a row at the start of his career and last year's Raw VS Smackdown affair. He's Mr. Survivor Series. While I think Orton will be the last guy for Smackdown, I don't think that will equal a win for Team Blue. It's pretty clear that Zayn and Owens don't give a damn about this brand supremacy crap and as a way to stick it to Shane and Smackdown, I can see them costing Orton the match and starting a feud with him for the next few months. Maybe it will come down to Joe and Orton and Orton will get distracted by the two, get caught by Joe and forced to submit. Maybe it won't even happen like that. Regardless, I'm looking forward to a lengthy match. Last year's contest was 52 minutes. It doesn't have to be that long this year but I'd like it close to the 45 minute mark. I don't know how or exactly what is going to go down but I have Team Raw winning this one. They haven't won a men's elimination match yet against Smackdown. That needs to end.
The main event was originally going to be WWE Champion Jinder Mahal facing Universal Champion Brock Lesnar in a match virtually no one wanted to see but thanks to our savior AJ Styles, we instead get a once in a lifetime dream match as Styles will now challenge The Beast at Survivor Series. Will this be a competitive match? That's the biggest question going into the event. Styles is definitely the most talented star that Lesnar has faced in this Suplex City version of Lesnar. I just don't see WWE putting the title on Styles just to make Lesnar look good. Obviously, with the plans in place, WWE won't be having Lesnar lose. He can't lose any matches until Golden Boy Reigns defeats Lesnar at Wrestlemania 34. Styles will definitely put up a convincing fight but it will end like all Lesnar matches have ended in 2017, with Lesnar the victor. Lesnar will win after catching AJ from a Phenomenal Forearm into a F5. Raw will win the final match of the show.
So I have Raw winning the show 5-2, with only Charlotte and The Usos winning for Smackdown. I think that's better than the obvious 4-3 barely winning edge.
Regardless, it's all going down this weekend! I'm really looking forward to both shows!
Friday, November 3, 2017
My wallet....
(Note: I started this post in late August and have failed to get this out when I wanted to due to life. For the games that have already released, I updated them, which, is now ALL of them.)
As the summer begins to wind down, the fall and winter seasons are upon us, which means major video game releases. While September, November and December are relatively light, at least for me, October looks to be a soul crushing, wallet grubbing month but we'll get to that. Let's go month by month.
In September, while everyone will be delving into the world of Destiny 2, I'll be exploring the worlds of two major Japanese series and finally playing one game that was one of my most anticipated games on the Xbox One.
First up, on September 12th, is Ys VIII, the eighth main series entry in the storied Ys series. I was first introduced to this series with Ys VI on PS2 and that was an average game looking back at it but everyone afterwards has been top notch, especially Ys: Memories of Celceta. I got to play the demo for VIII and it plays exactly like MOC so I'm really looking forward to a massive adventure come September. Need a little hack n slash JRPG goodness to start off the gaming releases. I don't know much of the story or much else and that's how I like to enter most games. No spoilers here! Ys VIII lives up to what I needed, a fantastic hack and slash action RPG experience.
Two weeks later, Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony releases for PS4 and PS Vita, a first for the series after the first two entries only released first on the Vita. I have three favorite visual novel series, Phoenix Wright, Zero Escape, and Danganronpa. PW is still going strong, the Zero Escape series wrapped up last year with a fantastic third entry and now it's time for Danganronpa to take the spotlight. Danganronpa mastefully mixes visual novel aspects with a murder mystery. The gameplay takes cues from Phoenix Wright and it makes for one impactful experience. Both games were so riveting, I binge played them, putting heavy hours into each gaming session I had, neglecting all real world obligations to play through the fictitious world and find out who killed who, how and why. There were some really creative killings in the game and I can't wait to see what else is in store. I've played it for 5 hours and I have to say, SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS killing the supposed main character within the first chapter was mind blowing. Really threw me through a loop EARLY in the game. Let's see if it gets deeper than that.
And it definitely did with the whole, you're playing a game, that's INSIDE a game. It was really Star Ocean 3-ish but it worked. I can see others may not like it but it did the job for me. It was a fantastic series, one that rivals my love for the Zero Escape series. I do feel, though, as with Zero Escape, the third entry is the weakest in the series. I'm not saying that to condemn the game but compared to the second ones in each series, they didn't live up to hype. Great games and I loved D3 ending compared to Zero Time Dilemma. Just saying, but that is a conversation for another post...
On the last Friday in September, Cuphead will finally be released for Xbox One. Cuphead, the only exclusive title I will have played all year on Xbox and I've been waiting for it since E3 2014. Cuphead is a throwback to games of old and is a run and gun game featuring plenty of boss battles. The game looks like a cartoon from the 1930s and looks absolutely beautiful. I can see why it took so long to finally release. This was one of the only games I wanted when I first got an Xbox One so I can't wait to finally see what the game is hitting for in September.
After playing Cuphead over its release weekend and completing the game for the first time, I can honestly say it's the best Xbox One exclusive I've played in years, maybe since Ori and the Blind Forest. Everything about it feels original, even though it's clearly inspired by Contra and cartoons of the 1930s. Every boss battle feels daunting and new and there were many battles where I was struggling for long periods of time. Nothing over an hour but some bosses kept me glued to the screen for much longer than I thought I would. Some bosses, specifically the first one with the Root Pack and the medusa inspired one, were over before they started but out of Cuphead's 19 bosses, (28 counting the 9 in the casino game boss rush inspired by Gunstar Heroes) they were the only ones. Cuphead is a game that demands you be better. You can't slack off and expect to win battles. You must master the movement and patterns of the bosses, parry when you need, select the right type of shots you want, it's all apart of the Cuphead experience. If you own a Xbox, you NEED to play the game. It has the best art style of any game this year and the gameplay to match many of the heavy hitters that have already been released.
October is the busiest month in gaming this year, with 8 major releases coming out in a 17 day span. Middle Earth: Shadow of War on October 10th, Evil Within 2 on October 13th, WWE 2K18 on October 13th or 17th, depending on what edition you buy, South Park: The Fractured But Whole on October 17th, Fire Emblem Warriors on October 20th, and on the single biggest release day in video games this year, October 27th sees the release of Wolfenstein II, Assassin's Creed Origins and Super Mario Odyssey. Of the 8 releases, I'll be playing all 8 definitely but only getting 6 because, hey, I still have to live. Of the 6 I'm getting, I'm definitely most excited for Evil Within 2. EW1 was such an amazing survival horror experience and succeeded in where games like Resident Evil 5 and 6 failed. I expect more of the same with this one. Low ammo. a lot of creatures stalking me and more of those creepy boss battles. Wolfenstein II is a sequel I didn't realize I wanted but there's just something about these old school shooters that I love. Wolfenstein was a surprise for me and I didn't think I would get as into it as I did but the visceral feeling and the storyline kept me coming back. Doom was more of the same so I have high hopes for Wolfenstein II. Super Mario Odyssey will be the first main entry Mario game I will buy on release day. I've gotten many of the RPGs ones on day one but not any of his platforming adventures. I've bought just about EVERY Zelda game since Wind Waker at launch but Nintendo's plumber is a different story. While I've played each console outing Mario has had in the past 20 years, I've never bought one on release day, probably because I'm not the biggest Mario platformer fan (Paper Mario 2 is my favorite Mario game for the record) but Odyssey looks amazing and is returning to the open world feel of Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, two of my favorite Mario games. Besides, my Switch needs the love. I've played like 4 games for Switch; Zelda, Has Been Heroes, NBA Playgrounds and Mario + Rabbids. That's it. I need to show it some attention. Regardless of your gaming tastes, October has a game for everyone.
