We finally learned more information regarding the PS5 in relation to its upcoming release in Q4 2020. It has recently been revealed that the PS5 will be released on November 12th in the countries of Japan, America, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. The Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc drive version of the PS5 will also appear everywhere else around the world on November 19th with the release price being $499.99. For those who want purchase the Digital Edition of the PS5 they will be able to do so for $399.99. The pre-orders for the PS5 start on September 17th and can be done through local retailers or the PlayStation website. The inclusion of features such as Blu-ray tracing, haptic feedback, adaptive triggers and lightning fast loading speed seems very appealing to those who are looking forward to the next generation of gaming. There are upcoming titles for the PS5 that the world is looking forward to seeing including GodFall, Spider-Man Miles Morales along with Final Fantasy XVI.
The world recently got to see a reveal trailer Final Fantasy XVI and it was confirmed to appear on PS5 & PC. The official release date for Final Fantasy XVI has yet to be revealed but many people are speculating that it will come out sometime in 2021. While Final Fantasy XV from 2016 was a huge success reaching at least 8.9 million in worldwide sales; many question how good FFXVI will be since director and producer for FFXV are not working on this upcoming installment. In fact, Naoki Yoshida who worked on FFXIV will be the producer for FFXVI along with Hiroshi Takai being the director. The details involving Final Fantasy XVI such as the plot and gameplay are vague as of right now. However, Square Enix is supposed to reveal more information about FFXVI sometime next year; hopefully explaining the plot in depth along with what to expect terms of gameplay.
If you have been a long time fan of Nintendo in general you will be happy to know that the company has decided to bring some older Mario titles to the Switch console. The news regarding Nintendo’s plans to bring older Mario titles to the Switch was recently announced in their Mario themed direct presentation; while celebrating the 35th anniversary of the iconic plumber and the series itself. It has been revealed that several Super Mario games will be coming to the Nintendo Switch on September 18th. The confirmed video games that have been mentioned includes Super Mario 64 (1996), Super Mario Sunshine (2001), Super Mario and Galaxy (2007). It has been reported that a limited production of Super Mario 3D All-Stars will be available between September 2020 up until March 2021. Some of these games are ones that people have waited to see on the Switch console since 2017.
Its pretty understandable why we are getting a limited production of Super Mario 3D All-Stars for the Nintendo Switch especially since nobody ever thought that this would actually happen. Also, producing a limited quantity of Super Mario 3D All-Stars means that more consumers are going to by them with sales possibly spiking during the holiday season in 2020. Its also been promised by Nintendo that Super Mario 3D World will feature extra content in addition to modifications to its gameplay; which will be available in February 12th next year. In the meantime for those who are fans of the older Super Mario Bros games from the 80’s & 90’s they will be able to enjoy the titles from the original Super Mario Bros: All Stars game from ‘93. Titles such as Super Mario Bros I-III along with Lost Levels are now available on Nintendo Switch Online. Super Mario 3D All-Stars sounds like something that will end up becoming one of the biggest attractions that Nintendo will having going for them from Q4 2020 until Q1 2021. What better way to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Super Mario Bros series than to release another All-Stars bundle 27 years later.
One of the few upcoming games that everyone is talking about is Hitman 3 which will be developed and published by IO Interactive. The anticipated release time for Hitman 3 is January 2021 and its expected to appear on multiple game systems including PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Xbox Series X. Hitman 3 will also be playable on Microsoft Windows and Google Stadia as well as it serves as the direct sequel to Hitman 2 from 2018. Similar to its predecessor Hitman 3 will be a stealth game but this installment is expected to have a much darker tone overall. Those who are Steam users will be delighted to know that their progress from Hitman 2 can be carried over into Hitman 3 something that has yet to be confirmed for other game systems. It also have been mentioned that Hitman 3 will be Epic Store exclusive due to the partnership that IO Interactive has with Epic Games; this is following the debacle that Epic Games has with Apple.
Considering the fact Hitman 3 will be appearing on Google Stadia and is currently partnered with Epic Games it’s almost certain that iOS users will have no access to this game whatsoever. While a trailer for Hitman 3 has been revealed we are still in the dark as to what the plot is going to be about. Seeing how Hitman 3 is going to be released in the beginning of 2021 we will most likely learn more details about the game itself within the next couple of months. However, its been confirmed that campaign mode will be returning in Hitman 3 along with a new “Snipper Assassin Mode”. Some people will be bummed about the fact that 1v1 Ghost multiplayer mode will be absent in Hitman 3 but we will just have to see whether or not it will affect the overall quality of the game itself.
