That TCG Blogger

Good day everyone, I have returned from my week long Hiatus from the blog due to Drumline state finals. If you were wondering we got third at state and it was an awesome final competition. Without further ado, let us wrap up what I started two weeks ago. Now that I have a copy of Pokemon Heart Gold in my hands, its time for a proper review for this excellent game. Don’t worry though, I’ll be heading back to the table-top stating tomorrow.

When I first opened up my package of Heart Gold, I had high expectations for this game; with all the hype I brought up with the blogs and in my personal life, this game had to be good. I must say, those expectations were met and then blown out of the water. First, I must admit that the last mainstream Pokemon game I played was Diamond; so I had no idea that the Battle Frontier and WiFi-Plaza existed and those were mind blowing enough. Anyway, I had turned on the game for the first time and watched the opening movie and drooled at the revamp that this game well deserved. Everything was simply beautiful visually: the music was so well re-orchestrated, the graphics were mind blowing compared to Diamond and Pearl, and the game itself is bigger than the others covering two regions rather than the one. Not to mention the brand new features such as the Pokethlon and the Pokewalker Device. This is the game that fans of the series have been waiting for, and the game that past fans can jump into easily.

One of the most astounding features in this game is the fact that all of the songs in the past Gold/Silver games have been re-mastered to the point where they are simply mind blowing. When you play the game its hard to believe that it is still on a handheld when you hear the music. One of my personal favorite additions to this game’s music is how the battle theme features about 80% mallet percussion (xylophone, etc), which I play in real life. One of the complaints I’ve read about the sound in this game is how the Pokemon still sound the same; and if Nintendo were to change that feature in the game of keeping the original Red/Blue voices, then that level of nostalgia would be killed. Even with that, the music and sound in this game is perfect.

Great sound would be nothing if there wasn’t anything to look at, and Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver do not disappoint. The graphics in this game made me think that it was an entirely new game in itself, rather than another Pokemon game. The Buildings are completely rendered past the point of Diamond and Pearl versions and there are points in the game where you see a ground level view of your character (in the lighthouse, on top of the tower, etc) which also looks brilliant. The Pokemon also have different poses than before: generations 3-4 have the same sprites as in Platinum and generations 1-2 have completely new sprites. One small visual change that blows my mind is how each individual gym leader (and major trainer) moves when you enter a battle with them, much like the Pokemon do which is very cool. The visuals in this game make it more than just a remake of an old game and turn it into something new.

One of the most prominent additions to this game is the Pokewalker device that comes with each copy of the game. It is a small Poke ball shaped Tamagotchi in which you wirelessly place a Pokemon into it through your cartridge and carry it around with you to collect items and Pokemon. The device itself is simple, but the idea is simply genius. Being able to finally bring the experience of training Pokemon into the real world has been what every die hard fan of the series wanted since the original 151. The device is easy to wear and makes as a good social device if you see a fellow trainer wearing one, you can easily connect with the world in this game now.

To say that this game is a remake is a complete understatement. Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver are amazing games and truly innovate the series before we see the fifth generation released. Not to mention that it introduces the Pokewalker which I believe will be here for a long time to come in other games (maybe even updated more). If you are a fan of the series you will love this game, if you haven’t played in years then this is the perfect game to get started back into.

Gameplay: 9/10

Visuals: 10/10

Sound: 10/10

Multiplayer: 10/10

FINAL SCORE…….9.8/10!!!

-That TCG Blogger-

Got a question, comment, concern? Email me at Ecomicsinc@gmail.com!!

Also Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ThatTCGBlogger

The Pokemon franchise has always been known for its ability to slap a Pikachu onto anything and have it sell like wildfire. Thus, why wouldn’t they dip their characters into the miniature gaming franchise world to make even more money? With that, the Pokemon Trading Figure Game was a born. The game was based on a base that players spin in order to deal attacks, dodge, or miss. A player wins by reaching their opponent’s side of the board or taking out their trainer figure. All in all, the game-play is very basic and was designed to bring children into the table-top gaming, such as with Duel Masters. As said in the other FotW about Duel Masters, games designed to dumb down the concepts for children are doomed to fail as they insult the intelligence of all the other players.

The whole idea of a Pokemon Miniature Game could’ve have been pulled off a lot better than in this spinning figure game that Nintendo chose to release. At the time of its release, the game Pokemon: Mystery Dungeon had been released. With that new game (which is a very popular spin-off to the series), they could’ve created a miniature game in which players control armies of these creatures and battling it out for superiority. Sure the concept has been done before, but its worked over the years. Besides, who wouldn’t want to see their favorite Pokemon battle it out in mass?

The Pokemon Trading Figure Game was doomed to fail at its release, being centered towards one audience and no one else truly caused this to be a disaster. Gamers today want to see something new and innovative, but also something challenging to boot. The only assumption that I can come up with is that the game was rushed in order for Nintendo to make a quick buck off of the name. It only goes to prove that something truly great cannot be created overnight, it takes a lot of time and hard work in order to construct a hit game and the Pokemon Trading Figure Game obviously didn’t do that.