After playing 6 of the 8 games I've discussed (I got ACO instead of WWE thanks to Amazon not shipping the game), all I can say is WOW. This month has been the best gaming month of my lifetime or at least since I've been gaming. The amount of heavy hitters is astounding and they've all lived up to the hype. South Park is the one I've given the most time to and I was able to complete it this past week. It's addicting. The new battle system is 10 tens better the Stick of Truth's and I love the parody of the superhero craze. It's a masterpiece of an RPG but I think only South Park fans will truly enjoy it as it's filled with many of the series ongoing jokes and gags. I legit cried when SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS you have to face Jared from Subway in a boss battle. SO offensive but it was hilarious. The Evil Within 2 is open world, which was a bit of a shock to me, and it gives you side quests and such to do as well as the main mission. Though I care always craft ammo, I still feel just as helpless in this one as I did in the original and that's a good thing. That's survival horror. I've enjoyed the two boss battles I've experienced as well and can't wait to rescue Sebastian's daughter. Hopefully. I haven't really delved too deep into Shadow of War. It feels a little too similar to its predecessor and I got distracted by EW2 once the comparisons were clear. Super Mario Odyssey is massive. I knew it was sandbox but this is not what I was expecting. And can we talk about how many Power Moons are in the game? 883! There were only 120 stars in SM64. I think it my first two hour play of Odyssey, I got between 25-35 Moons. That's it! This is going to be a long run. Wolfenstein II is vicious, violent and awesome. Seriously, one of my favorite FPSs ever. The story is so human like, it's so gritty. You actually feel like you're living in this alternate history America and it's terrifying. 7 hours in and I love it. If I had to rank the top three I've played, it would be South Park, Wolfenstein II and Evil Within 2.
November is light for me, which is a good thing because I'll need time to delve into the 6 games I'll be playing. Originally, Crackdown 3 and Ni No Kuni II were going to be released but their delays until 2018 is a blessing in disguise. I might pick up .hack for a good JRPG fix (I did, stupid me as I'll have NO time to play it) and The Impatient for a good VR horror experience but again, between killing Orcs in Shadow of War, running from supernatural creatures in Evil Within 2, hitting finishers in WWE 2K18, laughing at obscene jokes in South Park, killing Nazis in Wolfenstein or jumping around New Donk City in Super Mario Odyssey, I won't have a lot of time to spare. SOW will probably last me 20 hours, Evil Within 2, 15, South Park another 20-30 (wrong, only 15 and that includes defeating the optional super boss), Wolfenstein 15 and Mario 20+. I need to complete all or most of them by December.
December 1st marks the release of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 AKA one of the reasons I knew I had to get a Nintendo Switch. I haven't had an expansive JRPG experience since Persona 5 and that took 80 hours of my life between April and May. The original Xenoblade is an amazing game, one that took over my life twice, once on the Wii and once on my New 3DS, which I bought just so I could finally finish the game years after getting to the end and not completing it. Xenoblade Chronicles X was fun for a weekend but with no real story, it didn't capture me like the first. I'm glad to see 2 is going back to the roots and will feature a turn based, story based game. I don't know anything other than that and I want to keep it at. I'm hoping for lengthy adventure, optional bosses and fun combat. December is going to the month of Xenoblade, that is, if I can finish Wolfenstein, Evil Within and Mario by then. Shadow of War and Assassin's Creed will wait...
Best gaming year ever? Maybe, if you combine it with the absolute onslaught from the beginning of the year, including Game of the Year contenders Nioh, Horizon: Zero Dawn and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Whatever your preference, 2017 has a game for you, especially in the last few months.
Happy gaming all!!!
As the summer begins to wind down, the fall and winter seasons are upon us, which means major video game releases. While September, November and December are relatively light, at least for me, October looks to be a soul crushing, wallet grubbing month but we'll get to that. Let's go month by month.
In September, while everyone will be delving into the world of Destiny 2, I'll be exploring the worlds of two major Japanese series and finally playing one game that was one of my most anticipated games on the Xbox One.
First up, on September 12th, is Ys VIII, the eighth main series entry in the storied Ys series. I was first introduced to this series with Ys VI on PS2 and that was an average game looking back at it but everyone afterwards has been top notch, especially Ys: Memories of Celceta. I got to play the demo for VIII and it plays exactly like MOC so I'm really looking forward to a massive adventure come September. Need a little hack n slash JRPG goodness to start off the gaming releases. I don't know much of the story or much else and that's how I like to enter most games. No spoilers here! Ys VIII lives up to what I needed, a fantastic hack and slash action RPG experience.
Two weeks later, Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony releases for PS4 and PS Vita, a first for the series after the first two entries only released first on the Vita. I have three favorite visual novel series, Phoenix Wright, Zero Escape, and Danganronpa. PW is still going strong, the Zero Escape series wrapped up last year with a fantastic third entry and now it's time for Danganronpa to take the spotlight. Danganronpa mastefully mixes visual novel aspects with a murder mystery. The gameplay takes cues from Phoenix Wright and it makes for one impactful experience. Both games were so riveting, I binge played them, putting heavy hours into each gaming session I had, neglecting all real world obligations to play through the fictitious world and find out who killed who, how and why. There were some really creative killings in the game and I can't wait to see what else is in store. I've played it for 5 hours and I have to say, SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS killing the supposed main character within the first chapter was mind blowing. Really threw me through a loop EARLY in the game. Let's see if it gets deeper than that.
And it definitely did with the whole, you're playing a game, that's INSIDE a game. It was really Star Ocean 3-ish but it worked. I can see others may not like it but it did the job for me. It was a fantastic series, one that rivals my love for the Zero Escape series. I do feel, though, as with Zero Escape, the third entry is the weakest in the series. I'm not saying that to condemn the game but compared to the second ones in each series, they didn't live up to hype. Great games and I loved D3 ending compared to Zero Time Dilemma. Just saying, but that is a conversation for another post...
On the last Friday in September, Cuphead will finally be released for Xbox One. Cuphead, the only exclusive title I will have played all year on Xbox and I've been waiting for it since E3 2014. Cuphead is a throwback to games of old and is a run and gun game featuring plenty of boss battles. The game looks like a cartoon from the 1930s and looks absolutely beautiful. I can see why it took so long to finally release. This was one of the only games I wanted when I first got an Xbox One so I can't wait to finally see what the game is hitting for in September.
After playing Cuphead over its release weekend and completing the game for the first time, I can honestly say it's the best Xbox One exclusive I've played in years, maybe since Ori and the Blind Forest. Everything about it feels original, even though it's clearly inspired by Contra and cartoons of the 1930s. Every boss battle feels daunting and new and there were many battles where I was struggling for long periods of time. Nothing over an hour but some bosses kept me glued to the screen for much longer than I thought I would. Some bosses, specifically the first one with the Root Pack and the medusa inspired one, were over before they started but out of Cuphead's 19 bosses, (28 counting the 9 in the casino game boss rush inspired by Gunstar Heroes) they were the only ones. Cuphead is a game that demands you be better. You can't slack off and expect to win battles. You must master the movement and patterns of the bosses, parry when you need, select the right type of shots you want, it's all apart of the Cuphead experience. If you own a Xbox, you NEED to play the game. It has the best art style of any game this year and the gameplay to match many of the heavy hitters that have already been released.
October is the busiest month in gaming this year, with 8 major releases coming out in a 17 day span. Middle Earth: Shadow of War on October 10th, Evil Within 2 on October 13th, WWE 2K18 on October 13th or 17th, depending on what edition you buy, South Park: The Fractured But Whole on October 17th, Fire Emblem Warriors on October 20th, and on the single biggest release day in video games this year, October 27th sees the release of Wolfenstein II, Assassin's Creed Origins and Super Mario Odyssey. Of the 8 releases, I'll be playing all 8 definitely but only getting 6 because, hey, I still have to live. Of the 6 I'm getting, I'm definitely most excited for Evil Within 2. EW1 was such an amazing survival horror experience and succeeded in where games like Resident Evil 5 and 6 failed. I expect more of the same with this one. Low ammo. a lot of creatures stalking me and more of those creepy boss battles. Wolfenstein II is a sequel I didn't realize I wanted but there's just something about these old school shooters that I love. Wolfenstein was a surprise for me and I didn't think I would get as into it as I did but the visceral feeling and the storyline kept me coming back. Doom was more of the same so I have high hopes for Wolfenstein II. Super Mario Odyssey will be the first main entry Mario game I will buy on release day. I've gotten many of the RPGs ones on day one but not any of his platforming adventures. I've bought just about EVERY Zelda game since Wind Waker at launch but Nintendo's plumber is a different story. While I've played each console outing Mario has had in the past 20 years, I've never bought one on release day, probably because I'm not the biggest Mario platformer fan (Paper Mario 2 is my favorite Mario game for the record) but Odyssey looks amazing and is returning to the open world feel of Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, two of my favorite Mario games. Besides, my Switch needs the love. I've played like 4 games for Switch; Zelda, Has Been Heroes, NBA Playgrounds and Mario + Rabbids. That's it. I need to show it some attention. Regardless of your gaming tastes, October has a game for everyone.
