Messages

76

TalkBack / Re: NWR Game Club #2: Metroid: Other M

« on: April 30, 2012, 05:06:43 PM »

@GoldenPhoenix

+1 ... hundred.

@Lithium

Don't forget, dialogue and story are two separate things.  I hated the dialogue but loved the story.  You make a good point about some people not being able to overlook the bad to enjoy the good, though.  It certainly is a skill that varies not only person to person, but game to game. 

I am not immune to this.  I loved Conduit 1 but HATED Conduit 2.  Why? The game was better in nearly every way.  Except, they made Michael Ford (almost literally) into Duke Nukem.  I couldn't get past it.

I seen the story as more of a work in progress with Metroid Other M. Nintendo has never really attempted something quite as detailed as the story in Other M, complete with a ton of cutscenes, and dialogue. It was a refreshing step for them, even if one could argue that they shouldn't have done it with the Metroid series, and that is fair (though I would like to see it furthered in some capacity within the series, giving more balance to who Samus is). Besides video game stories are not really known for being amazing works of art, and compared to many games out there, the story was A+++ material (which I admit is pretty sad, but that says more about the lack of storytelling skills in the industry then anything)! I think most of the negativity around it is more over people's perceptions of who Samus should and shouldn't be based on their own interpretations from the limited characterization of her in previous games, more so then the story itself, that aspect alone seems to have created the most hostility.

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TalkBack / Re: NWR Game Club #2: Metroid: Other M

« on: April 30, 2012, 04:26:32 PM »

Other M tried something new and tried to make her a more complex character with feminine and masculine traits, which I appreciated even if it was poorly handled in places. Gaming heroes tend to be hyper masculinized (for male characters) or hyper femininized (for female characters), so it was refreshing to see a character that wasn't on one end of the spectrum or the other (And no, a woman showing emotion is hardly "sexist" especially since those scenes were linked primarily to emotional trauma from her childhood). It is ironic but I think these people saying it was "sexist" would have been A-OK if Samus showed zero emotion and was basically a standard Rambo male hero personality, basically taking on the mantle of the sexist male hero.


  Like I said though, it still was flawed in its execution (such as the trauma scene, while I could still rationalize it in some ways, I wish it would have been built up better and elaborated on a bit more), though I hope Nintendo builds on this characterization of Samus, a character that does not fall into the trap of the hyper masculinized heroes of most other games out there, and provides her emotional depth.  I also enjoyed the retcon (I see Other M honestly as more of a retelling/retcon of the series and finally building Samus as a real character instead of an avatar where the player interprets who she is, which has been the case in most previous games in the series) of her suit being linked to her emotional state as well. Overall while flawed, I did like the story (though I did not like the constant, pointless narration by Samus, it was extremely unnecessary. Not to mention the clunky dialog).

In regards to Gameplay, I found the game a lot of fun to play, and enjoyed most of the boss battles, not to mention enjoyed the various homages to Super Metroid. Still wished it took place on something other then a space station, I wasn't thrilled with Fusion being placed on one either. With that said, I beat the game within 2 days, and enjoyed virtually every second of it.

This is a sharp contrast from every other Metroid game where Samus saves the day by herself.

Really? Samus was saved by Baby Metroid (who sacrificed itself, otherwise Samus would have died at the hands of Mother Brain) and by bounty hunters in Corruption on at least one occasion (though it has been awhile since I played Corruption so I may be wrong).

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TalkBack / Re: 98 Days (and Counting) of No Wii Virtual Console

« on: April 29, 2012, 07:47:35 PM »

As I stated earlier, many of your games can't come out for legal reasons (for example, any game owned by Rare will never come out, like Conker and the Banjo games since Microsoft owns them now). Nintendo also can't just take another publishers game and put it up, that publisher has to want to do it. It's also not as easy as you think it is. There is also no reason WiiWare and VC can't exist at the same time, and most WiiWare games are not from Nintendo anyways. So it's not like they are using up time or resources on them.

On top of all that, from what I understand it is not cheap to get a game rated by the ESRB, I believe it is a couple thousand to do so. So a company has to justify the monetary risk as well.

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NWR Forums Discord / Re: Nature is Scary

« on: April 29, 2012, 07:10:14 AM »

They are watching us. Always.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=Cfca-P8sA7E

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Rayman Legends <Wii U video inside>

« on: April 28, 2012, 06:39:42 AM »

Looks wonderful, I can't really tell if the on screen characters are "hand drawn" or made of polygons (I am guessing hand drawn due to the Rayman Origins being sprite based). Regardless the game looks imaginative visually, not to mention gorgeous in places. Kind of excited to see what potential the real world objects will have in various games, I can almost picture a Scribblenauts esque game that revolves around finding real world objects to complete a task (guess it depends on how accurate objects can be read, and whether larger objects can be read by a camera instead of placing it on the screen).

