Friday, March 11, 2005

Why I love Nintendo

If anyone has any doubt why I love Nintendo, just read this transcript from the Game Developers Conference yesterday. It is the speech given by Satoru Iwata, the head of Nintendo. I talked about the two "highlights" yesterday - backwards compatibility and built in Wi-Fi - but the most interesting parts are his philosophy as a gamer and where he sees this industry heading. I honestly don't think I would still be playing games if it wasn't for Nintendo. It seems that there is a line being drawn between gamers right now: those that love Nintendo and those that don't. There is no way to stop this divide, but I can at least show you the other side.

"Think about this. Someday our games won't look any better. What will we do then?"

Thursday, March 10, 2005

Wireless bus

Huh, I just realized that Nick threw me under the boss in his last update. "So I was out of town..." eh? I didn't realize that sucking the organic teat of a land loving bovine constituted being out of town. I did a little research beforehand and found no conclusive statement on what constitutes going "out of town." With no definition available, I'll supply my own: if you have to spend the night somewhere, it's out of town. If you are just going to Wisconsin for one day, that doesn't really count. Is it ok if I just refer to Nick as Kobe from now on? Would anyone really have a problem with this?

Anyway, if you must know why I went a few days without updating, I can reveal my motives to the world right now - I had nothing to write about. During that dry stretch, there was no gaming news to speak of and the only new title I had played was Devil May Cry 3. For those who have been reading this site for longer than a few months, you are fully aware of Nick's unbridled wrath when I write about one of his games before he has a chance to. See my God of War post if you are wondering what happens. So, I decided to let him take the first crack at this simple buttons masher. If you want to know how I feel about this title, check back next Tuesday for a full review. I'll give you one clue: don't buy it.

It's time to move on to some gaming news. At the annual Game Developers Conference held in lovely San Francisco, Nintendo unveiled a few more nuggets about their Revolution. Unfortunately, neither of their tidbits confirmed the name will actually be Revolution, but I assume that is only a matter of time. It's a catchy name, and may actually be the best name for a video game console since the Genesis. No one cares about the smell of roses or stink blossoms, though, so I'll move on to what was actually said.

First, the Revolution will be backwards compatible with the Gamecube. I have to admit I'm a little surprised about this. With all the talk about how the Revolution would forever change the industry, I expected some fundamentally difference so severe the mere thought of playing older titles on it would appear laughable. I guess the confirmation that the Revolution can play GC games means their latest controller will not be as drastically different as everyone assumed. After the rumor a few months back that the new controller would have neither a digital pad nor an A button, everyone feared the worst. It would be pretty hard to play Pikmin without the A button, so I can only assume that's another very wrong report.

While this news doesn't make a ton of difference to me, it still is very important. While the draw of the Gamecube's library probably won't be enough to lure early adopters to the Revolution, it does show that Nintendo is listening to what gamers want. While I still expect them to do whatever they want, it's nice to see them cave ever so slightly and offer something that haven't in the past. All it means to me is that I have a nice spot under my TV for the newest system. For everyone else - you can finally pick up that copy of PN 03 you've been eyeing.

The other thing they revealed is that the Revolution will be come fully loaded with Wi-Fi technology. Again, something that isn't "revolutionary" so much as doing what everyone expects anyway, but still important. By not offering online as an added peripheral consumers may or may not buy, they can ensure that everyone has the ability to go online. As long as they keep the costs low, somewhere around free would be ideal for me, they can quickly build up an online community. The only question remains: how will Nintendo convince the average consumer that online is the way to go? How can they convince someone like me, who has been online and is not impressed, that this is every bit as important as traditional multiplayer? I'm not sure if they will be able to, but I am confident that if anyone can make such a game it will be Nintendo. If they fail, be prepared to play FPSes for the rest of your life.

Wednesday, March 09, 2005

Stupid Sega science queen

I'm not sure how Sega expects me, as a fan of Sonic, to react to the latest "Sonic" title. I can only guess that something must have been destroyed in Sega when the Dreamcast failed. They used to be one of the best developers in the industry, creating fresh games while churning out sequels that only strengthened their character's names. Now they don't even care anymore. In fact, if I had to guess, I can only assume they are actively trying to hurt people. Sega must still be pissed that no one bought the Dreamcast. What else could explain their systematic rape of their premier character: Sonic? Don't believe me? Check out this video for yourself.

Link courtesy of IGN

If you'll notice, at the beginning of the video they show snippets from the classic Sonic titles. What's this? Are they finally going to bring the series back to its roots? Maybe they are finally admitting that Sonic doesn't really work in 3D, and are instead making a 2.5D update? Wait... oh no... they're shooting bullet holes through the footage of the old games. This can't be good for anyone.