After playing 6 of the 8 games I've discussed (I got ACO instead of WWE thanks to Amazon not shipping the game), all I can say is WOW. This month has been the best gaming month of my lifetime or at least since I've been gaming. The amount of heavy hitters is astounding and they've all lived up to the hype. South Park is the one I've given the most time to and I was able to complete it this past week. It's addicting. The new battle system is 10 tens better the Stick of Truth's and I love the parody of the superhero craze. It's a masterpiece of an RPG but I think only South Park fans will truly enjoy it as it's filled with many of the series ongoing jokes and gags. I legit cried when SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS you have to face Jared from Subway in a boss battle. SO offensive but it was hilarious. The Evil Within 2 is open world, which was a bit of a shock to me, and it gives you side quests and such to do as well as the main mission. Though I care always craft ammo, I still feel just as helpless in this one as I did in the original and that's a good thing. That's survival horror. I've enjoyed the two boss battles I've experienced as well and can't wait to rescue Sebastian's daughter. Hopefully. I haven't really delved too deep into Shadow of War. It feels a little too similar to its predecessor and I got distracted by EW2 once the comparisons were clear. Super Mario Odyssey is massive. I knew it was sandbox but this is not what I was expecting. And can we talk about how many Power Moons are in the game? 883! There were only 120 stars in SM64. I think it my first two hour play of Odyssey, I got between 25-35 Moons. That's it! This is going to be a long run. Wolfenstein II is vicious, violent and awesome. Seriously, one of my favorite FPSs ever. The story is so human like, it's so gritty. You actually feel like you're living in this alternate history America and it's terrifying. 7 hours in and I love it. If I had to rank the top three I've played, it would be South Park, Wolfenstein II and Evil Within 2.
December 1st marks the release of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 AKA one of the reasons I knew I had to get a Nintendo Switch. I haven't had an expansive JRPG experience since Persona 5 and that took 80 hours of my life between April and May. The original Xenoblade is an amazing game, one that took over my life twice, once on the Wii and once on my New 3DS, which I bought just so I could finally finish the game years after getting to the end and not completing it. Xenoblade Chronicles X was fun for a weekend but with no real story, it didn't capture me like the first. I'm glad to see 2 is going back to the roots and will feature a turn based, story based game. I don't know anything other than that and I want to keep it at. I'm hoping for lengthy adventure, optional bosses and fun combat. December is going to the month of Xenoblade, that is, if I can finish Wolfenstein, Evil Within and Mario by then. Shadow of War and Assassin's Creed will wait...
Best gaming year ever? Maybe, if you combine it with the absolute onslaught from the beginning of the year, including Game of the Year contenders Nioh, Horizon: Zero Dawn and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Whatever your preference, 2017 has a game for you, especially in the last few months.
Happy gaming all!!!
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Sundered
DISCLAIMER: This post was originally typed up when I played through Sundered at the end of July/beginning of August. I just never posted it until now because I'm an idiot. Enjoy!
While I love playing a game that I've been waiting ages for, I love even more to play a game that I wasn't originally aware of and falling in love with it. This describes my experience with Sundered, a PS4 and PC video game made by the creators of Jotun. Jotun was a beautiful game in its own right but I never made it past the first boss. It just didn't capture me in the way other indie titles like Titan Souls or The Binding of Issac did. Sundered immediately gripped me up and I played like a madman in the 13 hours I had with it.
Sundered is a Metroidvania rogue like game. Now, if you don't know anything about me, Metroidvania games are one of my favorite genres of gaming, along with turn based RPGs, visual novels and ridiculous sandbox adventures like Crackdown and Sunset Overdrive. You tell me the game is MV and I'm onboard. Then, it was said to be a difficult game with randomly generated areas! Here's my money! I literally preordered the game once I found all that out and saw the massive screen covering bosses. I LOVE a good boss fight. Everything going into the game was a win.
I started playing Sundered a little after midnight on its release day. The first thing you notice is that the load times are horrible. It takes a LONG time to transition from one major area to the next. It almost feels like a PS1 game. There are also massive slowdowns and it can give the enemies an unfair advantage. Sometimes it just stopped when I was running away from enemies and then I would find myself getting killed. The game frequently crashes as well. Never during gameplay thankfully. It was always after I died so it wasn't that big of an issue but it got annoying, especially after dying after a boss battle. I really wanted to get back in, not go through the motions of loading again. Other than these few annoyances, Sundered is a really fantastic experience.
As a Metroidvania game, there is a lot of running, platforming and going to areas you don't have abilities for yet. Eshe, the main character, starts off with nothing, as she's pulled into these ruins by an unknown force. Over the course of the game, Eshe will gain a protective shield, the ability to double jump, gain a massive cannon for crowd control, be able to charge her attacks, gain a midair dodge, run up walls and use grappling hooks. Eshe has the ability to corrupt her abilities by gaining these things called the Elder Shards. Depending on your actions, you can either corrupt your abilities or destroy the Shards. I went full on embrace for my first playthrough and the powers you get are pretty amazing. If you corrupt your abilities, your shield will damage your enemies when you get attacked, you can glide after your second jump, the cannon turn into a laser beam, the charged attacks become much stronger, the midair dodge becomes a midair teleportation ability, you can climb on all walls instead of just running up from the base and the grappling hooks will now allow for an extra boost after locking onto it. The corrupted abilities are game changers, especially crawling on all walls and the glide ability, especially in the last area, which is mostly floating islands.
The boss battles live up to the hype. They really are screen filled battles. The monsters are HUGE and are the best part of the hand drawn adventure. In my playthrough, I only encountered five different bosses. The game requires you to face the same three bosses, one for each of the game's distinct areas but the last boss is up to how you play the game. The last boss changes depending on your actions in the game, mainly around if you destroy or harness the power of the Elder Shards. I only got one ending and that was the Embrace Ending, where you fight what's left of Eshe's humanity and the last boss, Humanity. The boss is difficult but the Sundered gods looked out for me. The bossed glitched out and once he dived off screen, he never returned. This made the fight impossible to lose as there was nothing to stop me from destroying the crystal. It was an anticlimactic ending to the crazy journey. I want to play through again but this time, destroy all the Elder Shards but at this current time, there are just TOO many gaming releases I'm playing through that include Pyre, Hellblade and the upcoming Agents of Mayhem next week. Sundered will have to wait for my next go around.
Sundered is an amazing accomplishment from ThunderLotus game. Not only does it add to PS4's amazing digital only library, it's a true Metroidvania classic for fans of the genre to enjoy. There are some obvious problems such as the load times, slowdown and crashes but there's nothing wrong with the mechanics of how the game plays. It can be a bit unforgiving but as Souls player, it was nothing compared to the despair I felt trying to defeat Smough and Ornstein in Dark Souls I. A must play for fans of the genre!
While I love playing a game that I've been waiting ages for, I love even more to play a game that I wasn't originally aware of and falling in love with it. This describes my experience with Sundered, a PS4 and PC video game made by the creators of Jotun. Jotun was a beautiful game in its own right but I never made it past the first boss. It just didn't capture me in the way other indie titles like Titan Souls or The Binding of Issac did. Sundered immediately gripped me up and I played like a madman in the 13 hours I had with it.
Sundered is a Metroidvania rogue like game. Now, if you don't know anything about me, Metroidvania games are one of my favorite genres of gaming, along with turn based RPGs, visual novels and ridiculous sandbox adventures like Crackdown and Sunset Overdrive. You tell me the game is MV and I'm onboard. Then, it was said to be a difficult game with randomly generated areas! Here's my money! I literally preordered the game once I found all that out and saw the massive screen covering bosses. I LOVE a good boss fight. Everything going into the game was a win.
I started playing Sundered a little after midnight on its release day. The first thing you notice is that the load times are horrible. It takes a LONG time to transition from one major area to the next. It almost feels like a PS1 game. There are also massive slowdowns and it can give the enemies an unfair advantage. Sometimes it just stopped when I was running away from enemies and then I would find myself getting killed. The game frequently crashes as well. Never during gameplay thankfully. It was always after I died so it wasn't that big of an issue but it got annoying, especially after dying after a boss battle. I really wanted to get back in, not go through the motions of loading again. Other than these few annoyances, Sundered is a really fantastic experience.
