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Messages - Halbred

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4051
TalkBack / REVIEWS: AniMates
« on: September 30, 2007, 11:54:42 AM »
The life and times of Crapface.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/reviewArt.cfm?artid=14497

 It’s genuinely difficult to review a game like Animates, which is a Tamagotchi-style virtual pet game from developer DreamCatcher. The difficulty comes from the fact that Animates is obviously for five-year-olds. If you’re at the level of reading comic books and playing with action figures, you are too old for this game. I am a 25-year-old man who is married and owns a house. You may as well ask the five-year-old to review Twilight Princess. But even at its core, Animates fails to deliver on its simplistic premise. What premise is that, you say? Players choose a species of Animate, how many Animates they want to raise, and then go about helping it survive in the horrifying world of Emptiness.    


The problems start right off the bat, as the reading skills required by a potential player are without a doubt higher than the intended audience. Mommy and daddy will need to sit right there, reading the words to their young tot, while the child pokes furiously at the touch screen, which is where all the "action" takes place. You can raise up to five Animates at a time, all of which look like Pokemon rejects. You can give them individual names—I named mine "Boots," but later referred to it as "Crapface."    


As soon as the little half-wit escapes from the confines of its egg, it is utterly helpless. It will follow, with very little zeal, your impatiently tapped commands. The entire interface is mapped to the touch screen. Lots of fairly large buttons clutter the boarders of the touch screen, and the "Help" button is always flashing in case you need to be reminded of how to press one of the buttons or tap on the landscape. Your Animate will require a variety of things like food, water, showers, bathroom breaks, exercise, praise, and scolding. Tap various pieces of the morbidly boring landscape to make your Animate hobble towards that point, losing energy at a fairly constant rate while doing so. You see, kids, Animates run with all the spunk of a one-legged dog on morphine. Also, the dog is blind. Seeing as you must constantly tap-tap-tap on the touch screen to make your Animate go in that direction, it takes a good amount of time to wander across the map. Now, there are other Animates that live in the horrifying world of Emptiness, but you can’t interact with them. They won’t dance for you or anything.    


Precious water, food, and bathrooms are scarce, to say the least. The landscape kind of fades toward the top of the touch screen, so you can’t see what’s beyond the horizon. Furthermore, the zoom function is only good for seeing your Animate really close or not quite so close. Want to zoom out and really get a feeling for the lay of the land? Sorry, buddy, not in this game! Crapface limped across the world of Emptiness for a really long time looking for food, water, and soccer balls. The occasional slide or swing will allay the little bastard’s need to expel energy for a time, but to really tire him out, you need to track down the mini-games, which are scattered throughout the land. The mini-games are all basically variations on Whack-a-Mole (including—wait for it—Whack-a-Mole itself), and I guess they’re sort of fun, but they get old pretty fast and certainly don’t elevate the game at all.    


As your Animate plays some mini-games, almost drowns in a spring, leaps to the top of a series of pillars, and learns how to run (in short bursts), he’ll gain half a star in growth points. I’m going to be honest here: It took me almost two hours to get the little bugger up to a single star, and my brain had numbed by that point. I was not going to torture myself to see what would happen if he got all five stars. Does it evolve? Does it breed? Well, no. Just look in the instruction booklet. "The more gold stars [your Animate] has, the stronger your Animate will be. When your Animate has achieved the maximum in all categories, and you have won all the [mini-game cups], you can decide if you want to set it free." Basically, you play this game until the Animate gets a good report card, then you get to stop playing and start again! Or, you can keep playing with your maxed-out Crapface and get no satisfaction whatsoever in doing so!    


This game may entertain your kid for about ten minutes, but the slow pace and lack of any real reward system means that Little Billy will put it down and be off chasing a butterfly before you know it. If you want to engage your kid in a virtual world, try Pokemon. Everybody loves Pokemon, and at least those little critters turn into cool things like Charizards and Tyranitars. Another good alternative is Nintendogs, which is so much more rewarding and fun than Animates.

Pros:
       

  • It's sort of in 3D
  •  
  • A trained monkey can play it, as long as that trained monkey can also read


  •        Cons:
           
  • Despite the 3D look, the colors and bland and the characters are boring
  •  
  • Your Animate moves slower than a wounded animal
  •  
  • Seriously, just read the review! It's bad!


  •                Graphics:  5.0
           Yes, it’s in 3D, but it’s bad 3D due to all the pop-up, terrible colors, and broken animations.

                   Sound:  2.0
           There’s a passive background theme, and your Animate makes unearthly noises, but really, the game is so much more entertaining when you turn the volume down and hum the theme from Metroid Prime or, perhaps, a Mega Man tune.

                   Control:  5.0
           It’s difficult to screw up something as simple as "tap the screen," but somehow, DreamCatcher rose to the occasion. Tapping elicits an almost meandering response in your virtual creature. Some of the mini-game taps also simply don’t register.