81

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii U

« on: April 27, 2012, 07:36:11 PM »

If Nintendo wants to give me a (pleasant) surprise, they should come up with a brand new FPS game which would be their answer to Killzone/Halo. The other guys have their own entries in the FPS genre, but Nintendo is completely absent. In order to be competitive Nintendo needs to fill this niche with something because right now they don't have any counter to it at all, and if they aren't going to bother competing in this area then there is no possibility whatsoever for them to regain the hardcore market. I'm not saying they have to necessarily have the best (at least initially) game, but they should at least try. All I ask is that they try, and I don't think that's an unreasonable request.

FPS games might not sell in Japan at all, but they sell extremely well in North America, and if Nintendo wants to improve their standing in western markets (which they should, because money is money no matter what region it comes from) then they need to cater to the tastes of that particular region. Making games that appeal to Japanese gamers is a tactic which works in Japan, but Japan isn't the entire world or even close to it. The bulk of the market exists overseas. Maybe in the 80s and 90s Japan was king when it came to video games, but nowadays I think Europe and North America have surpassed it. If you want to win globally you have to compete globally.

Instead of catering to a specific region or demographic, what Nintendo needs to do is make the next Mario or Pokemon, a game that crosses all demographics and genders. Something that is truly appreciated worldwide.


Mario doesn't even seem like it's made by a Japanese company, it's the one game that can truly be called a worldwide phenomenon.

Doesn't Nintendo ALWAYS make the next Mario and Pokemon? I love the Mario platforming series, but diversity is something I like as well.

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TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Posts 43 Billion Yen Loss in Fiscal Year 2011

« on: April 27, 2012, 03:30:52 PM »

When you really stop and think about it all games are subsidized.  They are longer, cost more to make, and hold more content, but there prices have not kept up with inflation.

Couldn't that also be partially attributed to the fact that disk based media became cheaper to produce then the old cartridge based games from back in the NES/Genesis/SNES/N64 days? So in a way, while game prices remained the same, companies were able to make a bit more on each game sold when they switched to CDs/DVD. Since the switch, game prices have risen $10 from $50, which is a 20% increase in price, which is nothing to sneeze at

At one point I think so. 

In the 1980's while growing up I really don't remember games only being $10.  $20 for cheaper ones on average if memory serves.  That being said according to the Inflation calculator, something worth $59.99 today should be priced $28.14 in 1985 (Year NES came Stateside).

I just think with the current manpower costs to develope a $59.99 game compared to then outweighs the media switch saving. 

To clarify I said prices have risen $10 from $50 (Handheld games have risen $10 as well on average) , not that games were $10 at one time.

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TalkBack / Re: Wii U Available Worldwide by End of 2012

« on: April 27, 2012, 03:20:37 PM »

Not that surprising, if I remember correctly, Nintendo didn't reveal the price and release date for Wii either at E3, and instead waited a couple of months.

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TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Posts 43 Billion Yen Loss in Fiscal Year 2011

« on: April 27, 2012, 03:07:38 PM »

When you really stop and think about it all games are subsidized.  They are longer, cost more to make, and hold more content, but there prices have not kept up with inflation.

Couldn't that also be partially attributed to the fact that disk based media became cheaper to produce then the old cartridge based games from back in the NES/Genesis/SNES/N64 days? So in a way, while game prices remained the same, companies were able to make a bit more on each game sold when they switched to CDs/DVD. Since the switch, game prices have risen $10 from $50, which is a 20% increase in price, which is nothing to sneeze at

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Official Wii Sales Thread

« on: April 27, 2012, 05:10:58 AM »

We had a thread on VGChartz once.

We took their numbers they posted over 2 months and compared them to the officially released numbers of NPD and then saw how they differed.

VGChartz was off by quite a bit on quite a few of them, and then we saw how they adjusted their numbers, after the fact, to be more inline with NPD's.

It was a that point that we had agreed that while we may not have a better centralized and compiled source for numbers, that VGChartz was still far from an accurate source.

The founder of that site was constantly asked for where he was getting his numbers long before he started the site(he refused to say), and it was because the numbers he would cite were almost always off from official sources and then would be adjusted to be closer to them once official numbers had become public. It was very suspicious, especially since the site he was involved in takes their sales info very seriously.

Yeah, I remember that thread well, it was an interesting experiment, I don't recall how off they were on average. They are probably far more reliable in using them as a quick reference for Japanese sales due to the weekly top 20 lists.

