Wishlist: Injustice 2

I recently purchased the Ultimate Edition of Injustice Gods Among Us for PS4, and with information coming in on Mortal Kombat X, I have a list of things I would like to see in the next installment of the game.  So lets get started.

1) Character Variants

Perhaps the most interesting addition to Mortal Kombat, this is a clever way to expand the raster while catering to individual play styles.  This would be useful because many of the characters in Injustice have a personal ability that changes the play style anyway, this just opens new opportunities.  Another advantage to this is that the game takes place in 2 separate universes, so therefore it makes sense for them to play a little differently from one another in the story mode.

2) Incorporate Elements From The Mobile Version

It's not often that a mobile port has anything to offer to it's console counterpart, but in this case there are exceptions.  One such element I would like to see is costume abilities; every costume has an ability that is unique to is.  For example one Doomsday costume could get stronger every time he loses a health bar, while another one resurrects himself to add more health.  This makes the skins feel like alternate universe versions of each other rather than a simple wardrobe change.  Anther thing I like is team battles.  Like Kick-Ass said; after heroes show up the, the next logical step is teams.  Next I want to see character levels; this could help balance online play as well as add a new layer of competition between friends.  Then there's the Gear system; adding items to a character to modify how they play.  Lastly I want to see multiple levels of super moves.  This would add a new layer of strategy, do you blow your super meter on weaker moves that can be used more often, or save it for a devastating finishing move?

3) Replacement Characters

To start this point I want to say spoiler alert.  Anyway for those who played the first Injustice;s story mode you know not everyone makes it out alive.  Shazam gone there needs to be a new champion of magic, With Wonder Woman dethroned there needs to be a new maiden of might and so on.  This was sorta explored with Damian replacing Dick as Nightwing after his death.  So why not expand this a bit; let Bruce retire, Roy take up the bow, or Cassie become Wonder Woman.  Conversely how about have old heroes characters become new heroes, something the arcade mode alluded to.  Examples might be Barry, Hal, and Harley seeking redemption by shedding their tainted mantles.  All of this would simply be cosmetic in standard play, but in story mode could make the characters all the more interesting.

4) More Diverse Roster (AKA Less Batman)

The one thing I disliked about Injustice is the overabundance of Batman characters.  In a game based on everyone choosing sides and waging war, why does Aquaman get no villains yet Batman gets 6 plus 2 sidekicks?  This is made worse by the fact 1 is DLC, and most of the villains contribute nothing to the story.  Ideally we would just see more characters added, but this might not be possible so removing the non essentials may be best ( here's looking at you Grundy and Bane).

5) Powerful Super Baddie

What made the threat in Injustice do great is that Superman is in fact more powerful than the other heroes.  Now with him behind bars, a new villain needs to take his place.  The obvious choice would be Darkseid, but perhaps a less obvious choice could also work, maybe another hero snaps, or an obscure villain becomes exponentially more powerful (maybe Atrocitus takes advantage of the Lantern imbalance and seizes power).  

Characters Wishlist

In a perfect world, we would see the roster simply expand, but that can't always be the case so here is the list of everyone I want to see in the future, obviously DC's trinity is a must so I won't include them.

1) Red Hood

My personal favorite Robin, yes I did say I wanted less Batman characters, but Jason could replace Deathstroke as the weapons fighter thus swapping one bat character for another.  Another route is with Joker dead, Jason becomes a less violent person in the Regime universe. 

2) Constantine

With a television series on the way, Constantine is on track to become a popular character in the future.  Not only that but his magic affinity sets him up perfectly to become the new champion of Magic...an unwilling one.  Plus imagine the fun play variants that you could get with this guy.

3) Parasite

One fighting game character type common with multiple games is the mimic, the character that makes each round a random selection.  Parasite is the perfect candidate to pull this off as his power involves leeching the powers of others.  What could separate him from simply choosing random (besides incorporating a level, gear, and personal ability) would be giving him variants that modified him slightly, one could make his combos all a grab bag, or maybe choosing between strength and tech types in regards to environmental objects.

4) Brainiac

Another member of Superman's rogues gallery, and my personal favorite DC villain.  Brainiac can match Superman as a fighter while his intellect could make could make for interesting play styles.  Not only that but his technology could make for some great combos.