The Super Mario Bros series has been around since the mid 80’s during the NES days of gaming. When it comes down to popularity the very first Super Mario Bros game is quite possibly one greatest video games of all-time not only because it helped shape the platform genre of gaming but it was also very successful as well. The original Super Mario Bros game has reportedly sold over 40 million worldwide since its original release and the series itself had only grew in popularity as time passed. While Super Mario Bros 2 was a pretty fun game that allowed players to choose multiple characters including Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Toad it was not as successful as its prequel. Despite, the improvements in gameplay featured in Super Mario Bros 2 it sold less than both its predecessor and successor and was often seen as the black sheep of the trilogy. While the original Super Mario Bros 2 game reach over 7.4 million in sales since ‘88; Super Mario Bros 3 managed to reach over 13 million in sales and was almost every bit as popular as the very first installment within the series. Super Mario World from 1990 which appeared on the SNES was arguably the best game within its series during the 90’s in general.
Super Mario World had a beautiful overworld along nice looking 2D sprites, stages and animation with the inclusion of Yoshi. Players could spend days, weeks or even months trying to complete Super Mario World since the game itself had multiple overworld maps and became more challenging towards the end of the game. Super Mario World ended up reaching over 20 million in sales since appearing on the 16-bit SNES console and is considered to be of the greatest installments within the entire series. We then got Super Mario All-Stars for the SNES which was a 16-bit remastered collection of the first three NES Mario games from the 80’s; with the addition of Mario Lost Levels. Super Mario All-Stars was a huge success sales wise and sold over 10 million copies worldwide since ‘93. We also got to see other 2D classics on the SNES & Game Boy throughout the 90’s such as Super Mario Land 1 & 2, Yoshi’s Island and Super Mario RPG which were all critically acclaimed classics that sold millions worldwide as well. The Super Mario Kart game from ‘92 was a nostalgic classic where players were introduced to iconic stages such as: Koopa Beach, Choco Valley and Rainbow Road. By the mid 90’s the world got to see Super Mario 64 & Mario Kart 64 two games that are legendary among the gaming community. While Super Mario 64 managed to sell roughly under 12 million copies for the N64 Mario Kart 64 arguably had the best soundtracks that one would ever hear in a racing game.
While the Mario games from the 90’s were more iconic there was no doubt that in terms of quality the titles we have seen from the 00’s onwards were far more superior games in comparison. In fact, the 00’s was the decade where we got to see the releases of titles such as Mario Kart DS, New Super Mario Bros, New Super Mario Bros Wii, Mario Kart Wii along with Super Mario Galaxy. The New Super Mario Bros series was like a breath of fresh air to many people during the mid to late 00’s because the 2D gameplay was reminiscent to the older installments within the series from the mid 80’s-early 90’s. However, the New Super Mario Bros games provided players with 2D gameplay with 3D visuals in a addition to simultaneous multiplayer mode which not he done on the NES/SNES during the 80’s or 90’s. The New Super Mario Bros game from ‘06 along with its Wii sequel from ‘09 sold over 30 million copies individually and are among the best selling titles within the entire series. We also got to see the release of Mario Kart Wii in ‘08 which became the second best selling Mario game of all-time reaching over 37 million in sales. While Mario Kart Wii might not be the most memorable installment within the Mario racing series it was highly successful due to popularity of Nintendo’s Wii console from late 2006. Prior to the release Mario Kart Wii Nintendo released Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii console in November 2007; Super Mario Galaxy was a critically acclaimed 3D platformer with a fantastic soundtrack and a and a solid plot where the setting takes place in multiple galaxies opposed to Mushroom Kingdom. Super Mario Galaxy had reached roughly under 12 million copies in sales since its Wii release back in late ‘07 is considered to be one the best 3D platformers within the series along with Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Odyssey.