-That TCG Blogger-

Got a question, comment, concern, or you just completely disagree with me?

Then Email me at Ecomicsinc@gmail.com (going to get a blog email account soon, I promise)

Or at http://formspring.me/ThatTCGBlogger/

Also, you can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/Ecomics21 (Might be changing that name soon too.)

Tomorrow: We’ll have a special guest writer giving a review on the new Pokemon TCG Set based on Heart Gold and Soul Silver.

The hippies defined the sixties, disco ruled the seventies, and the reign of pop controlled the eighties, but what defines the time most of us grew up in; the nineties? If you think about it, the three things listed for the previous generation were fads; widely popular for awhile then suddenly just a boring thing to do; so wouldn’t it make sense that the Pokémon craze would define the nineties? At the time of its release, everyone had Pokémon Fever and fell in love with the one hundred and fifty one critters and knew them by heart. They played the video games, collected the toys, and more importantly played the card game.

The Pokémon TCG is easily one of the biggest games to sell when it first came out, even becoming more talked about than Magic. It was released in the right place at the right time, just as the franchise was at its prime. But, was it really that good of a card game to sell so much? After all, it was only a fad and is not played as much (there still are big tournaments) as it was when first released. I know for a fact that most people got into it only to impress their friends and not get lost in the crowds. Perhaps one of the best selling TCGs of this time isn’t all its cracked up to be?

The Pokémon TCG was based on the interaction between two trainers and their creatures of choice. It’s a great concept, allows for a lot of player confrontation which is what every game needs. They would start out with their un-evolved Pokémon and then make them grow stronger through evolution cards, still very flavorful. Battle to reduce the opposing creatures hit points to zero, not bad at all. Play energy cards in order to use effects, kind of using the mana system of Magic, but I’ll let it slide. But the one big killer in all of this is the fact that they have a set number of Pokémon they can create in each set. What made Magic so successful in its run is how diverse the cards were and the different possibilities. I’m not saying that this TCG doesn’t have diverse techniques in the advanced game play (any game can), but the fact that their cards are already limited just kind of kills me inside.

Today, when I sit at home playing this game with my little sisters (who love it) I always think to myself about how this game really isn’t that noteworthy as a “good” TCG. My definition of a “good” game is one that beings something new to the table, and gives us a new way of thinking. I can play this game and think of every card like I do in Magic and still come out alright in the end. But Nintendo must be doing something right, or else the game would’ve been dead ages ago. I believe that to be solely on the content of the TCG itself. People adore these cute critters, so isn’t it obvious that they would want to play a game based on them? Back in the nineties, if anything had Pikachu’s face on it kids would buy fifty of it if they could. That’s what got the professional players of the game into it, the one’s who saw the Charizard card that went for hundreds, and the ancient Mew from the first movie.

In the end, Pokémon wasn’t a bad TCG; it just wasn’t “new”. We had seen Magic do pretty much everything in the game before it had even came out. But, I have to say that if the Pokémon TCG never existed then the trading card game community wouldn’t be what it is today. I can say that probably about more than half of today’s players got their start by trying to get the holographic cards from the first set, and for that I have to thank the Pokémon TCG.

-That TCG Blogger-

Got a question, comment, concern, or you just completely disagree with me?

Then Email me at Ecomicsinc@gmail.com (going to get a blog email account soon, I promise)

Or at http://formspring.me/ThatTCGBlogger/

Also, you can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/Ecomics21 (Might be changing that name soon too.)



Tomorrow: we have a special “Fail of Week: Pokémon Edition”, so stay tuned.

Pokémon Heart Gold and Soul Silver are to be released this Sunday, and as you may or may not know; I am extremely excited for this game. In such an excitement, I decided to host a week long celebration to the franchise and the upcoming release. I must forewarn though that this blog may become more video game than TCG in the next week, so be prepared. Now, you may be wondering “Why are you so excited about this game?” so I figured that I should give an in depth explanation about my experience with the game itself to celebrate the first day.

When I was oh but a wee lad of the youthful age of eight, this wonderful game known as Pocket Monsters had made its way into my viewing area. It all started when I was sick from school one day and was flipping through channels, I came across the original WB Kids channel (back when it was still called that) and I saw this new show. My mind was blown at the time: the cute creatures, the kids being in charge of their destiny, and the funny (for my age) script; it had all overwhelmed me. At that time, I knew I wanted to know more about this wonderful program; so I went to my local store only to find so much more. It was at that very time when I caught the contagious (but to my knowledge not fatal yet) disease known as Poké Fever; I had to have it all: games, collectibles, or videos. If it had the Pokémon label on it, I had to quest for it.