5) Atrocitus

A character that is relatively unknown to the general public, Atrocitus can replace a heavy hitter like Bane as well as take the role of a Lantern.  Thus we already have a brawler and a skillful variant ideas for this guy to accommodate players.  Also as a bonus skin we could get Razor from the Green Lantern animated series.

Everyone else I want were already in the first game, so I won't list them.  Although there are some interesting skins I think would be cool; perhaps the insurgent Harley Quinn becomes the new Nightwing/Robin/Batgirl, Red Arrow, Green Lantern Aya (not sure how to work her into the story), Tim Drake, Kyle Raynor, Eradicator...It's an easy way to increase the roster and introduce players to new characters.

Do you agree, disagree, or have an idea for what you want to see?  Feel free to leave a comment below.

Wishlist: Future Pokemon installments

I have been a fan of Pokemon since the beginning, and it is one of those extremely rare cases were every installment feels unique and yet familiar at the same time.  With that I do still have some ideas for my "Ultimate" version of the game.  Keep in mind this is my personal list, and yours may be different, and I invite you to leave a comment below with things you want to see.

1. Full Map

       Considering this is a huge task, I don't expect to see this until at least the next generation of handhelds, especially since they games finally made the switch to full 3-D.  But eventually why not make a Pokemon game that utilizes all the regions?  It can even be a major anniversary edition.  Basically I want to be able to travel the new region, and then take my same team back to Johto and Kanto.  Plus with more to do, the chances of getting Pokemon to lv 100 goes up considerably.

2. Online Play

       This seems to be the one thing everyone wants.  Gen 5 sorta had this, but imagine if they took the next logical step with it.  Rather than enter some nearby players game as a random NPC, why not connect you two games and interact on equal terms?  Online gaming has been around for over a decade now, and Pokemon is the perfect franchise for Nintendo to finally get in on the action.

3. All Starters Available

       I'm fine with being forced to choose a starter, but I want the other generation's starters to make a return.  Perhaps by utilizing the other ideas above, online with all regions players could choose where they start and thus which Pokemon they can choose to start with.  Or how about you can earn them by doing tasks within the game.  I currently have most of the starters in my Black version ready to move up to X or Y, so this isn't a huge problem for me at the moment.

4. More Evveelutions

       The Eeveelutions are my all time favorite Pokemon, they have decent power, and their is one for just about every situation.  That being said I really want to see an Eevee for every type.  For example my brother is a Dragon trainer, and I am an Eevee trainer, there is a joke between my brothers whenever someone asks a hypothetical chioce, Por que no los dos?  Which means "Why not both?"  Imagine a dragon, ghost, or Steel Eevee, or even better yet, a legendary Eevee that could hold it's own with the likes of Mew, Deoxys, and Celebi.

5. Return Mewtwo to his rightful place

       This may already be happening with X and Y, but when I was a child Mewtwo was the most powerful Pokemon in existence, and there was even a movie that proved this.  But now there are at least one legendary from every game that can match him, and now there are even Pokemon stronger than him, this is stupid.  Now it's Mewtwo is the most aggressive Pokemon, but since Gen 1 his Pokedex entry states he uses as little energy as possible to save it for battle.  As of now Mewtwo is tied for 3rd strongest Pokemon...3rd behind a fuzzy Llama and an alternate form for an Ice Dragon who is useless otherwise.

       If I made this list a year ago it would be have been much longer, including things like full 3-D, customizable player characters, new types, and riding Pokemon, but these are just a few things  already announced for the upcoming X and Y versions.

Wishlist: Dragon Age Inquisition

       It's been a while since I posted anything here, and the reason for that is I've recently got the Dragon Age series and have been playing through them.So I thought it only appropriate that I post something Dragon Age related, and with Gamescon going on it seemed appropriate to talk about what I want to see in the next game Dragon Age Inquisition, so here it goes.

1. Carry Over

       Dragon Age 2 made nods to the decisions made in Origins, but I want a bit more, I want my decisions to play a part in the main story, for instance if the Warden survived Origins as mine did, what happened to his child?  Also what happens now that I've overthrown the templars?  And those characters who end up dying in Dragon Age 2 need mention, will my Dalish Warden be angry with Hawke for killing his entire clan?  I dream is to have all the characters including Hawke and the Warden not only return, but join the group as party members.  Of course this is doubtful, but I can dream right?

