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Radio Free Nintendo: E3 08 Days 2 & 3

by Jonathan Metts - July 17, 2008, 7:30 am EDT
Total comments: 34

Catch up on TWO days' worth of E3 bulletins from our on-site RFN crew.

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We've been recording podcasts daily as planned, but some uploading problems kept our "Day Two" episode from going up until now. To avoid any confusion from uploading two separate episodes at once, we decided to merge that episode and today's into a single file, so you'll get two days' worth of discussion in one big chunk. It's about two total hours of Nintendo E3 analysis!

The first half is all about Nintendo's press conference. We talk about what was there, and we talk even more about what wasn't there. Like many of you, we were unhappy about Nintendo's presentation, but hopefully you'll appreciate the humor in our disillusionment. If not, you'll surely laugh at our hysteria induced by a very long day at the show and recording well past midnight.

The second half, recorded just under 24 hours later, adds Michael "TYP" Cole to the lineup and includes our hands-on impressions of almost every first-party Nintendo game at this year's E3. We also briefly touch on the Pikmin "announcement" from Miyamoto and other highlights from the Nintendo developer roundtable, which concluded shortly before we began recording the show.

Please check back tomorrow for our wrap-up episode, featuring extensive impressions of third-party Wii and DS titles! (We've played a ton of stuff, and some of it is much more interesting than what Nintendo itself is offering this year.)

Credits:

This podcast was edited by Steven Rodriguez.

Music for this episode of Radio Free Nintendo is used with permission from Jason Ricci & New Blood. You can purchase their new album, Rocket Number 9, directly from the record label, or download it from iTunes, or call your local record store and ask for it!

Talkback

kraken613July 17, 2008

I just started listening and awesome already!

D_AverageJuly 17, 2008

All right!

D_AverageJuly 17, 2008

The halo reference is "Teabaggin"

However, the new Shaun White game will up the ante as Shaun White told G4 yesterday after being asked, "Can you make out on the ski lift?", he quickly replied "No, but you can do a snowball......the forbidden fruit." 

GregLover5000July 17, 2008

I would consider buying Wii Music if they'd change the title to Wii Clusterf***.

And the DS spinoff could be My Clusterf*** Training.

MarioIsFrenchJuly 17, 2008

i dunno guys.... Wii music seems to be designed for everyone: kids and "overage" gamers... i mean what any other game could be more fun after playing a couple rounds of SMASH brothers shots (you play on 2x damage and take a shot of vodka/tequilla or anything alcoholic every time you get knocked out of the screen, hence the emphasis on the word "smash") ?

StogiJuly 17, 2008

Drinking games are fun...

WiiMusic needs to stop being hated on just cuz it's different. Give it a chance.

SvevanEvan Burchfield, Staff AlumnusJuly 17, 2008

Sorry Jonny, the instruction manual for the Balance Board states very clearly that you can only have one Balance Board connected to the Wii at a time. It is not the same as an extra Wii Remote.

DAaaMan64July 17, 2008

Quote from: Svevan

Sorry Jonny, the instruction manual for the Balance Board states very clearly that you can only have one Balance Board connected to the Wii at a time. It is not the same as an extra Wii Remote.

Which is el retarded fur sur

SvevanEvan Burchfield, Staff AlumnusJuly 17, 2008

Yeah. Why even make a snowboarding game for the Balance Board? Seriously.

DAaaMan64July 17, 2008

Well I still want the snorboarding game, but come on, why only one balance board? gay-ness

vuduJuly 17, 2008

RE:  Sword Play is tiring

Do Kairon and TYP have zero upper body strength?  I haven't heard anyone complain so much about sore arms since before the Wii was even released.  Seriously guys--do some push-ups or something.

ShyGuyJuly 17, 2008

Have you seen pictures of Kairon? He's very tiny.

D_AverageJuly 17, 2008

Quote from: ShyGuy

Have you seen pictures of Kairon? He's very tiny.

lets see the proof!

The Wii Sports Resort sword game is absolutely brutal.  My right arm was burning after just one duel.  It follows your movement perfectly but doesn't register an actual slash unless you swing with force.  A typical duel equals many dozens of swings, and there's no way to cheat the gesture like you can with some Wii games.  This is real exercise.  Everyone I talked to at the demo said the same thing.

