G-pinions

With Tom wrapping up school and myself too busy making sure our E3 is jam-packed with behind-closed-doors goodness, the updating duties have once again fallen on our good buddy Greg, who catches us up to speed nicely on everything I probably should have been talking about over the last week. Enjoy!

"They took simple common sense ideas, plugged them into high technology, and put them out into the world. The tag line should have been 'Wii have nothing to lose'. Right about now Nintendo is the only one playing that way. The only one throwing caution and conventional wisdom to the wind and changing everything that has been known about games (that they revolutionized themselves once not so long ago) in and to truly bring gaming home not just to the mainstream, but to the whole world. You know that old lady down the street with the bad breath? Wii want her. The guy with only one hand who can't use a Dual Shock? Wii want him. That Congresswoman who has probably never had a meaningful gaming experience in her life? Wii really want her. How do wii get them? Just like Tom said - by stepping out of the spotlight that Sony and Microsoft are wrestling for and creating a totally different arena to play in where there is no competition; in the way you interact with it and what you call it. Walkman, iPod, Google, Wii. These are all stupid names. But when they stop being just a name and become a cultural buzz word nobody remembers how stupid they initially sounded. They took simple common sense ideas, plugged them into new technology, and put them out into the world in a slick sexy package, adding new words to our language on the way. Wii could be in for something really big here.

Moving on. I am a little shocked that there has been no mention of the single most compelling reason to buy a PSP. If Mario and Sonic spawned an offspring that got delivered at a hospital in the city from the first Katamari Damacy it could only be named Loco Roco. Oh my God. Half the time I had a huge smile on my face. The other half of the time I was giggling like a four year old at Halloween. Waking up the moon is one of the most delightful things I've ever experienced in a game. If you know what I mean, great. If you don't, borrow somebody's PSP and download this demo. You'll be singing along in a language you don't understand in no time. I still am.

Speaking of downloading, I've watched that new Lost Planet trailer on 360 more times than I can count. It looks like Capcom has jammed a ton of crazy action into this one. We get a demo on May 9th for the game that's not scheduled to be around until 07 sometime. How is this possible you ask? Through the magic of E3. Thanks to Microsoft all of us who can't make it this year will be getting a taste through our 360s in the comfort and privacy of our own Internet connections. MS is promising to get as much content up on Marketplace as they possibly can during the show, and I'd be willing to bet that this two minute Halo 3 teaser will be up and in HD pretty quickly too. It seems like it's Microsoft's stance to make things as transparent as possible, to show the rest of us what's really going on. As impressive as Sony's video showcase was last year, I was more impressed by the balls MS had in showing games that were nowhere near ready for prime time. I found it more exciting because these were real games that were really coming that people were really playing, and however they looked I knew they would end up looking even better when they released. A much different perspective from the ongoing debate over whether Killzone 2 is even possible. For the record, graphical fidelity? You betcha. Actually playing a game where the camera moves like that at all the right times? Probably not. Point is, Live Marketplace is cooler than the coolest kid you went to high school with.

One last bit about Wii. Sadness from unknown developer Nibris has got me totally interested. In case you haven't heard, it's a WWI horror game done all in black and white. Fine, we've seen this sort of thing before, get on with it already. But when discussing how they'll be using the Wii controller they gave three examples: Swing the controller to toss a rope so you can swing across a gap. As a torch to keep nasty snakes at bay. As a piece of glass to cut some baddie's throat. It's this last bit that has my attention, and if this actually ships as a part of the game I'm sure it will get a lot more attention. The knee jerk reaction is "that's disgusting and now that the violence is more realistic there will be even more killer twelve year olds." I think that it could be an enormous leap forward in the maturity of video games. For years random deaths of faceless enemies has been relegated to the A or X buttons. With Dreamcast and Xbox we stepped up to triggers to deepen our immersion. Still an easy maneuver to pull off and execute some poor schlub while reaching for you Doritos. Not this time. Now you actually have a physical investment in the action. If they pull this off well, I'm guessing that this will be one of the most disturbing things anyone has done in a game. We've all seen the insane creatures and settings from Silent Hill and the hopped-up lunatics in Condemned, but to manually perform an action to end a virtual life has my skin crawling. To me this is the next huge step towards emotional involvement, like choosing your brother or your girlfriend in Advent Rising, then having to watch the consequences. Only a much, much larger step."