As a Metroidvania game, there is a lot of running, platforming and going to areas you don't have abilities for yet. Eshe, the main character, starts off with nothing, as she's pulled into these ruins by an unknown force. Over the course of the game, Eshe will gain a protective shield, the ability to double jump, gain a massive cannon for crowd control, be able to charge her attacks, gain a midair dodge, run up walls and use grappling hooks. Eshe has the ability to corrupt her abilities by gaining these things called the Elder Shards. Depending on your actions, you can either corrupt your abilities or destroy the Shards. I went full on embrace for my first playthrough and the powers you get are pretty amazing. If you corrupt your abilities, your shield will damage your enemies when you get attacked, you can glide after your second jump, the cannon turn into a laser beam, the charged attacks become much stronger, the midair dodge becomes a midair teleportation ability, you can climb on all walls instead of just running up from the base and the grappling hooks will now allow for an extra boost after locking onto it. The corrupted abilities are game changers, especially crawling on all walls and the glide ability, especially in the last area, which is mostly floating islands.
The boss battles live up to the hype. They really are screen filled battles. The monsters are HUGE and are the best part of the hand drawn adventure. In my playthrough, I only encountered five different bosses. The game requires you to face the same three bosses, one for each of the game's distinct areas but the last boss is up to how you play the game. The last boss changes depending on your actions in the game, mainly around if you destroy or harness the power of the Elder Shards. I only got one ending and that was the Embrace Ending, where you fight what's left of Eshe's humanity and the last boss, Humanity. The boss is difficult but the Sundered gods looked out for me. The bossed glitched out and once he dived off screen, he never returned. This made the fight impossible to lose as there was nothing to stop me from destroying the crystal. It was an anticlimactic ending to the crazy journey. I want to play through again but this time, destroy all the Elder Shards but at this current time, there are just TOO many gaming releases I'm playing through that include Pyre, Hellblade and the upcoming Agents of Mayhem next week. Sundered will have to wait for my next go around.
Sundered is an amazing accomplishment from ThunderLotus game. Not only does it add to PS4's amazing digital only library, it's a true Metroidvania classic for fans of the genre to enjoy. There are some obvious problems such as the load times, slowdown and crashes but there's nothing wrong with the mechanics of how the game plays. It can be a bit unforgiving but as Souls player, it was nothing compared to the despair I felt trying to defeat Smough and Ornstein in Dark Souls I. A must play for fans of the genre!
Friday, September 22, 2017
No Mercy 2017 predictions
Hard to believe there has not been a WWE PPV since SummerSlam 5 weeks ago! Raw is up first with their exclusive event No Mercy, which was a Smackdown PPV last year. 7 matches are on tap for the show, including two major main events worthy of being on Wrestlemania. It's cliche, but even though they keep saying it each week, it's serious. Let's delve into the matches!
The Miz will defend his Intercontinental Championship against Jason Jordan in Jordan's first singles title match of his career. Say what you will about the dumb Angle's son storyline, but Jordan has proven he has what it takes to hang with the big boys in WWE. Three straight weeks he had great matches with former World Champions as Finn Balor, John Cena and Roman Reigns. He didn't win any of those but he looked like a star in defeat. This is Jordan's first big opportunity to stand out and get a major PPV victory. After everything The Miz has said about Angle, I feel like this can be a pretty lengthy feud and could produce some great matches. If WWE is going to go with Miz to break some more IC Title history, it would make sense for Jordan to win so Miz can win it back in a couple of weeks to become an eight time champion. I think it's time to pull the trigger on Jordan. If not, why else bring him over? Jason Jordan overcomes the odds and win the Intercontinental Championship.
Finn Balor and Bray Wyatt will face man to man on Sunday in a match I could unfortunately care less about. HUGE fan of both guys but they deserve better. I hope Balor moves to the IC Title picture afterwards (cause Lord knows the Universal Title is still going to be held hostage) because it kind of seems like they're wasting Balor's potential right now. I'm going with Balor to win here.
Enzo Amore just became a Cruiserweight and he's already getting a shot at Neville for the title. I hate this for a lot of reasons, mainly because talented guys like Cedric Alexander or Cruiserweight Classic runner up Gran Metalik are just in dumb tag matches each week doing nothing. These are the guys the division should be centered around but because Enzo has nothing else to do due to Big Cass and he's a great talker, he's getting a shot. I know Enzo brings more eyes to 205 Live but it would probably also help not to do it after Smackdown...just saying. I'm a huge Neville fan and I think he's above the Cruiserweight division. If Balor can feud with Wyatt, why can't Neville be in the mix too? I'd kill for a Balor/Neville feud right now, so a small part of me is hoping Neville will lose, lose his rematch then say to hell with that division and try to make a name for himself all over again. Another part of me knows that sounds too good to be true and to go with the obvious; Neville retaining with his Rings Of Saturn/Break Orbit submission. That's what I'm sticking with.
Another SummerSlam rematch will see the Raw Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose defend against former champion Sheamus and Cesaro. These guys put on a barn burner of a match at SS and look to repeat here. This should be the same ole hard hitting, fast paced action we've come to expect from 4 of the best in ring workers WWE has today. Give them 20 minutes and they will steal the show. I'm going with Ambrose and Rollins to retain.
Alexa Bliss has the odds against her when she defends her Raw Women's Title against Sasha Banks, Emma, Nia Jax and the returning Bayley. Hard one to choose. I've been dying for a Sasha/Bayley feud but it seems like any time they're going to do it, they don't. Sasha was just champion and they gave it right back to Bliss. Raw's division is so frantic and changes all the time so Bliss walking out as champion is not really likely. Asuka is coming to Raw and it's only a matter of time before she's the champion. I think Asuka needs to win it against a big opponent, one that should be booked as unstoppable. Nia Jax has been close to winning the title on many different occasions and she needs to be the one to try and stop Asuka. Nia Jax should be the one to win this match and the title. Her monster status is going to stick unless she finally gets a title to back it up. Nia Jax wins, wins her first Raw Women's Title.
Roman Reigns VS John Cena. This is a Wrestlemania worthy main event and should still be a Wrestlemania match one day. This is the the hand picked guy WWE chose 10 years ago VS the hand picked guy of this era. It's a once in a generation type of clash. The promos leading up to the match have been fantastic as well, with both guys calling each other out on great issues. Cena calling Reigns a Cena bootleg, Reigns calling out Cena for being a part timer after Cena hated The Rock for it. They've done all this with only getting physical once. It's really helped push the match along so when it does happen, it's going to feel very fresh and new. This could easily be the first of a duology or trilogy of matches between the two. Who goes over first though? Let's look at the last couple cross generation matches for reference. Rock beat Hogan in their first match while Rock beat Cena in their first match. Cena had to grapple the torch away from Rocky the next year though. I'm all for the young guy winning in these type of matches, especially after Reigns beat The Undertaker at Wrestlemania. I'd like to see Cena win to back up everything he has said, especially since I don't like how a face Reigns brags on ending Taker's streak each time he talks. Reigns would be such a bigger star if he was a heel but I digress.
Roman Reigns will defeat John Cena in one of the biggest matches of his career. This is all apart of his Wrestlemania build to defeat Brock Lensar for the Universal Championship, which brings us to the main event.
Braun Strowman is having some amazing 2017 and it could reach its biggest moment if he can win his main event match against The Beast Brock Lesnar with the Universal Championship on the line. Strowman has looked like a complete monster against Lesnar, even more than Joe did in the summer months. Putting the Beast through two tables at SummerSlam, then laying him out the Raw after then getting right up after a German Suplex in one of the best moments of 2017. Strowman is looking like a complete monster for a new wave of WWE fans. How can WWE capitalize on this? By having Strowman win the Universal Title at No Mercy.
But who am I kidding? We all know that while Strowman will take it to Lesnar, he will ultimately go to Suplex City, get his with a F5 and Lesnar will vanish until January. What a freaking joke.
Brock Lesnar will defeat Braun Strowman to retain the Universal Title, then hide for the rest of the year until the Royal Rumble. Because that makes sense.
I'm looking forward to No Mercy. Here's hoping the Wrestlemania worthy matches live up to the hype!
