Topic: Episode 207: Gotcha Mass x Gotcha Acceleration

[Yoshidious]

Hear about lots o' games & emails from your friendly RFN crew!

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rfn/23901

New Business is chock full of DS games this week! James pukes all over Monkey Madness: Island Escape, a touch screen on-rails shooter with tendencies to crash; he also bites into Rez HD (maybe to prepare for Child of Eden). Jonny sticks with Dragon Quest 9 and tries to explain why the game is so addictive and compelling despite the lame story. Jon snags a cheap-ass copy of Little Big Planet for PSP to confirm that system's ability to play (very few) 2D platformers. Greg cleans up with the 2006 DS import title, Chou Soujuu Mecha MG, sort of a portable Steel Battalion but with more variety (and children). This ignites a quick tangent into Gotcha Force, an obscure but really fun GameCube title from Capcom. 

Listener Mail jump-starts with a pair of questions about the multimedia capabilities of 3DS and any other unannounced features housed within the super-handheld. We also get into Goldeneye multiplayer titles, Nintendo's aversion to limited collector's editions, and a big, meandering conversation about finishing games and the importance of closure.

[Kytim89]

I am actually stuck in Super Mario Galaxy 2 where I have to complete a bunch of time trials and races to get stars and beat world 4. I am also stuck in the chain chomp factory where Mario must put on a spring suit and make it across the level without running into wrolling chain chomps. This level is literally making me tear my hair out.
 
If Nintendo does a third installment of this series, I wish that they would make these trials optional, or something on the side where you are not constrained by your inability to complete them. Basically where I am at in the game I am stuck there until I complete these trials. This takes me away from the game itself and is really frustrating.
 
Overall, this is one of the best games that I have ever played and Nintendo was on their A game(no pun intended) when producing this title.

Could the online capabilities of the 3DS accomodate something like an MMO? This might sound dumb, but I like the idea of taking something like Final Fantasy 11 or Star Wars: The Old Republic on the go.

[Sarail]

You mean "figuratively", Robin.

[Jonnyboy117]

Could the online capabilities of the 3DS accomodate something like an MMO? This might sound dumb, but I like the idea of taking something like Final Fantasy 11 or Star Wars: The Old Republic on the go.

This may well be possible, but we won't know until at least the September announcement with final hardware features, pricing, and a release date for Japan. I agree that a true portable MMO makes sense and would seem to be one of the most obvious untapped areas in all of gaming right now.

[Kytim89]

Could the online capabilities of the 3DS accomodate something like an MMO? This might sound dumb, but I like the idea of taking something like Final Fantasy 11 or Star Wars: The Old Republic on the go.

This may well be possible, but we won't know until at least the September announcement with final hardware features, pricing, and a release date for Japan. I agree that a true portable MMO makes sense and would seem to be one of the most obvious untapped areas in all of gaming right now.

Bioware has recently expressed interest in treating the 3DS like the PS360 if the internet connectivity is good enough. I really like Bioware games, but I would really like them better on the go. This is why I like Sonic Chronicles so much.
 
I read an article recently where an interview was conducted with Greg Zeschuck of Bioware and he basically stated that his company is ready to develop heavily for the 3DS if the internet connectivity is good. This has got me thinking of a portable Mass Effect game where DLC is administered via wi-fi hot spots. It seems all the major HD franchises are getting handheld titles and I would rather see this happen to the 3DS than the PSP or the PSP 2.
 
How would a portable MMO work? I agree with you that this type of market has not really been viable in the past and we might be seeing the birth of a new form of game play.

I know that I am out of mind for saying this, but since Microsoft  is not in the handheld market yet maybe they could allow 3DS iterations of Halo, Perfect Dark, Crack Down, Fable, Gears of War and maybe Conker with heavy emphasis on both gameplay and portable internet connectivity.

You might ask why do I want them on 3DS when I can just buy an xbox? Yes, i could buy and xbox, but I want these series on the go with the 3DS.

[Snakewater]

The Timesplitters Series, or at least numbers 2 and 3, had the play descriptions at the end of the game as well, such as "Most Dishonorable," and "Most Accurate," as well as your most used gun. FYI.

[Jonnyboy117]

That makes sense in Timesplitters (made by some of the same people as Goldeneye and Perfect Dark).


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[KDR_11k]

Gotcha Force <3

[NeoStar9X]

Was this done before the live action Metroid Other M trailer/comercial came out? Curious as to what the RFN crew thinks about it.

[Crimm]

Unsure. We recorded Thursday evening, so if they were out before that then there you go.

[LittleIrves]

Title = Ha.
Physics is fun!

[KDR_11k]

I was really annoyed when I found out that Brawl didn't give out titles.

The way Chou Soujuu Mecha MG is structured with the multiple difficulties that encourage coming back later when you got better gear is standard for Sandlot, they do that in the EDF games and Zangeki as well. Oh and it might be worth mentioning that some levels take place in a city with buildings everywhere that you can pick up and use as a weapon. There's a translation guide on GameFAQs that helps with figuring out some of the less obvious mission goals and explains all the upgrade modules.