2. No Cop Out Ending

       That's right, we're still angry about Mass Effect's ending.  Hopefully Bioware learned from this and is planning to fix it.  Even with the extended ending I felt robbed, all throughout the series I felt the choices I made meant something, especially when characters I saved in previous games came to my aid in 3.  Dragon Age 2 almost made this same mistake when you still had to kill both of the leaders you can side with, so I'm getting a bit worried.

3. Origins Style Character Creation

       This one has actually been announced already, but that doesn't change the fact I want it.  What I mean here is I want character creation (again, already confirmed), but I also want origin selection, I don't even have to play the origin (though that would be great since we already got it before), but they could do it Mass Effect style and you simply pick an origin that comes back later in a mission or two.  I also wouldn't mind playing as a Qunari...just saying.

4. Multiplayer

       Hear me out on this one.  Obviously in a game about choices you can't have both players making choices, but you can have one player helping out another, and then using that same character to play their own story, much like how Fable III did it.  Or how about this, with 2 different players, why not have both involved? maybe an NCP could dislike one player, yet be a friend to the other, plus games are just more enjoyable with a friend.

5. Companion Equipment

       Yet another thing that Origins had, yet lost for Dragon Age 2.  This is also another thing that was already announced, and even more exciting than I originally wanted, in Inquisition armor will be different from character to character to reflect their personality.  Dragon Age 2 was downright disappointing when compared to Origins.  In this particular instance All characters had fixed costumes that could be upgraded if the upgrades were bought/found.  This is stupid, and the armor can never be as effective as anything found for yourself.

6. Kinect Support

       For those who played Mass Effect 3, you know how great the voice support was by keeping you immersed in the game and out of the menu wheels during combat.  Since that was done by Bioware, this isn't much of a stretch to see, but if it isn't there then it will become one more thing for Bioware's fans to complain about.

7. More Specializations

       Yet another thing Origins did better than 2, are you sensing a pattern yet?  The more specializations, the more unique the characters are, but more than that, it gives more reason to select a class.  For example if in Dragon Age 2 you could be a pirate like Isabella, I may have had reason to be a rogue.  And if Arcane Warrior, than I would be even more unstoppable.

8. More Weapon Options

       Sword, Sword and Shield, giant sword...come on guys.  Give us a wider arsenal, I can deal with restrictions, just let me use a lot of different weapons, Dragon Age Origins had axes, swords, bows, crossbows, and staffs.  Dragon Age 2 added Daggers and Maces, but removed duel swords...which I liked.  I get a rogue cant use two-handed weapons, and a mage can't use non-magic items, but please don't lock us in based on class, or worse yet pull a Fable and remove everything.

       So there is my list of what I want for Dragon Age Inquisition, with this list most of the things I want have been done before, some in lesser games, so I don't think it's asking too much.  What do you guys think?  Feel free to leave a comment below.

 

 

Wishlist: New Mass Effect

Mass Effect was the game series that everyone told me I had to play, but I never got around to it until recently.  Currently the next game of the series in in development, so I've decided to post some of the things I would like to see in the future of the series.

1) Story Contuniation

       I may be in the minority on this one, but I kinda want to see the impact of my chosen ending has on the future.  Since the endings all have the basic plot points I feel this is possible.  Of course the main reason I want a continuation rather than a side story, or a prequel is that the original trilogy had the greatest threat in the galaxy, so if its a side story the villain won't have the same impact.  If its a prequel Shepard was the first human Specter, something I would like to play as again.  Plus with a sequel all the old characters can return, they don't necessarily have to be a big part, but just having them would be cool.

2) Origins style character Creation

       This is actually the biggest thing I want.  For those of you who don't know in Dragon Age Origins you choose your gender, race, class, and finally an origin story that you get to play as a first mission.  The Mass Effect Series had a lot of this, but for the story they wanted to tell you had to be human, and even though you got to choose a background it was only mentioned and not actually played.  Granted it was still cool for everyone to know who you were based on your chosen service record, but I wasn't quite able to connect in the same way I did in Dragon Age.  Besides, how awesome would it be to play as a Drell assassin, or a Cerberus Agent, or an Ardat-Yakshi, or simply be a Specter from another race.