The Miz will defend his Intercontinental Championship against Jason Jordan in Jordan's first singles title match of his career. Say what you will about the dumb Angle's son storyline, but Jordan has proven he has what it takes to hang with the big boys in WWE. Three straight weeks he had great matches with former World Champions as Finn Balor, John Cena and Roman Reigns. He didn't win any of those but he looked like a star in defeat. This is Jordan's first big opportunity to stand out and get a major PPV victory. After everything The Miz has said about Angle, I feel like this can be a pretty lengthy feud and could produce some great matches. If WWE is going to go with Miz to break some more IC Title history, it would make sense for Jordan to win so Miz can win it back in a couple of weeks to become an eight time champion. I think it's time to pull the trigger on Jordan. If not, why else bring him over? Jason Jordan overcomes the odds and win the Intercontinental Championship.
Finn Balor and Bray Wyatt will face man to man on Sunday in a match I could unfortunately care less about. HUGE fan of both guys but they deserve better. I hope Balor moves to the IC Title picture afterwards (cause Lord knows the Universal Title is still going to be held hostage) because it kind of seems like they're wasting Balor's potential right now. I'm going with Balor to win here.
Enzo Amore just became a Cruiserweight and he's already getting a shot at Neville for the title. I hate this for a lot of reasons, mainly because talented guys like Cedric Alexander or Cruiserweight Classic runner up Gran Metalik are just in dumb tag matches each week doing nothing. These are the guys the division should be centered around but because Enzo has nothing else to do due to Big Cass and he's a great talker, he's getting a shot. I know Enzo brings more eyes to 205 Live but it would probably also help not to do it after Smackdown...just saying. I'm a huge Neville fan and I think he's above the Cruiserweight division. If Balor can feud with Wyatt, why can't Neville be in the mix too? I'd kill for a Balor/Neville feud right now, so a small part of me is hoping Neville will lose, lose his rematch then say to hell with that division and try to make a name for himself all over again. Another part of me knows that sounds too good to be true and to go with the obvious; Neville retaining with his Rings Of Saturn/Break Orbit submission. That's what I'm sticking with.
Another SummerSlam rematch will see the Raw Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose defend against former champion Sheamus and Cesaro. These guys put on a barn burner of a match at SS and look to repeat here. This should be the same ole hard hitting, fast paced action we've come to expect from 4 of the best in ring workers WWE has today. Give them 20 minutes and they will steal the show. I'm going with Ambrose and Rollins to retain.
Alexa Bliss has the odds against her when she defends her Raw Women's Title against Sasha Banks, Emma, Nia Jax and the returning Bayley. Hard one to choose. I've been dying for a Sasha/Bayley feud but it seems like any time they're going to do it, they don't. Sasha was just champion and they gave it right back to Bliss. Raw's division is so frantic and changes all the time so Bliss walking out as champion is not really likely. Asuka is coming to Raw and it's only a matter of time before she's the champion. I think Asuka needs to win it against a big opponent, one that should be booked as unstoppable. Nia Jax has been close to winning the title on many different occasions and she needs to be the one to try and stop Asuka. Nia Jax should be the one to win this match and the title. Her monster status is going to stick unless she finally gets a title to back it up. Nia Jax wins, wins her first Raw Women's Title.
Roman Reigns VS John Cena. This is a Wrestlemania worthy main event and should still be a Wrestlemania match one day. This is the the hand picked guy WWE chose 10 years ago VS the hand picked guy of this era. It's a once in a generation type of clash. The promos leading up to the match have been fantastic as well, with both guys calling each other out on great issues. Cena calling Reigns a Cena bootleg, Reigns calling out Cena for being a part timer after Cena hated The Rock for it. They've done all this with only getting physical once. It's really helped push the match along so when it does happen, it's going to feel very fresh and new. This could easily be the first of a duology or trilogy of matches between the two. Who goes over first though? Let's look at the last couple cross generation matches for reference. Rock beat Hogan in their first match while Rock beat Cena in their first match. Cena had to grapple the torch away from Rocky the next year though. I'm all for the young guy winning in these type of matches, especially after Reigns beat The Undertaker at Wrestlemania. I'd like to see Cena win to back up everything he has said, especially since I don't like how a face Reigns brags on ending Taker's streak each time he talks. Reigns would be such a bigger star if he was a heel but I digress.
Roman Reigns will defeat John Cena in one of the biggest matches of his career. This is all apart of his Wrestlemania build to defeat Brock Lensar for the Universal Championship, which brings us to the main event.
Braun Strowman is having some amazing 2017 and it could reach its biggest moment if he can win his main event match against The Beast Brock Lesnar with the Universal Championship on the line. Strowman has looked like a complete monster against Lesnar, even more than Joe did in the summer months. Putting the Beast through two tables at SummerSlam, then laying him out the Raw after then getting right up after a German Suplex in one of the best moments of 2017. Strowman is looking like a complete monster for a new wave of WWE fans. How can WWE capitalize on this? By having Strowman win the Universal Title at No Mercy.
But who am I kidding? We all know that while Strowman will take it to Lesnar, he will ultimately go to Suplex City, get his with a F5 and Lesnar will vanish until January. What a freaking joke.
Brock Lesnar will defeat Braun Strowman to retain the Universal Title, then hide for the rest of the year until the Royal Rumble. Because that makes sense.
I'm looking forward to No Mercy. Here's hoping the Wrestlemania worthy matches live up to the hype!
Thursday, August 17, 2017
Takeover and SummerSlam Predictions III!
WWE has a good thing going here with the Takeover Brooklyn/SummerSlam weekends and for the third year in a row, the Barclays Center will host the two major events along with the following Raw and Smackdown. They will go back to Brooklyn again next year, making it four in a row for the great town. This is going to be a jam packed weekend of great wrestling on move sides. NXT has their usual 5 match set up, 3 title matches and two what could be show stealer undercard matches. SummerSlam, as with the past two years, has a double digit match number for the four hour event, featuring 8 of the 9 titles being defended. Currently, as of 8/15/17, Intercontinental Champion The Miz has no match scheduled, which is a crime. SummerSlam promises to be huge but let's start with Saturday's event first, Takeover Brooklyn III.
Takeover Brooklyn will always hold a special place in my heart. The final NXT matches of Kevin Owens and Bayley took place in the last two years, Shinsuke Nakamura won his first NXT Title last year and of course, the greatest women's match in WWE history between Sasha Banks and Bayley took place in 2015. No pressure! 5 matches on the card and anyone of them could be a show stealer. Let's talk!
Notably missing is United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne, who's match with Tyler Bate from Takeover Chicago stands as the best match of the year in WWE so far. There's always a chance that we'll randomly get a rematch between the two for the show but there's been no real mention of the UK scene since this match. Should we be worried?
The Authors of Pain will defend their NXT Tag Team Championships against SAnitY's Alexander Wolfe and Killian Dain in an all heels match. Eric Young and Nikki Cross will be at ringside for SAnity while Paul Ellering will be with his monsters. AOP have reigned supreme over the division for the entire 2017, winning the titles from DIY back at Takeover San Antonio. The tag division has always been NXT's weakest and now more than ever. AOP has stopped all competition, even the meaty team of Heavy Machinery. If AOP is to go over here, the only other team around is Street Profits. We know Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish have signed with NXT, probably meaning they will eventually team with one another. I think it would be more believable for reDragon to go over SAnitY than AOP. Anyway, this should be a hard hitting affair. It could go either way but I think AOP will retain their titles.
Johnny Gargano is continuing his career alone and will be taking on Andrade Almas in Brooklyn. This is going to be amazing. Gargano is probably the most loved guy in NXT. His in ring style, his never say die attitude and the fact he was betrayed by his best friend. With Ciampa out, they need to build up Gargano and make him the top guy in NXT. Have him win the title so when Ciampa comes back around Mania season, Gargano/Ciampa will be the biggest NXT Championship match in history. Johnny's singles run begins here and this will be a true test. Almas just got the lovely Zelina Vega as his valet and a loss will really hurt him. Gargano could lose but will definitely bounce back. From that standpoint, I'm pulling for Almas, a guy who hasn't gotten his due in NXT but I'm going with Gargano to win his submission, the Gargano Escape.
Aleister Black will battle Hideo Itami. This might be the most competitive match from the entire weekend. Both vicious strikers, both well versed in martial arts, this is going to be a barn burner of a match. Itami's failed time in WWE is well known. Injuries have plagued him and he hasn't captured the same success he had in Japan and now, he's going against one of the only undefeated stars in NXT. Black is a freaking star. Not only is he able to handle his own in the ring, he has such an amazing presence, such a fitting gimmick that it's hard not to get behind him. Be prepared for a lot of kicks. Black is going to be moving closer to that NXT Championship as he's one of the top guys in NXT so a win here is needed and predicted by yours truly.