Through my youthful quest, I came across the Pokémon Trading Card Game. I first picked up a Pikachu card and had fallen in love, my parents at this time supported me through this venture and it was my first introduction into the trading card game universe. It was a joyous time for me, even though I only liked the cards for the pictures, those cards held a deep place in my heart for the next few years and helped me become who I am today.

As we all know, the one product that has kept the Pokémon franchise alive throughout its ten year and counting run is the video game series. We all remember traveling to Cinnabar Island to multiply our items or how we debated which one of our starter Pokémon was the best. This one game created grade school memories for many, including myself. To this day, many argue that the Gold and Silver versions were the best in the series. It added numerous new features to the game such as the clock, colorized the game from its black and white predecessor, and even went as far as to add on to the original one hundred and fifty one we knew and loved. These alone are what created the hype for the remakes coming out this Sunday. The greatest game on the original Game Boy is hoped to be the greatest remake (and game) for the Nintendo DS, and I am even inclined to agree by having this be the first game that I have ever pre-ordered.

If it hadn’t been for that card game, I wouldn’t be here with you today discussing dice, spells, and strategies. Kind of funny how that works isn’t it? How one small thing such as a TV show eventually turns into a love for a video game, which then turns into a love for the TCG based off of it and then turns into a complete love for all trading card games and board games. If you look back at what small thing you liked as a child, think about how if you stuck with it how if affected you today; and then on the other hand, if you gave it up, how that changed you. You might find the results to be astounding as I did.

-That TCG Blogger-

Got a question, comment, concern? Email me at Ecomicsinc@gmail.com

If you’re anything like me, then you enjoy a nice good zombie killing game, and if you enjoy it as much as I do; then you’ve probably already heard of “Zombies!!!” by Twilight Creations. Recently, they have just announced their ninth expansion (which is a lot for a board game), and I don’t believe that TC had released any official information on their website; but thanks to the use of Google, more is now known about this expansion. The set is called “Ashes to Ashes”, based on the ancient burial prayer, therefore they finally picked they finally picked the greatest location (in my opinion) for a “Zombies!!!” set. Yes, that’s right, get your dancing shoes on and play some Thriller, because we are going to the graveyard!

Not only that, but “Zombies!!! 9” adds a new type of zombie to the mix, and in my opinion its one of the creepiest things they could’ve done. Yup, zombie children; just when you thought it was easy slaying the undead, they add young children who just want to give you a hug of death. Now not much is known about what they do, but I’m assuming they’re going to be harder to hit just based on the fact that they are kids, adding a bit of an emotional side to the game. If they add no secondary effect with these characters I will be very disappointed, as with the clowns; but I’ll save that rant for another day. The game also adds a new effect to the cards called “automatic”, now I don’t know too much about this effect (since it hasn’t been revealed); but I’m assuming they’re making the cards like instants or they activate “automatically” when they are drawn. Personally, I would prefer the latter just so it adds that extra sense of chaos into an already chaotic game.

Along with all of this already amazing information, I also found four preview event cards for the set, and just wow. The first one I saw was very flavorful (which is always a good thing), “You’re gonna turn into one of those….things!” is a permanent that allows for the player to place a zombie on the space where any pawn just died; which is the first we’ve actually heard any reference to the disease itself, which is nice. Just when you thought there wasn’t enough weapon denial in the game already, “How do you kill a thing that’s already dead?” allows one to steal an opponents weapon in play, making that extra boost even more deadly. The last two cards they revealed are both “automatic”, and since I don’t know what automatic is yet, I can’t fully comment on the effect of the cards; but I must say that they are both excellent as regular events. “We have a little problem” adds zombies to every space in the cemetery; and I’m really hoping that it means every space on the map in order to cause true chaos in the game. Since the set is called “Ashes to ashes”, it is fairly obvious that a card be called “Dust to Dust”; and Twilight Creations doesn’t live down those expectations. The card resets every player’s heart and bullet tokens to three and this effect can go two ways: either by destroying that player who spends his/her time collecting tokens, or helping the player who is on their last heart and with no bullets. I personally enjoy cards like this that are multi-situational, and if the “automatic” effect does what I hope it does; the player won’t get to choose when it happens making the game even more chaotic.

Twilight Creations built the original game “Zombies!!!” with as much chaos as they could throw into it, such as event cards that can put a player from first to last, fair chances in battles against endless enemies, and even not knowing what the map will be till its drawn. Those ideas make the game what it is, amazing and fun. They took the whole idea of a zombie apocalypse and melted it down into a board game that truly lives out the experience. I believe that, just by the previews, “Zombies!!! 9: Ashes to ashes” has the potential to be the best set in the game. Throwing in more chaos, if the automatic feature works like I think, and a new concept, the zombie children this expansion will be the one to get.

Preview Score: 10/10

-That TCG Blogger-

Got a question, comment, concern? Email me at Ecomicsinc@gmail.com (going to make an official email for the blog soon).