[NWR_insanolord]

@James

Definitely get Monday Night Combat. After just one week it's easily my favorite XBLA game that's not Geometry Wars 2. I'm trying to talk all my friends into buying it so I have people to play co-op with.

[Enner]

Good show. I particularly enjoyed the discussion on closure and endings in video games.


As for Electronic Arts' Medal of Honor (2010) being a retail bomb or disappointment, I'm betting that it will sell well enough for EA. For one thing, EA will dump most of its marketing budget on it. Being that weird subsect of video game players that really like all these new military-themed shooters, Medal of Honor is doing some interesting things despite copying the Call-of-Duty formula. The PR buzz word on the game is that it will be more authentic than CoD (rather than being more realistic) which I guess it's allowed to say given how hard EA is promoting their consultation efforts with special forces that served in Afghanistan. On the technical side, there are more robust (well, to my lack of knowledge in the area) engines being used in MoH with the single player using Unreal 3 and multiplayer using EA DICE's Frostbite. Comparatively, Black Ops looks like it's still using a modified id Tech engine (Nothing wrong with that if World at War and Modern Warfare 2 is any indication). I do wonder if the two engine shenanigans will be to MoH's undoing. We'll see how things turn out in October and November. I for sure won't contribute to either MoH or Black Ops since they will be $60 new on the PC which is a price I'm not willing to buy. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 does fine by me and there will be the Vietnam expansion rolling out (hopefully for PC). Also, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit comes first!


On the Wii side of things, I didn't notice the upcoming FPS free-for-all coming this year with Call of Duty: Black Ops, Goldeneye 007, and Conduit 2. I wonder if Goldeneye will take the sales lead just on brand familiarity and nostalgia. It looks like Conduit 2 will probably be the one to bring up the NPD rear in this shoot out.

[Jonnyboy117]

Title = Ha.
Physics is fun!

"Time-Derivative of Gotcha Momentum" is more general but didn't seem as catchy.

[greybrick]

"Time-Derivative of Gotcha Momentum" is more general but didn't seem as catchy.

That only works when the disc isn't spinning :

Bah, you never said linear, and here I was thinking I was being clever.  Time-derivative of Gotcha Momentum even covers the spinning disc.

Nice to see a shout out for Gotcha force, love that game!

[Kytim89]

If the 3DS does have the ability to play movies, Nintendo should allow the movie Avatar to be advertised along with the 3DS and its movie player to symbolize that the first 3D movie is playable on the first true 3D console.

[greybrick]

symbolize that the first 3D movie

That would work were it true, but Avatar wasn't the first 3d movie.

[Kytim89]

symbolize that the first 3D movie

That would work were it true, but Avatar wasn't the first 3d movie.

The first high profile, big budgeted 3D movie.

What I meant was that Avatar was a ground breaking film in regards to 3D and there is no doubt that the 3DS will be a success with 3D gaming. Why not pare the two together? They seem like the perfect couple, right?

[greybrick]

@ Kytim I knew what you meant, I was just giving you a hard time. My apologies 

I am doubtful that Nintendo will distribute these digitally, despite the general feeling that they will. Don't get me wrong, I truly hope they do release them digitally, but one never knows what will spur Nintendo towards doing or not doing something.

I can see Nintendo getting nervous about piracy, and choosing cartridges as the "safer" medium, regardless if this is true.

I can also see studios wanting Nintendo to give them shelf space. Sony continues to sell physical UMDs with movies despite the fact that movies can also be purchased through the Playstation Store, perhaps for similar reasons. Although movies for PSP via the Playstation Store may be a recent thing, I am not sure.

Nintendo wants it to be easy to enjoy their products, and while a digital download may seem intuitive to us, it sure isn't to everyone that will be buying the 3ds or 3ds software. Nintendo may also reason that some of their customers may not have access to downloads, seeing as they continue to support wifi spots at Targets, Best Buys, GameStops, etc.

Nintendo also goes for that Christmas morning customer base, and who wants to get a download card under the tree? Well, besides us.

[KDR_11k]

Doesn't Nintendo have a movie channel or something like that in Japan?

[Kytim89]

Doesn't Nintendo have a movie channel or something like that in Japan?

Yes, and it is called "Wii no ma." There were rumors that it was coming to America, but from what I have seen of it, it does not look very impressive.

[greybrick]

Doesn't Nintendo have a movie channel or something like that in Japan?

I think streaming video services and selling individual movies for anytime access are two different beasts. That being said, Netflix on the 3ds would be great.

[Kytim89]

I just want to have the ability to buy and save movies onto my 3DS internal/SD card memory and then watch it on the go.

[Jonnyboy117]

The problem with selling movies on game cards is that they will compete with actual games for shelf space. This was a HUGE problem for PSP movies and that, combined with consumer confusion about the format, led to the format's demise. Using physical media also means the movies cost a lot more to distribute, so the final price will be higher. Despite the appeal of 3D, most people would not be willing to buy a movie that only plays on 3DS, for the same price as a DVD or Blu-Ray. And by the way, DVD sales are plummeting (Blu-Ray sales have never been huge), so there is evidence that people just don't want to buy physical movies anymore. There are too many alternatives that cost less and offer easier access.