Bobby Roode will defend his NXT Championship against Drew McIntyre, only four months since McIntyre made his return to WWE. We all knew it was going to come to this right? Once McIntyre came back to NXT of all places, his ascension to the top was expected to be quick. On Saturday, he can make become the top guy of the company. Roode has been a dominant champion, defeating stars like Nakamura, Itami, Kassius Ohno and Roderick Strong in his 7 months as NXT Champion. McIntyre would continue that dominance but that begs the question; how much longer do we wait for Roode to come to the main roster? The guy screams star and he's already 40. He doesn't have many years left in him. I think a heel champion for the show is best, especially with guys like Black, Strong and Gargano on the rise. McIntyre could play that heel role as well if needed. Hmmm. This should be a great match but in the end, I think Roode will retain. He'll lose the title at the next Takeover, lose his rematch at Takeover Philadelphia, and then debut in the Royal Rumble. Bold prediction yes, but that's just me.
Asuka will put her 500 DAY reign on the line when she defended the NXT Women's Championship against Ember Moon, a rematch from Takeover Orlando. If any match is to main event this year, it should be this one. The most on the line is this match. Asuka barely escaped Orlando with her title during Wrestlemania weekend. After that, Asuka was just bidding her time. Ember Moon has always been the chosen one to end this streak, at least in my eyes. That was, until WWE signed another great female star from Japan, Kairi Hojo, now known as Kairi Sane. Will WWE wait even longer before Asuka drops the title? Maybe. This should be a better match than their Orlando match. There's now a lot of animosity between the two after the events of Orlando and the injury Asuka gave to Moon. This is my most anticipated NXT Women's match since Banks/Bayley. I've been behind Moon as champion since she got there. Saturday, August 19th will be the day she finally does it. Ember Moon will dethrone The Empress of Tomorrow and become NXT Women's Champion.
Takeover Brooklyn III will be another amazing Takeover. Next up, SummerSlam!
SummerSlam currently has 12 matches on the show, 2 or 3 will be included on the 2 hour pre show because, well, they have to give time to some of these matches. If I'm picking matches to put on the pre show, it's the Cruiserweight Title match, the Smackdown Tag Title match and Big Show VS Big Cass. Let's talk SummerSlam!
EDIT. The Miz, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel will face Jason Jordan and The Hardys on the pre show. Yeah. The faces win.
Akira Tozawa shocked the world, or at least me, when he defeated Neville on the Raw before SummerSlam for the championship. Now, the rematch, the rubber match in their series, will take place at SummerSlam. Neville losing was a total shock to me. He was the hottest thing going in the division and without the title, I don't know how much further he can go. Neville belongs in the other divisions on Raw but time will tell. I don't think Tozawa got the big win on Raw for nothing so he'll retain in a great opener.
New Day will defend their Smackdown Tag Team Titles against The Usos, another feud that has stretched 3 matches this summer. New Day and The Usos are the two top tag teams in WWE and both of their PPV matches were fast paced and competitive. This should be more of the same that we're used to. Smackdown is lacking in heel teams. Actually, they're lacking in teams in general. New Day only came to Smackdown to win the titles so they aren't losing them any time soon. New Day retains.
Big Cass VS Big Show. The point is to get Cass over more as a heel. To do that, he must defeat Big Show. Big Cass wins.
BURN IT DOWWWWWNNNNNN! Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, with nothing better to do, team up to face Sheamus and Cesaro for the Raw Tag Team Titles. Ambrose and Rollins are chasing history here. If they win, Rollins will have won tag team gold with both of his Shield brethren while Ambrose will become a Triple Crown AND Grand Slam Champion. Mighty accomplishments in this day and age. This will be one of the best matches at SummerSlam as all four guys are great workers. Expect a lot of punches and uppercuts in this one and of course, a Falcon Arrow. Sheamus is currently filming a movie which releases next year. It hasn't made him miss any time in WWE yet but if it's a staring role, it will take him away soon. Ambrose and Rollins as tag champs could lead to a much needed heel turn for either guy so I think it's the best move. After a fun tag match, Ambrose and Rollins will defeat Sheamus and Cesaro to capture the Raw Tag Team Titles.
Naomi will defend her Smackdown Women's Championship against Natalya. This is a strange one. With Charlotte on the show, you would think they would have her in the title scene but it just wasn't meant to be and with everything going on with Flair, it looks like this was a blessing in disguise. Nattie is one of the lone veterans of the women's division on Smackdown, having been in the company for 10 years, wrestling some of the best stars from the past generation. If anyone can put on a good match with Naomi, it's Natalya. Although she'll put up a good fight, she won't leave Brooklyn with the title. Naomi will successfully defend the Smackdown Women's Championship. Carmella will not cash in here. You heard it here first.
The United States Championship will be defended when champion AJ Styles faces Kevin Owens with Shane McMahon as the special referee. We know these two will have a great match but it's time to move on from this feud. Styles wins, Owens gets mad at Shane and we'll be closer to some type of Shane/Owens match.
Randy Orton will battle Rusev in a random match. I'm not mad at the pairing because these two could put on a great match but booking wise, man, someone is going to look weak with a loss. Randy Orton hasn't won on PPV since Wrestlemania. Rusev came back to a loss to John Cena. They both need big wins on the major stage. Orton is the one who would be hurt more by the loss so I'm going with Randy Orton for the win.
Demon Balor is back! After losing to Bray Wyatt on Raw and having some type of red liquid poured over him, Balor will don the Demon persona for the first time since he won the Universal Title last year at SummerSlam to battle Wyatt again. They gave their first ever one on one match ever just so Balor could put the body paint on. I can't lie, I can't wait to see Balor come out like that again. It was one of my favorite things about SummerSlam last year. Balor has lost as Demon Balor but in NXT. He won't lose with it on just yet. Balor wins.
Well, this match took a nasty turn. Baron Corbin lost his briefcase this past week on Smackdown with a failed cash in, thanks to his SummerSlam opponent John Cena. Now, Corbin is in a do or die match. John Cena has lost at the last 6 SummerSlams. 6. The face of the company has a losing streak on arguably their 2nd biggest PPV of the year and against some of the best talent WWE had in the past decade. Guys like CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins and AJ Styles have beaten Cena at the event and all went on to do big things after their victories. Punk had the longest WWE Title reign in decades, Daniel Bryan had the greatest payoff in WWE history with his historic Wrestlemania 30 win, Seth Rollins became the first man to hold both the WWE and United States Titles and AJ Styles won his first ever WWE World Title a month afterwards. This year, Corbin needs a win to stay relevant. If he loses, he will do nothing on Smackdown and he will soon be losing to Mojo Rawley on a consistent basis. Baron Corbin MUST defeat John Cena at SummerSlam in convincing fashion and send Cena packing to Raw. Either Corbin will flourish or he will be in the lower mid card for the rest of his career.
Alexa Bliss was expecting to defend her Raw Women's Title against Bayley but she suffered an 'injury' and was replaced by Sasha Banks, so we get a much more vicious Women's Title match at SummerSlam. Bayley's injury is a work and I only say that because no one has reported on the severity of it. Dawson had a bicep injury and we know he had surgery and is out until December. Bayley has herself said she's rehabbing it and she'll be back soon. FAKE. This is all being done to set up the inevitable Sasha/Bayley feud. It has to be. It's a great story too. Sasha wins in what was Bayley's match, Bayley comes back for what is rightfully hers, Sasha gets cocky and returns to her heel boss persona. Everyone wins. Sasha Banks will dethrone Alexa Bliss and win her 4th Raw Women's Title. She will turn on Bayley when Bayley comes back from injury.
In one of the most unexpected WWE Title matches in SummerSlam, Jinder Mahal will defend the title against Shinsuke Nakamura. Not actually the WWE Title match I had in my mind when the year started but this could be an amazing moment. Mahal has defeated Orton three times in a row on PPV. He's done his job as a heel champion but I still don't believe him to be a top guy in WWE. The transition from jobber to champion is still bothering me a lot and while I like Mahal and it's been a fun experiment, it's time to move the title. Nakamura isn't my first choice to be champion on Smackdown (Styles would be it) and it may be too fast to put the title on him but Smackdown is the land of opportunity. There is now no Baron Corbin here to ruin Nakamura's moment either. I don't think they'll do a DQ finish, simply because they just did one at Great Balls of Fire and that wouldn't be the best thing to do at a SummerSlam, though they've done it before. Nakamura has had similar success on in Brooklyn, capturing the NXT Title last year. I think lightening will strike twice for Nakamura. I mean, the guy beat Cena to get this opportunity. They could have just as easily did Corbin/Nakamura then Mahal/Cena but Nakamura got the CLEAN win over Cena to get here. That alone speaks the confidence WWE has in him. Shinsuke Nakamura will defeat Jinder Mahal and his cronies the Singh Brothers to win his first WWE Championship, becoming the first NJPW homegrown star to win the title.