We then look at the 10’s decade and Nintendo gave us some outstanding games such as: Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart 8: Deluxe, Super Mario Maker along with Super Mario Odyssey. Despite, being exclusively on the Nintendo DS Mario Kart 7 reached over 11 million units in sales following its release in 2011. It was also in ‘11 where Super Mario 3D Land was released for the Nintendo 3DS and managed to reach roughly under 13 million in sales. Super Mario 3D Land in some ways felt like a prelude to Super Mario 3D World which included multiplayer gameplay where players could select Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Toad. Super Mario 3D World was the type of platform multiplayer game that Nintendo fans wanted to see in the Super Mario series since 90’s. Despite, being an incredible 3D platformer Super Mario 3D World had only reached over 5.8 million in sales which overall is pretty good. However, the Wii-U console was considered to be a flop sales wise in comparison to its competitors along with previous consoles that Nintendo had released with the exception of GameCube. Super Mario Odyssey from ‘17 was without a doubt the best Mario platform game that we got from Nintendo during the 10’s decade. Super Mario Odyssey felt like the 10’s version of Super Mario 64 and included cinematic cutscenes and soundtracks that made the game feel somewhat like a kids movie. Super Mario Odyssey not only received praise from various gaming publications but it also managed to reach over 18 million units in sales since its release in late 2017.
While the 80’s & 90’s may have been the period where Nintendo released its most iconic Mario games the overall quality of the titles that came out during the 00’s-10’s decade was without a doubt more superior. In fact, many would probably agree that the Mario series has aged like fine wine since the 80’s. It seemed like Nintendo has released more successful Mario games within the past two decades than they did in the 80’s & 90’s. Despite, Nintendo producing more successful Mario games during the 00’s & 10’s decade the very first game from ‘85 is still the most popular game within the entire series after being around for 35 years. While everyone has their own respective opinions on which decade was the best for in relation to the Mario series; everyone can agree that Nintendo has done an incredible job on the series fresh for over three decades which is an incredible milestone within the gaming world.
SM64 is considered to be one of the most legendary 3D Super Mario games of all-time especially since it was the very first that we got to see within the series in general. Super Mario 64 from the mid 90’s was remembered for its critically acclaimed gameplay, graphics and soundtrack making it the second best selling video game for the Nintendo 64. Since its release back in ‘96 Super Mario 64 had reached over 9.8 million copies in terms of worldwide sales before the N64 was ultimately discontinued in 2001. As far as soundtracks are concerned Nintendo arguably produced some of its best work with Super Mario 64 with legendary soundtracks for different levels such as: Koopa’s Road, Bomb-Omb Battlefield and Dire Dire Docks. The soundtracks in SM64 seemed far better than anything from the 2D Mario installments from the NES/SNES era of gaming. Also, there are hardly any 3D Mario games that came after SM64 that had a memorable soundtrack that was on the same level in terms of quality with Super Mario Galaxy from ‘07 possibly being an exception.
The soundtracks in SM64 blended naturally with each level and the amount of creativity that went into the game itself added to its overall replay value. While the soundtrack for SM64 was awesome it should be noted that Nintendo had produced many memorable music scores especially during the 90’s in general. In fact, some would put Mario Kart 64 above SM64 in terms of having more memorable soundtracks with likes of Rainbow Road, Toad’s Turnpike and Raceways. There was definitely a magical aura that some of the N64 Mario games had back then that we rarely see nowadays and its something that long time fans of the series still cherish to this day. While everyone has their own respective opinion on which Mario game has the best soundtracks there is no doubt that SN64 would have to be in the top five on many people’s list.
When people think about some of the most popular pro wrestling games from the 00’s titles such as WWF No Mercy, WWE Smackdown: Here Comes The Pain, WWE Day Of Reckoning 2 and SvR 2006 are all titles that come to mind. In fact, the games just mentioned are among the greatest pro wrestling games ever made depending on who you ask. There are many people who would definitely agree that THQ had produced more memorable pro-wrestling titles in the 00’s than 2K Sports has during a majority of the 10’s decade. While games such as Smackdown: Here Comes The Pain & No Mercy are considered to be legendary Smackdown vs Raw 2007 does not get mentioned in the same light as those two games despite being better terms of overall quality. The graphics for SvR 2007 were incredible and we saw more advanced gameplay than what was included in WWE Here Comes The Pain & SvR 2006. The roster for SvR was deep and included a large list of main event superstars & legends that could be utilized in various game modes including Exhibition & GM Mode. Also, the season mode in SvR 2007. Players were allowed to create their on wrestler and use them in various game modes; including Season Mode which was one of the many strong positives of SvR 2007.
