Tablets. Who knew?

Are tablets the future?

It seems in the past few years, that mobile devices with touch screens have been on the rise. From Android devices to the iPhone, everyone nowadays has one, and, because of that, mobile gaming has become more prominent.

But bigger is always better, so tablets were made. Okay, so maybe the tablets weren't specifically made for the mobile gaming group, but they did have them in mind. So much in mind that at this year's E3, tablets and mobile devices had a big presence on the show floor.

Companies like Gree held a huge part of the floor showing off their new games and applications for various devices including "Farmville"-esque building games and “Resident Evil: The Mercenaries VS,” some of which are exclusive to the larger tablets. With what’s already on the iTunes App store, tablets are slowly starting to take over mobile gaming as a whole.

Mobile-game developer Gree at E3 2012.

The tablet’s success can be drawn up like this:

Mobile gaming previously involved just having a Gameboy in your pocket and being able to pull it out whenever. Now, convenience has become a bigger issue.

Why have a brick of a Nintendo 3DS in your pocket, only meant for playing games, when you can have a thinner iPhone which can be used for practically everything? You can be sitting at home working on something on your tablet and with just a few taps of your fingers you can be playing "Tetris."

It’s a big thing to be able to do that when in the past you'd have to change a disc or cartridge.

Consumers aren’t the only ones who've noticed this. Big name gaming companies have too.

The PS Vita could help bridge the gap from tablet to handheld.

It can be argued that Nintendo was the first to start the touch era, but it’s pretty safe to assume that their new console, the Wii U, has been at least ever so slightly influenced by the tablet craze. I mean the controller is basically a tablet with thumbsticks and buttons, and, to tell you the truth, it actually works. But for more on that, go check out Mike’sopinion of the Wii U.

Sony is also taking part in this trend. With the PS Vita having the dual touch-screens and all the similar capabilities of a tablet, it’s not a far cry to say that this handheld was made to appeal to both tablet users and handheld gamers. Like I said earlier, it’s all about convenience.

With these options, people who are on the fence about either getting a tablet or a gaming device can now have both in one, and this is what the companies are aiming for. To bring the core gamers and the casual gamers to one device that everyone can enjoy.

Now the question whether tablets are the future of the gaming industry or just a fad. My personal opinion is that maybe it’s here to stay. Most people already have a tablet device that they can play games on. It's unlikely that people will want to shell out another $200 for a Nintendo DS when they already can play a touch screen game on their phone. That’s why so many companies are coming up with more mobile games and platforms that seem similar to the tablet.

There is a difference, though, if you play on a tablet and a handheld system. Most people who play on a tablet only intend to play for 5 minutes or so as a way to kill time. A handheld is meant to be an activity, spending hours and hours playing, but this could all change soon enough with the growth of the PS Vita and Wii U.

Kingdom Hearts 3DS: Dream Drop Distance review

Calling all Keyblade wielders!

It's time to take up arms and dive into the latest iteration of the "Kingdom Hearts" franchise. "Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance" on the Nintendo 3DS continues the story of Sora and friends dealing with darkness in the worlds of Disney.



While the game is a continuation of what happens after "Kingdom Hearts 2", it is in no way the all-elusive, reportedly non-existent "Kingdom Hearts 3." It's more of a set-up to what will happen in "KH3."

This time, Sora and Riku are given the task of passing the Mark of Mastery and opening the seven keyholes of the slumbering worlds. All the while, a mysterious boy is causing havoc throughout the worlds, making Sora and Riku's test that much harder.

As simple as it all sounds, the inner workings of the story can make you scratch your head at times, but it's nothing a 2nd playthrough can't fix.

To help tell the story of both characters, the game incorporates the Drop system. After playing with a character for a while, the bar next to the HP bar will begin to empty. After it does, Sora or Riku (whichever character you are currently playing as) will fall asleep and the story will switch over to the perspective of the other character.

At first it can be a bit frustrating, but it becomes easier to handle as time moves on. The only big annoyance is when you're facing a boss and your Drop meter runs out making you leave the battle and focus on something else. Luckily you can force Drop at any time to go back to that boss fight and you can use the Drop-Me-Not item to prolong your play time as Sora or Riku. This is an intriguing way of going about the story, making sure that no character's story is neglected and it does a great job of it.

Players can link with Dream Eaters to boost attacks

If you've played any "Kingdom Hearts" games in the past, chances are that you'll be very familiar with the combat system this time around, and this is where the "Kingdom Hearts" series comes to shine.

