Hammerhead Bridge

Photo From Nintendo

Took a short break from Splatoon to focus on school work and try out Super Mario Maker.  I did however make time to compete in the recent American Splatfest Art vs Science.  It was a great time and my team won again!  My Splatfest record now sits at 3 - 1.  Now back to the point.  I noticed that a new map had been released just before Splatfest called Hammerhead Bridge so naturally I had to scout it out before playing it online.

This map is reminiscent of Walleye Warehouse and Port Mackerel as it is very narrow but long.  The main focal point on the map is the bridge that runs from spawn point to the enemy spawn point.  This path offers quick movement and access to many parts of the stage but is a risk due to the lack of cover the bridge provides.  The bridge also has very little turf to be covered so in a turf war it is best to drop down as soon as possible.  From spawn there are also two side paths players can choose to take to get to the common middle ground.  These paths do provide players cover but also take a bit longer to get to the center of the fight.  Personally I find the area under the bridge to feel a bit like a maze with many walls and corners people can hide behind.  While playing Splatfest I spent countless games running in circles trying to out flank my opponents who where chasing me.  In the end I just ambushed them from around a corner with a well placed splat bomb.

This map is pretty fun to play and it also got me thinking.  Many Splatoon maps share similar characteristics.  Maybe there is a way to classify them.

Foreshadowing?  Maybe I am.  Stick around to find out!

Until then
KFlave signing out!

Let The Game Design Begin - Super Mario Maker

I picked up Super Mario Maker this weekend and so far it is a fantastic game.  I've already put in many hours playing it to unlock all the stage building tools.  Next goal for me is to unlock all of the costumes.  This will take a while though since you must beat the 100 Mario challenge multiple times on Easy, Normal and Hard Difficulties.  The easy challenge is, well easy.  A lot of the courses are straight forward or are automatic levels.  Normal difficulty does require some skill as dying does become an issue but won't be a problem as most levels have a lot of 1-Ups in them to keep you near 100.  The real challenge I find is with Hard Mode.  I know I'm not the most skilled Mario player but half of those levels seem trollish to me.  Some can only be cleared by knowing a secret trick the creator put in which (I find to be unfair) or by trial and error.  Trial and error doesn't work well since you only have 100 lives and 16 stages to complete.  I prefer skill over luck in my games,  but that is just an opinion.

In the mean time here are some of my levels to play until I complete some more challenges.

Beginner's Luck (Still Undefeated)
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Bomber Bridge
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Castle Koopa
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KFlave signing out!

Splatfest 5 - Creativity or Fact?

Photo From Nintendo

Next week American Splatoon players will be celebrating another Splatfest and this time it is a bit philosophical.  Do you value art or science more?  I am hoping to bounce back in this Splatfest to make up for my defeat last time.  Although, it is hard to say which team will be more popular as both side are opposites.  I personally have to go with my heart in this Splatfest and chose art since I am both an actor and a musician.

Here is a big question for everyone.   Which came first art or science?   Without science we wouldn't have any spare time to create art.  The posses of discovering things through science is its own expression and its own art.

Now to help any gamers figure out which side to pick its very simple.  Video games are both an art and a science.  The science of technology and programming allows us to see and play the works of art developers have spent years making.  So it doesn't really matter which side a gamer picks.

  The Splatfest runs on the 18 - 19 of September so everyone pick a side and get ready to rumble!

KFlave signing out!

Super Mario Maker is Out

Photo from Nintendo

Super Mario Maker is finally out today and I gotta say the game looks pretty nice.  After many long years of waiting it's awesome to now be able to build levels and challenge the world to complete them.  Lots of the information I will be talking about might already be known since Youtubers have been posting about Mario Maker for a couple of weeks now.

The possibilities for level creations are only limited by your imagination. Nintendo has made sure to keep the game fun for everyone.  In order to release your levels to the public you must be able to complete them without dying.  This should help remove the number of  impossible Kaizo Mario style floating around but still keep in some challenging levels.

If you want an easy way to find difficult levels you can take the 100 Mario challenge.  Your goal is simple: Complete 16 levels with only 100 lives.  A walk in the park on easy mode but very challenging or outright almost impossible once you get to expert mode.  This is the perfect way for a Mario master to prove his worth to his peers.

Personally my favorite part of Mario Maker is the Amiibo costumes.  I believe there are around 99 costumes to unlock in the game and most of them come from just using the Amiibos.  It is interesting to see all the 8-bit character sprites.  It's very ironic to see characters like Sonic be official in a Mario game considering the great console war.  I also fascinating to see the Inklings and other newer Nintendo characters in a retro form.  I kind of like them and almost wish they had retro origin games just to see how they would have worked.

That's all for today!
K Flave signing out!