                          Gameplay:  2.0
           When the core gameplay consists of tapping the screen repeatedly and watching a virtual quadruped hobble feebly in that direction, there’s something decidedly wrong here.

     


           Lastability:  1.0
           I’m a pretty tolerant guy. I played and beat The Incredibles on the GameCube AND the Game Boy Advance. But Animates sapped my strength within a few hours. If your kid lasts longer than that, I salute him or her.

     


           Final:  2.0
           I’m not even sure why you would buy this game for your kid when there are dozens of other, better DS games out there, like Pokemon and Nintendogs. DreamCatcher must not think that little kids are very smart. They must have never met a Pokefanatic.      


    4052
    TalkBack / Ghosts on Film
    « on: September 25, 2007, 05:34:49 PM »
    Tecmo brings their photophile horror series, Fatal Frame, to the Wii
     http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=14471

     Tecmo announced at this year's Tokyo Game Show that the fourth entry in their Fatal Frame series will appear on the Nintendo Wii. The game will be developed by Grasshopper Manufacture, who is currently busy with No More Heroes. The Wii's motion controls should work in the context of the Fatal Frame franchise, which leads you on a spooky quest, generally through an abandoned Japanese village, with nothing but a camera to battle ghosts and ghouls. Given the first-person perspective conveyed through the camera lense, encounters are hair-raising, to say the least, and the level of immersion offered by the Wii Remote promises to make battles all the more terrifying.


    4053
    TalkBack / PREVIEWS: Link's Crossbow Training
    « on: September 22, 2007, 07:24:17 PM »
    It may be the closest we get to a Zelda FPS.
     http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/previewArt.cfm?artid=14455

     The Wii Zapper, a new accessory which will function essentially as a light gun, is going to be packed in with a new game from Nintendo EAD. Link's Crossbow Training will introduce gamers to the Zapper so that we'll all be ready for Ghost Squad and Umbrella Chronicles later this year.    


    Far from being a simple Duck Hunt clone, Crossbow Training looks to be a deeper title that may be a worthy game in its own right. There are three basic game styles; in "Target Shooting", you have a stationary view and are scored on your speed and accuracy at hitting the bullseye.  "Defender" gives you the freedom to look around while defending things (like a supply wagon or yourself), and it seems that some of these levels will move through environments in an "on rails" fashion. "Ranger" allows Link to  move through an environment with the joystick, while you aim wherever you want and shoot   enemies as you see fit.    


    The game's 27 individual missions can all be played by your lonesome or in a multiplayer fashion, with a single Zapper being passed among up to four players. The goal of every mission is to earn a high score within a set time limit. Some stages will offer a free look similar to that of Metroid Prime 3 -- pointing the Zapper off-screen will result in Link turning his head. Nintendo has made it clear that Link's Crossbow Training will serve to familiarize gamers with the movement concepts that will appear in future Zapper titles like Medal of Honor Heroes 2, Ghost Squad, and Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles.    


    The Zapper, and by association Link's Crossbow Training, will require not only a Wii Remote but also a Nunchuk.  It's worth noting that you should be able to play this game and any other without the Zapper, if that is your preference, but at least for now, you will only be able to buy this game with the Zapper bundle.  Link's Crossbow Training and its pack-in cargo is set to release in North America on November 19th and will be rated T for fantasy violence.


    4054
    TalkBack / Super Paper Mario glitch in Europe
    « on: September 20, 2007, 09:32:11 AM »
    European gamers may meet with a game-freezing glitch. Nintendo of Europe is offering an exchange.
     http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=14439

     European gamers may want to avoid a certain gameplay situation in Super Paper Mario if they want to avoid a game freeze.    


    In Chapter 2-2, a character named Mimi will tell you to go and meet another character named Merlee. Enter that room, press the green switch, and a spiked ceiling will drop over Mario's head. If you flip to 3D, you can avoid the iron maiden and find a key. If you pick up the key, then use it to open the locked door near Mimi, you will avoid the glitch. However, should you fail to pick up the key, then talk to Mimi without it, your game will freeze.    


    Frozen Wiis will have to be restarted from your last save point, of course, meaning tedious redos. Just to be absolutely clear, this glitch is only present in the British, Spanish, and German versions of Super Paper Mario.    


    Nintendo of Europe is offering a free disk replacement to fix the error.


    4055
    TalkBack / RE:Virtual Console Mondays: September 17, 2007
    « on: September 20, 2007, 08:32:57 AM »
    Lord almighty! I've gotta stop "recommending" VC games, because it gets me in trouble! You have no idea how much trouble I got from my fellow staffers on this one. Windy even emailed me and asked if I really did play it, or was I writing the recommendation from memory. I love Yoshi's Story, seriously. It's among my favorite N64 games, and when I saw it on the VC, I was ALL ABOUT THAT.

