G-pinions

My Xbox is dead. I brought home a Conker DVD last week and was about to play the demo - something I said I wouldn't do before the game came out - only to find my Xbox refused to run it. I took it as a sign. Not only should I just wait a month until Conker is finally released, but I really shouldn't mess around with the delicate innards of my aging Xbox. So, it seems as though my days of gaming on the largest console known to man are all but over. I started KotOR II yesterday, which seems every bit as fantastic as the original, as a bon voyage to the system that treated me so well these past three years. Since I refuse to pay even a cent to fix Microsoft's mistake, and don't want to spend $50 on a new game only to find out it isn't able to run, I won't be buying any more Xbox games. After devoting hundreds of man hours creating two elaborate posts detailing why Jade Empire and the new Conker will be so exquisite, it seems I won't actually be able to purchase either of them. While I weep for a moment at the shock of not being able to play through the newest Rare game, I smile at the possibilities this opens.

I think owning three systems is too many. Ideally, I would like to own just one, but with erratic third party support and key developers spread firmly around, this is not something I would be able to do. However, with the Xbox out of the way, I need only worry about supporting my PlayStation 2 and Gamecube. And since I don't really play the PS2 much (I own 4 games for it... or is it 3?) this means I can finally turn my gaze fully towards the GC. I know Brendan is rolling his eyes at the thought of being stuck with a complete "failure," but this isn't a bad thing at all for me.



Take, for instance, a game like Geist. When it was announced almost three years ago, I let out a half-hearted "meh" and moved my attention to games that seemed like they would actually be cool. Though I would trust Nintendo with raising my baby or making my sandwich, the task of making a really good First Person Shooter seemed slightly beyond their reach. Prime is a fantastic game, but I just don't think I am mentally stable enough to traverse another deserted world. Try as N-Space did, Geist just didn't seem too fun. In theory, possessing bodies should be right up there with throwing them around with the power of your mind. But like Stubbs the Zombie, some things are just better on paper.

But now, as more details are coming to light, I'm actually getting excited about Geist. Shall I list the reasons why?

1) Development Time - Geist has been in development for more than three years. I have no idea exactly when it started, but I know this will be the third E3 it will be shown at. Most people would take this as a bad sign. You've seen games like Daikatana and Fable come out; games that may not have been bad, but certainly weren't worth the wait. But I come from a different school of thought. If you'll remember, Rare is my favorite developer. It took them two years and four months to make Conker: Live and Reloaded, and half of that is just a port. 3+ years of development time means that the game will be virtually flawless when it's released. No rush job towards the end, solid gameplay nestled inside a chewy, delicious great idea.



2) Protagonist - You play as a ghost. Sure, this can go right down to being theoretically great with no substance, but we're only talking theory now. This could be the second coming of Psi Ops for me. I'm sure there have been games that offered Psi powers in the past, but nothing as complete and fun as Psi Ops provided. I'm sure there have been games where you play as a ghost also, but Geist seems to take that to the proverbial "next level." Let your mind wander for a bit. Being able to play as a ghost, with no restrictions us normal humans face, being able to possess people, animals and objects at will... does it get any better than that? I hope not.

3) Adventure - I know, I already said I can't handle another Metroid title. I shouldn't be excited about having a ton of adventure mixed in to my first person shooting. But this sounds really fun. It has nothing to do with the backtracking shenanigans in Prime, but creative problem solving. For instance - you need to get inside a room but there is a keypad on the door. You don't know the combination to get in. What's a ghost to do? You can possess the keypad and cause it to shake a little, maybe shoot out some sparks. A nearby guard sees this and thinks "I wonder what the problem is." So he walks over and examines it. Not being a technician, he doesn't see a way to fix it, so he punches in the code to see if it still works. The door does open. Satisfied, he closes it and walks away. Now you know the code, though, and can possess someone to get inside. Fantastic!

But wait, it gets even cooler than jumping inside an electronic keypad. In order to actually possess humans, you need to get them in the right state of mind. So light a few candles, put on Kenny G (he's sexy, right?) and scare the hell out of them. Say, for instance, that you're dealing with someone who's terrified of spiders. Just jump into a hairy arachnid and do whatever a spider can to scare them. Or, if you want to be more creative than that, you could cause a box to fall down in a nearby room. When the person goes to investigate, jump into a frying pan and hit them upside the head. The possibilities are endless.



4) Multiplayer - Nothing is known about this yet, but I'm crossing my fingers. Metroid should have had a great four player mode, but completely screwed it up by making it standard deathmatch with lock-on. Ugh. Geist promises to do something different, taking advantage of your super powers, but the developers aren't talking yet. This could be amazingly fun. I just hope it has bots since some of my friends refuse to play a FPS on the GC. Lame.

5) That's it.

I got nothing else. Just seems like it could be a really cool game. Tune in to G-Pinions in June to see how it turned out.