I’m going to put this on record: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is my least favorite Zelda game of all time. But I’m not stopping there; not only is it a poor Zelda game, it’s also a poor videogame in general.

Without even touching upon the love ‘em or hate ‘em motion controls, there’s more than enough evidence to show that Nintendo should’ve taken a step back, looked at Skyward Sword’s innovations, and asked themselves, “Are we sure these ideas are good?”

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Spoiler alert: This article contains some details about Skyrim’s Imperial-Stormcloak civil war quest line.

The other day I read an article on Motherboard, “Skyrim Should be a Game About Nothing”, where Joshua Kopstein claims that Skyrim should’ve been a game about nothing: “Of course I mean ‘nothing’ in the tabula rasa sense; a kind of videogaming zen that coaxes enlightenment from simplicity.” After admitting to being “spoiled” by games like Minecraft, he also says that Skyrim breaks his flow with “the fact that there is some grand quest I should be embarking on, some dragon I should be slaying or village I should be saving.” Read more… »

For those of you that haven’t yet indulged in an EA Sports Ultimate Team mode — be it in FIFA, NHL, or Madden — it is basically a way for you to build up your own dream team. Play games with your team, earn some currency, buy packs for cards, buy cards from the auction house, or, new to Madden, trade your cards on the trade block. All of this goes towards the end goal of building that perfect team and playing games online against others.

Since its inception as free DLC in Madden NFL 10, Madden Ultimate Team (aka MUT) quickly became my mode of choice. I was that person in World of Warcraft that would reset the market on the auction house. That person you despised who bought low and made a ridiculous profit by reshaping and owning a piece of the market. This, for me, was like a mini-game that brought instant gratification and reward.

As you can imagine, this was a large part of the appeal for me in MUT. The mode in Madden NFL 10 and Madden NFL 11 provided a rewarding and challenging experience. While it was never perfect in the past, it still allowed for a somewhat healthy market and an experience that drove you to perfection. The future of MUT last year was bright and I looked forward to what Tiburon had in store for the mode. Read more… »

There were several great game soundtracks that blessed my ears in the past few months. Surprisingly to me, they have all come from independents or otherwise obscure games. Also surprising, these soundtracks have all supplemented intriguing stories, charming art styles and solid gameplay.

I would be remiss not to mention the fact that two of the soundtracks on this list led me to discover their respective games and may have changed the way I first played them. In the era of high budget production and amidst clamor for AAA quality, these soundtracks make the argument that music should do more than provide a game with mere ambiance.

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Sony announced the the first annual PSN PLAY event Friday, vying to replicate the success Microsoft has had with its annual The Summer of Arcade sale. PSN will offer four games at retail, with a fifth game free to players who purchase all four. Pre-orders start Tuesday, August 9; and the event will last until Monday, September 19.

Sony goes further, giving players a free PS3 theme along with an unannounced “special gift” with each pre-order. Playstation Plus members will also get a 20% discount off every purchase during the event. This sounds like a good deal on the surface. But, I tell you, my wallet is terrified. Let’s break it down and do the math.

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Originally landing on the Wii in early 2008, No More Heroes was met with critical acclaim and has since become something of a cult hit for punk rock game visionary Suda 51 and his studio, Grasshopper Manufacture. The game has since spawned a sequel, a first for the studio, in 2010’s Desperate Struggle. Now there’s talk of a mobile game in the works, but first, Konami will be bringing Travis Touchdown to the PS3 later this summer with Heroes’ Paradise.

While I managed to get my hands on the game last month at E3, playing games in overcrowded rooms for hours on end doesn’t always make for ideal conditions. Now having played the demo in the comfort of my home today, I have some concerns for the impeding PlayStation 3 release of Grasshopper Manufacture’s celebrated Wii title.

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From cult hits like Grasshopper Manufacture’s No More Heroes to first-party million sellers, the Wii has amassed a large library of superb titles over the past five years. Unfortunately, that long list of great games no longer seems to be growing. In the past few months the Wii has stagnated, showing little sign of impressive software heading toward the launch of the Wii U. Luckily, Gamer Limit has dug up a dozen great-looking Wii titles that have yet to see releases in the United States.

Join us after the break for a naïve wish list of games that will probably never see US releases, but could help the Wii go out in a bang rather than die with a lonely whimper. Read more… »

Supergiant Games’ brand new XBLA title Bastion has a lot of things in its favor. Fantastic visual style, great music, and what many will consider its greatest strength, its narrator. Logan Cunningham’s performance as Bastion’s narrator is pitch-perfect.

Cunningham augments the style and tone of the game, and really helps Bastion set itself apart from its peers. But I can’t help but feel that Bastion’s greatest strength also contributes to one of its biggest weaknesses.

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Do you even remember the last game you bought for your Wii? Exciting Wii releases, typically few and far between, have been virtually nonexistent as of late. The Wii has stagnated to the point that fans have taken matters into their own hands. A grassroots movement called Operation Rainfall have set out to do just that, campaigning to localize three Nintendo-published role-playing games.

Though not for a lack of trying, the efforts have yet to prove successful. Nintendo of America still refuses to localize the games. Despite critical acclaim and commercial success in Japan, it seems like Americans won’t get a chance to experience these titles. You just have to wonder why though. Have they forgotten their fans? Does Nintendo even care?

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You may have noticed that Gamer Limit’s reviews have been going through some changes lately. These revisions include everything from the graphics we use, to an increase video content and an update of our Official Review Policy. While reviews are in the spotlight, I would like to take this opportunity to discuss the nature of reviews, how Gamer Limit reviews games, and explain how our scoring system works.

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A beta for hot upcoming indie title Journey landed on the PlayStation Network this week. While the beta is limited to a relatively small number of playtesters, I am one of the fortunate few.  Having played through the beta several times now, I would like to share my thoughts on the Journey experience with you.

With Journey thatgamecompany is crafting an entire experience that focuses an aspect often overlooked in gaming. Doing something new and interesting would be enough for most developers, but the Los Angeles-based studio isn’t just stopping at reinventing the adventure game with Journey, players are also in store for a refreshing take on online multiplayer.

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After being virtually omitted from this year’s showing at E3 and with a complete lack of software coming down the pipeline, it’s become apparent that the Wii is on its way out and the Wii U will soon take center stage. Because of that, I would like to take this opportunity to highlight many the successes that the Wii has achieved over the past five years.

Nintendo may have forgotten the Wii, but that doesn’t mean we have to.

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