With every new installment in the franchise new elements are added, but the basic concept of combat is kept the same. In "KH3D," You still have the same free-flow-esque type of combat that the series is known for while also bringing back the attack commands that "Birth By Sleep" brought to the table.

This time around, Flowmotion is the big star of the combat. Using the X button, players can send Sora and Riku flying through the levels, spinning on poles, jumping off of walls and leaping tall buildings in a single bound. This also adds to combat, and with that a new level of strategy and excitement.

Veering off a building, bouncing off a wall and then dash-attacking into an enemy makes you kind of a badass.

Another aspect new to the franchise is the story. Since it takes place within Sora and Riku's dreams, Donald and Goofy can't be part of your party, but in their place come the Dream Eaters. Sort of like Pokemon, players fight with these creatures by their side. Each Dream Eater has a different archetype - some heal and others attack with magic or physical attacks. Players gather items and synthesize new and more powerful Dream Eaters.

With the Dream Eaters, your characters can also grow stronger. Leveling them up unlocks new commands and stat attributes and abilities to help strengthen your characters, adding more to the level of depth. All in all, the gameplay aspect is solid and very fun, and will definitely bring you back for more if the story doesn't already.

Sora vs. Rinzler

Now, a big part of a "Kingdom Heart" game is the worlds and characters you meet along the journey. This time around, we're treated to worlds like The Grid from "Tron: Legacy" and The Symphony of Sorcery from "Fantasia" and their respective characters. So, Sora & Riku will meet the likes of Sam Flynn, Quasimodo, Esmeralda and many others.

The worlds and characters are represented well here and add to the experience. One group of characters to make exceptional note of is in Traverse Town. Riku & Sora meet the gang from The DS title "The World Ends With You." Neku, Rhyme, Shiki, Beat and Joshua are brought back to the spotlight with fully voiced monologues. After only being able to read their thoughts in their original game, it was great to hear the conviction they carry in their lines.

While the story may be a bit hard to understand and there may be some platforming issues here and there, the game is a note-worthy addition to a franchise fans have come to love. The game does a good job of adding to the rich story and set up for the final battle and the real "Kingdom Hearts 3." You know, if that ever comes out!

"Kingdom Hearts 3DS: Dream Drop Distance" gets an eight out of ten from me.

Now we play the waiting game for the next one to come out....

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Review

Gather, humans, moogles, & chocobos alike, for I have a review for you! It's been 25 years since "Final Fantasy" was introduced to the gaming masses, and what a glorious 25 years it's been. The "Final Fantasy" series has so much to love from the characters to the story - and even the music. That music is what Square Enix has based their newest 3DS game on.

"Theatrhythm Final Fantasy" is a rhythm-based game using the wonderful music tracks from the past 13 main "Final Fantasy" games. Each game is represented with five songs each adding up to a total of 65 tracks, not including the available downloadable content.

The visuals are very cutesy. The characters and monsters themselves look like little plush dolls with colored dots for eyes and blushing cheeks. It all looks very reminiscent of a mannequin or puppet show.

You can clearly tell that it was intended for a Nintendo audience, which is not a bad thing because its visual style alone lets the game stand out on its own from the franchise.

The game does a great job of making you feel like an orchestra conductor. You pick a party of four characters from the different iterations of the franchise, and then can pick a game in the "Final Fantasy" series (I-XIII) one by one and play it's music.

Playing is as easy as tapping, swiping or dragging your stylus across the screen.

The actual gameplay is simple: follow the command prompt, then scroll and tap,swipe or drag when it gets into the appropriate area. Its very simplistic, but can be very challenging when you up the difficulty.

The songs are split up into three different stages.

Field music stages, which pull their songs from instances in the series in which the characters are traveling in an open-world map, have the challenge of keeping the character running to the rhythm of the song while trying progress on the map. There are sections of the songs devoted to summoning a chocobo to help speed players along the map which add for a fun challenge.

Battle music stages are set to the battle music of the franchise (such as "One Winged Angel") and pit your party against monsters and bosses while trying to keep the party's health points up and attempting to perform a summon.

Event music stages treat players to cutscenes from a particular game in the "Final Fantasy" series spliced together to songs from that game. These do great justice in showing the series' growth from 8-bit to the high-definition games we have today. The only letdowns here are that the text in the cutscenes are not in English, and unlocking songs along with new characters takes a small eternity. Overall the gameplay is fun enough to keep people playing it.

"Theatrythm Final Fantasy" is great as fan service and as a piece of nostalgia for the "FF" veterans, but is also a great invitation to the series for newcomers.

I give "Theatrythm Final Fantasy" a 9.5/10.