Enter Shadow. An ultra generic, all back version of Sonic. Yup, all black. Why not just call him Emo? He could be the Hedgehog who cuts himself! Even worse than his lame style, he has a gun. A god damn, bullet shooting gun. There is now a gun in a Sonic title. It's 2005 and there is a gun in a Sonic title... that doesn't even have Sonic in it. What is this world coming to? I don't want a Sonic and Clank title. One 3D pseudo-platformer with the jumping replaced by an assortment of guns is enough. I want a real platforming title, with running and jumping.

The worst part of the trailers, aside from the extreme character and guns of course, is that it actually looks fun. Those shots of Shadow flying (flying!? Why can't he run?) look pretty sweet. And that jumping spin attack, where he jumps on the bad guys heads, look way more interesting than shooting a gun. Even the side to side wall jumping looks fun. Why did they have to ruin this potentially cool title before it even came out with an Ubi Soft make over to Sonic and guns. GUNS!? I can't get over the guns. Even though Ratchet and Clank is pretty fun, if guns start popping up in every platformer I will never forgive Insomniac for what they started. A sword would be cool. Swords are at least pretty interesting.

Anyway, Sega is clearly the suck. They need to stay far, far away from their intellectual property until they learn how to use it.

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

On a Tuesday, no less

So I was out of town, and Tom has apparently been playing Luigi's Mansion like a weirdo - thus, no updates. I'm back though, and I'd like to talk about a couple of games.

My little brother picked up NBA Street V3 recently; he's not really a basketball fan, or a sports fan in general, but he knows a good game when he plays it (Street 2) and he'd been looking forward to this one. As had I, because it had been a fantastic series thus far. With that said, for all it's market-tested attitude, in-your-face menu screens and corporate America's take on the concept of "street", it's woefully fake, and painfully unfun.

Everything that made the last two games such a blast has been taken way too far, beyond the realms of reason and fun. Blocks are more dominant than ever, to a ridiculous degree - there's no point in taking an outside shot, ever, unless all players from the other team were just knocked to the ground (and even then, you have about a half second window to shoot, as they can goaltend legally from anywhere between you and the basket). Dunks are really the only move that makes sense to attempt now, and you don't even have to do that if you don't want to. Just run around doing small dribble and pass tricks until one of your players jumps up for an alley-oop, then toss it to him. Alley-oops give you a massive amount of gamebreaker points, and you can pretty much pull them off every time if you wait around long enough. I lost three straight matches to my brother because after trying it a couple of times I refused to play that way (wait around, do a trick or two, toss it). And the gamebreakers themselves have become ultra-lame - not only can you not block them, ever, but the interaction just involves spinning the right analog stick to do tricks until you're ready to dunk it, at which point you stop. So lame.

Every game devolves into both sides just struggling to get gamebreakers first, without the need to score traditionally at all. There is no strategy to speak of, whether you're against the computer or not. Nevermind the fact that teams consist solely of three-man rosters now; and if you don't your basketball obscenely well, good luck telling two similar-looking players apart, as you can't even read their jerseys. The game is just broken, and I feel like all the high reviews come from people who didn't play either of the first two games (which were much more well-balanced, and therefore fun). Oh, I guess I can't be disappointed with the online play, because the game wouldn't even go online, despite my PS2 passing all connection tests flawlessly.

On the other hand, there's Devil May Cry 3, which just makes me smile, despite a few flaws. Well, one flaw really, and that involves the lack of checkpoints - when you die at a boss, you have to replay the entire level, usually just to get slaughtered by them again. That wouldn't usually be a problem since the combat on the way there is so fun, but by the time you've gotten back to the boss you've forgotten any strategy you had against it, and can't quickly adjust after just having slain a hundred lesser minions. And the exploratory bits are boring the third time around and onwards.

As I said though, the combat is lots of fun, partially because of how deep it is. The sword and gunplay are both very smooth and dynamic, and there's a ton of ways to mix it up mid-battle. It can be a button-masher if you want it to be, but it definitely won't get you as far. I would say it can most easily be compared to Soul Caliber, whereas Ninja Gaiden would be Virtua Fighter. You can button-mash in Soul Caliber, but you'll be stomped every time by a player who knows what they're doing. In NG and VF, you either memorize moves or you die. There's not really any other way to play the game, despite what you may be looking for. So it's definitely something to keep in mind when you're comparing the two.

The cutscenes are well-choreographed and mostly badass, but so over-the-top that it defies description. Dante couldn't be more of a douche, really. And the unintelligible rock music playing over every fight isn't too fun either. So I guess there are a couple more flaws. The bulk of the game is lots of fun though, exploring cool environments and fighting mostly well-designed beasts. There are lots of little things like multiple fighting styles and weapons that just feel like icing on the cake, even if they're meant to be incorporated into the game more than they are. I'd definitely recommend the game to those with some patience, and I think I'm about ready to go play some right now.

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