    Ya'll are being awfully hard on it. The level designs are tremendous, there is an amazing amount of gameplay variety, and game's look is unique and charming. The only parts I don't really like about it are the (1) lack of background music (it's barely there), (2) the melon-crate minigame, and (3) finding that last freaking Melon in a level!

    Like I think I said in the recommendation, the challenge is up to the player, which is another reason I like it. Yeah, you can cheese your way through, eating every piece of fruit in sight, and beat the game in an hour. Actually, you SHOULD, because then you play through it again, choose different stages for each level, repeat a few times, and unlock every stage in the challenge mode.

    Yes, challenge mode, where you select a stage, then try and get the highest score. That's where I spend most of my time these days.

    But I really think you guys should give Yoshi's Story another chance.  

    4056
    TalkBack / RE:REVIEWS: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
    « on: September 14, 2007, 01:46:43 PM »
    I could not agree more. Here's the general plot (spoilers ahead...yeah right) to the Metroid canon without the Prime series:

    1) Samus is ordered by the Galactic Federation to go to Zebes and destroy the Metroid threat, and Mother Brain, leader of the Space Pirates, who don't even show up in the original game.
    2) Samus is ordered by the Galactic Federation to go to SR388 and destroy all the Metroids on the planet, hopefully causing the extinction of the species. Samus kills the queen only to find a hatchling, who sees Samus as its mother (groan). She takes it back to the Federation.
    3) The Pirates finally reveal themselves, steal the baby, and Samus...goes...and...gets it back? The Hatchling destroys Mother Brain but sacrifices itself in the process. So sad.
    4) Samus is infected with the X Parasite (worst...name...EVER), which is thriving on SR388 now that the Metroids are gone. Samus is injected with a Metroid serum, made from that hatchling's DNA, and becomes half human, half Metroid. Or something. Diffusion Missiles are the ultimate result (sigh). Samus discovers that the Federation is cloning and breeding Metroids for military purposes. Samus blows up the station and with it, SR388.

    WOW. I mean, that's a NOVEL right there. DANG. So many PLOT TWISTS. So much...so much character development. Tolstoy WISHES he could write that kind of nail-biter.

    Get real. Without Metroid Prime, the series would be DEVOID of any sort of mythos. Thanks to the Prime series, we know detailed information about the Pirates and their motivations. We know a LOT more about the Chozo and Samus' origins. We know about Samus' involvment with the Galactic Federation and with other hunters. We know a lot more about Metroids and, thanks to Corruption, Mother Brain.

    I can only hope that Nintendo capitalizes on all this backstory in their next (presumably) 2D Metroid game. The Metroid series doesn't have to be Metal Gear Solid, but it doesn't have to be Pac-Man, either.

    4057
    TalkBack / RE:REVIEWS: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
    « on: September 13, 2007, 07:09:35 AM »
    Yeah, see, I keep hearing this, that you can use your ship's missiles to fight bad guys in an open area. I guess I'll have to give it a shot sometime, but it's certainly not a necessity to winning battles. It's not like that's part of the game's tutorial--AU 212 doesn't pop up and say "hey by the way, you should totally trying blowing those irritating lizardmen up with your ship's missiles--here's how."

    I still think that a boss fight involving your ship would have kicked ass.

    4058
    TalkBack / REVIEWS: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
    « on: September 11, 2007, 02:19:11 PM »
    Retro Studios brings its fantastic Prime series to a close with guns a-blazing. And you, dear player, will be the one blazing those guns. Readers be warned: Spoilers ahead!
     http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/reviewArt.cfm?artid=14368

     As I spent the last week or so playing through every virtual centimeter of Retro Studio’s latest achievement, I couldn’t help but think that Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is the game they’ve been wanting to make for the last six years. This is not to say that their previous efforts have not been appreciated. Granted, I did not care for Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, but I still feel to this day that the original Metroid Prime is among the very best of the last console generation. Now, with the power of the Wii in one hand and more freedom to make the game they want in the other, Retro has succeeded in perfecting the Metroid Prime formula to the nth degree.    


    You will wander through towering, forgotten civilizations and organic landscapes packed with ambient life and bizarre flora. You will marvel at the mechanic inner workings of a floating city in the clouds. You will, for the first time, explore the dastardly Space Pirate homeworld. And you will find out where that most vile of space-faring substances, Phazon, really comes from. More than ever before, Corruption introduces the player to exploration in the grandest sense. This is partially because Samus travels to several different planets, each brimming with detail and worthy of its own game. But I’m getting ahead of myself. If I want to sing the praises of Corruption, I should start from the beginning.    


    Metroid Prime 3: Corruption takes place six months after the events of Echoes. The Space Pirates are up to their old tricks and have infected the Galactic Federation’s numerous supercomputers, called Aurora Units, with a Phazon-based virus. Samus and three other bounty hunters are called to the scene to cure the Auroras scattered through the system and to investigate Pirate activity. Mere moments pass before the Pirates attack a Federation outpost, with the intent of seeding an entire planet with Phazon, much like what happened to Tallon IV and Aether in previous games. During the first tense hours of gameplay, you are given the task of preventing this disaster, and its outcome paves the way for a meaty plot that is distinct and refreshing after the passive storylines of previous Prime games.    


