I have, and always will be, a lifelong Nintendo fan. Fond memories of exploring Hyrule in Ocarina of Time, dying over and over again in Star Wars Rogue Leader Rogue Squadron II, enjoying the quirky and charming (but short) Luigi's Mansion, playing against friends for HOURS in Super Smash Bros: Melee, or simply getting lost in the worlds of the Metroid: Prime series or The Legend of Zelda, Skyward Sword...these are many of my most precious gaming moments, and without them I wouldn't be who I am today as a person. Nintendo was an important part of my childhood. I wouldn't be playing games today without them. I wouldn't have some of the "friends of 15 years" that I continue to be close with to this day, I wouldn't have ever stumbled upon "geek" culture, or ever have been interested in computer programming. In many ways, Nintendo has shaped a large part of who I've become as an adult. Many other people have shared the same sort of relationship with Nintendo, and not many companies can lay claim to inspiring people in such a way. This is why events surrounding Nintendo over the last year have been so disappointing. I was waiting - and still am - to purchase a Wii U. Eagerly anticipating a solid game announcement, a release that can chew into some of my free time and make me put down my 360 controller or, more recently, my new PS Vita. Unfortunately, there's still nearly nothing there, nothing outside of Pikmin 3 that provides a great experience, let alone a rich single player adventure, or in depth multiplayer mode that keeps me hopelessly addicted for months. There is nothing of the sort on Wii U, and what promising titles are on the horizon are yet to have concrete release dates. The promising titles? Smash Bros, Mario Kart, Zelda...one can assume an impending Metroid title...etc...which has lead me to realize such a huge issue with Nintendo over not only the last year, but the last 10 years: A lack of software innovation. Make no mistake, things like Super Mario Galaxy and, more recently, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, were extremely innovative in their respective genres, and were both some of the best games of the last generation. The problem going forward with Nintendo is the lack of new intellectual properties. Why keep shoe-horning great ideas into existing franchises? Why not create new loveable characters who have their own, unique adventures ahead of them? In 2001, Nintendo created a very fun, very successful franchise called "Pikmin". That was the last new IP Nintendo created, and there are no new ones in sight. As a gamer, I've realized that although I love the tried and true franchises of each console (Halo, God of War, etc), it's important that risks are taken in creating new characters and worlds to go along with the franchises we all love due to nostalgia. As time continues to move forward, and Nintendo continues to develop it's tried and true franchises, there's a feeling that although I love my experiences with Zelda, Metroid, Mario, Smash Bros, and Starfox, I so badly crave a new adventure, a new universe, from the brilliant minds at Nintendo. Over the course of the last 5 years or so, I've found that I enjoy my other consoles far more than my Nintendo hardware, and it's a feeling that really just hit me hard today. The biggest fear I have for Nintendo is that they've reached a point in the market where they simply MUST release titles that can only be considered sure-fire successes (Zelda, Mario), as opposed to new, fresh titles that offer worlds and gameplay we've yet to experience. As Nintendo continues to go down this path with their home console, what can lead us to believe things will get better? At this point, no one is running out to buy a Wii U. Third party support is never coming back to Nintendo in a way that Sony and Microsoft are supported...and that's fine. We've all seen Nintendo carry the load on their shoulders, and completely back pack their hardware for an entire generation (N64, Gamecube), but if this is the only course of action Nintendo can take, there are serious issues that need to be addressed. They need larger development teams. They need to be pumping out quality titles and releasing games regularly, not once every 3 months. It's a heavy burden, but one Nintendo needs to bare in their current situation. They need to be brave enough to create new worlds. They still need their great, tried and true franchises, but there needs to be a new idea within Nintendo that risk will lead to reward when brilliant minds work together on new projects. Support new ideas, encourage and foster a new environment at Nintendo where new worlds and concepts flourish and are supported. They need to fully embrace the current state of online connectivity, and the want from current users to be connected as often as possible. Players like to be connected to other people who play the games they do. They like having a strong, unique social experience when playing multiplayer games. Nintendo is making steps in the right direction, but they still need more work. They need to some how leverage their handheld strong hold. The 3DS is doing extremely well, and there are no signs of it slowing down. Leverage this, Nintendo. Make the WIi U interact with the 3DS in a way that makes it undeniable, bundle it, create some crazy new software that utilizes both consoles. This is a difficult idea, but something Nintendo should (and probably is) think about tackling. Nintendo isn't in trouble financially. They have a near infinite amount of money in their bank, and that's in cash...not even taking into account other assets the company has elsewhere. The Wii U could tank for generations in a row, and Nintendo would still be afloat and well, reporting profits from it's still dominant handheld hardware. That's not the issue. The issue is if Nintendo can return to form in a home console market that was once MADE by Nintendo. These are the options I can currently think of for the Japanese game giant. In the here and now, I don't see a way for Nintendo to compete on the same level with Sony or Microsoft's upcoming juggernaut consoles, who both have a ton of hype behind them leading up to their releases this winter. Nintendo can, however, win back a lot of their jaded fans, and a lot of hardcore gamers, if they get back to what makes them who they are: Being innovative, taking risks in software development, and making incredible games that people must play.

