Pokemon TCG Online Vs Prize Ladder Reset

This month we see the Vs Ladder reset with the deadly Toxicroak EX, Gothitelle, Dusknoir and trainers 'Teammates' and 'Pokemon Fan Club' as your prizes.

Gothitelle provides you with the ability to remove Stadium cards and replace it with your own.  This comes in handy against all manner of Stadium cards which can provide powerful combos.  It is always a good idea to carry at least one Stadium card or way to remove an opponents Stadium.

Dusknoir's ability allows him to increase the number of damage counters on himself in order to increase the damage delt.  This is useful for gaining a more powerful attack and also heals your other Pokemon.  However, this does leave your Dusknoir exposed and the ability to easily heal would be paramount.










Toxicroak EX doesn't seem so scary on first glace but is actually a force to be reckoned with.  His Triple Poison attack causes your opponents Pokemon to take 3 damage counters between turns in stead of the normal 1.  This means that from Your initial attack to your next go your opponent will be taking 60 hit points unless they can do something pretty sharpish.  Poison attacks are a good way to get your opponent to speed through their heals or trade their Pokemon onto the bench regularly.  This kind of deck control can fluster a lot of inexperienced players and limits what most decks can do.

His second attack Smash Impact isn't amazing for three energy.  It does 80 damage and isn't affected by resistance which isn't bad.  However, when you take into consideration you will have already poisoned your opponent they should then take an addition 30 hit points after your turn.  This means that you will be hitting for a total of 110 damage a turn!  Adding Pokemon tools such as Muscle Band will also increase your damage making him an even more formidable foe.

Check in next month to see what's on the ladder!

Nintendo's New Console Revealed!

If you haven't seen the announcement video for Nintendo's new console/handheld "Switch" you can check it and the press release on Nintendo's official site. (There's a little "news article" link in the corner of the video if you're looking for more information.)

It's something Nintendo fans have been wanting and speculating about for years (Niche's own Crosshire swears he invented it).

There's 3 main elements, a docking/charging station for playing on the TV at home, a tablet and a removable controller. You can sit on the sofa and play a game, then head out clipping the controller sections into the tablet and continue playing the same game exactly where you left off.

Full disclosure, I'm not "totally hyped" for this one... it all sounds too close to the original vision for PlayStation Vita. For example you could buy Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time for PS3, get a free Vita copy of exactly the same game and transfer your save between the two. Unfortunately support for Vita has dried up and the tech didn't go much further. (Just don't write it off completely, it still has some great niche games.)

I'm interested to see where Nintendo can take the Switch, but seriously if you like the concept go out and buy it! (Release date is planned for March 2017.) These kind of things need buy-in from the fans if they're going to be successful.

For myself there's still too many unanswered questions about battery life, graphic and screen quality, price, backwards compatibility and exactly what games are coming. I'm also curious how this is going to impact Nintendo's current handheld, the 3DS.

What do you think of the trailer and the potential of Switch? Comments welcome below.

-Mulukh

Niche Plays: World of Final Fantasy (Demo)

In case you missed it you can now try out a demo for World of Final Fantasy on either PS4 or the PS Vita.

I gave it a quick run through so thought I'd add a few of my first impressions.

First off, you'll notice the super-cute chibi style; throughout the demo you'll meet famous final fantasy characters recreated in this style but still with their usual voices, they somehow end up being both adorable and hilarious, although you wont get much conversation out of them during the demo. Your own characters can switch between being these tiny "lilikins" or grow into Kingdom Hearts style characters called "Jiants" (see what they did there?)

The style may look like it's aimed at kids but Square Enix seem to have hit a balance where the game will appeal to long term fans too. If you enjoyed Final Fantasy 9 then you won't find the character style off-putting anyway, personally I'm loving it. There's also two command modes for battle, simple button presses for kids and casuals or a classic menu style. There's a new stacking mechanic that I haven't discovered the finer points of, but a stack of characters share health and are more powerful... it also looks so cute and rather funny if you manage to topple a stack of enemies. It's classic turn based combat and some long animations can't be skipped... however if things are moving too slowly for you there is a fast forward button.

As you go you'll figure out how to “imprism” enemies, that is trapping them in a crystal or prism. There are obvious parallels to Pokemon even down to the spherical prism traps giving 3 wobbles/dings on a successful capture. There's even skill trees for each monster you collect and they can evolve into new forms. Monsters come in 3 sizes with the smaller ones forming the top of your stack. You can even ride some of them around the world (something I've heard Pokemon Sun&Moon is also doing).

It remains to be seen how much Sun&Moon will push the Pokemon franchise forward but WOFF (not sure about that acronym) is doing some things the Pokemon games should have done years ago; voice acting, top end graphics, big cinematics, tweaks to gameplay, being able to play on a home console AND a handheld!

World of Final Fantasy is out nearly a whole month before Pokemon S&M (possible a worse acronym) so there's time to try it out, at least check the demo. The full game hits 28th October. Pokemon may have an edge with its mainstream appeal but Final Fantasy might just have a solid contender, even if it is a bit more Niche.

Niche Game Club: Actual Sunlight

Welcome to the first Niche Game Club, think of a book club but for games.

We'll pick a game and give everyone chance to play it, then meet back here for a discussion.

This time we'll try Actual Sunlight, it's available on Steam but has the advantage of being available as part of a PS Plus subscription if you happen to own a vita!

It may be more of an interactive story than a game but it takes a close look at depression, so there'll be plenty to talk about. I'd be interested to hear what people think if they've not experienced mental illness.

Feel free to comment at any point but I'll give y'all a month before we move on.