    The most notable change, of course, is to the control scheme. No longer hindered by a single-stick control scheme, Retro Studios embraced the Wii Remote and its Nunchuk counterpart. The player manually aims by pointing the remote at the screen, while the A button fires, the B button jumps, and the D-pad fires missiles. The + and – buttons get their own functions later on. Overall, it’s an incredibly intuitive control scheme. My only complaint is that the missiles are a little awkward to reach for, but I’m not sure where else they could have been mapped. Meanwhile, the Nunchuk handles movement, lock-ons, the Morph Ball transition, and, best of all, Samus’s increased Grapple Beam arsenal. By extending your Nunchuk forward, Samus zaps her Grapple Beam onto whatever object can be grappled. By snapping your arm back, Samus tears the shield off a Pirate trooper, rips a weak structure off a wall, and various other well-implemented tasks. In fact, complex motions are not performed by the Nunchuk alone: several manual doors, switches, and panels must be interacted with by moving and twisting the Wii Remote. While I got the feeling that Retro liked these concepts a little too much, they are a welcome change from the days where passively scanning a console would activate a door or a switch.    


    And while locking-on is certainly an option, it is not nearly as necessary as it once was. When dealing with a single enemy, it’s certainly helpful to have that monster in the center of your view, but when battling a battalion of Space Pirates, strafing and precision aiming become more critical. It’s true that you can lock into a single enemy, but fire at another; I found this option limiting when other enemies would leave my field of vision. The fact that there is no lag in response to your movements, and that merely moving the aiming cursor to the edge of the screen to make Samus turn makes for a wonderful shoot-‘em-up style that absolutely destroys the traditional dual-stick setup and, in my opinion, the mouse-and-keyboard option. Because Samus now aims where you point, and not where your pointer is, there is a feeling of immersion that lifts Corruption above any traditional FPS I can think of.    


    Samus still collects new weapons and armor suits during her quest, most of which have made appearances before. My least favorite item, Seeker Missiles, have made a return, but are luckily not used that much. Samus gets to go into Hyper Mode, in which her body is pumped full of Phazon energy, and her attacks become more devastating. You must watch your Phazon meter, however. If Samus stays in Hyper Mode too long, she’ll become fully corrupted and die. Also, using Hyper Mode "wastes" an Energy tank. The longer you stay in Hyper Mode, the more energy you’ll drain from the tank. Knowing when to use Hyper Mode and for how long quickly becomes a key to your success in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Perhaps for no other reason than lack of buttons on the Wii Remote, Samus’s beams now stack in power. This is actually a welcome change, as you will no longer have to switch your beam weapon to open a red, and then a green, door. The beams also have new secondary uses. The Plasma Beam, once only good for setting things aflame, now becomes a handy soldering gun. When combined with the upgraded X-Ray Visor, the Nova Beam can penetrate Phazon-based shields to activate otherwise invisible switches. None of these uses feel entirely gimmicky, although the Hyper Mode upgrades aren't used nearly as much as they could have been, nor is the Spider Ball. Your ship, which Samus gets to control in short bursts, is also criminally underused. Imagine a boss fight in which Samus orders her ship to let loose a barrage of missiles on a stunned monstrosity. In fact, I wondered why a feature like this wasn’t implemented, because some of the upgrades you pick up are Ship Missile Expansions. If your ship never uses its missiles, why would you need to upgrade them?    


    Like I said before, Samus travels between several worlds in this game. Norian, Bryyo, Elysia, and the Pirate Homeworld are all on the list of vacation spots. Although I enjoyed traveling between worlds, I did not appreciate having to travel to different checkpoints on a single planet. That is, each planet is made up several different, distinct maps, and these maps do not necessarily meet up at any point. So, when trekking through Bryyo on your quest to get all of the item upgrades, you will have to return to your ship after exploring the main hub, then the thorn jungle, and then again for the fuel gel factory. Ideally, all of these maps would hook up, but it’s not always the case.    


    Luckily, you tend to forget about all the wandering thanks to Retro Studio’s increasingly gifted art direction. Each planet feels complete and distinct, and if you take the time to read the logbook entries, each world has its own back story, too. My favorite planet has got to be Elysia, which resembles something out of an Isaac Asimov story, what with its alien gear works and immense, steam-powered generators. The light blooms, shadows, and particle effects all come together wonderfully to create a mesmerizing landscape that is constantly surprising, and I love it. All of this beauty comes as a price, however. Perhaps because of the larger Wii disc size, many doors now open exceedingly slowly as the next area loads. Normally this wouldn’t bug me, but there were many times where I just wanted to run back to my ship or to a save point and not deal with all the beasties on my heels, only to hit an eight or nine-second door load, which would force me to engage my attackers. By far, the worst offenders in this regard are Bryyo and the derelict Federation spaceship, but it’s a pain no matter where you go.    