3) Embrace the M Rating

       At the risk of sounding like a pervert with this one, just hear me out.  Mass Effect is rated M for Mature, there is violence, swearing (including use of the "F" word), and "sex" scenes.  Basically what I'm getting at is, if your going to include a sex scene, do it right and have the characters get naked, you can even have the camera artistically not show anything like in the first one, but please don't just show the characters dry hump and then say they did it.  You could actually see more on television these days.  This is more of a complaint with the Dragon Age series, I mean come on, Morrigan puts on MORE clothes to have sex.  Basically an M rated video game is the equivalent of an R rated movie, so that means you can get away with anything an R rated movie can.  Yes you will piss off Fox News, and yes you may lose all there viewers as potential players, but their demographic is southerners aged 40 and older so how many will you lose honestly?  This one is more of a pet peeve of mine than anything else.

4) More complex Character Development

       This one is difficult to explain, but it ties into all the other things I want.  Basically I want options to open and close based on decisions made, and lead up to a more unique ending, and an overall more enjoyable and personalized experience.  Let me give you an example, say you choose to play as a Cerberus agent, then your entire squad would be non-alliance human, missing out on other possible squad mates,  thus limiting romance options as well as making you a criminal, the ending would also be human centered.  Plus you would have access to Cerberus resources so your weapons, armor, and even your ship would be affected.  Choices you make in game could be the same way, choose one character as a romance/piss off another, use reaper tech to make yourself more powerful/ alienate squad mates, choose to bring aboard one squad mate/miss out on another.  I could go on forever, but it basically comes down to this; I want every decision ever made to have a huge impact on the experience.

5) Return of old allies

       I don't necessarily want them to return to your squad, but having them show up in their new lives would add some closure to the characters.  Although following the above items bringing back old squad mates based of decisions you make could be cool, for example in my Mass Effect 3 ending Shepard lived, so perhaps his love interest joins on a side mission to find him, then have him join you thus adding 2 new squad members by choosing to do a side mission.

6) Return to RPG Roots

       By this I mean limit what the characters can do based on their class.  For example tech classes can bypass electronic systems, soldiers can use all weapons, and biotics can alter mass effect fields to change the environment.  In Mass effect 3 you could do all of these things regardless of your chosen class, and I kinda felt cheated because I picked my class specifically for its dominance in combat, only to learn I can do anything anyway.  Plus if you go the route of an Origin Style character creation, this opens up more strategy because some races can't be certain classes, like a Krogan can't use tech, or a Geth can't use biotics.

7) Coop Campaign

       Yes I said I want a more personal experience, but why not share it?  Basically I want a coop mode that would be like Fable's coop, the other player (or better yet, players) simply use their characters in player 1's story, leveling up and gaining items, but with no consequence to the story or their own games.  Yes they would have to take up spots on the squad, limiting your team's roster a bit, but who cares, all games are better with friends.  And as an added bonus it could draw in more players, or help your friends decide how they want to handle a situation later in their own game.

8) Larger Squad

       I don't want a squad that is too big, but I've been trained through many games that a complete squad is 4 members, not 3 like in Mass Effect.  As for the big squad,  basically want more options, in Mass effect 3 your squad was only 5 members, yet there are 6 class types.  In Mass Effect 2 you got 12 members, assuming you got all the DLC, and most of them were biotic based, and the only soldier was a dick so I never used him.  Basically what I want is more diversity with my squad's classes, making for more strategy with missions.

       Well that's my list, A bit ambitious, but I've seen everything on this list done before so I know it is possible.  Even if one or two of these items are used I would be happy, hell even if they gave us more of the same I'd be happy.  And if not, well then there is always mods and fan fictions, and by the theory of an infinite multiverse I have just created the ultimate Mass Effect game for at least one of them.  Agree or disagree with me?  feel free to leave a comment below.

 

 

Wishlist: Halo 5

       Halo is one of my favorite game franchises of all time, and Halo 4 pushed the envelope of the series, but that being said there are some things that could have been done better.  Here is my list of things I would like to see in the next installment of the game.

1) More Promethians, less Coventant

       Lets start off this list with something people won't agree with, I feel that the series needs to do away with the covenant as enemies, hear me out, the covenant have been the enemy since the beginning, but the war ended in Halo 3.  Halo 4 was supposed to be the beginning of a new chapter, and I feel 343 should embrace that and have fun with it.  The covenant are supposed to be our allies now, I know there is a fringe group out there, but if they just end that plot in Spartan Ops season 2 then the series can move on.  Plus this could lead to team-ups that lead into my next item.

2)Playable Elites

       We already had these, sure they weren't overly popular, but I have friends who were disappointed when they could no longer play as a custom elite.  And again, with the Human-Covenant war over, why not bring elites into UNSC, Imagine a Spartan Ops fire team consisting of both races.