In this mega main event, Brock Lesnar will defend his Universal Championship for only the 2nd time since winning it at Wrestlemania. Lesnar faces Samoa Joe, Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns in the biggest PPV main event of the year. I am excited. Seriously. Four of the biggest baddest guys in WWE in one mega match. This is what SummerSlam is all about. Lesnar's reign of terror must end here. Now more than ever, Raw needs to have their World Champion there on a weekly basis, defending the title at every Raw PPV, not when he wants. Lesnar is a cancer for Raw on that front. He's a great draw but come on, one of these other guys need the title. Strowman is the dark horse here. Based on his tremendous work in 2017, Strowman should get a run with the title. He went from people hating that he might be getting a match with The Undertaker, to people cheering that he has a winning feud over Roman Reigns. Strowman is one of the biggest success stories of the draft and a Universal Title reign would compliment that. Samoa Joe gave Lesnar a tough match at GBOF and made Lesnar look very human. Paul Heyman has apparently been a backstage supporter to make Joe the champion at SummerSlam. Maybe Heyman got through to someone? Joe would continue the trend of former NXT Champions winning the Universal Championship. The two NXT Champions before Joe both won their first and currently only World Title in the Universal Title last August, making half the people who've won the title former NXT Champs. Not much to work off of I know, but maybe Joe gets the nod. If you're a betting man, Roman Reigns is most likely. Reigns has been without a World Title for 14 months and has always been in the main event scene on Raw, battling for the title since its inception last year. Maybe Sunday is finally the time The Big Dog wins the title. It's funny. His Shield brethren are fighting for titles as well. Will we have a repeat of Extreme Rules 2013 all over again? Will Ambrose and Rollins help Reigns win? Am I thinking too much into it?
Just...God, please don't let Lesnar win. Seriously. Any of the challengers can win the title, just not Lesnar. A rumor going around is that Cena is coming to Raw right after SummerSlam and will be thrust right into a feud with the winner of the Fatal Four Way, which looks to be Samoa Joe, leading to a first time ever feud between the two. That's a dream feud right there. That sounds like a pipedream right now though. UGHHHH....
I'm going with The Destroyer Samoa Joe to win the Universal Championship at SummerSlam by choking out Brock Lesnar. BOLD, but that's what I'm going with.
It should be a fun weekend! Are you ready!?!?
Takeover Brooklyn will always hold a special place in my heart. The final NXT matches of Kevin Owens and Bayley took place in the last two years, Shinsuke Nakamura won his first NXT Title last year and of course, the greatest women's match in WWE history between Sasha Banks and Bayley took place in 2015. No pressure! 5 matches on the card and anyone of them could be a show stealer. Let's talk!
Notably missing is United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne, who's match with Tyler Bate from Takeover Chicago stands as the best match of the year in WWE so far. There's always a chance that we'll randomly get a rematch between the two for the show but there's been no real mention of the UK scene since this match. Should we be worried?
The Authors of Pain will defend their NXT Tag Team Championships against SAnitY's Alexander Wolfe and Killian Dain in an all heels match. Eric Young and Nikki Cross will be at ringside for SAnity while Paul Ellering will be with his monsters. AOP have reigned supreme over the division for the entire 2017, winning the titles from DIY back at Takeover San Antonio. The tag division has always been NXT's weakest and now more than ever. AOP has stopped all competition, even the meaty team of Heavy Machinery. If AOP is to go over here, the only other team around is Street Profits. We know Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish have signed with NXT, probably meaning they will eventually team with one another. I think it would be more believable for reDragon to go over SAnitY than AOP. Anyway, this should be a hard hitting affair. It could go either way but I think AOP will retain their titles.
Johnny Gargano is continuing his career alone and will be taking on Andrade Almas in Brooklyn. This is going to be amazing. Gargano is probably the most loved guy in NXT. His in ring style, his never say die attitude and the fact he was betrayed by his best friend. With Ciampa out, they need to build up Gargano and make him the top guy in NXT. Have him win the title so when Ciampa comes back around Mania season, Gargano/Ciampa will be the biggest NXT Championship match in history. Johnny's singles run begins here and this will be a true test. Almas just got the lovely Zelina Vega as his valet and a loss will really hurt him. Gargano could lose but will definitely bounce back. From that standpoint, I'm pulling for Almas, a guy who hasn't gotten his due in NXT but I'm going with Gargano to win his submission, the Gargano Escape.
Aleister Black will battle Hideo Itami. This might be the most competitive match from the entire weekend. Both vicious strikers, both well versed in martial arts, this is going to be a barn burner of a match. Itami's failed time in WWE is well known. Injuries have plagued him and he hasn't captured the same success he had in Japan and now, he's going against one of the only undefeated stars in NXT. Black is a freaking star. Not only is he able to handle his own in the ring, he has such an amazing presence, such a fitting gimmick that it's hard not to get behind him. Be prepared for a lot of kicks. Black is going to be moving closer to that NXT Championship as he's one of the top guys in NXT so a win here is needed and predicted by yours truly.
Bobby Roode will defend his NXT Championship against Drew McIntyre, only four months since McIntyre made his return to WWE. We all knew it was going to come to this right? Once McIntyre came back to NXT of all places, his ascension to the top was expected to be quick. On Saturday, he can make become the top guy of the company. Roode has been a dominant champion, defeating stars like Nakamura, Itami, Kassius Ohno and Roderick Strong in his 7 months as NXT Champion. McIntyre would continue that dominance but that begs the question; how much longer do we wait for Roode to come to the main roster? The guy screams star and he's already 40. He doesn't have many years left in him. I think a heel champion for the show is best, especially with guys like Black, Strong and Gargano on the rise. McIntyre could play that heel role as well if needed. Hmmm. This should be a great match but in the end, I think Roode will retain. He'll lose the title at the next Takeover, lose his rematch at Takeover Philadelphia, and then debut in the Royal Rumble. Bold prediction yes, but that's just me.
Asuka will put her 500 DAY reign on the line when she defended the NXT Women's Championship against Ember Moon, a rematch from Takeover Orlando. If any match is to main event this year, it should be this one. The most on the line is this match. Asuka barely escaped Orlando with her title during Wrestlemania weekend. After that, Asuka was just bidding her time. Ember Moon has always been the chosen one to end this streak, at least in my eyes. That was, until WWE signed another great female star from Japan, Kairi Hojo, now known as Kairi Sane. Will WWE wait even longer before Asuka drops the title? Maybe. This should be a better match than their Orlando match. There's now a lot of animosity between the two after the events of Orlando and the injury Asuka gave to Moon. This is my most anticipated NXT Women's match since Banks/Bayley. I've been behind Moon as champion since she got there. Saturday, August 19th will be the day she finally does it. Ember Moon will dethrone The Empress of Tomorrow and become NXT Women's Champion.
Takeover Brooklyn III will be another amazing Takeover. Next up, SummerSlam!
SummerSlam currently has 12 matches on the show, 2 or 3 will be included on the 2 hour pre show because, well, they have to give time to some of these matches. If I'm picking matches to put on the pre show, it's the Cruiserweight Title match, the Smackdown Tag Title match and Big Show VS Big Cass. Let's talk SummerSlam!
EDIT. The Miz, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel will face Jason Jordan and The Hardys on the pre show. Yeah. The faces win.
Akira Tozawa shocked the world, or at least me, when he defeated Neville on the Raw before SummerSlam for the championship. Now, the rematch, the rubber match in their series, will take place at SummerSlam. Neville losing was a total shock to me. He was the hottest thing going in the division and without the title, I don't know how much further he can go. Neville belongs in the other divisions on Raw but time will tell. I don't think Tozawa got the big win on Raw for nothing so he'll retain in a great opener.