    Overall, however, the door loading times and map configurations cannot bring this game down. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is the current high point of the Wii, and I cannot recommend it enough. From the immersive control scheme to the thorn jungles of Bryyo and everything in between, Corruption is a wonderful, nearly flawless game. It brings closure to a wonderful trilogy, and I can’t wait to see what Retro Studios develops next, be it Metroid or something else entirely.

    Pros:
           

  • You will not want to blink, lest you miss some incredible sight.
  •  
  • A storyline that you actually partake in
  •  
  • Did I mention how awesome the control scheme is?


  •        Cons:
           
  • planet is made up of several maps, which do not necessarily connect
  •  
  • Irritating load times on several doors
  •  
  • Lots of missed potential in controlling Samus’s ship


  •                Graphics: 10.0
           No slowdown or jaggies, and character models are even more detailed and mobile than previous Prime games. When you add bloom effects and an essentially rebuilt particle engine, there’s no getting around the fact that Corruption is the best-looking Wii game, or Prime game, to come down the pipe so far.

                   Sound:  9.0
           Although not nearly as active and moody as previous Prime games, the tunes of Corruption get the job done, especially on Elysia and the final planet. The use of voice acting for NPC’s is hit-or-miss. The bounty hunters have good voices, but the Federation troops, and especially their general, make me sad.

                   Control: 10.0
           Again, my only complaint is that missiles are mapped to the D-pad, which is awkward to reach for when engaged in a firefight. However, the facts that the aiming is 1:1 and that your Grapple Beam has so many uses—which rely on YOU—really overshadow any meandering error I find with the button mapping.

                          Gameplay: 10.0
           I like this mission system better than the usual "get dumped on an alien world with no direction at all" style that most Metroid games rely on. There’s a feeling of purpose, the pacing is better, and you often have more opportunities to scrounge for item upgrades. And unlike Metroid Fusion’s mission structure, you’re never locked out of any important areas, so you can, if you want, explore at your own pace.

     


           Lastability:  8.0
           My first play through, at 100% completion, was just under 16 hours. However, I intend to play through the game again on the highest difficulty setting, and I still have some bonuses to unlock.

     


           Final:  9.5
           Corruption is the first Wii game that really shows us what that little white box is capable of. While it won’t interest any gamers who have snubbed the Metroid Prime franchise in the past, everyone else can rest easy knowing that this game is a no-brainer. For no other reason than to experience the innovative controls and beautiful art direction, Corruption is a must-play.      


    4059
    TalkBack / RE:REVIEWS: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
    « on: September 05, 2007, 12:41:38 PM »
    I'm at the door to the final boss (I think). I've been playing through the game right before bed, for like an hour at a time, and I love it. Right now I'm backtracking through all the planets to find all the pickups. I love the fact that MP3 tells you the locations of the pickups--finding them on my own in previous Metroid games was the boon of the gameplay for me.

    The door loading can get very annoying, but it doesn't make me not like the overall presentation. The art direction alone makes up for it.  

    4060
    TalkBack / RE:Metroid Prime 3 Still On Its Way
    « on: August 16, 2007, 02:21:43 PM »
    Smaller, faster load times, video out cable so I can play Metal Gear Solid PO on my TV.

    4061
    Nintendo Gaming / RE:Pokemon Diamond/Pearl
    « on: August 16, 2007, 11:30:26 AM »
    I finished Mein Pokedex a few weeks ago. Completed the Sinnoh National Dex, I should say. It took MONTHS. Sort of kinda worth it, too. I wrote an article about my epic journey, but Windy has yet to look it over.

    4062
    TalkBack / RE:Bret Michaels Added to Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
    « on: August 16, 2007, 11:28:45 AM »
    Instead of Bret Michaels, they should've had Carla and Ted from "Scrubs" sing the song while you play. :-P

    4063
    TalkBack / RE:Metroid Prime 3 Still On Its Way
    « on: August 16, 2007, 11:26:41 AM »
    I don't remember seeing this sort of hype for a 1st party game in a loooong time. Even Super Mario Sunshine didn't get this kind of attention. I'm in a bad situation, though, because I might not be able to afford MP3 on launch day. I'm saving my credit for the new slimline PSP (due out in September) and painting my new house drained my bank account. And yet I must play it!

    4064
    TalkBack / RE:Virtual Console Mondays: August 13, 2007
    « on: August 16, 2007, 11:24:37 AM »
    Also, I  just noticed Viewt's post. I am a huge fan of certain Metroid games. :-) For example, I love Metroid Prime but disliked Metroid Prime 2.* I love Super Metroid though I merely enjoy Metroid 2. I can't get enough of Zero Mission, but I feel that the structure of Fusion is a bit un-Metroid-esque. Still a great game, though (note to self: play Fusion again).

