LEGO City Undercover (Wii U)
Another funny Wii U game- we’re setting a lighthearted precedent this year on Nintendo consoles. Though I suppose lighthearted fun has never been missing from Nintendo’s exclusives. There’s definitely a more relaxing feel to them, compared to, say, the dramatic dregs of The Last of Us.
LEGO City Undercover had me laughing early, and it had me laughing hard. Though to be fair, pretty much everything makes me laugh. Except The Last of Us- if I laughed at all during that game, it was because it made me hysterical. The characters of LEGO were annoyingly entertaining, and a blast to listen to. Chase was just the right amount of arrogant and incompetent, and seeing him stand victorious over his arch nemesis was as hilarious as any joke cast.
Exploring the world would have been even better if there were LEGO policemen chasing after you in a Sleeping Dogs/GTA like manner, but, being that Chase was a cop himself, there was never such a moment. Nonetheless, seeing everything LEGO City had to offer was a great application of the language LEGO games had taught me since LEGO Star Wars.
I had planned to discover every secret the world had to offer as I was playing the game, even after I beat the main story, but some other game came out in April. Probably some 3DS gem. I really can’t remember these things in December- reason enough, perhaps, to write these as I play the games? I may come back to Undercover in the future (lol jk have you seen my “Still to Play” list?), and catch all those pigs or cows or aliens or whatever.
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (Wii U)
I began this year as a Monster Hunter noob, but under the careful tutelage of my cousin Kenny, I grew from a novice to a professional Devil Jho wrangler in no time. MH3U made the Wii U drought a myth singlehandedly- it’s not a game mortals can simply stop playing. Quitting MH is scientifically impossible.
MH is a game best played with friends, even if none of them want to waste time finishing your armor set, even though the polarbear dragon is the coolest monster in existence (Barioth, was it?). I don’t think I’ve played any game in my entire life (2nd place Tales of Vesperia) that has spawned so many inside jokes between me and my cousins. Can I get a group pants?
I mean really, there are dozens. We turned our fated battle against a legendary Devil Jho into naval warfare, wasting time we could have been beating down its health commanding our allies reef the main sail and hard to port. But it was a battle that meant the world to us, after so many failed attempts ruined by bad teammates- most of them us.
A couple of choice inside jokes that you won’t understand, but need to appreciate anyway: “All Kenny needs is weinerballs,” “#allforDevilJho,” “We’re hunting waffawos,” “you’ve changed,” “that poo was potent,”- the list honestly goes on. For pages and pages in our private facebook group. But as important are the legends we’ve met hunting, HikarW, Jaggi, Moose, and Bee Tea. The unholy trinity plus Bee Tea. Champions who could solo Devil Jho in two minutes without breaking a sweat.
But you really wouldn’t know what I’m talking about unless you’re named Steve or Kenny (and even then you must be a very specific Steve or Kenny). You’re just going to have to trust me anyway: Monster Hunter is one of the best co-op experiences you can ever imagine. I’d love to keep talking about it, but literally everything I have to say about Monster Hunter is an inside joke.
I will play the song of my people!