The storylines included in the season mode of SvR 2007 were highly creative and original and added to the overall replay value of the game itself. Players were placed in certain storylines based on what show they were on; and whether or not they world champions within certain parts of the season. The voice acting within the Season Mode of SvR 2007 seemed better than its ‘06 predecessor despite there being minor issues in relation to commentary. The soundtracks in SvR 2007 were also pretty fun to listen to and players had seemingly endless match options to choose from in Exhibition mode including: Royal Rumble, Hell In A Cell, Elimination Chamber, Buried Alive, Parking Lot Brawl and the Money In The Bank ladder match. There were also many unlockable items within SvR 2007 that could be obtained by winning various trophies throughout the game; giving players plenty of things to do after they have gone through season mode multiple times to see various storylines. SvR: 2007 was such a great game because it found a nice balance between arcade-like gameplay and realistic pro-wrestling which is something that is not seen too often nowadays.
SvR 2007 is a game that does not seem to get the type of credit that it deserves and is one that generally flies under the radar as far as best pro wrestling games ever are concerned. The amount of content included in SvR 2007 along with its high replay value, awesome soundtracks and optimal quality in terms of graphics & gameplay makes it an underrated gem in the eyes of many people who are fans of pro wrestling. There are many people would probably agree that the THQ era of pro wrestling games from the 00’s was epic and SvR 2007 along with many others titles from that decade were the reason why. While some feel that SvR 2007 is highly underrated other believe it was one of the best pro wrestling games to come out of that decade overall. While 2K Sports had produced some decent pro wrestling games such as WWE 12, 13, 2K14, 2K16 along with 2K19 there are retro gamers who are still fans of the older THQ titles from the 00’s decade.
As many people know Donkey Kong is one of the most iconic names within the gaming world. Ever since the very first Donkey Kong arcade game from ‘81 Nintendo has produced numerous titles within the series that were considered to be classics as it pertained to the platform genre of gaming. However, many people would argue that some of the most successful and high profile games within the entire series came due the 90’s within the SNES/N64 era of gaming. As far as 16-bit platformers are concerned games such as the Donkey Kong: Country trilogy from ‘94-‘96 were considered some of the best titles that Nintendo had produced for SNES. In fact, the Donkey Kong trilogy had reached roughly under million copies worldwide in terms of sales; while each game could give the likes of Super Mario World or any of the three Sonic the Hedgehog games for the Sega Genesis a run for their money. Also, we got to see Donkey Kong 64 for the Nintendo 64 a game that was also successful since it reached over 5.2 million copies in sales since its release in 1999. The success of Donkey Kong 64 was followed after the release of Diddy Kong Racing from ‘97; not only was it the first racing game within the DK set but it too also ended up becoming one of the best selling games for the N64 overall.
Diddy Kong racing reached roughly under five million in sales before the N64 was ultimately discontinued in retail back in 2001. It should also be noted that the Donkey Kong title from ‘94 for Game Boy reaches over three million in sales and is a memorable classic that retro gamers enjoyed as well. If anything the DK series may have reached its peat in popularity during 90’s mainly because the platform genre of gaming declined following that decade. While games like Donkey Kong Country Returns & Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze were attractions on the Wii/Wii-U console during the 10’s decade the series itself was not nearly as popular as it was during the 80’s & 90’s. While everyone has their own respective opinion on which DK games were among the very best many would definitely argue that the most memorable titles within the series came out during 90’s.
One of the few games that the world is looking forward to seeing is NFL Madden 21 which is scheduled for a release this upcoming month in late August 2020. The PlayStation 4 & Xbox One version of NFL Madden 21 is expected to appear in retailers on August 28th while the PS5 along with the Xbox Series X version of the game are expected to be released during Q4 of 2020. The official release date for the PS5 & XBX versions of the game have yet to be revealed and we are still waiting to learn more about NFL Madden 21 than what we already know. There were many people who were thrilled after seeing the reveal trailer for the game and since then we have learned some basics on what to expect in NFL Madden 21. It has been revealed that new gameplay mechanics will be a huge part of Madden 21 along with modifications to certain features that were present in Madden 20 from ‘19.