    *I could go into this in greater detail, but it would take awhile.

    Having said that, I'm wetting my pants just thinking about MP3.

    4065
    TalkBack / RE: Virtual Console Mondays: August 13, 2007
    « on: August 15, 2007, 08:11:33 AM »
    You know, when I wrote that Silent Debuggers recommendation, I was confused by the "how is this not a review" question, too. But as I played it (and then Metroid), I realized that it's not fair on the game to review it. You can't review Metroid in 2007. It would get a 2 out of 10. Or less.

    "Reviewing" an old game using modern standards would simply not work. You can only talk about your own experience playing said old game, and then tell people whether you would recommend they play it or not. There are precious few older games that stand the test of time and remain awesome in the modern age. Super Metroid's one of them, Super Mario Bros. 3 is another, Super Mario RPG is one I keep praying will show up on the VC, but Metroid definately is not. It remains firmly entrenched in 1987.

    4066
    TalkBack / RE:REVIEWS: Drake & Josh: Talent Showdown
    « on: August 15, 2007, 08:03:52 AM »
    Jonathan Metts had a review copy that nobody was taking, so I offered to "fall on that sword" and was pleasently surprised. I wouldn't spend my own money on it, but hey...it makes a good Christmas present for the tween crowd.

    4067
    TalkBack / REVIEWS: Drake & Josh: Talent Showdown
    « on: August 14, 2007, 01:29:15 PM »
    A game based on an obscure Nickelodeon TV show that's halfway decent? And they said it couldn't be done!
     http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/reviewArt.cfm?artid=14227

     I’m as shocked as you are.    


    Drake & Josh is apparently a Nickelodeon show in which two wise-cracking high school chums who have high school…adventures. And if the game is any guide, they’re constantly losing things. Also, Drake is a guitarist while Josh prefers pulling rabbits out of hats. After reading fellow editor Jonathan Metts's review of the GBA version of this "series," I understandably expected the worst. Timed sneaking missions? Puzzle-solving? I was petrified. But it turns out that Jonathan just got the wrong game—Drake & Josh: Talent Showdown is a surprisingly fun romp, and it's nothing like the GBA version.    


    In this DS adventure, the boys are competing in the "Teen American Talent." In order to win that competition, though, they must go through rigorous and lengthy fetch-quests, practice their guitar solos, entertain people with magic tricks, and escape the evil clutches of bullies. About 90% of the gameplay involves you controlling Drake and Josh, switching between them with a tap of the L or R button. The boys have individual talents with which to deal with high school trappings. Drake has a water gun, a fire extinguisher, and running shoes. Josh has flash powder (how’d he manage to get that?), his magic bunny hat, and the ability to make bullies ignore him. The basic premise of the game is to run around finding people to give you keys and items while avoiding the omnipresent threat of bullies and jocks, who enjoy stealing your…is that supposed to be lunch money? And shoving you on the floor. Bullies are dealt with via Drake’s weapons or Josh’s flash powder. While trying to find people, the boys collect trophies to increase their energy bars and guitar picks to increase the bonus during guitar mini-games.    


    Basically, the game is one giant fetch quest. Find person A, get key B, make your way to door C, etc. And the game would suffer were it not for two lifesavers: Josh’s compass and the witty dialogue. Like that of the Grand Theft Auto games, Josh’s compass does not necessarily point North, or even Magnetic North, but instead toward your next destination. Were it not for this handy feature, wandering the halls of Belleview High would be an exercise in utter futility and frustration. Also, whenever you begin a new level or talk to somebody, the lower screen displays the conversation between the boys and/or the NPC. I often smiled or chuckled during these brief interludes. The writing has a "Penny Arcade" quality to it, minus the rampant swearing. After several levels of fetch-questing, you’ll be treated to a fairly entertaining guitar jam session. The interface is strikingly Guitar Hero-like: notes scroll across the screen from left to right, but instead of different frets, you press different directions on the D-pad (or, for you left-handers, the ABXY buttons), then tap or strum the notes with your stylus as they pass over a target area. While even the "Hard" challenges are by no means difficult, the thought put into this mini-game is appreciated. Likewise, doing a magic trick with Josh is not a simple matter of pressing B. Instead, you must navigate a simplistic maze with your stylus without going outside the lines in order to successfully pull off the trick.    


    The graphics are quite good—the core gameplay features a top-down perspective, in which polygonal characters run around a polygonal environment. Everything is colorful, and the different main environments (high school, hotel, talent show) are distinct and have unique character models. There is occasional slowdown when you’re running through a jammed environment with two bullies on your tail, and upon close inspection, the polygonal characters don’t really have faces outside of smilies, but it’s a good effort. The same can’t be said for the music. There are only two or three level themes, and they bleed together after awhile. Yeah, they’re spunky tunes, but I expected more.    