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TalkBack / Re: New Super Mario Bros. 2, Wii U Launch Games Coming to eShop and Retail

« on: April 27, 2012, 02:20:07 AM »

At the very least, have 16 GB of flash memory, with ability to expand that by allowing USB external HDD and SD slot(s). That would be the most ideal in my book.

16GB sounds fair out of the box since I'd think at the bare minimum they would have enough memory for a couple average sized retail games. I just hope they don't pull a Microsoft if they go with HDDs, and instead go the Sony route of allowing standard HDDs.

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TalkBack / Re: New Super Mario Bros. 2, Wii U Launch Games Coming to eShop and Retail

« on: April 27, 2012, 02:09:47 AM »

Well, considering it will probably be mostly flash storage...invest in a really nice SD card?

I doubt Nintendo would go the route of SD card storage only, especially with this digital service. At the bare minimum I'd think the Wii U could support some sort of HDD, even if the "out of box" hardware happens to be flash. But then again, it is Nintendo, so who knows.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Anyone else just feel like the e-shop is too damn expensive?

« on: April 26, 2012, 04:20:45 PM »

You know, this may be a Nintendo-focused site, but that doesn't mean we're  bunch of blind fanboys. 

Maybe, but people here really don't seem to have a problem paying/defending the "Nintendo-tax". It seems to me like another example of Nintendo asking what's the most they can charge rather than realizing that a fairer pricing system would generate more sales and improve their image. Earlier this year I bought Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy IX for the PSP (and free additional downloads for the PS3) For £11.97. That's over 5 Gigabytes of data yet that amount of money wouldn't even buy 3 NES games (let alone allow me to transfer the titles I've already purchased on Wii). Don't get me wrong, I think there are a few games that are comfortably worth the price tag, Pullblox being the most obvious example,= and there are a few others too, but for the most part Nintendo are taking liberties in my eyes.

Not sure why "5 gigs of data" equates to a great deal or has any relevance to this. Games people want to play don't have their value dictated by how many gigabytes or megabytes the game is. Anyway, each system has a different pricing model, each with its positives and negatives. The fact is that many find various VC, Wiiware, and DSware games to be well worth the price of admission. At the end of the day, it is what the buyer perceives as value for their money.

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TalkBack / Re: Sakurai Says Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS Will Change Direction

« on: April 26, 2012, 03:28:20 PM »

Whatever he does, all I ask is no more clone characters, at least when it comes to characters that shouldn't be clones. Alternative forms for a particular character is fine to clone, as long as it doesn't take too much away from developing other areas, but make every distinct character fresh and unique.


I hope they just ax subspace emissary (or some other alternative) and go back to the more simple 1 player modes of the previous games. Sadly I don't think Sakurai will let go of that idea, he seems to like cramming everything he can into a game, even if I feel it would be better to direct the vast majority of the resources to crafting characters, levels, and balance.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Hoping For Rain: Is Operation Rainfall a Failure or is There Still Hope?

« on: April 26, 2012, 03:02:31 PM »

If I remember correctly and like nickmitch kinda pointed out. most of those games are not really relevant. I think the main reason we got these 3 specific titles chosen were because they were upcoming releases and still in everyone's mind. How many people are still talking about these other titles that you mentioned Kytim are still relevant and could be possible in the future on a Nintendo platform? 

Captain Rainbow is still relevant to me!

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General Gaming / Re: If graphics are so important to developers...

« on: April 26, 2012, 03:44:37 AM »

My point of all of this is, if graphics really are that important, then why isn't every single developer trying to push for the latest and greatest graphics?


You have some developers who stick to the PC, while other developers are fine making smartphone games. Clearly, graphics are not a defining point for some developers.

It depends on the developer and how they want to express themselves, not to mention it is linked a lot to the fact many don't have access to the large teams and huge budgets to make graphically impressive games. I would bet that if you were to give many of these developers access to the right amount of resources for visually stunning games, so they can fully express what they imagine a game looking like (or changing course on a game),  most would take advantage of it in a heartbeat


So yeah, you are right in a way, graphics is not the defining point because many can't afford to take that risk, especially small teams.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Hoping For Rain: Is Operation Rainfall a Failure or is There Still Hope?

« on: April 25, 2012, 08:50:01 PM »

Any chance that we could get Didsaster: Day of Crisis? That is a shitty game, but I want it in my collection. Monolith Soft made it, and despite its flaws, makes me want it even more. Nintendo could retool the British version and sell it directly from their online store, and Gamestop, for rougly $19.99.