I'm sure you're all chomping at the bit for me to speak my opinion (which will soon be your opinion) on Nintendo's decision to rename the Revolution to Wii. Thankfully, Nintendo waited until the last of my papers were handed in, so I could update the G without the nagging weight of what I should be doing hanging glumly over my head. Of course, we should probably ignore the fact that I have my final Spanish test (ever) in less than an hour. I mean, who studies for Spanish anyway? I don't even think Wii is a word in Spanish.

I know my readers are aware that I love Nintendo more than the other two companies. The PS2 may be the best system of last generation, but I could imagine a happy video game landscape without Sony while conjuring such an image without Nintendo is reminiscent of Fallout. Even still, as recently as a few days ago I was quite down on the whole Revolution concept. The X360 doesn't really do much more than what I was playing on the original Xbox, but it is still fun. Really fun. Why would I want to completely change the way I play games when 2005 was the best year ever for gaming? It's a terrifying prospect, to say the least.

When Ubi Soft revealed Red Steel a few weeks ago my anticipation for the system dropped a little more. I mean, it sounds pretty fun, right? A first person shooter with swords. But it looks so bland. Nick thinks I'm crazy, but it reminds me an awful lot of XIII. This is not a good thing. Compared to the likes of Gears of War it looks almost laughable. It was hard to get excited for this.


Shamelessly stolen from NeoGAF

But somehow things started to change when Nintendo announced Wii yesterday. It just feels so right to me. Though the Gamecube has been a disgrace since Resident Evil 4 came out last January, I love what Nintendo has been doing with the NDS. Sure, they have games like Nintendogs and Brain Training which, to quote Penny Arcade, aren't really for us. But there are fantastic, original games as well. Kirby and Trauma Center are two of the best games that came out last year, and they could not have been done on any other system. But there are still "standard" games like Phoenix Wright and Advance Wars. I love these games just as much as the genre defining stuff the DS is known for. It calms my worries seeing that Nintendo is not scared to support titles that don't push the capabilities of their system to the limit because, as much fun as touch screen gameplay can be, there is a certain charm to pushing buttons.

I have a feeling Wii will continue that trend.

Why does the name excite me then? Because it further emphasizes Nintendo's goal of trying to separate themselves from the competition. PlayStation and Xbox sound like toys. Dreamcast and Gamecube are even worse. Why are we lamenting the death of horrible, unimaginative names? Nintendo is trying to create an entirely new concept with Wii. How could they show they are more than just a toy if they went with Nintendo V or Nintendo RS? But Wii, that's different. It has people talking. It has people interested. "What is a Wii?" people will ask. And Nintendo will be glad to show them. Do you realize how small gaming is in America? How many copies did Halo 2 sell? 5 million? Don't we have 300 million people in the US? Aren't there 20 million Xbox consoles out there? And this is the biggest game around? 5 Million!? Come on.

Nintendo is poised to make that number seem as laughable as it really is. There are hundreds of millions of gamers out there. Think about how many websites are devoted to offering cheap, addictive games. Pogo and that company that make Bejeweled (PopCapGames) can get way more traffic than Halo 2 online does. And why is this? Because it is cheap and easy to use. Because it offers games that aren't scary. Only a fraction of the world's population is able to control something like Halo. And, with all the violence and time required to actually get good at it, only an even smaller fraction ever have the chance to play it. But everyone will be able to play Wii.