3) Return of Equipment (As armor abilities)

       This could also be posted as simply more abilities, but specifically I want the return of some old favorites, such as the radar jammer, the flare, and power drainer.  These could easily be done since the mechanics are already finished for them, and I feel they would be a welcomed edition, particularly the jammer.

4) Return of Duel Wielding, and classic weapons

       Thus fare most of my list is simply bringing back stuff we already had, duel wielding was removed in order to make room on the controller for abilities, so why not bring it back as one?  Then you have those who never really use their abilities, such as myself, able to carry a second small arms weapon.  For that matter why not bring back the weapons that made this fun like the Mauler, Spiker, and the SMG.  Hell why not bring back other weapons like the needle rifle, missile pod, sentinel beam, and flamethrower?

5) more Multiplayer modes

       This may sound greedy considering just how many modes Halo already offers, but they took out some of the more creative modes like firefight and invasion.  But I also want to see a space battle mode.  Reach had a level where you flew around in space shooting down enemies, I sort felt cheated that it wasn't offered again, and then I realized that there aren't a whole lot of space combat games like this anymore, hell Star Fox is rarely in space anymore.  And for a series most famous for how much new and creative stuff goes into the multiplayer why not add space combat.

6) Voices

       Halo Reach gave the option to give your custom spartan a custom voice.  I liked this and wanted it to bleed into standard multiplayer, not vanish completely.  Halo has some fantastic voice actors in its 11 year history, including Keith David, Nathan Fillion, Julie Benz, and Steven Blum to name a few, so why can't a player's custom character have a custom voice?  Think how much better Spartan Ops would be if you could answer your handler in say Adam Baldwin's voice, or after a kill streak hear Alan Tudyk's voice make a comment.  This may just be me on this one, but I think it would be cool.

7) Boss battles

       Yet another thing that was taken out of the series, sure you fight the Moniter at the end of Halo 3, and the Didact in Halo 4, but I'm talking Halo 2  style.  One of my favorite moments in the Halo franchise was fighting the Prophet of Regret, he was the guy that led the attack on Earth, and was one of the 3 leaders of the Covenant in general.  I loved being ably to jump up on his chair and beat the living crap out of him.  Basically what I'm asking for here is more unique enemy battles, ones that need more than the standard shoot them until they drop.  Enemies like Tartarus who had a gravity shield you had to destroy first, and regenerated, or the heretic who used holograms to confuse you.  Mix things up a bit, so that beating the big bads feels fore satisfying than killing a standard enemy.

8) Offline XP

       I don't have a graphic for this, but I'm sure most of you know what I mean.  If you play offline you only get about half the XP you would from an online game.  This is stupid, I travel a lot and bring my Xbox with me, and sometimes I simply don't have an internet connection.  So why should I be penalized because of this?  Plus I am a huge supporter of the classic LAN party, for the youngsters out there, this is when we actually traveled to our friends houses with multiple televisions and XBoxes, and made a night of it.  These were far more enjoyable than playing with strangers online, especially when you have access to multiple projectors and very expensive sound systems, throw in pizza, chips, and drinks and this is how I spent most weekends in middle school, just thinking about it makes me want to plan another one.

9) More in depth Spartan Ops

       Spartan Ops was a great addition to Halo, and by implementing the voices idea I mentioned earlier, and the cutscene style from Reach where your custom spartan is featured, you could have yourself a more complete experience.  With the new consoles on their way, it feels fair that I can ask for a bit more here.  It would make the player feel more connected to the story by putting focus on the character they spent time and effort personalizing, rather than a fire team that you never even meet in the game.  You could even go further and make this its own game, like Reach.

10) Kinect Support

       I personally like the Kinect, and feel it needs to be used more.  Mostly because I spent roughly $200 on the stupid thing and there are no games for it.  I'm mostly looking for voice commands, or better yet gesture commands, which could free up buttons, and video chat.  The Halo 4 HUD has video chat with in game characters, so why not player to player?  not a huge innovation, I just think it would be cool.

       So there you have it, 10 things that I would like to see in the future of Halo, or at least the shooter games, I'm also kinda interested in seeing a new Halo Wars with new factions, units, and heroes.  But mostly I want the shooters to move forward, mostly by bringing back features that already existed.  So if you have any opinions about my list, or have any ideas of your own, feel free to comment.