New Day will defend their Smackdown Tag Team Titles against The Usos, another feud that has stretched 3 matches this summer. New Day and The Usos are the two top tag teams in WWE and both of their PPV matches were fast paced and competitive. This should be more of the same that we're used to. Smackdown is lacking in heel teams. Actually, they're lacking in teams in general. New Day only came to Smackdown to win the titles so they aren't losing them any time soon. New Day retains.
Big Cass VS Big Show. The point is to get Cass over more as a heel. To do that, he must defeat Big Show. Big Cass wins.
BURN IT DOWWWWWNNNNNN! Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, with nothing better to do, team up to face Sheamus and Cesaro for the Raw Tag Team Titles. Ambrose and Rollins are chasing history here. If they win, Rollins will have won tag team gold with both of his Shield brethren while Ambrose will become a Triple Crown AND Grand Slam Champion. Mighty accomplishments in this day and age. This will be one of the best matches at SummerSlam as all four guys are great workers. Expect a lot of punches and uppercuts in this one and of course, a Falcon Arrow. Sheamus is currently filming a movie which releases next year. It hasn't made him miss any time in WWE yet but if it's a staring role, it will take him away soon. Ambrose and Rollins as tag champs could lead to a much needed heel turn for either guy so I think it's the best move. After a fun tag match, Ambrose and Rollins will defeat Sheamus and Cesaro to capture the Raw Tag Team Titles.
Naomi will defend her Smackdown Women's Championship against Natalya. This is a strange one. With Charlotte on the show, you would think they would have her in the title scene but it just wasn't meant to be and with everything going on with Flair, it looks like this was a blessing in disguise. Nattie is one of the lone veterans of the women's division on Smackdown, having been in the company for 10 years, wrestling some of the best stars from the past generation. If anyone can put on a good match with Naomi, it's Natalya. Although she'll put up a good fight, she won't leave Brooklyn with the title. Naomi will successfully defend the Smackdown Women's Championship. Carmella will not cash in here. You heard it here first.
The United States Championship will be defended when champion AJ Styles faces Kevin Owens with Shane McMahon as the special referee. We know these two will have a great match but it's time to move on from this feud. Styles wins, Owens gets mad at Shane and we'll be closer to some type of Shane/Owens match.
Randy Orton will battle Rusev in a random match. I'm not mad at the pairing because these two could put on a great match but booking wise, man, someone is going to look weak with a loss. Randy Orton hasn't won on PPV since Wrestlemania. Rusev came back to a loss to John Cena. They both need big wins on the major stage. Orton is the one who would be hurt more by the loss so I'm going with Randy Orton for the win.
Demon Balor is back! After losing to Bray Wyatt on Raw and having some type of red liquid poured over him, Balor will don the Demon persona for the first time since he won the Universal Title last year at SummerSlam to battle Wyatt again. They gave their first ever one on one match ever just so Balor could put the body paint on. I can't lie, I can't wait to see Balor come out like that again. It was one of my favorite things about SummerSlam last year. Balor has lost as Demon Balor but in NXT. He won't lose with it on just yet. Balor wins.
Well, this match took a nasty turn. Baron Corbin lost his briefcase this past week on Smackdown with a failed cash in, thanks to his SummerSlam opponent John Cena. Now, Corbin is in a do or die match. John Cena has lost at the last 6 SummerSlams. 6. The face of the company has a losing streak on arguably their 2nd biggest PPV of the year and against some of the best talent WWE had in the past decade. Guys like CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins and AJ Styles have beaten Cena at the event and all went on to do big things after their victories. Punk had the longest WWE Title reign in decades, Daniel Bryan had the greatest payoff in WWE history with his historic Wrestlemania 30 win, Seth Rollins became the first man to hold both the WWE and United States Titles and AJ Styles won his first ever WWE World Title a month afterwards. This year, Corbin needs a win to stay relevant. If he loses, he will do nothing on Smackdown and he will soon be losing to Mojo Rawley on a consistent basis. Baron Corbin MUST defeat John Cena at SummerSlam in convincing fashion and send Cena packing to Raw. Either Corbin will flourish or he will be in the lower mid card for the rest of his career.
Alexa Bliss was expecting to defend her Raw Women's Title against Bayley but she suffered an 'injury' and was replaced by Sasha Banks, so we get a much more vicious Women's Title match at SummerSlam. Bayley's injury is a work and I only say that because no one has reported on the severity of it. Dawson had a bicep injury and we know he had surgery and is out until December. Bayley has herself said she's rehabbing it and she'll be back soon. FAKE. This is all being done to set up the inevitable Sasha/Bayley feud. It has to be. It's a great story too. Sasha wins in what was Bayley's match, Bayley comes back for what is rightfully hers, Sasha gets cocky and returns to her heel boss persona. Everyone wins. Sasha Banks will dethrone Alexa Bliss and win her 4th Raw Women's Title. She will turn on Bayley when Bayley comes back from injury.
In one of the most unexpected WWE Title matches in SummerSlam, Jinder Mahal will defend the title against Shinsuke Nakamura. Not actually the WWE Title match I had in my mind when the year started but this could be an amazing moment. Mahal has defeated Orton three times in a row on PPV. He's done his job as a heel champion but I still don't believe him to be a top guy in WWE. The transition from jobber to champion is still bothering me a lot and while I like Mahal and it's been a fun experiment, it's time to move the title. Nakamura isn't my first choice to be champion on Smackdown (Styles would be it) and it may be too fast to put the title on him but Smackdown is the land of opportunity. There is now no Baron Corbin here to ruin Nakamura's moment either. I don't think they'll do a DQ finish, simply because they just did one at Great Balls of Fire and that wouldn't be the best thing to do at a SummerSlam, though they've done it before. Nakamura has had similar success on in Brooklyn, capturing the NXT Title last year. I think lightening will strike twice for Nakamura. I mean, the guy beat Cena to get this opportunity. They could have just as easily did Corbin/Nakamura then Mahal/Cena but Nakamura got the CLEAN win over Cena to get here. That alone speaks the confidence WWE has in him. Shinsuke Nakamura will defeat Jinder Mahal and his cronies the Singh Brothers to win his first WWE Championship, becoming the first NJPW homegrown star to win the title.
In this mega main event, Brock Lesnar will defend his Universal Championship for only the 2nd time since winning it at Wrestlemania. Lesnar faces Samoa Joe, Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns in the biggest PPV main event of the year. I am excited. Seriously. Four of the biggest baddest guys in WWE in one mega match. This is what SummerSlam is all about. Lesnar's reign of terror must end here. Now more than ever, Raw needs to have their World Champion there on a weekly basis, defending the title at every Raw PPV, not when he wants. Lesnar is a cancer for Raw on that front. He's a great draw but come on, one of these other guys need the title. Strowman is the dark horse here. Based on his tremendous work in 2017, Strowman should get a run with the title. He went from people hating that he might be getting a match with The Undertaker, to people cheering that he has a winning feud over Roman Reigns. Strowman is one of the biggest success stories of the draft and a Universal Title reign would compliment that. Samoa Joe gave Lesnar a tough match at GBOF and made Lesnar look very human. Paul Heyman has apparently been a backstage supporter to make Joe the champion at SummerSlam. Maybe Heyman got through to someone? Joe would continue the trend of former NXT Champions winning the Universal Championship. The two NXT Champions before Joe both won their first and currently only World Title in the Universal Title last August, making half the people who've won the title former NXT Champs. Not much to work off of I know, but maybe Joe gets the nod. If you're a betting man, Roman Reigns is most likely. Reigns has been without a World Title for 14 months and has always been in the main event scene on Raw, battling for the title since its inception last year. Maybe Sunday is finally the time The Big Dog wins the title. It's funny. His Shield brethren are fighting for titles as well. Will we have a repeat of Extreme Rules 2013 all over again? Will Ambrose and Rollins help Reigns win? Am I thinking too much into it?
Just...God, please don't let Lesnar win. Seriously. Any of the challengers can win the title, just not Lesnar. A rumor going around is that Cena is coming to Raw right after SummerSlam and will be thrust right into a feud with the winner of the Fatal Four Way, which looks to be Samoa Joe, leading to a first time ever feud between the two. That's a dream feud right there. That sounds like a pipedream right now though. UGHHHH....
I'm going with The Destroyer Samoa Joe to win the Universal Championship at SummerSlam by choking out Brock Lesnar. BOLD, but that's what I'm going with.
It should be a fun weekend! Are you ready!?!?
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