    When not involved in the main quest, which is surprisingly long, you can practice your magic tricks and guitar riffs from the main menu. Overall, Drake & Josh: Talent Showdown is a surprisingly robust game. While it probably won’t interest hardcore DS owners who are awaiting more 1st party efforts, casual gamers and kid gamers can really get into it. It might not be the deepest game in my DS library, but it’s fun nonetheless, and isn’t that what really matters?

    Pros:
           

  • Impressive graphics
  •  
  • Impressive script
  •  
  • Impressive guitar segments


  •        Cons:
           
  • The formula wears thin around the third act
  •  
  • Some graphical slowdown that's easy to ignore
  •  
  • Drake is far more effective than Josh


  •                Graphics:  7.5
           I haven’t seen too many DS games that can boast polygonal graphics. This game manages to pull it off with some class.

                   Sound:  6.0
           Like I say, the music gets kind of old. At least some spoken dialogue would’ve been appreciated, too, even a Zelda-esque "hey!" or "whoa!", but we get neither.

                   Control:  9.0
           I have no issues with the control at all. The guitar sections are surprisingly impressive.

                          Gameplay:  7.0
           It’s not as complex and rewarding as, say, The Minish Cap, but it gets the job done. I’m not really sure why the boys’ energy bars drain when they’re not doing anything strenuous, but that’s more of an oddity than a complaint.

     


           Lastability:  6.0
           Despite the clever script, a fetch-quest can only hold your attention for so long before it begins to feel like a chore.

     


           Final:  7.5
           You don’t have to feel bad about getting your kid this game for his or her birthday.      


    4068
    TalkBack / RE:Virtual Console Mondays: August 13, 2007
    « on: August 14, 2007, 12:47:17 PM »
    My man Windy is exactly right. Maybe if Metroid were the only NES game available on the VC, yeah, it'd get a higher recommendation. But the fact is there are tons of NES games on there, the vast majority of which are less frustrating and more enjoyable than Metroid. Now, I don't expect everyone to agree with me that Metroid is a terrible game. Indeed, I thought that my opinion was one of the minority. Metroid is one of Nintendo's Big Three franchises (well, four if you include Smash Bros.)--how can I poo-poo all over the original game?

    Well, for exact same reason I poo-poo'd all over the original NES Castlevania: it's horrible by comparison to its far better sequels and even contemporary NES games.

    And Pale, dude, if you have to start from the beginning every time you die, that's not a "persistent world." That sucks. :-P

    4069
    TalkBack / Guitar Heroes could see more peripherals
    « on: August 01, 2007, 03:59:11 PM »
    According to a recent review of Activision's 1st Quarter sales, analyst group Janco is predicting new peripherals for future Guitar Hero games.
     http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=14139

     Guitar Hero fans may see a few new peripherals added to their favorite rhythm title some time in 2008. Analyst group Janco, who recently covered Activision’s first quarter earnings, said that it expects the company to compete directly with MTV/Harmonix’s upcoming Rock Band by releasing new peripherals for inevitable Guitar Hero sequels.    


    Janco expects the Guitar Hero brand to sell just as well as traditionally higher-selling Activision franchises like Tony Hawk and Call of Duty. Although Janco believes that Activision will post a record holiday season in sales, the group is concerned that EA’s upcoming Skate and MTV/Harmonix’s Rock Band could spell trouble for Activision in 2009.    


    On Rock Band, Janco sees “a compelling option for the music-oriented category beginning in holiday ’07, which will pressure Guitar Hero’s growth. That said, we expect Guitar Hero to follow a natural product evolution by adding additional music peripherals in FY08."    


    If true, then Wii owners can probably expect to shell out some extra cash for more air instruments for post-Guitar Hero 3 entries in the franchise. One can only expect specialized bass guitars, although Janco hints that the Guitar Hero franchise has the potential to compete directly with Rock Band, which implies a wider range of musical peripherals.


    4070
    TalkBack / RE:Nintendo Q2 2007 Earnings Report
    « on: July 27, 2007, 08:24:06 AM »
    I like your article better, Windy. Mine didn't go into the numbers quite so much!

    4071
    TalkBack / RE:PREVIEWS: Godzilla: Unleashed
    « on: July 26, 2007, 11:24:15 AM »
    Arbok--no way, Godzilla 1985 FTW.

    I like the early Heisei films. Godzilla vs. Mothra is very good, but Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah and Spacegodzilla suck balls. I do like Destroyah's creature design, though.

    As for King Caesar, I'm guessing that Pipeworks is trying to integrate a little bit of both designs into the final character model. Having recently seen "Final Wars" again (God, it sucked), the overall build is definately from the last movie, but the red eyes could just be a nod to his Showa origins.

