Monday, March 08, 2004
More important issues
But first, the last say on the whole licensed game talk. If you look at any Top 100 Games of All Time list you won't find many licensed games. Take IGN's list. They have nine licensed games on their list, and all but one of them are sports titles. The only one to not be a sports titles, and the only one to crack the top 20, was Goldeneye. So, when all is said and done, licensed games are just not as good as original games. Regardless of how fun they may be for a short time, they are not classics. They are not great. So what's the point?
Anyway, I've had a hankering for finishing some unfinished games of late. I had this same hankering last month, actually, and went back to my unfinished Mario Sunshine. That game still pisses me off with its horrible camera (Mario 64 and the Banjo series never had this problem. Don't tell me a good camera in a 3D platform game cannot be done) and annoying controls. I would have been much happier with a straight Mario 64-2. Sure, innovation is what got Nintendo to where they are in the first place, but you have to just recognize what is and is not ultimately fun, and Mario Sunshine is just too frustrating to really enjoy. So, alas, that still sits on my shelf, unfinished and unloved.
But, I am opening my heart to a trio of other currently unfinished games. Granted, I already have a bevy of games I need to tackle, from Orta to FF8 and Ape Escape 2, but these 3 games... I can hear them calling to me in the night. Crying. Moaning. Screaming. I need to complete them. I need to put them to rest.
First up, because it was released first and I feel I owe it to myself to finish, is the much maligned Star Fox Adventure. I will be the first to admit this game is far from perfect. The gameplay is somewhat repetitive, falling into a Donkey Kong 64 area of gaming where collecting objects is the only thing the keeps you playing. Not a good system to build the rock of your church.
But, upon starting up the game again today, at the 45% mark, I was very pleased to see what lay in front of me. As it had been more than a year since last I played it, I had no idea what I was supposed to do exactly. Luckily for me, as soon as I entered the next room the game cut to an in game cut scene showing me my task at hand: Kill dinos and play your magic flute for the cute birdy. Nice.
What really surprised me, though, was how quick I picked up the controls again. I figured I'd have to thumb through the instruction manual to remember what button did what, but the game is so darn intuitive a moron could figure out the controls. A is attack, B is the action button, X evades. L is camera and R is block. Oh, and the C stick, like in Metroid Prime after it, is your inventory. This always messes me up a little since I want C to stand for Camera, but it's not that hard to use.
Anyway, you'll probably hear more about this game as I get closer to completing it. For those of you who don't know, Rare is still my favorite developer, with EAD coming in at 1A. Even if SFA and Grabbed by the Ghoulies aren't great (though I haven't played GbtG yet to have an opinion) any company that gave me Blast Corps, Goldeneye, Battletoads, Anticipation, Snake Rattle and Roll, not to mention the great game show games of the past, and the highly underrated Diddy Kong Racing, will always have a place in my heart.
Oh, and did you hear the rumor that Rare has a secret game they will debut at E3? To quash two rumors before they start, the Banjo-Kazooie team just finished GbtG so don't expect them to unveil a new Banjo. Also, Perfect Dark Zero was announced 18 years ago, so that hardly qualifies as new. Plus, I fully expect PD0 to be an XBox 2 launch title. So... let the speculation begin.
My hope/prayer/need is a sequel to Blast Corps. Imagine a 4 player co-op game! Or, I shouldn't even say this... Xbox Live...
If it's original let's hope it's not a racer, First Person Shooter or platform game. Rare has already made at least one great game in each genre (Diddy Kong Racing and RC Pro Am for racers, GE and Perfect Dark for FPS and, of course, Donkey Kong Country and the Banjo series for platformers). I'd love to see them take on a new genre, or maybe even invent one. I'm getting giddy just thinking about it.
Anyway, I've had a hankering for finishing some unfinished games of late. I had this same hankering last month, actually, and went back to my unfinished Mario Sunshine. That game still pisses me off with its horrible camera (Mario 64 and the Banjo series never had this problem. Don't tell me a good camera in a 3D platform game cannot be done) and annoying controls. I would have been much happier with a straight Mario 64-2. Sure, innovation is what got Nintendo to where they are in the first place, but you have to just recognize what is and is not ultimately fun, and Mario Sunshine is just too frustrating to really enjoy. So, alas, that still sits on my shelf, unfinished and unloved.
But, I am opening my heart to a trio of other currently unfinished games. Granted, I already have a bevy of games I need to tackle, from Orta to FF8 and Ape Escape 2, but these 3 games... I can hear them calling to me in the night. Crying. Moaning. Screaming. I need to complete them. I need to put them to rest.
First up, because it was released first and I feel I owe it to myself to finish, is the much maligned Star Fox Adventure. I will be the first to admit this game is far from perfect. The gameplay is somewhat repetitive, falling into a Donkey Kong 64 area of gaming where collecting objects is the only thing the keeps you playing. Not a good system to build the rock of your church.
But, upon starting up the game again today, at the 45% mark, I was very pleased to see what lay in front of me. As it had been more than a year since last I played it, I had no idea what I was supposed to do exactly. Luckily for me, as soon as I entered the next room the game cut to an in game cut scene showing me my task at hand: Kill dinos and play your magic flute for the cute birdy. Nice.
What really surprised me, though, was how quick I picked up the controls again. I figured I'd have to thumb through the instruction manual to remember what button did what, but the game is so darn intuitive a moron could figure out the controls. A is attack, B is the action button, X evades. L is camera and R is block. Oh, and the C stick, like in Metroid Prime after it, is your inventory. This always messes me up a little since I want C to stand for Camera, but it's not that hard to use.
Anyway, you'll probably hear more about this game as I get closer to completing it. For those of you who don't know, Rare is still my favorite developer, with EAD coming in at 1A. Even if SFA and Grabbed by the Ghoulies aren't great (though I haven't played GbtG yet to have an opinion) any company that gave me Blast Corps, Goldeneye, Battletoads, Anticipation, Snake Rattle and Roll, not to mention the great game show games of the past, and the highly underrated Diddy Kong Racing, will always have a place in my heart.
Oh, and did you hear the rumor that Rare has a secret game they will debut at E3? To quash two rumors before they start, the Banjo-Kazooie team just finished GbtG so don't expect them to unveil a new Banjo. Also, Perfect Dark Zero was announced 18 years ago, so that hardly qualifies as new. Plus, I fully expect PD0 to be an XBox 2 launch title. So... let the speculation begin.
My hope/prayer/need is a sequel to Blast Corps. Imagine a 4 player co-op game! Or, I shouldn't even say this... Xbox Live...
If it's original let's hope it's not a racer, First Person Shooter or platform game. Rare has already made at least one great game in each genre (Diddy Kong Racing and RC Pro Am for racers, GE and Perfect Dark for FPS and, of course, Donkey Kong Country and the Banjo series for platformers). I'd love to see them take on a new genre, or maybe even invent one. I'm getting giddy just thinking about it.
// posted by Tom @ 4:30 PM 
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