It's funny that it took a name change for me to get excited about the system again. It just makes me think Nintendo is really on to something here. Gaming may be out-grossing movies right now, but it could be so much larger. I think Nintendo is the only company who could actually expand gaming to the extent it should be enjoyed.

Straight from the horses mouth:

"Introducing... Wii.
As in "we."

While the code-name Revolution expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer. Wii will break down that wall that seperates videogame players from everybody else. Wii will put people more in touch with their games... and each other. But you're probably asking: What does the name mean?

Wii sounds like "we," which emphasizes the console is for everyone. Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii.

Wii has a distinctive "ii" spelling that symbolizes both the unique controllers and the image of people playing it. And Wii, as a name and a console, brings something revolutionary to the world of videogames that sets it apart from the crowd.

So that's Wii. But now Nintendo needs you. Because it's really not about you or me. It's about Wii. And together, Wii will change everything."

I think I like it, bizarre as it is. I'll let it digest for a couple of hours and get back to you this evening, just wanted to break some funky news.

I just got done playing the first level in Robot Alchemic Drive, henceforth known simply as RAD since it's not only a handy acronym but conveniently sums up the experience. It may be hard to imagine this game so I'm going to compare it to a title even Dan will recognize: Fight Night. Picture EA's turd swallower. Now replace the boxers with 150 foot tall robots. Now swap out that unimaginative ring for a thriving metropolis and the ropes for destructible buildings. Oh, and you remember that little cricket that sits on your boxer's shoulder? Bam! Now he's a young girl. And that, my friends, is what RAD is all about.

Until today, I hadn't actually played this game since 2002, when I continually went back to its amazing kiosk at E3. You may remember that as the first E3 I ever attended. It was the year I got to control a super deformed Hiatchi in Pac Man Fever, coined the phrase "Tiny Phoenix" for Micro Machines, and even played FFXI for less than a second before some surly gent kicked me to the side. Ah, the magical memories. E3 2002 will always be seen as the Most Important Event Ever because it introduced to the world the two best "Giant Things Destroy Cities" games ever made: War of the Monsters and RAD. Can you believe that it's been four years and nothing has come close to those two games?

Anyway, RAD is even more ridiculous now that I've had the chance to sit down and actually play it in the comfort of my own home. Unlike other giant mech games, you are not privy to actually being inside the animatronic being. Instead, you play a tiny human (in this case, tiny means "normal sized") who has an ordinary remote control. Instead of controlling a lame Porsche, though, you get a giant robot at your disposal. Pretty sweet, eh? This is the main reason RAD is beyond insane. You have to manually switch controls between the human and the human controlling the robot in order to position your human in optimal viewing range. You can fly (for God knows what reason) to a nearby building, take a position in an open field far from the action, or even rest on your mech pal's shoulder. Believe me, this is hilarious. When you're on his shoulder the screen shakes with ever movement. You can fall off if you're positioned poorly or if your opponent hits the mech too hard. I thought it was a good idea to stand facing my mech from a slight distance, only to have the evil mech land on me after I thumped it with strong left hook. Fantastic.


That guy in the hat is crazy times ten

The best part is how silly it feels to move. Not only do the sticks move the corresponding arms, but the R/L buttons move the legs. So you have to alternate between them to walk around. So entertaining. Sure, it's a pain to accurately line up a shot and you constantly have to move your human around to get a good view, but it's so darn funny it's hard to complain. And the voice acting! Man, this is as good as voice acting gets. It's like an entire game with "Master of Unlocking" caliber writing and acting. So awesome.

I've only played one level so far but I know this will be in my permanent PS2 library. I mean, it's not like someone else is going to make a superior version of this, right? Is there anything else remotely like this? Anyway, it's dirt cheap now (I got it for less than $10) so if you have a PS2 there's no reason you shouldn't be playing this game right now. It even has a two player mode! What more can you want? A sequel? Yeah, that'd be pretty sweet. Too bad they're working on the best Xbox 360 game right now....