    4072
    TalkBack / RE:PREVIEWS: Godzilla: Unleashed
    « on: July 25, 2007, 12:55:52 PM »
    Okay, yeah, I mispelled Biollante's name. Dammit! Godzilla vs. Biollante is in my Top 5 Godzilla films! I was also wrong about "Monster Zero;" I meant "Monster X," who is infinately cooler in Final Wars than Ghidorah ever was. I'll have to do some quick edits--thanks for pointing those out!
    (I don't like Ghidorah--he's overrated and overused)

    However, the King Caesar from the screenshots of Unleashed looks a lot more like his Final Wars incarnation than his Showa version, and that's a good thing. The majority of the Showa series can be buried and forgotten for all I care. Son of Godzilla? Godzilla's Revenge? Godzilla vs. Megalon? Such low, low points.

    I wasn't aware of a PS1 Godzilla game, much less a original character from it. I know that Bagan, a character designed for Super Godzilla (SNES) was actually going to get his own film (it fell through) and he was supposed to appear instead of Monster X in Final Wars (everybody loves Ghidorah, though), but I think Toho created Bagan, not the Super Godzilla developer. In Unleashed, the new monsters are entirely created by Pipeworks and blessed by Toho...and are voted on by fans. Could be good, could be bad. There are rumors abound that one of the winning monsters will go on to star in its own "Godzilla vs. _______" film, but Toho has stated several times that Final Wars will be the last Millenium-era Godzilla film, and that the property will be shelved for a decade at least (just like the Showa-Heisei transition).

    As for Gamera, did Kadokawa produce the most recent Gamera trilogy? Because it kicked ASS! So maybe I'll edit the preview and say that Pipeworks needs to get in good with Kadokawa.

    Thanks for the comments, though. I'm definately getting this game--I just hope the motion controls aren't wonkey.

    4073
    TalkBack / PREVIEWS: Godzilla: Unleashed
    « on: July 24, 2007, 05:01:51 PM »
    Pipeworks and Atari are bringing Godzilla and his compatriots to the Wii later this year with new motion controls, gameplay mechanics, and, of course, more monsters!
     http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/previewArt.cfm?artid=14091

     Godzilla, the King of the Monsters, is heading to the Wii. But wait—he’s bringing all his Monster Island cohorts with him, all decked out in Godzilla: Final Wars character models, and sporting tons of new destructive power. If you liked Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee on the ‘Cube and Save the Earth on the PS2, get ready for some more rubber-suit mayhem, because Pipeworks and Atari are gonna drop another kaiju-spawning bomb.    


    For those of you unfamiliar with the modern Godzilla video games, the basic gameplay mechanic is that of a brawler, but it’s got an old-time arcade feel to it. Up to four players choose one of Toho’s infamous towering behemoths and duke it out in a sprawling metropolis of their choice. Attacks are basically limited to punching, kicking, tail-swatting, and grapples, but each monster has a trademark special attack. Godzilla, for instance, possesses his trademark heat ray. Gigan has a laser eye, King Ghidorah fires lighting from his three heads, etc. Of course, the controls have undergone a slight revision for the Wii—most of your fighting-related actions will now be handled by your hand gestures. Apparently monsters will be able to power up their special attacks by collecting items on the battlefield, too.    


    Crystals have a significant place in the game, too. They’re all over the battlefields, and interacting with them voluntarily will cause your monster’s "Critical Mass" bar to rise. This new state is sort of like the previous games’ "Rage" meter, although Critical Mass is more visually appealing, more powerful, and confers upon your kaiju new powers. However, once Critical Mass goes away, your beastie is slower and its defense lowers, kind of like Hyper Beam in the Pokemon games. Another significant gameplay addition is "Power Surge," in which, by interacting with different crystals, Godzilla and his pals get temporary, ultra-powerful, one-time abilities like total immunity from weapons, finishing attacks, etc. These superpowers must be earned in the single-player game, and your opponent can end your Power Surge by destroying the influencing crystals.    


    From the screenshots and videos released so far, the Unleashed graphics engine looks to have been improved. The monsters have a textured look reminiscent of Doom 3 (seriously, that’s what comes to mind), plenty of particle effects are present, and the new monster designs are straight out of Godzilla: Final Wars, the "last" Toho Godzilla film. While we’ll no doubt see returning champions from the previous games (Kiryu FTW!), King Caesar and the "mecha" version of Gigan have been sighted in screenshots. According to the Unleashed website, twenty-three monsters have been confirmed. If we’re really lucky, Baragon (from Giant Monsters All-Out Attack) will be playable. Biollante, one of Godzilla’s largest (and most immobile) foes is featured on the E3 press poster for Unleashed, but it's not clear how a hybrid of a rose and Godzilla would move on the battlefield.    


    In perhaps the most interesting twist, Toho has approved two Pipeworks-created kaiju to be included among the twenty-three other monsters. Pipeworks has said that Godzilla fans helped to shape the creation of the original monsters. Now if only Pipeworks would get in good with Kadokawa Productions, then we could finally have the Godzilla vs. Gamera crossover fans have been dreaming of for fifteen years!    


    According to Pipeworks itself, the game is set to release near the end of the year.


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