Quote from: vudu

RE:  Sword Play is tiring

Do Kairon and TYP have zero upper body strength?  I haven't heard anyone complain so much about sore arms since before the Wii was even released.  Seriously guys--do some push-ups or something.

Well, the Wii Sports Resort swordplay is a lot like Wii Boxing actually...

Also, I made the mistake of playing Boom Blox on Sunday, and I've been paying for it ever since. And right after I played Sword fighting I played Samba de Amigo. And I've been carrying a tripod all week! T_T

Jonny, do you know if the MotionPlus works along side the wiiremote proper or if it just works on its own.

Nick DiMolaNick DiMola, Staff AlumnusJuly 17, 2008

Quote from: Kairon

And I've been carrying a tripod all week! T_T

That does get tiresome, I carry one around all the time.

TheFleeceJuly 17, 2008

I completely object to Jonny's comparison of Wii Music to Electroplankton. E-plankton contains a good amount of creative possibilities, not all of it is perfect, but there is more good than anything else. Wii Music is rhythmic karaoke and I refuse and object that trash. It didn't look good last year and it's not working out. They're going to release it and I'm going to roll over and fart.
Also Wii Fit DOES have push ups. Get back on the board, yo.

Yes, it's true that Electroplankton allows for significantly more creativity than Wii music, but the end result is really the same... an experience where you do press buttons (or spin things, or tap things) and it makes some sound, and there's no way to fail.

TheFleeceJuly 18, 2008

Quote from: Kairon

Yes, it's true that Electroplankton allows for significantly more creativity than Wii music, but the end result is really the same... an experience where you do press buttons (or spin things, or tap things) and it makes some sound, and there's no way to fail.

The end result of Wii Music and Electroplankton are different because Wii Music gives you  a song that you must pick to play along with. Electroplankton gives you tools to manipulate to create whatever you want. I will admit that you will not get a traditional song structure from it, but that is the point. It is sound exploration. Wii Music is telling people that no matter who you are, you can play any instrument and sound good no matter what- unless you're trying to demo the game at E3 with a bunch of game Execs that look like zombies, then it just comes off cold.
There is no room to fail in a environment like Electroplankton because the structure of the title is pure experimentation while Wii Music literally is taking your timed motion and patching it into a song that already exists. You don't need a chance to win when exploration is involved, that what Electroplankton has while Wii Music is a karaoke bum's  Rock Band for people who have no rhythm- the fail safe is built in and glaring at everything the Wii system brought to the industry, throwing up all over it and telling the casual dogs to eat up.

shammackJuly 18, 2008

So you wouldn't pay $50 for Wario Land Shake It, but you'd happily pay $50 for Boom Blox?!

Quote from: shammack

So you wouldn't pay $50 for Wario Land Shake It, but you'd happily pay $50 for Boom Blox?!

You clearly haven't played Boom Blox.

I would pay $30 for Wario Land: Shake It, the same price I paid for all the other Wario Land games.

shammackJuly 18, 2008

Actually, I paid $50 for Boom Blox and deeply regretted it.

Listened to the whole thing, and here are my thoughts:

- I love the fact that Jonny made a Freudian slip and uttered the phrase "Serious Gamer".

- As for WiiSpeak, this to me is classic Nintendo alright.  They give us a half-assed version of something that has been available for other consoles for years, and expect us to wet our pants over it.  Sorry Nintendo, I've been voice chatting online for years.  You can't make a token effort and put it in Pokemon Diamond/Pearl and Animal Crossing: City Folk and expect me to be impressed by it.  Give me a headset and voice-chat in a bad-ass FPS made by Retro Studios using the Metroid Prime 3 engine, and THAT would impress me.  As it stands, WiiSpeak is a day late and a dollar short.

- The Super Mario Bros. Wii Music jam sounded super fake, and then when they started "jamming" it went to hell.

- Electroplankton was a neat experiment, nothing more (I own it).  I really hope that Wii Music is more than that, but like Jonny and Windy I was struggling to find the "hook" or "goal" of the game.  You can play music, great.  But WHY are you playing music?  With Wii Fit I can see a point - you win the race and get fitter in the process.  With Wii Music, what's the point?

- Windy, I'm totally with you - JESUS CHRIST.