I don't recall it ever getting any extremely negative reviews, the game received seemingly average reviews by looking at metacritic. So it is hardly a terrible game from what I've read and I would like to see it in North America, it would be worth getting for a decent price (even $30-40 would be fine).

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Hoping For Rain: Is Operation Rainfall a Failure or is There Still Hope?

« on: April 25, 2012, 07:30:36 PM »

If Captain Rainbow was localized, I would be extremely happy, I'd never say anything bad about NoA again (Well at least for a year or so).

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TalkBack / Re: I Heart 2D Games

« on: April 25, 2012, 07:01:39 PM »

...Quick question Zach. I thought you hated anything with bright colors and sunshine. What's the difference between Yoshi's Island and the way Paper Mario looks?

Not sure what Zach has said or not, but maybe he just recognizes that something Yoshi's Island is well made artistic game visually even if he may not be a fan of the style. Kind of like how one can recognize a film is good, even if it is may not be their personal cup of tea.

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TalkBack / Re: New Play Control! Pikmin 2 Finally Coming Stateside

« on: April 25, 2012, 03:37:56 AM »

I'll just be that guy who hopes for a Pikmin Trilogy release in 2014.

That would be fun, something like the Metroid Prime Trilogy. Wouldn't shock me, Nintendo seems more willing to offer compilations then they did in the past. Hopefully if they do, they at least put the same amount of resources into it as they did with the Prime Trilogy

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TalkBack / Re: New Play Control! Pikmin 2 Finally Coming Stateside

« on: April 24, 2012, 11:10:09 PM »

I somewhat enjoy that a game that many people wanted to be released is being released, and it generates so much negativity, since God forbid Europe gets it first... it really restores my faith in mankind's ability to be cynical and bitter no matter what.

Considering it came out in 2009 in Europe and Japan, yeah people are cynical. It is not your typical couple month release gap, heck not even a year gap, but almost 3, which is embarrassing (But hey better then no game at all). In addition, it has little to do with being cynical of the game, since I see several people (myself included) will likely pick it up, it is cynicism directed at NoA for a troubling trend lately when it comes to being stubborn about releasing several of their games here. The announcement literally came out of nowhere, I don't recall any major publisher taking 3 years to release a game in major territories.

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TalkBack / Re: I Heart 2D Games

« on: April 24, 2012, 09:44:05 PM »

Love this feature, I still love the 2-D hand drawn (or in Kirby hand made) looking visuals. It is becoming less and less rare, but in a way that makes games like Rayman all the more special. Yoshi's Island 2 truly has aged spectacularly well, while DKC (and later games) really do not hold up that well visually anymore.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii U

« on: April 24, 2012, 09:02:20 PM »

It sounded more like they don't have the manpower to make Crysis 3 for Wii U which doesn't mean it will never happen or that the Wii U can't handle the game; just that it's being made for PS3, 360 and PC so that's what they're focusing on.

I can understand that interpretation, whatever it is, looks like, once again something was quoted out of context by the gaming sites (that "journalist" at destructoid was the primary cause of the misinterpretation in his write up of his interview)

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012

« on: April 24, 2012, 07:25:31 PM »

I think a better term for Xenoblade is that it has helped evolved, not revolutionized, the genre beyond the standard formula. Whether others grasp onto it or not, well that is another story.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii U

« on: April 24, 2012, 06:46:28 PM »

http://www.destructoid.com/-fat-chance-of-crysis-3-coming-to-the-wii-u-226413.phtml

Fat chance of Crysis 3 coming to Wii U!

As for Wii U support, Rasmus told us there's "not a fat chance" of the game appearing on Nintendo's next system. Probably for the best, I still don't see how first-person shooters will be any fun on that hulking controller.

Excellent "journalism" there as well about the Wii U controller ::eye roll::. Even if the Wii U controller sucks comfort wise(which I doubt it will) there is still the Wii Mote if all else fails (Honestly I'd rather play a FPS on the Wiimote then a game pad). While I haven't watched the video interview, I've heard from some others that it doesn't sound as bad in context.


Edit:

Managed to watch the interview (which was torture), in the context of the interview it sounded like it wasn't in the cards for Wii U because they are focusing on the PS3/360 versions. It is tough to tell what he meant by "fat chance" since English doesn't appear to be his primary language, but it may reference the fact that right now they are focusing on the current platforms. It makes little sense from a technological standpoint to not release it on Wii U since at the bare minimum it would be on equal ground with 360., who knows maybe he misunderstood what was asked and was thinking Wii, not Wii U. He did say something to the effect of "its not possible" (I'd double check but watching the interview once was painful enough). Besides I don't think he has the final say over which systems the game is being ported to, he is just the creative director.