The gameplay features that have been the key focus in relation to Madden 21 included ball stick carrier controls, better tackling, enhanced pass rush controls along with more celebration options than what the layers got in Madden 20. Also, Madden 21 will feature a new game mode entitled Rise To Fame which is considered to be a documentary-like career mode as player try to enter the Hall of Fame. Long time fans of the Madden series will be happy to one that X-factor feature will be making a return in Madden 21; along the introduction of new abilities that will provide players with a more satisfying gaming experience. While its also be confirmed that Franchise Mode will be returning in Madden 21 people were initially disappointed by what they saw and demanded a complete overhaul that differs from what we have seen in previous games. Hopefully, patches to the Franchise Mode in NFL Madden 21 will be made in a timely manner and we get a well polished football game by the time it comes out during late August 2020.
When it comes down to slightly underrated games for the N64 one of the few titles that some people might think of is Dr Mario 64 from 2001. As many people know the very first Dr Mario came out back in 1990 for the 8-bit NES and was considered to be a critically acclaimed puzzle game at the time. The original Dr Mario game was ported for multiple game systems throughout the 90’s decade including Game Boy and Super Nintendo. The plot for the original Dr Mario game was basic and involved players utilizing colored capsules to kill viruses which was a pretty interesting concept. The plot for Dr Mario 64 from ‘01 was a bit different and also involved one of Mario’s arch-rivals known as Wario. While Wario attempted to steal multivitamins from Mario he eventually fails and ends up forming an alliance with him to deal with mutual enemies. The main antagonists for Dr Mario 64 included Rudy The Clown and Mad Scienstein who end up being the ones who actually steal the multivitamins; leading to players having to battle multiple foes from the Wario Land 3 game which was pretty interesting.
While Dr Mario 64 was a pretty coolest puzzle game it did not sell an enormous amount of copies following its release mainly due to the year that it was released. Dr Mario 64 came out the same year that the Nintendo GameCube was released which was 2001; by this time people had already lost interest in the N64 and were focusing on the PlayStation 2 which was released back November 2000. Puzzle games like Dr Mario 64 were not too common on the N64 between the ‘96-‘01 time period especially since there was more emphasis on 3D gaming with a few exceptions such as Capcom’s Magical Tetris Challenge from ‘98. Dr Mario 64 has to alternate endings depending on how players completed the game which gave it a higher replay value than the NES Prequel from 90’s which was seen a positive to some critics. If Dr Mario 64 came out a few years earlier than it did somewhere between ‘96-‘98 it college have been a slightly bigger attraction than it was in ‘01.
Back in the late 90’s WWF WarZone was considered to be one of the top wrestling games for the PS1 following its initial release during the summer of 1998. WWF Warzone was published by Acclaim Sports and developed by Iguana West for the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation; it outshined the likes of WCW Nitro which was also released in ‘98 for the PS1 and was considered to be very innovative in terms of gameplay for its time. Even though, WWF Warzone was released in ‘98 the roster for the game was a bit outdate since it heavily reflected that of ‘97; which ended up being one of the few minor issues that people had with the game itself. In general there were more positives than negatives with WWF Warzone because the game had introduced a variety of features that had never been seen in a wrestling title prior to ‘98. WWF Warzone was one of the first wrestling titles to include in-game features such as create-a-wrestler; something that people did not see inWCW games until ‘99 onwards. Also, the single-player Challenge mode which included cinematic cutscenes and wrestlers cutting revenge promos before grudge matches added life to the game itself. Players had the opportunity to win the European, Intercontinental along with the World title throughout Challenge Mode with the game increasing in difficulty over time.
There also a variety of different matches that players had the opportunity to choose from outside of Challenge Mode including Single, Versus, Cage, Hardcore, Tornado and Battle Royal. WWF Warzone presented players with at least sixteen different characters to choose from along including likes of Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, Undertaker, HHH, The Rock, Mankind and more; while each characters had their own character profiles and attributes that would uniquely distinguish them from one another. WWF Warzone was quite possibly the first wrestling game where characters had 3D entrances alongside their theme music which was a pretty cool feature to see on either the N64 or the PS1 back then. WWF Warzone has received praise from wrestling fans and critics alike following its initial ‘98 release; especially since the game came out during time where the company itself was arguably at its peak during the 90’s decade. There is no doubt the 1998 was a great time to be a fan of pro-wrestling and games like WWF Warzone were among the many reasons why. While the WWF Attitude game from 1999 was considered to be a more superior version of Its prequel in terms of game modes and roster depth Warzone is still regarded by many retro gamers as iconic.