- Jonny, I totally agree, that Prince of Persia game looks BAD ASS.  I wish Nintendo would just stop rehashing Zelda and seriously give the series a rest for a while.  Zelda is becoming the same thing over and over again, but nobody wants to say so because it's one of the most beloved franchises out there.  Yes, the 3D Zelda games are always good, but that's because they're essentially the same Ocarina of Time design year in and year out.  Same core gameplay and plot with a new coat of paint, if you will.

- Wow, so Miyamoto actually said that Wii Music is a toy?  Damn.  So there is no point.

- "It's the Kirbiest!!"  LOL

- Jonny busted for playing 360 games.  LOL  Doing some advanced scouting for a future purchase Jonny?  Let your rage at Nintendo consume you, and join the Dark Side.

GoldenPhoenixJuly 18, 2008

I wish Sony would quit rehashing FPS and let Resistance have a rest! It is interesting to see people harpoon Nintendo who has basically perfected genres for "rehashing" let let crap that Sony and MS spew out slide. It is a sick double standard IMO.

Resistance 2 is the same genre as Resistance, yeah, but there's enough new features in there to make it not a total rehash.  Same thing with Halo 3.  Whether you love or hate those games is another issue, but they offer tons of new things to do, new ways to play and interact with the game.

When was the last time that Zelda really had anything new, beyond a different control scheme?  Maybe the sailing in Wind Waker, but that's just a substitute for walking around the game world.  Most of it is a total Ocarina of Time rehash.  Majora's Mask is the only one that really mixed it up a little bit, but not in a way that I liked.  I feel like I can play Zelda games in my sleep, for the most part.

I find I'm saying this about Nintendo a lot lately: SURPRISE ME.  Nothing they do surprises me.

DAaaMan64July 18, 2008

Quote from: Silks

Resistance 2 is the same genre as Resistance, yeah, but there's enough new features in there to make it not a total rehash.  Same thing with Halo 3.  Whether you love or hate those games is another issue, but they offer tons of new things to do, new ways to play and interact with the game.

When was the last time that Zelda really had anything new, beyond a different control scheme?  Maybe the sailing in Wind Waker, but that's just a substitute for walking around the game world.  Most of it is a total Ocarina of Time rehash.  Majora's Mask is the only one that really mixed it up a little bit, but not in a way that I liked.  I feel like I can play Zelda games in my sleep, for the most part.

I find I'm saying this about Nintendo a lot lately: SURPRISE ME.  Nothing they do surprises me.

Maybe your getting old? 

vuduJuly 18, 2008

Quote from: Silks

Resistance 2 is the same genre as Resistance, yeah, but there's enough new features in there to make it not a total rehash.  Same thing with Halo 3.  Whether you love or hate those games is another issue, but they offer tons of new things to do, new ways to play and interact with the game.

I'm going to have to call you out on this.  The upgrades from Halo 2 to Halo 3 are minimal.  Yes, it's on a new system and yes there are a few new weapons and enemies, but it's the same damn game.  Which is fine.  But you can't honestly say that there's more difference between Halo 2 and 3 than there is between Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess.  You can't blast Nintendo for something and then praise Microsoft/Bungie for doing essentially the same thing.  As you said yourself, whether you love or hate the Zelda formula is another issue completely.

I haven't played Resistance, so I honestly can't say much about the title.  But from what I've seen Resistance doesn't offer a significantly different experience from a dozen other games out there.  (Note:  I said different, not better.  I'm not trying to argue quality.)  Everything I've heard about Resistance 2 leads me to believe it will be a minor upgrade from the first, akin to Halo 2 to Halo 3 (and Hell, Halo to Halo 2, for that matter).

Yeah, I'm getting old man, what can I say.  I find that it takes a LOT to impress me nowadays.

You're right, Halo 3 is a bad example of what I'm trying to say because it is basically Halo 2.5.  I can't really dispute that point, and in fact that's why I don't play it as much as other FPS's.  Call of Duty 4 is probably a better example, since it's far above and beyond Call of Duty 3 (as far as I know...I haven't played CoD3, but it's not a phenomenon like CoD4) even though it's in the same series of games.

I guess that Resistance doesn't offer a "different" experience from other first-person shooters in the sense that yes, it is also a first-person shooter.  But that's also like saying that Zelda doesn't offer a different experience from other 3D platformers.  I think a lot of people would argue that point.