As someone who has typically tended to stray away from Sony platforms, I was shocked when (post price cut) I received a Playstation Vita for my birthday from my girlfriend. She had noticed I'd been excited for the buzz surrounding Sony for the first time since PS1 (the last time I owned a Sony console), and had "heard about Vita + PS4 connectivity from some website." After toying around with the system for a while, I noticed that the Killzone: Mercenary Open Beta was a free download for PS + members (a service I signed up for almost immediately after seeing the price cuts and free games you have access to once you're a member). I enjoy a great first person shooter, and I had heard in recent years that Killzone had become a fairly polished and well made franchise by Guerilla Games. I figured I'd give it a go, and see if they'd done what I've heard is impossible: Create a great playing, polished, fully realized FPS for a handheld system. When first thrust onto the single map Guerilla Games gives players of the Beta access to, the first thing I noticed is how breathtaking the game looks on a handheld. The textures are crisp and detailed, there are hardly any rough edges on environments and characters to speak of, the lightning and particle effects in explosions and bullet fire are extremely close to being on par with what you see on current gen consoles, and in general, the game is just beautiful. The controls, on the other hand, took a small amount of time to get used to. In particular, look sensitivity wasn't as fast or as fluid as I needed it to be, which lead to me being decimated in my first online match. After heading to the settings, however, it's evident that Guerilla includes an array of options for the player to adjust look sensitivity to their liking. After increasing it quite considerably, I jumped back into WarZone (which is a pretty sweet game mode as a first time Killzone player), and my results were instantly different. With more precision, I quickly found myself on top of the post game score board, with a nearly 2-1 k/d ratio after hours of playing. The controls are tight, responsive, and natural after the brief adjustment period, and things like tapping the circle button to sprint, and again to slide over a dead opponent's valor card whilst hitting cover to avoid bullet fire is extremely satisfying. It's clear the Vita has certain limitations when it comes to an FPS on the system, but Guerilla has done a fantastic job of trying to alleviate most of them, and eliminate some altogether. The triggers on the Vita, in particular, work far better than I was expecting, as do the analog sticks (which I assumed would be horrible, but ultimately found were fairly accurate and responsive). Touch controls are made well enough, and things like swiping the back touch panel of the Vita to zoom in or out with sniper rifles actually feels quite natural. Making swipes in certain directions to "interrogate" or "counter" feel far less natural, on the other hand, but it's something that I found myself get used to over time. The way touch controls have been implemented by Guerilla Games feels as though they were seeking actual solutions to the Vita's rather cramped control scheme, as opposed to tacking on last minute touch features, and for the most part, they've succeeded. There are still moments during gameplay where I've had to adjust my grip on the Vita, which lead to some untimely deaths, but all in all, the game plays wonderful on the handheld. If Guerilla has put as much time and effort into polishing the other multiplayer modes and game types (including single player), Killzone: Mercenary seems like it's a day 1 purchase, and has the potential to be the best game - in all genres - on a handheld whose fan base has been eagerly awaiting a true first person shooter.