I could argue on the finer points of what will distinguish Resistance from Resistance 2, but that's for some other website.    Let me just say that there are significant changes, especially to the multiplayer portion (example: introduction of classes, 8-player squads) that will make it quite a different experience from its predecessor.

That's my beef with Zelda.  It's a good formula alright, but I feel like it's the same formula every time.  I feel that it rigidly adheres to convention, if that makes any sense.  I'd love to see them do something crazy, like have you fight a boss that's five screens tall, and is so big that you have to climb up it to get to its head.  And also have bosses that you don't kill the same way every time. 

I'm playing Okami and it's really refreshing because while it's a straight Zelda clone, it feels fresh because there are some **seriously** all-new game mechanics.  Not just Link's sword slash mapped to the Wii Remote and arrow aiming with a pointer.

shammackJuly 18, 2008

Quote from: Silks

That's my beef with Zelda.  It's a good formula alright, but I feel like it's the same formula every time.  I feel that it rigidly adheres to convention, if that makes any sense.  I'd love to see them do something crazy, like have you fight a boss that's five screens tall, and is so big that you have to climb up it to get to its head.

How is that any crazier than, say, the underwater boss where you have to hookshot onto its back and stab it, or the giant skeleton where you spinner up the walls, or the bird thing where you swing around on peahats hanging in the air?

ShyGuyJuly 18, 2008

Lindy doesn't have a podcast to release troll steam in this week, so his pent up RAGE is spilling into the talkback. ;)

When things got a little heated was drunk Jonny going to attack TYP?

GoldenPhoenixJuly 18, 2008

There is a big difference between Resistance and Zelda in that Zelda has yet to be matched. Resistance is basically playing catch up to a genre that has far surpassed it in both innovation and basic mechanics on the PC platform. Same with Halo, they are dummied down FPS games for console gamers .The "new" features in both of those games have been done before OVER AND OVER again for years. Zelda comes out, what, every 2 or 3 years, while a FPS clone comes out what, every month perhaps more? Now that is something that is hard to get excited or "surprised" for considering there is FPS overload with only a few (mostly PC games) that stand out as innovative though at least we have Mirror's Edge which is doing more for the genre then any console FPS has ever done since Goldeneye.

But I am derailing this thread, I keep on forgetting Lindy is a Sony robot now. A nice Sony robot though. ;)

King of TwitchJuly 18, 2008

Zelda needs to bring back magic and MM-deep NPC character interaction to return to its former glory

Quote from: shammack

How is that any crazier than, say, the underwater boss where you have to hookshot onto its back and stab it, or the giant skeleton where you spinner up the walls, or the bird thing where you swing around on peahats hanging in the air?

Those bosses were crazy for sure, but you hacked them three times in the magic spot to kill them, pretty much.  The boss battles don't hold many surprises any more.  There's nothing that makes me sit back and say, "Oh My God", it's all pretty much color-by-numbers.  I'm sorry, I'm jaded.

Quote from: GoldenPhoenix

There is a big difference between Resistance and Zelda in that Zelda has yet to be matched. Resistance is basically playing catch up to a genre that has far surpassed it in both innovation and basic mechanics on the PC platform. Same with Halo, they are dummied down FPS games for console gamers .

Good point, in terms of 3D platformers Zelda is virtually unparalleled.  However, I'm not even going to touch the PC vs. Console FPS thing.  I think we can all agree that PC will always be the ultimate platform for FPS's, but that doesn't mean the console ones can't be amazing.

I think with Zelda the issue is that I'm really sick of the story.  Instead of a continuation of a story or a conclusion of a story (like what I'm getting with a new Resistance, or even Halo 3 even though its story and characters are garbage), it's the same basic story repeatedly.  I know how the plot will unfold and how the game is going to end (I'll kill X amount of bosses, fight Ganon, rescue Zelda).  I can only take that so long.  After a decade and four or five games, it just gets old.  The gameplay itself isn't a hook for me any more.

Quote from: GoldenPhoenix

But I am derailing this thread, I keep on forgetting Lindy is a Sony robot now. A nice Sony robot though. ;)

I just wish Nintendo didn't give me so much to whine about.  Damn do I derail threads though!  I can't help it.

Quote from: >

Zelda needs to bring back magic and MM-deep NPC character interaction to return to its former glory

Totally.  I'd love to see something like the ability to create your own spells.  That'd be cool, and different.

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